Shire Library – serie

During the 1960s many of the old breeds of poultry almost died out, but there is now a growing interest in these animals. This book illustrates many breeds of chicken, their history and development. There is also a chapter on turkeys.'

The keeping of geese and ducks by people as a source of food dates back much earlier, perhaps as far as the first human settlements. This book describes and illustrates most of the domestic breeds that can be seen in Britain including: Aylesbury, Pekin, Rouen, Indian Runner, Khaki Campbell and Call ducks, Embden, Toulouse, Brecon Buff, and others.

Not so long ago there were local British pigs of every size, colour and shape. Over the centuries different localities had developed their own tastes in what their pigs should look like - often coloured pigs in the Midlands, black ones in the southern counties and white ones in the north - and every county had its own 'breed'. But as urban populations exploded and needed to be fed from the countryside, pig breeders became selective and scientific, concentrating on productivity. Today most of those colourful old local breeds have disappeared; now only three of four highly commercial breeds and a handful of rare breeds remain of that once splendid diversity. This book describes these breeds and how they developed; it also looks at some of the evocatively named extinct pigs and at foreign breeds now being imported and becoming part of the British pig.

A pocket history of one of Britain's key industries in the early twentieth century.At their zenith in 1913, the British shipyards were responsible for building half the world's ships, with the River Clyde in Scotland producing more than one new ship for every day of the year. For decades either side of this amazing year, Britain was at the forefront of this industry, which dominated not only the history but also the economy of areas like northeast England, the River Thames, Northern Ireland, Merseyside and Scotland: the efforts of hundreds of thousands of specialised workmen were dedicated to delivering efficient and finely crafted vessels.Shipbuilding in Britain outlines the history of the industry, focusing on the heyday of iron and steel hulls in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and is a comprehensive guide to ship construction from the draftboard to the completion of sea trials.

There are more than 400 miniature railways in Britain. Some are hidden away and privately owned, others are parkland attractions, and some – such as the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch – are large commercial enterprises.They come in an array of gauges (from 5 inches up to 15 inches and sometimes beyond), but their most definitive characteristic is that they can carry passengers, whether sitting astride the rolling stock or inside enclosed carriages.In this colourfully illustrated guide, David Henshaw offers a concise history of miniature railways from the nineteenth century to the modern day, including a whistle-stop tour of the most notable examples open to the public – including the Ravenglass & Eskdale and Eastleigh Lakeside railways – exploring their layouts, engineering and rolling stock.

The drastic railway closures of the 1960s led to the slow decay and re-purposing of hundreds of miles of railway infrastructure. Though these buildings and apparatus are now ghosts of their former selves, countless clues to our railway heritage still remain in the form of embankments, cuttings, tunnels, converted or tumbledown wayside buildings, and old railway furniture such as signal posts. Many disused routes are preserved in the form of cycle tracks and footpaths. This colourfully illustrated book helps you to decipher the fascinating features that remain today and to understand their original functions, demonstrating how old routes can be traced on maps, outlining their permanent stamp on the landscape, and teaching you how to form a mental picture of a line in its heyday.

The churches of Britain contain a remarkable heritage of exquisitely embroidered vestments, and cathedrals in particular hold some of the most beautiful textiles ever produced in Europe.The history of these priestly garments and how their use developed in Britain and Europe is fascinating. This book outlines the tradition and mysticism associated with them and the role they still play in the ‘theatre’ of church, and shows how colour and ornament are used in the symbolism of the Christian faith. It explores the history of vestment production up to the present day, covering the practicalities of design, the sourcing of fabrics and the embroiderers themselves.

When H. F. S. Morgan designed and built his first three-wheeled single-seater car in 1909, he could never have envisaged the enormous success that his cars were to enjoy. Several attempts have been made by major manufacturers over the years to take over the company but all have been resisted, making Morgan the oldest family motor manufacturer in the world. Such is the attraction of the Morgan that the company no longer has to advertise its cars and the waiting list for a new car is between six months and two years, depending on the model ordered.

Few cars have achieved the iconic status of Volkswagen’s classic and much-loved Beetle – yet its origins are intertwined with the dark days of Nazism. This book looks at those origins, at the marque’s initial post-war rescue by the British and the effect of early VW Director General Heinz Nordhoff’s forward-looking desire to perfect one model rather than spread the company’s talent over a range of designs, at the impact of radical-minded advertising campaigns and at the Beetle’s never-to-be-beaten production record for a single model of nearly 22 million cars. Bringing the reader right up to the present day, marque expert Richard A. Copping recounts the Beetle’s story in a lively and authoritative manner guaranteed to delight devotee and casual browser alike.

It has now been over a century since Frank Hornby invented a toy to amuse his sons and called it Meccano, coining a word which is now known all over the world.Hornby's vision of an educational toy became the basis of perhaps the most successful British toy business of the twentieth century. Meccano has amused generations of children, encouraging many to become successful engineers.Roger Marriott here explores the long history of Meccano, charting the development of the various sets and components, which for decades have been interchangeable, and explains the endless fascination of this iconic construction toy.

