Search results for ""the history press""

For countless holiday-makers, a trip to the seaside resorts of the West Country used to mean travelling on the network of lines operated by the Great Western and the London and South Western railways. Before the reshaping of British Railways following the Beeching Report in 1963, a wide variety of trains operated in Devon. This book chronicles these trains during a period of dramatic change, as lines were closed down, steam traction was phased out and the thundering express and the hard-working tank disappeared. A wealth of these lost images can be found within this evocative collection of over 200 photographs. Comprising the work of both amateurs and professionals, the book also reveals glimpses of the stations, the people who worked on the lines, and of the high days and disasters. Brought together here as a collection, they pay homage to the great days of steam.

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Wales is especially rich in the folklore of place, and this collection brings a new perspective to the history of Denbighshire, the oldest inhabited area of Wales. With hills, valleys, moorland and coast, this varied land has inspired many tales of ancient battles, strange creatures and curious customs. This compilation of stories from the ancient lore of the modern county of Denbighshire includes local legends, folk tales, stories of magic and mystery and tales of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Discover dragons and devils, ghosts and giants, witches and cunning men, poets, heroes, saints, kings and queens and, of course, Y Tylwyth Teg, The Fair Folk. A speaker of both languages of Wales, the author has collected some unusual material which will be of particular interest to non-Welsh speakers, who will meet these tales for the first time here.With illustrations from local artist Ed Fisher complementing the tales, this volume will be enjoyed by old and young alike. Mae'na groeso cynnes Cymreig yma i bawb. There is a warm Welsh welcome here to all.

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A biography of the man who founded St Dunstan's for blinded service personnel.

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For the first time, the story of Jersey in the First World War is revealed. Whilst the island's role in the Second World War is well documented, a generation earlier another devastating war had struck Jersey, jeopardising the lives and liberties of its people. In 1915, a band of 300 young men known as the Jersey Company volunteered to fight for king and country in a war beyond the comprehension of many. Feted as heroes, they proudly took their place in the trenches of the Western front. But the war was to have a devastating effect - both on the Jersey Company and their island. Soon the volunteers were not only fighting the enemy, but also waging a bitter struggle for continued recognition and support from home. Accompanied by some incredible rare photographs, this book tells the moving but ultimately tragic story of one small and unique unit caught in the maelstrom of the Great War. This is an eye-opening account of one of the most important periods in Jersey's history and promises to fascinate anyone interested in the island's extraordinary past.

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Princes Risborough, a small, pleasent town nestling in the Chiltern Hills, has seen many changes over the years, especially since the Second World War. In this delightful record, many stories and anecdotes have been gathered from the people who have lived and worked in the town throughout the post-war period. Long-time Risborough residents Mike and Angela Payne have interviewed scores of people about living and working in the town. The book includes untold stories, personal memories and the contributions individuals have made. All this is complemented by over sixty pictures, some previously unseen, from the authors' and local people's private collections. This volume provides a glimpse into how the town has changed and developed, as seen through the eyes of those who know it best. Bringing back nostalgic memories of real life in Buckinghamshire town, this truly is a book for the people by the people.

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In AD 43, the Romans landed an invasion force on the shores of Britain that heralded the beginnings of recorded British history and laid the cultural foundations of today’s national identity. Yet despite the crucial importance of this event, the actual location of the landings remains unclear. From Victorian antiquarians to today’s modern scholars and archaeologists, there has been much written over the years with regard to this particular question, with Richborough in Kent and Chichester in Sussex proposed as contemporary favourites. Whilst still being universal in its approach, this book is less reliant on archaeology or literary records to support its conclusions, and instead places greater emphasis on the practical problems the Romans faced in deciding on a landing site. The result is a book which presents a straightforward and logical study which can be readily appreciated by both the general reader and the specialist alike.

