Search results for ""Brewin Books""

There have been many books about Birmingham's history but this one is different. It is based on the archaeological evidence from the first major excavations to be carried out in Birmingham city centre. The book is written in a lively, accessible style and contains over 100 illustrations, most in colour. It provides new evidence of Birmingham's origins and its growth as a market town and industrial centre in the medieval period. The book also offers a new perspective on the transformation of Birmingham into 'the first manufacturing town in the world' in the 18th and 19th centuries. A large part of the book is devoted to the excavation of St. Martin's Churchyard, which uncovered 857 burials - in simple graves and elaborate tombs - of the people who made the Industrial Revolution. The burials are explored in fascinating detail, together with analysis of the health of the population based on scientific study of the skeletons. New research reveals intimate details of the lives of the men and women of the town of a thousand trades. If you are interested in the history of Birmingham, this book is essential reading.

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A popular writer of the 19th century, Catherine was the daughter of William Hutton, Birmingham's first historian, Audrey Duggan considers Catherine as a person and as a writer of significance.

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People make history in the place they call home. This book briefly describes the lives of twenty-nine Brummies, native and adopted, who shaped, influenced and made Birmingham the cosmopolitan city it has become today. In some cases, their impact was not only local, but national or global. Their lives are seen within the context of Birmingham's development from a Middle Age settlement in Deritend to Britain's second city. Virtually all are forgotten or barely known today. They include: John Rogers, martyred for his beliefs; James Brindley, father of the canals; William Hutton, Birmingham's historian; Joseph Priestley, who provoked a four day riot; Thomas Attwood, universal suffrage campaigner; Josiah Mason, big-hearted philanthropist; Peter Stanford, Birmingham's first black minister; Austen Chamberlain, overshadowed Nobel Prize winner and Hilda Lloyd, women's health care pioneer, along with twenty other Forgotten Brummies.

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Birmingham'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.

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To Beach or not to Beach? combines the musings of an enquiring mind with a profound love of flora and fauna and a deep compassion for the world's inequalities. Rarely travelling alone, itineraries have enabled Mary to trek through jungles, cross lakes in dugout canoes and travel by skidoo across the 'Land of Nothing' behind the migrating reindeer of the Sami. Highlights and challenges are also part of expedition life: from witnessing the 5th King's Coronation in Bhutan to being dumped at a remote airport hours from the intended destination. We are invited to share the music, customs and environments of multiple regions. Mary also details the orphanages and hospitals that she has encountered, including Mother Teresa's. By the end, the reader will be much wiser about the less-frequented corners of the world. The adventures recorded are fascinating events in the life of the author, who, when she is not travelling, lives in leafy Warwickshire.

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At the height of his fame as a composer, Edward Elgar publicly admitted that his success was owing to the influence of his mother. Copiously illustrated, this is the story of thatinspirational mother, Ann Greening, who gave her son love, security and understanding the best possible start in life. Despite her poor background and basic education, her interests were wide- ranging the natural world, literature and chivalry and she had a strong religious faith and sense of fun. She epitomised the Victorians' enthusiasm for self-improvement, and, in spite of not being musical, she played a crucial role in nurturing her son's genius. Her confidence and enthusiasm for learning enabled Elgar to turn what otherwise might have been seen as a distinct disadvantage in the lack of high-level music education to the creation of his own very individual style.

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The county of Warwickshire, right at the very heart of England, is famous for its natural beauty with countless villages hiddenaway in the countryside – each one a gem for the curious visitor. It is equally well known for its tourist attractions and of course is synonymous with William Shakespeare and the imposing feature on the landscape of Warwick Castle. Much lesser known is the key role that Warwickshire played during World War II and the so-called Cold War period that followed. This book seeks to remove the veil of secrecy which surrounded many aspects of life during these periods and pays tribute to the many professional members of the Armed Services as well as volunteers and members of the community who lived or served in Warwickshire. Top Secret Warwickshire builds on the success of Top Secret Worcestershire and its content ranges from 'top secret' accounts to unsolved mysteries and little-known facts. Thebook is packed with images of the time and personal recollections from a generation whose memories must be preserved to better inform our future generations of their sacrifices.

