Re-creating The Night Watch (1642)

While England descended into war in 1642, the artist Rembrandt was busy painting one of the masterpieces of the Dutch Golden Age.

The Night Watch recently returned to its original position in the newly re-opened Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Click on the video above to see a flashmob celebrate its unveiling.

Guest blog: Writing and tutoring an online course (Dr Andrew Lacey, University of Oxford)

Some of the tools and resources available to those studying online.

Universities and colleges have provided online distance learning courses for a numbers of years, though the past 12 months has seen a huge growth in the number of institutions offering them and the range of programmes available. Many of the world's top universities have formed partnerships to offer their teaching via digital channels, and most higher education institutions in the UK are, in one way or another, responding to these developments by offering a greater choice of study pathways.

As demand from students for more flexible study routes has grown, so has the need for academic staff to develop the skills in order to deliver them. In this guest post, Dr Andrew Lacey reflects on his first experience of writing and tutoring an online course about the English Civil War for the University of Oxford ...

Blickling, the Hobarts and Norfolk

The south front door at Blickling Hall.

Below are some photos taken recently in the snow at Blickling Hall, Norfolk.

Little is written about the largely 17th century house during the English Civil War, though the affiliation of the owning family is suggested through a number of sources, including a letter penned by Cromwell: the first letter to be published in a contemporary newsbook ...

London's English Civil War defences 1642-3

View London's English Civil War defences 1642-3 in a larger map.

"And it was also Ordered that there should be Bulworkes presently raised in the Fields before the Citty, to Fortifie the same against any Invation ..."

A Continuation of Certain Speciall and Remarkable Passages 

24 October 1642

Fear that the king and his army were marching on London in October 1642 sent the capital scrambling to fortify itself. The start of November saw the city digging defensive positions, with more forts, ramparts and ditches completing the ring of defences over the following year.

Click on the map markers above to see the conjectural positions of the fortifications (view in larger window) ...