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Thomas Cromwell (not to be confused with Oliver Cromwell who was born almost 60 years after Thomas's death) was was Henry VIII's chief minister from 1532 to 1540. Cromwell masterminded the dissolution of the monasteries, in which Henry disbanded England's monasteries, nunneries and friaries...

Eighteenth century London evokes images of fine Georgian buildings, many of which are still standing, and fine art. But in reality, it more of was a modern day Sodom, the biblical city synonymous with sexual depravity, and from which English gets the word "sodomy" (to North Americans, the...

The English FA is to report the Ukraine to FIFA after last night's 2010 World Cup qualifier between England and the Ukraine was delayed several times after Ukraine fans threw flares onto the pitch. The incident further highlights how fans in English stadiums are more "civilised" than those in...

The BBC's "Only Fools and Horses" is the most popular British comedy of all time. It ran from 1981 to 2003 and consistently had high ratings. A 1996 episode, "Time On Our Hands", attracted an incredible 25 million viewers, a British record for any sitcom. The show was set in the London suburb...

With the Labour Government and Prime Minister Gordon Brown about as popular as saveloy at a kibbutz, it is very likely that Tory leader David Cameron will become Britain's 53rd Prime Minister after the 2010 General Election, which must be held in June at the latest. Today was the last day of...

The technology of fighter planes has come a long way since the founding of the RAF, the world's oldest airforce, in 1918. A new camera, which is attached to the underbelly of the RAF Tornado GR4, can spot tiny details up to 75 miles away. That means that it would be able to read the time on...

It is a very rare, but very British, get together. Ten wealthy men recently gathered for oysters and Dover sole at a swanky London establishment, ten wealthy men who are all distantly related to each other and are each addressed "Your Grace." These ten men are all dukes, and it was the...

On 21st October (what the British now call Trafalgar Day) 1805, 33 Royal Navy ships did battle with a force of 41 French and Spanish ships off Cape Trafalgar, Spain. Despite being outnumbered, the well-trained British comprehensively defeated the poorly-trained French and Spanish. 2,218...

Fifty years ago Scotland prided itself on it high quality education. Now it's a different matter after it has been revealed that Scottish students have fallen behind English students - despite taxpayers spending £1,400 MORE per child in Scotland than in England. Socialist Scotland spends...

A spooked landlady of a Hampshire pub is to call in an exorcist to get rid of a spectre that tops up customers' drinks. The ghost (or should that be spirit?), which haunts the Apsley House in Southsea near the naval city of Portsmouth, apparently tops up people's drinks when they nip to the...

10,000 Roman coins have been unearthed by a metal detector enthusiast on his first ever treasure hunt. Nick Davies found the hoard, dating from between 320AD and 340AD and crammed into a 60lb pot, in a farmers' field in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The coins are from the reign of Constantine I...

A British schoolboy has become one of the world's youngest fathers - aged just 13. The unnamed boy from Manchester was said to have been "chuffed to bits" when his 16-year-old girlfriend gave birth to a girl. The identities of both kids cannot be revealed for legal reasons. Earlier this...

Archaeologists have discovered what has been dubbed Stonehenge's little sister, just a mile from the world famous ancient monument. It has been called Bluehenge because that was the colour of the stones, which are now missing, which once incorporated it. It is thought that the stones of...

A British expedition in Indonesia have spotted the mysterious apeman which supposedly lives there. The Orang Pendek, Indonesian for "short man", was spotted by two members of the team on the vast island of Sumatra - the sixth largest island in the world - in the west of Indonesia. But far...

During the war, the RAF's Lancaster bomber could carry far greater loads than any other bomber in the European theatre of war. Its average load was 12,000lb, but towards the end of the war it was lifting the Grand Slam bomb weighing over 22,000lb, or ten tons. And this is why the British...

Former Monty Python star Michael Palin has said that Britain must stop apologising for its colonial past. Palin, who now hosts TV travel documentaries which include "Pole to Pole", "Sahara" and "Himalaya" told the Royal Geographical Society that we should look at the many benefits that the...

With just months ago until the 2010 General Election, and therefore just months to go until Brown and Labour are kicked out of office and Cameron and the Tories are voted in, Brown still lurches from one blunder to another. The PM had a torrid interview with Sky's Adam Boulton live on TV...

The new British Supreme Court has opened for the first time today. Lord Neuberger, the Master of the Rolls (or "The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England" - the second most senior judge of England and Wales, after the Lord Chief Justice), said that the new judges...

Gordon Brown today played down claims that he is losing his eyesight and that he is dependent on painkillers. There have been rumours recently that the British Prime Minister is losing the sight in his good eye. He is blind in his left eye after being kicked in the head whilst playing rugby...

A newly unearthed essay written by Paul McCartney as a schoolboy which reveals his love for the monarchy has been revealed. It was found by author Kevin Roach at the Central Library in Liverpool. McCartney wrote the essay in 1953 when he was 10-years-old. It was also the year that Elizabeth...