BBC History UK
Beyond the mirage
All serious scholarship on ancient Sparta has to be conducted within the penumbra of the 'mirage Spartiate', a French term coined in 1933 to describe the problem posed by idealised accounts of Sparta.
1 min |
December 2025
BBC History UK
The rightful king
I enjoyed reading the interesting article by Caitlin Ellis on the rivals for the throne in 1066 (October). In particular, it was fascinating to read about Edgar Ætheling's claim, which was surely the strongest, based on pure bloodline.
4 min |
December 2025
BBC History UK
Just how many Bayeux Tapestries were there?
As a new theory, put forward by Professor John Blair, questions whether the embroidery was unique, David Musgrove asks historians whether there could have been more than one 'Bayeux Tapestry'
7 min |
December 2025
BBC History UK
The Book of Kells is a masterwork of medieval calligraphy and painting
THE BOOK OF KELLS, ONE OF THE GREATEST pieces of medieval art, is today displayed in the library of Trinity College Dublin.
3 min |
December 2025
BBC History UK
A THEATRE OF HATE
Did German U-boats conduct a 'clean' campaign during the Second World War?
10+ min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
Who should decide the stories museums tell?
Increasingly, museums are being challenged on how they select, display and interpret their collections. Six historians explain how these institutions can adapt to suit 21st-century audiences
8 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
"Africa exerted a profound influence on cultures of resistance to slavery, yet its role is often overlooked"
SUDHIR HAZAREESINGH speaks to Danny Bird about how enslaved people, who needed no lessons in freedom from white abolitionists, organised themselves to fight their oppressors
9 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
Why are we so hung up with historical dates?
From 1066 to 1918, our obsession with battles, elections and even voyages of discovery risks distorting a true understanding of the past
10+ min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
They arrived with just £3. Imagine starting a new life with so little
I REMEMBER LOOKING IN THE BBC ARCHIVES for stories of the first arrivals of South Asians in the postwar years, and being surprised at how little program- ming had been made documenting the experiences of my parents' generation. That was well over 10 years ago now. From then on, I began to record testimonies of people who came to the UK from South Asia after the Second World War for my Radio 4 series Three Pounds in My Pocket. The title of that programme was inspired by the fact that, for years after the war, strict currency controls dictated that those arriving from India could not bring more than £3 into the UK. Imagine starting a new life in a new country with so little.
2 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
The first British curry
ELEANOR BARNETT prepares a dish with Indian influences that was designed to appeal to Georgian English tastes
2 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
The stories we tell
LIZANNE HENDERSON enjoys a new history of folklore through the ages that explores some lesser-known avenues
1 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
THE SLIPPERY TRUTH OF THE DREYFUS AFFAIR
The wrongful conviction for treason of a Jewish army captain in France in the late 19th century not only tore the country apart, but also, as Mike Rapport reveals, sparked a flood of ‘fake news’ that has echoes in our own turbulent times.
10 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
Spectral beasts and hounds from hell
From infernal black dogs attacking churches to ravening, red-eyed brutes on remote roads, Britain has long been haunted by fearsome canine phantoms.
8 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
Were postcards the world's first global social media?
They were certainly once as popular as social media is today.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Raising our voice
As the abolitionist Frederick Douglass argued in 1857, if there is no struggle there is no progress.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Soul cakes
ELEANOR BARNETT bakes a forgotten sweet treat that formerly lay at the heart of our Halloween traditions
2 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
The 'battle of Cable Street' stymies Mosley's fascists
Impassioned crowds block the Blackshirts' march through London's East End
2 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
What was the first ever beer recipe, and how did it taste?
When you think of beer, you're probably not envisioning a thick, sour, porridge-like concoction.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
THE STALINGRAD OF AFRICA
In 1943, Allied and Axis troops contested one of the most decisive campaigns of the Second World War. Saul David tells the story of the battle for Tunis – as hard-fought as the struggle for the Soviet city
10 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Gray Barker UFO conspiracy theorist
Tales of alien sightings and government cover-ups have captured American imaginations for decades - but few with such global appeal as the Men in Black.DAVID CLARKE introduces the ufologist who popularised these shadowy space-age legends
5 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Plumbing ocean depths
This is a history of margins and fringes – not only of the Atlantic Ocean itself, but also of the imaginations of those who worked on its surface and lived at its edges.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Golden years
PAT THANE commends a richly detailed study of attitudes to older people through history
2 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
What plants were used in medieval first aid kits?
In medieval Europe, nature was a fundamental resource for healthcare.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
What was the Temple of Artemis?
When ancient travellers of the Mediterranean Rim compiled their lists of must-see architectural marvels, which became the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, one landmark that always made the cut was the Temple of Artemis.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Fighting talk
GUY DE LA BÉDOYÈRE is impressed by a deep dive into the world of ancient Roman gladiators that shines a light on diverse aspects of that civilisation
4 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Cheesed-off Nottinghamians run amok in fury
Fromage affray breaks out during the Great Cheese Riot
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Adapting ancient beliefs
EMMA WILBY is fascinated by a look at how long-held religions and traditions of pre-Christian Europe endured right into the modern era
2 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Rita Levi-Montalcini
When I had to help my daughter find an inspirational woman in history for a school research project.
2 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Frontier tales
Having long made a big chunk of his living from playing frontiersmen and cowboys, notably Lieutenant John J Dunbar in the Oscar-laden Dances with Wolves, Kevin Costner turns TV presenter to front an eight-part series charting the story of the American frontier.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
"What it means to be young has shifted over time"
As the government moves forward with plans to lower the voting age to 16, JULIE V GOTTLIEB examines previous changes to the age of suffrage - from Victorian democratic reforms to the dawn of the teenager
6 min |