Saturday 31 December 2011

Happy New Year

Wishing you all a Happy New Year for 2012 from Southumbria

Article - How railway embankment became residents' very own nature reserve (West Bridgford)

EVERY weekday morning, many of the housewives in Selby Road, West Bridgford, would be out in their aprons, waving to the steam train as it puffed its way to London.

The "Businessman's Special" left Nottingham at 8.15am, and it was something of a tradition that you waved to it as it went past, along the Nottingham Midland line that in its heyday ran parallel to Selby Road.
Jesse Gray, a prolific builder who died at the age of 90 in 1972, built the first houses on the road, on land bought from Sir Horatio Davis (after whom Davis Road is named) in 1913.

He built 23 houses, at the lower, or south, end of the road. His son, Percy Edward Gray, later continued the portfolio with a further 40 or 50 houses, on either side of the road.

In those early days, from what is now Malvern Road up to Boundary Road and beyond, local residents recall "it was all fields".

Even when more dwellings were gradually added, there were as many allotments as houses, and the upper, northern end was an unmade road.

The last local train along the line was the 6.20pm to St Pancras on Saturday April 16 1966. Subsequently there was one express train a day until the end of April 1967, and the last freight train ran on November 1 1968. The line was finally removed early in 1969. But the embankment remains – although not without incident.

In 1984 there was a huge fire on the embankment, which had become overgrown. It was caused by a spark from a bonfire in a garden on St Helen's Road at the end of a dry spell.

Within minutes the undergrowth was in flames. By the time the fire was out, there was little vegetation left.
The only casualties reported were a pond full of fish; a householder and her son had just that morning completed the pond, and stocked it with goldfish, none of which survived the thick coating of ash that covered the water.

Ten years later, the embankment faced a threat of a different sort. The local council had a plan to level the land and build more housing.

Quite how they were going to provide reasonable access to each property was anybody's guess. The proposal caused an uproar from every house in Selby Road, and in October 1995 the council backed down, with a letter to residents saying they were not proceeding, owing to "a lack of interest in the proposal". Oh – and incidentally – they wanted £10 a year from all the householders!

"It is now our intention to regularise the use of this land by granting adjacent owners a Licence Agreement to occupy the land for a yearly fee. Any parties who do not wish to enter into such an agreement will be required to vacate the land".

So the council were having their pound of flesh. But it was cheap at the price, to maintain a vital piece of heritage, and to have created what is now known as the Green Line, a thriving nature reserve, much appreciated by all West Bridgford folk who walk along it.

More recently, the embankment has had another surge of energy, with the Selby Road Open Gardens weekends, now coming up to their fourth year.

Children who now have children of their own remember with nostalgia their trips up the embankment to the "metal factory" on the Ludlow Hill industrial estate.

Until the end of the Second World War the estate was the site of Smart's brickworks, and continued to produce bricks until the kiln was demolished in the early 1950s.

The trading estate grew up around the brickworks, with a variety of businesses including car servicing, and the famous "metal factory". This was a manufacturer of cheap trophies for sporting clubs and institutes. The "seconds" were chucked out on to the rubbish tip behind the factory, and many a house on Selby Road boasted a somewhat dented and tarnished cup or plaque brought home by gleeful offspring.

When they weren't up at the metal factory the kids were at the "nugget factory" as they called the sweet manufacturers in South Road who produced rather good nougat, and who were usually of a mind to give children a handout of "seconds".

Other residents recall the morning nursery school run by Constance Collier in her conservatory, in the '50s. And the two Misses Harrison, on the "evens" side of the road, who took in a lodger, Miss Cuthbert, and used to nip through the gate at the bottom of the garden, through the garden of the two Misses Collingtons, to catch the bus on Musters Road.

There were many single ladies around in those post-war days.

There are a great many memories of Selby Road, and as it approaches the 100th anniversary since the first foundations were laid in 1913, an archive is being put together to collate them all.

Gill and Steve Tanner are working to put together as many recollections, anecdotes and photographs as possible, from as many residents, past and present, as possible.