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In Napoleon's Briton's Paul Brunyee presents a fresh study of Napoleon's last years as a captive on St Helena, telling the story of this final chapter in Bonaparte's life as seen through the eyes of the Britons around him. The Royal Navy officers to whom he surrendered; the people of Brixham who came to gaze in awe at the man when he appeared on the deck of the Bellerophon; the British radicals who recalled what he had done to curb the French Revolution; and those whose job it was to guard and entertain the most famous dictator in Europe on the small island to which he was banished. Brunyee offers insight into the reasoning behind the decision to send Napoleon to the remote island, and paints a fascinating portrait of Napoleon's life on St Helena, his turbulent relationships with his captors, his relationship with Admiral Cockburn and his efforts to persuade visitors to the island to his cause.

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This fascinating collection of 200 archive images traces some of the changes that have taken place in Cleveland during the last century, as many old agricultural communities were swallowed up by the development of modern industry. Filled with historical insight and local reminiscences, the story of this development is told through detailed chapters on schools, worship, leisure and work. All aspects of everyday life is here, providing a rare insight into a vanished way of life. Around Cleveland will appeal to all who know and love this area.

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This is Ned Williams and the Mount Pleasant Local History Group's third book about Quarry Bank and this time they take a fresh look at this little Black Country township, plus the even smaller place next door - simply known as The Delph. The area covered is part of the modern Metropolitan Borough of Dudley - the capital of the Black Country. All human life was to be found in these communities of colliers, brickyard workers and bucket-bashers before the days when motorists roared by on their way to the Merry Hill Shopping Centre. This collection of old photographs will make you pause awhile and explore some of the old shops, chapels, canals, vanished industrial enterprises, workshops and byways you never knew existed.

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The Peak District of Derbyshire is said to experience more bizarre happenings and unexplainable encounters than any other part of England. This chilling collection of true-life tales details many terrifying accounts of spectres and apparitions which have been documented over the years. Ranging from private residences and graveyards to public houses, tourist attractions, theatres and museums, this book includes many pulse-raising narratives that are guaranteed to make your blood run cold. Containing over sixty illustrations, Haunted Peak District will appeal to everyone with an interest in the supernatural history of this part of Derbyshire.

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The superb photographs in this book take the reader on a fascinating journey through the recent history of Hampstead, Kilburn, Belsize Park, Swiss Cottage, Primrose Hill and Chalk Farm. The pictures give and unforgettable impression of familiar streets and districts as they developed, and the book offers and evocative insight into the daily lives and living conditions of the residents in the early years of this century. The collection features historic photographs of the now-fashionable streets when they were occupied by local tradesmen like the rat-catcher, the chimney-sweep and the bootmaker. It shows horse-drawn buses at Swiss Cottage and sheep grazing on Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill. But perhaps the most striking pictures in the collection are those of Londoners who flocked to Hampstead at weekends in the early 1099s to be entertained by fairs, in tea-gardens and pubs. The publication of so many rare photographs in this book will add to the knowledge, appreciation and enjoyment of everyone who takes a keen interest in the history of this famous part of north London.

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Sunderland Transport takes the reader on a ride back in time on the trams and buses that once plied the city's streets. Put together by local transport enthusiast John Carlson, this book is packed with photos, illustrations and diagrams that depict the growth and change in public transport when Sunderland was still a town, including the many different types of trams and buses that were in the corporation's employ and at the Wheatsheaf, Hylton and Fulwell depots including the repair and maintenance facilities. Also covered are the services of Sunderland and District Tramway Company and its follow-on bus operations and those of the Economic bus company. Along the way there is a good glimpse of some of the local features such as the Wear Bridge, town centre shops and the long tramline up Durham Road that make Sunderland such a unique place in which to live.

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Queen Victoria was the longest reigning monarch in British history. In this concise biography, Lady Longford, long recognised as an authority on the subject, gives a full account of Queen Victoria's life and provides her unique assessment of the monarch. Victoria ascended the throne in 1837 on the death of her uncle William IV. In 1840 she married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and for the next twenty years they were inseparable. Their descendants were to succeed to most of the thrones of Europe. When Albert died in 1861 Victoria's overwhelming grief caused her to almost withdraw from public life for several years. This perceived dereliction of public duty, coupled with rumours about her relationship with her Scottish ghillie, John Brown, led to increasing criticism. Coaxed back into the public eye by Disraeli, she resumed her political and constitutional interest with vigour until her death in 1901.

