Britain & Ireland

Today is the 500th anniversary of the bloody Battle of Flodden. On 9 September 1513, in a field in northern England, thousands of men, including King James IV of Scotland and many of his nobles,

Can historians influence the public policy-making process? Having recently seen one of my articles cited in the Leveson report, I’d like to say yes. But there are many good reasons to be sceptical. After all,

'Revealed: the Indian ancestry of (Prince) William' claims today’s Times headline. The story, covered over 3 pages, revolves around Eliza Kewark, the future King’s great great great great great grandmother. Kewark (or Kevork) has been

This week the British Government has finally agreed to compensate those who suffered torture and sexual abuse when detained by the British colonial administration during the Mau Mau insurgency in 1950s Kenya. The 5000 individual

Assuming that England needs a patron saint, should St George be replaced by St Edmund? Another campaign is apparently now being orchestrated for the latter by Suffolk partisans. Edmund is said to have two advantages

Beyond the Bailey is a project that I set up with the assistance of Sheffield's Practical Public Engagement  module. It began with a creative writing workshop in which participants were introduced to online historical archives,