A nun’s love letter, 1878

Dear Simon, I have only just got around to reading your June issue with its piece by Cardinal Cox about the relatively modern origins of some supposedly old customs. He refers to Lady Raglan and the G

The former historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland became Cumbria in 1974, at the same time taking bites out of West Riding of Yorkshire and Lancashire. Today the county’s archive service, Cum

Thanks again for publishing the story of my rabble-rousing ‘Family Hero’, Maria Carr, in your February 2021 issue. As was mentioned in Gail Dixon’s article, a banner to commemorate the people and even

KATHERINE COBB is a member of AGRA based in Somerset REBECCA PROBERT is professor of law at the University of Exeter STEVE THOMAS is a genealogist with over 20 years’ experience PHIL TOMASELLI is a mi

This World Mental Health Day (10 October), take a moment to reflect on the experiences of our ancestors who were mentally ill. How were they looked after, and where? Before the mid-18th century, the U

The Society of Writers to His Majesty’s Signet, better known as the WS Society, is an incorporated body of Scottish solicitors that was founded in 1594. The society owns the neoclassical Signet Librar