Walsingham is a large village in North Norfolk famous for its shrines of Mary. The original Shrine was built there in 1061 and attracted pilgrims from all over Europe. In the Middle Ages, it was said to be the fourth most important pilgrimage place after the Holy Land, Rome and Compostela in Spain. That all stopped with the Reformation in the 1530s, but memories remained. The Catholics refounded a Shrine at nearby Houghton in the 1890s and then the Anglicans did the same in Walsingham itself in the 1920s. Both shrines have grown since in popularity and size with many thousands of pilgrims visiting each year.In Walsingham and Around: The Postcard Collection the author has drawn on a remarkable selection of old postcards to give a pictorial record of life in Walsingham and the surrounding area in the past, including historical illustrations of the shrines, the village of Walsingham and its parish church before the shrine were refounded as well as the nearby villages of Great Walsingham, Warham and Wighton, East Barsham and Binham, Stiffkey and Hindringham. Although some of the buildings seen in these views have been lost, many landmarks remain, with changes, and will be familiar today. This fascinating collection of images will be of interest to those who visit or who have lived in the Walsingham area of North Norfolk.

This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in Kingston upon Thames over the years. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses of familiar places during this century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Kingston''s recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of photographs, this book recalls what Kingston upon Thames has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.

New Malden is situated between the much better known Kingston and Wimbledon. Its history is fairly recent and came about because The London & South Western Railway Company sited a station halfway between the wealthy residents of Coombe and the small village of Malden(now Old Malden). Property speculators immediately started building houses in the fields around Malden & Coombe (now New Malden) Station, and thus was New Malden born in the 1860s.New Malden grew steadily, becoming an Urban District Council in 1895 when it absorbed Coombe and Old Malden, then a Borough in 1936. In 1965 it was itself absorbed, along with Surbiton, into the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. Despite this, New Malden continues to thrive as a local community with its own local paper, the Village Voice, its High Street and its festival of Malden Fortnight.

This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in Kingston-upon-Thames over the years. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses of familiar places during this century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Kingston’s recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed.Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of photographs, this book recalls what Kingston-upon-Thames has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century. This latest edition of the book has been fully updated with new contemporary photography and revised captions.

This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in Kingston-upon-Thames over the years. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses of familiar places during this century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Kingston’s recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed.Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of photographs, this book recalls what Kingston-upon-Thames has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century. This latest edition of the book has been fully updated with new contemporary photography and revised captions.

The south-west London suburb of Surbiton, part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, came into being after a plan to build a London–Southampton rail line took a route somewhat to the south of Kingston. Surbiton Station, originally called Kingston-on-Railway, was opened in 1838 and the suburb grew from there. Formerly within the county of Surrey, Surbiton became part of Greater London in 1965, together with neighbouring Kingston and Richmond.Surbiton has always been a desirable place to live and has attracted some very famous residents, among them writers Thomas Hardy and Enid Blyton; the Pre-Raphaelite painters, John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt; and Rupert the Bear artist, Alfred Bestall. Perhaps its greatest claim to fame was as the fictional home of Tom and Barbara Good and their neighbours, the Leadbetters, in the much-loved sitcom The Good Life. The fascinating history of this most suburban of neighbourhoods is captured in this unique selection of old and new images and informative captions, compiled by London author and historian Tim Everson, and is essential reading for anybody who knows and loves Surbiton.

The Christmas Crib or Nativity Scene appears in churches every Christmas, but can also been seen in many shops and private houses. This book examines the history of the crib from gospel times to today and is the first full history written on the subject in the UK for nearly 100 years.The book begins with the Gospel narratives and the trail of the original crib or manger of Jesus. It also covers the history of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the creation of the feast day of Christmas. It then deals with artistic depictions and church liturgy up to the time of St Francis of Assisi showing how the Christmas scene was imagined. The story of St Francis is fully covered along with the greater importance attached to Christmas following his service at Greccio. The first large nativity groups were set up in churches, and we see how these early cribs developed through to the Reformation. After the Counter Reformation people were encouraged, especially by the Franciscans and Jesuits, to have cribs in their houses. Cribs then developed into many different styles throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the twentieth century, crib societies were set up, and home crafting encouraged ‘build your own’ cribs in many forms and using many different materials.

The ancient Greeks were a highly educated, literary and artistic people. They were also extremely warlike, living and fighting not only in Greece but in Cyprus, South Italy, Sicily and the vast areas conquered by Alexander the Great. In this breathtaking book, Tim Everson uses detailed research to explore the military might of the Greeks – from the naked fighting hoplites to the use of elephants as battle cavalry.Ranging from c.1550 to 150 BC, Warfare in Ancient Greece encompasses the broad range of weapons, armour, helmets and chariots used and developed by the Greeks over the centuries. Everson uses archaeological evidence and literary information provided by Homer, Herodotus and Thucydides to explore many fascinating elements, including:The rise and wane of the chariot Agamemnon’s scale corset The introduction of chain mail The military tactics of the hoplite, or heavy infantryman Well researched yet accessibly written, Warfare of Ancient Greece will appeal to anyone interested in ancient and classical history.

