Following the limestone escarpment on the Western edge of the Cotswolds, the 102 miles of the Cotswold Way take the walker through a quintessentially English landscape as varied as it is beautiful.
The story of wool covers 4,000 years of human history - the first written record of dying wool for cloth was found on a Mesopotamian papyrus c. 2000 BCE. In this book, the whole story is told, from the rearing of the different animals that provide the raw material to its transformation into woven cloth and knitted material. Much of the emphasis is on Britain, where, in the Middle Ages, wool was the basis for much of the country's prosperity, as can still be seen in the magnificent opulence of the churches endowed by the wool merchants. It deals with the different techniques used for spinning, weaving and finishing cloth. The eighteenth century saw great changes, as production moved from cottage to mill and the mill towns grew. But this is also an international story, looking at a variety of different topics, from the work of Incan and Mayan people in South America to the development of the flocks of Australia. But, this is not just about technology - it is also about how that technology has an impact on the lives of people, from th life of the shepherd to the industrial disputes that broke into the violence of the Luddite rebellions.
The book looks at rail travel from the passengerâEUR(TM)s point of view, beginning when a coach drawn by horses, rumbled down the newly laid tracks linking Swansea to Mumbles in 1807 and takes the reader right up to the present day. It was not long after that first service opened in Wales that the first steam passenger trains began to operate. The story broadens out from the first inter-city line connecting Liverpool to Manchester to spread first around Britain and eventually spread across the world. The book paints vivid pictures of how travel seemed to passengers in different countries, drawing on many first-hand accounts. The early days offered little in comfort âEUR" third class passengers had to make do with carriages that were simply open trucks. Gradually conditions improved and eventually there was an age of luxury travel epitomised by the famous Orient Express. Every aspect of rail travel is looked at, from tragic tales of fatal accidents to the role of railway travel in films and books. This lively account of the pioneering days and what many regard as the golden age of rail travel will be welcomed by anyone who enjoys taking the train.
The Victorian and Edwardian periods saw the development of the steam locomotive in Britain from a comparatively simple machine to a powerful main line express capable of speeds of a hundred miles an hour. The book starts with an introduction dealing with the main line of development and that is followed by a picture section with over 190 photographs. Each illustration has an extended caption giving details of the engine and its history. The material is arranged geographically, starting with the railways of southern England and ending with Irish railways. The Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man are also included, and there is a section on English light railway. The photographs are all of the locomotives in their working days, many showing them in action on both passenger and goods trains. This splendid collection shows the rich diversity of Britainâ¿s railways and how different companies and their engineers produced engines of great individuality. This is a book that will be enjoyed by all lovers of the golden age of steam railways.
There has always been a romance around ocean liners, but this book looks behind the romance to show the reality of travelling the oceans of the world. The book starts with the first scheduled transatlantic crossings in the age of sail, then moves on through the development of the steamers and ends in the present day, when ocean liners have given way to airliners. All aspects of the subject are discussed. The experience of travelling by sea varied enormously from the luxury of first-class travel to the often brutal conditions endured by immigrants. Ship design developed in the race between competing companies to provide the most powerful ships. But while technology came into the fundamental design, when it came to décor, for many of the great liners the interiors looked back with a romanticised view of the past. It is not always realised that a great liner might have almost as many crew as passengers, and this looks at all those who kept the ships running, from the black gang in the engine room to the captain on the bridge. The result is a rounded view of what it meant to travel on some of the greatest ships ever built.
The Victorian and Edwardian periods saw the development of the steam locomotive in Britain from a comparatively simple machine to a powerful main line express capable of speeds of a hundred miles an hour. The book starts with an introduction dealing with the main lines of development in the north of Britain and that is followed by a picture section with over a hundred photographs. Each illustration has an extended caption giving details of the engine and its history. The material is arranged geographically, with sections dealing with the north of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and a separate section on light railways. The photographs are all of the locomotives in their working days, many showing them in action on both passenger and goods trains. This splendid collection shows the rich diversity of Britainâ¿s railways and how different companies and their engineers produced engines of great individuality. This is a book that will be enjoyed by all lovers of the golden age of steam railways.
