london

New website showing digitized medieval children’s books launched by the British Library Source: Pb / Adobe Stock.

24 February, 2020 - 18:40 ashley cowie

Medieval Book Tells Kids Don’t Pick Your Ears or Nostrils!

A new British Library website presenting collections of books from the British Library, Seven Stories, Bodleian Libraries, and the V&A includes manuscripts by Lewis Carroll and Jacqueline Wilson...

31 January, 2020 - 23:01 Ed Whelan

Bloodstained Shirt Worn By Charles I At His Execution Is Going Public

It has been announced that the silk shirt that was worn by the English king Charles I at his execution is going on public display. The garment is believed to still have the bloodstains of the monarch...

Head of Asian Art and Managing Director, Lee Young with the $1.2 million (£1 million) Qianlong Chinese teapot. Source: Duke’s Auctions

13 November, 2019 - 17:21 Ed Whelan

Chinese Teapot Skyrockets From £1000 to £1 Million At Auction

A small Chinese teapot that was found by chance has made some lucky person a millionaire. The 18 th century teapot crafted in China has sold for a staggering and totally unpredicted £1 million, or...

Elizabeth Brownrigg and her family abused their child servants. Source: JPRFphotos / Adobe Stock.

5 November, 2019 - 23:02 B. B. Wagner

Elizabeth Brownrigg: Child Abuse and Murder in the 18th Century

On the morning of Monday, September 14th, 1767, in the Tyburn Gallows , a 47 year-old Elizabeth Brownrigg stood in a cart awaiting her execution by a noose. So great was the uproar from angry crowds...

Hoard of Bronze age weapons and tools found in Havering, London. Source: Museum of London

22 October, 2019 - 00:40 Ed Whelan

Baffling Bronze Age Weapons Hoard Found in London

Archaeologists in England have announced the discovery of a hoard of Bronze Age weapons and tools, that are almost 3000 years old. They were found in London on a construction site. The find is very...

The Tower of London (Photocreo Bednarek /Adobe Stock). Inset: Representational image of a skeleton (tuulimaa / Adobe Stock)

21 October, 2019 - 14:01 ashley cowie

Skeletons of Woman and Child Found Beneath Tower Of London

The skeletons of a woman and child have been discovered at London’s famous 1,000-year-old royal fortress and prison, the Tower of London. But while the Tower is notorious for imprisonments, torture...

19 March, 2019 - 13:11 dhwty

Were the Chislehurst Caves Originally Created By Druids?

The Chislehurst Caves are a series of subterranean tunnels , man-made rooms, and caverns located in the southeastern part of Greater London . Although the history of the caves stretches back much...

Mudlarking on the exposed foreshore at low spring tide.

6 March, 2019 - 14:00 dhwty

Mudlarking the Thames: How a Riverbed Became the World’s Biggest Archaeological Site

A mudlark is the name given to a person who scavenges in the foreshore of a river for objects that could be sold. This term applies specifically to those operating along the Thames River in London...

The penance of Jane Shore by Robert Scott Lauder

15 December, 2018 - 18:59 dhwty

Jane Shore: The 15th Century Royal Mistress Forced to Walk London’s Streets in her Underwear

Elizabeth ‘Jane’ Shore was an Englishwoman who lived between the 15 th and 16 th centuries. She is best remembered as one the many mistresses of the English king Edward IV. As one of the king’s...

Great Fire of London in the year 1666 by William Russel Birch

8 December, 2018 - 18:56 ancient-origins

Here is What it Would Have Been Like to be Caught in the Great Fire of London

Great explosions rang out in London’s Lower Thames Street: the sound of houses, shops, warehouses and taverns being blown up, a method intended to halt the spread of the seemingly unstoppable flames...

The Medieval skeleton was found still in its boots

4 December, 2018 - 22:57 ashley cowie

Mystery Man in High Leather Boots: How Did His Medieval Skeleton End Up in London’s River Thames?

Archaeologists working at London’s 'super sewer' in Bermondsey have recovered the skeletal remains of a man, wearing high leather boots, lying face-down in the silt of the River Thames. Much about...

13 November, 2018 - 13:58 dhwty

Why Were The Shrove Tuesday Riots So Brutal?

The Shrove Tuesday Riots (known also as the Bawdy House Riots of 1668, or the Messenger Riots) were a series of brutal riots that took place in London in 1668. During the 17 th century, it was...

Dozens of skeletons found underneath Westminster Abbey lavatory block. Credit: Dan Kitwood

6 November, 2018 - 22:58 Ed Whelan

Fifty Ancient Skeletons Found Crammed Together under Westminster Abbey Toilet Block

Westminster Abbey, the traditional place of coronation and burial for English monarchs, is one of the most popular historic sites in England. During a recent excavation in the great Abbey, some fifty...

Detail of ‘The Introduction of the Cult of Cybele at Rome’ (1505-1506) by Andrea Mantegna.

25 June, 2018 - 22:45 Miranda Aldhous...

Candles in the Dark and Spice from the Orient: Mystery Cults

‘But what a small part of our dregs Is Greek! Long ago the wide Orontes of Syria poured into the Tiber And brought With its lingo and morals its flutes And harps...’ - Juvenal Rome did not sit...

5 June, 2018 - 22:39 Mark Miller

Experts explore identities of 5,000 buried in Bedlam psychiatric hospital graveyard

Officials building a huge cross-London underground railway are starting to publish the identity of some of the thousands of people buried 400 to 500 years ago in Bedlam cemetery. After researching...

Skull from Roman Dead exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands

26 May, 2018 - 14:00 ancient-origins

The Dead Tell Us of a Diverse Londinium

Rebecca Redfern / The Conversation Our knowledge about the people who lived in Roman Britain has undergone a sea change over the past decade. New research has rubbished our perception of it as a...