Amberley Publishing strana 18 z 20

Rural life in England has changed for the better over the past century, thanks in no small part to the 10,000 village and community halls that provide a home for fitness classes, WIs, amateur dramatics, dances, toddler groups, parish councils, polling stations and many other locally based activities. Managed by volunteers, the buildings represent a combination of historic legacy and modern design worth some L12 billion. Here Louise Beaton and David Clark tell the story of how rural communities garnered the confidence and skill to build and run their own halls, how they raised the money and briefed architects and builders, their wartime service, the century of support and advice from charities now forming the ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) network of county Rural Community Councils, and of the challenges halls have faced and overcome – from funding to licensing, VAT to the Covid-19 pandemic, and rising energy costs.Carefully researched and featuring a wealth of fascinating images, this book celebrates village halls across the whole of the United Kingdom and the vital role they play in community life.

During the 1990s and 2000s the bus and coach scene across the Midlands evolved at a much greater rate than that of the preceding decades. From 1986 the subsidiaries of the National Bus Company were privatised along with several municipally owned companies across the region, the largest of which was the bus operations of West Midlands PTE. Independent companies came to try their hand by setting up new routes or networks and were joined by some established coach operators wishing to exploit new opportunities.This book looks at numerous coaching operations as they criss-cross this centrally located region, with established National Express services being joined by new ventures such as Stagecoach-owned Megabus. The region largely covers the area once served by Midland Red, with many operators, bus types and liveries to be seen, along with changing road layouts, bus stations and transport infrastructure. During this period tram systems returned to both Nottingham and Birmingham with bus services altered and adapted. Through a wealth of fascinating images and informative captions, Matt Cooper documents the transition from the post-privatisation era to the modern day.

From 1100 Lynn’s prominence as an English port town depended on an extensive hinterland embraced by the Great Ouse river system. This privileged geographical position was reinforced by its location on England’s east coast, facing Europe across the North Sea. The Wash haven experienced relative decline after 1750 due to the absence of an expanding industrial hinterland; however, Lynn’s international and coastal trades (grain, coal, timber and wine) remained considerable into the nineteenth century. The coming of the railways in the 1840s robbed the Norfolk town of its geographical advantages. It was rescued by the construction of two enclosed docks linked to the national railway network which sparked an industrial revolution led by engineering factories. The town’s population was growing by 1900, but Lynn’s late Victorian economic growth was not sustained into the 1920s and 1930s. The council sealed an overspill agreement with the Greater London Council in 1962, which heralded a second industrial revolution. Suburban industrial and housing estates were built, though parts of the historic town were also redeveloped. Yet Lynn retains an exceptional historic built environment which connects us with what was for centuries a premier English maritime community.Illustrated throughout, this accessible historical portrait of the transformation that King’s Lynn has undergone through the ages will be of great interest to residents, visitors and all those with links to the town.

In 2025 the Tanfield Railway in County Durham celebrates its 300th anniversary, having been constructed in 1725 as a wagonway to carry coal from the North Durham coalfields to the River Tyne. By the 1960s it was in the hands of British Railways before volunteers took over early the following decade. Since that time the heritage railway has developed as a centre for the preservation of industrial locomotives, which operate over a 3-mile section from East Tanfield to Sunniside. Notable locations along the route include Causey Arch, the first bridge built to carry a railway in 1726, and Marley Hill, the oldest continuously operating engine shed, built in 1854. Although constructed for the transportation of coal, passenger trains now run regularly for visitors on Sundays, between March and October, and in December, the North Pole Express takes eager children to visit Father Christmas. Train enthusiasts are also catered for with demonstration coal trains and an annual gala weekend. All these events are possible due to the efforts of a dedicated group of volunteers of all ages who ensure that traditional skills are passed from one generation to the next.Henry Elliott and Dave Hewitt illustrate Tanfield’s story as a heritage railway with stunning photographs and informative captions.

This book covers the ever-changing bus scene in Norfolk, Suffolk and northern Essex since 2016. Operators featured include First Essex, First Eastern Counties, Arriva Colchester, Ipswich Buses and the Go Ahead Group, as well as independents such as Sanders and Panther. A wide variety of locations are explored, such as Ipswich, Norwich, Dereham, Great Yarmouth, Colchester, Harwich, Clacton and Braintree. Major operators in these areas have surprisingly varied fleets displaying a range of liveries, adding extra interest.Through a vibrant selection of images and informative captions, David Moth looks at the area’s contemporary bus fleets and how they have evolved in recent years.

