Local history Books
The History Press Ltd The Little Book of Antrim
Book SynopsisDid You Know? Overlooking Ballymena, Slemish Mountain was believed to be the first home of St Patrick in Ireland. His footprint is said to be indented in a stone close to Skerry churchyard. The ‘sport’ of rat racing thrived on the shores of Lough Neagh in the 1960s, with the annual championships taking place in Norman Wilson’s bar in the main street of Crumlin. In January 1998, a 16-year-old Glengormley schoolgirl became one of the youngest National Lottery millionaires when she picked up £1,055,101 for choosing the six winning numbers. The Little Book of Antrim is a compendium of fascinating, obscure, strange and entertaining facts about County Antrim. Here you will find out about Antrim’s people and places, its business and industry, its spectacular coasts and glens and its proud sporting heritage. Across quaint villages and bustling towns, this book takes the reader on a journey through County Antrim and its vibrant past.A reliable reference book and a quirky guide, this can be dipped into time and again to reveal something new about the people, the heritage and the secrets of this ancient county.
£11.69
The History Press Ltd The Little Book of Cheshire
Book SynopsisDid You Know? In medieval times, Cheshire was a County Palatine with its own independent parliament. The village of Willaston hosts the annual World Worm Charming Championships. With 86,000 ponds, Cheshire claims to be the pond capital of Europe. Cheshire cheese is the oldest named cheese in England. The Little Book of Cheshire is a fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of the sort of frivolous, fantastic or simply strange information no one will want to be without. Here we find out about the most unusual crimes and punishments, eccentric inhabitants, famous sons and daughters and hundreds of other facts, plus some authentically bizarre bits of historical trivia.This is an ideal book to have by your bedside or to while away the hours on a long train journey. And if you like to take part in pub quizzes – or set them – then you will find this book a veritable treasure trove of useful information.
£11.69
The History Press Ltd The Little Book of Hertfordshire
Book SynopsisHertfordshire is full of stories. The county's proximity to London attracts the great, the good and those less so: Hertfordshire was once home to saints such as St Alban, St Thomas More and the only English Pope, Nicholas Breakspear. Such virtuous figures pose a sharp contrast to those involved in the Hertford elections of time gone by, which were once declared the most corrupt in the country!It is no secret that Elizabeth I became queen at Hatfield House in south Hertfordshire but did you know that her father, Henry VIII, fled a plague-ridden London to a nearby village while waiting for his first divorce to come through? And that just around the corner, 400 years later, engineers were secretly developing the bombers that helped win the Second World War?There are so many tales to be told about this amazing county that it is impossible to squeeze them all between these covers but open The Little Book of Hertfordshire at any time or any place a
£13.49
The History Press Ltd A History of Worcestershire
Book SynopsisWorcestershire is a county of wide, fertile valleys, drained by the Severn, the Avon, the Teme and the Stour and ringed by some of England’s best-known hills, including the Malverns and the Cotswolds.This concise but comprehensive account is based on a wealth of published and unpublished research. It is both highly readable and well illustrated, and will interest the general reader, students and local groups seeking to put their own work within a wider perspective. Particular attention is given to the settlement of the county, especially to its colonisation by the Hwicce in the sixth and seventh centuries. There are fascinating insights into the lives of ordinary people through the ages, based on records such as medieval monastic estate records and later probate inventories. Throughout, local happenings are related to national trends, and dramatic events such as the Battle of Evesham of 1265 and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 are highlighted.Contrasts between rural and urban areas are explored, and products such as the carpets of Kidderminster, the salt of Droitwich and the glass of Stourbridge are seen within a wider economic context. Information on important individuals is also examined, some of whom, such as Edward Elgar and the poet Piers Plowman, are already well known, while others emerge from local records for the first time. This book reaches right up to the 1990s, including the triumphs of Worcestershire County Cricket Club and the day-to-day concerns of the Archers in the final chapter.
£16.19
The History Press Ltd Lancaster: A History
Book SynopsisLancaster, the county town of Lancashire, stands at the lowest bridging point of the River Lune. A chartered borough since 1193 and a city since 1937, it has had a long and turbulent history. Since the Roman army first saw the strategic possibilities of a low hill by the river it has housed garrisons and acted as a fortress. Its position on the main west-coast road to and from Scotland has on numerous occasions led to the passage of hostile armies.As county town and seat of the Assizes it has seen all the principal criminal cases for Lancashire tried in its magnificent Castle over the last eight centuries. Next to the Castle in a typical juxtaposition of Church and State stands the Priory church with its own history running back some twelve or thirteen centuries.In this book, based wherever possible on original sources, such as the rich resources of the borough records or the local newspapers, the author takes a thematic approach. In ten chapters he examines themes such as ‘House and Home’, ‘Working for a Living’ and ‘Where do you come from?’, the last of which is a study of all the people who over the centuries have come from other countries to live in Lancaster.
