England

The Duchess of Kingston in Russia

Duchess by bigamy, but a Countess by marriage, Elizabeth Chudleigh found refuge from her marital troubles in St Petersburg, writes Anthony Cross.

The Brighton Chain Pier

L.W. Cowie describes what was, for seventy years, a key feature of the fashionable resort on the English south coast.

The Blockade of the Smugglers

The English south coast lay at the mercy of smugglers, writes Christopher Lloyd, until a full-scale blockade from 1817 gradually brought them under control.

Supplying the Elizabethan Court

An elaborate hierarchy maintained the royal household of Elizabeth I, writes Alan Haynes, but there was much pilfering and graft among the purveyors of domestic goods.

Sir Robert Dudley: Expatriate in Tuscan Service

Neil Ritchie describes the long and busy career of the son of the famous Earl of Leicester: Robert Dudley sought employment with an Italian Grand Duke and distinguished himself as navigator, map-maker, naval architect and builder of maritime fortifications.

Medieval Schools of England

Courtney Dainton describes how the enquiring middle class trained at the grammar schools of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries went on to influence late medieval English society.

Medieval Hospitals of England

In England, medieval hospitals flourished until the beginning of the 15th century, funded by taxes, tolls, and wealthy doners.