London

London in the 16th century map, illustration by Theresa Grieben

Trade, religion and diversity: how Tudor London became a global city

A woman teaches a child to read in a 15th century depiction. The medieval period saw women challenge the male stranglehold on intellectual life, says Ian Mortimer (Photo by Marcello Fedeli / Electa / Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

What does medieval mean? Why the Middle Ages was actually an age of transformation

Low angle view of the Westminster Abbey

General History

Why are British monarchs traditionally crowned in Westminster Abbey?

Visitors promenade alongside a lake with Surrey Zoological Gardens in the background, 1844 (Photo by Guildhall Library & Art Gallery/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Victorian zoos Animal attraction in the 19th century

The characters Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, from Charles Dickens's work 'A Christmas Carol'

Did Charles Dickens invent Christmas as we know it today?

An illustration of the Great Fire of London, c1675. St Paul's Cathedral is seen in flames (Photo by Museum of London/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

What if... The Great Fire of London never happened?

Periodic outbreaks of smog would continue for several years – this image shows a London street in late 1953. (Image by Getty Images)

The Great Smog of London: what caused the 1952 crisis?

(Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)

City of fur and feather: the animals of medieval London

An engraving of a prison hulk at Deptford, from a c1826 painting. (Photo by: Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Floating hell: the brutal history of prison hulks

A missionary preaches to the Native Americans of Massachusetts, c1650. By now, colonists were imposing their values on the indigenous population, encouraging them to dress like the English – and worship the English God. (Photo by Ian Tyas/Keystone/Getty Images)

Britain's nuclear fears How has the UK prepared for Armageddon?

A portrait of a young Queen Victoria from around the time of the first assassination attempt in 1840

What if… Queen Victoria had been assassinated?

Cast and crew filming an episode of EastEnders in 1998 (Photo by Polly Borland/Getty Images)

BBC at 100 How EastEnders saved the BBC

Reverend Spencer Parsons, head of the Chicago branch of the Clergy Consultation Service (CCS), an interfaith group dedicated to helping women obtain abortions before 'Roe v Wade'

The American clergy who helped women get abortions before Roe v Wade

Oscar Wilde with Lord Alfred Douglas in 1893

General History

From Oscar Wilde to David Irving: 9 landmark libel & defamation cases through history

An illustration depicting the Great Fire of London.

Your guide to the Great Fire of London, plus 10 surprising facts