Britain & Ireland

What was it about industrialisation that led to the emergence of a woman’s movement in Victorian Britain? Why do we see so many people fighting for so many rights and liberties in this period and what are the origins of some of the issues we still campaign on today? This section includes our major series on Social and Political Change in the UK from 1800 to the present day. There are also articles and podcasts on the often violent relationship between England and Ireland during this period and England’s changing relationship with Scotland and Wales. Read more

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  • Virtual Branch: Vagabonds versus the Mendicity Society

    Article

    Red Lion Square was long one of London's most genteel addresses, home to nobles, scholars, and professionals. But on 25 March 1818, one house on the south side opened its doors to quite another class of person, as the Mendicity Society began its business. Set up to solve the growing...

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  • Opinion: Who was ‘the man of his time’?

    Article

    In this new, occasional section of The Historian, contributors share their thoughts on matters of public historical debate. We invite our readers to respond, either by writing to the editors at thehistorian@history.org.uk or by writing their own opinion piece. Here, Lorenzo Kamel shares his thoughts on why saying ‘he was a...

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  • White City: the world’s first Olympic Stadium

    Article

    The modern Olympic Games were first held in 1896, but it was not until their fourth edition, held in London 1908, that they had a purpose-built stadium as their sporting and ceremonial heart. This article by Martin Polley explores the history of that stadium – White City. As well as...

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  • Britain and the First World War: not just battles

    Article

    When the First World War started in the summer of 1914 it began a series of events that would change the world for ever; it also accelerated changes and ideas that were already underway. In some cases, big issues appeared to be put to one side while the immediate needs of...

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  • My Favourite History Place: A Short History of Brill

    Article

    In this article Josephine Glover discusses the long history of her ‘favourite history place’, the Buckinghamshire village of Brill. She explains how there has been a human settlement there since Mesolithic times. Using various fragments of evidence, she pieces together the extent to which the village was important to early...

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  • Real Lives: Maharaja’s German: Anthony Pohlmann in India

    Article

    Our series ‘Real Lives’ seeks to put the story of the ordinary person into our great historical narrative. We are all part of the rich fabric of the communities in which we live and we are affected to greater and lesser degrees by the big events that happen on a daily...

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  • The circle of Ulster literary male friendships of author Forrest Reid

    Article

    Eminent Ulster novelist Forrest Reid was a complex character, reflecting a variety of attitudes in both his writing and his private life. In this article Michael Kelly examines how Reid and his circle of friends aimed to navigate their way through the changes of the early twentieth century, in both...

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  • The Importance of Truth, Quality and Objectivity in the BBC German Service from 1938 to 1945

    Article

    Throughout the Second World War the BBC produced and transmitted regular broadcasts in German to Germany and other European countries occupied by the Germans. In this article Hattie Simpson evaluates the style and success of the BBC German Service. The article is based on her winning entry in the senior...

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  • Writing Lilian Harrison into history

    Article

    In this article Matthew Brown and Pablo Scharagrodsky introduce us to the little-known story of Anglo-Argentinian swimmer Lilian Harrison, who in 1923 became the first person to swim the 42km from Uruguay to Argentina at the estuary of the Rio de la Plata. Her story shows how she had to battle against not only tides and...

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  • The right to fight: women’s boxing in Britain

    Article

    In this article Matthew Taylor explores the history of women’s boxing in Britain from the early eighteenth century onwards, showing how prevailing gender norms have led to this activity being marginalised by historians. It is argued that the key women boxers he discusses should be celebrated as key figures, not just in the history of sport but...

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  • Who only history know? Cricket, society, and the historical oversight of sport

    Article

    The early 2020s have seen various investigations and reports about discrimination in English cricket. As well as finding many examples of racial and gender prejudice, these investigations have unearthed a long history of social elitism in the sport. In this article, Duncan Stone explores some of the historical background to...

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  • Political and social attitudes underpinning the 1924 Olympics

    Article

    The 1924 Olympics in Paris are best known to many British people through the ‘Chariots of Fire’ film from the early 1980s. The film touches on some of the political and social attitudes prevalent in the 1920s and Steve Illingworth explores these issues further in this article. It is argued...

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  • Robert Branford: a faithful servant of Southwark

    Article

    Stephen Bourne explains how he pieced together the story of Robert Branford, the earliest known mixed-race officer in the Metropolitan Police, who faithfully served the people of Southwark in the Victorian era.

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  • My Favourite History Place: The Holburne Museum

    Article

    Jane A. Mills describes in this article how the fascination of Holburne Museum in Bath comes partly from the historical objects on display but also from the varied history of the building itself. She explains how the recent development of the museum illustrates the ongoing issue of trying to resolve...

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  • Out and About: exploring Lancaster’s ‘glocal’ history online and on foot

    Article

    The city of Lancaster has many important historical landmarks from both the medieval period and the time of the Industrial Revolution. In this article Sunita Abraham and Christopher Donaldson describe the thinking behind a guided historical tour they have devised for the city. This involves engaging with modern technology, placing Lancaster within a...

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  • Crowdsourcing the heritage of the Second World War

    Article

    Stuart Lee, Ylva Berglund Prytz and Matthew Kidd introduce an innovative project to capture objects and the memories they hold.

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  • The Legacy of the Z Special Unit in World War II

    Article

    The Spirit of Normandy Trust Essay Competition is aimed at young historians and organised by the Historical Association (as part of the annual Young Historian Awards). The 2023 winner in the Key Stage 3 (lower secondary school) category is Ayan Sinha, a pupil at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Wakefield. In this abridged...

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  • Forbidden friendships: taverns, nightclubs, bottle bars and emancipation

    Article

    The modern gay-rights movement has its origins in a 1960s New York ‘bottle bar’, but as Ben Jerrit explains, drinking establishments have been centres of gay culture and social resistance for centuries. 

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  • Real Lives: Charlie Mitchell, Tuke's top model

    Article

    Our series ‘Real Lives’ seeks to put the story of the ordinary person into our great historical narrative. We are all part of the rich fabric of the communities in which we live and we are affected to greater and lesser degrees by the big events that happen on a daily...

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  • Anti-Americanism in Britain during the Second World War

    Article

    The Second World War saw the development of significant anti-Americanism in Britain. This article locates the centre of wartime anti-Americanism in the politics of Conservative imperialists, who believed the USA was trying to deliberately dismantle the British Empire in order to fulfil its own imperial ambitions. The Second World War...

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