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Beware the serpent of Rome
Article
On 14 February 1868, the Carlisle Journal reported as follows: … two meetings were held in the Athenaeum in this city , “for the purpose of forming an auxiliary to co-operate with the Church Association in London, to uphold the principles and order of the United Church of England and...
Beware the serpent of Rome
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Women and the Politics of the Parish in England
Historian article
Petticoat Politicians: Women and the Politics of the Parish in England
The history of women voting in Britain is familiar to many. 2013 marked the centenary of the zenith of the militant female suffrage movement, culminating in the tragic death of Emily Wilding Davison, crushed by the King's horse at...
Women and the Politics of the Parish in England
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Four faces of nursing and the First World War
Historian article
With the centenary approaching, article after article will appear on battles, the men who fought, those who refused, those that died, those who returned and those that made the decisions. There will be articles on the home front and the women that stepped into the men's shoes often to be...
Four faces of nursing and the First World War
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Podcast Series: Origins of the European Financial Markets
Multipage Article
In this podcast Dr Anne Murphy of the University of Hertfordshire looks at the early origins of the European financial markets from the Italian Renaissance to the present day. Dr Murphy also provides a useful introduction to finance, the stock market and the bond market.
Podcast Series: Origins of the European Financial Markets
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The Knights Templars
Article
Professor Malcolm Barber explores the rise and fall of the Knights Templars.
"The master of the Temple was a good knight and stout-hearted, but he mistreated all other people as he was too overweening. He would not place any credence in the advice of the master of the Hospital, Brother...
The Knights Templars
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Why the OBE survived the Empire
Historian article
An anomaly of the British honours system is the name of the award most frequently given - the Order of the British Empire created in 1917. Each medal carries the words: ‘For God and the Empire'. When the connection between the person honoured and the church is often very tenuous...
Why the OBE survived the Empire
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Podcast Series: From the Stone Age to the Romans
Multipage Article
In this podcast Professor Richard Bradley of the University of Reading looks at Britain and Ireland from their prehistoric beginnings to the arrival of the Romans.
Podcast Series: From the Stone Age to the Romans
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Podcast Series: The Rise of an Islamic Civilisation
Early Islam
An HA Podcasted History of the Rise of an Islamic Civilisation featuring Dr Caroline Goodson of Birkbeck, University of London.
Podcast Series: The Rise of an Islamic Civilisation
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The National Insurance Act 1911: three perspectives, one policy
Historian article
Sandwiched between the Parliament Act and the Home Rule Act, the National Insurance Act 1911 is easily overlooked and often forgotten. Yet, as Gilbert has pointed out, it was critical both of itself and as the foundation for social legislation up to current times. It came into force on 15...
The National Insurance Act 1911: three perspectives, one policy
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The role of Devon's militia during the Spanish Armada crisis
Historian article
The precise role of Devon's militia during summer 1588 has, until recently, been shrouded by the recurrent tendency of historians to misinterpret the primary function of the militias in the southern maritime counties. The basic idea put forward has been that their main role during the Armada crisis was to...
The role of Devon's militia during the Spanish Armada crisis
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Who were the Nuns? English Convents in Exile 1600-1800
Public History Podcast
An HA Public History Podcast featuring Dr Andrew Foster and Dr Caroline Bowden discussing the project: Who were the Nuns? A Prosopographical study of the English Convents in exile 1600-1800.
'Who were the Nuns?' is a funded project at Queen Mary, Universty of London that has been making a comprehensive study of...
Who were the Nuns? English Convents in Exile 1600-1800
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Wellington's Soldiers in the Napoleonic Wars
Historian article
Wellington's Soldiers in the Napoleonic Wars
The war with France, which began in 1793, had moved to the Iberian Peninsula by 1808. This year is therefore the two-hundredth anniversary of the commencement of the Peninsular War campaigns. War on the Peninsula demanded huge resources of manpower in order to defeat...
Wellington's Soldiers in the Napoleonic Wars
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History's big picture in three dimensions
Historian article
More and more historians, from diverse political viewpoints, are now expressing concern at the fragmentation of history, especially in the schools curriculum. The fragmentation of the subject has followed upon the collapse of sundry Grand Narratives, such as the ‘March of Progress', which once swept all of history into a...
