All articles in History
17th August, 2018 in Biography & Memoir, History, Natural World
What prompted Charles Darwin to publish his theory of evolution?
Charles Darwin spent five years on scientific survey ship HMS Beagle, returning to England in 1836 and by 1838 he was beginning to formulate his natural selection theory. Yet it was not until 1859, after two decades of gestation and hesitation, that his transformative theory…
20th July, 2018 in History, Local & Family History
The Pendle witches
In August 1612 ten people were charged with witchcraft and sentenced to death. The key witness in the case was a nine year old girl, and three of the people executed as a result of her testimony were her own mother, sister and brother. The witch-hunting craze swept across Europe…
18th July, 2018 in History, Women in History
Margaret Tudor: English princess, Scottish queen
On 8 August 1503 Princess Margaret Tudor of England married King James IV of Scotland in Holyrood Abbey, becoming Queen of Scots and providing the Scottish throne with an heir, King James V. She would marry twice more before her death in 1541 and, like her ill-fated granddaughter…
17th July, 2018 in Biography & Memoir, History
James I: England’s first Stuart monarch
On 24 March 1603 the 69 year old Elizabeth I died, bringing to an end her ‘golden’ Elizabethan age and the Tudor dynasty. James VI of Scotland, the son of her former rival Mary, Queen of Scots, was named her heir, and the Stuart era began, bringing England and Scotland under the…
12th July, 2018 in History, Local & Family History
Yorkshire versus Henry VIII
The defeat of the north was one of Henry VIII’s less-well-known achievements. Never heard of it? It was not achieved by battle but by rather less expensive methods: fear and impoverishment. Until his reign, the north (and Yorkshire in particular) had been thorns in the sides of E…
4th July, 2018 in History, Society & Culture
The NHS: Serving the nation for 75 years
On 5 July 1948 the National Health Service (NHS) that we have all come to rely upon was launched. Its intention was to provide a comprehensive healthcare system for all, free at the point of contact and funded by taxation and national insurance contributions. As the NHS celebrate…
22nd June, 2018 in History
Charles II and Catherine of Braganza: A loveless marriage?
On 23 June 1661 a marriage treaty agreeing upon the union of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza was signed. Catherine brought a dowry of £500,000, as well as Bombay, Tangier and the right of free trade with the Portuguese colonies, and also popularised tea-drinking in Britain….
22nd June, 2018 in History, Society & Culture
Windrush: A landmark in the history of modern Britain
On 21 June 1948, the former German cruise liner HMT Empire Windrush arrived in the UK at Tilbury Docks, Essex carrying passengers from the West Indies. The following day, in what has become a landmark in the history of modern Britain, Caribbean migrants from countr…
21st June, 2018 in Biography & Memoir, History, Military
Robert the Bruce: Earl, outlaw, king
Born in Essex in 1274, Robert the Bruce was a French-speaking Anglo-Norman with enormous estates in England. He was the rightful heir to Alexander III, but Edward I appointed John Balliol as king in his stead. He betrayed William Wallace at the battle of Falkirk and scored one vi…
21st June, 2018 in Biography & Memoir, History
Braveheart: The immortality of William Wallace
Scottish hero William Wallace was hanged, drawn and quartered on 23 August 1305. 600 years later his fight for Scottish independence was immortalised in the 1995 film, Braveheart, and in 2018 both Robert the Bruce and Mary, Queen of Scots are set to be portrayed in new films that…
18th June, 2018 in History, Maritime, Military
England’s first great naval victory
When we think of battles at sea between England and France, our minds tend to be drawn to the Georgian era and the victories of Nelson’s navy. But it is a little-known fact that the first great naval battle in the Channel took place half a millennium earlier, in the summer of 121…
11th June, 2018 in History, Military, Society & Culture
The English Civil War and the rise of journalism
The English Civil War was one of the bloodiest conflicts in Britain’s long history, ending with the execution of King Charles I. What’s lesser known, however, is how the war influenced the evolution of today’s newspapers – something historian Derek J. Taylor has investigated. At…