During archaeological works beneath the floor of Bath Abbey between 2018 and 2020 (see CA 348), Wessex Archaeology recovered a stunning piece of an 18th-century bas relief marble sculpture. It was one of approximately 4,000 fragments removed from the Abbey’s…
The London Gasketeers (the name alludes, one assumes, to the swashbuckling heroes of the Alexander Dumas novel) are a newly created group set up to campaign for Britain’s historic gas lamps. Founded in January 2022, the Gasketeers operate by using…
This is a rare find – at least within Britain – that was recently discovered by archaeologists from Pre-Construct Archaeology at Bermondsey Square in Bermondsey, London. It is a stoneware lion figurine, probably Chinese in origin, but was found in…
It is believed these were used to house and maintain trains on the Manchester & Huddersfield Railway
The project involved extensive remedial conservation work to secure the rare, 17th-century painted ceilings for future generations.
Timothy Power and Mark Horton present some of the latest discoveries made during recent excavations at the Old Fort of Stone Town, Zanzibar.
REVIEW BY DAVID FLINTHAM At the outbreak of the English Civil War, Parliament organised much of its fighting strength geographically; in the case of East Anglia (eventually including Huntingdonshire and Lincolnshire) this was the Eastern Association, which would become arguably…
REVIEW BY DAVID PORTER This is a hefty (913 pages!) study, which is not restricted to ‘modern’ Germany but extends to cover the military history of Switzerland and the Holy Roman/Austrian/Austro-Hungarian empires. (The author makes the point that national identity…
After years of unrest and escalating violence, the Irish Free State came into being on 6 December 1922. To mark its centenary, Patrick Mercer looks at the grisly events that led to its creation.
Non-conformist chapels and meeting houses have greatly enriched our townscapes, though we have been slow to recognise their merits. Indeed, the late Princess Margaret, when opening the Keele office of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of…
These days in Britain, we like to think of public executions as belonging to a distant and more barbaric age – one far removed from the modern world in which we now live. It is sobering, therefore, to reflect that…
A new exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands provides poignant and powerful insights into the seven centuries when London hosted more public executions that anywhere else in Britain. Carly Hilts reports.
Children can enjoy posing for a portrait in the Long Gallery and dressing up in the candelit Saloon, before curling up with a book in the Library.
Fragments of ceramic vessels, cooking utensils, and bones of pigs and oxen with cut marks have also been found, offering a glimpse of the feasting that went on.
The dates listed below may have changed since we went to print. Check the websites of the museums for the most up-to-date information and bookings.
I was reminded of his contempt for journalism during the summer, when the BBC and scores of newspapers that consider themselves serious reported that the drought was so severe that the source of the River Thames had dried up.
What is it about Ministry of Works signage that motivates so many people to share images via social media? Partly it is just the fact of their survival, as reminders of a simpler age of heritage tourism before the era…
Leading historians and marine archaeologists will deliver talks on the history of Henry VIII's warship as part of a commemoration programme hosted by the Mary Rose Trust
The garden was gifted to the National Trust in 1962, and now welcomes more than 85,000 visitors every year.
According to Slavic folklore, sharp instruments such as sickles could be used to decapitate the deceased should it try to leave its grave.
‘This clear evidence for the survival of Culloden Parks shows us that the story of the Battle of Culloden is still unfolding'
As far back as the Middle Ages, private ship captains were authorised by governments to harry enemy merchant shipping. Their ships, and their operators, came to be called ‘privateers’. The letters of marque and reprisal that gave privateering ship captains…
Local volunteers and over 200 schoolchildren assisted in excavating an area once home to scientific instruments designed to track variations in the Earth’s magnetic field.
The Museum of London will close its doors on 4 December, ahead of its planned relocation to larger premises in West Smithfield’s historic General Market. What will the new museum look like, and what is planned at the original site during its final few months? Carly Hilts reports.
There is a fantastic selection of historical and archaeological events on offer over the coming months, ranging from exhibitions exploring medieval armour and 19th-century anatomical study to local society conferences and symposiums. There are also still many different ways to get involved in history and heritage at home, with virtual tours of historical sites, podcasts, games, apps, and much more. Amy Brunskill has put together a summary of some of the options available.
Review by Duncan W Wright. The fens of eastern England are usually characterised as unremittingly flat, with big skies but little topographical variation. This (frankly lazy) assumption fails to account for the subtle differences in geology and height above sea…
When HMS Northumberland sank off the Kent coast in 1703, the wreck remained lost for almost three centuries – until erosion of the sandbank shielding its remains brought the ship to light once more. Daniel Pascoe told Carly Hilts how archaeologists are now racing against time and tide to record as much of the site as possible before it deteriorates.
The new house was erected by a team of skilled craftspeople using traditional materials, tools, and building techniques.
A round-up of some of the latest news from the realm of archaeology in the UK.
This is a copper-alloy strap fitting in the shape of a jester’s head. It was recently found by a metal-detectorist near Warrington in Cheshire. Although the exact date is uncertain, the late Geoff Egan, in his assessment of a similar…
At the moment, only 23 historic green spaces are protected in the county.
Two recent discoveries in very different sites in England are offering close connections to unknown workers of the 19th and 20th centuries. In Sir John Soane’s Museum, in London, restoration work is underway in the architect’s drawing office. While working…
Founded in 2019, the Chelsea History Festival aims to ‘entertain, educate and inspire through local, national and global history’.
With the 40th anniversary of the raising of the wrecked Tudor flagship Mary Rose approaching this autumn, the Portsmouth-based museum dedicated to the vessel is trialling immersive new approaches to illuminating its archaeology. Carly Hilts visited to find out more.
Review by William D Shannon. O ’Cionnaith, himself a land surveyor, presents a vivid account of how Ireland became one of the most-mapped countries in the world, following the Cromwellian and Williamite land redistributions, which led to the Down Survey…
Leather shoes, clay pipes, a metal button, and an enigmatic clay bowl are among the items that the club found in the newly discovered mine.