This book is about technology and how it has changed the lives of people on three continents over the last three hundred years. The development of the cotton industry was the starting point for one of the great turning points in history - the industrial revolution. It began with the importation of cloth into Britain from India and that created a new fashion. As the demand for cotton cloth grew, British inventors began to find ways of making the same cloth using powered machinery and built the first cotton mills. The old way of life of the textile workers was transformed, as work moved from home to factory and thousands of small children were brought in to tend the new machines. If conditions in the cotton towns were bad, they were far worse in America where, thanks to the work of slaves, the country took over the supply of raw material from India. During the American Civil War, Britain turned again to India for its supplies. Today, positions have changed dramatically. India again has a thriving industry, while in Britain only a fraction of the old mills are still at work. The author looks in detail at the technology that produced the changes, but the emphasis is very much on the human stories of the industrialists and their workers, the planters and their slaves in Britain, India and America.
The book traces the history of the various craft that have been used for transport on Britain's rivers and canals from the earliest times to the present day.
The definitive history of the great engineers who were responsible for the industrial revolution
This is the story of how for more than a hundred years steam power played a vital role in the development of road transport.
"Thomas Telford's life was extraordinary: born in the Lowlands of Scotland, where his father worked as a shepherd, he ended his days as the most revered engineer in the world, known punningly as The Colossus of Roads." --
Londoners will have a chance to find out just how travel around the city has changed in the last two thousand years.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel has always been regarded as one of Britain's great heroes and an engineering genius.
The book looks at London's maritime history from the establishment of Roman Londinium to the present day.
A Comprehensive History of the Industry, New Factual Information, Interesting Narrative, Useful Selection of Illustrations
The 93-mile West Highland Way is indisputably Britain's most spectacular long-distance path.
Newly researched information, good selection of illustrations, good index.
A charming and insightful exploration of the amazing architecture and engineering wonders that surround Britain's inland waterways. In Britain's Canals, two inland waterways experts and much-loved authors come together to produce the definitive word on the man-made wonders that make Britain's canals so special, so loved and enjoyed by so many. They explore features from the awe-inspiring 30-lock flight on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, to the downright delightful chocolate-box lock-keeper's cottages that line the cut of every canal, to masterpieces such as the 18-arch Pontcysyllte aqueduct, the highest aqueduct in the world, to beautiful bridges, grand company buildings, the social hubs that were, and still are, canal-side pubs, plus so much more. In contrast to many inland waterways books which are organised geographically by canal, Britain's Canals is structured thematically, with chapters on The Line (the shape of the canal itself), Locks, Lock-keeper's Cottages, Bridges, Aqueducts, Lifts and Planes, Company Buildings, Wharves, Basins and Quays and finally (and perhaps most importantly) the Canal-side Pub. Each chapter explores how these features were created and have changed through history, right through to the present, with plenty of ideas for places to visit--plus full information on how to get to them. An abundance of full-color photography throughout, both historical and modern-day, will delight readers and inspire them to explore Britain's wondrous inland waterways, whether on boat, by foot or by bike.
Wedgwood was born in the Staffordshire Potteries in 1739 and lived in the area all his life. His family were all potters, working in traditional ways, but Josiah was to revolutionise the industry.
This book tells the often dramatic and always fascinating story of flight in lighter than air machines.
This book tells the story of one of Britain's most successful heritage railway projects.
Britian's role in the construction and management of a large proportion of the railways on a global scale. This is a much-revised edition with extra material and photographs
Since it opened in 2003 Hadrian' s Wall Path has become one of Britain' s most popular long-distance paths.
The First World War is famous for the unprecedented loss of life on a global scale; On a social level, working Britain experienced change as well: with the men at war, it fell to the women of the country to keep the factories going, challenging preconceptions as they did.
Over 4,000 years of history lie in the seams of British mines. Large-scale coal mining in Britain developed during the Industrial Revolution, providing energy for industry and transportation in industrial areas from the 18th century to the 1950s. Life in the mines was hard, and working in confined spaces and breathing in stale air and coal dust was dangerous. Child labour was a normal part of Victorian life and it was not until 1842 that a law was passed that stopped women, and children under the age of 10, from working underground in mines in Britain. Whole villages grew up around the mines so that miners could easily walk to work from their modest homes, provided by the mining companies for their workforce. Close comradeship and tightly knit mining communities were created. Here is the story of what life was like for the people who worked the mines.
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