Local & family history, nostalgia

The historic county of Fife is a natural peninsula on the east coast of Scotland, bordered by the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Tay. Alongside its three largest settlements of Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes it is also home to the ancient city of St Andrews, with its world-famous golf cou...

The 21 censuses that have been conducted in Britain since 1801, have provided an invaluable insight into Britain's social, political and economic history over the past 200 years. From their original purpose to assess how many men were fit for military duty in the Napoleonic wars, to being a neces...

The Sussex seaside town of Eastbourne was developed as a resort from a collection of villages in the nineteenth century by the Duke of Devonshire. The new town grew rapidly and by the end of the nineteenth century Eastbourne was a large borough, attracting new residents and visitors. Eastbourne's...

Have you ever wondered why eating cheese can sometimes feel like a cuddle? Or how a good curry can be just what we need after a tough day? Oh, and just what is it about butter that makes us feel so at ease? The foods we turn to behind closed doors are deeply personal, steeped in nostalgia and top...

Have you ever wondered why eating cheese can sometimes feel like a cuddle? Or how a good curry can be just what we need after a tough day? Oh, and just what is it about butter that makes us feel so at ease? The foods we turn to behind closed doors are deeply personal, steeped in nostalgia and top...

Throughout history, the British monarchy has relied on its courtiers - the trusted advisers in the King or Queen's inner circle - to ensure its survival as a family, an ancient institution, and a pillar of the constitution. Today, as ever, a vast team of people hidden from view steers the royal f...

Justin Webb's childhood was far from ordinary. Between his mother's un-diagnosed psychological problems, and his step-father's untreated ones, life at home was dysfunctional at best. But with gun-wielding school masters and sub-standard living conditions, Quaker boarding school wasn't much better...

Throughout England there are thousands of lost or deserted villages. Most were abandoned after the Black Death or other plague epidemics, but some were lost to coastal erosion or the encroaching sea, while others were resettled elsewhere when the livelihood upon which the village relied disappear...

In 'Mother's Boy,' Booker-Prize winner Howard Jacobson reveals how he became a writer. It is an exploration of belonging and not-belonging, of being an insider and outsider, both English and Jewish.Jacobson was 40 when his first novel was published. In 'Mother's Boy' he traces the life that broug...

Today Hastings and its neighbouring St Leonards On Sea are a busy seaside town, popular with holiday makers and day trippers wanting to soak up its coastal heritage and historical charm. Known to many for the famous battle of 1066, which was not actually fought at Hastings, the town has so much m...