Download or read book The A Z of Curious Sussex written by Wendy Hughes and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2017-12-29 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this engaging book, Wendy Hughes takes you on a grand tour of the curious and bizarre, the strange and the unusual from Sussex's past. Read about the Alfriston Star – the hostelry for medieval package tours with its unusual ship's figurehead, the Russian memorial to Finnish soldiers, Crazy Jack who couldn't stop building and who is buried in a pyramid, the inventor of vapour baths and the lady who fooled the army. Along the way you will meet scandalous residents, inventors, and smugglers galore. The A-Z of Curious Sussex is guaranteed to fascinate both resident and visitor alike.
Download or read book The Little Book of Norfolk written by Neil R Storey and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Little Book of Norfolk is a repository of intriguing, fascinating, obscure, strange and entertaining facts and trivia about one of England's most colourful counties. It is an essential to the born and bred Norfolk folk or anyone who knows and loves the county. Armed with this fascinating tome the reader will have such knowledge of the county, its landscape, people, places, pleasures and pursuits they will be entertained and enthralled and never short of some frivolous fact to enhance conversation or quiz! A reference book and a quirky guide, this can be dipped in to time and time again to reveal something new about the people, the heritage, the secrets and the enduring fascination of the county. A remarkably engaging little book, this is essential reading for visitors and locals alike.
Download or read book Ancient Legends Retold The Legend of Pryderi written by Fiona Collins and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2013-04-08 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Four Branches of the Mabinogion are a rich treasure trove of tales. These magical, quintessentially Welsh stories are confusing, but it would be hard to match their splendid strangeness. The Four Branches tell of the kings and queens of Wales in the time of' 'Once upon a time'. Only one character appears in all Four Branches. He is Pryderi, and the story of his life journey is told in this book. Pryderi is brave and bold: sometimes foolhardy, always fiercely loyal. The stories of two beautiful, powerful women entwine with his: Rhiannon of the Birds, his mother, and Cigfa, his wife. Both accompany him on his life path. But, at the last, Pryderi must go on alone. Here, for the first time, his tale is told from beginning to end.
Download or read book The Channel Islands Book of Days written by Mark Brocklesby and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2013-08-01 with total page 703 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taking you through the year day by day, The Channel Islands Book of Days contains quirky, eccentric, amusing and important events and facts from different periods in the history of the islands. Ideal for dipping into, this addictive little book will keep you entertained and informed. Featuring hundreds of snippets of information gleaned from the vaults of the Channel Island's archives and covering the social, criminal, political, religious, industrial and sporting history of the region, it will delight residents and visitors alike.
Download or read book Ancient Legends Retold The Legend of Vortigern written by Simon Heywood and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2013-04-08 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'My name is Vortigern ... ' Generations before Arthur's birth, a British warlord looks back on his life: his rise from humble roots to shake the thrones of a dying empire; his stand against chaos amid the aftermath of Rome; his struggle with the greedy, embittered princes of church and kingdom; his loves and his losses, and his last encounter with his own mysterious destiny, on a mountain where the world we know is beginning to take shape before his eyes. Vortigern's voice speaks from the heart of a forgotten darkness, telling a story of courage and cowardice, glory and crime, tragedy and treason.
Download or read book The Little Book of Oxfordshire written by Paul Sullivan and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2012-01-31 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Little Book of Oxfordshire is a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of the sort of frivolous, fantastic or simply strange information which 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 literally hundreds of wacky facts (plus some authentically bizarre bits of historic trivia). Combining essential facts with little-known, weird and often hilarious trivia, it is an essential purchase for all lovers of the county. Colourful characters and the general mayhem of Oxford history flow through the pages like the iconic Thames, Isis and Cherwell rivers. Dip in and celebrate!
