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Out and About: the central Marches of Wales and the Mortimer family of Wigmore
Historian feature
Paul Dryburgh and Philip Hume enable us to see the interaction of one prominent family with the area that they dominated.
The central Marches span the English/Welsh border in an area that encompasses the picturesque landscapes and market towns of north-west Herefordshire, south-west Shropshire, and Radnorshire which has also the rugged...
Out and About: the central Marches of Wales and the Mortimer family of Wigmore
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One of my favourite history places: the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Primary History feature
This certainly represents one of the more unusual in the ‘My favourite place’ series: a hospital for the mentally ill for the poorer sections of society. Buildings such as this, however, were often imposing structures with fine architecture and an important history. With a growing recognition of the importance of...
One of my favourite history places: the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum
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My great-grandfather and the Italian Campaign
Historian article
This remarkable item by a student at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Wakefield was the winning Young Historian entry in the Key Stage 3 Spirit of Normandy Trust category in 2022.
I’ve always known my great-grandfather fought in the Second World War, but never like this. When he left the army, he never...
My great-grandfather and the Italian Campaign
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Real Lives: Surviving the War in the Soviet Union: recollections of a child deportee
Historian feature
This 'Real Lives' piece is based on a series of interviews Annette Ormanczyk carried out in 2019 with Mrs Irena Persak, who was deported as a five-year-old child with her family in February 1940. As well as offering a fascinating personal account of life in the Soviet Union during the Second...
Real Lives: Surviving the War in the Soviet Union: recollections of a child deportee
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My Favourite History Place: The Chantry Chapel of St Mary on Wakefield Bridge
Historian feature
Wakefield Bridge Chapel, by the River Calder, is thought by many to be the finest of four bridge chantries, the others being Bradford-on-Avon, Derby and Rotherham. The chapel at Wakefield was originally founded and endowed by the people of Wakefield and district between 1342 and 1359.
In 1397 Edmund de Langley,...
My Favourite History Place: The Chantry Chapel of St Mary on Wakefield Bridge
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‘One big cake’: substantive knowledge of the mid-Tudor crisis in Year 7 students’ writing
Teaching History article
While looking to revamp his department’s Year 7 enquiry on the Tudors, Jack Mills turned to historiographical debates regarding the ‘mid-Tudor crisis’ to inform his curricular decision making. In doing so, Mills noted that the debate hinged on interpretations of substantive concepts such as ‘crisis’. He therefore also drew on previous...
‘One big cake’: substantive knowledge of the mid-Tudor crisis in Year 7 students’ writing
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Knowledge and the Draft NC
Teaching History article
Silk purse from a sow's ear? Why knowledge matters and why the draft History NC will not improve it
Katie Hall and Christine Counsell attempt to construct a Key Stage 3 scheme of work out of the draft National Curriculum for history that was released for consultation in England in...
Knowledge and the Draft NC
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Teaching the British Empire in primary history
Primary History article
The height of the BBC Proms season is its last night in the Royal Albert Hall. It features traditional patriotic songs such as Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory. Cheerful crowds wave union flags as the magnificent music of Elgar and others swells to a crescendo. Contrast this...
Teaching the British Empire in primary history
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Exploring the spices of the east: how curry got to our table
Primary History article
Every migrant to our shores brings with them the flavours and dishes of home, every trader searches for exotic and exciting new taste sensations. Britain’s culinary history has been shaped by migration, trade and empire.
How curry, exploration and empire building are linked
At the end of the Tudor period...
Exploring the spices of the east: how curry got to our table
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Developing a big picture of the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings
Primary History article
‘I have got to stop Mrs Jackson’s family arguing’: These were the words of a Year 3 pupil to her headteacher in reply to a simple question about what she was learning in history. What this pupil was doing was getting ‘a big picture’ of the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings and...
Developing a big picture of the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings
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Potential and pitfalls in teaching 'big pictures' of the past
Teaching History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Jonathan Howson summarises findings from the recent ESRC funded research project - Usable Historical Pasts - and suggests how its insights might inform continuing professional debate and enquiry concerning both frameworks and ‘big pictures'.
In...
Potential and pitfalls in teaching 'big pictures' of the past
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Ten texts for the Platinum Jubilee
Primary History article
With the Platinum Jubilee approaching later this year and celebrations planned for June 2022, here is a round-up of ten fiction and non-fiction books which will help you plan and find resources for your school celebrations...
Ten texts for the Platinum Jubilee
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My Favourite History Place: the Berlin Wall
Historian feature
Military history enthusiast David Wilson writes about why the Berlin Wall is still such an important symbol and reminder.
