Local history Books
Brewin Books The Streets of Brum: Pt. 1
Book SynopsisBirmingham's streets, roads and lanes are an absorbing aspect of our history. They call out to us about long dead landowners, notable figures from the history of England, Brummies long forgotten, farms that have been swept away by the outpouring of our city, remarkable physical features, distant battles, intriguing foreign places and mysterious happenings. Such names almost demand of us that we ask questions of them. Why is Conybere Street so called? Where is the Fashoda that is highlighted in a Stirchley road? How did AB Row gain its name? For what reason are the Adderleys brought to mind in Saltley? Did people wash themselves in Bath Row? Were cherries once picked in Cherry Street? And where were Fisherman's Hut Lane, Noah's Ark Passage, Devil's Tooth Hollow Yard and The Froggery. In this deeply researched book, Carl Chinn looks at scores of street names, bringing to life their meaning and those people who belonged to them. Carl Chinn MBE is Director of the BirminghamLives multimedia project at South Birmingham College, Professor of Community History at The University of Birmingham, a broadcaster with BBC WM and a columnist with the Birmingham Evening Mail. The Streets of Brum: Part One is his 21st book.
£13.95
Brewin Books A Pocket with a Hole: A Birmingham Childhood of
Book SynopsisBrenda Bullock, brought up on a council housing estate in Sheldon, holds up a mirror to Birmingham in the 1940s and 1950s: she tells of the games played then in the streets: hopscotch, queenie, marbles, skipping, roller skating. She takes us back to school life during and after the war, to what it was like to be sick before the advent of the NHS and antibiotics; the struggle to make ends meet and find enough food to put on the table; the pawn shop, hiding from the rentman - all the experiences shared by so many children of the '40s and '50s, all illustrated by line drawings of the old Birmingham landmarks by architect, Matthew Bullock.
£12.85
Brewin Books Life in Brampton with Lizzie the Witch
Book SynopsisLizzie Baty, the Brampton Witch (1729-1817), lived close to the village of Brampton in Cumbria and was said to be a 'canny auld body'. A wise woman, she achieved great notoriety in her day. Numerous tales and anecdotes have been handed down over the years relating to Lizzie's 'second-sight', witchcraft and the strange powers that she appeared to possess. They tell of spells, curses and prophecies with Lizzie turning into a hare, her knack of finding lost objects, forecasting marriages as well as strange happenings at her funeral. This book serves to collect together these varying accounts and attempts to establish which are fact and which might be fiction. Whatever conclusion the reader may reach, the Brampton Witch stories, whether real or imagined, are part of Brampton's heritage and deserve to be preserved.
£11.09
Brewin Books Pubs of Royal Leamington Spa - Two Centuries of
Book SynopsisMany books have been written about Leamington's history, but this one is unique - it is the first to document the history of its pubs. The authors have painstakingly researched more than 200 years of history tracking back to a time in the late 1700s when the small village of Leamington Priors had around 300 residents and just 2 inns. With more than 220 entries and 250 illustrations, this comprehensive work traces the number of co-existing pubs from just 2 to a peak of over 100 before the progressive decline to less than 60 at the end of 2013; opening/closing dates, licence listings and snippets of social history are also included. Whether you are a serious historian, a nostalgic Leamingtonian with a hankering for the local pubs of bygone days or someone who will just enjoy checking out the photos over a quiet pint, this is the book for you.
£23.70
Brewin Books Haunted Pubs & Hotels in and Around
Book SynopsisOver ninety public houses and hotels are featured in this book. There is a brief overview of each one, giving type of inn and the fare on offer. Every inn has a story to tell. Some were patronised by royalty, others were smugglers dens or the local 'pick-up joint'! Some were caught up in the civil wars of the 1600s, others were a venue for an illicit romance. A few have even been involved in a murder. Above all, in every one of these hostelries, at one time or another, a ghost has made its presence felt.
