Culture UK

Marking the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas and dating back to the fifteenth century, Plough Monday, the first Monday after Epiphany, was observed by farming communities up and down the country, celebrating the beginning of the agricultural year with dance, music and decorated ploughs…

Invented by Henry Cole, who sought a way to avoid writing endless Christmas letters to friends and family, the Christmas card has become an integral part of our festive celebrations.

Today we associate carols with the school nativity play or in church: shopping malls echo to the sound of Christmas songs rather than traditional carols. Often thought of as a purely Victorian tradition, the history of carols goes back much further in time…

Imagine an older woman, living alone but surrounded by pets and immersed in nature, behaving in ways seen as strange to others. In medieval times she might have been called a witch but nowadays, we would say she was just quirky. Possibly though, with the right knowledge we would see she was likely neurodiverse…

Writer, political philosopher and advocate of women’s rights, Mary Wollstonecraft’s experiences in Britain and Revolutionary France inspired much of her work. Her personal life however was complicated and full of heartache…

Henry VIII is famous for his six wives. But do we know what they looked like? The actual likeness of Catherine Howard, wife number 5, is elusive…

Christopher ‘Kit’ Marlowe. Iconic poet and playwright. Heretic, hedonist, and likely a spy for Queen Elizabeth I. His death – stabbed in a bar brawl, allegedly over a bill, aged just 29 – is still viewed with suspicion today. Was it actually an assassination?

Who are the British? What are the common traits that they share? The Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics gave the world an insight into Britain and the British character. The spectacle was a wonderful journey through British history, literature and music – and was, like the British, decidely eccentric…