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
Henry VIII's main objective was to prevent enemy troops of the European Catholic powers from getting ashore at the Downs, Kent. And to achieve that aim he built a series of heavily armed artillery castles along the Kent Coast. Deal Castle is the most elaborate of these remaining today - sixty cannon (with a range [...]
Richborough Roman Fort near Sandwich, Kent, England. Breathtaking site that marks the spot where the invading Roman forces first landed in AD 43 - and their final stronghold before leaving Britain in the early 5th century. Richborough once hosted a deep-water port, long since silted up, making it an ideal point of disembarkation for the [...]
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). [...]
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 [...]
In July 1870, Joseph Bazalgette’s Victoria Embankment was opened by the Prince of Wales. Reclaiming 37 acres of the Thames river and foreshore it provided space for new underground railways and a sewer system (also designed by Bazalgette). At ground level, landscaped gardens and statues of leading figures were laid out for the enjoyment and [...]