Amberley Publishing strana 14 z 20

The story of Scotland’s castles is woven into the history of the country. These formidable structures have guarded the landscape since medieval times, and many of these structures are famous emblems of Scotland today. The royal castles in the strategically important cities of Edinburgh and Stirling still dominate their surroundings, but many others stand proud in more remote areas, often by lochs or the sea, on islands or in the mountains. Many simpler fortified structures were built along the border with England, and as the centuries passed many castles in Scotland were converted into country houses or even new houses were built in the style of castles. Today these iconic structures draw visitors from far and wide to explore a unique part of Scotland’s heritage. This fascinating portrait of the castles of Scotland will appeal to all those who wish to know more about the history of the country as well as those interested in the story of its castles.

Stagecoach South Wales is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and was formed through the acquisitions and consolidation of Aberdare Bus Company Limited, Crosskeys Coach Hire Limited (Glynn Williams), Islwyn Borough Transport Limited, Parfitts Motor Services Limited, Red & White Services Limited, Rhondda Bus Services Limited and The Valleys Bus Company Limited. The company operates services throughout South East Wales with over 300 single- and double-decker vehicles. The business was restructured following the Covid-19 pandemic and a new depot was built at Cwmbran with the intention of closing the depots at Blackwood and Brynmawr, and transferring their services to Cwmbran, Caerphilly and Merthyr Tydfil.Martin Bray tells the story of Stagecoach South Wales, its depots, bus stations, routes and vehicles, through a selection of vibrant images.

Lying just a few miles of the Hampshire Coast, the Isle of Wight is famous for its attractive landscape and historical connections. Its coastal scenery is varied, dotted with towns and fortifications built through the centuries to repel invaders, with a chalk downland spine to the island. Carisbrooke Castle held King Charles I during the English Civil War and royal connections continued with Queen Victoria who made her home on the island at Osborne House. Other eminent Victorians followed including the poet Tennyson and the island became popular with tourists and holidaymakers. Cowes became synomynous with yacht racing and other attractions have been developed in the last century. The Needles Battery was the site of the world’s first radio station and later was the testing site for Britain’s nuclear deterrent Blue Streak and independent rocket-building programme in the 1960s.50 Gems of the Isle of Wight explores the many places and their history that make this unique island so special, including natural features, towns and villages, buildings and places of historical interest. Alongside justly famous attractions, others will be relatively unknown but all have an interesting story to tell.

The humble banknote has been around in one form or another for over 300 years, and no one would deny that during that time they have been an indispensable part of trade, commerce and the growth of the UK economy. The Bank of England came into existence to oversee their creation and distribution and has played a critical role in steering the country through good times, bad times and the occasional economic crisis ever since.The earliest notes were little more than handwritten bills, rarely seen as they could be worth more than a year’s wages. But historical events soon required more widespread issue of smaller denominations to raise money for the Crown. But, as banknotes have always attracted forgers, notes had to be frequently updated to stay ahead of the counterfeiters.From simple paper designs in the nineteenth century to modern, holographic polymer notes, this book explores the history of the Bank of England through the many different banknotes that have been issued during its existence.

Over the past hundred years, the scrapping of life-expired buses has changed in numerous ways. From being a physically demanding task, it is now undertaken with the use of sophisticated machinery and governed by ever-increasing environmental and health and safety regulations. While bus breaking was initially concentrated in certain areas across the UK, where metal recycling facilities were close at hand, it has ultimately become a nationwide activity.Here Keith Jenkinson remembers those buses that have disappeared from our daily road transport scene, evoking fond memories of bygone eras.

Preston was awarded city status in 2002 but the town had played an important part in Lancashire’s history since the Middle Ages, when it was centre for wool production and weaving. The town boomed in the Industrial Revolution, attracting new engineering industries alongside textiles but in the later decades of the twentieth century many of these industries declined, with factories closing. From the 1960s the town centre was redeveloped, and new housing built. Some landmark buildings from before were lost, replaced by buildings which have become the new face of Preston.Lost Preston presents a portrait of this Lancashire city over the last century to recent decades that has radically changed or disappeared today, showing not only industries and buildings that have gone but also people and street scenes, many popular places of entertainment and much more. This fascinating photographic history of lost Preston will appeal to all those who live in the area or know it well, as well as those who remember it from previous decades.

