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Starving, dehydrated and, in many cases, dying, hundreds of African slaves are crammed on to the deck of a British ship. Taken in the early days of photography, this picture gives a disturbingly contemporary feel to one of history's bleakest chapters. No wonder the National Archives...

2017 has been our best year yet, and 2018 will be even better. I know that’s an unfashionable view. The official line is that we’re all going to hell in a handcart, that Brexit is crashing our economy, that Donald Trump is threatening world peace and that our living standards are stuck. In...

A magnificent manor house which was once home to one of the most powerful men in England is up for sale. The Grade II listed Woodmancote Place, located in the picturesque village of Henfield, West Sussex, boasts ten bedrooms, seven bathrooms, seven reception rooms and 50 acres of land- all...

A giant Bible is returning to Britain after more than 1,300 years to go on display, alongside the oldest surviving will written by a woman, in an exhibition on treasures of the Anglo Saxon world. Codex Amiatinus was made in a monastery in Wearmouth-Jarrow in Northumbria, in the early 8th...

Plans for a United States of Europe by 2025 suffered a damning blow today after a new poll revealed they have little support across the major nations. German politician Martin Schulz - the former President of the European Parliament and domestic rival to Angela Merkel - promoted the plan...

Imagine looking out of your bedroom window and seeing, down below, a Roman temple that was part of Hadrian's Wall... Hadrian's Wall legacy hidden under Newcastle streets BBC News 28 December 2017...

The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and Bee Gees vocalist and guitarist Barry Gibb have been given knighthoods in the New Year Honours. War Horse novelist Michael Morpurgo has also received a knighthood and Helen Sharman, Britain's first astronaut and the first woman to visit the Mir space station...

The second aircraft carrier to be built for the Royal Navy in the record-breaking design of the £3.1 billion HMS Queen Elizabeth has passed a major milestone - it floats. As its sister ship undergoes emergency repairs for an embarrassing leak, HMS Prince of Wales rose up overnight as water was...

The former burial place of Richard III, a medieval monastic site which now lies under a car park in Leicester, has been given protected status. The remains of the 13th century Greyfriars, where the last Plantagenet king was hastily laid to rest after his death in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485...

Universities must protect free speech and "open minds, not close them", Universities Minister Jo Johnson (the brother of Foreign Secretary Boris) has said in a speech in Birmingham. He said "no-platforming", the policy of banning controversial speakers, is stifling debate. From next April, a...

On a chilly Christmas Eve three centuries ago, one of the most devastating storms in the history of Europe smashed into the coastlines around the North Sea, killing over 13,000 people, annihilating thousands of houses and wrecking countless farms. The apocalyptic weather caused enormous floods...

A mother has been "overwhelmed" by the response to her photograph of four smiling royals, which appeared on the front of numerous national newspapers. Karen Murdoch, of Watlington, Norfolk, captured a beaming Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Christmas Day at...

The Queen praised the resilience of London and Manchester after 'appalling attacks', in a Christmas message that also paid tribute to her husband, Prince Philip, who retired from regular royal duties this year. The Queen pays tribute to 'strong as ever' Prince Philip in Christmas message: Her...

Royal Family out for Christmas Day in Sandringham Meghan Markle (shown above curtseying to the Queen) has become the first fiancee to join the Royal Family at Sandringham in Norfolk for Christmas - with huge crowds of well-wishers lining the streets in a bid to catch a glimpse of Prince...

Britons should "take pride" in their country's Christian heritage at Christmas, Theresa May has said. In her Christmas message, the prime minister said there is a "confidence... that in Britain you can practise your faith free from question or fear". She also praised the emergency services for...

Scientists in the UK have unveiled the world's smallest Christmas card. Produced by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) at Bushy Park in London, the tiny Christmas card measures just 15x20 micrometres - thinner than a human hair. The card is so...

Charles Dickens was a serious foodie and his literature introduced a festive menu that has barely changed since the Cratchits gathered round their table in A Christmas Carol... How the food of Charles Dickens defined Christmas By Emma Jane Kirby Broadcasting House, BBC...

A cyclist has "drawn" an 88-mile virtual snowman across London. Anthony Hoyte, from Cheltenham, spent 10 hours cycling the streets of the city, using the exercise and route sharing app Strava to "draw" the giant festive artwork. Virtual snowman created by cyclist using app on London streets...

London Zoo is shut "until further notice" after a fire which injured staff and killed an aardvark. At its height, more than 70 firefighters tackled the fire which started in the Animal Adventure section and spread to the adjacent shop. One person was taken to hospital and eight were treated at...

Artefacts from an 18th Century coffee shop have been found in a disused cellar at the University of Cambridge. Clapham's operated in the mid-to-late 1700s on a site now owned by St John's College, and the discovery of more than 500 relics has shed light on it. Cambridge relics of '18th Century...