The evocative photographs that have been selected for this fascinating book reflect the dramatic and lasting changes that took place in Uxbridge immediately after the Second World War and into the 1960s and 1970s. The pictures show the lives of local people and how they adapted to the accelerating prosperity of the era that followed the wake of World War II. Uxbridge From Old Photographs covers the years that saw the advent of washing machines and television, the spread of new fashions and...

Throughout most of its history, Cowley has been a small country village just two miles south of the market town of Uxbridge. Its origins are in the Saxon period, and St Laurence church is mentioned in the Domesday Book. However, in 1901 the population was only 214. The opening of a railway station in 1905 heralded expansion, initially, between the two wars, and this has continued since then. Recent years have been dominated by the arrival and growth of Brunel University in the north of the...

For centuries Uxbridge, whose origins lie in Saxon times, was a market town serving much of West Middlesex and South Buckinghamshire. At one time there were thirteen water mills in the area where corn was processed. Situated on the London - Oxford road, it was an important town in the stagecoach era. This collection of images old and new charts the history of the area, and reveals many hidden aspects of this urban sprawl. In the early twentieth century London sprawled out westward, and the...

Uxbridge emerged as a market town towards the end of the twelfth century and remained so for over 700 years. Corn was the principal commodity, with much of it grown in flat and fertile land a few miles to the south, and agricultural occupations dominated. In the late eighteenth century stagecoach traffic flourished, and the opening of the Grand Junction Canal also brought more trade and employment. Corn growing gave way to market gardening during Victorian times, before the early years of ...

A glorious insight into the history, landscape and people of Britain, from The Sunday Times bestseller.The line between Great Yarmouth to London brought holidaymakers flocking to the coast and transported herrings, fresh vegetables and milk into London. Starting in Great Yarmouth, Michael Portillo’s journey takes him through the coastal resorts of Southwold and Southend via innovative swing bridges at Reedham and Yare, and towards the capital itself, the scene of frenzied construct...

This walk is one of twelve walks in John Wilks' Walks Through History - Birmingham series which contains twelve walks within the city. The whole book is available as an ebook or physical book or you could try this one out first. The book is a celebration of the beauty and poetry of the county. Each walk in this book has been chosen not only because it is a pleasant walk in its own right, but also because it goes past sites which reveal the rich and varied history of the county. Each walk i...

This new collection of images traces some of the changes that have taken place in and around this vibrant community over the centuries. It is a town with a long and surprising history, which began with the imposing Norman castle in the control of the infamous Mortimer family. Due to its position in the borderlands, by the Tudor period it became the virtual capital of neighbouring Wales, and the castle was home to some of the country's best known nobles.Though the town's importance declined...

Nuneaton Through Time is a unique insight into the illustrious history of this part of the country. Reproduced in full colour, this is an exciting examination of Nuneaton, the famous streets and the famous faces, and what they meant to the people of this area throughout the 19th and into the 20th Century. Looking beyond the exquisite exterior of these well-kept photos, readers can see the historical context in which they are set, and through the author's factual captions for every picture,...

A glorious insight into the history, landscape and people of Britain, from The Sunday Times bestseller.Robert Stephenson’s stunning Royal Border Bridge at Berwick is the starting point for this journey, which also features his High Level Bridge at Newcastle. As the line ploughs through heather and bracken from Newcastle to Carlisle, Michael Portillo learns about the railway speculation which gripped the country in the Victorian Era, with disastrous results for many. Further along t...

The Great Western Railway – quickly coming to be known as 'God's Wonderful Railway' – was once regarded as the most advanced in the world. Engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel it was initially designed to connect Bristol to London and came to develop a distinct character all of its own, one of the many reasons why it remains a much-loved and popular area of interest. This book traces its history covering topics such as the company, its engines and carriages, its engineers – including Gooc...

Battersea has grown to be a fashionable and vibrant district of south-west London. Referred to as Patricesy in the Domesday Book, Battersea was historically best known for market gardening, providing fruit, vegetables and flowers for the City of London. However, the area moved from rural to urban with the coming of the railways, industry and large-scale housing from the 1840s, provoking a population growth from 4,000 to 120,000 by the beginning of the twentieth century. Glimpses of the pas...

The railway came to Oxfordshire during the 1840s, the core of the present-day local railway network being completed by 1853. Other lines were subsequently constructed and, despite some branch line closures during the 1960s, these Victorian railways are still serving the public during the first decades of the twenty-first century. Their longevity is a tribute to the energy and vision of the nineteenth-century entrepreneurs who brought the railway system into existence over 160 years ago. Th...