From the Houses of Parliament to the Midland Hotel at St Pancras and Strawberry Hill House, Gothic Revival buildings are some of the most distinctive structures found in Britain. Far from just copying medieval buildings, it was a style full of color and invention, in which its exponents created a daring new approach to design. Throwing out the old Classical rule book, Gothic Revival architects like Augustus Welby Pugin and George Gilbert Scott designed buildings which were asymmetrical in form and visually expressive of their function. It went beyond just bricks and mortar and had a strong...
From the Houses of Parliament to the Midland Hotel at St Pancras and Strawberry Hill House, Gothic Revival buildings are some of the most distinctive ...
Illuminated manuscripts are among the most beautiful, precious and mysterious works of Western art. Before the printing press was invented, books were produced by hand and their illustration using brightly colored pigments and gold embellishments was a labor of love and an act of piety in itself. The results are stunning. The works emanating from the scriptoria of monasteries were mainly religious texts, including illuminated bibles, psalters, and works for private devotion known as books of hours.
Illuminated Manuscripts describes the origin and history of illumination in...
Illuminated manuscripts are among the most beautiful, precious and mysterious works of Western art. Before the printing press was invented, books w...
On September 1, 1939, British television broadcasting was closed down on Government orders, leaving radio as the sole source of broadcast home entertainment. For the next six years, radio became the main source of entertainment, information, and news for the majority of the population.
Personalities and stars became household names and their catchphrases could be heard everywhere. Radio was also a tremendous vehicle for propaganda, and for sending coded messages across Britain, and later to resistance groups throughout Europe. After the war TV would return, but in the meantime the...
On September 1, 1939, British television broadcasting was closed down on Government orders, leaving radio as the sole source of broadcast home ente...
Victorian pumping stations are colorful cathedrals of utility. Their imposing and striking exteriors enclose a highly decorative cast-iron frame, built to encage mighty steam engines. They are glorious buildings which display the Victorians' architectural confidence and engineering skills. More than that, they represent a key part of the story of urban development and how our towns and cities were shaped in this period of ground-breaking invention and civic pride.
In this illustrated guide, Trevor Yorke tells the story of Victorian pumping stations and explains why they were built...
Victorian pumping stations are colorful cathedrals of utility. Their imposing and striking exteriors enclose a highly decorative cast-iron frame, b...
William Hillman was an early maker of cars in Coventry: he produced cars from 1907 before selling his company to the Rootes Brothers in 1928. Three years later came the Hillman Minx, the first of a line that would endure for nearly half a century. By the 1950s, the latest Minx came in multiple forms--including a versatile and much-liked compact estate derivative called the Husky. The Minx remained the core Hillman product even after the remarkable Imp arrived in 1963 to claim a slice of the market opened by the BMC Mini.
Rarely revolutionary, Hillman cars nevertheless carved out a...
William Hillman was an early maker of cars in Coventry: he produced cars from 1907 before selling his company to the Rootes Brothers in 1928. Three...