If you can contribute, please get in touch with them on 0115 981 2039, e-mail gill.tanner01@btinternet.com, or to see some of the information look at Selbyroadarchive.blogspot.com

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/railway-embankment-residents-nature-reserve/story-14278528-detail/story.html
CALLOUS vandals damaged one of the town’s historic war memorials in a botched metal theft attempt.
Residents were said to be shocked and stunned after seeing that the bronze sword on the side of the monument in Bennetthorpe was bent out of shape.

Thieves damaged the 5ft 4in piece in what is understood to have been an attempt to steal the item. However, they could not prise it from its stand.

They removed the sword from the stand in order to make the repairs by using heat treatment to restore it back into its original shape.

They then re-attached it to the monument.

Jeff Swift, chairman of the Sprotbrough branch of the Royal British Legion, told the Free Press he was saddened by the news.

He said: “That monument represents people who have made the ultimate sacrifice and for people to go and do something like that is not on, they obviously didn’t think about what that memorial means to people.

“It’s very sad that we have people in the community who would do something like this.

“Thankfully it’s been rectified and hopefully it will not happen again.”

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police confirmed that the December 15 incident had been reported and that detectives were continuing to investigate the matter.

The borough has been subjected to several metal thefts over the past year with homes, churches and firms being targeted.

Companies including those sited at Hayfield Business Park have been hit more than once over the past two months by copper crooks.

Business owners were forced to send staff home because they had no phonelines and the internet could not be used.

Police officers and BT engineers have also been called out on several occasions to deal with cable thefts which have left homes in areas such as Lindholme, Hatfield and Stainforth isolated with no phoneline connection.

From: http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/doncaster-news/uproar_as_metal_thieves_damage_tribute_to_war_heroes_1_4103625

News - Nottingham Industrial Museum set to reopen

The Nottingham Industrial Museum is to reopen as a volunteer-run attraction after the city council received £91,000 in funding.

The museum closed in 2009 as the council restructured its services.

But now more than 90 volunteers are helping refurbish the Wollaton Park site before it reopens in March.
The centre will be self-sufficient through a small admission fee on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays, Nottingham City Council said.

'Fully accessible'
Nottingham Industrial Museum, housed in the park's stable block, will offer an insight into Nottingham's industrial heritage.

Exhibits will include steam engines and agricultural machinery as well as lace making machinery which helped to put Nottingham on the textile map, the council said.

An initial grant of £66,000 from the Adult and Community Learning Fund will be used to train volunteers on how to run the centre, from taking care of the collections to marketing the attraction.

Rebecca Wilson, one of the volunteers, said: "This project is a great example of a community working together to show off its local heritage and we have great fun at the same time too."

Councillor Dave Trimble, portfolio holder for leisure, culture and tourism, said: "The reopening will be a great achievement for the dedicated group of volunteers. 

"It's fantastic that we can revitalise the museum's collections and make them fully accessible again."

Volunteers are still being sought to help with the project. Anyone interested should contact Nottingham City Council's programmes coordinator on 0115 876 2187.

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-16354436

Thursday 29 December 2011

News - Capping off £100k of fundraising as work begins on windmill (Leverton)

THE final pieces of the jigsaw to replace rotting sails and a cap from an iconic windmill have fallen into place.

Millwrights descended on North Leverton Windmill to remove the two remaining sails so they could lift the rotting cap off the mill and restore it.

A temporary weatherproof cover will replace the cap in the meantime and was lifted into place after the cap was removed.

Cranes were on site to do the heavy lifting work.

In June 2008, two sails were found to be rotten and needed to be removed.

The windmill continued to work using the two remaining sails.

Since then, the trustees have raised almost £100,000 towards repairs and new sails.

The two new sails have already been built, ready to be installed once the cap they are housed in returns.
The mill is open to the public every Saturday throughout the year.

A full range of stoneground flour is on sale.

