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 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 [...]
During the fifteenth century, London’s merchants and elites supported the Yorkists in the infamous Wars of the Roses. So, in 1485, it was somewhat ‘cap in hand’ they greeted the victor of the Battle of Bosworth Field, the Lancastrian Henry Tudor - soon to become King Henry VII. Henry settled in Greenwich and embellished an [...]
Holland Park in west London is the former estate of Holland House, home to Henry Fox Lord Holland and his family from the late 1700s. Henry’s son, Charles James Fox, was a prominent Whig politician. A leading libertarian and lifelong thorn in the side to George III, he was Britain’s first foreign secretary. Today, the [...]
St Katharine Docks were opened in 1828 to provide capacity for Britain’s largest import (and second largest export after wool); tea. Arriving in tea chests from China and India it was a roaring trade, accounting for around 400,000 tea chests per year. For 140 years, these docks were central to satiating the appetite for the [...]
The National Army Museum has recently completed a curatorial overhaul of its European collection of artefacts charting ‘Conflict in Europe’ from the 1700s to the present day. Covering territorial and balance of power disputes in continental Europe, the gallery explains the Army's role in helping maintain Britain's influence in European affairs. Waterloo artefacts - including [...]