Books by Anthony Poulton-Smith

Beneath the surface of the country's second largest city lies a little-known world that encompasses the history of Birmingham. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Birmingham profited from its position in the heart of the Midlands as the centre of science, technology, industrial development and culture for the area, growing rapidly to become the most important manufacturing city in the country. Although much of the city has changed over the last two centuries, not least through the aerial bombing raids during the Second World War and post-war redevelopment, the industrial heritage of Birmingham remains an important part of the city. Going Underground: Birmingham takes the reader on a tour of subterranean Birmingham. The stories include the bizarre and sometimes nefarious world beneath the surface of the city. We visit the tunnels built for an underground railway only ever used as air-raid shelters, catacombs, closed railway tunnels, a former feeder canal used to bring goods from warehouses, a culvert containing Birmingham's only river, the old passage to New Street station (said to have been cut through the site of a former Jewish cemetery and once used to store bodies awaiting transportation), a tunnel between a former police station and the law courts walked by many from the city's criminal past, hidden passages created during Birmingham's growth period in the Georgian and Victorian ages, and much more. This fascinating portrait of underground Birmingham will interest all those who know the city.

An in-depth look at the piers and pier railways which focuses on those who worked and walked on the pier. Features the whole history of the pier: planning, funding, design, building, railways, ships, modifications, problems, solutions, but most of all the people who ran it and worked on it

A fascinating exploration of the underground world and its history beneath the surface of the Potteries in North Staffordshire.

Have you ever wondered how England's pubs got their names? How did some of the more weird and wonderful ones come into being? What is the history behind such names as Blink Bonny, Bucket of Blood, Lamorna Wink and My Father's Moustache?England's pubs have always been at the heart of the community they serve and their names are instantly recognisable, even when taken out of context. Coming almost from a language of their own, these names all have an origin and a meaning, with such diverse beginnings as heraldic imagery, religion, advertising, location, wildlife, humour and persons of note.The Origins of English Pub Names features some of the most obscure names, alongside one or two well-known favourites such as the Red Lion and the Dukes Head, and is a must-have for all those interested in learning a little of the history behind their local.This fascinating book will appeal to historians and etymologists everywhere and, indeed, anyone who has enjoyed a lazy afternoon in a pub and, perhaps, contemplated the origin of its name.

From its earliest beginnings through to the last days of the Second World War, Staffordshire's county town has seen more than its fair share of gore. Featuring life - and death - at Stafford Gaol, the sanguineous siege of the castle and many other tragic true tales from history, you'll never see it in the same way again!

In 1963 the infamous Beeching Report saw the closure of more than 2,500 railway stations and the lifting of 5,000 miles of track. Stations have become refreshment stops or cycle hire premises on new leisure routes. And there are the unusual and quirky: signal boxes used as greenhouses, hen coops and art studios; railway sheds housing mechanics;

In 1963 Dr Beeching's infamous report signalled the end for over 15,000 miles of track, a third of Britain's stations, and for 70,000 jobs, as well as making irrevocable changes to the way of life of many consumers.

A history of Shropshire place names

A history of Nottinghamshire place names

A spooky collection of Worcestershire hauntings

Black Country Ghosts

A fascinating exploration of the origins and meanings of these ancient trackways

Leicestershire and Rutland place names

A history of Derbyshire place names