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Birmingham Accident Hospital, fondly known as The Acci, was established to manage the victims of the Birmingham Blitz, enemy action overseas and those injured in the Midland's factories. This book tells the story of its role during the War and how, in the years that followed, it became world-renowned for excellence in the management of the victims of trauma. Staff at The Acci played a major role in almost every clinical advance from the introduction of antibiotics to the establishment of trauma critical care. Although the hospital closed in 1993, relocated first to Selly Oak Hospital and then to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, its staff went on to play a key role in the management of the victims of trauma during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, once again at the cutting edge of clinical practice. The legacy and the legend of the Birmingham Accident Hospital live on.

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Brought up in a large family living in a council house in the Stechford area of postwar Birmingham, David Prosser's childhood was not easy, he knew hardships and hunger, wearing worn out clothes and pumps with holes in. But, along with his best friend Trevor, David enjoyed the freedom of his youth with nearby fields, trees to climb, a river to play in and lots of places to explore. Times were hard so they did anything they could to make money: running errands for neighbours, carrying bags of coal on their backs, spending many hours on the tip collecting scrap metal and collecting rags from door to door to sell for pennies. Just two Brummie lads getting by on their wits trying to earn enough to pay for sweets, trips to the swimming baths and the cinema.

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The development of Birmingham into a major modern industrial city can be said to have begun in 1772 with the opening of its first canal. At that time Birmingham was a small and largely rural town with a growing manufacturing base. The growth of manufacturing within the town, however, was severely constrained by the lack of a cheap, reliable and efficient means of transport for the goods it produced. These difficulties were largely overcome by the building of the canal, in that it provided a cheap and efficient means of transport to convey the town's manufactured goods to markets beyond its boundaries. The why, when and how this first canal came to be built is explored in this detailed and highly referenced account. It tells the fascinating story of how a small group of innovative, determined and ambitious entrepreneurs joined together to plan and secure its construction, and thereby also secure the City's future progress and prosperity.

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During its eighty years under London's legendary Oxford Street everyone from Louis Armstrong to rock icons the Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols and Chuck Berry have played the historic 100 Club. In Ace of Clubs, with foreword by Jools Holland, we read its story in the words of the people who came to the club to play, work, dance or just listen to the music. Handsomely illustrated in colour, this is the first comprehensive story of one of the world's longest-running clubs, its seventy-year jazz history and its transformation into the greatest grass-roots music venue in the UK. Now granted special status it is ranked alongside Abbey Road Studios, Jane Austen's home and Shakespeare's birthplace. The 100 Club's story is an inspiring and frequently hilarious must-read for music fans everywhere.

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Here is a selection of paintings by artist Robert Geoghegan about his home city of Birmingham where he has lived for all his life. His work is full of the detail and colour of modern urban life, often combined with a nostalgia for old Birmingham. Some of the works portray ordinary everyday scenes like someone walking dogs, a lollipop man or getting on the bus with an off peak pass, while others show many of the city's landmarks such as Selfridges, Aston Hall and the Custard Factory but always with a comic twist. There's something here for everyone – from depictions of modern-day Goths in Pigeon Park to yesteryear's children hanging off the back of the old Corporation buses. There's football pictures about the Blues, Villa and West Brom – both tragic and comic! One about Jasper Carrott and of course King Kong has to make an appearance. Here the Birmingham buses are peopled by bears, Morris dancers, druids, Santa Claus and even the Royal Family. There's pictures of Birmingham's public statues: the Iron Man squaring up to a Cyberman, Bullie being harassed and the statue of Victorian reformer Thomas Attwood attracting the attention of the police. The Beatles, characters from Father Ted, Dracula, Daleks and the Peaky Blinders all make an appearance in this enthralling collection. Robert sells prints of his work at local art markets in Moseley, Kings Heath and the MAC as well as in the city centre before Christmas. His work is also available to purchase online at robspaintings.com. As well as being a practicing artist, Robert is an art tutor who has run art sessions in primary schools for many years and also teaches drawing and painting to adults.

