The reign of King Athelstan, whose military exploits united much of England, Scotland and Wales under one ruler for the first time. See Farndale Prehistory.

The Danelaw. See Farndale Prehistory.

Cnut. See Farndale Prehistory.

The Battle of Stamford Bridge, the decisive English victory over Viking forces which took place in September 1066. See Farndale Prehistory.

the Domesday Book. See Domesday Book.

‘The Norman Yoke’ – the idea that the Battle of Hastings sparked years of cruel Norman oppression for the Anglo Saxons. See Norman Domination.

The Davidian Revolution and the great changes in Scotland associated with David I (c1084 to 1153), from the founding of trading towns such as Edinburgh to new monasteries and new ways of governing. See the Normans.

Roger Bacon, the medieval English scholar, an early pioneer of science who became known as Doctor Mirabilis. See Culture and Writing.

Thomas Becket (c1118 to 1170). See the Plantagenets.

Eleanor of Aquitaine (c1122-1204), who was a ruler in her own right as well as married to the king of France and then to the king of England. See the Plantagenets.

The Third Crusade, from death of the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, to the famous encounter between Richard I and Saladin. See the Plantagenets.

The Knights Templar and the growth and great military and financial strength of the famous order whose knights had a mission to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land. See the Plantagenets.

The Twelfth Century Renaissance. See Culture and Writing.

Medieval chivalry. See the Plantagenets.

The centuries old myth of the most romantic noble outlaw, Robin Hood and whether he was a yeoman, an aristocrat, an anarchist or the figment of a collective imagination. See Robin Hood.

Magna Carta. See the Plantagenets.

The Battle of Lincoln, fought on 20 May 1217 between the forces of the boy-king Henry III, led by William Marshal, and supporters of Louis of France. See the Plantagenets.

The Second Baron’s War (1264 to 1267) and Simon de Montfort's seizure of power from Henry III and his family while supporting new, broader parliaments. See the Plantagenets.

Shakespeare and the Plantagenet plays. See the Plantagenets.

The Battle of Bannockburn of 1314, an important victory for Scotland in its fight to win independence from England. See the Plantagenets.

Crecy, 1346. See the Plantagenets.

The Black Death. See the Black Death.

The religious orders of the Dominicans and the Franciscans, the Blackfriars and Greyfriars, who were a great force for change in Catholic Europe. See the Church.

Margery Kempe (1373 to 1438) and English Mysticism, and English mystic who went to Jerusalem and dictated her life story, said to be the first autobiography in English. See Culture and Writing.

The Peasants’ Revolt, 1381. See the Plantagenets.

the defeat of the French at Agincourt in 1415, and explores the cultural legacy of this emblematic victory. See Lancaster and York.

The Siege of Orléans in 1428, when Joan of Arc came to the rescue of France and routed the English army with the help of God. See Lancaster and York.

The Wars of the Roses, the 15th century wars between the royal Houses of Lancaster and York, whether they represent the breakdown of the feudal system or whether the political instability been overstated. See Lancaster and York.

Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI’s Queen from 1445 to 1461. See Lancaster and York.

The role of the Tudor dynasty in reshaping the British state and whether their government of England laid the political foundations of our own age. See the Tudors.

The Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, one of the greatest and most conspicuous displays of wealth and culture that Europe had ever seen. See the Tudors.

Hans Holbein's role in the Tudor Court, painting Henry VIII as he asserted himself as supreme head of the Church during the Reformation. See the Tudors.

Humanism. See the Church.

Henry VIII and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, asking whether Henry’s policy was an act of grand larceny or the pious destruction of a corrupt institution. See the Tudors.

William Cecil, the 1st Baron Burghley, Elizabeth I's powerful Secretary of State who advanced England's interests throughout her reign. See the Tudors.

Mary Queen of Scots. See the Tudors.

The infamous St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572 when the River Seine ran red with Protestant blood. See the Tudors.

The Spanish Armada, the fleet which attempted to invade Elizabethan England in 1588. See the Tudors.

The death of Queen Elizabeth I and its immediate impact, as a foreign monarch became King in the face of plots and plague. See the Tudors.

Mercantilism. See Trade and Commerce.

The Divine Right of Kings. See the Stuarts.

The Thirty Years War (1618 to 1648). See the Stuarts.

The Pilgrim Fathers and why their 1620 voyage on the Mayflower has become iconic in the American imagination. See the Stuarts.

The Covenanters, Scottish Presbyterian pledges to advance their beliefs in the face of episcopacy and Roman Catholicism, and their impact across Britain and Ireland. See the Stuarts.

The trial of Charles I, recounting the high drama in Westminster Hall and the ideas that led to the execution. See the Stuarts.

The Interregnum (1649 to 1660) between the execution of Charles I and restoration of Charles II including the impact in Scotland and, infamously, Ireland. See the Stuarts.

How English republicanism has developed from Cromwell to the present day, and examines whether it is embedded as a sentiment deep within the culture of England. See the Stuarts.