In the summer of 1845, Frederick Douglass, the young runaway slave catapulted to fame by his incendiary autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, arrived in Liverpool for the start of a near-two-year tour of Britain and Ireland he always called one of the most transformative periods of his life. Laurence Fenton draws on a wide array of sources from both sides of the Atlantic and combines a unique insight into the early years of one of the great figures of the nineteenth-century world with rich profiles of the enormous personalities at the heart of the transatlantic anti-slavery movement. This vivid portrait of life in Victorian Britain is the first to fully explore the ‘liberating sojourn’ that ended with Douglass gaining his freedom – paid for by British supporters – before returning to America as a celebrity and icon of international standing. It also follows his later life, through the American Civil War and afterwards.Douglass has been described as ‘the most influential African American of the nineteenth century’. He spoke and wrote on behalf of a variety of reform causes: women’s rights, temperance, peace, land reform, free public education and the abolition of capital punishment. But he devoted most of his time, immense talent and boundless energy to ending slavery. On 14 April 1876, Douglass would deliver the keynote speech at the unveiling of the Emancipation Memorial in Washington’s Lincoln Park.

The Wirral peninsula encompasses a fascinating diversity of places. Bounded by the River Dee to the west and the Mersey Estuary to the east, this unique area includes urban and industrial centres such as Birkenhead and Wallasey, built around the docks, the towns of Hoylake, West Kirby and Heswall, the faded seaside resort of New Brighton, rural hinterland and the unique Port Sunlight model village.In Wirral Pubs, author Les Jones takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the area’s watering holes, many of which have retained features and traditions of previous ages. Brimming with quirky tales and fascinating facts, this carefully crafted guide initiates readers into the fascinating history of the Wirral’s pubs.

Kevin Warrington presents a comprehensive account of the robust, innovative and popular Standard Vanguard range of cars. Detailing the various phases of model development, saloon and estate versions, as well as commercial models, are examined. The economic Ensign models and the luxury Vanguard Six model, which incorporated a six-cylinder engine that would later power the Triumph 2000, are also featured alongside an insight into the history of the Standard Motor Company, which would later change its branding exclusively to Triumph. The Phase III Vanguard cars were later revised by Italian stylist Giovanni Michellotti, who was also the architect of the Triumph models.Illustrated with both contemporary and current illustrations, this book is an invaluable guide to a popular range of British family cars of the 1950s.

In 2025, South Wales-based Edwards Coaches celebrates 100 years since its founders formally ventured into public transport. Today, Edwards operates around 250 vehicles on a diverse portfolio of work which includes local bus services, home-to-school transport, holiday and tour programmes, private hires, executive contracts and National Express diagrams. This book showcases some of the vehicles that Edwards have operated from its humble beginnings in 1925 to the present day. Featuring photographs from the Edwards family archive as well as those taken by valued clients, employees and enthusiasts, this book forms a wonderful tribute to Wales’ largest independent public-transport operator, the much-loved and multi-award-winning, Edwards Coaches.

‘In the tenth-century Annales Cambriae, which possibly goes back to contemporary sources, the entry about the Battle of Badon Hill mentions that Arthur “carried the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ on his shoulders for three days and three nights”. It is likely that this Latin quote is based upon a Welsh source, in which the words for “shoulder” (ysqwyd) and “shield” (ysqwyt) were close enough in spelling to get mixed up quite easily.’Arthur’s Miscellany is full of such insights, based upon a lifetime study of heraldry and armour. These essays were written over a period of more than 30 years, some never published before now. Chapters include: ‘The Arms of Lancelot du Lac’; ‘Why Was the Green Knight Green?’; and ‘Merlin, Magic, and Swords of Power’. Alongside his career as an historian and museum curator, Helmut Nickel was a famous illustrator.Few historians would be confident enough to interpret the symbology of the mid-15th century armorial, Les Noms, Armes, et Blazons des Chevalliers et Compaignons de la Table Ronde ? all 175 of them! Many of the illustrations within are by the author. This is an important contribution to the Arthurian canon ? and a tribute to a great scholar and artist from his friends and fellow researchers.