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For as long as anyone can remember, coal has been the lifeblood of the communities of County Durham. In its heyday, in 1913, the region boasted 304 pits employing 165,246 people. Coalmining in Durham was recorded as early as the twelfth century and medieval collieries flourished along the Wear Valley. A dramatic increase in coal production following the Industrial Revolution saw the county become one of the country's major sources of fuel, as it remained well into the twentieth century. The anonymous individuals, and their families, behind the story of coalmining in the area are the subject of this book, which is both an authoritative history and a fascinating portrayal of Durham life. A wide range of material is covered, from clear, illustrated explanations of the technicalities and terminology of coal extraction and coke-making, to the story of the Durham Miners' Association and its struggle for improvements in living and working conditions. The hardships and dangers of the miner's life are recalled in the pictures of the great pit disasters and the words of the survivors and rescuers, but the comradeship and community are never lost sight of and come into their own in the accounts of pit village life and of the famous Durham Miners' Gala.

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The struggle between Germany and the Allies along the Western Front is for many the most familiar element of World War I. However, many less well-known theatres of conflict, key to the overall progress and conduct of the war, hold as much relevance to both the traveller and the armchair enthusiast. In this work, the author sheds light on the fighting methods of the protagonists in less familiar settings, whether in the Italian Alps or in the cloying heat of the Greek coast.In the first weeks of fighting, stubborn Belgian resistance resulted in a desperate battle to stabilise the front and compelled the German advance to be diverted against the British at Ypres. French determination to win back Alsace-Lorraine plunged the Vosges region into fluid conflict for over a year from August 1914 before both sides realised the impossibility of a decisive success in this area. The three-year struggle between Italy and Austria across the alpine passes was to draw German, British and French forces into the region. Anglo-French assistance to the Serbs through Salonika produced a standoff between the Allies and the Central Powers which was only to be resolved in the last months of the war.

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Do you remember Beatlemania? Radio Caroline? Mods and Rockers? The very first miniskirts? Then the chances are you were born in the or around 1960.To the young people of today, the 1960s seems like another age. But for those who grew up in this decade, school life, 'mod' fashions and sixties pop music are still fresh in their minds. From James Bond to Sindy dolls and playing hopscotch in the street, life was very different to how it is now. After the tough and frugal years of the fifties, the sixties was a boom period, a time of changed attitudes and improved lifestyles. With chapters on home and school life, games and hobbies, music and fashion, alongside a selection of charming illustrations, this delightful compendium of memories will appeal to all who grew up in this lively era. Take a nostalgic look at what it was like to grow up during the sixties and recapture all aspects of life back then.

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It is said that 'an army marches on its stomach,' but histories of the First World War usually concentrate on its political and military aspects. The gargantuan task of keeping the British Expeditionary Force fed and watered is often overlooked, yet without adequate provision the soldiers would never have been able to fight. Tommy couldn't get enough tea, rum or fags, yet his commanders sent him bully beef and dog biscuits. But it was amazing how 2 million men did not usually go short of nourishment, although parcels from home, canteens and estaminets had a lot to do with that. Incredibly, Tommy could be in a civilised town supping, beer, wine, egg and chips, and a few hours later making do with bully beef in a water-filled trench. Alan Weeks examines how the army got its food and drink and what it was like.

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In 1909, Canterbury antiquarian Percy Maylam published his research and remarkable photographs of the fascinating Kent tradition of the hooden horse. He caught the custom in its last traditional phase, but his work inspired a revival after the Second World War. Percy Maylam also published a famous essay on the Kent custom of Gavelkind when this was abolished by Act of Parliament just before the First World War. Percy's great-nephew Richard Maylam has long-wished for these two works to be reprinted. For this special edition Richard has unearthed additional, unpublished photographs and written a biographical essay on his great-uncle. Together with Richard, Mick Lynn and Geoff Doel have worked to make Percy Maylam's text available to a new generation of potential hoodeners and their audiences.