Download or read book The Pit Sinkers of Northumberland and Durham written by Peter Ford Mason and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2012-08-01 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shaft sinking for the extraction of minerals has taken place for centuries, and for much of this time, coal mining was carried out in the North East of England. Various methods of pit sinking developed from the use of shallow bell pits to the excavation of deep shafts, in order to access rich seams of coal and other minerals for sale in rapidly urbanising areas such as London. In the close mining communities of Northumberland and Durham, those who dug the initial shafts, the sinkers themselves, were regarded as the mining elite. This book not only tells the story of mining itself, through upheaval and technological developments, but also focuses on the lives of miners and their families above ground in the emerging pit towns adn villages; places where religion adn miners' galas were an integral part of life. Peter Ford Mason, descended from three generations of County Durham miners, has written a fascinating investigation onto miming society, which makes a compelling read for anyone interested in the social history of the North East or the mining industry as a whole.
Download or read book Defending Cambridgeshire written by Mike Osborne and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2013-10-01 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout history, Cambridgeshire (including Huntingdon and Peterborough) has figured in many of the conflicts which have shaped our nation. Doomed Roman legionaries marched from Longthorpe to defeat by Boudicca's Iceni; Saxons and Danes fought over the edges of the Danelaw; the Normans came this way to crush Hereward's Fenland resistance; in the Civil War it provided the defended frontier between Parliamentarian and Royalist; in Napoleonic times French prisoners of war were incarcerated here; and in the twentieth century its flat expanses were home to numerous airfields and missile bases. This book describes the function and purpose of these defensive structures and reveals the evidence which many of these major events left on the ground: the earthworks of hill forts, medieval castles and moats; the masonry of later forts and strong-houses; drill halls and militia barracks; and the lines of anti-invasion defences from 1940.
Download or read book The Little Book of Manchester written by Stuart Hylton and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2013-04-15 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did You Know? In 1824 a Pendleton tollkeeper set up Britain's first true public bus service, thought to be one of the first in the world. Communism can claim to have been conceived, if not born, in Manchester as Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx used to meet in the city. Manchester has the grim distinction of being the place where the first death of the English Civil War occurred. The Little Book of Manchester is an intriguing, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of places, people and events in the city, from its Roman origins to the present day. Here you can read about the important contributions the city made to the history of the nation, learn about the individual communities and how they came together to form the modern city and meet some of the great men and women, the eccentrics and the scoundrels with which its history is littered. A reliable reference book and quirky guide, its bite-sized chunks of history can be dipped into time and again to reveal some new facts about the story of this amazing city. This is a remarkably engaging little book.
Download or read book The 1953 Essex Flood Disaster written by Patricia Rennoldson Smith and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2012-11-01 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On a stormy evening in January 1953, Peggy Morgan kissed her five-year-old son goodnight, blissfully unaware of the impending catastrophe. Before sunrise the next morning the North Sea had destroyed her home and Peggy was a childless widow. There had been no prediction, no warning. Men, women and children lost their lives in Essex on that fateful night and the lives of survivors were changed forever. The lucky ones awoke when ice-cold seawater burst through their doors and windows. Those not so lucky slept on towards death. This book captures, in the words of the survivors, the essence of life in the low-lying coastal areas before the disaster. Those who lived tell how, with dogged determination, they prevailed against unimaginable adversity: their stories of courage and fortitude are told simply and without self pity. And for the first time those who died have their story told. Illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs, the awe-inspiring and heartrending stories of survivors and victims of the 1953 Essex floods are told here for the first time.
Download or read book Scottish Folk Tales for Children written by Judy Paterson and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2017-03-09 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A giant sea monster ... trees that can dance ... a water-horse ... a girl so clever she outwits a giant ... Welcome to the world of the Scottish folk tale – a world of talking animals, mischief-making witches, giants, trolls, bold girls, reckless boys and, of course, the Wee Folk. These stories – specially chosen to be enjoyed by 7 to 11-year-old readers – burst with adventure and glitter with magic. As old as the mountains and the glens, these well- loved tales are retold by storyteller Judy Paterson.
