All articles in History
8th June, 2018 in History, Military, Women in History
The Battle of Tettenhall: Aethelflaed’s greatest victory
On the 8 June 793, Vikings raided the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, bringing about what is largely accepted as the beginning of the Scandinavian invasion of England. 117 years later Gloucester’s own warrior queen, Aethelflaed, fought back. The ruins of Lindisfarne Abbey 1,…
7th June, 2018 in History, Women in History
Katherine Howard: Vixen or victim?
Of the infamous Henry VIII’s six wives, Katherine Howard, his ‘rose without a thorn’, has been treated with the least amount of sympathy since her execution on 13 February 1542. 500 years on, should we re-evaluate how we remember Henry VIII’s fifth, doomed queen? Thought to have…
1st June, 2018 in History, Society & Culture
A short history of the Post Office
The Post Office dates way back to 1660 when it was established by Charles II. Under the guise of the General Post Office (GPO), it soon grew as an important organisation integral within the infrastructure of England during the seventeenth century. Just one year after it was forme…
22nd May, 2018 in History, Society & Culture
The media vs the mighty in seven quotes
Donald Trump’s daily and very public disagreements with the media are nothing new. In fact those in power have been battling with the press for 500 years. ‘God hath opened the Press to preachwhose voice the Pope is not able to stopwith all the power of his triple crown.’- John Fo…
17th May, 2018 in Biography & Memoir, History
Infamous royal marriages
‘This is the stuff of which fairytales are made’, or are they? Royal marriages are of course a celebration (as with any marriage) but do royal marriages have a history of fairy tales or controversy? Let’s take a look at some of the more unusual marriages over the centuries that w…
9th May, 2018 in Biography & Memoir, History
Alfred the Great: King of the Anglo-Saxons
King Alfred the Great is the most famous and celebrated of all Anglo-Saxon kings. His statue stands at the heart of a number of southern English towns – Wantage, where he was born over a thousand years ago; Winchester, where he was buried; Pewsey and Shaftesbury, where he also ha…
9th May, 2018 in History, True Crime
Colonel Blood and the Crown Jewels
In May 1671 four armed men headed by Colonel Thomas Blood walked into the Tower of London and stole some of the Crown Jewels. With the Keeper of the Jewel House left for dead, the gang made off with the crown and the orb, leaving the partly filed sceptre behind on the floor. The…
4th May, 2018 in Biography & Memoir, History, Military
A conflict beyond peacemakers: James I and the Thirty Years’ War
400 years since the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War, John Matusiak discusses King James I of England and VI of Scotland’s relationship with one of the bloodiest conflicts in European history. The moral aversion to warfare so glibly evinced by most modern-day leaders was h…
4th May, 2018 in History, Society & Culture
An introduction to Brehon law
I’ve always been fascinated by the story of Anne Boleyn and her designated fiancé, James Butler, son of the Earl of Ormond in Ireland. If only, I used to think when I was young and romantic, if only she had married handsome young James, (who later had six sons), and gone back to…
3rd May, 2018 in History, Local & Family History, Women in History
Aethelflaed in nine places
Daughter of King Alfred the Great and sister of Edward the Elder, Aethelflaed, Lady of Mercia was one of the most powerful and influential women in Anglo-Saxon England, yet she is one of the great forgotten figures in British history. Aethelflaed (also known by the Victorian…
3rd May, 2018 in History, Women in History
Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians timeline
Aethelflaed was the only Anglo-Saxon known to have commanded an army. For seven years, the forces of Mercia were led by Aethelflaed, the widow of Aethelred of Mercia and the daughter of Alfred (the Great) of Wessex. We take a look back at the events leading up to, and during, Aet…
16th April, 2018 in History, Women in History
A haverin’ history of Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots. What can be said about Mary, Queen of Scots that hasn’t been said before? She was a wise and regal monarch whose stable government ensured a steady period of governance without scandal or revolt. Like the axe that cleaved her head from her shoulders, she div…