Numerous back-to-back houses, two or three stories high, were built in Birmingham during the 19th century, the majority of them were still in quite good condition in the early 20th century. Most of these houses were concentrated in inner-city areas such as Ladywood, Handsworth, Aston, Small Heath and Highgate. By the early 1970s, almost all of Birmingham's back-to-back houses had been demolished. The occupants were re-housed in new council houses and flats, some in redeveloped inner-city areas, while the majority moved to new housing estates such as Castle Vale and Chelmsley Wood. In fact, back-to-backs were once the commonest form of housing in England, home to the majority of working people in Victorian cities, but they have now almost entirely vanished from our urban townscape. Author Ted Rudge, who is a National Trust guide at the Birmingham back-to-backs in Hurst Street (built in 1831), has collected many personal stories from people who grew up in these infamous houses. For some it was a harsh life, cramped and overcrowded, but it was also a place where life-long friendships and relationships were made. The approach of telling the story through oral history, before these stories are forgotten, will be a shock to many modern people who are completely oblivious that these living conditions were standard across much of the country. What was it like to live in a house with one bedroom and no running water? How did eleven families share two toilets? The rise and fall of the back-to-back is a sobering tale of how our nation houses its people, and illuminates the story of the development of urban Britain.

Erinoid. n. name given to a plastics material manufactured from milk: (arch.) artificial horn: also the name of a Company in Stroud, Gloucestershire where it was produced throughout much of the 20th century! This publication tells the story of the development of the Company into a major British manufacturer of plastics materials. It is extensively illustrated with historic photographs of the site, the manufacturing processes, the workforce and even the company's splendid sporting facilities. Erinoid was used to make fountain pens, buttons, knitting needles and combs. It would have been handled daily by almost everyone in Great Britain but is now almost completely forgotten.

A nostalgic tour of Jarrow illustrated by old photographs of the town, selected from the author's quite unique and extensive collection. The images, many of which have never been published before, feature street scenes, notable buildings, social history, industry, events and transport. Jarrow was renowned as a town built on shipbuilding and steel working, courtesy of the Palmer shipbuilding empire, who reigned supreme supplying the world's fleet with more than 1000 vessels until its demise in 1933. It was this abrupt closure of the world famous shipyard which instigated the infamous 'Jarrow Crusade'. The fascination eight picture postcards which were given to Paul Perry in 1966 were the beginning of a journey, a journey which has lasted close to fifty years. The postcards were to form the backbone of the author's extensive collection and have multiplied into many thousands of images, some of which he share's with you within the pages of this publication.

An intriguing account of what has attracted musicians, artists, writers and people of the theatre to the delights of coastal Suffolk over the last 200 years and beyond. Inspiration has been drawn from the constantly changing North Sea, the generously proportioned skies, vast areas of serene marshes and abundant wildlife. All appear to be persuaded that there is something very special about the area. The likes of JMW Turner, Philip Wilson Steer and Charles Rennie Mackintosh found what they wanted here. The same applied to Benjamin Britten, Yehudi Menuhin, EM Forster and WH Auden. Elizabeth Jane Howard's books are as popular as ever and Jill Freud's Summer Theatre continues to thrive. There is something for everyone in coastal Suffolk.

This book about the history of the village of Eye, now in Peterborough but formerly in Northamptonshire, is written by local historian Andrew Pape using his extensive knowledge of the area. Whilst carrying out research on local pubs and breweries he became very interested in the broader history of Eye and collected old photographs, maps and postcards to produce this fascinating insight into the area. It is a must-buy for anyone interested in local history.

After British-born, comedy actress Diz White found herself craving Yorkshire Pudding at every meal she knew her roots were pulling her back from America to her homeland. It was time to buy a Cotswolds Cottage! Her roller-coaster search doubles as a travel-tour that takes in every delight of the Cotswolds: historic sites, hog roasts, hiking the Cotswold Way and pub walks with her husband, often bagging the walk in favour of a slightly boozy lunch.There were highs, heartbreaks and cliff-hangers as she was charged by a bull named Chasin' Mason, auditioned for the hind end of a horse and was trampled by thirty children while wearing a bear suit, but the fondness she developed for this region and its vivid inhabitants gave her a feeling of community missing from her busy urban existence. Will this author's dream cottage become a reality? Find out in this witty love note to the Cotswolds. This book does double-duty as a travel tour of the Cotswolds and features a valuable VISITOR'S GUIDE with GPS and Sat Nav info, a MAP and over a dozen especially commissioned PHOTOGRAPHS.

