Record revealed
An unusual royal gift to the poet Geoffrey Chaucer
How do you reward a medieval poet? This document granted the author of the Canterbury Tales an unusual royal gift: a daily allowance of wine.
Discover the stories behind the collection. Learn about the people, places and events featured in our records.
Record revealed
How do you reward a medieval poet? This document granted the author of the Canterbury Tales an unusual royal gift: a daily allowance of wine.
Want to know more about the political – and personal – lives of past royals? These stories pull out intriguing details.
The story of
Through documents held at The National Archives, we can piece together a great deal about the life and reign one of Britain's most infamous medieval monarchs.
Record revealed
This letter, sent by Princess Anne during the height of the Glorious Revolution, confirmed the betrayal of her father, King James II.
Record revealed
This record of disputes taken to court in 1518, written in abbreviated Latin, includes a vivid portrait of the reigning monarch at the time.
Browse and explore the human stories behind The National Archives’ collection.
Record revealed
Explore the parties of James I and VI's court as told by the royal household's financial accounts.
Focus on
Though surveillance documents, we can learn about vibrant gatherings in the 1920s, the people involved and the passionate, intimate letters that survive.
Record revealed
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.
Record revealed
In this letter, Thomas Henshaw of Derbyshire complained of his treatment by local officials who denied him welfare despite his ‘most distressing’ situation.
Record revealed
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.
Record revealed
This record of disputes taken to court in 1518, written in abbreviated Latin, includes a vivid portrait of the reigning monarch at the time.
Focus on
On the Atlantic coast of Morocco are two cities that became one of the most substantial Islamic ports of the 17th Century.
Focus on
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?
Record revealed
This affidavit is testament to the lengths enslaved African people went to in seeking their freedom.
Record revealed
These Victorian railway wheel models demonstrate the diverse, and often unexpected, character of exhibits preserved in court records at The National Archives.
Record revealed
This photo shows an African American student choir who toured the UK and whose performances were attended by Queen Victoria and the Prime Minister.
Record revealed
This is one of hundreds of letters in police files claiming to have been written by the infamous Whitechapel Murderer – otherwise known as 'Jack the Ripper'.