British History

A Brief History of Plaid

From highlanders to hipsters

Francis Bacon, social networking superstar, strikes a pose ca. 1618.

Six Degrees of Francis Bacon Is Your New Favorite Trivia Game

Move over, Kevin!

A Bronze Age mummified skeleton lies tightly curled in Bradley Fen in Cambridgeshire, England.

Mummies May Have Been Scattered Across Bronze Age Britain

Skeletal analysis hints that, intentional or not, mummification may have been more common than previously thought

An aerial view of Jamestown, St. Helena's capital.

It Just Got Easier to Visit the Place Where Napoleon Was Exiled (the Second Time)

Remote, rugged, finally accessible — St. Helena will soon have its first-ever airport

A 13th-Century Sword Is Giving Historians a Headache

The sword's inscription is an 800-year-old mystery

A stone etching on the grave of crewmember Lt. John Irving depicts the dire conditions that the Franklin expedition faced when they reached the Canadian Arctic.

Franklin’s Doomed Arctic Expedition Ended in Gruesome Cannibalism

New bone analysis suggests crew resorted to eating flesh, then marrow

A sumptuously appointed room within the Borgia family's castle in Tuscany, now available for everyday people to rent.

Want to Sleep Like a King, Queen or Borgia For a Night? Stay in these Historic Airbnbs

Whether it’s the former home of a national icon or an extravagant estate in Europe, the sharing economy offers the chance to go back in time for a night

In 16th-century England, death by plague, depicted in the wood carving above, might have been an easy way to go compared to the accidents that could befall a person in everyday life.

Here Are Some of the Weird Ways You Could Die in Tudor England

Pole vaulting and bacon are among the odd causes of death discovered by historians

How the India Pale Ale Got Its Name

A look to the hoppy brew’s past brings us to the revolution in craft beer today

Unfortunately, you can't have your ballot delivered by barn owl.

Cast Your Vote for Britain’s National Bird

An online campaign is asking the public to choose from a list of ten finalists whittled down by birders and conservationists

Found: One Lost Sherlock Holmes Story

It was in the attic, my dear Watson

A 19th century engraving of King John signing the Magna Carta

Legend Says the Ankerwycke Yew Witnessed the Magna Carta's Signing

The tree on the bank of the River Thames may be 2,000 years old

Cocoa roasters at the Hershey Chocolate Company in Pennsylvania

The Short Rise and Fall of the Crazy-for-Cocoa-Trade Cards Craze

In the late 19th-century, when you bought chocolate, the grocer dropped a delightful prize into your bag, a trade card to save and share

Who’s Digging Up Hadrian’s Wall?

Rogue diggers with metal detectors are threatening a priceless archaeological site

A detail of one of four known existing originals of the 1297 version of the Magna Carta.

An Early Copy of the Magna Carta Was Found Forgotten in an Old Scrapbook

An archivist in England stumbled upon a 715-year-old edition of the charter credited for initiating a new framework of governance

How One 138-Page Book Inspired the Creation of the Boy Scouts

How a little military textbook evolved into a movement that would captivate generations of young men

Turing's journal was kept while he helped build the Bombe Machine, a device used to encrypt Nazi codes.

Turing’s Secret Notebook Is Up for Auction

The notebooks offer a glimpse into the mind of a codebreaker

The ancient artifact was found in a field and used as a doorstop for years before being identified as a rare ceremonial dirk.

This 3,500-Year-Old Dagger Made a Really Great Doorstop

One man’s doorstop is another man’s rare, ancient artifact

Cholera Belt, Dodd & Monk, Albert Mill, Canal Street, Congleton, Cheshire, 1882. With little understood about the disease, there were many bogus treatments and preventative measures against cholera. "The cholera belt seems like the most unlikely protection," writes Halls. "However, it was believed that a chilled body could cause disease, and that keeping the stomach and abdomen warm could protect against bowel complaints."

10 Victorian Inventions That Never Quite Took Off

Flops from a "knife and fork cleaner" to a "cholera belt" provide a curious look at life in 19th century England

James Joyce in 1938.

Save the Voices of Tolkien, Joyce And Tennyson

The British Library is fighting time and budget constraints to save its vast collection of audio recordings

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