Author: Richard Hayman

An illustrated history of Britains coal mines and the lives of the miners who worked in them. Coal heated the homes, fuelled the furnaces and powe...

Illuminated manuscripts are among the most beautiful, precious and mysterious works of Western art. Before the printing press was invented, books w...

The parish church is a symbol of continuity, a cornerstone of the urban and rural landscape, and a treasure trove often as rich in cultural history...

Chinoiserie, a decorative style inspired by the art of the Far East, gripped Britain from the late seventeenth to the early nineteenth century. Des...

From the monumental splendour of Tower Bridge and the august span at Westminster to the engineering masterpieces at Ironbridge and the Forth, bridg...

Green men are figures or heads that were carved in churches, abbeys and cathedrals from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. Inspired by the ill...

The Holy Grail and Holy Thorn explores the legends of King Arthur and Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury and how their influence has been felt from...

The rood screen was the visual focus of the medieval parish church, dividing the nave from the chancel. Most were built of wood and were adorned wi...

The Reformation transformed England forever. From peasants in the lanes and fields to the court of Henry VIII, no life was left untouched as the Ro...