The people, places and events that have shaped our history and culture
Plaza del Rey is home to the curiously named Casa de Las Siete Chimeneas (House of the Seven Chimneys) - apparently each representing one of the seven deadly sins. Completed in 1577, it’s one Madrid’s oldest buildings, and is now home to the Ministry of Education and Culture. Plenty of lore is associated with the [...]
Weaving through central Manchester are the Irwell and Medlock rivers feeding a myriad of canals connecting to the Manchester Ship Canal and the ocean beyond - all key arteries of the city’s rich (and sometimes contentious) trading history. Manchester’s zenith was in the nineteenth century, when it became the world’s first purpose-built industrial metropolis prospering [...]
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is renowned as the 'mother of all parliaments' This post is a self-guided walk through the heart of political Westminster, taking in Parliament and associated sights. The walk starts in Smith Square, Westminster, home to party HQ's, lobbyists and political associations and ends in Trafalgar Square. It will take [...]
In 1896, Charlie Chaplin, his mother and brother presented themselves at the door of the Lambeth Workhouse in south London. Charlie’s father had left them and with no secure earnings and they were destitute. Making matters worse Charlie’s mother, Hannah, also suffered from mental problems. Over the next few years the family passed in, and [...]
The history of Hatfield House starts in 1485, when the Bishop of Ely (Cambridgeshire) constructed Hatfield Palace, today known as the Old Palace. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536-41), Hatfield Palace was acquired by King Henry VIII, passed down in sequence to his children; Edward, Mary and Elisabeth and then inherited by King James [...]