As time goes by, progression is always happening across the UK rail network, and a major aspect of this is the trains that operate on the network. The replacement of the trains is a significant part of this process. Train operating companies around the country periodically undertake the removal of some of their life-expired, older trains in preparation for newer, much more modern units to take over the day-to-day operations of passenger work as the numbers of people travelling on the railways rises every year. Once removed from service, the next destination of these units varies as they are either transferred, stored or sent for scrap.With fascinating illustrations and informative captions, Adam Head looks at the final months of a variety of elderly EMUs operating all over the UK network in their many different liveries and locations.

Aberystwyth is the unofficial capital of Mid Wales. Situated on Cardigan Bay, it attracts many as a seaside resort and university town, as well as being a gateway to the Cambrian Mountains inland. The ruins of the castle, destroyed in the Civil War, attest to the town’s importance in the Middle Ages, and with the coming of the railways in the nineteenth century, which brought an influx of visitors, many hotels and grand houses were built. Many buildings and the pier were damaged or destroyed in a great storm in 1938, and post-war to recent decades Aberystwyth has witnessed many more changes.Lost Aberystwyth presents a portrait of this corner of Wales 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 Aberystwyth will appeal to all those who live in the area or know it well, as well as those who remember it from previous decades.

Coventry has been a major centre of trade and industry since the Middle Ages. Medieval Coventry was known for making tiles, cloth, buckles, statues and stained glass. Other textile industries followed, the dyeing of cloth with the famous Coventry true blue and silk-weaving. Much later, in the twentieth century, Coventry became a pioneer of synthetic fibre manufacturing. Clock-making grew from the sixteenth century, and later watch-making – Dickens carried his Coventry watch until he died – and in the nineteenth century Coventry also became known for bike manufacture. This also led to Coventry becoming the hub of car manufacturing in the twentieth century. It was Coventry’s expertise in this area, as well as aircraft, military vehicles and armaments, that led to it being targeted by enemy bombing in the Second World War.Coventry at Work explores the working life of this city in the East Midlands and its people and the industries that have characterised it through the ages. This book will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of Coventry.

Between 1972 and 1986 the roads of England and Wales were served by the country’s own National Bus Company, carrying a corporate livery introduced to bring the thirty-six or so companies together and help the public see it owned its bus services. At the time, it was the largest bus company in the world, and there was much interest in its vehicle fleets, along with the changes to operating areas and fleet amalgamations.In the 1970s, most towns had a bus station and garage, and the constituent companies still retained much individuality even if the buses were painted in a similar fashion. Information was not as readily available as today, so there was plenty of interest to be discovered. In this book, Mike Hitchen takes a look back to a time when variety was the norm; red or green (and occasionally blue) buses connected communities across the country from Cornwall to Kent, Hampshire to Northumberland and most places in between.

Yarn production and the rearing of sheep have shaped the county of Cumbria, from ancient sheep breeds and farming methods impacting the landscape to yarn production and garment manufacture shaping many of the towns. Different breeds produce different yarns for different purposes, and today the Cumbrian sheep are competing on the world stage with yarns from around the globe.In Cumbrian Yarn: The Wool That Binds the County Beth and Steve Pipe follow local yarn production from the sheep to the sweater. They describe the breeds of sheep associated with the county, look at how sheep farming has shaped the landscape over the centuries, explore how the wools differ and how fleeces are obtained and then turned into yarns, and also look at how spinning and dyeing has changed over time. Sheep rearing and yarn and wool production have been a vital part of Cumbria for centuries and all face new challenges today. This fully illustrated look into the world of Cumbrian wool provides a unique insight into its fascinating history and its importance today.

Britain has a rich Cold War heritage and here its significant historical and cultural aspects are explored. Adopting a chronological approach, key events, technologies and social impacts are detailed through the many sites, collections and artefacts that are accessible to the public. Peter Robinson and Milka Ivanova take readers on a journey of discovery, from the secret bunker at Kelvedon Hatch to the Nuclear Missile Storage Facility at RAF Barnham, where local people believed monkeys were being prepared for space travel and beyond. They also consider civil and military defence, the CND movement and the Cold War in popular culture and conclude with a list of fifty Cold War sites that can be visited today.