Fashion in the Edwardian period underwent some quite revolutionary changes.The delicately coloured, flower-and-lace-trimmed trailing gowns and elaborate hairstyles worn by tightly corseted fashionable ladies in the early years of Edward VII’s reign would transform into the boldly coloured, dramatically stylized Eastern-inspired kimono wraps, slender hobble skirts, ankle-skimming tunic dresses and turbans of 1914 on the eve of the First World War.This book presents the story of women’s and men’s dress through this exciting period.

A beautifully illustrated guide to the world of Victorian stained glass and its manufacturers and designers.Victorian stained glass – magnificent, colourful and artistic – adorns countless British churches, municipal buildings and homes. Across the decades, several artistic movements influenced these designs, from the Gothic Revival, through the Arts and Crafts Movement and into Art Nouveau as a new century dawned. Historian Trevor Yorke shows how craftsmen re-learned the lost medieval art of colouring, painting and assembling stained glass windows – but also, in this age of industry, how windows were templated and mass produced. Showcasing the exquisite glass generated by famous designers such as A.W.N. Pugin, Pre-Raphaelites William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, and by leading manufacturers such as Clayton and Bell, this beautifully illustrated book introduces the reader to many wonderful examples of Victorian stained glass and where it can be found.

Jasper' refers to the highly distinctive blue-and-white wares that have been produced by the Wedgwood company for more than two centuries. It was arguably Josiah Wedgwood's most important contribution to ceramic art and was a direct result of several thousand experiments over many years. It has been by far the most widely collected of all Wedgwood products, and this book explores the history and stories behind this unique ware.

Hollyhocks and cabbages, roses and runner beans: the English cottage garden combined beauty and utility, pride and productivity. But what was the reality of the space immortalised in images of thatched cottages with floral borders and ducks on the path? For many the garden was crucial in keeping food on the table, for many simply a status symbol and blaze of colour; and gardens did not just appeal to the senses, but played a philosophical and moral role in society, and thus in our social history. Visions of the rural cottager were never far from the mind of the Victorian middle classes, whether as a shining example to the indigent urban poor or as an aesthetic and social ideal of a utopian 'merrie England'. The Cottage Garden is the history of this varied and important phenomenon and its myriad concepts and incarnations.

Timber-framed buildings are a distinctive and treasured part of Britain’s heritage, with such noteworthy examples as Little Moreton Hall, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Lavenham Guildhall. The oldest are medieval but their numbers peaked in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with a revival in the nineteenth. The majority of timber-framed buildings are houses, but wood was used in all kinds of other buildings, including shops, inns, churches, town halls and farm buildings.In this beautifully illustrated book, Richard Hayman outlines the history of timber-framed designs, and considers the techniques used in their construction, the regional variations in style that can be found, and how these buildings displayed social status. He also guides the reader in identifying structures now concealed behind later work and explores how these buildings have been treated in subsequent centuries.

Steam, and then cumbersome motor, tractors existed in small numbers before 1914, after which the need to produce more foods using less horse and man power saw the origins of the machine we know today. Thanks to mass production, Ford brought the price down to suit average farmers, and in the 1920s to 1940s numerous rivals brought in such novelties as diesel engines, pneumatic tyres, hydraulic implement lifts and even cost-effective all-wheel drive and weather protection. After the Second World-War, a strong new indigenous tractor industry was led by Ferguson, David Brown, Nuffield and Ford. This book highlights these developments and goes on to show the dramatic improvements of the 1950s and 1960s.

The sweeping crinolines, corsets, bustles, bonnets and parasols of Victorian Britain are indispensable to our period dramas, and their influences can still be seen within burlesque and steampunk fashions. This is no surprise, as nineteenth-century clothing was so wide-ranging and decorative. We might unfairly think gentlemen’s costume to be rather plain and uniform, but this is more by contrast to the overwhelming ostentation, luxury fabrics, fine accessories and constantly evolving silhouettes of ladies’ fashion. This colourful introduction to what the Victorians wore describes the vibrant, fancy materials and lace edging at one end of the spectrum, and the tightlaced sobriety of mourning apparel at the other. It examines both high fashion imports from Paris and more modest everyday wear, evening costume, bridal styles, children’s clothes and sportswear, and explores the social and cultural backdrop to clothing in Britain’s great age of industry and empire.

Bricks were introduced to Britain by the Romans and reintroduced by Flemish craftsmen in the middle ages. Until the early nineteenth century they were made in numerous small brickyards supplying local needs, but eventually increasing demand led to the invention of improved brickmaking machines and kilns. This book gives an insight into the surprising variety of bricks, as well as a brief history of brickmaking, descriptions of hand and machine moulding, drying, the use of kilns and firing. Despite competition from newer materials, brick still holds its own as a facing material and traditional methods still survive in the smaller yards.

For centuries man has used the stick for many purposes, both decorative and practical. Later it became a symbol of authority, carried by tribal chiefs, army officers and policemen, and a costume accessory, an appendage of the swaggering dandy. This book examines the two main groups of walking sticks and canes: gadget sticks and decorative ones.

