Today is National Paranormal Day, here is one of the archives' more spooky and scary items in the collection, the Tracey gravestone! This is one of 24 loose fragments, it was used as evidence in the 19th century for the peerage claim of James Tracy. #TowerQuirks

2024 has been a strong year for films thus far. One that caught our attention was ‘The Shamrock Spitfire’ telling the little-known story of Brendan ‘Paddy’ Finucane who was the youngest ever RAF Wing Commander. An ace of the skies in that famous warplane pictured below. #TowerWW2

Artist David Shrigley pulped thousands of copies of 'The Da Vinci Code' which he then republished as Orwell's '1984', almost 70 years after it was first published. The novel '1984' was referenced in House of Commons debate only a year after its original publication. #TowerDebates

Should heatwaves be named like hurricanes? Not a Bob Dylan lyric but a serious scientific question of late. We shall see. In the meantime, let's look back to the summer of 76, when Britain was hit by some sweltering temperatures & Big Ben mysteriously broke down #TowerSciandTech

Last autumn the social historian Josie Harris passed away. Noting her sterling work in the field that included a fabled biography on reformer William Beveridge (see his seminal 1942 Health Report below) we thought she’d make a fine inductee into our Hall of Fame. #TowerHallofFame

#OTD in 1994 the eyes of the world were on South Africa as the polls opened for the first post-apartheid election. The following month the new National Assembly elected Nelson Mandela as President. Two years later he made an historic visit to the Houses of Parliament. #TowerIcons

There were tears before bedtime for many a nostalgia-filled grown-up last year when the CITV channel came to an end. Here we pay homage to its finest kids show… The sedate but great ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ with this 1846 Nottingham railway plan from our collections. #TowerPlans

Barbara Hepworth, celebrated artist and sculptor, featured on Katy Hessell's 'The Great Women Artists Podcast'. Hepworth moved to St Ives after WWII, where she spent the rest of her life with many other artists. Here is the 1642 Protestation Return for St Ives. #TowerWomen

Our social media followers would agree that one of the monthly schedule highlights must be ‘Random Friday’. The latest blog on ‘Inside the Act Room’ gives the lowdown on eight of the best selections showcased since its inception. Prepare to be randomized!! ow.ly/Psv950RlYNC

Happy St George's Day! Today we celebrate the great English Poet Laureate Lord Alfred Tennyson. In March 1884 he took his seat in the House of Lords. From our collection, here is Tennyson's Parliament Writ Summons from 1884.

Stephen Lawrence Day commemorates the life & legacy of a young black man murdered in a racially motivated attack in 1993. Six years later the MacPherson Report was published making several recommendations that Parliament approved to eliminate institutional racism. #TowerRemembers

We finish off our 'Award Season' Themed Week with the Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting and composing, which began in 1956. So from the Whitehead papers in our collection, here is an Ivor Novello songsheet. #TowerAwards .

A Blue Plaque is a great honour to celebrate someone's achievements, Sylvia Pankhurst received a Plaque in 1985 for her activism and campaigning for women's rights. Here is a police report from 1914 about Pankhurst intending to hunger strike at St Stephen's Porch. #TowerAwards

Winning the Ballon d’Or is the pinnacle of any footballer’s career. Back in 1966 Sir Bobby Charlton was awarded the prize. An incredible achievement considering he survived the Munich Air Disaster involving his Man United team eight years earlier (see HOC statement). #TowerAwards

Tuxedos & Tiara’s at the ready as we stage an ‘Awards Season’ Themed Week. Beginning with the 1972 Emmy awarded to ‘Elizabeth R’ starring Dame Glenda Jackson in one of her most celebrated roles. Here’s a 1573 Royal Commission adorned with that iconic royal signature. #TowerAwards

Continuing our new 'Then & Now' series of our archives past and present, with this photograph from 1959 of two researchers in our old search room. Our current search room is only open for a few more months before the collections are relocated, so don't miss out! #TowerHeritage

It's time for this another Random Friday! This month is the despatch box which belonged to Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. The despatch box was originally used to carry important documents. #TowerRandom

Learn more about the life of Perceval on our blog: ow.ly/nOgz50QZuNP

Kicking off a new series of blogs on our ‘Inside the Act Room’ platform titled ‘A Year Like No Other’. We begin by going back half a century to 1974 when there was twelve months filled with incident, intrigue & two elections. Making for a really good read! ow.ly/u7ou50Re4tb

Adding itself to the pantheon of great books based in World War One is Alice Winn’s much acclaimed ‘In Memoriam’. A love story between two soldiers who met in public school & later find themselves trying to survive the horrors of the Western Front detailed in this map. #TowerWW1

After the recent finale of the Olympic themed Great British Menu we are warming up for the Games in the summer. This letter from our collection discusses the 1948 London Games describing them as 'magnificent' and the 5,000 metre runners having to run through heavy rain. #TowerTV