For more information visit www.north-leverton-windmill.co.uk

From: http://www.retfordpeople.co.uk/Capping-pound-100k-fundraising-work-begins/story-14267567-detail/story.html

News - Fire prevention work at Abbey (Newstead)

FIRE prevention work will be carried out at Newstead Abbey from January.

Nottingham City Council plans to complete the second phase of the project, which aims to separate parts of the building to prevent fire spreading and minimise any loss, before the summer.

It will see the main part of the Abbey split into three main zones.

The council has been quoted £47,400 by contractors to carry out the work, expected to start on January 9.

However it only has £39,000 set aside for the rest of the project and has said it will pay the shortfall by finding savings in its museum service budget.

A report by Councillor David Trimble, portfolio holder for leisure, says that the work is a vital requirement of their insurer to prevent the risk of "total destruction" by preventing fire spreading through the historic building.

The report says it is essential work begins on time to protect the bats in the roof space and so it does not impact on the tourism season over the summer.

The first phase was completed two years ago and separated the south wing which was deemed to be at greatest risk.

Some roof and loft separation work was also carried out then.
From:Thisisnottingham.co.uk
 
Newstead Abbey, Nottingham City Council,

Wednesday 28 December 2011

News - £50,000 for castle repairs (Newark)

A £50,000 grant has been given to Newark and Sherwood District Council to help pay for urgent restoration work to Newark Castle.
The grant was made by Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd (WREN) through a Heritage Fund launched in 2010.

It will be used to help pay for the first phase of work to fence off parts of the gardens where there are concerns about falling masonry.

A survey, by Cliveden Conservation, found that sections of the castle walls, dating to the 12th Century, need urgent repairs and restoration.

The survey also found that the castle will need long-term repair work costing more than £1/2m over the next five years.

The work is being done with the support of English Heritage and heritage groups in Newark, including the Friends of Newark Castle and Gardens.

The district council cabinet member responsible for the castle, Mrs Nora Armstrong, said the grant would be matched by the council to enable the essential work to go ahead.

She said: “The project shows that the council is committed to protecting and enhancing Newark Castle and is providing value for money by bringing in partnership funding.”

Louise Brennan, Nottinghamshire team leader at English Heritage, said: “Newark Castle is an important landmark and one that is on our Heritage at Risk register.

“We hope the funding from the dedicated Heritage Fund will help to complete further repairs at the castle and move it towards coming off the register.”

Extensive work to restore the castle was carried out between 1979 and 1994 by the council at a cost of more than £1m.

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/news/view.asp?id=b85e5100-82b3-102f-ad62-73917bb4195d&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Event - Ice Age tours (Creswell Crags)

Discover what Creswell Crags was like during the last Ice Age on a tour of Robin Hood Cave, the largest cave on site.

Find out who was here, what was here, why they were here and how we know about it.

On until 31st January, tickets £6.50 including exhibition, £4.50 children. Visit www.creswell-crags.org.uk for details.

From: http://www.worksopguardian.co.uk/news/local-news/ice_age_tours_1_4082572?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

News - 'Welcome to Yorkshire' are pro fox-hunting!

The so-called tourism agency 'Welcome to Yorkshire' at have joined forces with the morons at the Countryside Alliance - well known for their pro fox-hunting stance in order to help them with publicity.  This step can only mean their downfall as people realise that the Countryside Alliance has little to do with helping the countryside and are more interested in blood sports and killing British wildlife.  How can 'Welcome To Yorkshire' think this will help tourism?

Maybe Welcome to Yorkshire should also work with the BNP to make themselves even more popular!

For tips on what hunts actually get up to - visit http://www.realca.co.uk/

Feel free to comment :)

News - Sheffield's Portland Works in bid to raise £500,000

Portland Works, Sheffield 
Portland Works was the first factory where cutlery craftsmen worked together under one roof 

The first place in the world to produce stainless steel cutlery could be lost forever if £500,000 cannot be raised by the end of January.

