Here for the History

Have you ever wondered why we get Saturday and Sundays off each week?

From royal coronations to criminal trials, the suit is men’s go-to uniform. But why?

Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson reveal the suit’s origins in the court of Charles II, how the original dandy Beau Brummell shaped men’s style to this day, and how sporty Victorians forged the modern suit.

But with the rise of working from home, are the suit’s days numbered?

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For decades Brits have enjoyed package holidays in sunnier climes of Spain, in resort towns like Benidorm. But why is that? Where did the package holiday itself come from? Was it one person who invented it?

Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson unpack the stories which have all contributed to the success of the package holiday.

We’ll start our journey off in Victorian Britain, with a layover to visit a North London entrepreneur, before reaching our final destination of Franco-era Spain.

Subscribe to the podcast on BBC Sounds and on Here For The History’s YouTube channel.

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Thomas Cook: The Holiday-maker by Jill Hamilton

There’s a well known stereotype that Brits don’t show their emotions. George Gershwin even composed a song about the famous ‘Stiff Upper Lip’.

This week Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson delve into the history of emotions and ask where the British stiff upper lip came from.

We’ll hear how the French Revolution turned Brits against emotion, how the Victorians made repression a virtue, and why everything changed after World War II.

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To the frustration of many, a lot of women’s clothes don’t have pockets. But why on Earth is that the case? Especially when men’s clothing seems to be full of pockets.

Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson track the tumultuous and muddy history of women’s pockets. From capacious beginnings, through many fashion changes, to suffragette campaigning and societal expectations.

Alice and Ben unpick the surprising moments of pocket history that have contributed to the inconsistency of these sewn-in marvels today.

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Why are Brits so obsessed with football?

Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson explore the origins of football, how the game transformed from a gentleman’s hobby to the people’s game, and then how it became the most popular cultural phenomenon in the world.

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Why do our spellings not match our pronunciations? Why are so many words just really weird?

Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson take us on a whistle stop tour of some of the key moments that forged the English Language as we know it today.

We’ll be looking at Germanic and French invasions, the impact of a period of history called the Great Vowel Shift and Caxton’s first printing press, our ever-increasing vocabulary and, of course, the dictionaries that go with it.

Subscribe to the podcast on BBC Sounds and on Here For The History’s YouTube channel.

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Is British cooking a crime against food? Or is this a foreign plot to do down Britain?

How and when did tea arrive in the UK? Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson take a look at the mythological origins, the role of a Portuguese princess and even going to war for a cuppa.

Do you ever stop to think where the stereotypes, social norms, traditions, and beliefs that fill our everyday life come from?

History lovers Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson uncover the origin stories behind all sorts of things - why we dress the way we do, why football is our national sport, why our cities look the way they do.

Where does the idea of Britain’s stiff upper lip come from? And why does our food have such a bad reputation? The shadow of Second World War rationing still looms large.

We’ll explain how stories from history shaped our lives in the present.