I first visited Berlin in the mid 1980s when I was stationed in Germany as part of the British Army. It was an interesting place to go because until then the Cold...
My Favourite History Place: the Berlin Wall
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The Wolfson Prize for History at 50
Historian article
It is not just HM The Queen that is having a significant anniversary this year. Other events also reached significant milestones. In this article we trace the important breadth of the Wolfson Prize For History.
Recent announcements seem to indicate that book prizes are being cut or stopped in many...
The Wolfson Prize for History at 50
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The throne and the fairy tellers
Historian article
Fairy tale princesses and mysterious castles are just part of the way that historically story tellers have been connected to royalty. In this article some of the most famous story tellers are discussed with their royal patronage and experiences.
Hans Christian Andersen couldn’t believe his luck. In 1854, he was...
The throne and the fairy tellers
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Move Me On 181: navigating the challenges of learning to teach history with visual impairment
Teaching History feature
Fiona Tait, a trainee with visual impairment, was unsure how she would navigate the challenges of learning to teach history...
This feature of Teaching History is designed to build critical, informed debate about the character of teacher training, teacher education and professional development. It is also designed to offer practical help to all involved in training new history teachers. Each issue presents a...
Move Me On 181: navigating the challenges of learning to teach history with visual impairment
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‘What is history?’ Africa and the excitement of sources with Year 7
Teaching History article
Many history departments choose to begin their Year 7 curriculum with an introduction to the nature of history and the processes in which historians engage as they develop, refine and substantiate claims about the past. In this article, Adbul Mohamud and Robin Whitburn report on an such an introductory unit, designed with a specific focus on the history...
‘What is history?’ Africa and the excitement of sources with Year 7
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Exploring the past through active enquiry
Primary History article
Story and enquiry – that’s what I think of when considering history. The stories of events and people pull you into the past and stories generate a curiosity that encourages exploration. ‘Finding out’ is central to what we do in history. Our early-years classrooms must provide vibrant and challenging environments...
Exploring the past through active enquiry
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Creating the 'creative history' website
Primary History article
Editorial note: The role of ICT in the Digital Age is a major, perhaps even, the major factor, in enhancing creativity in the learning and teaching of history. This paper illuminates another dimension of ICT in the Digital Age and creativity. It shows how a teacher's creativity has produced a...
Creating the 'creative history' website
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England Arise! The General Election of 1945
Historian article
‘The past week will live in history for two things’, announced the Sunday Times of 29 July 1945, ‘first the return of a Labour majority to Parliament and the end of Churchill's great war Premiership.’ Most other newspapers concurred. The Daily Mirror, of 27 July, proclaimed that the 1945 general election...
England Arise! The General Election of 1945
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Bringing an archaeologist into the classroom
Primary History article
The past as represented in school history textbooks and websites is adapted to meet the needs of primary-aged children, but the knowledge on which this depends derives from detailed academic research. Engaging children with historians and archaeologists can show them how we learn about and construct our understanding of history...
Bringing an archaeologist into the classroom
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All the fun of the fair! Key Stage 1 – Beyond living memory
Primary History article
Alf Wilkinson outlines three activities looking at fairs past and present.
We all enjoy a visit to the fair, don’t we? There’s always a bit of a buzz when the fair comes to town. In my village it arrives just in time for Feast Weekend, in the summer holidays. The rides...
All the fun of the fair! Key Stage 1 – Beyond living memory
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Anniversaries: The Coventry Blitz and the Grave of the Unknown Soldier
Primary History article
This Autumn we remember two events related to the impact of war and how people have reacted to them. The first anniversary remembers the Nazi devastation of Coventry 80 years ago on 14 November 1940 and the second event relates to the body of the ‘Unknown warrior’ who was laid...
Anniversaries: The Coventry Blitz and the Grave of the Unknown Soldier
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Move Me On 167: Frames of reference
Teaching History feature
This feature is designed to build critical, informed debate about the character of teacher training, teacher education and professional development.
This issue’s problem: Eleanor Franks doesn’t really understand her students’ frames of reference and the difficulties that many of them have in making sense of the particular historical phenomena she is teaching them about.
Eleanor Franks,...
Move Me On 167: Frames of reference
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Historical reasoning in the classroom
Teaching History article
Historical reasoning in the classroom: What does it look like and how can we enhance it?
The history education community has long recognised that historical thinking depends on the interplay between substantive knowledge about the past and the procedural, or second-order, concepts that historians use to construct, shape and give...
Historical reasoning in the classroom