Coin dates back to between 1470 and 1560 and was found near Oxburgh Hall The token could be spent at the Abbey in Bury St Edmunds or on food By Harry Howard, History Correspondent Published: 13:42 GMT, 18 December 2023 | Updated: 13:49 GMT, 18 December 2023 A 600-year-old token that was given to the … Read more
This was clearly no ordinary cup of tea. The liquid flowing from the china teapot was cough-medicine pink and gushed around the large block of ice in my teacup, reminiscent of a tea chest. Although one of the ingredients was mountain berry tea, it had been infused in Bombay Sapphire gin for two days, given … Read more
The savage murder of James Bulger in 1993 by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson was a crime that horrified the nation and left the two-year-old’s family utterly broken. In February 1993, the toddler was snatched from his mother at New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, Merseyside, after she took her eyes off him for a … Read more
A 400-year-old precursor to a car wash and a radar station from the Second World War are among buildings that have been given listed status in the past 12 months. The structures feature on Historic England’s annual National Heritage List, which is released today. Also on the list is a church in Fleetwood, Lancashire, that … Read more
A ‘Doomsday wreck’ packed with enough explosives to unleash a tidal wave in the Thames is deteriorating faster than feared and part of it must be removed urgently. The SS Richard Montgomery sank in the Thames Estuary in August 1944, coming to rest at a depth of 49ft with 1,400 tons of explosives still in … Read more
Through her wholesome tales of adventure and joy, Enid Blyton was the queen of children’s literature. Having penned series including Noddy, the Famous Five and Malory Towers, the English author was outwardly an unimpeachable national treasure. But, as highlighted in a new book, there was enough excitement, intrigue and scandal in her private life to … Read more
Three metal detectorists struck lucky when they unearthed a hoard of silver coins from one of the most famous years in English history. The 181 penny coins were all minted in 1066 and bore the image of King Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon monarch who was killed at the Battle of Hastings by an arrow … Read more
For someone of Shane MacGowan’s background, falling into the hell-raising punk scene might have seemed to some like a terrible misuse of a gilded early start in life. This was a boy who was born in leafy Tunbridge Wells, someone who’s voracious appetite for books beyond his age was noted early on. But then, somehow, … Read more
Intrigued by tales of Quasimodo, fascinated by the gargoyles, or on a pilgrimage to see the Crown of Thorns said to have rested on Jesus’ head on the Cross, more than 13 million people each year flock to see Europe’s most popular historic monument. The 12th century Catholic cathedral is a masterpiece of French Gothic … Read more
A museum has claimed black women were more likely to die of the plague in medieval London because of ‘premodern structural racism’. The new study, which fails to put an estimate on how many black people were living in the capital during the period, examined the remains of just 145 individuals – from the time … Read more