£17.00
The History Press Ltd Padstow
Book SynopsisThrough the study of archaeological evidence, Padstow can trace its history back almost 5,000 years. In 520AD, St Petroc, according to legend, landed from Ireland on the North Cornish coast and chose a site on a hill to build his monastery. In the medieval period, the port was importing goods from Ireland and the Mediterranean and exporting slate, copper, tin and fish. Shipbuilding was an important industry in the early nineteenth century and, when the railway arrived in 1899, this marked the beginning of tourists visiting Padstow. The town remains a working fishing port and the spectacular views of the Camel estuary, the attractive harbour, narrow winding lanes, old cottages and the beautiful ancient church add to its charm. The Padstonians are a close-knit community, some families having lived there for generations. They all ensure that Padstow's traditions will be kept alive for many years into the future.
£18.70
The History Press Ltd Northumbrias Bloody History
Book SynopsisThe book tells of the great battles, fought upon Northumbrian soil, which changed the course not just of regional, but of national history. The writer accompanies the reader along a timeline of events, a journey through 1600 years of Northumbrian history, from the Roman Invasion to the English Civil War.Inspired in part by the journals and collections of Victorian historians and antiquarians, the book recalls not only the clashing armour of England and Scotland but also the random acts of casual, everyday violence, affecting individuals whose names, unfamiliar today, have almost been lost to history. These, together with the ravages of the Black Death and the cruelties of religious persecution across Northumbria, complete the story of its bloody history.
£999.99
Destinworld Publishing Ltd County Durham A Rare Insight
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£13.49
Mark Bridgeman The River Runs Red
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£10.44
Troubador Publishing The Mersey Estuary: A Travel Guide
Book SynopsisA guide to places to visit, history and wildlife along the Liverpool, Wirral and Cheshire shores of the Mersey Estuary Stretching for around thirty miles to the coast, the Mersey Estuary is perhaps best known for Liverpool’s spectacular waterfront and the Mersey Ferry. But there are many hidden gems along its shores, including waterside parks, sandy beaches and poignant reminders of the days of steamships and sail. The Mersey Estuary: A Travel Guide provides suggestions for places to visit around the estuary from its upper reaches in Warrington to Liverpool, Wirral and the coast at New Brighton and Formby Point. Other destinations include Birkenhead, Ellesmere Port, Port Sunlight, Runcorn and Widnes. Suggested places to visit in Liverpool include the Three Graces, Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool Cathedral, the Museum of Liverpool and the Maritime Museum. In addition to the main tourist attractions, readers will discover some less well-known sights, including lighthouses, outdoor art, medieval buildings, and a transporter bridge, along with ideas for boat trips around the estuary’s docks and canals and places for a bird’s eye view of Liverpool and beyond. There are also maps and route descriptions for fifteen suggested walks and cycle routes around the estuary, ranging from a couple of hours to a full day trip. Highlights include walks in Liverpool, New Brighton, Runcorn, Warrington and Widnes and cycle rides that take in Port Sunlight, Warrington’s waterways and the Another Place statues at Crosby Beach. For those interested in a more in-depth look at the estuary, the second part of the book has chapters on maritime connections, wildlife and rivers and tides. Maritime history themes include the development of the Port of Liverpool, the Mersey ferries and modern-day shipping and navigation. Further inland, topics include efforts to create a shipping route to Warrington and Manchester starting with the Mersey and Irwell Navigation and culminating in the Manchester Ship Canal. Wirral’s maritime history is discussed too, including the development of Port Sunlight and Birkenhead Docks. River and tidal themes include an introduction to the key role that scientists from Liverpool and Bidston Observatory played in the developing the science of tidal prediction, and how the estuary has been cleaned up in recent decades so that even salmon have returned. Other wildlife topics include the many nature reserves around the estuary and the types of habitat and wildlife they shelter. There are also tips on seeing seals, red squirrels, wading birds and the Mersey’s little-known tidal bore. With stunning colour photographs, The Mersey Estuary: A Travel Guide is a must-read for travellers to the area and local residents alike.
