Britain

On 16 January 1926, the BBC broke the news that a murderous mob was storming the capital. Broadcasting the Barricades wasn’t supposed to be a hoax, but it was an effective one.

In The Tree Hunters: How the Cult of the Arboretum Transformed Our Landscape, Thomas Pakenham reveals the discoveries of Britain’s buccaneering botanists.

For much of the 20th century, young working-class women in England found out about procreation the ‘hard way’ or the ‘dirty way’.

The issue of assisted dying was first put before Parliament in 1936. Many of the same questions remain, but the arguments have changed.

In Church Going: A Stonemason’s Guide to the Churches of the British Isles, Andrew Ziminski deconstructs the humble parish church.

National security during the Second World War was threatened by the ‘enemy within’ – working-class women, suspected of betraying their country by taking in deserters and escapees.

Pilgrimage is not meant to be easy, but it remains a popular pursuit – even for non-believers.

November 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the first passenger trains between London and Paris. What does the history of the Channel Tunnel tell us about Britain’s relationship with its neighbours?

The First World War revealed the bad state of Britain’s teeth. Intervention was required to keep the nation biting fit.

How the first Conservative leadership election modernised the party in the 1960s.