Portland Works was built in the 1870s near Bramall Lane, south of Sheffield city centre, and the Grade II*-listed building is now a workspace for specialist Sheffield trades.

The Portland Works Campaign (PWC) group said if £500,000 could not be raised to buy the building by 31 January, it was "only a matter of time" before it became flats and offices - a fate it narrowly escaped in 2009.

In total, 35 people work at Portland Works - artisans and crafts workers, including silver platers and engravers, cabinet makers, a specialist knife maker, artists and musicians. The campaign group wants it to become "a centre of excellence in Sheffield-type crafts".

In six months £130,000 has been raised from the sale of shares, ranging in price from £100 to £20,000. The shares are for sale until the end of January.

The Architectural Heritage Fund will provide a loan of £300,000, which leaves a £70,000 shortfall. The next move the PWC plans is a scheme to ask local businesses to invest in the building and become "Portland Patrons".

'Rustless steel'
In August 1913 Harry Brearley created a steel alloy of chromium and carbon, which he found resisted acid attack.

His employer, Firth Brown Steels, was not interested in the armament potential of what Brearley called "rustless steel" so he suggested it was used for cutlery, which until that point had been made of carbon steel which was liable to rust, or plated with nickel or silver, which eventually wore through to the base alloy.

Brearley's new alloy arguably was the first batch of what became known as stainless steel.
Portland Works chimney 
A structural survey showed surprisingly little wrong with the fabric of the building 

Stuart Mitchell forges specialist handmade knives, swords and daggers in an upstairs workshop. The family business moved there in 1980 from the nearby Stag Works.

"In 1913 Portland Works was the first place in the world to produce stainless steel. It is very important, not only for Sheffield but for the whole world."

Mr Mitchell said the building was "revolutionary" in its day for the way that cutlery craftsmen worked together under one roof for the first time.

Many of the Portland Works shareholders have a personal connection with Sheffield, while others were inspired to invest after visiting the building or hearing about its uncertain future.

Martin Winterton, from Skipton in North Yorkshire, is one of the shareholders. His great-great-great-grandfather William Willey worked in the Sheffield cutlery industry in 1790.

"Portland Works is so involved with the whole culture of Sheffield," said Mr Winterton. "If this building isn't preserved people will suddenly turn round and realise they haven't got it any more - everybody will wring their hands and say, 'if only'."

'Superficial work'
Shareholder Rob Marston said his interest in Sheffield's industrial history led him to invest in Portland Works. Rather than wanting to see a financial return on his investment, he views the shares as a way to preserve an important place.

"I liked the idea of keeping it working, not preserving it in aspic as somewhere you'd only visit on heritage open days," he said.

"It's living in the real world - they're finding new ways of using the building. It could be an exemplar, rolled out in other industrial areas of the city."


If the £500,000 target cannot be reached by 31 January, the PWC said shareholders' money would be returned.

Derek Morton, chair of the PWC, said for many tenants a move would not be financially viable.

"Half would survive a move but we'd lose something special. Portland Works has a very strong skill set which is special to Sheffield - it's the nature of the businesses."

PWC said it hoped to complete the purchase of the building in early to mid-2012.

Urgent repairs would be done first, although a structural survey showed little wrong with the fabric of the building.

Foliage grows from the brickwork and the wind whistles through broken windows. The portico at the entrance would be restored and the top-floor workshops would be made habitable. Most urgently, the building would be made watertight.

"There are no less than seven places in my workshop where I know I can't leave anything overnight in case it rains," said knife maker Mr Mitchell.

The PWC wants to run the site as a "community enterprise of traditional Sheffield crafts, preserved for future generations".

Event - Nottingham ’Heroes & Villains’ Tour

See the hometown of Robin Hood like you’ve never seen it before! Homicidal medieval Kings, the very first Vampyre, 1200-year old Saxon caves, modern Olympians, evil murderers - and of course the Outlaw Robin Hood. From Lady Chatterley’s Lover to Lace and Legends, the history of Nottingham told through its colourful characters. Tour takes about 2 hours. Wheelchair accessible except for around 5-10 minutes during our cave visit.

