When William Cobbett told his son James to be conscientious about his grammar lessons, he was drawing on hard-won experience.

Riding through Sussex, William Cobbett comes across a large family relaxing together in front of their charming cottage.

Henry Maudslay, the great engineer, had seen enough apprentices to last him a lifetime.

To prove that steam power was the future of railways, George Stephenson held a truly historic competition.