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The last days of Lord Londonderry
Historian article
Richard A. Gaunt explores a tragedy at the heart of early nineteenth century British politics, with the suicide of Viscount Castlereagh.
At 7.30 in the morning on Monday 12 August 1822, Robert Stewart, second Marquess of Londonderry, died from self-inflicted injuries caused by cutting the carotid artery in his neck...
The last days of Lord Londonderry
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Newcastle and the General Strike 1926
Historian article
The nine-day General Strike of May 1926 retains a totemic place in the nation's history nearly 100 years later. The Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill was among those who attempted to characterise it as anarchy and revolution, but this was hyperbole and largely inaccurate for, as Ellen Wilkinson (then...
Newcastle and the General Strike 1926
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The ‘workless workers’ and the Waterbury watch
Historian article
Peter Hounsell looks at the role of the Waterbury Watch Company in both the Queen’s Jubilee and the attempt to record and alleviate unemployment in London in the 1880s.
In Britain generally, but for London in particular, 1887 was a year of great contrasts. On 27 June, Londoners lined the...
The ‘workless workers’ and the Waterbury watch
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Recorded webinar series: The power of maps
Multipage Article
Historians use maps a lot – or at least they should. They help us to understand global relations, environmental and social change and they help to reveal how the world was understood and explored in the past. This webinar series is an opportunity to hear three world class academics explore different aspects...
Recorded webinar series: The power of maps
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A-Level Topic Guide: Germany 1871-1991
Multipage Article
German history in the nineteenth and twentieth century is a popular area of study at A-level across the examination boards. Whichever board you are studying with and whatever the focus of your study unit on German history, the resources in this unit will support you as you develop your subject knowledge, write essays and...
A-Level Topic Guide: Germany 1871-1991
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Eleanor and Franklin: Women and the New Deal
Annual Conference 2018 Film: Presidential Lecture
As a pioneering First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt refused, as one admirer put it, ‘to step into her little mould in the biscuit tin of President’s wives that was ready and waiting for her’. She broadcast on the radio, wrote a newspaper column, travelled endlessly and spoke out fearlessly in defence...
Eleanor and Franklin: Women and the New Deal
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Comparing the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Jameson Raid
Historian article
Duplicated Debacles? A comparison of the 1895-96 Jameson Raid and the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion. Adam Burns and Robert Gallimore take us on two invasions, one by land and one by sea.
Following the Cuban Revolution of 1959 and the rise to power of the socialist regime of Fidel...
Comparing the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Jameson Raid
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Cathars and Castles in Medieval France
Historian article
Almost exactly 800 years ago, in September 1213, a decisive battle was fought at Muret, about ten miles south-west of Toulouse. King Peter II of Aragon, fighting with southern allies from Toulouse and elsewhere, faced an army largely made up of northern French crusaders who had invaded the region at the...
Cathars and Castles in Medieval France
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MOOCs and the Middle Ages
Historian article
Deirdre O’Sullivan explains how history courses such as England in the Time of Richard III are now freely available to people anywhere in the world who have online access. She reports that in the past two years 40,000 learners have followed this course.
MOOCs (Massive Open Access Online Courses) are...
MOOCs and the Middle Ages
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Women in British Coal Mining
Historian article
With the final closure of Britain’s deep coal mines, Chris Wrigley examines the long-standing involvement of women in and around this challenging and dangerous form of work.
With the closure in 2015 of Thoresby and Kellingley mines, the last two working deep coal mines in Britain, leaving only open-cast coal...
Women in British Coal Mining
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Britain: the regional battlefields that helped to create a nation
Historian article
In this article Geoffrey Carter will be taking a look at battlefields as key elements in British history and how these can be incorporated into the study of history at various levels and in various periods. The regional nature of many historic conflicts is sometimes forgotten but this is an...
Britain: the regional battlefields that helped to create a nation
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A precious jewel: English Calais, 1347–1558
Historian article
For 200 years the English Crown held the town and fortress of Calais, thereby providing a gateway into France for English exports and influence.
The conquest of Calais
On 26 August 1346 an English army led in person by King Edward III was confronted by a French army commanded by...
A precious jewel: English Calais, 1347–1558
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Bristol and the Slave Trade
Classic Pamphlet
Captain Thomas Wyndham of Marshfield Park in Somerset was on voyage to Barbary where he sailed from Kingroad, near Bristol, with three ships full of goods and slaves thus beginning the association of African Trade and Bristol. In the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Bristol was not a place of...
