Dockers unloading wine barrels

Social history

A black and white photograph of a man and a woman close together. The man has his arms around the woman and they are both in stage dress: her in a long dress and him with a ruff and feathered hat

Keep calm and carry on singing: why Britons fell in love with opera during World War Two. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A large drawing showing multiple different sea creatures in a light blue ocean

From krakens to serpents: 5 fearsome sea monsters from history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A sketch showing a woman surrounded by men. One man is putting a hood over her head and another is reading from a book next to her

These are four of the most brutal Victorian murders. Were women really the perpetrators?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Live locally, live sustainably. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration shows two old bearded men, one in red shorts and a red Santa hat and the other in green shorts and a wreath headband in a boxing ring

Father Christmas v Santa Claus: the centuries-long battle for Britain's chimneys. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An engraving showing a young woman in a pale blue dress, wearing a frilly bonnet on her head

Sex, slavery and royal scandal: how Jane Austen's novels exposed a darker side of Georgian Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white photograph of a plane with Japanese characters written on its side

He shot down 3 planes in 4 minutes: meet the WW2 pilot you won't have heard about. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Who was the REAL Santa?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

We often refer to countries as 'female' – so why has history excluded women from nation-building?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting of a man with a snake like body, all piled on top of each other, with a sad face and long black hair, plus red wings

The US 'voodoo' scare: why 19th-century racists spread fake news about Haiti. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A large illustration of Henry VIII with several images imprinted on him

Porpoise for breakfast and late night sex visits: Henry VIII's life in a day. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A poster showing a black and white photo of Hitler with a young blond boy in the foreground

Hitler's war on words: how the Nazis used art to bolster their murderous regime. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Christmas history myths DEBUNKED | The origins you never knew. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A marble bust of a man

Julius Caesar's hellraising youth: did he really defy tyrants and crucify pirates?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A pink flower with various contraptions in the background

From goat eyelids to bread: history's 12 strangest sex toys. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Painting of the first Thanksgiving

Think you know everything about the history of Thanksgiving? Here’s 21 facts that will prove you wrong

A depiction of Roman communal toilets

Tales of the toilet: a historical A–Z. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting of a ship with several white sails and flags on it. In front of the ship, there are large crowds of people in small boats

Not 1066 again! Should we ditch our obsession with dates?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration showing a samurai soldier dressed in a black and blue robe. Behind him is a person holding up a bar with two buckets of poo hanging from it.

Let’s think before we flush, with Dr Christopher Harding. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A red and black illustration showing a large wolf jumping up, above a man laying on the floor. Around the central wolf, there are several others

Spectral beasts and hounds of hell: a spooky history of Britain's ghost dogs. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white photograph showing a young boy playing with two girls in the sand

"Imagine starting a life with so little": the stories of South Asians in Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Two pictures of women, one modern day one looking at the camera, the other Victorian facing towards the right sit in circular frames against an orange background

My history hero: Rain Newton-Smith chooses Helen Keller (1880-1968). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A selection of illustrations of medical procedures, including childbirth and someone vomiting, around a circular chart that depicts flasks of different coloured urine

Marvellous medieval medicine: why their curious cures were better than you think. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The REAL history behind 'All Creatures Great and Small'. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Frances Forsyte (Tuppence Middleton) and Jolyon Forsyte Jr (Danny Griffin) of new drama The Forsytes, against a backdrop of 19th-century stockbrokers in London. (Images by Getty Images/Mammoth Productions/Masterpiece)

The real history behind The Forsytes

A landscape image shows a grey and orange stone wall in a semi-circle shape, overlooking a large hill range and a blue sky. On either side of it there are trees

Kavita Puri's hidden histories: the enduring appeal of archaeological sites. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 7Tudor love and sex: inside the 16th-century bedroom. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 4Tudor childhood: what were children's lives like in the 16th century?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 6Keeping clean in the 16th-century: how often did ordinary Tudors wash?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 5What did ordinary Tudors eat?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.