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  1. Blackleaf

    Oxford Castle mugshots show 'victims of their time'

    The National Archives has made available early photos of Oxford Castle's inmates, many of whom were children. And even children were sentenced to hard labour... Oxford Castle mugshots show 'victims of their time' BBC News 15 January 2017 The National Archives has made available early photos...
  2. Blackleaf

    May to announce she will take UK out of single market and customs union in speech

    Theresa May will gamble this week by siding with Eurosceptics and signalling she is prepared to take Britain out of the single market and customs union. In her most significant Brexit speech since taking office, the Prime Minister will defy critics by indicating she is open to a clean...
  3. Blackleaf

    EU blinks first over Brexit

    The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator has said he wants to secure easy access to the City of London for countries in the bloc, in the first sign of a softer stance. Michel Barnier reportedly told MEPs that he wanted a “special” relationship between the 27 remaining EU countries and...
  4. Blackleaf

    The East India Company: How a trading corporation became an imperial ruler

    Writing for History Extra, Dr Andrea Major gives an insight into one of history’s most powerful companies, and their rise to political power on the Indian subcontinent… The East India Company: How a trading corporation became an imperial ruler Featured in BBC One’s new period drama Taboo as a...
  5. Blackleaf

    6 strange newspaper stories that shocked Victorian Britain

    Think of the Victorians as straight-laced and boring? Think again – nothing captured the imagination of 19th-century readers like the strange, macabre and bizarre... 6 strange newspaper stories that shocked Victorian Britain Think of the Victorians as straight-laced and boring? Think again –...
  6. Blackleaf

    A bad Omen: Damien child star sentenced on Friday the 13th for punching cyclists

    The Omen may have given significance to the dreaded number 666, but it's Friday 13th that's proving unlucky for Harvey Spencer Stephens, the former child actor who played Damien in classic horror film The Omen. Stephens will be sentenced today after admitting to two counts of actual bodily...
  7. Blackleaf

    Hoard of gold discovered in piano

    A "substantial" hoard of gold has been found hidden inside an old piano. The discovery was made in Shropshire before Christmas when its new owners had it retuned and repaired. Experts think the valuables might have been "deliberately hidden" in the instrument more than 100 years ago... Hoard...
  8. Blackleaf

    Francois Courvosier, the Jack the Ripper of the 1830s

    Fifty years before Jack the Ripper terrorised London, another serial killer roamed the streets who was every bit as sadistic but even more calculating, it has emerged. Francois Courvosier, a Swiss gentleman servant who had emigrated to London, murdered two prostitutes, a watchmaker and a Lord...
  9. Blackleaf

    Stonehenge tunnel plan finalised by government

    A controversial plan for a road tunnel past Stonehenge has been finalised by the government. Campaigners claim the 1.8-mile dual-carriageway tunnel will cause "irreparable damage" to the landscape. However, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the plan will "transform" the A303...
  10. Blackleaf

    Egyptian treasure riddle cracked after 160 years

    It was discovered in the 1850s, but details on this rare ancient Egyptian treasure have remained a mystery to experts. Now, the 3,400-year-old fragmented wooden box has been pieced together by a museum in Scotland. Experts believe the treasure has royal associations to Pharaoh Amenhotep II...
  11. Blackleaf

    £6 million a year on drinks: The VERY expensive tastes of Henry VIII

    Henry VIII has never been known as an austere king and his famous image as a round-bellied royal has shaped the public's view of the Tudor over the centuries. But a new study has revealed the true extent of his eye-watering spending, with the King shelling out nearly £6million a year on...
  12. Blackleaf

    Crossrail dig unearths 13,000 Victorian jam jars

    Thousands of Victorian jam jars and pickle pots have been discovered beneath a former nightclub during the building of Crossrail, it has emerged. The Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) found more than 13,000 pots in an old vault at the site of the new Elizabeth line station in Tottenham...
  13. Blackleaf

    Crossrail dig unearths 13,000 Victorian jam jars

    Thousands of Victorian jam jars and pickle pots have been discovered beneath a former nightclub during the building of Crossrail, it has emerged. The Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) found more than 13,000 pots in an old vault at the site of the new Elizabeth line station in Tottenham...
  14. Blackleaf

    Sorry Remoaners... already the UK is clinching trade deals WORLDWIDE

    I feel genuinely sorry for the Remoaners. It must be a thoroughly miserable experience. First you lose a referendum that your Remain mates told you was in the bag. Then you spend months living in even greater misery: refusing to accept the result, droning on about the idiocy of your...
  15. Blackleaf

    War correspondent Clare Hollingworth, who announced the start of WWII, dies aged 105

    Clare Hollingworth, the veteran British war correspondent who broke the news that World War Two had started, has died in Hong Kong at the age of 105. Born in Leicester in 1911, Hollingworth broke the story of Germany's invasion of Poland in August 1939... Clare Hollingworth: British war...
  16. Blackleaf

    Struggle and squalor: Incredible photos of Glasgow slums in the 1860s

    These are the haunting images of squalor and poverty endured by the poor in Glasgow’s slums during the 19th Century that helped improve the living conditions in Victorian Britain. For over a decade, Thomas Annan shed light on what life was really like for the poor living in the Victorian...
  17. Blackleaf

    History explorer: the Pendle witches

    Dr Robert Poole and Charlotte Hodgman visit Lancaster Castle in Lancashire, where one of the most famous, and sensational, witch trials in British history took place, in 1612... History explorer: the Pendle witches...
  18. Blackleaf

    FIFA World Cup to be expanded to 48 teams

    The World Cup will be expanded to host 48 teams, up from 32, Fifa has decided. An initial stage of 16 groups of three teams will precede a knockout stage for the remaining 32 when the change is made for the 2026 tournament, which wither Canada, USA or Mexico is likelyy to host or co-host...
  19. Blackleaf

    Lowering the standard: five of history's oddest flags

    Five of history's oldest flags all brought together for you to enjoy... Lowering the standard: five of history's oddest flags By Dean Nicholas Posted 12th April 2016 History Today From Benin to Sardinia to the North Caucasian Emirate: curious examples of the flag-maker's art. The Benin...
  20. Blackleaf

    Tough Theresa will beat the EU's tinpot tyrants

    Contrary to the beliefs of the defeated and bitter Remoaners, Theresa May isn't muddled over Brexit. She just hasn't finished her post-Brexit plans yet... TREVOR KAVANAGH Tough Theresa May will beat tinpot tyrants and EU leaders will see it was a mistake to freeze her out at summit She is not...