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Loughborough in Old Photographs records the growth of Loughborough from a small market town to a popular destination for students, housing one of the country's leading universities for sports education. David R. Burton has drawn together unique images from the archives of the Loughborough Monitor and Leicester Mercury. Loughborough's role as Leicestershire's premier market town is shown through images of key landmarks. This book is an important record of the development of Loughborough and offers a wonderful insight into the past for residents and visitors alike.

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Islington retains a distinct personality which dates back to the days when it was a villages in the countryside visited by Londoners for leisure pursuits. This fascinating collection of nearly 200 old photographs of the Borough takes a nostalgic look back at some of the changes of the last hundred years. We see the old shops, street markets and theatres, including the music halls, and some of the people who lived and worked in the area. Dramatic changes in public transport can be seen, from horse-drawn bus and tramcar to the arrival of the Underground and the motorbus.This book includes early scenes of Holloway and Canonbury, Finsbury Park, the construction of the Highgate Archway and the new stand for Arsenal at Highbury in the 1930s. These old scenes will bring back strong memories for some and enlighten others about an Islington that is now history. This book takes us on a journey through Islington's past, sometime quite recognizable, sometimes unfamiliar, but in a time of rapid change, it is all the more interesting look at what has gone before.

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This volume celebrates every aspect of Yorkshire's history. Including subjects as diverse as Roman Yorkshire, Yorkshire castles and abbeys, historic York and coaching days in Yorkshire, prehistoric Yorkshire, Yorkshire folklore, Robin Hood of Yorkshire, ghost houses, and industry, canals and railways, it is a fascinating tour through Yorkshire's past. Richly illustrated and meticulously researched, this book will delight all lovers of the Dales.

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This collection is comprised almost entirely of images which have never previously appeared in print. Starting in the earliest days of photography, travelling through the war years to the post-war period and finishing with the shipyards and pits of the 1970s, in the last days of those industries, this collection will delight and amaze in equal measure.This volume will draw upon the extensive research of Living History North East. With the memories of Sunderland residents long gone and the contribution of many of the area's current residents, it is a book that celebrates every aspect of life in the area. It will enthral residents and visitors alike.

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Starting with the dawn of what we would recognise as modern human thought, this book journeys through 35,000 years of our human past. It shows how our earliest ancestors learnt to enter trance states and the revolutionary effect this had on the way they interacted with their world. Moreover, by marrying the very latest research with vivid first-person reconstructions, the book will actually take readers back in time. In its pages we join Stone Age hunting parties, steal food from desperate, starving cannibals, sit eye-to-eye with a mouldy Bronze Age mummy and join the Celts for a feast where you truly are what you eat. The story of our past has never been told this way before and has never been brought to life with such vividness. This is the past as our ancestors would have known it.

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Along with its rich history and spectacular scenery, the county of Monmouthshire is home to a great many curious and unusual buildings, objects and landscape features that have survived the centuries. Mike Hall condenses the area’s long and fascinating history into a collection of memorable ‘curiosities’ that are still to be seen today. Visitors — and even residents — frequently walk by some of these age-old fragments of the past without fully realising just what they are, or how they relate to Monmouthshire’s past. This well-illustrated book is a guide to 100 of these remarkable sights, including the largest lump of coal in the world, the church which still bears the marks of the great tsunami flood of 1607, and the grave of a Rorke’s Drift VC winner. Monmouthshire Curiosities will encourage readers to explore the remoter parts of the Welsh Borders and perhaps make their own curious discoveries.

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Explore the rich heritage of Christmas past in Kent with this varied collection of carols and customs, stories, folklore and reminiscences. With extracts from a diverse range of sources, including novels, journals and diaries, this delightful anthology features seasonal extracts from writers with local connections such as Charles Dickens, Russell Thorndike and H.E. Bates. Stories of wrecks on the notorious Goodwin Sands, Nelson's last journey and Christmas at Leeds Castle are illustrated with a fine selection of seasonal etchings and photographs. Along with evocative reminiscences of wonderful Christmases past, these stories are a festive treat for both long-time residents and newcomers to enjoy.

