The Countess’s Pillar, Westmorland
Jean Wilson recounts the fascinating tale behind the stone pillar erected by Anne Clifford, Countess of Pembroke, on a roadside in Cumbria.
History Today
Austrian Victory at Custozza
Richard Cavendish marks the anniversary of an important victory for the Habsburg empire, on July 25th, 1848.
Death of Bismarck
The first chancellor of the German Empire died on July 30th, 1898, aged 83.
Women Pilgrims of the Middle Ages
‘There’s no discouragement...Shall make him once relent...His first avowed intent... To be a pilgrim.’ Women, however, endured vexations of their own as Diana Webb outlines.
The Pirate, the Ambassador and the Map-Maker
When in 1681 pirate Bartholomew Sharpe captured a Spanish ship and with it a detailed description of the west coast of the Americas, he gave English cartographers a field day and won himself an unexpected acquittal. James Kelly explains.
The Martian Century
Roger Hennessy tells of a hundred years of investigation, imagination and speculation about life on Mars.
50 Years of the NHS
Charles Webster reflects on the achievements and shortcomings of fifty years of the National Health Service.
Opening of the London Olympics
Richard Cavendish remembers the opening of the ‘Austerity Olympics’ on 29 July 1948.
'Useless Mouths'
At the siege of Château Gaillard in 1204, the non-combatants caught up in the conflict were forced by the rival commanders out into the cold to endure appalling hardships. Sean McGlynn retells their story and explains the logic of war that made such things possible.
Last Cuppa
Paula Goddard marks the closure of the London Tea Auction.