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Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) was a globally important industrialist who introduced innovative minting practices at this Soho Mint. This book describes the processes involved, from mining the copper to the delivery of products to the customer. There was a shortage of small change towards the end of the 18th century, and Boulton strove to solve this problem, eventually obtaining customers all over Britain, including the British Government. He also made coins for the East India Company, and for Europe, Africa, the West Indies and America. Included is Boulton's role in the copper industry, and how he obtained his raw materials; his expertise in steel making for dies, and the technology of his new steam-powered mint. The design, production, marketing and distribution of the finished product is also covered. The book is illustrated with over 200 colour images, including an extensive section on the coins, tokens and medals produced at the Soho Mint.

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This second book by Maggie Payne is a collection of fond reminiscences and anecdotes about her life growing up and living in the small town of Alcester in Warwickshire from the 1950s onward. The book describes what it is about Alcester with its people and traditions that makes it so unique, with plenty of scrapes that Maggie gets herself into along the way! A well-known figure in the town, Maggie is a former Alcester Mayoress and Chairman of Alcester in Bloom and these lighthearted memoirs are intended to put a smile on the face of the reader as they take a walk down memory lane with her.

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A mischievous ghost lurks in the Palace Theatre, Redditch; the Technical Manager has seen it three times. The Bull's Head at Inkberrow is haunted by a young seamstress. A female spirit has been seen four times in room 307 at the Falcon Hotel, Stratford. A courting couple went to Henley for the day and were advised by the ghost of an elderly lady to finish their relationship. These and over a hundred ghost stories, both ancient and modern, are packed into this book including many eye-witness accounts and spinechilling anecdotes.

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When Alex's bowling hits a rough patch, his sister tells him he needs to be more aggressive. Alex doesn't think much of this advice and embarks on his own journey to discover what kind of preparation will work best for him. Can Alex sort out his bowling in time for the important match against the dreaded Smasher Jones and his team next week? This story touches on the themes of mindfulness, resilience and the sometimes underrated art of just being yourself. At Chance to Shine, our aim is to improve the lives of young people through participation in cricket. In schools, we take our work in the classroom as seriously as our work in the playground. For this reason, we are delighted that Alex's cricketing journey continues in this new reading book. You will find some familiar characters and meet a few interesting new ones. My favourite is Smasher Jones! Laura Cordingley, Chief Executive, Chance to Shine.

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This first and ground-breaking biography of Arthur Jefferson, the father of Stan Laurel (the mastermind behind the legendary comedy partnership of Laurel and Hardy), reveals that he was a major influence on his son, a fine comic actor himself, a successful playwright, and an excellent example of the provincial theatrical lessees who provided Victorians and Edwardians with their main source of entertainment. It describes the ups and downs of his life, family and career and how, in middle age, he had to confront the challenge to the world of intimate, local, live theatre from the emerging global, silent and then sound cinema industry. Ironically, it was the success of films like those of Laurel and Hardy which all but destroyed the provincial theatrical world that Arthur loved.

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In Down to Earth, Nancy Cooper gives us a glimpse into the real life of a seventeen year old young woman who is recruited into the Women’s Land Army in 1943. It is a big change from her life at Old Hill in the Black Country, and a welcome escape from the secretarial training that she was desperate to avoid. She soon found herself living alone, far from home and working on several farms. She managed to milk 30 cows, working alone, as she did her part in providing the country with enough food in the shortages both during and after WWII. At one farm she cared for a yard full of pigs, who cunningly tried to outwit her attempts to share their food out. Dealing with unfairly jealous wives, strange billeting arrangements with a nocturnal visitor and rats everywhere were also ways in which Nancy’s resourcefulness was tested. There is now a memorial to honour the work of the Women’s Land Army at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire. If you go to see it you will notice that the rats have got in on this as well!

