Books published by Amberley Publishing

A red and white dragon fighting tooth and claw in the moonlit sky; mischievous fairy folk luring unwary travellers deep into their underground lairs; a kind-hearted mermaid saving the lives of those in peril on the high seas; and a charmed boy who transforms into an otter and a bird to outrun a wicked witch. In Illustrated Tales of Wales, author Mark Rees explores the fantastical myths, legends and folk stories of Wales which have long fired the imagination of young and old alike. From the medieval tales of the Mabinogion to those rooted firmly in Arthurian mythology, they range from the quirky to the macabre and tell of heroic pets, strange superstitions, devious devils and restless spirits. Wales is home to mighty giants which live on the highest mountains and battle to the death with King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. It has a patron saint of hares, who created a safe haven for humans and animals alike, and a patron saint of love, whose idyllic island became a place of pilgrimage. It has a water horse which has been known to give those who mount it the ride of their lives, and the unforgettable Mari Lwyd, one of the world's more unusual Christmastime traditions in which an eerie horse-skulled visitor goes door-to-door in the dead of night. Illustrated Tales of Wales offers an engaging and different look at Wales, with this alternative tour through the country's peculiar past.

Sunderland's proud history encompasses its beginnings as a major centre of religious learning in the early medieval period and its growth into a major port and shipbuilding centre on the mouth of the River Wear. Today, the city and the surrounding Wearside area is a major centre of car manufacturing and other industries in the North East. In this book author Steve Watson investigates the rich supernatural heritage of this city and the surrounding Wearside area, not only the well-known phenomena but also lesser-known hauntings from the past and present day, including ghostly happenings at the North East Land Sea and Air Museum on the site of an old airfield near Washington and mysterious sightings at the Phoenix Lodge, the oldest purpose-built Masonic lodge in the world, and many more. Paranormal Sunderland takes the reader into the world of ghosts and spirits in the city, following their footsteps into the unknown. These tales of haunted places, supernatural happenings and weird phenomena will delight the ghost hunters and intrigue everybody who knows Sunderland and Wearside.

Coventry has been one of the most important cities in England since the Middle Ages. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Coventry became an industrial centre, renowned for clock and watch manufacturing and later for building cars, bicycles and aircraft. Its significance drew massive air attacks during the Second World War and the historic centre of Coventry was destroyed. The city was rebuilt in the post-war era, including a new cathedral, and the city boomed, then was hard hit by industrial decline in the late twentieth century, but recent decades have seen a gradual recovery, recognised with Coventry becoming the 2021 UK City of Culture. Lost Coventry presents a portrait of this corner of the East Midlands over the last century, showing not only industries and buildings that have gone but also people and street scenes, many popular places of entertainment and much more. This fascinating photographic history of lost Coventry will appeal to all those who live in the area or know it well, as well as those who remember it from previous decades.

After many years of expansion and redevelopment Bicester has grown and changed considerably from the little Oxfordshire market town that it once was. Some parts of the town appear noticeably different to how they were a few generations ago, and when you look at some photographs of Victorian or pre-war Bicester it seems almost unrecognisable. Amidst all the changes however, some familiar landmarks have remained largely untouched, such as the town's medieval St Edburg's parish church and Market Square. This collection of photographs tries to cover both the changes and the consistencies to show how Bicester has developed and how its character remains. Bicester Reflections features an exciting collection of historic and modern pictures that are individually merged to reveal how the area has changed over the decades. Each of the 180 pictures in this book combines a recent colour view of Bicester with the matching sepia archive scene. Through the split-image effect, readers can see how streets, buildings and everyday life have transformed with the passing of time. Local author Matthew Hathaway presents this fascinating visual chronicle that ingeniously reflects past and present glimpses of Bicester.

Bounded by the River Dee and Wales on one side and the River Mersey and Liverpool on the other, the Wirral Peninsula has its own special history. The major towns on the Mersey - Birkenhead and Wallasey - have a strong industrial heritage. New Brighton on the Irish Sea coast was developed as a resort whereas the south and west of the Wirral is largely rural with small towns and villages. Ancient and recent history are intermingled on the Wirral, with areas of natural landscape and parklands, medieval villages and ancient buildings built of the local sandstone close to the industrial development and docks on the Mersey in the north-east and Port Sunlight to the south. A-Z of The Wirral delves into the history of the peninsula. It highlights well-known landmarks and famous residents, and digs beneath the surface to uncover some of the lesser-known facts about the Wirral and its hidden places of interest. Significant moments in its history are covered, as well as its notable buildings and other features, including famous names associated with the area from early times to the present day. This fascinating A-Z tour of the Wirral's history is fully illustrated and will appeal to all those with an interest in this part of the North West.

There have always been small buses used by bus companies for a variety of reasons, but in the 1970s a number of companies employed van-derived minibuses on experimental services such as Dial-a Ride schemes. These were small-scale operations. From around 1984 the majority of British bus companies started buying minibuses in bulk. They began replacing full-size vehicles and soon whole town local networks were being converted to their use. At first these continued to be on small, van-derived chassis - Ford, Freight-Rover and Mercedes-Benz - seating around sixteen passengers, but soon larger, purpose-built vehicles began to appear from companies sometimes unfamiliar to the British bus market. There were also attempts to produce 'midibuses' - larger than a minibus but smaller than a full-size bus. By the mid-1990s the boom had come to an end. Larger vehicles started to replace many of these minibuses. Although modern accessible minibuses are still produced and still have a role to play, it is a far cry from their heyday. This book looks back at the rise and fall of the minibus in British bus services.

