The mastermind behind the infamous Gunpowder Plot was not Guy Fawkes, but Robert Catesby. Guy Fawkes was just the fall guy ...

Previously known as New Amsterdam and formerly in the hands of the Dutch, in 1664 the settlement, now known as New York, ...

The South Sea Bubble has been called: the world’s first financial crash, the world’s first Ponzi scheme, speculation mania and a disastrous example of what can happen when people fall prey to ‘group ...

Scourge of England and France, father of the Great Heathen Army and lover to the mythical queen Aslaug, the legend of Ragnar Lothbrok has enchanted story tellers and historians for almost a millennium ...

The British Empire is remembered for its extensive, long-lasting and far-reaching imperial activities that ushered in an era of globalisation and connectivity. The British Empire began in its ...

The Battle of Edgehill took place on 23rd October 1642 and was the first battle of the English Civil War. In 1642, after considerable constitutional disagreements between the government and King ...

Have you ever wondered where your surname comes from? Or when people start using surnames (last names) and why? In England, surnames are also commonly known as last names due to the practice of ...

The Victorian Workhouse was an institution that was intended to provide work and shelter for poverty stricken people who had no means to support themselves. With the advent of the Poor Law system, ...

On Monday 17th October 1814, a terrible disaster claimed the lives of at least 8 people in St Giles, London. A bizarre industrial accident resulted in the release of a beer tsunami onto the streets ...

Celebrated on October 21st, Trafalgar Day marks the day on which Britain triumphed in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. This historic marine conflict was fought off the Cape of Trafalgar, offshore from ...

One of England’s most beloved poets and a pioneer of Romanticism, William Wordsworth was made Poet Laureate in 1843. William was born in Cockermouth in Cumbria on 7th April 1770 to John Wordsworth, a ...