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Stuart

A c15th-century vellum shows the Squire from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. For Adam Nicolson, the essence of the gentry was “government-through-networking”. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Stories of the gentry.

A postboy drives a mail coach in a contemporary illustration. Soon after their introduction in 1784, coaches were traversing the country at speeds of up to 10mph. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Red Letter Days: 10 milestones in the history of the Post Office.

The Tower of London. More than 30 inmates successfully broke out of the royal fortress between the 12th and 18th centuries. (Photo by Tetra Images/Getty Images)

How to escape from the Tower of London.

A second petition of 800,000 signatures, protesting against the abolition of the basic petrol ration, being presented to the House of Commons, 10 December 1947. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

E-petitions: in the name of the people?

Captain Kidd

The sacrifice of Captain Kidd.

A woodcut showing Prince Rupert of the Rhine's pet poodle Boy being killed at the battle of Marston Moor

The prince and the devil dog: the strange story of Prince Rupert's poodle 'Boy'.

The A to Z of royal weddings with Tracy Borman.

The ruined site of Clonmacnoise in County Offaly, Ireland. (Getty Images)

Where history happened: the Wars of the Three Kingdoms part 2.

The making of the King James Bible.

The site of the battle of Naseby, which saw parliament's New Model Army win its first major battle against the royalists in June 1645. (Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Where history happened: the Wars of the Three Kingdoms part 1.

8 reasons to visit historic Chelsea

What was the significance of the battle of Wigan Lane?

Visit historic Lichfield

The Royal Stuarts: A History of the Family that Shaped Britain

Paper talk: a newspaper's take on the Restoration.

A portrait of Charles II wearing the robes of the Order of the Garter. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Charles II: the people’s prince.

The procession of Charles II between the Tower of London and Westminster on the eve of his coronation. Painting by the Dutch painter and etcher Dirk Stoop (c1610-c1685). (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Where history happened: The Restoration.

The Restoration plus Britain's relationship with chocolate.

Cromwell's words, Richard's crusades and the 1930s.

A portrait of Oliver Cromwell

Putting words into Cromwell’s mouth.

An illustration of the compound microscope used by British inventor and microbiologist Robert Hooke

An experimental society.

Banqueting House, London, where Charles I was executed on 30 January 1649. (Photo by Angelo Hornak/Corbis via Getty Images)

9 places associated with Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot.

Martyrs and Murderers: the Guise Family and the Making of Europe

9 reasons to visit Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

The LibraryBermuda in the British Empire and Medieval brutality.

The gardens of the Ursuline Convent, Quebec, Canada

Esther Wheelwright: from survivor to mother superior.

An aerial view of Wilton House

Going Dutch: the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

William of Orange landing with his army at Torbay, Devon, 5 November 1688. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

A not so bloodless revolution.