Jet, a hard, black, shiny gem closely related to coal, has been fashioned into jewelry and trinkets for generations. During the Victorian period, when the ritual surrounding death and the long mourning of Queen Victoria made black fashionable, jet became hugely popular. Although jet is found elsewhere in the world, it is the jet from Whitby that excites collectors to such an extent that even jet jewelry manufactured elsewhere is often called Whitby Jet. This book traces the history of jet and the Whitby jet industry, examining different types and styles of jet jewelry, and pictures the work...
Jet, a hard, black, shiny gem closely related to coal, has been fashioned into jewelry and trinkets for generations. During the Victorian period, when...
The village pump was once the focal point of rural life, providing the only water supply to communities and offering a place in town squares and village greens for people to come together. Sadly, with the introduction of piped mains, the village pump rapidly fell out of favor, often neglected or removed from where they once proudly stood. Richard Williams brings deserved attention to the history of the village pump, exploring the many different designs that existed and shedding light on the communities that relied upon them. As recent movements from parish councils and local history societies...
The village pump was once the focal point of rural life, providing the only water supply to communities and offering a place in town squares and villa...
Leadmining was an important industry in Britain from the time of the Romans until the late nineteenth century - its remains are to be found scattered in and under the hills of south-west England, Wales, the Mendips and the Pennines, and in the Lake District, Isle of Man and Scotland. From the thousands of early small mines, leadmining by the eighteenth century was forced to use capital-intensive methods to cope with deeper deposits and great inflows of water, including very long levels and steam engines. Lead smelters, too, had to adapt and they developed new furnaces. By the 1880s,...
Leadmining was an important industry in Britain from the time of the Romans until the late nineteenth century - its remains are to be found scatter...
The famous son of a famous father, Isambard Kingdom Brunel was acknowledged in his own lifetime as the greatest engineer in an era of engineering titans. He helped drive the first tunnel under a navigable river, built the first all iron ship, bridged the Tamar and Avon, constructed the first railway to run express services and launched the world's first true luxury liner - a vessel five times bigger than any previously attempted. Success was often bought at a high price - in money and men's lives. Brunel himself was nearly drowned in his father's Thames Tunnel. Over a hundred laborers were...
The famous son of a famous father, Isambard Kingdom Brunel was acknowledged in his own lifetime as the greatest engineer in an era of engineering tita...
Not so long ago, there were local British pigs of every size, color and shape. Over the centuries different localities had developed their own tastes in what their pigs should look like - often colored pigs in the Midlands, black ones in the southern countries and white ones in the north - and every county had its own 'breed'. But as urban populations exploded and needed to be fed from the countryside, pig breeders became selective and scientific, concentrating on productivity. Today most of the colorful old local breeds have disappeared; now only three of four highly commercial breeds and a...
Not so long ago, there were local British pigs of every size, color and shape. Over the centuries different localities had developed their own tastes ...
After the close of the First World War, the British motorcycle industry rose to prominence as British motorcycles became almost unbeatable in competitions. However, a shortage of these new model bikes pushed prices to a premium and most people were forced to settle for prewar designs. These high prices led to greater competition, and greater competition lead to swifter and more innovative development. By the mid 1920s the overhead valve engine came into its own, with enhanced performance, and then the overhead camshaft engine with even greater potential. Internal expanding hub brakes kept...
After the close of the First World War, the British motorcycle industry rose to prominence as British motorcycles became almost unbeatable in compe...
Road haulage has been in existence for as long as roads themselves: wherever goods need to be moved across land, people have set themselves up in business to carry those goods. For hundreds of years horses were at the center of this business, but in the twentieth century everything changed, first with the widespread use of steam power on the roads, and then the internal combustion engine.
The lorry driver was a new, hardy breed, working phenomenally long hours in all weathers and with few of the comforts afforded to today's truckers. Drivers needed to be able to maintain their own...
Road haulage has been in existence for as long as roads themselves: wherever goods need to be moved across land, people have set themselves up in b...
The broader Regency period 1795-1820 stands alone as an incredible moment in fashion history unlike anything that went before or after. It was the most naked period since Ancient Greece and before the 1960s, and for the first time England became a fashion influence, especially for menswear, and became the toast of Paris. With the ancient regime deposed, court dress became secondary and the season by season flux of fashion as we know it came into being, aided and abetted by the proliferation of new ladies' magazines.
Such an age of revolution and innovation inspired a flood of...
The broader Regency period 1795-1820 stands alone as an incredible moment in fashion history unlike anything that went before or after. It was the ...
For such a familiar part of the British scene, the telephone box is something of an unknown entity. What was its story? Why was it the way it was? Who designed it? What came before it? This generously illustrated book answers these questions and more. It is a concise history of the most ubiquitous of all street furniture, kiosks being found in the busiest city streets and the most remote countryside. From the earliest to the latest, and from mass-produced to the quaintest of unique designs, this books also acts as a 'spotter's guide'. Included are listings of sites that can be visited,...
For such a familiar part of the British scene, the telephone box is something of an unknown entity. What was its story? Why was it the way it was? Who...
The First World War was the conduit for some of the most dramatic changes in the role of women in British society. Suffragettes gave up their militant protests to support the war effort, and from the moment war broke out women were ready; many had already trained as military and Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses. As more and more men left to serve in the armed forces more and more jobs, most of them pre-war preserves of men, were taken over by women, from postal deliveries to tram clippies, and delivery drivers to land workers.
The public outcry over the 'Shells Scandal' of 1915 led...
The First World War was the conduit for some of the most dramatic changes in the role of women in British society. Suffragettes gave up their milit...
