Glyn Smith is first addition since 1920 to portraits commemorating staff at Erddig in Wrexham

A rare collection of portraits of domestic staff at a Welsh country house that spans more than 100 years has gained a modern addition with a striking photograph of its recently retired head gardener.

The collection at Erddig in Wrexham highlights a new appreciation of the back-breaking work carried out by servants and staff in the upstairs-downstairs world of country houses and stately homes. Kensington Palace recently hosted an exhibition of portraits of overlooked, and often overworked, back-room staff in royal households.

In unusual election pledge, Keane Duncan says he will use public money to buy 1867 hotel, forcibly if necessary

Built for wealthy Victorian holidaymakers as the biggest hotel in Europe, Scarborough’s iconic Grand has stood proud since 1867, perched high on the seafront, just metres above the sandy South Bay beach.

So for many in the town, it has been embarrassing to watch the Grade II-listed building suffer a sad reversal of fortunes in recent decades, becoming the “shame of Scarborough”.

Sèvres porcelain was among objects stolen from Château de Thoiry outside Paris in 1987

A rare jug and basin given by Marie Antoinette to one of her closest friends are being returned to a French chateau 37 years after their theft.

The Sèvres porcelain was taken by armed robbers from the Château de Thoiry, 30 miles west of Paris, in 1987. Detectives identified the ewer and bowl stolen after an antiques expert contacted them to check whether the ceramic ware was on a list of missing cultural objects.

Exclusive: four vases in New York auction traced to Gianfranco Becchina, convicted in 2011 of illegally dealing in antiquities

Christie’s has withdrawn four ancient Greek vases from Tuesday’s auction after a leading archaeologist discovered that each of them was linked to a convicted antiquities dealer.

Dr Christos Tsirogiannis, an affiliated archaeology lecturer at the University of Cambridge and a specialist in looted antiquities and trafficking networks, told the Guardian that damning evidence was within the auction house’s own correspondence with the dealer, which was seized by the police.

Railway nostalgia, the world’s oldest football, fenland skies and a little-known bard are among the highlights of Crewe, Stirling, Boston and Barnstaple

These oft-bypassed towns have all been, at some period in history, influential if not necessarily powerful; wealth-creating though hardly opulent; and vital to the nation’s wealth and security while never fully rewarded for it. Communications and trade once gave some urban centres the edge over others. Churches and marketplaces were social magnets. Today a brand-name art gallery, celebrity residents, or media chatter are most likely to generate appeal, however specious. What if estate agents sold houses using poetry, memories, polyglotism, ruins and rust?

Wooden structure in St John’s Wood joins 12 other surviving shelters out of the original 60 built between 1875 and 1950

The last of 13 surviving green cab shelters providing rest and refreshment to generations of drivers in London has been listed by Historic England in recognition of its architectural and historical significance.

The wooden shelters were built by the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund from 1875 onwards, when cabs were horse-drawn. Many had a rail fixed to the exterior so cabbies could tether their horses while they refuelled with hearty plates of food and exchanged gossip with fellow drivers.

Watchdog examining claims key details have not been disclosed about altar tablets it is facing calls to return

The British Museum is being investigated by the information watchdog over claims it has been overly secretive about some of the most sensitive items in its collection – a group of sacred Ethiopian altar tablets that have been hidden from view at the museum for more than 150 years.

The 11 wood and stone tabots, which the museum acknowledges were looted by British soldiers after the Battle of Maqdala in 1868, have never been on public display and are considered to be so sacred that even the institution’s own curators and trustees are forbidden from examining them.

Letter reveals disappearance of 17th century British pirate was tied to William III’s spy ring, Daniel Defoe and an archbishop

In 1695, Henry Avery led his 160-strong crew to pull off the most lucrative heist in pirate history on the high seas, amassing gold, silver, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds worth more than £85m in today’s money. He became the most wanted criminal of his day but vanished without trace and was the stuff of legend for 300 years.

Now shipwreck explorers Dr Sean Kingsley and Rex Cowan claim to have solved what they call the longest cold case in pirate history: the “pirate king” had entered the service of the king of England, William III, as a spy.

One of the most varied, fascinating and beautiful regions of Europe has one of the smallest tourist economies

Across the Farne Islands, the spring chorus is once again under way. After wintering on the open seas, thousands of puffins are making their annual journey to England’s north-east coast to nest and breed, jostling for space with vocal kittiwakes, razorbills, eider ducks, shags and Arctic terns.

Happily, tourists will be able to witness closeup one of the glories of Britain’s natural landscape for the first time since 2022. This week, the world-renowned seabird sanctuary welcomed the public back, after an outbreak of bird flu led to a temporary ban on visitors. The reopening has given local boat tour operators a timely boost, ahead of the summer. But on Easter bank holiday weekend, the news is also a reminder of how much the UK’s most overlooked tourist destination has to offer its visitors.