History's big picture in three dimensions
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The soldier in Later Medieval England
Historian article
Traditionally, the Middle Ages have been portrayed as the ‘Feudal Age', when men were given land in return for performance of unpaid military service. Whilst this may have formed the basis of the English military system in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, it was most certainly not the way armies...
The soldier in Later Medieval England
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Why did the Dome fail?
Historian article
History gives us a basis for understanding the groups which people belong to, the countries people live in and the institutions which govern them. It provides a sense of continuity and identity. However, on 31 December 1999 the Queen and Prime Minister opened an exhibition which made no reference to...
Why did the Dome fail?
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The Byzantine Empire on the Eve of the Crusades
Classic Pamphlet
This resource is a pamphlet titled ‘The Byzantine Empire on the Eve of the Crusades’ and written by R. J. H. Jenkins in 1953. As such, some of the scholarship has been updated since then, although it can provide useful historiography.
It is not strange that there should in recent...
The Byzantine Empire on the Eve of the Crusades
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The mechanical heroes of the Battle of Britain
Historian article
The Battle of Britain is often described as the point at which the Nazi threat began to diminish and cracks began to form in Hitler's regime. The air campaign launched by the Germans in the summer of 1940 intended to wipe out the existence of the British Royal Air Force...
The mechanical heroes of the Battle of Britain
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India and the British war effort, 1939-1945
Historian article
India was vital as a source of men and material for the British in the Second World War, despite the constitutional, social and economic issues which posed threats to its contribution.
Leo Amery, Secretary of State for India 1940-5, wrote to Churchill, 8 April 1941: ‘My prime care had naturally...
India and the British war effort, 1939-1945
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Oxford's Literary War: Oxford University's servicemen and the Great War
Historian article
The last two decades have seen a slow shift in the academic understanding of the impact of the Great War on interwar Britain. The work of a small group of cultural historians has challenged strongly held pre-existing interpretations of the cultural impact of the Great War. However, there is still...
Oxford's Literary War: Oxford University's servicemen and the Great War
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Bonnie Prince Charlie: The escape of the Prince in 1746
Historian article
Thirty thousand pounds was an enormous sum of money in 1746. That was the reward offered by the British government for the capture of Prince Charles. Many Highlanders knew where he was at various times and places after Culloden, but they did not betray him. As one of his helpers...
Bonnie Prince Charlie: The escape of the Prince in 1746
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The British Government's Confidential Files on the United States
Historian article
Unpublished papers in Britain's National Archives at Kew reveal curious undercurrents in Anglo-American relations. After the conclusion of the Boer War, for example, the British Army supposed that the next major conflict would be not with Germany but with the U.S. A memo printed for circulation in July 1904 entitled ‘A...
The British Government's Confidential Files on the United States
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Lord North: The Noble Lord in the Blue Ribbon
Classic Pamphlet
In the last weeks of his life Lord North, we are told, expressed anxiety about his place in history - ‘how he stood and would stand in the world'. This, he owned, ‘might be a weakness, but he could not help it'. It was a weakness one suspects that he...
Lord North: The Noble Lord in the Blue Ribbon
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The End of Colonial Rule in West Africa
Classic Pamphlet
The dissolution of colonial empires since the Second World War is a major theme of contemporary history, and one which will challenge historians for many years to come. There are still sharp disagreements as to how this change should be described. European scholars tend to use the term ‘decolonization' (at...
The End of Colonial Rule in West Africa
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Out and About: The Parish Armoury in St Mary’s Church, Mendlesham
Historian feature
In the Tudor and early Stuart period most towns and villages had a legal obligation to store arms and armour in case of a national emergency. Here Shona Rutherford-Edge tells the story of the parish armoury in the Suffolk village of Mendlesham, which was kept in the local church and from which many...
Out and About: The Parish Armoury in St Mary’s Church, Mendlesham
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Doing history: The Old Poor Law in a Regency York Parish 1795–1847
Historian feature
In this regular feature called Doing History, history enthusiasts describe a piece of research they have undertaken and how it sheds light on aspects of local and national history. Here Steve Barrett shows how his exploration of archives in York provided interesting insights into the controversial issue of poor relief, with a focus...
Doing history: The Old Poor Law in a Regency York Parish 1795–1847