Bristol and the Slave Trade
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Amphibious Warfare in British History
Classic Pamphlet
The term "Amphibious Warfare" was adopted a few years ago to indicate a form of a strategy of which the characteristic was the descent of the sea-borne armies upon the coasts and ports of an enemy. It is not a method peculiar to Great Britain, for all maritime nations from...
Amphibious Warfare in British History
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Scots Abroad in the Fifteenth Century
Classic Pamphlet
(Historical Association Pamphlet, No. 124, 1942)
Dunlop's research into the occupations and attitudes of Scots abroad during the 15th century uncovers some surprising revelations about all members of the Scottish ex-pat society.
She particularly notes the ‘scurrilous' opinions of the French regarding Scotsmen's behaviour. While Scottish diplomatists and envoys tended...
Scots Abroad in the Fifteenth Century
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Magna Carta: oblivion and revival
Historian article
Magna Carta was to go through a number of revisions before it finally took its place on the statute book. Nicholas Vincent takes us through the twists and turns of the tale of the Charter's death and revival after June 1215.
The Charter issued by King John at Runnymede is...
Magna Carta: oblivion and revival
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The making of Magna Carta
Historian article
Magna Carta provided a commentary on the ills of the realm in the time of King John. Sophie Ambler looks at what grievances were addressed in the Charter, how the Charter was made, and what the Charter tells us about King John himself.
The world from which Magna Carta came...
The making of Magna Carta
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Home Rule for Ireland - For and against
Historian article
At a time when the United Kingdom continues to review its internal constitutional arrangements, Matthew Kelly explores how this constitutional debate can be traced back to Gladstone's decision to promote Home Rule for Ireland and how these proposals evolved over time and were challenged.
Irish political history decisively entered a...
Home Rule for Ireland - For and against
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The Great Debate 2025: Speeches
Multipage Article
The final was held at the Vicar’s Hall at Windsor Castle on 29 March 2025, and attended by 20 finalists from across the UK. This year, each finalist needed to have taken part in a regional competition and one of three semi-final stages.
The competition question for this year was: How...
The Great Debate 2025: Speeches
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The Great Debate 2024: Speeches
Multipage Article
The final was held at the Vicars' Hall at Windsor Castle on 23 March 2024 and attended by 22 finalists from across the UK. This year each finalist needed to have taken part in a regional competition and one of three semi-final stages.
The competition question for this year was:...
The Great Debate 2024: Speeches
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The Great Debate 2023: Speeches
Multipage Article
The 2023 Great Debate final was held on 25 March at the Vicars' Hall, Windsor Castle. The question for young people to address was:
“Why does history matter to me?”
Across the course of the day the judges and audience listened to talks on the personal experiences of finalists’ relatives in the...
The Great Debate 2023: Speeches
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Tyne Cot Cemetery, near Ypres, Belgium
Historian feature
My Favourite History Place: Tyne Cot Cemetery, near Ypres, Belgium
We can truly say that the whole circuit of the Earth is girdled with the graves of our dead. In the course of my pilgrimage, I have many times asked myself whether there can be more potent advocates of peace...
Tyne Cot Cemetery, near Ypres, Belgium
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Sir Francis Dent and the First World War
Historian article
Not your typical soldier, not your typical service
The term ‘citizen soldier' evokes a particularly powerful image in Britain. The poignant histories of the ‘Pals' Battalions' cast a familiar, often tragic shadow over the popular memory of the First World War. Raised according to geographical and occupational connections, names such...
Sir Francis Dent and the First World War
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GCSE Guide: OCR Migration
Multipage Article
In this podcast series designed to support students studying the OCR A unit on migration to Britain c.1000-2010, Martin Spafford outlines the essentials that students should know and understand. Slightly differently to the OCR B unit on migration, the OCR A unit's focus is mainly upon similarity and difference and...
GCSE Guide: OCR Migration
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AQA Thematic Study on Migration
GCSE Guide
The AQA thematic study on migration is designed for students to gain an understanding of how the identity of the people of Britain has been shaped by their interaction with the wider world and also takes in invasion and conquest. Students must understand the ebb and flow of peoples into...
AQA Thematic Study on Migration
