High on the peak of the Cotswolds stands one of the most remarkable buildings in Britain. Built as a folly in the final days of the 18th century, Broadway Tower sprung up during the height of the French Revolutionary Wars under the distracted watch of the architect James Wyatt. In the following years Wyatt’s “Saxon Castle” became a lighthouse of learning (housing the printing press of the notorious Sir Thomas Phillipps) and later in the 19th century it became an eccentric summer retreat for William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites. In the 20th century, the tower became a Royal Observer Corps lookout post and site of a tragic air crash which was recognised by Churchill himself. Despite this eclectic history, Broadway Tower remains (as a young printer once described it) “the most delightful situation imagination can conceive”. History Hit's Alice Loxton pays a visit to this folly.
Chris Lloyd looks into the story of Ann Maddocks and Wil Hopcyn, known as the Welsh Romeo and Juliet. The 18th century story of love and heartache still echoes across the south Welsh Valleys to this day. Chris visits Llangynwyd, the village at the heart of this story, to discover what it still me...
I was delighted to be joined by Caleb McDaniel, History professor and author of the Pulitzer prizewinning book, “Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America”. He told me the remarkable story of Henrietta Wood. Born into slavery in Kentucky, she was freed as an adult...
The British Army is one of the world’s most experienced fighting forces. From Blenheim to Waterloo, from Balaclava to the Somme, it has played its part in the history’s most bloody conflicts. But as these troops executed Herculean tasks in the worlds harshest terrains, what were they wearing? How...
