All articles in Local & Family History
26th November, 2021 in Local & Family History, Transport & Industry
How Birmingham went global
Just how did Birmingham, a city that lies near the geographic centre of England, go global? A trip around the city’s canals may hold the answer, writes author Simon Wilcox. If no-one else knew it at the time, a local poet and innkeeper called John Freeth certainly knew. However m…
26th November, 2021 in Local & Family History, Maritime
MS Pilsudski: The largest shipwreck off the Yorkshire coast
Richard M. Jones, author of Britain’s Lost Tragedies Uncovered, tells the story of MS Pilsudski. Over 80 years ago, on 26 November 1939, the Polish ocean liner Pilsudski was off the coast of Yorkshire at the start of a long journey from the River Tyne to Australia. At the outbrea…
9th November, 2021 in Local & Family History
Hiding out on the margins: Was Robin Hood a hero from Sheffield?
What do you know about Robin Hood? Most likely that he and his band of brothers hung out in the depths of Sherwood Forest, coming out from time to time to harass the Sheriff of Nottingham? This is the usual scenario portrayed in film and TV, and on the back of this general percep…
8th November, 2021 in Local & Family History
Norfolk’s rich history
Our knowledge of the past is gathered from a whole range of sources. For the most recent times this may include oral memories and photographs, while looking further back there are written records. But of equal importance is the evidence in the landscape around us and nowhere is t…
5th October, 2021 in Local & Family History
The making of ‘Artisan Stroud’
Sitting on zoom with ‘Dave the bodger’ (chair maker) is not the way I expected to research my book. I imagined I’d be there in the garden on this sunny day that I’d be able to smell the chippings on the floor of his garden studio, the linseed oil on the wood, sit in the finished…
7th September, 2021 in Archaeology, Local & Family History
The history of Gloucester
Someone visiting Gloucester today will see an active, complex city, a mix of old and new. It is a vibrant place full of people living their lives. But it is also one of the most important and complicated archaeological sites in the southwest of England and a fulcrum on which…
10th June, 2021 in Archaeology, History, Local & Family History, Natural World
Top 10 stone circles in the Lake District National Park
For those interested in British prehistory, nothing beats a ring of big stones. Indeed, people all over the world are fascinated by them. Together with henges, passage tombs, and burial cairns, stone circles stand as icons of Britain’s prehistory. But while most only know of Ston…
6th May, 2021 in Local & Family History, Transport & Industry
A Tyneside Heritage: business, employment and communities on Tyneside
Spanning 150 years of South Shields’ changing fortunes, A Tyneside Heritage is a pioneering work of interwoven local and family history. After the nineteenth-century boom years of coal exporting and shipbuilding for global markets came the First World War and then the mass unempl…
22nd April, 2021 in History, Local & Family History, Military
Spike Island’s Republican Prisoners in 1921
During the Irish War of Independence‚ the fort on Spike Island in County Cork was the largest British military run prison for republican prisoners and internees in the Martial Law area. During 1921‚ approximately 300 prisoners and 900 internees were imprisoned there. Most of…
13th April, 2021 in Folklore, Local & Family History
The Spirit of Tinto Hill – A story from Lanarkshire
The story that follows is one such tale‚ adapted from a ballad called The Spirit of Tintoc‚ or‚ Johnie Bell and the Kelpie‚ by Sir Alexander Boswell‚ 1803. Boswell (1775-1822) a ballad collector‚ poet and songwriter, was a contemporary and admirer of Robert Burns (…
7th April, 2021 in Local & Family History
People who made history on the Wild Atlantic Way
Much has been made of the scenic splendour of the Wild Atlantic Way. There is no doubting the beauty of waves rolling onto sandy beaches and the ocean crashing at the base of towering cliffs. But there is more to this coastline than just the beautiful scenery. Along the 2,6…
1st April, 2021 in Local & Family History
The history of Limerick
In the mid-west of Ireland sits the County of Limerick with idyllic countryside, bustling towns and a lively city. Life in the north of the county is intricately linked to the Shannon River. While the south of the county is bordered with mountains ranges of the Galtees, Ballyhour…