In 2011, Devon County Council outlined plans for a rapid-transit-style rail network, the Devon Metro, to be achieved through improvements to services and facilities, including the opening of new stations. As well as the Great Western Railway main line, the five other active branches centred on Exeter would be incorporated into the scheme. At the western end of the county, Plymouth councillors have for some time also been looking at a tram-style Metro for the city, along with a new station for Plympton and the reinstatement of the line to Tavistock and Okehampton.With vibrant images and informative text, this book explores how the Metro plans have developed line by line since 2011 and what might realistically be achieved in the next decade.

The Rise of the Third Reich is a poignant and powerful portrait of the years 1939 to 1941, which witnessed the march towards the greatest man-made catastrophe the world has ever experienced. The narrative follows events from 3 September 1939, when Britain and France declared war on Germany, to Pearl Harbor and America’s declaration of war in December 1941. It is told from the fresh perspective of expatriate Americans caught up in the exploding conflict. Uniquely, the book uses their contemporary accounts, to record a time when British and other nationalities were barred from Nazi-occupied territory, but US citizens could travel and report what they saw. They describe the foreboding, fear and suffering caused by the Nazi invasions. These were years of increasing calls for American intervention, as Britain faced its darkest days, and held off the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain, yet remained vulnerable. Meanwhile, European nations fell one after another, and Hitler’s power extended from the Mediterranean to the Baltic.Acclaimed historian Robert Lyman brings together a wide range of encounters, conversations and memories. The individuals range across the social spectrum, from the great singer, dancer and activist Josephine Baker to young volunteers in the RAF, such as aces James Goodison, Art Donahue, and the wealthy playboy Billy Fiske – the first American volunteer in the RAF to die in action during the Battle of Britain. The story unfolds as the war drags the whole of Europe and a reluctant United States into the maelstrom.

Dave Hewitt has made many trips to North America over the last twenty years, including visits to thirty-five of the fifty US states. Inspired by American railways, he quickly switched from tourist to train and track photographer. In this book he shares images from more than twenty steam and heritage railway sites and museums from across the continent. These pages document his journey from the deserts of Utah to the magnificence of the Canadian Rockies, from the green fields of Wisconsin to the towering Giant Redwoods of California. Showcasing a railfan’s trip of a lifetime, Dave Hewitt’s stunning photographs will appeal to all those with an interest in heritage railways and the spectacular landscapes of North America.

Middlesbrough boasts a rich, diverse history and heritage that brings together tales of unprecedented industrial development, rapid urban expansion, the cultivation of new cultural institutions and a proud sporting heritage that has helped put the town on the map. As Middlesbrough expanded from a small hamlet of just twenty-five people in 1801 to a town with a population exceeding 90,000 a century later, new landmarks emerged and communities grew to create a distinct industrial ‘boom town’ forged in iron and steel.In Middlesbrough: The Postcard Collection the author has drawn on a remarkable selection of old postcards to give a pictorial record of life in the past. Although some of the historical town seen in these views has been lost, many landmarks have remained and will be familiar today. This fascinating collection of images will be of interest to those who have lived in Middlesbrough or know it well, as well as those interested in postcards and industrial heritage.

The role of monarchy in the development of the distinctive British political nation is a subject that has commanded much interest with reference to the nineteenth century, but recent consideration of the preceding period has not been so widespread. The monarchies of France, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Poland, the Holy Roman Empire, and the house of Orange all faced serious crises between 1790 and 1810, and not all of them survived. In contrast, the British monarchy confronted a serious and unsuccessful imperial revolution in 1775-83 but avoided an existential challenge at home.The relationship between this and the role of the monarchy in the British political system requires examination. The bedding down of the Glorious Revolution settlement included the crucial defence against Jacobitism. From then on, a practice of limited government begins to emerge: regular parliaments, frequent elections, and the scrutiny of the press. Adaptations occurred due to the challenges of the American and French revolutions, and the meritocratic ‘monarchies’ of Washington and Napoleon. British monarchy became linked to a more potent imperial nationalism. Wellington, the vanquisher of Napoleon, was never more than a servant of the often-preposterous George IV. How can that be? Crucially, Jeremy Black, with his own inimitable way of extracting the principle from the detail, shows that what materialised was a system that worked.

The author of six novels, Jane Austen continues to enamour her readers more than two-hundred years after she wrote them. Now a global phenomenon, her books have sold millions of copies and sparked countless film and tv-drama adaptations in a multitude of languages. This book takes you on a tour of the many places associated with Jane Austen, from the homes she lived in Steventon, Bath and Chawton to the school she was educated at in Reading. Follow in her footsteps where she socialised, such as Sydney Gardens and the Assembly Rooms and Pump Room, Bath, and explore the myriad locations mentioned in her books. Discover where she spent her holidays in towns such as Lyme Regis and Worthing and where she worshipped at St Nicholas’ Church, Steventon. Personal objects belonging to Jane are detailed here, including her writing desk and table, her donkey cart and her ivory spool case. The memorials to her at Winchester Abbey and in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, and her statues in Basingstoke and at St Nicholas’ Church, Chawton, are also featured.With beautiful illustrations and packed with fascinating facts and entertaining anecdotes, this book transports you back to the Regency era and celebrates the life of one of England’s most-renowned authors.