£16.99
Birlinn General Arran: A History
Book SynopsisArran is an archaeological and geological treasure trove of stunning scenic beauty. Its history stretches back to the great stone circles, more than 5,000 years old, whose remnants still decorate the plains of Machrie. Runic inscriptions tell of a Viking occupation lasting centuries. Later, in 1307, King Robert the Bruce began his triumphant comeback from Arran. Subsequently, the island was repeatedly caught up and devastated in the savage dynastic struggles of medieval Scotland. After the 1707 Parliamentary Union, came a new and strange upheaval - unwarlike but equally unsettling: Arran became a test-bed for the new theories of the ideologists of the Industrial Revolution. The ancient 'runrig' style of farming gave way to enclosed fields and labour-saving methods, which eventually lead to the socially disastrous Highland Clearances to Arran, and the misfortune of the times was culminated by the Great Irish Potato Famine of 1845. At last, the area began to settle down through an increasingly stable mixture of agriculture and tourism in the 19th and 20th centuries. In this book, Thorbjorn Campbell gives an original, fascinating and comprehensive account of Arran's long and eventful history.
£12.34
Birlinn General How an Island Lost Its People: Improvement,
Book SynopsisIn 1830, the little Hebridean island of Lismore was one of the granaries of the West Highlands, with every possible scrap of land producing bere barley or oats. The population had reached its peak of 1500, but by 1910, numbers had dwindled to 400 and were still falling. The agricultural economy had been almost completely transformed to support sheep and cattle, with ploughland replaced by the now familiar green grassy landscape. With reference to documentary sources, including Poor Law reports, the report of the Napier Commission into the condition crofters in the Highlands and Islands, as well as local documents and letters, this book documents a century of emigration, migration and clearance and paints an intimate portrait of the island community during a period of profound change. At the same time, it also celebrates the achievements of the many tenants who grasped the opportunities involved in agricultural improvement.
£12.34
Birlinn General Onion Johnnies: Recollections of Seasonal French
Book SynopsisFor almost 150 years until the late twentieth century, French Onion Johnnies (or ‘Ingan Johnnies’, as they were usually known in Scotland) were a familiar group of seasonal workers in towns and cities throughout Britain. In this book, nine Onion Johnnies (including one ‘Jenny’) who worked in Scotland at one time or another between the 1920s and the 1970s recount their lives. The recollections, recorded in interviews in Brittany and at Leith in 1999 by the Scottish Working People’s History Trust, provide a fascinating insight into the lives and experience of those whose livelihood and way of life have vanished forever. It paints a poignant picture of the past and a way of life about nothing in any detail has ever been published before.Trade Review'[A] meticulous approach to recording their stories, packed with fine detail of the lives, incidents and thoughts' -- Sandra Dick * Herald *
£9.99
Birlinn General Villages of Glasgow: North of the Clyde
Book SynopsisThis revised and updated edition of Aileen Smart's best-selling book paints a fascinating picture of those villages north of the Clyde that helped forge Glasgow into one of Britain's most energetic and vibrant cities. Although now subsumed within Glasgow proper, these places nevertheless maintain a tremendous sense of pride and identity. Each has its own story to tell, its own heroes and villains, its own myths and traditions. Packed with intriguing detail and enhanced with numerous maps and photographs, Villages of Glasgow is a stimulating introduction to Glasgow and those communities that have formed its lifeblood over the centuries.
£12.34
Birlinn General Lost Inverness
Book SynopsisNorman S. Newton scours historical and contemporary works to trace the lost architectural history of the capital of the Highlands, following the city's history from prehistory, through the Dark Ages, the Medieval period, the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries, to the present day.
£14.24
Stenlake Publishing Old Bridgeton and Calton
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Dumbarton
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Aston, Erdington, Kingstanding and Great Barr
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Banff and Macduff
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Arbroath
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Coatbridge
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Prestwick
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£999.99
Stenlake Publishing Mining from Kirkintilloch to Clackmannan and
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£14.25
Stenlake Publishing Old Stewarton, Dunlop and Lugton
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Kimberley
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£8.59
Stenlake Publishing Old Cullen and Portsoy
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Cumbrae Since the War
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Newry
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Banbridge
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£10.95
Stenlake Publishing Old Egremont
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Gilford, Scarva, Loughbrickland and
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Langholm and the Esk Valley
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£8.99
Stenlake Publishing Old Kirkintilloch
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Greenock
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£20.85
Stenlake Publishing Bygone Leith
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£10.95
Stenlake Publishing Bygone Perth
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£20.85
Stenlake Publishing Old Irish Country Life
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Clarkston and Netherlee
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£10.95
Stenlake Publishing Old Haddington
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old South Queensferry, Dalmeny and Blackness
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£9.36
Stenlake Publishing Old Kintyre
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Coldingham and St. Abbs
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Carse of Gowrie - West: with Kinfauns,
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£9.36
Stenlake Publishing Caledonian, the Monster Canal
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£9.36
Stenlake Publishing Old Stirling
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£20.85
Stenlake Publishing Old Shetland
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£20.85
Stenlake Publishing Old Anniesland to Knightswood: with Broomhill,
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Chryston and Muirhead
Book Synopsis
£9.36
