Chalke History Festival 2025: Changing It Up
Chalke History Festival has found the perfect balance. It nods backwards while pushing forwards. It brings new ideas to (sometimes) ancient subjects. It entertains as it enlightens. And, when the time comes for the gates to close on another perfect week, it makes everyone eager for another year.
Featured Articles
The Assassination of Julius Caesar
On the Ides of March 44 BCE, one of the most famous men in history was assassinated. Julius Caesar, general and politician of the people, had risen too far. It was rumoured he wanted to be king and his very existence could ruin the Republic.
The End of an Era: The Death of Queen Elizabeth I
In the early hours of 24 March 1603 Queen Elizabeth I died quietly in her palace at Richmond. But for those living through those hours of her final decline, it was a time of fear as well as of hope: change was not always to be welcomed and, in not naming an heir, the queen had protected her own position at the expense of a potential future civil war.
Anne of Cleves: Stinky and Ugly?
On 9 July 1540, Henry VIII had his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, annulled after just six months of marriage. Following the death of his favourite wife Jane Seymour,and under the advice of Thomas Cromwell, Henry had set about finding a new and desirable bride.
Appeasement: An Introduction
Just twenty years after the War to End All Wars, Britain was once again at war with Germany. With hindsight a second conflagration had seemed inevitable, so did Britain sleepwalk into a world war that could have been avoided?
Latest News
Latest breaking news, pictures, videos, and special reports
Save the Date: Chalke History Festival 2025
The Chalke History Festival returns from 23rd to 29th June 2025, promising an extraordinary week of history, debate, and immersive experiences in the picturesque Chalke Valley, Wiltshire.
-
by Toby Kilroy
Our Top Picks for Buckingham History Festival 2024
Buckingham is a small town with a big past, so it is appropriate that it has a first-rate history festival. With world-leading experts, social media sensations, and some of Britain's best-loved historians, it is a weekend absolutely not to be missed.
We Have Ways of Making You Attend: WHW 2024
There is no getting around it: We Have Ways Fest is niche.
A Break with History: Chalke History Festival 2024
While in a few ways Chalke History Festival has broken from its past, then, it is still very much a perfect week’s break with history. It provides a pause; a breath of fresh air; a time to reflect, to ponder, to think, to be.
Latest Book Reviews
Sally Coulthard, A Brief History of the Countryside in 100 Objects
Sally Coulthard’s 'A Brief History of the Countryside in 100 Objects' is just that: as the author herself says, it is ‘a history of the countryside, told through the filter of someone fascinated by the courage, charm and occasional callousness of my rural ancestors’.
Nicholas Radburn, Traders in Men
'Traders in Men' is eye-opening and thought-provoking; it is a brilliant synthesis of the available information in all its forms; and it is a firm reminder about the lengths the greedy will go to in the pursuit of wealth.
Templars: The Knights Who Made Britain, Steve Tibble
'Templars: The Knights Who Made Britain' is a welcome addition to the sizeable body of literature available on the subject. Its narrower focus and sober analysis of British affairs shines a light on the importance of the Templar Order's lesser-known members and their activities, and, as with all good primers, leaves the reader keen to branch out and read more.
-
by Steven Port
Victory to Defeat, Richard Dannatt and Robert Lyman
'Victory to Defeat' asks a very simple, but rarely considered, question: how did Britain and her army go from victory in 1918 to crushing defeat at the hands of the same enemy in 1940?
