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.
A Girls’ Grammar School in the 1950s and 1960s
What was life like for girls at a grammar school in the 1950s and 1960s? How did their education prepare them for adult life?
The Feast and Fast of Traditional Advent
At this time of year many people around Britain are carefully opening tiny windows on Advent calendars to reveal little treats as they count down to Christmas. But what are the origins of Advent?
The Coronation Robes
After the monarch, the Crown Jewels are undoubtedly the glittering stars of the coronation ceremony, sparkling with their 23,578 diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds. Yet amid the main stars of the show, there is a co-star in their own right: the Coronation Robes. Steeped in rich symbolism and lavish history, the robes form an integral part of the ceremony…
Sen Yamen: Comedy, Colonialism and the Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion and in particular the Siege of Peking in 1900 grabbed the public’s attention. A play called ‘Sen Yamen’ performed at Rugby’s Theatre Royal in October 1901 fused comedy with colonialism to create a rather bizarre angle on the Chinese rebels…
Mince Pies
One of the favourite sweet treats at Christmas is the mince pie. This crumbly pastry is filled with fruit, often soaked in brandy and flavoured with citrus and mild spice. However the mince pie was originally a savoury pie – and not even round!
A World War Two Christmas
Britain was at war and supplies were becoming scarce. The ships of the Merchant Navy were under attack from German U-Boats at sea and rationing…
A Victorian Christmas
Christmas trees, carol singers, Christmas cards, Father Christmas and crackers – integral parts of a traditional Christmas, but why? The Victorians…
A Puritan Christmas under Cromwell
It is a common myth that Cromwell personally abolished Christmas. During the Interregnum, a deeply religious Parliament voted to abolish the ‘popish’ celebration of Christmas…
