History

Bletchley Park's 10,000 codebreakers signed the Official Secrets Act and not one talked

Ruth Bourne was 18 when the Navy sent her to a windowless room full of Bombe machines and told her never to ask what the work meant.

The city marking America's 250th was planned by a Quaker England kept jailing

William Penn was fined, imprisoned and put on trial for his beliefs in London before King Charles II handed him the land that became Pennsylvania in 1681.

Newtonmore's 80-acre folk museum lets you walk into a Highland village from 1700

The Highland Folk Museum recreates three centuries of Scottish rural life on an open air site where every building is either an original or an exact period replica, and admission costs nothing.

Liverpool's Beatles trail still rocks 66 years after those first Cavern nights

Autumn 1960 saw four local lads begin a run of 296 shows in a basement club, and the city they came from has been drawing pilgrims ever since.

King George V's only daughter left the palace for Yorkshire and a "Downton" legacy

Princess Mary, the Princess Royal, swapped royal life for Harewood House, nursed the wounded in wartime, and sent Christmas parcels to the trenches long before her story reached the screen.

Incredible Prince Albert facts you've probably never heard of

The prince consort was also the queen's first cousin, and he went on to wield the power of a king without ever holding the title.

The Scottish castle Monty Python made famous hides a far darker royal story

Built in the late 1300s by the ambitious Duke of Albany, Doune Castle has survived more than 600 years of intrigue, sieges and daring escapes with remarkably little changed.

Scotland's rotating wonder lifts boats and enchants half a million visitors yearly

The world's only rotating boat lift raises both vessels and visitor expectations.

Four Cistercian abbeys reveal how the White Monks transformed Yorkshire

Discover where Yorkshire's most powerful medieval monasteries rose and fell.

Discover Britain's ten finest museums where living history shines

These immersive attractions bring centuries of British history to life through authentic recreations and skilled interpreters.

Edward II chose love and lost everything he held dear

How a medieval king's devotion to Piers Gaveston shattered royal tradition.

The Royal Guard's bearskin caps unveil two centuries of royal tradition

Discover what you never knew about the regiments protecting the Crown.