This book traces the history and evolution of the gramophone, the intricacies of recording sound on discs or cylinders and the complex early development of the record industry. It is a perfect guide for music enthusiasts.

The Victorian farmer occupied a pivotal role in rural society, paying rents to the landowner and providing employment for the labourer. This book explores the world of the farmer during Queen Victoria's reign, which was a period of considerable change on the farm as the forces of industrialisation made themselves felt. Using contemporary observations, illustrations and museum collections, David J. Eveleigh looks at the working farmer and everyday life in the farmhouse - the furnishings and household tasks. The picture which emerges is more complex and more fascinating than the romantic images which so often shape our views of farming life.

The slate industry has left an indelible mark on the history of our society. Slate quarries and the associated masses of waste have an awe-inspiring impact. It was an phenomenon of the nineteenth century, a product of the industrial revolution. This book explains what slate is, its uses and how its exploitation progressed in the late nineteenth century. It describes the social, cultural and political manifestations of the slate enterprises, and it poses the question of how we regard the legacy of the slate industry.

Well-surfaced roads are essential to a growing industrial nation.As roadmaking in Britain improved from the late eighteenth century, heavy rollers hauled by men or horses were used to compact the surface. Steam power was first used to propel road rollers in the 1860s and thereafter there was rapid development, in parallel with that of the traction engine.This book outlines the development of steam rollers, with some technical details, and illustrates the different types.

For over a century, no surviving marque so accurately charted the triumphs and tribulations of the British motor-manufacturing industry as Rover. This book traces the history of the company, starting with the cycle-making precursors of the Rover Company Limited. Covering the struggle through the depression of the 1930s, and the expansions, mergers and contractions of the post-war period - the time of Rover's greatest success - the author then discusses Rover's placement within British Aerospace, the influence of the Japanese company Honda, and the ownership by BMW and the Phoenix Consortium. This book celebrates the history of Britain's last volume car producer, up to its sale to the Nanjing Corporation of China.

Turnpike trusts formed an important part of English life for over 150 years, from about 1690 to 1840, during which time they made a significant contribution to economic development before and during the industrial revolution. Locally and privately funded and usually operated on a relatively small scale, they represented an administrative innovation which recognised and tried to meet the need for an improved road transport infrastructure. For the first time road users paid for repairs and improvements to roads, and parishioners hitherto responsible were relieved of an often burdensome charge on local finances.Over 20,000 miles (32,000km) of roads were 'turnpiked', and most of these eighteenth- and nineteenth-century roads are still used today. Apart from the roads themselves, the most obvious survivals of turnpike trusts are the scores of neat little tollhouses and hundreds of roadside milestones. This book outlines the origins, development, success and decline of the turnpike trusts and some of the features associated with them.

Hats replaced bonnets as headgear for women around the 1890s and hat pins were needed to secure the hats firmly; they were essential for the larger hats worn around 1910–12. The hat-pin industry expanded rapidly, producing pins of many materials, styles and qualities. Hat pins were necessary for everyday wear as well as for sports and motoring. Suffragettes used them as offensive weapons and were not allowed to wear them when they appeared in court. By-laws prohibited hat pins from being worn with protruding unprotected points and contemporary cartoons poked fun at their use.

William Richard Morris, later Lord Nuffield, rose from humble beginnings to become one of Britain's leading industrialists and philanthropists, and it is to his career that Oxford's industrial standing can largely be attributed. Having established his own cycle business nine months after leaving school at fourteen, he quickly developed plans for a small, high quality car that could be mass-produced – and so the first Morris Oxford appeared in 1913. The boom of the 1920s made Morris a millionaire and peer, and it was not long before he had embarked upon a program of philanthropy that would see him give away over £30,000,000, much of it to hospitals and other medical causes. He also financed the establishment of Nuffield College, Oxford, which bears his title. His name ceased to appear on motorcars in 1983, when Morris Motors became part of British Leyland, but the MG (Morris Garages) badge has survived as a fitting memorial.

Slipware has been one of the most popular types of pottery in Britain since its introduction over four centuries ago. By the seventeenth century the decoration of pottery with slip, or clay mixed to a creamy consistency, had become widespread and the technique was perfected by the potters of England and Wales. Although confined largely to the lower end of the social spectrum, their simple but lively decoration, together with their relatively low price, guaranteed their place amongst the domestic wares of families for almost three centuries. This book is the perfect introduction to the variety of slipware designs in England and Wales, explaining the industry by which it is produced, and highlighting some of the most important centres of production in the country.

This book guides the reader through the intricacies of identifying a piece of lace, listing and illustrating the points to look for in each lace. It covers the whole range of lace from all parts of the world, selecting for examination those major types which the collector or dealer is most likely to come across or hear about. The numerous photographs are arranged to assist comparison of diagnostic features and to put together laces which might be confused with one other so that their differences, sometimes subtle, can be appreciated.