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It’s the pub-quiz question that no one would ever get right. Which medieval nation permitted no-blame divorce, provided a form of consumer protection, and offered illegitimate children the same inheri

After the hearth tax on fireplaces ended in 1689, the Government sought a replacement. Further driven by financial losses from coin clipping, which saw criminals shave metal from coins to melt it down

Nine-year-old future star of the silent screen Charlie Chaplin, his mother Hannah, and older half-brother Sydney entered the Lambeth workhouse, south London, in July 1898. The boys were soon transferr

School’s out: Exeter Cathedral School could shut after ...

Picture the scene: a former NHS chef ‘Clem’ Clements is celebrating his 98th birthday, sitting in his front room surrounded by his medications, an oxygen mask and a discreet tape recorder. He is recal

Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials are essential for tracing ancestors before civil registration began (1837 in England and Wales, 1855 in Scotland, and 1864 in Ireland). This month we’re on