This title tells the story of the Romany Gypsies in Britain. Where they came from, how they arrived. It explores their travelling way of life and their traditional occupations, including harvesting, making baskets, dealing in horses, fortune telling and rat catching to royalty. Their impact on traditional museum dancing. It reveals their service as preachers and soldiers and their continuing contribution to life in Britain today.
This title tells the story of the Romany Gypsies in Britain. Where they came from, how they arrived. It explores their travelling way of life and thei...
For British Rail, the 1970s was a time of contrasts, when bad jokes about sandwiches and pork pies often veiled real achievement, like increasing computerisation and the arrival of the high-speed Inter-City 125s. But while television advertisements told of an 'Age of the Train', Monday morning misery remained for many, the commuter experience steadily worsening as rolling stock aged and grew ever more uncomfortable. Yet when BR launched new electrification schemes and introduced new suburban trains in the 80s, focus fell on the problems that beset the Advanced Passenger Train, whose...
For British Rail, the 1970s was a time of contrasts, when bad jokes about sandwiches and pork pies often veiled real achievement, like increasing comp...
The Arts and Crafts Movement flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, espousing a return to simplicity, craftsmanship and beauty from the artifice and intensity of Victorian industry. While perhaps most famous for its architecture and furniture, garden design was fully encompassed within the Movement and Gertrude Jekyll, Edwin Lutyens, Inigo Triggs and Samuel Elgood were very influential figures. This exploration of the principles of the Arts and Crafts garden explains the inspiration applied from Stuart garden and cottage garden design, the wild gardens with winding...
The Arts and Crafts Movement flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, espousing a return to simplicity, craftsmanship and beau...
Spinning and Spinning Wheels traces the evolution of the ancient skill of spinning, from the early spindle, through the introduction of the wool and the flax wheel, to the numerous variations of the wheel in Europe and North America. The author surveys these different models and explains the principles of spinning that have essentially remained the same for generations. Providing insight into the mechanics of the U-flyer and the tools and accessories used in the craft, this volume is a timeless and valuable source of information to craftsmen, collectors and historians.
Spinning and Spinning Wheels traces the evolution of the ancient skill of spinning, from the early spindle, through the introduction of the woo...
First invented in 1830, the early lawn mower was hampered by the inadequacy of materials and machine tools available and its development and speed did not pick up until the introduction of chains and small lightweight petrol engines. This book traces the progress of the lawn mower from the early hand or animal powered mowers, through to steam, petrol and electric-powered modern machines.
First invented in 1830, the early lawn mower was hampered by the inadequacy of materials and machine tools available and its development and speed did...
The hop has been known in Britain for many centuries, but it was not until the beginning of the sixteenth century that any serious attempt was made at its large-scale cultivation. Since then, the crop has been intimately involved in the island's social history, generating great profit for some and bringing financial ruin to others, and was for centuries the center of a social phenomenon, with thousands descending on hop-producing regions during harvest. What was at times known as the 'wicked weed' has also been instrumental in transforming Britain's thick early ales into something more like...
The hop has been known in Britain for many centuries, but it was not until the beginning of the sixteenth century that any serious attempt was made at...
In 1675 George Ravenscroft invented the lead glass formula which was to transform glass selling in England. Previously table glass was imported from the continent, mostly from Venice, but now an indigenous industry developed rapidly, producing drinking glasses of such quality and fascinating design as to capture the entire home market. This book explores the variety of drinking glasses, from the heavy balusters of before 1700 to the faceted stems of around 1800 which are so sought after by collectors. Superb craftsmanship and ingenuity, typical of all art forms in the eighteenth century, are...
In 1675 George Ravenscroft invented the lead glass formula which was to transform glass selling in England. Previously table glass was imported from t...
This title gives a fascinating survey of the different kinds of toy steam engines of the stationary type, and especially those produced during the heyday of steam toys between 1900 and 1930. Dealing mainly with the German manufacturers, the pioneers of the mass-produced steam toys, it explains how the engines work, gives advice about operating and maintaining them and contains useful information about identifying and dating vintage models. The manufacturers and retailers who played a leading part in the production and distribution of steam toys are described, and a brief reference is made to...
This title gives a fascinating survey of the different kinds of toy steam engines of the stationary type, and especially those produced during the hey...
The fields of the farming landscape in Britain are the result of a long series of past efforts and achievements and have much to tell us about the life and work those who lived in the past. They have been won with infinite skill and labor from wild nature and adapted to changing needs, so that their present boundaries may preserve the memory of a Roman road, a medieval peasant, a Hanoverian Act of Parliament or a Victorian magnate.
Fields, Hedges and Ditches describes the making and changing of the field system in Britain and the part played in it by the engineer and the industrialist...
The fields of the farming landscape in Britain are the result of a long series of past efforts and achievements and have much to tell us about the ...