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This collection of strange events and mysterious sightings covers all types of paranormal activity witnessed over the years in Stoke-on-Trent. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources, this selection includes UFOs and black dogs, ghosts and poltergeists, mermaids and witches, and many other bizarre phenomena. Accompanied by eyewitness interviews and press reports, this incredible volume will invite the reader to view the town in a whole new light. Illustrated with over 50 intriguing pictures, Paranormal Stoke-on-Trent is sure to appeal to everyone interested in the mysteries of the paranormal.

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China and Iran have featured heavily in the news in recent years. China is both a military and an economic superpower with 20% of the world's population; Iran is suspected of developing nuclear weapons and arming terrorists, and sits on the world's second-largest oil and gas reserves. They are also surprisingly close geographically: Iran is only 700 miles across Afghanistan from China's extreme western border. A 25-year, $100 billion deal to supply China with oil and gas and the large number of Chinese companies operating in Iran shows that the two are moving increasingly close in both political and economic terms. But what does this mean for the rest of the world, and especially for 'the West?' Edward Burman examines how the strikingly similar histories of these two ancient civilisations can inform what the likely consequences for the world of an alliance between them might be.

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This fascinating book is the culmination of more than a year's research by Anthony Dodsworth helped by members of the Rawmarsh and Parkgate Local History Group and some of the students from St Pius X Catholic High School, Wath-upon-Dearne. The area's unique heritage is captured here with stories of schooldays, the Whit parades, working lives in the coal mines and steelworks, the Second World War, and, of course, some of Rawmarsh's well-known and shops and businesses, including Schonhut's Butchers and Robbie's Picture House. Filled with tales that will move, remind and delight the reader, this nostalgic volume will engage and entrance all who know the area.

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Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the UK's best-loved and largest charities. It is most widely known for its Macmillan nurses, who give care and support to people living with cancer and their families. But it does so much more, providing a wide range of medical help, but also practical, emotional and financial support to people whose lives have been turned upside down by cancer; something that one in three of us will get at some point in our lives. Macmillan has been at the heart of cancer care for a century. And until now no history has been written. This book is the heart-warming story of how one man's vision in Edwardian England has grown into a huge movement of people today, staff, supporters, volunteers, all with one aim; to improve the lives of people living with cancer. Former Deputy Chief Executive Paul N. Rossi traces the charity's origins and development alongside the history of cancer itself, and discovers how Macmillan continues to support people in an ever-changing cancer world.

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In 1900, Billingham was a rural community with a history going back over 1,000 years. This fascinating collection of over 200 archive photographs celebrates more than a century of history: beginning in the very earliest days of photography, it moves from the country lanes and farms of the 1920s to the factories and industries - particularly, of course, ICI - of the 1960s and the bustling town of today.Local author Paul Menzies, who has lived in the region for many years, has drawn on interviews with residents for this collection, some conducted as long as thiry years ago. It will delight everyone who knows the town.

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This is not a book about the prehistoric peoples who built the stone circles. Rather it is light-hearted look at the weird and wonderful uses that these circles have been put to through the ages. This strange and fascinating list of uses ranges from murder to the site of a rock concert . Discover how some circles were used for sex and promoting fertility, another for preventing pregnancy, and how these sites have been associated with fairies, witches, the Devil, UFOs, space aliens and visionary experiences amongst other things. In this unique guide by Geoff Holder, major sites such as Stonehenge and Avebury rub shoulders with comparatively little-known circles. As well as stone circles the book includes single standing stones, burial cairns, prehistoric rock art, and carved Pictish stones.

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The purpose of this book is to make available ideas, procedures and evidence that will help people explore their own areas. It starts from the premise that 'nothing ever happened here' and looks at the kinds of features that can be found, what state they might be found in, in what locations they can be expected to lie and how to read the landscape in order to find them. This covers a range of likely finds such as identifying old trackways, farm and agricultural evidence, water power extraction such as old mills, different types of building trace and foundation, and linear and discrete earthworks. It also provides information on how to avoid misidentification and distinguish critical evidence, and how documentary and air photography evidence can be used to help explain features on the ground.

