King Charles I’s clashes with parliament, the decades of bloody civil war, and the spell of republican government followed by the restoration of the monarchy – these are the major events that dominate the chapters about the 17th century in the history books. But, as Jonathan Healey explores, behind the turmoil lay something deeper: a political awakening of the people
Looking at Kate now, it is hard to believe that her grandmother struggled to make ends meet in a condemned flat in Southall. Her family history is like something from a Catherine Cookson novel.