All articles in Society & Culture
28th January, 2019 in Local & Family History, Military, Society & Culture
The Prison of Norman Cross: The Lost Town of Huntingdonshire
During the Napoleonic Wars many thousands of prisoners of war arrived in Britain often to languish in the war prisons for many years. Norman Cross Prison Depot, near Peterborough, was one of the largest with accommodation for up to 7,000 captives and used from 1797 until it close…
21st January, 2019 in History, Society & Culture
Five facts about London’s Victorian slums
The Victorian period was a miserable time to be poor. Assistance was only awarded to people who could earn a living, however meagre that living might be. Those who would not or could not work were treated as an ‘underclass’ whose impoverished state was akin to a criminal offence….
10th January, 2019 in History, Society & Culture
Welfare and the workhouse
Most people think of publicly-funded ‘welfare’ as a relatively modern invention – often linked to the social reforms in Britain after the Second World War. These included the new National Health Service, financial benefits for those unable to work, and a massive programme of coun…
7th January, 2019 in Local & Family History, Society & Culture
Bristol’s other slave trades
Bristol may be synonymous with the Transatlantic slave trade but prior to this dark period in its history it was also involved in three other types of slavery…. The Saxon and Viking slave trade The city of Bristol may have originated in Anglo Saxon times although there is argum…
12th December, 2018 in History, Society & Culture, Women in History
The 1918 General Election
The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday 14 December 1918. Not only was it the first general election to include all eligible voters of the U…
10th December, 2018 in Entertainment, Society & Culture
Christmas television past
One essential element to a Christmas programme, however clichéd the writing, and despite the fact it was probably taped in July, still conveyed a sense of occasion – one where a familiar figure would ‘put on a turn’. Such shows were typically aimed at an audience gathered around…
29th November, 2018 in Society & Culture
10 street photography tips
Colin Moody who is the author of one of our first Street Photography books Stokes Croft & Montpelier gives his top tips for capturing that elusive moment… 1. Keep the lens cap off and keep walking. You might want to have some tunes on your headphones. I’m on Leon Bridges on…
28th November, 2018 in History, Society & Culture
Slavery in history
Slavery has existed for millennia in varying forms in all parts of the world. Affecting all races, gender and age groups. It is only in recent times that it has been globally outlawed with the United Nations General Assembly adopting the declaration of hu…
27th November, 2018 in History, Society & Culture, Trivia & Gift
Season’s Greetings: 180 years of the Christmas card
In a bid to get more ‘ordinary’ people to use the newly-formed Post Office, the Penny Post was introduced by Sir Henry Cole, a senior civil servant, in 1840. Just three years later, Sir Henry also had the bright idea of creating a Christmas card which people could post to their f…
31st October, 2018 in Entertainment, Military, Society & Culture
How British theatre raised funds in World War I
If you were fundraising for a good cause in Great War Britain, where was your first port of call? More than likely it was a local playhouse, variety theatre or music hall where a matinee might raise large sums in an afternoon. No sooner had war been declared than West End stars,…
29th October, 2018 in History, Society & Culture
Waterloo to Peterloo: The tragic story of John Lees
When author Colin Brown heard that Mike Leigh was directing a new film on the massacre at Peterloo, he wanted to send a copy of his book Scum of the Earth: What Happened to the Real British Heroes of Waterloo, which contains a chapter on the outrage of 1819, to the filmmaker…
10th October, 2018 in Military, Society & Culture, Women in History
World War One: Fashion Revolution
A century seems a long time back in history, but for those enduring the four years of the Great War it was lived as present tense – a daily reality. This was not a history lesson or a nostalgic retrospective, it was immediate and modern. Clothes of the wa…