£12.85
Carnegie Publishing Ltd A History of Kendal
Book SynopsisThe attractive Lakeland town of Kendal has achieved fame well beyond its modest size. Who hasn't heard of Kendal Mint Cake, K Shoes or 'The Gateway to the Lakes'? Although these are indeed all facets of Kendal and its past, they are but a small part of its long and varied history. Written by renowned local historian Andrew White, The History of Kendal is a wonderfully readable, comprehensive account, beautifully illlustrated with a wide range of images. From Roman times right up to date, the book reveals and assesses the events, industries, people and influences that have shaped the place we see today. This lovely book epitomises exactly what local history should be: informative, accessible and attractive. As such, it is certain to have universal appeal, and to be a classic for years to come.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements viii Introduction 1 1 Origins 5 The Roman period in the Kendal area 7 The early Anglo-Saxons 13 The origins of Kendal 14 The earliest written record: Domesday 16 2 The borough and town government 19 The borough 23 The charter of 1575 28 Other official bodies 29 The mock corporation 29 The 1835 Municipal Corporations Act 30 The 1972 Local Government Act 30 Trade companies 31 Elections 33 3 Kendal's castles 36 Castle Howe 37 Kendal Castle 38 The owners of the castle 42 4 Kendal on the map 47 John Speed, 1611 - 12 48 Jefferys, 1770 49 John Todd, 1787 50 J. Lowes, 1798 51 John Wood, 1833 52 Corn Rent map, c.1834 53 Henry Hoggarth, 1853 55 Titus Wilson, 1861 55 Ordnance Survey, 1861 56 Ordnance Survey, 1914 57 5 House and home 59 The Middle Ages 59 Individual larger houses 61 Building materials 63 Tudor and Stuart Kendal 65 The Georgian period 69 The Websters and their circle 73 Victorian developments 75 A Kendal yard in the 1860s 77 The past hundred years 83 6 Shops and businesses 85 The Market Place 85 The inns of Kendal 93 Businesses 97 Shops 102 Banks 105 7 'Pannus mihi Panis': Cloth is bread to me 106 The Flemings 106 Plate section between pages 120 and 121, Percy Duff and Trevor Hughes images in Kendal Town Hall, by kind permission of Kendal Town Council 8 Road, canal and rail 122 Kendal's bridges 122 Transport 126 The Kendal packhorses 126 Roads before the turnpikes 131 Turnpikes 133 Road coaches 136 The Lancaster Canal 140 Carriers 146 Railways 148 M6 and Kendal Bypass 153 9 Health and welfare 155 Benefactions 156 Sandes Hospital 157 Dowker's Almshouses 160 Sleddall's Almshouses 161 Childbirth 162 Concerns about public health 164 Doctors 164 The Dispensary and hospitals 167 The poor 168 Kendal Workhouse 169 Population 172 10 Church and chapel 176 The chapels of the parish church 180 Chantries 181 Bells and organ 183 The Reformation 184 New Anglican churches 186 Nonconformists and dissenters 189 Roman Catholics 193 Religion in Kendal since the 1850s 193 11 Education, leisure, culture and the arts 195 Schools 195 Kendal's artists 200 Literary associations 202 Newspapers 204 Music and theatre 204 Libraries 208 Museums 209 Leisure 212 Food 217 Customs 221 12 Crime and punishment 223 Imprisonment 226 13 War and other troubles 231 Notes and references 236 Select bibliography 250 Index 258
£17.09
Carnegie Publishing Ltd Leicester: A Modern History
Book SynopsisThis lavishly produced book brings together an impressive amount of new historical research which seeks to answer this question, providing fresh interpretations of Leicester's history since 1800. The chapters analyse the events, changes and characteristics that have shaped the city and given it its distinctive identity. The sights, sounds and smells of the city in the twenty-first century are products of cumulative layers of history, layers which are peeled back by a specially assembled team of historians, all of whom have lived and worked in Leicester for many years. The result is an important book which helps us to understand the city's past, so that we may better understand the present and know how to approach the future. Above all, this fascinating volume demonstrates that Leicester is a quietly confident city built on firm historical foundations of which Leicester citizens of today can feel very proud.
£17.00
Frith Book Company Ltd. Brighton and Hove: Photographic Memories
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£13.50
Frith Book Company Ltd. Ringwood: Photographic Memories
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£13.50
Frith Book Company Ltd. Isle of Wight
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£999.99
Frith Book Company Ltd. Woodbridge: Photographic Memories
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£13.50
Frith Book Company Ltd. Tenby and Saundersfoot
Book SynopsisApproximately 100 detailed period photographs from The Francis Frith Collection with extended captions and full introduction. Suitable for tourists, local historians and general readers. Includes a voucher for a free mounted print of any photograph shown in the book.
£13.50
Frith Book Company Ltd. Northwich: Photographic Memories
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£13.50
Frith Book Company Ltd. Clitheroe: Photographic Memories
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£13.50
Frith Book Company Ltd. Cromer, Sheringham and Holt: Photographic
Book Synopsis
£13.50
Frith Book Company Ltd. Huntingdon, St Neots and St Ives: Photographic
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£13.50
Frith Book Company Ltd. Around Abergavenny: Photographic Memories
Book SynopsisApproximately 75 detailed period photographs from The Francis Frith Collection with extended captions and full introduction. Suitable for tourists, local historians and general readers. Includes a voucher for a free mounted print of any photograph shown in the book.
