The History of Britain Magazine
Welcome to the History of Britain! The home nations share a varied and shared history unlike anywhere else, so we thought it only right to create a section dedicated to our mutual heritage.

Richard Arkwright
The archetypal “self-made man” of the Industrial Revolution, Richard Arkwright is known as the father of the factory…

The West Africa Squadron
Between 1807 and 1860, the Royal Navy’s West Africa Squadron attacked and seized approximately 1,600 ships involved in the international slave trade, and freed around 150,000 Africans…

Ellen and William Craft
“It was not until we stepped ashore at Liverpool that we were free from every slavish fear”. This is how William Craft described the moment he and his wife Ellen arrived in England after a perilous journey to freedom from slavery in America…

Howard Carter and the Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb
“Can you see anything?” “Yes, wonderful things!”
Howard Carter’s famous words as he peered into the treasure-filled tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun…

1919: Riots, Rebellions and Strikes
The Great War had ended. Millions of fighting men had returned home to find much changed, whilst those in camps waiting to be demobbed were bored and chaffed against the discipline they thought obsolete. Mutiny was in the air. At home there was class division, economic hardship and racial tension. In Europe there had been rebellion and the rise of communism in Russia. Feelings were high and spilled over onto the streets of Britain…

The Last Invasion of Britain
Forget 1066; this is the story of how one Welsh lady beat back a French invasion.

Decimalisation in Britain
Whilst there are many Britons who would struggle to recall a ten shilling note and its value today (for the record, it is 50p in today’s money!), in comparison to the rest of the world, Britain lagged behind in the decimalisation stakes.

A Short History of Medicine
In Britain, medicine has drastically changed over the last thousand years, from folk remedies in the early medieval period to the formation of the NHS in the 20th century…