Trailer: Magna Carta

In 1647, inside St Mary's Church in Putney, army generals sat alongside ordinary soldiers to debate nothing less than the future of the nation. Should political power remain in the hands of property owners, as it always had? Or could it be a birthright - something every man posse ... Show More

Coming soon…In our next episode of On the Record, we step inside St Mary's Church, Putney in 1647, where soldiers, radicals, and reformers wrestled with bold, world‑shaping ideas about rights, representation, and how society should be governed. 

When King John sealed Magna Carta in 1215, it was meant to end a civil war. Instead, it sparked an idea that still resonates today. In this episode, we explore two medieval documents that shaped ideas about power in society - Magna Carta and the 1265 summons list for a parliament ... Show More

George Stephenson drove Britain’s first-ever steam-powered passenger train, the Locomotion Number One, on 27th September, 1825, from Darlington to Stockton on Tees. The Cambridge Chronicle and Journal reported, with breathless excitement: “in the presence of great crowds of spect ... Show More

<p>In October 1860, railroad engineer Theodore Judah looked out across California’s Sierra Nevada range, dreaming of a railroad that would connect the United States from coast to coast. It was the start of a decade-long endeavor to build the world’s first transcontinental railroa ... Show More

Merci à André Baratte d’être venu témoigner sur LEGEND Story. Le 1er avril 1944, un groupe de résistants sabote une voie ferrée pour immobiliser un train. Ce qu’ils ignorent, c’est que ce train transporte en réalité 400 Waffen-SS (soldats naz*s). Âgé de 15 ans, André assiste à l’ ... Show More

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David talks to a man who lived as a train hopper for two years. They talk about the lifestyle, dangers and chaos of illegally hitching rides across America using the railroad system. The country’s first train tracks were laid down in the 1820s - an ... Show More

<p>In July 1596, Fynes Moryson - a Lincolnshire gentleman and travel writer - was struck down with grief when his younger brother died as they crossed the desert on their return from Jerusalem. Moryson described his journeys and devastating experiences two decades later in an acc ... Show More

<p>Le 8 mai 1842, un train en provenance de Versailles déraille à hauteur de la commune de Meudon. Il transportait notamment de nombreux passagers qui venaient d'assister au spectacle des Grandes-Eaux, dans le parc du château de Versailles.</p><br><p>Depuis la mise en service des ... Show More

If it wasn’t for October 13th, 1928, Charfield would simply be known as a sleepy village in Gloucestershire, England. But that morning, two trains collided on the tracks near Wotton Road. The Charfield Railway Disaster left deep scars, and its victims are still waiting to move on ... Show More

In the latest episode of our monthly series charting the past behind the present, historians Rana Mitter and Hannah Skoda explore the ways the Second World War continues to shape the world of today. Plus the medieval manuscripts hitting the headlines, and an express history of ra ... Show More

The London Underground – often known simply as the Tube – is central to the city’s global identity. A pioneering feat of engineering at the time of its construction in the 19th century, on a typical weekday, the network now carries 5 million passengers between 272 stations, on 11 ... Show More

Nazi Germany had finally been defeated. And, for 24 hours, Britons could let their hair down and celebrate. But not everyone was in the mood to party. As 2025 marks the 80th anniversary, John Willis tells the story of VE Day via the experiences of ordinary Britons who lived throu ... Show More