20th Century 1900-1999

Bank of England History

Bank of England Sealing of the Charter

Bank of England History next to the East India Company one of our oldest institutions and ironically as the old lady of Threadneedle Street one of the few ‘last men standing. Founded by an associate of Isaac Newton from Trinity College Cambridge days maybe not such a strange connection give Newton was Master of the Royal Mint. Rothschilds to the rescue, so many intriguing connections to an institution we think of as a steadying force. It was not always so. Find out more here…

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Parliament Act 1911

This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series Constitutional Crisis 1909-1911

The Barons finally give way to democracy and yield their right of veto against democratically approved laws voted on and approved in the House of Commons. An Act of Parliament settles a bitter dispute from the 1909 Peoples Budget and a vital principle that had taken hundreds of years to establish.

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Arthur James Balfour Prime Minister 1902-1905

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series British Prime Ministers

Arthur James Balfour was a Prime Minister cut from the old aristocratic mould, an intelligent man who perhaps lacked emotional intelligence to match. Educated at Eton and Cambridge, nephew of Lord Salisbury, his mother’s brother. He would serve in coalition during WWI alongside Lloyd George more than strange bed-fellows. It was then that his now infamous Balfour Declaration would be declared and continues to cited as the root cause of the troubles between the Arab and Zionist causes in Palestine. and modern Israel. Unsuccessful Prime Ministers can be even more important it would seem than those that succeed and the failures may also be greatest when they are no longer in the top job.

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Duke of Windsor Sends his Best to Winston Churchill

King for just 10 months and never crowned

A British King had abdicated for the woman he loved, some 18 years later he would make a rare and awkward film appearance on the occassion of Winston Churchill’s 80th. Had the political climate thawed after the tragedy of a family divided and the Duke wanted to pay tribute and honour an old friend and loyal servant of the nation. An intriguing moment that might be repeated, see he video and follow our new Windsor period on Intriguing History.

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Winston Churchills Legacy a balanced perspective

This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series Winston Churchill polymath

How can you get a balanced view and perspective about this British Prime Minister and what his real legacy is on this (2015) the 50th Anniversary of Winston Churchill’s state funeral. The historians and politician’s literature never mind Winston’s own writings are huge. He never did a single TV interview Professor Vernon Bogdanor does us all proud with this excellent video lecture, in his roles as Emeritus Professor of Law and Visiting Professor of Political History at the excellent Gresham College find a little time and get an excellent balanced view and appraisal of the legacy left to us all by Winston Churchill.

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Winston Churchill 50th Anniversary Tribute

This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series Winston Churchill polymath

The start of a series of some facets of Winston Churchill and his intriguing connections, the character of the man himself his triumphs and failures, his polymorphic abilities, science, writing, oratory excellence, the people he knew and what he thought about them and vice versa. Simply one of the most intriguing men in at least British 20th century history, he had his failing but packed huge amounts in to a life of extremes and huge contrasts. What can we find and connect as a series on the intriguing people he was involved with, how he promoted and developed science and technology throughout his career and a little colour about the character of the man.

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Temple Church London 1185-2012

Temple Church london

The spirtual centre in the UK for the Knights Templar, how much is fable and what are the facts? From Temple to the Inns of Court, the significance of the Round, the importance of the effigies and a most extraordinary knight William Marshall together with the reason and consequence for Heraclius’s presence in London…

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