BBC History UK
WARHORSE
From William the Conqueror's battle-winning cavalry to Richard III's fatal final charge, Oliver H Creighton and Robert Liddiard explore five moments when horsepower changed the course of medieval history
9 min |
August 2025
BBC History UK
Grand salad
ELEANOR BARNETT prepares a colourful dish, inspired by Tudor and Stuart recipes, that's designed to impress eyes as well as stomachs
2 min |
August 2025
BBC History UK
India's Iron Lady
GYAN PRAKASH examines an innovative study of the political transformations experienced in India under the rule of its only female prime minister
2 min |
August 2025
BBC History UK
“A connection was made between the rarefied world of the royal court and the politics of the street”
JONATHAN HEALEY tells Ellie Cawthorne about the dramatic moments that sparked the breakdown of Charles I’s relationship with parliament and the outbreak of the Civil War
9 min |
August 2025
BBC History UK
What lies beneath
PENELOPE M ALLISON is impressed by a study of the famous Roman town inundated by Vesuvius’s eruption
2 min |
August 2025
BBC History UK
"There's little understanding of the shared history of Britain and the subcontinent"
As Britain celebrates South Asian Heritage Month, SHALINA PATEL, SUMITA MUKHERJEE and SHRABANI BASU talk to Matt Elton about how histories of the subcontinent can be better shared and explored
10 min |
August 2025
BBC History UK
Movie star Hedy Lamarr patents the forerunner of wi-fi
The Hollywood actress officially registers the ingenious idea
2 min |
August 2025
BBC History UK
"The Age of Spectacle starts here"
When Bob Geldof exhorted audiences to fill Wembley Stadium and empty their pockets for famine relief in Ethiopia, he changed the face of charity fundraising – and of live music. On its 40th anniversary, David Hepworth – one of the BBC presenters on the day – explores the legacy of Live Aid
10 min |
August 2025
BBC History UK
Designs for life
In the interwar era, artists and designers embraced a sleek modern style that embodied the optimism and elegance of the age. On the centenary of the Paris expo that launched Art Deco on the international stage, Emma Bastin explores its origins and lasting impacts
8 min |
August 2025
BBC History UK
The opening salvo
NICK LLOYD enjoys a rich account of the outbreak of the First World War and the early weeks of the conflict
4 min |
August 2025
BBC History UK
Capital ideas
DONALD SASSOON is won over by a comprehensive study of economic theorists and their ideas, despite some key omissions
2 min |
August 2025
BBC History UK
Lorenzo Da Ponte
Librettists get overlooked, but Mozart's great operas wouldn't be what they are were it not for Da Ponte, who was immensely gifted
2 min |
August 2025
BBC History UK
A temple to textiles
A magnificent Georgian venue designed to showcase the finest Yorkshire cloth, the Halifax Piece Hall has been repurposed numerous times over the centuries. CONNIE ROUT explores this spectacular al-fresco venue
2 min |
August 2025
BBC History UK
CAESAR'S FUNERAL DRAMA
The assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC drove tensions sky-high in ancient Rome. As Jessica Clarke reveals, plays staged at his funeral were carefully chosen to inflame anger and incite revenge on his killers
8 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Ancient olive relish
ELEANOR BARNETT explores the long culinary history and cultural impact of the toothsome fruit of the ‘queen of all trees’
2 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Nation-building
This provocative book challenges established interpretations, conceptualisations and evaluations surrounding the birth of the modern Greek nation-state in 1830.
1 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Fatal floods rage through central Europe
Surging floodwaters sweep away entire villages across German-speaking lands
3 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Pétain goes on trial for treason
The ‘Lion of Verdun’ finds himself in the dock in Paris, faced with accusations of Nazi collaboration
1 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Billie Holiday 1915-59
When did you first hear about Holiday?
2 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Sydney in five places
Australia's largest and oldest city was founded on land used for tens of millennia by indigenous peoples. LAILA ELLMOOS explores five sites revealing its long history
3 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Rock of ages
Dartmoor's granite tors aren't just adventure playgrounds for hikers and climbers - the stone they produced built major landmarks and supported local livelihoods. CLARE HARGREAVES climbs the most famous outcrop
2 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
"The pope doesn't have to be a great theologian - but he has to be in tune with the zeitgeist"
In May, the new Pope Leo XIV was chosen by the conclave, a secretive gathering of cardinals with a history stretching back many centuries. Matt Elton spoke to REBECCA RIST about the politics, controversies and far-reaching impacts of past papal elections
6 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Sarah Mae Flemming Segregation-busting bus commuter
The year before the arrest of Rosa Parks sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, another black American woman started a legal fight against segregation on public transport. CLIVE WEBB and TOM ADAM DAVIES highlight her role in the civil rights battle
6 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
You can book a one-on-one encounter with an Egyptian shoe
MUSEUMS ARE MAGICAL PLACES. THEY ARE the keepers of so many histories and stories from near and far.
2 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
CHANNEL SICKNESS
When the Battle of Britain erupted, many Luftwaffe pilots anticipated a swift victory. Yet soon that confidence had been replaced by chronic fatigue and a crippling fear of drowning in “dirty water”. Victoria Taylor charts the mental disintegration of Hitler's flyers
10+ min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Place names are signposts to the past. And how revealing they are
I WAS RECENTLY BACK IN DEVON. LONG AGO, ON childhood holidays from the industrial north, this seemed to me the ‘real’ England.
3 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
"Edward III perpetrated one of the most brutal acts of war committed during the Middle Ages"
HELEN CARR speaks to Emily Briffett about the royal power struggles, bloody wars and horrific diseases that ruptured the structure of English society in the 14th century.
10+ min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Shaping Shakespear
ANDY KESSON welcomes a bold look at an early English playhouse and its crucial role in moulding the playwright's dramatic imagination
2 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Clash of tastes
SUZANNE FAGENCE COOPER enjoys an account of the clash between Victorian art’s chief critic and its enfant terrible
2 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Beach warriors
SAUL DAVID is enthralled by a detailed account of the Allied assault on Sword beach during the pivotal landings of June 1944
2 min |