Features

Guides, tutorials, interviews, research and opinion pieces on family and social history

Victorian boxer Jack Wannop lands an uppercut on Birmingham's Josh Cosnett in 1890

Bare-knuckle boys: The history of Victorian boxing and wrestling

The Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in the early 18th century

What were the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens?

Bristol's Victorian Cemetery Arnos Vale, which opened in 1839

Victorian cemeteries: When were they founded, and where can you find online records?

14th October 1932: Members of a children's games club for under-sevens playing 'blind man's bluff' in Hyde Park, London. DNA testing can be used to find your distant relatives

How to use a DNA test to find your distant relatives

27th May 1953: Children of Cheriton village school in Somerset rehearsing a maypole dance to celebrate the coronation of Elizabeth II.

Where did maypole dancing originate?

'The Environs of London from Greenwich', c1620-1630, 17th century. Artist: Anon

17th century history: What was life like in the 17th century?

Black and white photograph of 1st Padiham (St Leonard's) Boy Scout troop in the 1930s

When did the Boy Scouts start?

British Home Children from the Dr Barnardo's Homes leave for a new life in Canada on the RMS Antonia, UK, April 1923

Who were the British Home Children?

Crowds outside Buckingham Palace on VJ Day 1945 (colourised by MyHeritage)

When is VJ Day?

An Empire Flag Day fundraiser for hospitals in London to provide healthcare before the NHS

What was healthcare like before the NHS?

Nurses at the Sir William Hospital treat shell shock victims during the First World War with experimental medical equipment

What is shell shock?

Scottish criminal records. Four thieves and pickpockets in police custody in Glasgow, circa 1865. From left to right, James Martin Lindsay, James Brown Cummings, Peter Hasson and John McRae.

Scottish ancestry: How to find Scottish criminal records

22nd October 1937: Merchant Navy Cadets learning how to use a sextant at University College, Southampton. How to find Merchant Navy records

How to find Merchant Navy records

Royal Navy service records Sepia photograph of 16 Royal Navy ship's officers posed for a photograph on board ship in 1890, with the ship's cat

How to find Royal Navy service records

Manorial records. A farm worker ties bundles of wheat reaped by his colleague operating a harvester in Sussex, June 1887

Discover your past

What are manorial records?