The Putney Debates of 1647, when factions of the New Model Army considered a possible new constitution for England. See the Stuarts.

The reign of Charles II and discusses whether the Restoration brought peace and prosperity to England or was an unstable period that culminated in revolution. See the Stuarts.

The Great Fire of London in 1666 and how the city rose from the ashes. See the Stuarts.

Titus Oates and his Popish Plot. See the Stuarts.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688. See the Stuarts.

The Gin Craze in the 18th Century and the moves to control it. See the Stuarts.

The Jacobite Rebellion, the Stuart dynasty's final attempt to reclaim the throne of England. See the Hanoverians.

The East India Company. See the Stuarts.

The South Sea Bubble, the speculation mania in early 18th-century England which ended in the financial ruin of many of its investors. See the Hanoverians.

The 18th and 19th century enclosure movement which divided the British countryside both literally and figuratively. See the Hanoverians.

The part British thinkers played in the Enlightenment in the 18th century. See the Stuarts.

The emergence and impact of the Scottish Enlightenment which was led by the philosopher David Hume and the father of modern economics, Adam Smith. See the Stuarts.

Adam Smith's celebrated economic treatise The Wealth of Nations. See the Stuarts.

The pioneering British Enlightenment thinker Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 to 1797). See the Stuarts.

The Gordon Riots of 1780, and why a Westminster protest against 'Popery' in June 1780 led to widespread rioting across London, lethally suppressed. See the Hanoverians.

The Bluestockings, a group of prominent women intellectuals in 18th-century England. See Women.

The Irish Rebellion of 1798, led by the United Irishmen, who were inspired by American and French revolutions, and the impact this had across Ireland. See the Hanoverians.

The Battle of Trafalgar (1805). See the Hanoverians.

The 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade, and the life of William Wilberforce. See the Hanoverians.

The War of 1812, the conflict between America and Great Britain which is sometimes referred to as the second American War of Independence. See the Hanoverians.

The Great Reform Act of 1832, a landmark in British political history. See the Hanoverians.

The Corn Laws, cause of one of the most explosive political debates in the 19th century. See the Hanoverians.

Chartism. See the Hanoverians.

The Industrial Revolution. See the Industrial Revolution.

The far-reaching consequences of the Industrial Revolution, which brought widespread social and intellectual change to Britain. See the Industrial Revolution.

David Ricardo and his argument for free trade after the Napoleonic Wars. He argued that Britain's economy was being held back by the interests of landlords and protectionism, and his call for free trade. See the Hanoverians.

The Poor Laws, the 19th century legislation intended to discourage poor people from seeking relief instead of work, with handouts replaced by the workhouse. See the Hanoverians.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Victorian engineer responsible for bridges, tunnels and railways still in use today. See the Industrial Revolution.

The 1851 Great Exhibition, housed in the magnificent Crystal Palace, the exhibition showcased Victorian Britain's technical ingenuity and industrial might. See the Hanoverians.

The Great Stink of 1858 and the work of Joseph Bazalgette to fix it. See the Hanoverians.

The Charge of the Light Brigade. See John Farndale (FAR00337).

Charles Booth and the Labour Survey, to discover how many people in late Victorian London were living in poverty, and understand why. See Poverty.

The Victorian reformer Octavia Hill, pioneer of social housing and campaigner for public open spaces. See Home Life.

Suffragism. See Women.

The history of English national identity and examines how the concept of the Nation State can defend itself against the forces of globalisation.

Childhood. See Children.

The history of education which examines whether its modern purpose is to teach us the nature of reality, or to give us the tools to deal with it. See Education.

Whether we can ever predict the future by understanding the past. What kind of lessons is it possible for leaders, governments or people to take from history? See Recalling the Past.

The writing of history has changed over time, from ancient epics to medieval hagiographies and modern deconstructions. See Recalling the Past.

You can also explore themes associated with our family including those who were farmers, pioneers and soldiers, with many also taking to the sea, working in the ironstone mines of Cleveland.

The Military Farndales. Our military ancestors.

Farndale Pioneers. Our ancestors who emigrated out of Farndale and ultimately across the globe.

Farndales and agriculture. Our farming ancestors.

Farndales and mining. Our mining ancestors.

Farndales and the sea. Farndale Sailors.

Farndale geography. A geographical perspective of the Farndales.

The law makers v the law breakers. From policemen to poachers.

You will find some headlines of the history of the Farndale family

You can get a geographical context and follow links to locations associated with our family, to find more information about each location and our ancestors associated with each location.

· To find a description of the source material I have used, including more detail about individual sources, including for the medieval period, see my research notes. This needs a bit more descriptive work and in time should be helpful to others conducting genealogical research, particularly for Yorkshire families. Surnames and how they assist in research.

HMS Farndale, a Type II, Hunt-class Escort Destroyer in World War II - For more information on this website about HMS Farndale, click here

The Farndale Cocktail

The Farndale Hearse

The Farndale Hob

John Farndale the pseudonym author