We follow in the footsteps of the Scottish missionary, explorer and all-round Victorian hero, who fought to end the slave trade  There aren’t many ten-year-olds working in a cotton mill who would spend their first…

2020 marks the 400th anniversary of the epic voyage of the Mayflower. We delve into the early story of the pioneering Pilgrims On 16 September 1620, the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth on England’s southwestern coast,…

We explore what relationships were really like between the upstairs and downstairs residents of Britain’s big houses In the new Downton Abbey film, veteran housekeeper Mrs Hughes is unequivocal in briefing staff: “I want every…

Don’t be a Scrooge! Celebrate the spirit and former haunts of Charles Dickens, the Victorian author who shaped our vision of the modern festive season

The effigy of Guy Fawkes is burned throughout Britain at this time of year, but how much do we really know of the famous Gunpowder Plot conspirator?

Oliver Cromwell was quick to seize control after the shocking death of Charles I, but was he hero or villain? On January 30, 1649 48-year-old King Charles I said goodbye to his children at St…

While house-hunting in 1597, William Shakespeare would have known the handsome pub opposite his New Place. The Falcon was not a five-minute walk from Shakespeare’s Birthplace and across the road from Shakespeare’s Schoolroom. The world-class theatres built in…

Northumberland is home to more castles than any other English county. We travel to England’s northernmost region to hear tales of theft, murder and spooky apparitions Its location close to the Scottish border has meant…

We take a tour of some of the most historic and beautiful British libraries to find reading rooms worthy of our literary greats

Great English painter, JMW Turner, hailed by the critic, John Ruskin, as ‘the father of modern art’, undertook annual summer tours of Britain, but where did he live and love? As the Turner Prize, an…