Police vehicles have always been an essential part of protecting law and order in the United Kingdom. Whether responding to emergency incidents, stopping fleeing motorists or providing protection to the public in the most hostile of situations, the country’s police forces have a wide variety of assets at their disposal. Beyond the commonly seen neighbourhood patrol vehicles are many specialist resources, including fast traffic vehicles, armed response teams, mounted units for transporting police horses, marine support units for patrolling on the water and the provision of air support from above delivered by aircraft, helicopters and drones. Since 2000, much has changed: vehicle manufacturers have come and gone, police vehicle liveries have almost universally adopted the blue and yellow ‘Battenburg’ scheme, and as environmental considerations come to the fore, police forces have assessed and incorporated both hybrid and all-electric vehicles into their fleets.John Godwin presents a fascinating insight into police vehicles over the last twenty-five years, including examples from many of the forty-five Territorial Police Forces of the UK, the three Specialist Police Forces, Parks Police, Ports Police and several others.

Reliant have long been famous for their three-wheeled cars. Television personalities such as comedian Jasper Carrot and journalist Jeremy Clarkson have relentlessly mocked the three-wheeler, this forming a large part of their repertoires. Only Fools and Horses made them famous to a whole generation of television comedy viewers. Yet behind these three-wheeled cars lay a world of four-wheeled cars – versions of the famous three-wheelers as well as larger sporting and sports cars. They provided ready-made indigenous car industries to Israel and Turkey and would be involved with the Metrocab, the only serious contender to replace the London black cab. Alongside all this they would provide sub-assemblies and bodywork for other manufacturers. The most notable Reliant four-wheeler was the Scimitar, which maintains a strong cult following to this day. This book puts these once popular four-wheeled cars back in the public eye where they belong, and shows there was much more to Reliant than quaint three-wheeled vehicles.

The Allied effort to secure the Italian island of Sicily followed hard on the heels of the North African Campaign, when an Anglo-American force had finally hemmed the Axis forces into Tunisia where they were obliged to surrender on 13 May 1943, over a quarter of a million troops going into captivity. Now, intending to open the sea lanes across the Mediterranean for the first time since 1940 and knock Italy out of the war, the Allies invaded Sicily on the night of 9-10 July 1943. After just eight weeks of planning and preparation, sea and airborne landings were made on the southern and south-eastern areas of the island. The campaign that followed included a further British airborne landing in mid-July before Axis forces were obliged to withdraw across the Straits of Messina to the Italian mainland, leaving Sicily in Allied hands. The six weeks of fighting cost the Allied forces almost 20,000 men killed, wounded and missing, while their opponents lost around 100,000, with a further 123,000 prisoners, mostly Italian.The Sicily Campaign was the first occasion that Allied forces successfully took the fight onto the home territory of an Axis power, and it provided the springboard for the Allied return to continental Europe for the first time since Dunkirk via the invasion of the Italian mainland. It marked the beginning of formal Anglo-US co-operation, which was to be vital to the success of the subsequent campaign in North-West Europe.

Kew and Brentford are not so much separated by the River Thames as connected through it. The ford here was the first point on the tidal stretch of the great river that could easily be crossed on foot – meaning many travellers have passed through down the centuries, perhaps the most famous being Julius Caesar. Kew has strong royal links and in 1759 Princess Augusta founded Kew Gardens, now known officially as the Royal Botanical Gardens. Today Kew is also famous for the National Archives. Kew and Brentford also have a rich industrial history, from pharmaceutical giants Beechams (and today GlaxoSmithKline) to aircraft manufacturers Sopwith and Handley Page and motor vehicle manufacturers Dodge and Chrysler. In A–Z of Kew and Brentford author Andy Bull reveals the history behind these towns, their streets and buildings, industries and the people connected with them. Alongside the famous historical connections are included some unusual characters, tucked-away places and unique events that are less well-known. Readers will discover tales of painters drawn to this area, the manufacture of Brompton folding bicycles in a railway arch and a notorious Victorian murderer among many other fascinating facts in this A–Z tour of Kew and Brentford’s history. Fully illustrated throughout, this book will appeal to all those with an interest in these historic West London towns.