Essential History | The people, places and events that have shaped our history and culture
The people, places and events that have shaped our history and culture
The beginnings The British transatlantic slave trade operated in a organised way for approximately 150 years - from 1660, until its abolition by an act of Parliament in 1807. During that period the British transported around 2.6 million natives of Africa across the Atlantic; to sell to plantation owners in the Caribbean and southern parts [...]
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 [...]
Lincoln’s Inn Fields is named after the former recreation ground for lawyers learning and practising their profession at the adjacent Lincoln’s Inn - one of London's four Inns of Court still operating today. Originally, two separate fields, it was home to public executions before becoming a training ground for parliamentarian troops during the English Civil [...]
Somerset House has an illustrious past. The site was once the home of Lord Protector Somerset then Tudor and Stuart queens of the realm before becoming the first home of the Royal Academy (1771-1836), the Royal Society (1780-1857), a London headquarters of the Royal Navy - and then a government tax and records office (1789-1985). [...]
Gateway to the first capital city of England, Colchester, the ‘old gate’ has seen more than its fair share of British history. It’s the route taken by the Barons (laying seize to the Tower before Magna Carta was agreed in 1215), home to Geoffrey Chaucer for ten years from 1374 and the gate through which [...]