See our website for dates and times. Group tours at any time on request, all year. £8 adults, £5 under 12’s. Booking essential. The entrance price includes discount Vouchers for key Nottingham attractions worth at least £4!

Starts at The Salutation Inn, Maid Marian Way, Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG1 6AJMonday 2 Jan 2012, Sun 5 Feb.

 

News - Roman ear pick among artefacts for adoption in Newark

A Roman ear pick is one of 18 items put up for adoption to raise funds for a Nottinghamshire museum.
Newark's Millgate Museum's adopt-an-artefact initiative will help towards a new national centre for Civil War learning in the town.

Objects have been chosen by museum staff from the 60,000 items in stores.

Sue Rodgers, from The Friends of Newark and Sherwood Museum Service, said the scheme was a way for everyone to engage with the heritage of their local area.

Other artefacts chosen include a pair of ladies' shoes from 1817 and a Roman lead coffin discovered at Brough in 1971 which held the skeleton of a young female dating from 300AD.

For donating a minimum of £10, people will receive a certificate of adoption and an information sheet on their chosen object.

Bryony Robins, from Millgate Museum, said: "Hopefully it will get people interested in the collection and raise awareness of the museum's extensive stores, which are open to the public on request."

Adopt-an-artefact

Items up for adoption include...
  • A Roman Cavalry Helmet's copper cheek piece
  • A post-medieval gold pendant
  • A polished stone axe head
  • A military tunic
  • An Anglo-Saxon gold cross pendant
The scheme is the first of several fundraising projects planned by the Friends of Newark and Sherwood Museum Service who aim to raise between £50,000 and £100,000 for the Civil War Centre over the coming years.

The museum, on Appleton Gate, is expected to cost about £5m and is due to open in 2014.
Newark and Sherwood District Council has received about £200,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to carry out initial development work on the museum.

It will be bidding for a further £3.4m in February, with most of the money being used to restore the Old Magnus building which is housing the exhibits.

Tuesday 27 December 2011

Article - Boxing Day Retro: Fascinating flashbacks (Sheffield)

SHEFFIELD Cathedral may be big - but it could have been twice the size, writes Colin Drury.
It could, in fact, have had two spires, a massive nave stretching to Church Street and a completely new north side.

That’s if World War Two hadn’t got in the way. The massively ambitious plans were delayed during the conflict then scaled back in a post-war austerity age.
 
* IT’S not only 21st century newspapers which court controversy
The Sheffield Iris was ruffling feathers as far back as the 18th century.

Indeed, editor James Montgomery perhaps ruffled them too much. He was jailed in 1796 for daring to criticise soldiers who killed two unarmed protesters during a workers march.

Montgomery’s opinion piece was popular with readers but not with magistrates who locked him up for six months.

Today, as a Local Studies Library talk pointed out in August, the editor has a statue in the grounds of Sheffield Cathedral. Those magistrates don’t.

* SHEFFIELD University professors made thousands of Molotov cocktails in case of invasion during World War Two
This and other nuggets were revealed in Sheffield At War, perhaps the most comprehensive work on the city’s experience of the conflict.

Other titbits include how Hallamshire Battalion soldiers nicknamed a French ridge Snig Hill and the fact the Sheffield Twist Drill and Steel Company was considered so strategically important by the Nazis it was marked as a high priority occupation target.

The 1948 book was placed online by amateur historian Ted Mullins in August.

“It’s important these things aren’t forgotten,” he said. Quite right.

* THERE was almost a monorail in Sheffield
And August would have been its 30th anniversary.

Its advocates - including the British Government - said it would be a transport system from the future, gliding noiselessly on five-metre stilts, whizzing 10,000 commuters an hour along a two mile stretch of electrified tracks.

Its critics said it would be a £10 million monstrosity. They won the day.

* FITZALAN Square was once nice. Perhaps even harder for younger people to believe than the idea that a monorail was ever seriously considered.

