Walmer Castle’s historic ‘glen’ will be accessible for the first time in over 100 years from the end of April. English Heritage has also invited young refugees to special workshops, with a new learning centre the first major building at the castle in 145 years. Part of Walmer Castle’s gardens, first laid out by William … Read more
An exhibition dedicated to the life, work and legacy of Scottish engineer and inventor James Watt opens at The Engine Shed in Stirling on 25 April to celebrate the 250th anniversary of his invention of the condenser engine. The exhibition will focus on James Watt’s improvements to the steam engine and features historic artefacts including … Read more
By Anne Corlett. These islands just off the coast of Cornwall are part of England, but they do have their own genealogical challenges. The census and civil registration records are part of the England and Wales data sets, and can be viewed online at any site that holds these sources. The island’s parish registers are … Read more
From Roman walls to battlefields, this central part of Scotland has a wealth of history to explore. By Nell Darby. Stirlingshire, in the west midlands of Scotland, borders Perthshire to the north and Lanarkshire to the south. The county town of Stirling was one of the principal royal strongholds of the Scottish kingdom, and was … Read more
A rare surviving 300 year old bedspread given by James II to some of his loyal supporters, is being conserved by the National Trust and has been put back on display for the first time in a generation at Sizergh Castle in Cumbria. The magnificent satin bedspread, believed to be from Goa, features mythical creatures … Read more
If you want to know more about your criminal ancestors, there are an increasing number of museums catering to your needs, as Nell Darby explores. Dark tourism is the act of travelling to sites that are associated with death, tragedy or crime. As such, dark tourism has been increasingly analysed by academics, drawing parallels between … Read more
The Isle of Man has many useful sources, and both online and traditional research techniques have their place in tracking down Manx forebears, writes Anne Corlett. Manx family history research is a relatively straightforward undertaking when compared with other regions. The island’s small population (fewer than 30,000 residents in the early 1800s) means that there are … Read more
A rare map depicting WHSmith’s vast commercial empire in the 1930s, by a leading graphic designer of the last century MacDonald Gill, sold for £50,000 at Chorley’s Modern Art & Design sale. The extraordinary scale map, one of a number of lots from the WHSmith Archive, had an original estimate of £20,000-30,000. The 7ft by … Read more
Protect and Survive: Britain’s Cold War Revealed is a new exhibition at The National Archives in Kew exploring the impact of the Cold War on Britain, from the corridors of power and hidden government bunkers to daily life in the home. Discover the real evidence of what happened during this turbulent era of secrets and paranoia. Mark … Read more
V&A Dundee has welcomed half a million visitors to the museum since it opened, hitting the milestone almost six months earlier than expected. The 500,000th person to walk through the doors of Scotland’s first design museum was officially recorded at 10.35 on Saturday 30 March. V&A Dundee, which opened on 15 September last year, has … Read more