The English Reformation in the national Church affected the lives of ordinary people throughout the country more than it did Henry V111’s way of life. He remained the ruler, and got his own way. In villages and some towns people … Read More
Have you ever been told that many villages were deserted in the Medieval period due to the Black Death? Have you read that there are about 3000 deserted villages in England? The story is a little more complex –and involves … Read More
Conrad of Montferrat, King of Jerusalem, was stabbed to death in broad daylight on 28th April, 1192. He was king of the crusader kingdom by marriage, and had been unanimously elected on 20th April, 1192. Conrad was a respected warrior … Read More
“Long Shadows” were the effects of debilitating injuries and what was worse, amputations, suffered by men who had fought in World War 1. The cheerful approach of ‘Home by Christmas’ was drowned within a year in Flanders mud, or at … Read More
Were people 300 years ago like us in many ways? Look at this picture of a Coffee House, new and very popular in Queen Anne’s reign. Discussion ranged from trivial gossip to arguing for or against having the Tories or … Read More
Beverley. and East Yorkshire took part in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. Surely not! We saw pictures of rebels from Kent and Essex following Wat Tyler into London. The people of 1381 is an innovative research project developed from several … Read More
The Second World War impacted on all aspects of children’s lives, from their home life and education to the games they played. Later in the post-war period new ideas emerged in medicine and psychology about child development and family life … Read More
Lasting memories of the American Civil War (1861-65) challenge the view that ’History is written by the victors’. War leaders’ statues, in both the South (the Confederacy) and the North, were revered as those showing the righteousness of their particular … Read More
The Eurovision Song Contest catches headline news. In the early days when families sat round their relatively new TV set it was a one night programme from a concert hall. Seven countries competed in the first contest in 1956. By … Read More
Coppergate excavations at York were drawing visitors by 1980. This was an enormous site. Interest in Roman York and the medieval Minster were no longer the main places to visit. When the Jorvik Viking Centre opened in 1984 the evidence … Read More