Walsingham is a large village in North Norfolk famous for its shrines of Mary. The original Shrine was built there in 1061 and attracted pilgrims from all over Europe. In the Middle Ages, it was said to be the fourth most important pilgrimage place after the Holy Land, Rome and Compostela in Spain. That all stopped with the Reformation in the 1530s, but memories remained. The Catholics refounded a Shrine at nearby Houghton in the 1890s and then the Anglicans did the same in Walsingham itself in the 1920s. Both shrines have grown since in popularity and size with many thousands of pilgrims visiting each year.In Walsingham and Around: The Postcard Collection the author has drawn on a remarkable selection of old postcards to give a pictorial record of life in Walsingham and the surrounding area in the past, including historical illustrations of the shrines, the village of Walsingham and its parish church before the shrine were refounded as well as the nearby villages of Great Walsingham, Warham and Wighton, East Barsham and Binham, Stiffkey and Hindringham. Although some of the buildings seen in these views have been lost, many landmarks remain, with changes, and will be familiar today. This fascinating collection of images will be of interest to those who visit or who have lived in the Walsingham area of North Norfolk.

This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in Kingston upon Thames over the years. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses of familiar places during this century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Kingston''s recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of photographs, this book recalls what Kingston upon Thames has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.

New Malden is situated between the much better known Kingston and Wimbledon. Its history is fairly recent and came about because The London & South Western Railway Company sited a station halfway between the wealthy residents of Coombe and the small village of Malden(now Old Malden). Property speculators immediately started building houses in the fields around Malden & Coombe (now New Malden) Station, and thus was New Malden born in the 1860s.New Malden grew steadily, becoming an Urban District Council in 1895 when it absorbed Coombe and Old Malden, then a Borough in 1936. In 1965 it was itself absorbed, along with Surbiton, into the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. Despite this, New Malden continues to thrive as a local community with its own local paper, the Village Voice, its High Street and its festival of Malden Fortnight.

This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in Kingston-upon-Thames over the years. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses of familiar places during this century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Kingston’s recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed.Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of photographs, this book recalls what Kingston-upon-Thames has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century. This latest edition of the book has been fully updated with new contemporary photography and revised captions.

This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in Kingston-upon-Thames over the years. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses of familiar places during this century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Kingston’s recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed.Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of photographs, this book recalls what Kingston-upon-Thames has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century. This latest edition of the book has been fully updated with new contemporary photography and revised captions.

The south-west London suburb of Surbiton, part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, came into being after a plan to build a London–Southampton rail line took a route somewhat to the south of Kingston. Surbiton Station, originally called Kingston-on-Railway, was opened in 1838 and the suburb grew from there. Formerly within the county of Surrey, Surbiton became part of Greater London in 1965, together with neighbouring Kingston and Richmond.Surbiton has always been a desirable place to live and has attracted some very famous residents, among them writers Thomas Hardy and Enid Blyton; the Pre-Raphaelite painters, John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt; and Rupert the Bear artist, Alfred Bestall. Perhaps its greatest claim to fame was as the fictional home of Tom and Barbara Good and their neighbours, the Leadbetters, in the much-loved sitcom The Good Life. The fascinating history of this most suburban of neighbourhoods is captured in this unique selection of old and new images and informative captions, compiled by London author and historian Tim Everson, and is essential reading for anybody who knows and loves Surbiton.

The Christmas Crib or Nativity Scene appears in churches every Christmas, but can also been seen in many shops and private houses. This book examines the history of the crib from gospel times to today and is the first full history written on the subject in the UK for nearly 100 years.The book begins with the Gospel narratives and the trail of the original crib or manger of Jesus. It also covers the history of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the creation of the feast day of Christmas. It then deals with artistic depictions and church liturgy up to the time of St Francis of Assisi showing how the Christmas scene was imagined. The story of St Francis is fully covered along with the greater importance attached to Christmas following his service at Greccio. The first large nativity groups were set up in churches, and we see how these early cribs developed through to the Reformation. After the Counter Reformation people were encouraged, especially by the Franciscans and Jesuits, to have cribs in their houses. Cribs then developed into many different styles throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the twentieth century, crib societies were set up, and home crafting encouraged ‘build your own’ cribs in many forms and using many different materials.

The ancient Greeks were a highly educated, literary and artistic people. They were also extremely warlike, living and fighting not only in Greece but in Cyprus, South Italy, Sicily and the vast areas conquered by Alexander the Great. In this breathtaking book, Tim Everson uses detailed research to explore the military might of the Greeks – from the naked fighting hoplites to the use of elephants as battle cavalry.Ranging from c.1550 to 150 BC, Warfare in Ancient Greece encompasses the broad range of weapons, armour, helmets and chariots used and developed by the Greeks over the centuries. Everson uses archaeological evidence and literary information provided by Homer, Herodotus and Thucydides to explore many fascinating elements, including:The rise and wane of the chariot Agamemnon’s scale corset The introduction of chain mail The military tactics of the hoplite, or heavy infantryman Well researched yet accessibly written, Warfare of Ancient Greece will appeal to anyone interested in ancient and classical history.