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This fascinating collection of more than 200 photographs captures some of the ways in which the area of Teesside has changed over the last 100 years. Many of the images were taken by local photographer Jack Wright, and have never previously been published. His photographs offer an intriguing glimpse into the developments of this area of the east coast over the years, from the depression of the 1920s and the golden era of the 1930s (when ambitious developments such as the Coatham Enclosure were built), on to the dark years of the Second World War and then to the beauty pageants and children's shows of the 1950s. This collection will both captivate those who remember Teesside in days gone by and delight anyone who has ever longed to be beside the seaside.

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The Atlantic locomotive is often described as the 'Queen' of locomotives and the image of it steaming full-blast for Chicago, Edinburgh or Paris represents a bygone age. Created in an era of great technical development at the beginning of the twentieth century, it quickly became the most prestigious and popular of the new engines, generating plenty of steam and horsepower. 60 per cent of the Atlantics ran in the USA but the UK's 310 engines included a wide range of sub-species. Atlantics quickly achieved legendary status and adorned posters, playing cards and postage stamps, dominated grand exhibitions such as the 1904 St Loius world fair, and by the 1930s Atlantics took 100mph in their stride and were among the fastest machines on earth.

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Illustrated with more than fifty photographs and drawing upon a variety of sources including court records and newspaper reports, this collection of true-crime stories provides a fascinating introduction to the darker side of Kingston-upon-Hull's past. From the strange case of Nellie Waite, who was found guilty of murdering an infant from beyond the grave, to the amazing story of serial killer William Burkett, who escaped the hangman's noose no fewer than three times, this book documents a wide range of murderous misdeeds and criminal exploits. Featuring cases of poisonings, stabbings, strangulations and suffocations, Murder and Crime in Kingston-upon-Hull is sure to horrify and captivate anyone interested in the criminal history of the area.

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Jack Metcalf was blinded by smallpox at the age of six, but he did not let this stop him from leading an astonishing and adventurous life - becoming an expert horseman, gambler and guide. He eloped at the age of twenty-one; ran numerous enterprises; joined the military as a musician, and led the Yorkshire Blues onto the battlefield at Culloden.

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In the early nineteenth century a few scattered farms and cottages were all that could be seen on the site of what is now Crewe. However, the arrival of Grand Junction Railway heralded a new era, and Crewe was born. The settlement's rapid expansion meant that it soon became an important and vibrant town. In this lavishly illustrated guide, local historian Peter Ollerhead explores the town's development right up until the present day. With sections on local industries, education, religion and recreation, all aspect of everyday life are discussed. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, and including a collection of recommended walks around the town, this detailed guide to Crewe is as fascinating as the location it describes and will appeal to residents and tourists alike.

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Before the advent of the internal combustion engine, the only reliable means of getting about on Birmingham's roads was by walking or by horse. Many businesses ran fleets of horses and wagons to deliver goods around the city, horse trams carried the burgeoning population of the metropolis to and from work, while hansom cabs carried the well-off to the Theatre or to the city's parks. Within the pages of Birmingham's Horse Transport, Eric Armstrong takes us on a tour of the city, using images of horses at work to tell the story of the growth of the city's road transport network. From the city centre to suburbs such as Aston, Birchfield, Bourneville, Handsworth, Harborne, Lozells, Perry Barr, Saltley and Sparkhill he gives us a flavour of a time long gone, when horses, carts, coaches and trams were a common sight on the city's streets.

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This captivating book is the second volume illustrating Llanelli, containing over 200 entirely new images that explore the social history of the town. This wonderful set of rare photographs recalls the people and places that have shaped Llanelli's past. Around Llanelli Revisited illustrated various aspects of the town's life, from work and industry to religion and art. Documenting its evolution throughout the nineteenth century and the continuing development right up to the present day, this collection contains pictures of Llanelli's most important landmarks, many of which will be instantly recognisable to those who are familiar with the region. The book was produced by the author of Around Lanelli, Brian Davies, who was born and raised in the town, and retains strong connections to the area. A nostalgic reminder of Llanelli's past, this collection will delight those who know Llanelli, as well as people interested in the history of this fascinating town.

