West Midlands Folk Tales
West Midlands Folk Tales

Author: Cath Edwards

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2018-09-10

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 0750989610

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Woven from the ancient fabric that is the landscape of the West Midlands and passed down through the generations, these stories from a modern county with a rich and varied history are brought together by local storyteller Cath Edwards. Here are mysterious tales and local legends. Here are witches and noodleheads, ghosts and magpies, mines and wishing trees. Retold in an engaging style, and stylishly illustrated with unique line drawings, these humorous, clever and enchanting folk tales are sure to be enjoyed and shared time and again.

Waterways of the West Midlands
Waterways of the West Midlands

Author: Robert Davies

Publisher: History Press

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780750960045

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This enjoyable new book delves into unexplored areas of history surrounding the great network of the West Midland Canals. It provides a new insight into its most fascinating figures and places, including interviews with some of the last true boatmen, whose world disappeared forever during the turbulent 1960s. It reveals fascinating figures like John Corbett, who became one of the richest men in Britain during the 19th century, through salt and canals. He built a fabulous chateau for his unfaithful wife on the outskirts of Droitwich that can still be visited today. We also have an account of how the Droitwich Canals have been wonderfully restored to the navigation system, with old and new photographs depicting the changes. And not forgetting such pivotal characters such as Boulton and Watt, who were an essential part of the canal story. We at The History Press are sure that this book will appeal to canal enthusiasts and all who love the West Midlands with its amazing Waterways.

Tracing Your Black Country Ancestors
Tracing Your Black Country Ancestors

Author: Michael Pearson

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2012-10-30

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 1526712954

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The Black Country in the West Midlands is an important site for family historians. Many researchers, seeking to trace their ancestry back through the generations, will find their trail leads through it. And yet, despite the burgeoning interest in genealogy and the importance of the region in so many life stories, no previous book has provided a guide to the Black Country's history and to the documents and records that family historians can use in their research. In this accessible and informative introduction to the subject, Michael Pearson looks at the history and heritage of the region and gives a graphic insight into the world in which our ancestors lived. He concentrates on the role the Black Country played during the industrial revolution when the development of mining, industry and transport transformed the economic and social life of the area. This was a period when living and working conditions were poor, families were large, children worked from an early age, often in the mines, and life expectancy was less than 20. And it was the era in which the Black Country took on the distinctive identity by which it is known today. As well as retelling the fascinating story of the development of the Black Country, the author introduces the reader to the variety of records that are available for genealogical research, from legal and ecclesiastical archives, birth and death certificates to the records of local government, employers, institutions, clubs, societies and schools.

Tales from the Tillerman
Tales from the Tillerman

Author: Steve Haywood

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-09-02

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1472977017

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'Haywood imprints his inimitable humour on his descriptions of the people and places he meets along the way.' – BBC Countryfile magazine 'He conjures up a picture of a different world, filled with interesting and eccentric people. A cross-section of the best of middle England, in fact.' – The Oxford Times Steve Haywood has been cruising the inland waterways for fifty years, and has amassed a following of readers keen to hear about his travelling tales on Britain's beautiful canals and rivers. His previously published books – Narrowboat Dreams, One Man and a Narrowboat, Too Narrow to Swing a Cat and Narrowboat Nomads – have all been hugely enjoyed by those with a desire for a narrowboat narrative told in Steve's witty, charming style. Tales from the Tillerman is Steve's next title and is both his tribute to Britain's canals, rivers and countryside and a celebration of Britishness in all its eccentric glory. Unlike Steve's previous titles, which have each focussed on one particular journey that Steve has taken, Tales from the Tillerman is casting the net wider and drawing from his full fifty years of experience, recounting the many hair-raising escapades he's had up and down the country and reflecting on how the country and the cruising landscape has changed in those fifty years. Anecdotes and light-hearted rants aplenty, mixed with some tall tales and a smattering of the nostalgic, in Tales from the Tillerman you'll be thoroughly entertained as a middle-aged man (oh, go on then, an old one) reflects on his long love affair with boats and waterways, contemplating their importance to his life and how they've changed it.