Heritage
Shakespeare did not leave his wife Anne in Stratford, letter fragment suggests
April 23, 2025It has long been assumed that William Shakespeare’s marriage to Anne Hathaway was less than happy. He moved to London to pursue his theatrical career, leaving her in Stratford-upon-Avon and stipulating in his will that she would receive his “second best bed”, although still a valued item. Now a leading Shakespeare expert has analysed a […]
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Mysterious 300-carat diamond necklace fetches £3.8m in Geneva auction
November 13, 2024A mysterious diamond-laden necklace with possible links to a scandal that contributed to the downfall of Marie Antoinette has sold for $4.8m (£3.8m) at an auction in Geneva. The 18th-century item of jewellery containing approximately 300 carats of diamonds had been estimated to sell at the Sotheby’s Royal and Noble Jewels sale for $1.8-2.8m. But […]
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Rare examples of 17th-century paper-cutting ‘saved from skip’ to go on display
July 16, 2024Rare examples of 17th-century decorative paper-cutting found amid debris at a historic house in east London that was part of what was known as “the ladies’ university” are to go on display. Eight examples of the art form have been identified, including a hen embellished with coloured silk and a tiny folded star. They were […]
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London cab shelter is last of remaining 13 to be given listed status
April 9, 2024The last of 13 surviving green cab shelters providing rest and refreshment to generations of drivers in London has been listed by the government in recognition of its architectural and historical significance. The wooden shelters were built by the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund from 1875 onwards, when cabs were horse-drawn. Many had a rail fixed to […]
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‘Nothing has really changed’: letters from 1719 reveal familiar worries of London life
March 26, 2024When Ben Browne set off on horseback from his small village in the north of England for the bright lights of London in 1719, his concerns were not so different from those of today’s young people. Mainly: please send money, everything is so expensive. About 65 letters sent by Browne to his father back in […]
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‘Why would we go to America first?’ London’s Groucho Club to open in Yorkshire
March 14, 2024The Groucho Club, the private members’ club known for its hell-raising 39-year history in the heart of London’s Soho is expanding for the first time to an unlikely location: the heart of the West Yorkshire countryside. The club’s first outpost will be located at Bretton Hall in Wakefield, the former arts education facility that sits […]
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‘Hidden stories’: Historic England funds 56 projects on working-class heritage
February 21, 2024Stories of an old bacon factory in Wiltshire, a rollerskating hotspot in Birmingham and a pigeon fanciers’ enclave in West Yorkshire are to be celebrated as part of an attempt to preserve England’s working-class heritage. A beloved north-west nightclub, a London pub that helped launch the careers of 1970s and 80s pop and rock stars, […]
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Painting reattributed to Gainsborough after six decades labelled unknown
July 9, 2023After being consigned to dark storage rooms for up to six decades as the work of an unknown artist, a portrait of a one-armed naval veteran has been reattributed to the celebrated 18th century painter Thomas Gainsborough. A fundraising drive has been launched to raise £60,000 for extensive conservation work on the painting and its […]
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From foetuses to penises: anatomical museum reopens in London
May 11, 2023The relaunch of an extraordinary collection of human and animal specimens gathered in the 18th century by a medical pioneer has prompted the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) to commission research into complex questions about provenance and consent. The collection amassed by the surgeon-anatomist John Hunter includes human organs alongside the bodies and body parts […]
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Three sections of Roman wall in City of London given protected status
May 3, 2023Three sections of a huge but little-known Roman wall, discovered under the City of London, have been given protected status as scheduled national monuments. The riverside wall was a once vast stone structure that formed part of the defences of Roman London. Built in the third century AD along the Thames, it connected to the […]
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