Social history

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The invention of the bathtub

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The Trials of Margaret Clitherow

The making of Wales

Captain Kidd

The sacrifice of Captain Kidd

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The New Bath Guide

Schoolchildren helping workmen construct a new estate of pre-fabricated houses in Watford, Hertfordshire in 1946 following the devastation of the Second World War. (Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images)

Postwar squatters: a very British uprising

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Grant’s exploding cigar

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The Devil’s Dictionary

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The bravest of the brave

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What are the origins of the British taste for black pepper?

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Illustration by Jonty Clark.

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Samarkand 1404 . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A cure for flu?

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Playing the part of queen for the day

When Victoria wed, she wore white so the crowds could see her from afar. (Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

The A to Z of royal weddings with Tracy Borman

A woman empties a chamber pot in this wood carving from c1489. In the medieval period,

5 of the worst smells in medieval London