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The workhouse system officially ended in 1930, and the world in now a very different place. Many former workhouse buildings have vanished; the survivors, ironically, have often been converted into luxurious houses and flats, and their original purpose forgotten. Yet the memory of the nightmarish austerity of the workhouses, as well as the inmates who lived and laboured there, has never faded. Featuring more than 100 evocative images of workhouses from across the Midlands, from Derbyshire all the way through to Oxfordshire, this book provides a rare pictorial record of both. With section providing detailed histories of the establishment in each area, this book illustrates almost every facet of the evolution of the workhouse.The controversial issues of education for children born into destitution and corporal punishment are also punishment presented here, reflecting much wider social attitudes and contemporary political thought. With descriptions of the inmates' daily routine and exhausting labour - which included bone crushing, stone breaking, corn grinding and oakum picking - Workhouses of the Midlands provides a unique insight into the regimented lifestyle of the workhouse and a history that should never be forgotten.

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From memories of childhood when no policeman was safe, to working life spent down the pits of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, to vacations in the Paris of the fifties, this is a unique history of one worker's life and of mining in the country. Illustrated with more than ninety photographs, this book will contain many familiar faces for those who have been involved with the mining industry of the area and will bring back fond memories for many, whilst offering others a fascinating glimpse into a vanished world.

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Containing several stories about the people of Essex, this book offers an insight into different people's lives at Christmastime. It includes several sketches and photographs of the people and their lives.

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This book looks at the varied bus companies that once served this Sussex market town from the turn of the twentieth century to the present day. Laurie James tells of the ups and downs of the humble companies that operate bus services in and around Horsham. Profusely illustrated with many images, the book will be of interest to both locals and bus enthusiasts alike.

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A companion to "Edinburgh Old Town", this book provides more than 200 archive images accompanied by captions that explore the life and history of the streets of Edinburgh New Town. Drawing from the photographic archives of the city library, it gives a pictorial record of the quarter that's become a world heritage site.

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A collection of stories that describes the haunted pubs and inns all over the UK. It is suitable for anyone interested in the both the paranormal and darker historical side of Britain's old taverns.

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The Sunderland Empire is one of the grand old provincial theatres. This collection of more than 150 archive photographs is a comprehensive history of the building. It charts the evolution of the Empire from the days of Victorian music hall to the Girl who Loves a Soldier', to the jazz age, the revues of the post-war era and the plays and concerts.

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Shakepeare's "lass unparallel", the mistress of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, Cleopatra was born in 69 BC and died before she reached the age of forty, when Alexandria fell to Octavian-Augustus in 30 BC. She is portrayed as the supreme seductress, beautiful, unprincipled and licentious. These aspects of her character have been handed down to us through the centuries as a result of propaganda spread by her enemies in Rome. In reality Cleopatra was not beautiful in appearance, but it was her natural grace, intelligence and lively conversation that made her attractive. She was a wise judge of men and a shrewd and ambitious politician. She was charming, clever, courageous, cunning and chaste; despite her reputation for immorality. She had only two lovers, Caesar and Antony, the foremost Romans of their day, who helped her to keep her throne and her kingdom intact. The last of the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt, she was the seventh queen to bear her name, but for most people there is only one Cleopatra.

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This collection of stories and twice-told tales from around Somerset lifts the shrouds off many new and legendary hauntings, including some spine-tingling experienes as recounted to the author by Somerset townsfolk, villagers and visitors. Researching historical and contemporary sources. Haunted Somerset reveals its uniquely supernatural heritage from a coffin on the road, eerie Bath, the phantoms of Sedgemoor, Dunster Castle's ghostly sightings, headless horsemen, animal apparitions and Exmoor spectres... and if these are not enough to curdle your nervous system, a screaming skull and the grisly haunted associated with a curate murderered by some of his parishoners who was rumoured to have been cannibalised!

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