Features

Here you can explore our archive of long form pieces, written by expert historians. In these features, they explain where they found their ideas, how they crafted their stories, what new discoveries they have made and arguments they have proposed.

The Medieval Art of Graham Turner post image

The Medieval Art of Graham Turner

The artist Graham Turner casts an eye back to 1471 and one of the decisive moments of the Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Barnet

1950: Wind Tunnel at Langley Aeronautical Laboratory post image

1950: Wind Tunnel at Langley Aeronautical Laboratory

"Aerodynamic research into hypersonic speeds—perhaps in the region of 15,000 miles an hour—will ultimately be carried out"

1945: Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima post image

1945: Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima

On 23 February 1945 one of the iconic photographs of the Second World War was taken on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima. Here it is in colour.

1949: The Chicago Theatre post image

1949: The Chicago Theatre

The bright lights of the 'wonder theatre of the world' caught the attention of a young Stanley Kubrick

1924: The Death of Lenin post image

1924: The Death of Lenin

On 21 January 1924, the Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin died. Here's how the news was reported in Britain.

1900: Mulberry Street, New York post image

1900: Mulberry Street, New York

A glimpse into Manhattan's teeming streets at the turn of the twentieth century

1918: Inside Amiens Cathedral post image

1918: Inside Amiens Cathedral

A journalist describes a poignant service in a barricaded and subdued church

A Blacksmith in Illinois post image

A Blacksmith in Illinois

Bert Wikle was a member of the German-American Community in the early twentieth century

Harry Clifton and Brideshead’s Sebastian Flyte post image

Harry Clifton and Brideshead’s Sebastian Flyte

The real-life inspiration for a classic character from fiction

1918: Parliament Square, London post image

1918: Parliament Square, London

The Armistice: a strange and uncertain peace

The Unseen History of the Greek Intellectuals during the Roman Empire post image

The Unseen History of the Greek Intellectuals during the Roman Empire

Charles Freeman on the endurance of Greek culture

The Art of the Grimoire post image

The Art of the Grimoire

A gallery of Magic Books and Spells with Owen Davies