This was just one of several stunning pictures of old Sheffield which made up Geoffrey Howse’s stunning Sheffield Then & Now book.

The tome, released in October, also showed a Steel City still home to old-school trams, a corn exchange and a Cole Brothers store at Cole’s Corner. Nostalgia at its best.

* ART imitated life a little too closely at Sheffield’s grandest 19th century theatre.
The Surrey, in West Bar, was the finest theatre outside of London - a towering monument to opulence complete with underground museum, upper ballroom and marble statues.

A shame, then, that in 1865, just 14 years after it opened, it burned to the ground.

The cause? A play which reproduced the Great Fire of London - complete with real on stage blaze - went wrong. After a performance on March 25, crews failed to damp the theatre down and the flames resparked.
Within two hours the largely wooden building was little more the smouldering embers. Where, Retro wondered in November, were the health and safety inspectors?

* SHEFFIELD United won the only FA Cup played during a world war.
Also known as the Khaki Cup Final, this match saw the Blades (pictured left) beat Chelsea 3-0 on April 24, 1915.

The victory was somewhat overshadowed, however, by events across the Channel - the same day thousands of British soldiers died during World War One’s first gas attack.

“The contrast was shocking,” said Blades historian Matthew Bell who released his book Red, White And Khaki this month.

That season remains the only one in which English professional football continued while the world war raged.

Edited from: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/boxing_day_retro_fascinating_flashbacks_1_4093016

Event - Talk on war at meeting (Kimberley)

A TALK on World War One will be given at the next meeting of the Kimberley History Society.

Society member and Kimberley town councillor Dave Nunn will be giving a talk entitled Nottingham Teachers and the 1914 to 1918 War Effort.

“Dave has done a great deal of research on this subject and the talk should be fascinating,” said group secretary Steve Arundel.

The venue is still the community room at Kimberley Comprehensive School, accessed from the left hand side of the drive leading to the leisure centre.

The talks all start at 7.30pm and normally finish by around 9pm.

The entrance fee for non-members is £2.

From: http://www.eastwoodadvertiser.co.uk/news/eastwood-kimberley-news/talk_on_war_at_meeting_1_4080167

there's no date given on this ad I can't find it listed elsewhere!

News - Council fighting on to get listed status (Kimberley)

KIMBERLEY Town Council is fighting on to get an old railway building at the brewery site listed after an appeal was rejected.

Councillors applied to get the old Midland Railway building listed in April 2009 and when it was rejected they appealed.

But the appeal was recently rejected and councillors are now asking Nottinghamshire’s Thoroton Historical Society and the Civic Society to help.

Council chairman Roy Plumb said it was a very significant building and if it was listed it could be restored.
“We feel the fact that it’s so unique has been overlooked. Unless we get new intervention we have shot it. And yet that building is of a very important nature,” he said.

“We are looking for fresh blood. These societies might see some other features that were not taken into account during the decision making process,

“The Thoroton Society has been going for over 100 years and is very well respected.

“We are hoping that they may well have the experience and enthusiasm to take it on board for us because they will see the potential for it straight away.”

The station was one of the first arts and crafts style buildings, if not the first, built by Charles Trubshaw for Midland Railway in 1879.

Cllr Plumb said the building had been vandalised to ‘high heaven’ over the years, but if it was given listed status it could be restored and cleaned up.

The council wants the building to be given listed status so it becomes a feature in Kimberley, said the chairman.

“People will come to look at its unique features,” he said.

“If it’s got significant value in the architectural world, it would make something of it. We could bring it back to its original style and appearance.”

Features of an arts and crafts style building include prominent chimneys and decorative sunflower images.

Kimberley historian John Lee said: “It’s a shame the appeal was rejected, but involving the Thoroton Society is a good idea because they have people with a lot of expertise.

“It’s a very rare building architecturally,” he added.

Charles Trubshaw went on to design some very key buildings for Midland Railway and has several listed buildings elsewhere in the country.

