UK History Page 1

Trying to stop the body snatchers with a mortsafe.
A look at the attempts to prevent the resurrection men taking away dead bodies.

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When German U-Boats sailed into British ports

This rather curious image showing the German U-Boat 'U 155', better known as Deutschland, moored by Tower Bridge, London, is an example of just one of the surrendered German submarines which were taken around various British ports

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Who was Marks and Spencer?
The story of the two men who founded the famous store.
Marks and Spencer is one of the UK’s leading retail brands. It employs over 80,000 people in 500 stores in over 30 countries. In 2011 clothing and


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Why do some English churches have round towers?
How local building materials dictate building style.
Most English churches have square towers, but there are small number which have round towers. They are to be found mainly in the East Anglian counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and
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Britain's greatest wartime civilian tragedy
During the World War II Britain was at war with Germany and was undergoing frequent bombing raids on its cities. Many Londoners would seek refuge in the Underground (the Tube), the subway train service which operates under central London.
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When Cleopatra's Needle was almost lost at sea
Cleopatra's Needle stands on the north bank of the River Thames on the Victoria Embankment, central London. It is an ancient Egyptian obelisk and one of a pair. The other one now stands in New York. The name Cleopatra is inappropriate as they were made hundreds of years before Cleopatra's reign.

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Britons made slaves
When pirates raided the coasts of Britain looking for slaves.
The patriotic song Rule Britannia proclaims "Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves; Britons never will be slaves." But contrary to the song, there was a time when some Britons had been made slaves.

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The first artificial ice rink
The first artificial ice rink was made in London, England, in December 1841. It was chemically produced, not made from water.

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For how long has the word ‘Jackboot’ been used to mean oppression?
A look back at the origin of the word.
A jackboot (or jack boot) is a boot worn by the military. It rises to mid-calf or up to the knee, no laces, and often with nails on the soles, or irons on

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Why did Pepys bury his Parmesan cheese?
It's surprising what people will bury.
Samuel Pepys the great diarist was awoken on 2 September 1666 by his servant who told him of a great fire she had seen in the city. This was the start of the Great Fire of London which

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The first British casualties of war in 1939
A sad story for animal lovers.
A few days after the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 when Britain went to war against Germany, the first casualty of war
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The American high diver
The story of a great showman who met his death in the Thames.
Samuel Gilbert Scott, b.c.1813 in Philadelphia, became famous in Britain for his daring act of high-diving and other stunts until he met his
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What servants would you find in a Victorian household?
Did your ancestor work below stairs? From butlers to scullery maid.
The Victorian period in Britain saw a peak in the numbers of servants employed in households. All upper class houses

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The first demonstration of street lighting using gas
Lighting the dark streets of London.
The use of gas for light was first demonstrated by William Murdock who lit his home and workshop in Redruth, Cornwall, England, in 1792. Soon after he became the manager of Boulton and Watt's steam engine works in...

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What were Church Briefs?
How money was raised for rebuilding a church or freeing captured slaves.
Before the introduction of fire insurance, if a church or chapel in England was burnt down or damaged by fire, then the rector and churchwardens were reliant on voluntary donations to repair the church. The same applied to churches that were in a poor

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Could a hanged criminal cure cysts and warts?
When sufferers of a medical ailment would flock to public executions.
Before medical science established the cause and cure of cysts and warts there was considerable folklore and superstition surrounding them.

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Which English King was shot in the face with an arrow when he was sixteen?
The young warlike harry.
Henry V, King of England, victor of the Battle of Agincourt, and hero of a Shakespeare play, would have died at the age of 16 if it were not for the skill of his surgeon in removing an arrow shot in his face during battle.

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The first Big Ben
A cracking story of the famous bell.

2009 was the 150th anniversary of the famous four-faced clock in the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster and its Great Bell better known by its nickname 'Big Ben'. The clock started on 31 May 1859, but the bell did not first strike in the

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When was the RSPCA founded?
A look at the first steps on the road to animal welfare.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, better known as the RSPCA, is Britain's largest animal charity and has been preventing cruelty to animals since 1824.

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Who was the first British monarch to travel by rail?
Queen Victoria found the whole event quite charming.
On 13 June 1842, Queen Victoria left Windsor Castle to undertake her first train journey. She was no doubt a little nervous, after all, railways were a relatively new technology and their safety record was appalling compared with today's statistics.

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What was the King's Evil?
When touching a monarch was believed to be a cure for illness.
The King's Evil was the name given to scrofula, the swelling of the bones and lymphatic glands in the neck. Now recognised to be tuberculosis.


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Why was Wellington called the Iron Duke?
We discover the true origin of the nickname.
One of the great generals of British history is Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington (1769–1852). Following military success in India, during
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