British History

Helpers fill sandbags on the tip above the shattered Pantglas Junior School to divert a spring and avert the risk of further landslides at Aberfan, South Wales.

The True Story of the Aberfan Disaster

The 1966 Welsh mining tragedy claimed the lives of 116 children and 28 adults and features heavily in the third season of Netflix's "The Crown"

One of the three Armada portraits of Queen Elizabeth I

Three Portraits of Victorious Elizabeth I to Be Displayed Together for the First Time

The paintings were created in the wake of England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada

British novelist Ian Fleming on the beach near Goldeneye, his Jamaica home, on February 23, 1964

For Sale: Trove of Tempestuous Letters Exchanged by Ian Fleming and His Wife, Ann

"In the present twilight, we are hurting each other to an extent that makes life hardly bearable," wrote the James Bond author in one missive

Researchers debate whether Iron Age Scots hunted the massive fin whales or simply made the most of animals swept ashore.

Archaeologists Unearth Hollowed-Out Whale Vertebra Containing Human Jawbone, Remains of Newborn Lambs

Iron Age Scots made the unusual vessel with the bone of a fin whale, Earth's second largest whale species

The markings range from letters to shapes, patterns and symbols.

You Can Now Explore a 3-D Model of Cave Covered in Creepy 'Witches' Marks'

Visitors spotted hundreds of etchings designed to ward off evil while exploring a cave in England's Creswell Crags

Contractors found a witch bottle similar to the one pictured here while demolishing a former inn's chimney.

'Witch Bottle' Filled With Teeth, Pins and Mysterious Liquid Discovered in English Chimney

The charms were designed to ward off witches, but new research suggests they had medical uses as well

Henry V's nine-year reign saw a flourishing of royal authority and military action but ended abruptly with his untimely death in 1422

The True Story of Henry V, England’s Warrior King

The new biopic “The King” finds Timothée Chalamet tracing Henry’s evolution from wayward prince to heroic warrior

Patriots toppled the statue in July 1776, but British Loyalists rescued and hid some of the fragments

You Could Own an Amputated Arm From the George III Statue Toppled at Bowling Green

The 18th-century lead fragment was unearthed in a Connecticut resident's garden in 1991

The discovery highlights the dynamic nature of a site most frequently associated with the gruesome deaths of England’s rich and powerful

Archaeologists Discover Medieval Woman and Child's Skeletons at the Tower of London

The remains shine a light on the ordinary people who lived and worked in one of England’s most notorious historic sites

Lord Elgin is a controversial figure accused by many—including the Greek government—of looting valuable artifacts from the city of Athens

Newly Discovered Treasures Came From the Same Sunken Ship That Carried the Controversial 'Elgin Marbles'

The "Mentor," a vessel owned by the notorious Lord Elgin, sank in 1802 while carrying panels and sculptures looted from the Parthenon

Olivia Colman and Tobias Menzies portray Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

Watch the New Trailer for Season Three of 'The Crown'

The hit Netflix show returns November 17 with a new cast and will focus on events from the 1960s and '70s

“The poor Girls & their Teeth!” the author wrote in a letter to her sister. “ ... Lizzy’s were filed & lamented over again & poor Marianne had two taken out after all"

This Jane Austen Letter Highlights the Horrors of 19th-Century Dentistry

The missive, penned after the author accompanied her nieces on a visit to the dentist, will be up for auction later this month

The team hypothesized that works published during the so-called “good old days” would be more uplifting than those penned during times of hardship

What Millions of Books Reveal About 200 Years of Happiness

Researchers analyzed eight million texts to gauge how lifespan, warfare and the economy affect national well-being

Violet King, an usherette at the London Coliseum, pocketed the half-smoked cigar and safeguarded it for the rest of her life

A Cigar Puffed by Winston Churchill Is Set to Go on Auction

The British prime minister smoked the cigar while attending a movie premiere in 1953

This inverted cross was likely carved on the inn's hearth stone in hopes of discouraging witches from flying down the chimney

Archaeologists Find Shot Glass Shards, Anti-Witch Carving at Centuries-Old Scottish Pub

At the time of its construction, the Wilkhouse Inn was considered a "statement of modernity and affluence"

The fifth season of BBC drama "Peaky Blinders" is available now on Netflix

Who Were the Real 'Peaky Blinders'?

The Shelby family is fictional, but a real street gang operated in Birmingham at the turn of the 20th century

The map shows locations including accused witches' places of residence, sites of trial, detention and execution

This Map Shows the Scale of 16th- and 17th-Century Scottish Witch Hunts

The interactive tool tells the stories of 3,141 men and women accused of practicing witchcraft

Bankruptcy of U.K.'s Largest Travel Operator Strands Thousands of Vacationers

The U.K. government is undertaking the largest repatriation effort since WWII to bring home 150,000 Thomas Cook customers

This marker now resides beside Highway 64 near the site of where the Roanoke settlement is believed to have sat.

Joachim Gans, the First Practicing Jew to Set Foot in North America, Finally Gets His Due

The metallurgist came to the Roanoke settlement looking for raw materials to support the English war effort

A William Blake illustration depicting the fall of Adam and Eve

Student Discovers Secret Acrostic in Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’

A Tufts University undergraduate spotted three interlocking instances of the word “FALL” in Book 9 of the epic poem

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