You may have noticed that I have been missing in action as of late! After my mammoth Blogmas schedule over Christmas, I didn’t feel like I needed a break, I even went history-hunting in centr…
What’s happened this year and what have I not shared with you? I’ve continued my trips to sites of historical interest, although maybe not as many as previous years and have even starte…
Professional theatre had to be recreated after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, for during the Interregnum period most forms of theatre had ceased, Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan governmen…
On the first of each month, or as near as, work and family commitments permitting, I will feature several of my posts thematically. I will also write a new themed post to coincide with the current …
A guest post from George Boyland. George is a regular contributor to The Guardian’s Readers’ Recommend music blog. During World War Two, frightened Luftwaffe pilots, seeing the flak ove…
In the first week of October 2017, I decided to finally wake up my ignored WordPress blog. I had started with such enthusiasm in June 2016 but then struggled to put pen to paper – or whatever…
This week I headed to Windsor Castle, I might have given it a miss but for the fact the the Royal Collection was bombarding my Facebook page with adverts inviting me to come! With 5 days to go befo…
25 March 1895 Oscar Wilde was largely the architect of his own downfall. He was jailed on 25 May 1895 after an investigation into his private life. Reacting to what amounted to being ‘outed…
HistorianRuby invites you all to participate in a blog trip of your choice! You don’t like history? Really? You may be surprised at how many ways we can consume history – if you’r…
The French Government has awarded several thousand World War II veterans who took part in the liberation of France the rank of Chevalier (knight) of the Legion d’Honneur and its accompanying medal.…
George the Fourth, born 12 August 1762, is known as one of the worst monarchs that has reigned over Britain. He reigned as Prince Regent from 5 February 1811 and then King from 29 January 1820 to 2…
Family history – own it Are you writing about your family history? If so, then YOU own the story. In my experience, I’ve found this to be a stressless way of writing history. It’s always enjo…
A couple of weeks ago I divulged to a new acquaintance that I wrote a history blog and her response was interest and a question, ‘But who proofreads for you?’ That would be me. Sadly, I’ve no-one …
Only 14% of London’s blue plaques celebrate women. English Heritage is trying to redress the balance. Since they began a campaign in 2016 more than half of the plaques awarded have celebrate…
Welcome to the second in my new Pictures of History series! Over the years I’ve visited many historic locations and taken lots of photos alongside other visitors. I was a little reluctant to share…
My maternal grandparents, William and Anne Gray, had eight children, three born in Drogheda, Ireland and five in Liverpool, England. My grandfather died in 1941, leaving my grandmother a widow for…
Pictures of History is back this week with my visit to the Tower of London. The Tower began its life during the reign of William the Conqueror almost one thousand years ago. For hundreds of years i…
I don’t pretend to be a political analyst. Indeed, I’m often apolitical because I just don’t want to do politics. Nevertheless, I can list several things I dislike about US Presid…
In weather not so surprising for April in Scotland, I visited Edinburgh Castle earlier this week on a cold day that was mostly drenched in fine rain. Edinburgh Castle sits high at the top of an ext…
The dumping of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston into the harbour at Bristol has brought into question the veritable army of statues that Britain displays in towns and cities. Many of us wa…
My Master’s dissertation was a study of the Philanthropic Society founded in the late eighteenth century. Having changed computers since my original research, with the majority of it lost, I …
It’s December! Season’s greetings! Christmas is coming and I thought I’d share some charming Christmas cards to begin the festivities. I’m going to attempt an historically t…
The United States of America has chosen its next President, as I write Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. has been declared the victor and will be sworn in as the forty-sixth President in January, bu…
Blitzed: Liverpool Lives is an exhibition that has been on display since June this year and will continue until 2021. It’s a careful curation of black and white photographs taken by the city&…
Royal Wedding fever has officially hit! We are 5 days away from watching Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle walk down the aisle of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle is respl…
Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibition at the British Library, for those that don’t know – a stone’s throw from King’s Cross Station, has been open since 20 October 201…
I was forever playing around with my blog, not 100% happy with it, but also not hating it enough for change. However, when I removed my header image, my theme (Canard) was able to showcase ‘feature…
Driving through Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England, I happened upon a blue plaque. You may recall that blue plaques were my featured content in July. Of course, I had to pull over so I could take …
This article was first published on history@kingston, February 2015 So much of London’s fascinating black history is hidden from the historical record, so when I noticed the phrase ‘Black Boy’ writ…
I was lucky enough to visit the Science Museum this weekend to explore their fantastic Romanov exhibition. As common with such presentations, there is no photography permitted, so I explored the Sc…
In 1296, King Edward I, who earned himself the nicknames, ‘Hammer of the Scots’ and ‘Longshanks’, deposed Scottish King John Balliol and brought the ‘Stone of Scone’ from Scotland to London where i…
In response to requests for writing tips I thought I’d share some of the exercises that I have used to tackle writer’s block. Once you have written a few lines, you can edit – change grammar,…
Saturday 2 June is my 2 year blogging anniversary! HistorianRuby has now published 93 articles! Have I favourites? Yes. You can’t help feeling more for the posts that you have put your heart and so…
In the last six months my blog has grown gaining many new readers and (I assume) some of my original 40-odd followers are no longer blogging. Indeed, initially enthusiastic, after three months I fa…
I am thrilled to have been nominated for the Liebster Award! So thank you The Britchy One! I love a good lifestyle blog and this is lifestyle and MORE! Read: comedy, angst and a little bit of bonke…
Hampton Court Palace: Celebrating 100 years since women won partial suffrage in Britain 6 February 2018 marked 100 years since the Representation of the People Act. This afforded nearly all men, an…
A couple of years ago my mother gave me a book, it’s old, it smells of ‘old book’, it’s more than a little bit tatty and is held together in parts with decades-old sticky ta…
This paper was written at the end of my first semester at university in 2010. The study of history through an economic lens was new to me. It sparked an interest in US history and I picked up a sec…
In June 2016 I started my history blog with a lot of enthusiasm, unfortunately by early August my enthusiasm fizzled out. I had planned to write about my visits to stately homes and other historic …
Somewhere in my family tree files there’s a sepia-toned newspaper cutting that belonged to my grandmother and my mother passed it to me. On reflection it was probably my grandfather’s and he died i…
Welcome to the third post in my Pictures of History series! The concept is simple: I will share pictures of the places I have visited that are steeped in history. You will find more photos than tex…
Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting The National Gallery, London. I explored the Sainsbury Wing which houses their awe-inspiring Early Renaissance paintings. I was enthralled by their treas…
Two weekends in September offer the chance to discover history for free! Heritage Open Days 2018 is this weekend 6-9 September AND next weekend 13-16 September. Explore what’s going on in you…
