What happens to manor maps after they’ve been cleaned and flattened? We recently gave our volunteers a behind‑the‑scenes look at how historic maps move from archive tables to digital layers you can explore online… 👇 #manorialmapproject
Sun rises behind the wind pump at Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve, Cambridgeshire ©National Trust Images/Rob Coleman
Wicken Fen was the National Trust’s first nature reserve, with two acres bought in 1899. Since then, and many acquisitions later, the reserve has expanded to over 2000 acres.
It is an exceptionally rare historic fragment of the managed sedge fens once widespread across the region.
The tooth fairy is ridiculous but kids need rituals. I know I do.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Boston Guildhall, built in the 14th Century for the religious Guild of St Mary, gets £400k repair funding.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
A manuscript page with a large initial R formed to two intertwined dragons
Today we've launched our digitised Probate Registers and Bishops' Transcripts collections onto Ancestry. Together that's 16 million records covering 1389-1858 - these can be accessed via a subscription to Ancestry or for free here at the Borthwick!
www.ancestry.co.uk/search/colle...
Today we mark the founding of the RAF.
Formed on 1 April 1918, the Royal Air Force became the world’s first independent air force.
A moment to reflect on the people and stories behind its history.
#RAFFoundersDay #RAF #rafmuseum
💎 What is the connection between one of the most celebrated diamonds in the world, once worn by Marie Antoinette, and #Cornwall?
cornishbirdblog.com/cornwall-the...
The remains of Richard III were reinterred in Leicester Cathedral on 26 March 2015. A truly memorable day for every Ricardian. A book by Rev Peter Hobson shows the Cathedral's preparations for the reinterment and that week in 2015.
dottietales.wordpress.com/2016/04/22/h...
Layers of history: All Saints', Hough-on-the-Hill, Lincolnshire has a late Saxon circular stair turret. Much of the lower fabric of the tower is also Saxon. The church is embraced by earthworks from a Norman motte and bailey castle.
April 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the return of the Chough to Kernow. The public is being asked to suggest wildlife for new bank note designs. What better choice than this hugely symbolic bird that has heralded a Cornish cultural revival and been such a significant conservation success.
Stop mowing the lawn – and five more ways to save Britain’s ‘charming’ and ‘polite’ gatekeeper butterflies.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
A new footpath stretching around the entire coast of England is being officially inaugurated later. At 2,689 miles long, it is the longest managed coastal walking route in the world, according to Natural England, the government body which created it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#WallsOnWednesday Powderham Castle located on the banks of the Exe Estuary. Built by Sir Phil Courtney in 1391 and altered over the centuries.
Sir Roger Tocotes d.1492. These days the most graffiti’d man in #Wiltshire
In his time, he switched sides several times between York & Lancaster, prob fought for Henry Tudor at Bosworth, & was accused of poisoning the Duke of Clarence’s wife.
St Nicholas, Bromham.
#MonumentMonday
New study finds that plant biodiversity collapsed in landscapes where arable production was abandoned during and after the Black Death era.
A crisp morning in Launceston, an ancient capital of Cornwall, and the town was humming as St Piran’s Day celebrations got into full swing.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Forgive this historian and editor a small ambition, but I would love to be able to expand the kind of high quality local history research @vch-home.bsky.social does a bit further west.
So, if you have a suitable place-based history in mind, drop me a line. 🗃️
Why the Death Penalty Was Rare in Medieval Europe www.medievalists.net/2025/11/deat... #MiddleAges
I know, I'm weird, but if I see this I just want to send all the archaeologists and everyone within sight away so I can sit there and think about all the people who went up and down those steps for a while.
www.facebook.com/lwlarchaeolo...
Historic buildings are worth preserving not only for their architectural significance but their scenic quality.
Historians have amassed the largest group of portraits of Henry VIII’s second wife, whom he began courting 500 years ago (and beheaded 10 years later). But do we really need a public vote on the best likeness?
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
On this day in 1804, Cornishman Richard Trevithick's steam engine ran on rails at the Penydarren Ironworks, Cymru 〓〓 🏴
This was the world's first successful railway journey.
museum.wales/articles/101...
In 2018, Sarah Clarke was the first-ever female appointed into the role of 'Black Rod'.
Black Rod is responsible for maintaining order within and controlling access to the House of Lords. Dr Hannes Kleineke reflects on the medieval origins of this role.
I am certainly interested, but I don't always see your posts. I do, however, have your wonderful book, Country Church Monuments.
“St Piran’s Day is Cornwall’s national day”.
Celebrating St Piran's Day: All you need to know www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Zandvoort Fishergirl (1884) by Elizabeth Adela Forbes – oil on canvas portrait of a young Dutch fisher girl standing indoors, holding a green basin with freshly caught fish. The girl wears a dark long-sleeve blouse and a light blue apron over a skirt, her hand resting on her hip. She has fair skin, brown hair parted at the centre and tied back, and a serious, contemplative expression. The background features a rustic interior with muted blue-grey tiled walls, soft natural window light, and warm terracotta floor tiles, creating a moody, realistic atmosphere: 19th-century European realism art, coastal life genre painting, traditional fishing culture portrait.
✨Making Her Mark: A Celebration of Women in Art✨
Discover a powerful new exhibition at Penlee House (30 April – 27 September 2026) celebrating the impact and legacy of women artists - over 50 remarkable works spanning from the 1850s to today.
Find out more: penleehouse.org.uk/exhibition/m...
‘I’m thinking of building an ark’: the Cornish village soaked by 41 consecutive days of rain.’
In Cardinham, which has had 366mm of rain this year, there’s little need to check the weather forecast: more rain.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
#EarlyModern 🗃️
Rosamund Oates is researching the history of early modern deafnes - see her P&P article, book out soon I think.
academic.oup.com/past/article...