£13.50
Frith Book Company Ltd. Wilmslow and Alderley Edge: Photographic Memories
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£13.50
The Francis Frith Collection Guisborough: Photographic Memories
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£13.50
The Francis Frith Collection Wolverhampton: Photographic Memories
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£13.50
DB Publishing The Little Book of Suffolk
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£9.49
DB Publishing Memory Lane Leeds: Volume 1
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£11.69
The History Press Ltd Devon (Hoskins)
Book SynopsisDEVON has a great sense of its own separate history. Throughout the centuries it was relatively isolated, with two long coastlines and comparatively short land boundaries, both ancient: Celtic Cornwall to the west and the rest of England to the east. Until the 19th century communications were very poor and Devon developed a distinct culture, economy, dialect and landscape – contributing to its strong local pride and character. That Devon is different is a fact, and helps explain the interest in its history shown by Devon folk and their many visitors. A great history deserves a great historian. W.G. Hoskins was a Devon man and one of England’s foremost economic and social historians. He pioneered the study of landscape history and initiated the modern approach to local history. His seminal work Devon is universally regarded as a major masterpiece of local history, both in its research and its writing. Throughout the half century since its first appearance it has been reprinted many times, has been held up as a model throughout Britain, and has always remained the unchallenged, essential, authoritative history of Devon. This new, revised edition, with an up-to-date Introduction, a new, extensive bibliography, the most recent population and similar statistical figures, reproduces the author’s classic text in full, including the Gazetteer – at over two hundred pages a book in itself, describing every place, hamlet to city, in the county – and his superb collection of contemporary photographs. The book is packed with detailed information, as remarkable in its high quality as its huge quantity. This new edition will be warmly welcomed by all who know and love Devon – England’s most popular county.
£999.99
The History Press Ltd A History of Stourbridge
Book SynopsisStourbridge came into existence in the early Middle Ages. It has seen much development from Roman and Saxon times and during the reigns of Elizabeth and Victoria. More changes followed in the 20th century; though an agricultural market town it is also renown for its glass-making.
£17.09
The History Press Ltd A History of Southend
Book SynopsisSouthend has a complex and surprisingly interesting history. From 18th-century origins as the ‘South End’ of Prittlewell Parish, it has grown over 300 years to swallow up six separate parishes: Prittlewell, Southchurch, Leigh, Eastwood, North Shoebury and South Shoebury. The town and wider borough are both now known as ‘Southend’. Starting in the Stone Age, it ends in the modern Information Age, covering all points in between. The story of its evolution as a seaside resort, a commuter town and a regional shopping ventre is unterwoven with a multitude of amusing, intriguing and impressive events, incidents and achievements in this very readable narrative. Southend has been unfairly maligned as ‘lacking much history’. This new book successfully demolishes that suggestion, revealing a wealth of interest in the town and its past – from Prittlewell’s Saxon origins to its important role in two world wars. It will be warmly welcomed throughout Essex.
£16.19
The History Press Ltd London Country Houses
Book SynopsisFrom the mid-16th century the rich and successful usually had a London house, and often a country estate; but more important in many ways was the suburban house within easy reach of London, where they could send their families for the summer and from which they could keep in contact with their business or the court. This book is the first to address the history of these houses, concentrating on those that still exist, while giving some indication of the major lost ones as well. Includes plans and images of most houses listed. Includes information on owners, architects, landscape design, building materials and styles. The area covered by this book extends from London to the M25, which sliced through the country round London in the late 20th century.
£24.00
The History Press Ltd Salisbury Past
Book SynopsisSalisbury is always symbolised by its cathedral spire and the physical dominance of that magnificent building over the surrounding city is as impressive today as it was in medieval times. The two elements of Salisbury - the cathedral and the city - owe their existence to each other and the relationship between the authorities on opposite sides of the Close wall dominated the early centuries when the new town was developing its independent identity.The shape of the city was laid down in the 13th century and the essence of the planned medieval town with its chequer system can still be easily traced. Growth since then has spread outwards from this original core but the importance of the Market Place still draws both residents and visitors back to the centre. 'Continuity and change' may be a familiar phrase but it summarises Salisbury both architecturally and as a community. A recurring theme is the continued use of old buildings for changed functions. By such gentle adaptations wholesale destruction and rebuilding have been avoided. This important new book traces the development of Salisbury as a market, as an industrial town, as a transport hub, and as a social and service centre.Its authors have very successfully met the challenge of producing a comprehensive, concise and readable volume, generously and intelligently illustrated. It will provide a valuable source of reference and also excite the imagination through its fascinating insights into the lives of past citizens. A splendid synthesis of well-researched facts and entertaining anecdotes, this is local history writing at its best.