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The Worcester and Birmingham Canal, some thirty miles long, was created from 1791, when it was authorised by Act of Parliament, to 1815 when it was completed 24 years later. Although intended as a broad canal for barges and having five broad tunnels, it was eventually completed with narrow locks due to financial difficulties. From Gas Street Basin at the Birmingham end it passes through the suburbs of Edgbaston, Selly Oak and Kings Norton, then through the long West Hill Tunnel and via Hopwood and Alvechurch through countryside to Tardebigge, all this section being on the Birmingham Level. Then it descends in stages via fifty-six narrow locks and two barge locks to the River Severn at Diglis via Stoke Prior, Hanbury Wharf, Dunhampstead, Oddingley, Tibberton, Blackpole and the eastern suburbs of Worcester City. The earlier chapters of this book trace in detail the successive stages reached in making the canal and the reservoirs needed to safeguard the water supplies of millowners, the financial and other problems faced, and the saga of the Tardebigge Boat Lifi. Later chapters cover the history of the canal following its completion, its use for both commercial and pleasure purposes, its administration and management, its upkeep and maintenance, its involvement with railways, and the various industries and amenities which were established beside it, Three of the final chapters feature past and present places and items of interest located along the canal from Birmingham to Worcester. Of special interest throughout is the impact the canal had upon the lives of countless people, those involved in its construction, those who lived and worked on the boats, those who were employed by the Canal Company as engineers, lock-keepers and maintenance men, people who worked in canalside factories, shops, public house, boatyards, and on wharves, and those concerned for the welfare of canal boat families and their animals.

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Over 80 ex-employees and their descendants give perceptive and often humorous accounts of life in the Enfield works, charting its expansion from a humble needle factory into one of Britain's best known motorcycle manufacturers. Contributions include Enfield-trained Bill Lomas, double World and British motorcycling champion, and Johnny Brittain who describes how he became the youngest member of the British winning team in the 1953 International Six Days Trial. They create a company renowned for its family atmosphere, where generation succeeded generation - a company whose expertise not only produced first class motor cycles like the Bullet, the Crusader and the Interceptor but also pioneered air-cooled diesel engines and were even involved in the development of atomic energy. The concluding stories are by those who worked there during the final ten years, when the company was reduced from a workforce of over 1,500 to one employee in the front room of a terraced house.

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The fifties was the decade that saw Birmingham getting back to its feet, shaking off the dust and demolition of the war years and slowly getting on with the business of "Life as normal". For that reason we've deliberately weighted the book in favour of the later years in order to show a brighter city. Digging deep, we've discovered quite a few rare items and, bearing in mind your comments, once again included dozens and dozens of those much-loved street scenes. Lots of firms jostle for position with their advertisements and we do hope that many of our 300+ images ring bells with you. It seems a miracle to me that so much photographic evidence of Birmingham's past still remains!

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Reality Shows. They may be all the rage on television at present but let's face it - the real reality is here! The minute you open the book you see life as it really was. The streets, and there are dozens of them, leaping out at you as true-to-life as ever. Much loved stars still topping the bill. Cars, that we now know have ceased to be manufactured, travelling along our highways. Factories, that haven't existed for years, were in the 60's proudly standing as if their lives and ours depended on them - and indeed they did. Here's a show bursting at the seams with more than 350 images and you can't get greater reality than that. Enjoy a decade which began - wait for it - over half-a-century ago.

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Brenda 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.

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With full access to the Bournville archives, Dr. Chinn has traced the history of this distinguished family and its long established business.

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The Girl from Guildford Street describes a working class childhood, growing up in Lozells, Birmingham, 1957-1968. The author and her sister and cousins were the last generation to grow up in the back to backs: Birmingham council houses, two up, one down; no bathroom, inside toilet, central heating or hot running water; centred around a back yard with outside toilets, sheds and a brew'us or wash house. The author looks at family life in the back to backs, and how whole families lived on one street. The author's parents both worked in local factories at a time when manufacturing was booming in Birmingham. This is not a misery memoir - it is the story of a happy childhood in one of Birmingham's poorest areas. It also looks at the Sixties - the fashions, the politics, the music, the hairstyles, the World Cup - as a golden age.

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Have Drums Will Travel.

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