Skittles was really a living advertisement for the livery stable, not yet quite a “pretty young horse-breaker”, which was the name by which the courtesans on horseback were known. (The late equine ...

Brutal, outrageous and often hilariously exaggerated, these caricatures offer a fascinating window into the social, political and cultural life of England during the Georgian era.

Queen Elizabeth I set all the trends at court - including her sugar-rotted teeth. Famous for her love of sugar and all things sweet, the queen’s blackened teeth became a beauty trend, with some people ...

Admiral Lord Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar is well known. What is less well known is that without the powder monkeys, the brave young boys who ferried the gunpowder to the guns, ...

Four days before Lord Chelmsford’s invading force ended the Anglo-Zulu War by defeating King Cetewayo’s army at the Battle of Ulundi, a Zulu impi killed Louis Napoleon, the heir to the French throne.

Queen Victoria had a majestic sixty-three-year reign but despite this, she was not universally loved. While some people protested against her, others had a slightly more radical method. From Edward ...

Lucozade! Many baby boomers will remember this sparkling, lurid-coloured drink when the glass bottle still came wrapped in crinkly cellophane. This iconic tonic only appeared when a child was ill in ...

Being a chimney sweep, or climbing boy as they were often called, was a harsh and dangerous profession. Those employed were often orphans or from impoverished backgrounds, sold into the job by their ...

Fergus I, or Fergus MacFerchard is the legendary founding ruler of Scotland, the "first king of Scotland". He is said to have come to Scotland from Ireland about 330 B.C. to help the Scots repel ...

Chatsworth House in Derbyshire's Peak District, is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Open to the public, this magnificent country house is set in over 1000 acres of parkland and formal ...

You may not have heard of it, but The Pilgrimage of Grace was the single largest rebellion in Tudor history and took place in the North of England between October 1536 and January 1537. The common ...

The Battle of Waterloo in 1815 is one of the great events in British history. This decisive battle ended the French Emperor Napoleon I's bid to dominate Europe, a war which had lasted some 23 years ...