Take this next journey with me into Wednesfield's past and be assured that it will bring back memories of your own journey; and please enjoy! This 135 page book contains more than 100 photographs. This is my third journey into Wednesfield's past and I have loved doing it, it's been really great giving talks about our history to the Rotary Club of Wednesfield thanks to Mark Simmons and it was great to meet the Mayor and Mayoress in the Civic Centre. Thanks to Phil Bateman for organising that. Not forgetting the talks that I gave at The Vine Inn and also the Royal British Legion Club, once again it's been the main topic: 'Where did the famous battle between the Saxons and the Vikings take place?' Now all you folk of Wednesfield know.

Great Britain unearths the hidden legends, laws, landscapes, discoveries, adventures and locations that have shaped Britain's compelling, and at times, tumultuous past. Explore how Britain was formed - its geology and climate, the quirky characters and events of its history and the origin of British institutions, such as public schools, fish and chips and driving on the left hand side. Brief, accessible and entertaining pieces on a wide variety of subjects makes it the perfect book to dip in to. The amazing and extraordinary facts series presents interesting, surprising and little-known facts and stories about a wide range of topics which are guaranteed to inform, absorb and entertain in equal measure.

This book commemorates one of Scotland's longest surviving village football teams. St. Monans, with a population of around 1500, is a small village situated in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. St. Monan's heritage lies in the now long gone fishing and boatbuilding industries. This book preserves the heritage of the local village football team. St. Monans Swifts were the first team from the village and were formed in 1893. The team was renamed St. Monans Swallows in 1959 . Many local families have played for the village club over the years. Success has followed during various periods but the 1935-36 team's achievements will probably never be beaten. Many St. Monans men went on to play senior football and the village has produced international players, at different levels, in football, rugby and athletics. This book also illustrates the spirit and character of a small East Neuk community.

This is the remarkable and unlikely story of how a bakery came to be built in a small Derbyshire village. Of the two orphaned traumatized children living in no more that an improvised wind brake (a cott.) on the edge of the great forest of Sherwood, and the common lands that stretched for miles to the north and east, who schemed, firstly just to provide enough food to survive. Many didn't in the harsh economic climate, of the cruel, pre-Victorian times in which they lived. Of childbirth, that could be a death sentence, and medical advancement's that came gradually, and through unlikely ways. It is the story of trickery and superstition, bordering on witchcraft, and the remarkable advancement through the industrial age. Of how illness, or injury, blighted the lives of all, and success could be no more than the ability to stay alive and healthy. Through it all, runs the theme of the bakery, based on the people who lived, worked and died there. It is also a history of the area and the age through which they lived, from the days of the highwaymen, the coming of the roads, canals, and railways, of the expansion of the church, and it's often eccentric priests. And of how disease was largely conquered by the event of clean water. And a population that was dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age.

The purpose of this book is to highlight the most important documentary evidence available to the family historian wishing to research their Irish ancestry. It is aimed primarily at researchers whose time in Irish repositories is limited, and who want to know what is available locally and online. It covers more than eighteen individual sources of information, making it simpler to organise your search and easier to carry it out both locally and on the ground. Contents: 1. Where to Begin; 2. Administrative Divisions; 3. Civil Registration; 4. Census Returns and Old Age Pension Claims; 5. Census Substitutes; 6. Wills and Testamentary Records; 7. Election Records; 8. Board of Guardian Records; 9. School Records; 10. Migration; 11. Emigration; 12. Landed Estate Records; 13. Taxation and Valuation Records; 14. Church Records; 15. Military Records; 16. Printed Records; 17. Law & Order; 18. Local Government; 19. Researching Online.