£15.19
Bellcode Books Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
Book SynopsisWith photographs supported by introductory text, track layouts, operating instructions and timetables brought to life by the reminiscences of people who worked in the area, "Railway Memories No 15" recalls the busy railway network serving the West Yorkshire towns of Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley during the 1950s and 1960s. It takes a fascinating and nostalgic look back at the stations, yards, signal boxes, colliery railways and the trains of such variety that no less than 46 differenct classes of locomotive are featured - not counting sub-classes or colliery and industrial locomotives.Trade Review"Another book of memories of railways in the titled area, including colliery branches, and power station merry-go-round loops, with an excellent map and sharp, clear, well-captioned photographs." The Railway MagazineTable of ContentsPage 4 Setting the scene(introductory text) Page 21 Methley, Castleford and Burton Salmon Page 42 Castleford-Garforth and Micklefield Page 55 Baghill and the S&K Page 76 The Lanky lines
£12.30
Stenlake Publishing Old Maryhill
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£10.95
Stenlake Publishing Old Falkirk
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Milngavie
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£999.99
Stenlake Publishing Old Uddingston
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£11.35
Stenlake Publishing Old Newtongrange, Gorebridge and Rosewell
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£11.35
Froglets Publications Ltd Surrey at War
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£13.99
Carnegie Publishing Ltd Lancaster's Historic Inns
Book SynopsisLancaster has always had a vibrant pub culture. In Georgian times, with sailors landing in the port hell bent on drunken oblivion and revelry, lawyers, traders and even royalty wishing to find a good meal and a bed for the night, the city had to provide a range of establishments to satisfy demand. While some of the inns that were born as the town flourished have disappeared, many do still exist, though sometimes with a change of name, and even location. Well-known local historian (and lover of good beer) Andrew White has dug deep into the archives to trace the records of inns and pubs that have served the town over the centuries. In this wonderful new book, he paints a vivid picture of inn life, touching on all aspects, including brewing, publicans, food, prostitution, famous visitors and inn names, and also provides a unique and fascinating gazetteer of Lancaster inns, past and present.
£5.62
Carnegie Publishing Ltd Milltown Mischief: True Tales of Daring and
Book SynopsisGrowing up in Victorian Bolton was definitely not easy for Allen and Midge. Life was harsh, what with dangerous mill work,ever-present hunger, and their shoeless feet always cold. But these two young milltown boys were determined to have as much fun as they could, getting into plenty of mischief on the way. Their often hilarious escapades make for tremendously entertaining reading, but while we can laugh at some of their daring adventures, we have to remember that this is not fiction - these boys were real and all that is described here is true.
£5.62
The Dovecote Press Industrial Past
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£7.29
The Dovecote Press Legends
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£7.29
The Dovecote Press Shipwrecks
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£8.16
The Dovecote Press Prehistoric Age
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£8.12
The Dovecote Press Discover Dorset Farming
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£8.12
Obelisk Publications Mike and Hilary Wreford's Okehampton Collection
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£5.84
Two Rivers Press The Ballad of Reading Gaol
Book SynopsisIn May of 1895 Oscar Wilde, the century's most dazzling man of letters, was sentenced to two years with hard labour for 'acts of gross indecency with another male person.' On his release he moved to France, where he wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol: an indictment of the prison system and the death penalty, an anguished plea for prison reform, and a passionate expression of sympathy for his fellow prisoners, those 'souls in pain'. The Ballad of Reading Gaol was a success from its first publication, and to this day some of its lines are among the most famous in the English language. Peter Hay's powerful images are retained in this new edition which contains an Afterword by Peter Stoneley, drawing on unpublished material in the prison archives.
£9.49
Two Rivers Press Fox Talbot and the Reading Establishment
Book SynopsisThe very first book in the world to be illustrated with photographs was produced in Reading between 1844 and 1846. In 1843, William Henry Fox Talbot set up the first commercial studios to mass-produce photographs from negatives and he chose the Berkshire town of Reading as its location. The Reading Establishment, as it became known, marks a pivotal moment in the development of photography. Martin Andrews tells the story of these momentous events and places them in the context of the discovery and early history of photography. Told in a lively and engaging way, the story starts with a mystery. Who is the strange, foreign gentleman buying unusual substances in the chemist shops of Reading - is he a forger or a spy?
£9.50
Bradwell Books London Underground Ghost Stories: Shiver Your Way
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£999.99
Wooden Books Holy Hills and Pagan Places of Ireland
Book SynopsisThe Irish landscape is alive with pagan powers, gods and spirits. Inside every hill are feasting halls of otherworldly beings who sometimes emerge into our realm, or entice the unwary into theirs. Lakes and rivers have their own divinities, sacred pagan springs cure everything from toothache to insanity, and gods and goddesses live on in ancient stones. In this fascinating and beautiful book Hector McDonnell describes how Ireland's pre-Christian beliefs still shape its rich customs and beliefs today. WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.
£8.18
The Dovecote Press Roads, Tracks and Turnpikes
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£7.29
The Dovecote Press The Blackmore Vale
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£7.29