Download or read book The Great Siege of Chester written by John Barratt and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2003-03-01 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The appalling effects of civil war are often suffered most horrifically by the ordinary men, women and children involuntarily caught up in it, as it tears asunder the very fabric of their lives. Such was the fate of the citizens of Chester, who for almost four years found themselves at the centre of the battle between King and Parliament. Chester's inhabitants withstood the terrors of bombardment and the rigours of starvation, in one of the most fiercely contested sieges of the Civil War. Using myriad contemporary sources it is possible for the first time to present a detailed picture of the part played in the siege by the 'common sort', the 'forgotten voices' of Chester: ordinary citizens forced by their employers to enlist in the City Regiment, their brutal introduction to the realities of war and their gallant defence of Chester.
Download or read book Crowns in a Changing World written by John Van der Kiste and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2003-07-24 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, almost every European nation was a monarchy, most linked by close family ties to her and Edward VII, the "uncle of Europe". Prior to the outbreak of World War I, the personal relationships of Edward, and of his successor and son, George V, flourished with the other royal families of Europe. The closeness of the European families was violently interrupted by the outbreak of war in 1914, and the armistice of 1918 brought three empires, namely Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia, crashing down. Some monarchies were strengthened, and others weakened beyond repair. In this well-researched study, John Van der Kiste has drawn upon previously unpublished material for the Royal Archives, Windsor, to show the realtionships between the crowned heads of Europe in the first part of the 20th century. His account sheds new light on foreign policy leading up to World War I.
Download or read book Tales from the Towpath written by Fiona Eadie and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2018-10-26 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you ever wondered about the people who lived and worked along the canals? Have you ever caught a glimpse of something they might have seen or an echo of something they might have heard? As the Stroudwater Navigation and the Thames and Severn canal wind their way from Framilode to Inglesham, they hold the stories of all who lived and worked on them. From Jack spinning yarns as he legs barges through the Sapperton Tunnel to Elizabeth swimming for all she is worth in the Wallbridge gala, the stories in ' Tales from the Towpath' span 250 years of life on the Cotswold canals. Mixing fact and fiction, they bring the past to life and, like all the best tales, appeal to children and adults alike. These original tales by storyteller Fiona Eadie are complemented by the evocative illustrations of local artist Tracy Spiers.
Download or read book The Ipswich Witch written by David L. Jones and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2015-02-02 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The year 1645 saw the biggest witch-hunt in English history. Faced by the extreme challenges of religious dissent, poverty, sickness and the threat of foreign invasion, Ipswich became an ideological battlefield during the English Civil Wars. Here Puritanism struggled against Catholic sensibilities, the Devil loomed at the door of every English home, and the age of the witchfinder was born. This book focuses on witchcraft in Ipswich and the most extreme punishment ever given to an English witch, and challenges some stereotypes of the period: reflecting on the growth in Puritan sects, gender politics, the exploitation of the poor, the importance of beliefs in the occult and the rise of English power in the New World.
Download or read book When Did Big Ben First Bong written by David Long and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-09-16 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Millions live there, millions more visit each year – but how many really know London? Find out: How New York's famous Central Park came to be modelled on a seventeenth-century London square When Primrose Hill almost gained a pyramid even larger than the Great Pyramid of Cheops Why about 640 people came to be drowned in the Thames in a single night What the royal family might do to escape London if the balloon ever goes up
Download or read book Defending Essex written by Mike Osborne and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2013-02-01 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For 2,000 years Essex, the county with the longest coast-line in England and dominating the eastern approaches to London, has been in the front-line against foreign invasion, from the Romans to the Spanish Armada to the two World Wars. It has also been involved in civil disorder, from the Anarchy and the Peasants' Revolt to the English Civil War. Many reminders of these scenes of conflict may be seen in the landscape - Iron Age forts, a Roman walled town, medieval castles, strong-houses and homestead moats, coastal fortifications from Napoleonic times and earlier, and Victorian barracks and the drill halls of the Volunteers. From the twentieth century there are still more sites: military airfields from the First World War and Battle of Britain fighter airfields, radar sites and later bomber bases from the Second. Anti-invasion defenses line the coast, linear defenses criss-cross the landscape, and AA sites are everywhere to be found. Taking the story all the way up to the nuclear threat of the Cold War, this guide will interest residents and visitors alike.
