Five things you (probably) didn’t know about… victorian britain

Life in the Victorian slums was balanced on a knife-edge; one late rent payment or missed meal could have fatal results. Born against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution, urban areas swelled wit

Although we may imagine the bathing practices of our ancestors to be few and far between, in fact there exists a longstanding love story between bathing and the British Isles. This tale begins with th

As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the modern railway, Emily Scaife explores the enduring bond between trains, rail lines and our great British countryside

A pub might seem a strange place to begin a history of Britain’s playgrounds. Yet in June 1858, Charles Dickens delivered a speech at the London Tavern in Bishopsgate Street that, he hoped, would tran

How The Pickwick Papers revolutionized Victorian publishing

All aboard as JD Savage takes the fast track through 200 years of train travel.