Queens Cartimandua and Boudica were both Celtic noblewomen, recorded by classical writers as part of a tradition of women who showed particular courage, ambition and political skill, and who were just as formidable in war as their husbands. They took on the status of Celtic goddesses and were central players in the struggle against the Roman annexation of Britain. Boudica led the rebellion against the Romans but her reputation may be largely symbolic. Using historical and archaeological ev...

Staines-upon-Thames and its neighbour Laleham are 19 miles west of central London, linked by road and river. Because of the stranded or braided character of the river here, when the Romans came in AD 43, they found a series of primitive wooden bridges crossing the flood plains of the Thames, Colne and Wraysbury rivers. They called it Ad Pontes – literally ‘at the bridges’. It became an important inland port/trading town due to its strategic position where the essential road route from Lond...

In 1562, Elizabeth I, the last of Henry VIII’s children, lay dying of smallpox, and the curse of the Tudor succession again reared its head. The queen was to recover, but the issue remained: if the queen did not produce an heir, who was next in line to succeed? Lady Arbella Stuart was cousin to both the English queen and James VI of Scotland, a woman whose parents’ marriage had been orchestrated to provide an heir to the English throne. Raised by her formidable grandmother, Bess of Hardwic...

Haunted Pubs, Inns & Hotels of Derbyshire takes you on a spookily paranormal pub crawl with a difference. Whether it's to a scenic country pub, a traditional old coaching inn or a more modern establishment, these are the places where people have seen ghosts, heard them, smelt them and - most frightening of all - felt them. We delve deep into the mysterious phenomena that have baffled investigators, and terrified landlords, cleaners and customers for years. Here the hidden secrets behind th...

When Mary Stuart was forced off the Scottish throne she fled to England, a move that made her cousin Queen Elizabeth very uneasy. Elizabeth had continued the religious changes made by her father and England was a Protestant country, yet ardent Catholics plotted to depose Elizabeth and put Mary Stuart on the English throne. So what was Queen Elizabeth going to do with a kingdomless queen likely to take hers? She had her placed under house arrest with her old friend Bess of Hardwick, then ma...

The Peak District of Derbyshire is said to experience more bizarre happenings and unexplainable encounters than any other part of England. This chilling collection of true-life tales details many terrifying accounts of spectres and apparitions which have been documented over the years. Ranging from private residences and graveyards to public houses, tourist attractions, theatres and museums, this book includes many pulse-raising narratives that are guaranteed to make your ...

When an Anglo-Saxon chieftain named Snot settled in the area and built a wall around the town, he named it Snottingham, meaning homestead for his people. They utilized the caves and passages under the town as homes and workplaces, giving us the oldest subterranean industries in existence and an alternative name Tig guocobauc, meaning the dwelling of caves. When the Normans arrived they subjugated the people and built a fortified castle on the hill. Nottingham Castle subsequently became one...

DERBY’S history dates back over 2,000 years to when the Celtic Brigantine tribe inhabited the area on the banks of the River Derwent. Then the Romans took control, subjugating the Celtic sites before building a more permanent fort which they called Derventio. Later, the Angles and the Danes settled here, giving it the name Deoraby. Over the centuries, and with a slight name change, Derby grew as an important administrative and trading centre. Its strategic position on the banks of the Rive...

Many people believe they have seen a ghost. The experience is as old as records of civilisation, yet we are told that ghosts are purely hallucinatory; spooks caught on camera are dust particles on the lens; mysterious lights are fireflies and UFOs are chinese lanterns. But what if these anomalies are not caused through hallucination, dust particles, fireflies or chinese lanterns? More and more people are becoming aware that things beyond the current range of scientific explanation or norma...

The Ripley region owes its growth to the area's natural resources of coal, iron, oil and clay. The world-renowned Butterley Company ran a vast engineering, iron-making and mining empire that was centred here. So many industries were located in the area that, at the start of the twentieth century, it had taken on an industrial character as outlying villages expanded and new towns were built. The contribution that Ripley and the district has made to the economy of Britain through time is col...

Secret Shepperton explores the history of the town from its early origins as an Iron Age settlement nestling on the banks of the River Thames. It’s the place where Caesar crossed the river in AD 54. Subsequent river finds reveal that this area regularly encountered invaders, such as the Saxons, who grazed sheep here and consequently called it Shepperton. It’s always been a place that attracts artists, such as Turner and Constable, and writers such as Charles Dickens and J. G. Ballard, who ...

Eyam (pronounced Eem), given the Saxon name Eaham, meaning a well-watered hamlet, is a secluded Peak District village hemmed in by green slopes and majestic hills. Within ¼ mile, the busy world passes by along the A623, yet every year thousands of people head directly to this isolated rural community, tragically famous as the plague village that self-isolated. The year 1665 saw outbreaks of bubonic plague in London and many other cities, towns and villages across England. The incomprehensi...