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Georgian

Simon Thurley at Cromford Mills in Derbyshire. It was here, in 1771, that Richard Arkwright set up his first water-powered mills, "bringing people to a single place where they could be organised into an efficient workforce". (BBC History commissioned portrait by Mike Abrahams)

History Explorer: the rise of the factory. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ye olde travel guide: Caracas 1783. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Top 5 Jane Austen recipes. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, displayed remarkable leadership of the British army at the battle of Waterloo. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Waterloo: the historians' verdict. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Margam Park, Port Talbot

Smithills Hall, Bolton

6 royal births that rocked a nation. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Erddig, Wrexham

Ye olde travel guide: Astrakhan 1747. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

General prehistory

Isle of Tiree, Hebrides

A woodcut depicting a witch hanging in England, c17th Century. (Bettmann via Getty Images)

Witches in the dock: 10 of Britain’s most infamous witch trials

Royal Gunpowder Mills, Essex

History heroJo Brand chooses Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–97). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Dawyck Botanic Garden, Scottish Borders

My history hero: Horatio Nelson (1758-1805). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A big day in history: Rioters give East Anglia's rich and respectable a fright. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Q&A: Why did news of Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar take so long to reach England?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Visit historic Warwick

Grosvenor Museum, Chester

Ye olde travel guide: Rio de Janeiro 1820. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Polperro Museum, Cornwall

History explorer: the historic Culloden battlefield

An oil painting depicting the battle of Camperdown, a "crushing British victory" over the Batavian (Dutch) Republic in the North Sea. (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Tales from Nelson's navy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration depicting the battle of Naseby, arguably one of the most significant land battles in British history. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

20 important battles that shaped Britain

The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, London

A rail revolution: Dan Snow on the meteoric rise of British railways. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Bank of England in a late 18th century illustration. A 1783 investigation into malpractice at the Bank is reminiscent of the current financial crisis. (Guildhall Library & Art Gallery/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Georgian banking blunders. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Jane Austen. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Where history happened: Jane Austen. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

George Frederick Handel married opera's passion with the respectability of biblical texts, says Tim Blanning. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

10 milestones in the history of western music. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

John Linnell's 1816 portrait of Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick. His high-pressure steam engine "was the invention that unleashed power on this planet," says Michael Mosley. (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

My history hero: Richard Trevithick (1771-1833). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.