Known for once being the ‘wool capital of the world’, its UNESCO World Heritage Site in Saltaire, and its literary connections to the Brontë sisters, Bradford in West Yorkshire has a fascinating history. The Anglo-Saxons first established it as a small village known as ‘Broad Ford’ on a crossing over the Bradford Beck, a river…
London is England’s capital city. As the seat of government, the focus of many cultural institutions, and the centre of national and historic rituals, ‘the Big Smoke’ is a rather important place. But while London has had this role for a long time, it hasn’t always been the capital. Here, we explore the locations that…
The brewing of ale and beer has a long history in England, but the town of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire has a special relationship with the drink. By the end of the 19th century, Burton was home to the most extensive beer breweries in the world, with over half of the town’s working population employed…
Tucked away on the corner of Vicar Road in Darfield, an ex-mining village in South Yorkshire, there’s an inconspicuous, volunteer-led museum containing a truly surprising history. Maurice Dobson Museum, Vicar Road, Darfield, South Yorkshire. © Historic England Archive. View image DP486503. View List entry 1151167. The Maurice Dobson Museum and Heritage Centre is billed as…
Over the past 2 centuries, England’s towns and cities have experienced unparalleled growth, which has led to the creation of the suburbs on the edge of urban areas where most of us now live. Due to the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and the need for more housing for a soaring population, suburban development…
In the 18th century, the ceramic industry was essential to industrial Britain’s development. Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire played a key role in the pottery industry for over 300 years, gaining its affectionate nickname ‘The Potteries’. Middleport Pottery, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, photographed in the 1960s. © Historic England Archive. View image DES01/04/0136. View List entry 1297939. The…
Semi-detached housing is England’s most prevalent type of housing, representing around one-third (more than 7 million) of all dwellings today, with 1 million in rural villages and hamlets. The inter-war period of the 1920s and 1930s was the boom era for this style of housing. The enormous building surge in the hinterland of the country’s…
Can you define England without mentioning post boxes or telephone boxes? We are surrounded by historic designs and constructions that were initially invented for everyday purposes, such as to inform us where we were going, communicate with one another, or even drink water. A crinkle crankle wall on Scudamore Place, Ditchingham, Norfolk. © Historic England…
The world’s first standard gauge, steam-hauled public railway, the Stockton and Darlington, opened on 27 September 1825, connecting places, people, and communities. It went on to transform the world. A railway revolution swept Britain in the 19th century, changing the country forever. A predominantly agricultural society had metamorphosed into an urbanised industrial superpower. ‘The Opening…
2025 sees the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Historic England’s Register of Historic Battlefields. It lists 47 English battlefields from the Battle of Maldon in AD 991 to the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685. Eight battlefields from the intermittent period of civil war and rebellion between 1455 and 1487, known as the Wars of…