Where history happened

When completed in the early 12th century, Durham Cathedral was "absolutely up-to-the-minute in its design and near-perfect in its execution," says Marc Morris. (Jim Gibson via Getty Images)

Where history happened: Norman churches.

One of the two 19th-century bronze sphinxes sited next to Cleopatra's Needle, London's oldest monument. (Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

Where history happened: Egypt in Britain.

Ye olde travel guide: Florence 1380.

"Although the circus as we know it has its roots in the 18th century, the history of its three basic forms (clowning, equestrianism and animals) goes back much further," says Vanessa Toulmin. (Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Where history happened: the circus in Britain.

Image by Jonty Clark.

Ye olde travel guide: Calcutta 1905.

A portrait of Jane Austen. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Where history happened: Jane Austen.

Ye olde travel guide: Aksum AD 537.

Effigy of Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Canterbury, Kent, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Where history happened: the cult of Thomas Becket.

The LibraryYe olde travel guide: Hong Kong 1842.

Ye olde travel guide: Philadelphia 1774.

Ye olde travel guide: Moscow 1937.

Hampton Court Palace

The LibraryWhere history happened: a history of disability.

Illustration by Jonty Clark.

Ye olde travel guide: Dublin AD 1000.

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Sydney 1848.

A British waitress serves American servicemen inside Rainbow Corner, Piccadilly, January 1945. (Getty Images)

Where history happened: life on the home front.

An illustration titled ‘The petition for abolishing the slave trade’, from Amelia Opie’s ’The Black Man's Lament; or How to Make Sugar’, London, 1826. “Come, listen to my plaintive ditty,/Ye tender hearts, and children dear!/And, should it move your souls to pity,/Oh! try to end the griefs you hear.” (Photo by Photo 12/UIG via Getty Images)

9 key places connected to the abolition of the British slave trade.

A Victorian drawing room with pictures in heavy frames and ornately covered furniture, c1860. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Where history happened: Victorian collectors.

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Bruges 1386.

An illustration depicting medieval pilgrims. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The LibraryMedieval tourism: pilgrimages and tourist destinations.

The Fire of Rome, by Hubert Robert (1733-1808). "It was the worst possible place for a fire to break out, and fear turned into outright panic," says Dominic Sandbrook. Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The LibraryA big day in history: the Great Fire of Rome

A 19th-century woodblock print of Edo, now known as Tokyo. (GraphixaArtis/Getty Images)

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Edo 1850.

The replica of 'The Matthew' arriving at Douarnenez, France in 1998. It was on the original 15th-century vessel that John Cabot travelled to North America. (Getty Images)

Where history happened: Tudor smuggling.

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Meknes 1681.

Durham Cathedral on a sunny day. Taken near to the water of the River Wear. (Dreamstime)

Where history happened: pilgrimage.

A cartoon depiction of mythical Luddite leader Ned Ludd. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Where history happened: Luddites.

A contemporary view of the river Seine and Notre-Dame de Paris. (Getty Images)

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Paris 1802.

A view towards the Carew estuary between a dry stone wall and the ruins of Carew Castle, Pembrokeshire, UK. (Dreamstime)

Where history happened: Tudor courtiers with Suzannah Lipscomb.

Vintage map of the Bahamas. (Library of Congress)

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Bahamas 1718.

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Corfu 1864.

The LibraryYe Olde Travel Guide: Mainz 1455.