Stories from the collection

Until 2021, the census did not ask for information about sexuality. One letter in our collection gives a personal perspective on why this data was needed.

Ivor Cummings (1913–1992) greeted the iconic arrival of the Empire Windrush at Tilbury in 1948. He became known as the 'gay father of the Windrush generation'.

Anne Lister and Ann Walker's romantic relationship defied societal norms of their time, as we can encounter through the archival material they left behind.

The National Archives holds a letter written by Queen Katherine Howard to the man that she had a secret relationship with – Thomas Culpeper.

In the 19th century travel evolved from an aristocratic privilege to middle-class reality. Explore how rail guides made this possible.

The enduring love shared by Elizabeth I (1533–1603) and Robert Dudley (1542–1588) helps to explain why Elizabeth never married.

In an era when the law criminalised your love, how was it possible to meet members of the same sex and communicate?

Explore the parties of James I and VI's court as told by the royal household's financial accounts.

Though surveillance documents, we can learn about vibrant gatherings in the 1920s, the people involved and the passionate, intimate letters that survive.

Explore Jane Austen's will, in her own handwriting, which shows how the novelist planned to share her belongings with family and friends after her death.

In this letter, Thomas Henshaw of Derbyshire complained of his treatment by local officials who denied him welfare despite his ‘most distressing’ situation.

Discover how plants travelled across the British Empire in the 19th century and the effect this has on our natural environment, and eating habits, today.

This record of disputes taken to court in 1518, written in abbreviated Latin, includes a vivid portrait of the reigning monarch at the time.

On the Atlantic coast of Morocco are two cities that became one of the most substantial Islamic ports of the 17th Century.

Henry Savage Sweetman published the Calendar which translated over 8,000 Irish medieval records. But who was Sweetman and why did he complete this project?