Architecture

In the ninth century Pope Nicholas I decreed that St Peter’s symbol, the cockerel, should be displayed on all churches and many incorporated the design into weather vanes. Pictured here is the St Thomas church spire, Melbury Abbas in Dorset, United Kingdom. (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)

Q&A What does Jesus have to do with cockerel weather vanes?

A councillor and architects discuss plans for the Moss Heights development in Glasgow, 1953. Proponents of high-rise flats believed that they would provide

The Library Have high-rises ever been the answer to our housing woes?

Mount Stuart, a house built for built for John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute. (Photo by Mount Stuart)

8 of Britain’s best historical houses and gardens

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Chatsworth House

History explorer: Politics and power in Georgian Britain . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Vaux-le-Vicomte: the inspiration for Louis XIV’s Versailles

Albert Einstein, standing in front of the Einstein Tower in 1926. (Photo by ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Q&A Why the Einstein Tower was renamed – twice

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Royal palaces of the Hundred Years’ War

Aerial view on Westminster Abbey at night. (Photo by Pawel Libera/LightRocket via Getty Images)

7 of England’s best medieval buildings

Tixall Gatehouse, Staffordshire. (Photo by The Landmark Trust)

10 of Britain’s most amazing landmark buildings

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The mahogany wooden interior of the Glasgow School of Art

My history hero: Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868–1928) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Dover Castle, Kent. (Photo by Olaf Protze/LightRocket via Getty Images)

England’s 8 most amazing castles

Photo of Derinkuyu Underground City

Q&A Have people ever lived underground?

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Gothic wonder: 5 spectacular buildings of medieval England

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10 facts about Clifton Suspension Bridge

The step pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara

Q&A How many pyramid tombs are there in Egypt?