England

Charles Darwin sports his trademark bushy beard in 1877. (Photo by Corbis Historical/Getty Images)

From Charles Darwin’s beard to George Eliot’s right hand: 4 famous Victorian bodily quirks

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A woodcut print of the medieval town of Pisa.

History quiz – shambles, soldiers and medieval towns . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Section of the Bayeux Tapestry depicting a woman and child fleeing from a burning house. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

The Anglo-Saxons’ last stand

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Q&A Why do we say throw down the gauntlet?

Lady Hall launches the British India Company passenger liner SS Uganda in Clydeside docks with the traditional bottle of champagne, 1952. The first time champagne was used to launch a ship was when Queen Victoria launched HMS Royal Arthur in 1891. (Photo by George Douglas/Getty Images)

Q&A Why do we smash champagne bottles against new ships?

A London slum family stood in a street with all their possessions following eviction, c1901. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Life in 19th-century slums: Victorian London’s homes from hell

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Q&A Q&A: Why is Portugal known as Britain’s oldest ally?

Adrian Turner as Poldark. (Photo by BBC Pictures)

Poldark’s Cornwall: the history behind the hit series

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The 1016 Danish Conquest that led to the battle of Hastings

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Sheet music.

History quiz – songs, space stations and capital cities . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

View of the Waterloo Gallery at Apsley House, London. (Photo by English Heritage/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The Library History explorer: the Napoleonic Wars

Newcastle upon Tyne, 1877, published in the Illustrated London News. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

The Library England’s northern soul

An engraving by Wenceslaus Hollar depicting Old St Paul's on fire during the Great Fire of London, 1666. Frantic efforts to fight the flames quickly turned into an equally fevered search for a scapegoat. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

The Library 1666: when London burned with rage

Londoners read newspaper headlines about Britain's entry to the Common Market, January 1973. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

The reluctant Europeans

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The history of London’s 10 greatest live music venues