The story of the lighthouse is as fascinating and diverse as the design of the buildings themselves. Roman and medieval attempts to help seafarers navigate, using beacons and other seamarks, preceded elegant Georgian lights, followed in the nineteenth century by huge rock-based lighthouses such as Eddystone, which were great feats of Victorian civil engineering. This book relates the story of their construction, often undertaken in desparately dangerous and stormy conditions, looks at the lives of their keepers, and considers how automation has changed the modern lighthouse. A gazetteer gives...
The story of the lighthouse is as fascinating and diverse as the design of the buildings themselves. Roman and medieval attempts to help seafarers nav...
Do you know why Kind William IV appears more frequently on Britain's pub signs than any other monarch, why the German beer purity laws were introduced, or how a beer can widget works? This book answers these questions and innumerable others about beer and brewing. Much more complex than wine, beer is often a better accompaniement to food, and there are more than two thousand-year history, and explains how different styles emerged through the use of different ingredients and processing methods. The story is brought up to date with an insider's expose of the modern brewing process, and an...
Do you know why Kind William IV appears more frequently on Britain's pub signs than any other monarch, why the German beer purity laws were introduced...
The Victorian farmer occupied a pivotal role in rural society, paying rents to the landowner and providing employment for the labourer. This book explores the world of the farmer during Queen Victoria's reign, which was a period of considerable change on the farm as the forces of industrialisation made themselves felt. Using contemporary observations, illustrations and museum collections, David J. Eveleigh looks at the working farmer and everyday life in the farmhouse - the furnishings and household tasks. The picture which emerges is more complex and more fascinating than the romantic images...
The Victorian farmer occupied a pivotal role in rural society, paying rents to the landowner and providing employment for the labourer. This book expl...
Motor scooters are commonly associated with two manufacturers - Innocenti who made the Lambretta and Piaggio who produced the Vespa. This book traces the ancestry of the modern scooter.
Motor scooters are commonly associated with two manufacturers - Innocenti who made the Lambretta and Piaggio who produced the Vespa. This book traces ...
Once the core of the rural community, the village shop has now almost entirely disappeared from everyday life. That bastion of Britishness that once stocked everything from Atora shredded suet to Zebra grate polish has become as much a victim of the accelerating pace of social and economic change as the parish school and pub. The village shop was often the social focus of a community, as much a meeting place as a commercial venture.
This book relates the development and history of the village shop. Charting its rise, Lin Bensley analyzes why the British developed the reputation that...
Once the core of the rural community, the village shop has now almost entirely disappeared from everyday life. That bastion of Britishness that onc...
People interested in the steam engine are well catered for by an enormous variety of books, but these deal almost entirely with transport. The stationary steam engine has been much neglected in modern literature and there is very little available to tell us about the largest and most varied aspects of the use of steam power: how for instance it was put to pumping out mines in the reign of Queen Anne and to providing domestic water supplies in London not long after. All these installations were designed as beam engines; in other words, they had a rocking beam interposed between the piston...
People interested in the steam engine are well catered for by an enormous variety of books, but these deal almost entirely with transport. The stat...
From the late 1880s until the end of the 1920s sound recordings in the home could be played on either disc gramophones or cylinder phonographs. Characterized by their acoustic horn the gramophone evolved into something more than just a machine for playing music - it became fine musical furniture in the 1920s, designed to emulate fashionable styles of the time. This book traces the history and evolution of the gramophone, the intricacies of recording sound on discs or cylinders and the complex early development of the record industry, and is ideal for collectors or music enthusiasts.
From the late 1880s until the end of the 1920s sound recordings in the home could be played on either disc gramophones or cylinder phonographs. Charac...
At the turn of the last century, Art Noveau, characterised by its natural, swirling lines and exuberant use of colour, held sway as the dominate style in architecture and design. The style defined the Edwardian period, with its departure from more formal Victorian styles. The leading tile manufacturers of the day seized on the popularity of the new style and introduced extensive ranges of Art Noveau tiles, many of them mass-produced in Stoke-on-Trent, the centre of the British pottery industry. The author charts the impact of this sensous style on the tile industry in Britain showing how...
At the turn of the last century, Art Noveau, characterised by its natural, swirling lines and exuberant use of colour, held sway as the dominate style...
Originally constructed as landing stages for trippers by boat in the nineteenth century, piers later developed into attractions in themselves, with ornate pavilions, delicate ironwork and exotic lighting. Lynn F. Pearson, an architectural historian, outlines the fascinating history of pier and pavilion construction, using colour illustrations and photographs to show the development of these attractions from simple wooden structures to complex entertainment venues. This book explores the allure of seaside developments from the Victorian charm of Weston-super-Mare's grand pier to the seaside...
Originally constructed as landing stages for trippers by boat in the nineteenth century, piers later developed into attractions in themselves, with or...
The relationship established between man and bird is central to the ancient sport of falconry; to earn the trust of the bird, the falconer must show a great deal of patience, skill and intuition. This volume traces the history of falconry, providing a detailed guide as to how it is practised today. Emma Ford, a falconer since the age of six, describes the equipment required for the sport and, using photographs of the popular species, explains the characteristics that make them ideal hunting birds. With an emphasis on the contribution falconers make to the conservation of wild birds, this book...
The relationship established between man and bird is central to the ancient sport of falconry; to earn the trust of the bird, the falconer must show a...