From: http://www.eastwoodadvertiser.co.uk/news/eastwood-kimberley-news/council_fighting_on_to_get_listed_status_1_4080519

Saturday 24 December 2011

Friday 23 December 2011

Book - Recalling the days when steam locos ruled the railways (South Yorkshire)

Yorkshire People and Railways by Peter Tuffrey.
Yorkshire People and Railways by Peter Tuffrey.

Published on Friday 23 December 2011 08:00
Just what is it about the mention of old trains and railways that has half the male population drooling?
As a long time collector of old photographs, particularly those depicting railways, Doncaster writer Peter Tuffrey has for many years been aware of the vast photographic archives that can be accessed.
Renewing his contact recently with an old acquaintance, journalist Peter Charlton, Mr Tuffrey has been able to select some of these photographs for use in his new 128 page book Yorkshire People & Railways.
Filled with stunning and nostalgic photographs, it is perfect for enthusiasts of both rail and local history especially, there’s bound to be at least one image from where you live.
Under various chapter headings – Views from the Lineside; Staff; Crashes; On Shed and Works; Preserved Railways; Railway Stations – you are able to see the many different ways Yorkshire people have been involved with railways, particularly in the days of steam, in their own county. Some of the lineside pictures are superbly pin-sharp, having been scanned from large format glass plate negatives.
http://www.thornegazette.co.uk/webimage/1.4078660!image/4159507443.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_215/4159507443.jpg
But that is not to detract from the other pictures in the book, which have been carefully composed and taken over the years.
But information is as important as the image, and the picture captions are well researched, informative and reflect the author’s reputation for unearthing the unusual and eccentric.
Yorkshire People & Railways not only provides interest for the real enthusiast but also for the general social historian who wants to look back in time and get a feel for how it really was in the days when steam really was king.
If that wasn’t enough then what about the other new offering from the prolific pen of this Doncaster history author, South Yorkshire Railway Stations - a fascinating walk down memory lane or should that be line - looking at incidents and images of dozens of stations, sadly most long gone now.
Once again a must have offering for anyone with a penchant for everything rail.
Priced at £12.99 and available now from good bookshops or Amblerley Publishing on 01453 847800. Number for ordering is ISBN 978-1-4456-0514-2.
All the books from Peter Tuffrey make ideal Christmas presents and there are a lot of them, Peter has been a busy boy over the last few months with offerings covering all sorts of subjects with the emphasis on local history.
Perhaps one of the most fascinating (certainly for me) is the updated version of Doncaster District pubs.
He has added many new venues to his first version of this book and it contains the same amount of detail in a selection of public houses to be found in outlying districts of Doncaster, with the sad exception of course of those that have disappeared over the years and unfortunately there are quite a few of those. A read through this book is a real trip down memory lane.
There are others available, too many to mention here, but all are available from Waterstones or W.H. Smiths or other good book shops.
From: http://www.thornegazette.co.uk/community/recalling_the_days_when_steam_locos_ruled_the_railways_1_4078663
 
Yorkshire People & Railways, Doncaster, South Yorkshire Railway Stations, Amblerley Publishing, Doncaster District pubs

Thursday 22 December 2011

Courses - Nottingham University Local History Seminars, January-March 2012

Nottingham University's School of History is running a series of Saturday Local History Seminars early next year. They take place at the School of History in Lenton House, start at 10am and admission costs £5. The programme is as follows:
  • 14 January 2012 – Researching Nottinghamshire's Architectural History by Elaine Harwood (English Heritage)
  • 11 February 2012 – Going Local with the National Trust by Ben Cowell (National Trust)
  • 10 March 2012  – The South Oxfordshire Project: Perceptions of Landscapes, Settlement and Society, c500-1650 by Stephen Mileson (VCH and editor of the Oxoniensia journal) 
Full details from Professor John Beckett at john.beckett@nottingham.ac.uk

From: http://nottshistory.blogspot.com/2011/12/nottingham-university-history-seminars.html

Apologies to Andy for stealing his article