27 December 1803 convict William Buckley escaped from Sullivan's Bay in what is now Victoria, and lived with the Wauthorong people for 32 years. 'Buckley's Chance' or just 'Buckley's' is Australian slang for having only the slimmest of chances. He died in Hobart in 1856

#Austen fans, here's a real Christmas treat for you! #austen250

What was the theme of our Christmas cake in 2025? Silly question! JANE AUSTEN! I've loved celebrating her 250th birthday in 2025. She's taken me all over to meet readers of the special 250th birthday edition of JANE AUSTEN AT HOME, and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Happy birthday Jane!

#Austen fans, here's a real Christmas treat for you! #austen250

I think this is especially true of people doing #OnePlaceStudies & #OneNameStudies, as we collect data on many people, not just our own ancestors #genealogy #FamilyHistory

And a Christmas raspberry to my Neff fan oven. The light broke halfway through cooking Christmas dinner. For a moment I thought the element had gone again.

And a happy Christmas to everyone I missed in the replies!

A cold and frosty morning!

Just as Clueless is the best adaptation of a Jane Austen novel, Muppet Christmas Carol is the best adaptation of anything by Charles Dickens.

Baby J in super-uncomfortable manger. Joseph attending to the doubting midwife. From a 1440s Book of Hours.

To finish our #Railway200 extravaganza: a Midland Railway Company ticket issue book from 1870–1871, straight out of Dronfield Station. Imagine the journeys recorded in these pages—Victorian passengers, steam locomotives, and the golden age of rail…

What’s #Christmas without the stunning Wilton Diptych? A rare surviving set of tempera panel paintings, a portable set made for the private use of Richard II, King of England from 1377 to 1399. The brilliant blue garments of the angels are painted with ultramarine, made from lapis lazuli. 🎄 1/ 📸 me

No. 7 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen on our 2025 tours were several sightings of 'Northern' Long-tailed Tits in Autumn. Watching these flying lollipops was a privilege and we are not sure there is a word that can justify their beauty! #BirdingScotland #UKbirding #RareBirdsUK #UKWildlife

For Christmas Day an early medieval gold foil cross found in Andelfingen, dating 7th c. AD. Gold foil crosses were purpose-made for burials, they were sewn on the veil that covered the deceased. They are regarded as one of the earliest Christian symbols in southwestern Germany. MERRY CHRISTMAS🎄🎅

A very happy Christmas to all those who celebrate! Hope everyone is having a good festive break. Below is a mid-12th century relief of the Nativity. Originally from the Lower Rhine, the relief is now part of the collections at the V&A in London. 📸 My own. #Christmas

A wonderful Christmas tale, well worth your time. Now with an unexpected epilogue!

Gods rest you merry, gentlefolk.

Scum, all you faithful.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Moss Side, Manchester, 1970, photo by Martin Parr. My nan lived there at the time, but thankfully not in this street.

Explore Charles Booth’s maps and notebooks online ✍️🏻 This is a brilliant resource for those interested in social history 🔎 booth.lse.ac.uk/map #London #History

I’ve used the BBC Written Archives Centre for research and I deplore the new restrictive rules and the sneaky way they were introduced. It’s unbecoming of a public institution that is supposed to be about informing people to effectively close off proper archival research.

You want to know about this site that lets you explore data collected by the HMS Challenger from 1872–1876, an expedition that laid the foundation of oceanography. 🌊 challenger-expedition.sams.ac.uk/explore

The Yule Goat is a northern European folkloric figure tied to Yule and Christmas. His role has changed dramatically over the centuries, and he was later mixed with Santa Claus. In Scandinavia, the "Jultomte" is accompanied by a goat when delivering presents. 🎨Jenny Nyström #FairyTaleTuesday

Another in my series of images from medieval manuscripts #SomethingBeautiful #MedievalSky Frontispiece of Giltlingen Psalter, more info on this image here: devotion.barber.org.uk/manuscript-c...

Founded in 1147, Kirkstall Abbey began when twelve monks from Fountains Abbey, led by Prior Alexander, settled first at Barnoldswick before moving to the present site in 1152. The community remained here until the Dissolution in 1539. Unlike many monasteries, Kirkstall escaped large-scale

I know I have posted this before but it wouldn't be Christmas without it. Winter 1947. A single-deck bus marooned in deep snow on Ashes Lane below Castle Hill, Huddersfield. It was one of three Huddersfield Corporation buses stranded here for weeks during the brutal winter; the

Can you help a local historian locate and map examples of historic Gaelic inscriptions on Scottish gravestones? Read the latest blog on our website here that explains more about this interesting project 👇 www.scotlandschurchestrust.org.uk/blog/in-sear...

Initial 'C'(um ergo natus esset Iesus in Bethlehem Iuda), depicting a nativity scene in Matthew's gospel #Nativity BnF Latin 9388; Evangelia quattuor (Gospels of Drogo); 9th century (between 845 CE & 855 CE); Metz; f.19v @gallicabnf.bsky.social

A Winter Scene with Skaters near a Castle by Hendrick Avercamp 1608 Oil on Panel (National Gallery) #Bauble

Delighted to see this new special issue of the Journal of Scottish Philosophy on ‘The Philosophical Writings of Scottish Women’ in print. I had a lot of fun writing this short piece on Susan Ferrier earlier this year - now free to read @edinburghup.bsky.social: www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/....

23 December 1834: Joseph Hansom patented the horse-drawn 'Hansom Cab'. #History

Litter and single-use plastics are a big problem - especially for #hedgehogs and other #wildlife, but we can all do our bit to help fix it. 🚮 This Christmas, please make sure to recycle responsibly - and reuse & regift as much as possible👍 #ChooseToRefuse #Recycle

When they ask me what radicalized me

An elaborate knitted nativity scene has been unveiled at a Yorkshire Dales church. Buckden Knit and Natter, which has 16 members, spent about a year crafting the display. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Nestled in Altarnun, #Cornwall, Grade II listed Chygrysys has a fascinating history — once a Wesley Chapel and later a Sunday School, now a private home. Look closely above the door: a carved bust of John Wesley, dated 1836, created by local sculptor Nevil Northey Burnard.

"Marley's Ghost Appearing to Scrooge". Charles Green illustration for Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Pears' Christmas Annual 1892 (Day 3 of 7).

Two more sleeps, better make sure your chimney is swept for an important visitor #Stkilda, #NTS, #advent

This 1974 photo shows, with startling immediacy, a group of freshly-excavated 2,000 year-old Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, China, with their original vibrant colours. Once exposed to air & sunlight during excavation, the colours started to disappear almost immediately www.snopes.com/fact-check/t...

Did medieval people buy each other Christmas gifts? New Year's Day was the main gifting day, but little is known about everyday people's present giving. Our project on London's customs records has uncovered a wealth of affordable items imported around this time: gloves and hats to toys and rattles🧵

Highams Park in the snow, 1924. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #WinterWonderland @arascot.bsky.social