Reviews
Warwick Castle has a fascinating history. The original wooden motte-and-bailey castle was built in 1068 by William the Conqueror on the site of a defensive Anglo-Saxon settlement established by Alfred the Great's warrior daughter, Æthelflæd…
Built in 1510 and launched the following year, the Mary Rose was one of Henry VIII’s new warships, and the largest in the fleet. Designed purely for battle, she saw action during the next 30 years, but sank quickly during the Battle of the Solent in…
Mary Beard has set herself a huge task in writing SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. Her aims are to cover Rome's first thousand years, from 'a tiny and very unremarkable little village' to an empire that ruled from Britain to Egypt. In…
First opened to the public in 1759, the British Museum houses one of the world's most extensive collections on the history of human culture. Every part of the world is covered in this immense building, designed in classical Greek style, and…
On 18th December 2015, the Natural History Museum opened a new permanent gallery on human evolution. It features the known history of human, and close ancestor, evolution, from chimpanzees to Cheddar Man. Exhibits include replica, cast and actual…
Kents Cavern is an important prehistoric cave system, notable for both its archaeology and its geology. The cave system was formed by water in the early Pleistocene, and shows many of the usual geological features of a calcium-rich area. The oldest…
Work began on Powderham Castle by the Courtenay family in 1391, on land that had been in the family (on the mother, Margaret de Bohun’s, side) since at least the Domesday Book. The senior branch of the Courtenay family were the Earls of Devon,…
Dartmoor prison, in one of the most inaccessible parts of southern England, was initially built to house prisoners of war during the Napoleonic Wars. It then held American prisoners from the 1812 War, before closing in 1816. It wasn’t until…
Berry Pomeroy Castle is a late medieval castle owned and managed by English Heritage. Its original walls were built in the late 15th century as one of the last traditional personal castles, and it was occupied until falling out of use in the 17th…
So much history, and so much to fascinate, has centred on the Tower of London. Built by William the Conqueror just outside the City of London, the Tower was both royal home and fortress. It has played host, and prison (and sometimes both) to some of…
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