The age-old craft of bellfounding involves specialised techniques and equipment that have been passed down through generations and are still used today. For centuries, the large bells in churches, clocks and public buildings throughout Britain have been cast, hung, and tuned by bellfounders and this book surveys the history of bell production and the development of moulding and casting techniques. To achieve the correct pitch each bell would be hand corrected with a hammer and chisel, an extremely noisy process which continued until the nineteenth century when the mechanised lathe was...
The age-old craft of bellfounding involves specialised techniques and equipment that have been passed down through generations and are still used toda...
Among the many firsts of World War I, the widespread use of aeroplanes was a momentous tactical turning point and it was that heroic generation of airmen who charted an entirely experimental course on how to use aircraft in warfare. First used for reconnaissance, the role of aircraft changed as pilots became more experienced in handling their aeroplanes and ventured out onto new missions to coordinate and support ground forces and eventually planes went on the offense as bombers or fighters with legendary epic air-to-air combat engagements. This is the story of the airmen, how they were...
Among the many firsts of World War I, the widespread use of aeroplanes was a momentous tactical turning point and it was that heroic generation of air...
In the early years of the Industrial Revolution, canals formed the arteries of Britain. Most waterways were local concerns, carrying cargoes over short distances and fitted into regional groups with their own boat types linked to the major river estuaries. This new history of Britain's canals starts with the first Roman waterways, moving on to their golden age in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and ends with the present day, describing the rise and fall of canal building and use in the UK. It tells the story of the narrow boats and barges borne by the canals, and the boatmen...
In the early years of the Industrial Revolution, canals formed the arteries of Britain. Most waterways were local concerns, carrying cargoes over shor...
From the original concept of using a horse-drawn caravan for leisure, this book explains how the modern touring caravan has evolved from a primitive concept to the sophisticated leisure vehicle it's become today. Andrew Jenkinson, the UK expert regarding the history of the touring caravan, uses a selection of images from his archive library.
The Touring Caravan explains how caravan manufacture boomed in the 1960's and early 70's and how the economy played a major part in sales. How the Hull area became the nucleus of caravan manufacture from the late 50's to today though now on a...
From the original concept of using a horse-drawn caravan for leisure, this book explains how the modern touring caravan has evolved from a primitiv...
The Reformation transformed England forever. From peasants in the lanes and fields to the court of Henry VIII, no life was left untouched as the Roman Catholic Church was replaced as the centre of the nation's religious life. Emerging from a dense mesh of European ecclesiastical and political controversy and Tudor dynastic ambition, the English Reformation ended with the Pope supplanted as the head of the national church, the great monasteries -owners of much of the country's land-disbanded and destroyed, the Latin Mass replaced by vernacular services and the colourful wall paintings of...
The Reformation transformed England forever. From peasants in the lanes and fields to the court of Henry VIII, no life was left untouched as the Roman...
Though the prospect may fill us with dread, most of us need dental treatment at some stage - and the reality is that better care has never been available, as this fully illustrated book shows. Early dentistry was amateurish and limited to barber-surgeons, travelling tooth-pullers and blacksmiths, with patients often suffering as much from the cure as the malady; and even as things improved in the eighteenth century, fashionable dentures were still made from the teeth of dead soldiers or even of the poor. This authoritative introduction looks at this whole grisly history, as well as at the...
Though the prospect may fill us with dread, most of us need dental treatment at some stage - and the reality is that better care has never been availa...
The iron industry was the catalyst for the Industrial Revolution, producing a vital source of iron without which none of the great engineering achievements of the Victorian age would have been possible. This book charts the growth of iron making from the Middle Ages, describing the changing ways in which iron was produced, the people involved in its production, and the uses to which iron was put. The developing techniques of iron making, all explained in a non-technical style, make a story in their own right, but combined with the experiences of the masters and workmen who laboured at the...
The iron industry was the catalyst for the Industrial Revolution, producing a vital source of iron without which none of the great engineering achieve...
In 1914 Great Britain had the largest and most powerful navy the world had ever seen - a well-known fact, but what of the everyday experience of those who served in her? This fully illustrated book looks at the British sailor's life during the First World War, from the Falkland Islands to the East African coast to the North Sea. Meals in the stokers' mess and the admiral's cabin; the claustrophobic terrors of the engine room or submarine; the long separations from loved ones that were the shared experience of all ranks; the perils faced by Royal Naval Air Service pilots in the air; the...
In 1914 Great Britain had the largest and most powerful navy the world had ever seen - a well-known fact, but what of the everyday experience of those...
The sweeping crinolines, corsets, bustles, bonnets, and parasols of Victorian Britain are indispensable to our period dramas, and their influences can still be seen within burlesque and steampunk fashions. This is no surprise, as nineteenth-century clothing was so wide-ranging and decorative. We might unfairly think gentlemen's costume to be rather plain and uniform, but this is more by contrast to the overwhelming ostentation, luxury fabrics, fine accessories, and constantly evolving silhouettes of ladies' fashion. This colorful introduction to what the Victorians wore describes the vibrant,...
The sweeping crinolines, corsets, bustles, bonnets, and parasols of Victorian Britain are indispensable to our period dramas, and their influences can...
The story of perhaps the greatest public transport organization in the World. Created in 1933 but with roots stretching back to the nineteenth century, it attracted a remarkably diverse but dedicated, loval, highly organized workforce which proved capable of performing miracles of dedication and bravery throughout the horrors of the Blitz. Apart of its huge fleet of trams, the last of which disappeared in 1952 and the largest trolleybus fleet in the world which operated from the ealy 1930s until 1962, London Transport was best known for the iconic red double deck bus typified by the RT....
The story of perhaps the greatest public transport organization in the World. Created in 1933 but with roots stretching back to the nineteenth cent...
