Culture UK
Who are the British? Do they really drink tea, eat roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and never leave home without an umbrella? Find out more about true Brits; past and present, myth and legend, fact and fiction.
Dangerous Toys of the 1950s and 1960s
The childhood of the 1950s and 1960s was very different from that of children today. Mostly left to their own devices, and aided and abetted by downright dangerous toys, what could go wrong? Yet for most, childhood was a wonderful time…
Lady Mary Lovelace
Artist, architect and writer, Lady Mary Lovelace was a passionate supporter of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Sir Charles Parsons – the Man who Powered the World
Electricity: it is impossible to imagine the modern world without it. Simply turn the switch on and it works, but how is it generated? Well, that can be traced back to something called a steam turbine, invented by Charles Algernon Parsons back in 1884…
Living with The Boss: Apprentices and Maids
To take on a job as an apprentice or female domestic servant usually required living under the same roof as the employer. Not an easy relationship; but there were manuals available, advising on how best to conduct oneself in the employer’s home…
Mummers’ Plays
At Christmastime, you may be lucky enough to come across some people dressed very oddly, behaving very strangely and performing some sort of peculiar play. These are mummers, recreating a centuries old tradition…
The History of the British Christmas Dinner
Turkey, stuffing, roast and mashed potatoes, pigs in blankets, Brussel sprouts, carrots, parsnips, cranberry sauce and lashings of gravy – these are the ingredients of a traditional British Christmas Dinner. All consumed, of course, whilst wearing a paper crown…
The Lord of Misrule
“Eat, drink and be merry!” With roots in the Roman festival of Saturnalia, the Lord of Misrule was a festive, roll-reversal figure, a ‘mock king’ appointed to preside over revelry and disorder, most famously during Christmas or Twelfth Night festivities in medieval and Tudor England.
The History of Christmas Day and the Royal Family
The first recorded date of Christmas in England was in the year 597 when Augustine baptised 10,000 Saxons in Kent on Christmas Day. Since then, through the centuries Christmas has been a time for feasting and merriment (except for a rather dour period under Cromwell).
