History

An artist's impression of Nicolas Flamel shows a man with a long white beard and hair in a red rob and black hat, seated at a desk with a quill writing in a book. He is leaning on his hand and looking sideways (Credit: Getty Images)

The real history behind the philosophers' stone

The myth of Nicolas and Pernelle Flamel, medieval Parisians said to have made gold with a philosophers' stone, sparked a centuries-long obsession. Here's the real story.

2 hrs ago

6 hrs ago

A woman and a man, both holding brass instruments. The woman wears a navy and white floral top and has a blonde bob haircut. She has black-framed glasses. The man, on the right, wears a sky-blue Hawaiian style shirt, and also wears glasses. They are inside a hall or very large brightly-lit room.

I joined a men-only brass band - and met my husband

Woodbridge Excelsior Band are marking their 180th anniversary.

6 hrs ago

A close-up of the arches of a long brick-built railway viaduct, built from mostly blue bricks. The first arch is on the right and the rest of the arches stretch off to the middle. On the left are green fields with lines of hedgerows and trees on the horizon under a blue sky.

In Pictures: Harringworth Viaduct at 150

The Victorian railway bridge is believed to be the longest masonry viaduct in the United Kingdom.

6 hrs ago

1 day ago

A bus shelter with two openings, with a half wall and two vertical beams holding the roof up in the middle. The structure is made from Cotswold stone and has a stone slate roof. It is positioned in front of a whie house with green windows, which is sitting behind a Cotswold stone wall with a bush growing over it. There is a green bin positioned next to the bus shelter, in front of the house, and a tree growing the other side of the shelter.

The 'little piece of post-war history hiding in plain sight'

The Gloucestershire bus shelter was built to mark a huge post-war celebration in the early 1950s.

1 day ago

2 days ago

William Mitchell, a man with short, grey hair and a matching beard, looks directly at the camera. He is wearing a white shirt with an open collar. He is standing in front of a black corrugated Nissen hut in an exhibition space.

'We want to bust the myths about loyalist prisoners'

An ex-loyalist prisoner hopes the event will "create a new understanding" about Trouble-era inmates.

2 days ago

Black and white photos of people on Moulton bikes.

The bicycle factory that's inspired a cult following

Exploring the history of Moulton bikes in Wiltshire and how they've become iconic.

2 days ago

3 days ago

A stone Roman replica kiln, showing stones put together and some of the stones burnt. There are smaller stones on the ground.

Nature site gets fired up about replica Roman kiln

Stanwick Lakes will reveal two new projects at its Heritage Build Weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

3 days ago

Harry Ovington is wearing a green cardigan and blue jeans. He has a brown beard and shoulder-length brown hair. He is looking down and working on some archiving equipment.

Rare 'fragile' recordings saved before they disappear

Fragile archive recordings revealing lost accents, lives and local history are being saved online.

3 days ago

4 days ago

A black and white images of islanders from Tristan da Cunha sat in a line (Credit: Getty Images)

Sent to the UK from the world's most remote island

After a volcano erupted on tiny Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic, the 264 displaced islanders told the BBC about their first taste of modern British life.

4 days ago