Local History

From the world's oldest indoor loo to a theatre where spectators fill their pockets with poo, the definitive guide to the stranger side of Scotland shows there's a lot more to the place than tartan, haggis and tossing the caber. Inside you'll find: The world's longest man-made echo A city where aliens are welcome What the Royals really think of it Britain's weirdest wig The worst Scottish accents ever Our tallest hedge and oldest tree Loch monsters nastier than Nessie A road you can roll up Scots in Space Whether it's Ruthven or Ruthven? Britain's loneliest bus stop (and its loveliest) A school for spies The cost of burning witches An aeroplane made from seaweed . . . and why the Queen needs rubber glovesPraise for Bizarre London: 'In a market niche that's now as crowded as the 18:22 to Reading, Bizarre London pummels its bantamweight rivals with knockout clouts of trivia that even this weary correspondent hadn't encountered before.' The Londonist

The best tales from around the country, chosen from our popular series of Folk Tales

Featuring a range of picturesque vistas, from freshwater lochs and wooded glens to majestic mountains, granite cities and medieval castles, each stunning scene is full of intriguing detail sure to fire the imagination and make you reach for yourcolouring pencils.

St Mary's is a vibrant London church on the northern edge of Primrose Hill. It is widely known for its fine liturgy and music in the Anglican tradition, its affirmation of women's ministry, and its pioneering youthwork and social outreach.

Can you solve over 300 mind-bending puzzles on a journey through British history from the phenomenal bestselling Ordnance Survey Puzzle Books.

Norfolk's first purpose-written guidebook to the county's key archaeological sites and historic buildings

The first hardback photobook celebrating London's greatest record shops

"The interplay of psychology, design, and politics in experiments with urban open space"--

A fascinating insight, derived from a regular feature on the Robert Elms show, into some of the forgotten industries of London, lavishly illustrated throughout.

The incredible story of how the village of Lesmahagow has influenced the world in a variety of fields, from industry to espionage, throughout history.

A fascinating account from award-winning author, Adam Nicolson, on the history of Nicolson's own national treasure, his family home: Sissinghurst.Sissinghurst is world famous as a place of calm and beauty, a garden slipped into the ruins of a rose-pink Elizabethan palace. But is it entirely what its creators intended? Has its success over the last thirty years come at a price? Is Sissinghurst everything it could be?The story of this piece of land, an estate in the Weald of Kent, is told here for the first time from the very beginning. Adam Nicolson, who now lives there, has uncovered remarkable new findings about its history as a medieval manor and great sixteenth-century house, from the days of its decline as an eighteenth-century prison to a flourishing Victorian farm and on to the creation, by his grandparents Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson, of a garden in a weed-strewn wreck.Alongside his recovery of the past, Adam Nicolson wanted something else: for the land at Sissinghurst to live again, to become the landscape of orchards, cattle, fruit and sheep he remembered from his boyhood. Could that living frame of a mixed farm be brought back to what had turned into monochrome fields of chemicalised wheat and oilseed rape? Against the odds, he was going to try.Adam Nicolson has always been a passionate writer about landscape and buildings, but this is different. This is the place he wanted to make good again, reconnecting garden, farm and land. More than just a personal biography of a place, this book is the story of taking an inheritance and steering it in a new direction, just as an entrepreneur might take hold of a company, or just as all of us might want to take our dreams and make them real.

Animal tales full of folklore and magic, chosen for for children aged 7-11

A completely new Trail Guide dedicated to the London section of the Thames Path from Hampton Court to the Thames Barrier.

Beautiful collection of old postcards showing the Lake District's enduring appeal over the last century and more.

The story of Stoke Newington's history told through archive photographs

A history of Stourbridge

Hanwell and Southall both have surprisingly interesting historical associations. The adjoining Middlesex parishes are linked by the Uxbridge Road, formerly the Oxford Road, which was connected to London. Hanwell and Southall were both reliant on agriculture right up to the end of the Victorian period. It was during the Edwardian era, and particularly after the First World War, that Southall began to change to an industrial district - greatly facilitated by the good transport links such as the canal and railway networks. Hanwell never industrialised to the same extent as Southall, and remains far more suburban in character to this day. Hanwell is linked in the popular imagination with Charlie Chaplin, who went to school at the Central London District School. Contrasting images of the school as it was and how it now appears are shown in this book. Southall has the distinction of having the oldest manor house in Greater London - dating from the sixteenth century and restored. The Middlesex County Asylum, dating to 1831, was also in the Southall parish. The building still remains and is currently undergoing restoration. The importance of the railways and the local connection with Isambard Kingdom Brunel is dealt with, as well as the importance of the Grand Junction Canal in speeding the growth of industry in the Southall area. Hanwell amalgamated with Ealing in 1926 and Southall in 1965, but they still retain their own identities in the present day, as they did a hundred years ago.

Brighton has long been an important seaside town, and today draws in visitors from all over Britain and beyond for its varied nightlife, rich history and attractive waterfront. In 1800, Brighton had forty-one inns and taverns, and by 1860 there were well over 450, echoing the town's growth in popularity through the Regency and early Victorian eras. A recent resurgence of interest in real ale has also seen a welcome boom in micro-breweries, placing Brighton firmly on the beer-lover's map. David Muggleton takes us on a tour of these watering holes, including the long-established venerable Greyhound, elegant Regency Cricketers, high-Victorian Colonnade, elaborate mock-Tudor King & Queen and the English Renaissance revivalist Good Companions, the pub reputed to have opened on the very day that the Second World War began. Brimming with quirky tales and fascinating facts, this carefully crafted guide initiates readers into the fascinating history of Brighton's pubs.

With over 120 unique images of people and places in London in the fifties and sixties, London: Portrait of a City 1950-1962 paints a picture of England's multifaceted capital in a decade of great change and development. From grand monuments to innocuous street corners, famous faces to passers-by, this selection of evocative photographs captures the very essence of London life in the mid-twentieth century. A keen photographer since childhood, Allan Hailstone's beautiful images are a tribute to London at what he remembers as a magical time. Fogs, Soho at night, the remnants of St Giles, lost theatres here is just a taste of how things were.

Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south of Widnes across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn. Upstream and 8 miles to the east of Widnes is the town of Warrington, and downstream 16 miles to the west is the city of Liverpool. Historically part of Lancashire, prior to the Industrial Revolution Widnes consisted of a small number of separate settlements on land which was mainly marsh or moorland. In 1847 the first chemical factory was established and the town rapidly became a major centre of the chemical industry. Widnes continues to be a major manufacturer of chemicals and there has been a degree of diversification of the town's industries. Widnes lies on the southern route of the Liverpool to Manchester railway line. The Sankey Canal (now disused) terminates in an area of Widnes known as Spike Island.

As one of the twelve founding Football League clubs in 1888/89, Everton Football Club has a long, proud history. Having played more top-flight League games than any other English team, the Toffees have won the League championship nine times - the fourth best record of any team. The first occasion was in the third season of League football, 1890/91 when the Blues became the first club from Liverpool to collect the League championship trophy from their then base, Anfield. In achieving their success, Everton knocked the winners of the first two championships, the Invincibles of Preston North End, off their throne. But how did they do it? Who were the players in this momentous season, what sort of football did they play and who did they beat?

With the opening of the V & A Museum of Design and redevelopment of the waterfront area, Dundee is a city looking confidently to the future but there is also an interesting past just waiting to be rediscovered. Rediscovered Dundee is an anthology of stories from that past.