The sight, sound and smell of animals are a part of the story of every great city - and are also part of its hidden history. The royal standard of Scotland features a lion rampant, and Edinburgh can trace its earliest depiction of the beast to the Roman occupation - long before Scotland evolved into a nation. As marks of prestige and respect, animals are highlighted in many public sculptures, bas-reliefs and other artworks throughout the city. For centuries animals such as horses were a crucial part of the economy. Horses transported goods and people in and out of the city, while the growth in ownership created a demand for saddlers, coach makers, grooms, fodder suppliers, horse trainers, farriers, smiths and riding schools. Animals were also a source of wonder and amusement, such as the elephant housed in a tenement in the 1700s and the legendary Greyfriars Bobby, who spent fourteen years guarding the grave of his owner and is now immortalised in words, films and monuments. The travelling menagerie of the Regency era gave the ordinary citizen a taste of the exotic and within a few decades Zoological Gardens Association landscaped gardens and built structures to house animals for the city's latest attraction.

The 1960s saw the final hurrah of steam on the railways - the final period of steam-powered locomotives dominating the main line. This meant that a colourful array of traffic could be found across the length and breadth of Great Britain, and an army of enthusiasts both young and old dutifully recorded the nation's rail scene. Here, in the first of a new series of book celebrating the steam of 1960s Britain, Keith W. Platt looks back at the fascinating array of traffic that could be found around the railway town of Doncaster. Packed with previously unpublished images, this is a book that will delight anybody with memories of steam around Doncaster or an enthusiasm for the area's railways or history.

Between the 1930s and 1960s, during the peak of Britain's railways, road hauliers were in stiff competition to transport goods. The commercial vehicles used during this period varied from articulated lorries to vans, trucks, recovery vehicles and wreckers. With photographs featuring a range of vehicle types and manufacturers both popular and obscure, Royston Morris offers an interesting insight into a range of surviving commercial vehicles dating from before 1960.

An American general in Wellington's army?At the age of fourteen, Frederick Robinson fought for the Loyalists in the War of Independence. With their defeat, his now impoverished family took refuge in England. After serving against the French in the West Indies, he worked in army recruitment in London. In 1813 he joined the Peninsular campaign as a Brigade Major General. His journals and letters shed light on the local topography and the personalities he encounters - the British grandees of Oporto, landed gentry, priests and peasants, Wellington and his generals and the common soldier. He also describes the marches across country and the battles of Vitoria, San Sebastian, the Nime and Toulouse. Subsequently, he commanded a division in America during the War of 1812. After colonial governorships in Upper Canada and Tobago, he continued to contribute as a Regimental Colonel. At his death in 1852, he was the longest-serving soldier in the British Army.

William Barron is one of the unsung heroes of British garden design, often overshadowed by other famous horticulturists such as Capability Brown and Humphrey Repton. William Barron: The Victorian Landscape Gardener tells the story of an unassuming man who made an everlasting impression on the British landscape. Tamsin Liddle and Peter Robinson explore Barron's humble beginnings, delve into the influences that shaped his work and look at his engineering and horticultural innovations. Barron's designs have been enjoyed for more than 150 years, and this book celebrates spaces across the country - in particular the jewel in his crown, Elvaston. Having paved the way for the generations of gardeners that followed him, Barron's work continues to touch the lives of families and individuals seeking space, enjoyment, and relaxation in an increasingly urban society. The authors' royalties for this book will support the longevity of Elvaston, its gardens and restoration.

"A portrait of London and its people - from the richest to the poorest--when it was the world's greatest and most quickly expanding city. Everyday Life in Victorian London explores the daily lives of adults and children, aristocracy and middle classes, working poor and the 'submerged tenth' underclass."--

A guided tour through the town of Builth Wells, showing how the areas you know and love have changed over the centuries.

Fascinating previously unpublished images of railways built by British companies with British locomotives, rolling stock and other infrastructure. This volume focuses on the Indian Subcontinent.

When did celebrity culture begin? In the Regency period, when people hungered for news of the illegitimate actress who became a duchess and the richest woman in England; and the hard-drinking Regency buck who horse-whipped anyone who criticised his terrible novels.

The recent discovery and filming of Frankin's HMS 'Terror' has brought the tragic story of the expedition into the international spotlight. The only man who knows the true narrative is Ernest Coleman.

From the highest halls of power to the remote corners of rural America, featuring amazing technological innovation and an epic battle between the captains of a corrupted industry and America's most politically astute president, here is the story behind the greatest peacetime achievement in US history the electrification of an entire nation.

My Friends, The Enemy is the only first-hand account of the Falklands War written by somebody involved in the military intelligence operation. It tells the inside story of the huge efforts made behind the scenes as Britain sought to complete its most ambitious campaign of the post-Second World War era.

Have the squadron leaders over southern England in that long autumn of 1940, and their supporting flight commanders who led the squadrons into battle, had been neglected in the history books? Patrick Eriksson thinks so.

This collection of true-life crime stories gives a vivid insight into life in Cheshire in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Explore this fascinating pictorial history of Bournemouth through the sixties, seventies and eighties.

Rare and previously unpublished images documenting the interesting and varied local bus scene in Sheffield.

Jan-Marie Knights documents the social calendar of Plantagenet high society in a series of bite-sized chunks. The book covers weddings, feasts, funerals and more - allowing the reader to immerse themselves in the glamour, affluence and human drama of a gilded world.

With previously unpublished photographs documenting merry-go-round coal trains on Britain's railways.

Stunning photographs capturing diesels at work across six continents, from the mid-1970s to present day.

Terrific previously unpublished photos telling the story of Bury Corporation Transport buses prior to being absorbed into SELNEC.

Secret Bournemouth explores the lesser-known history of the town of Bournemouth through a fascinating selection of stories, unusual facts and attractive photographs.

A wonderful collection of 180 photographs, some previously unpublished, celebrating the London's Enviro200 Buses.

With previously unpublished photographs documenting the period's industrial and mineral railways scene.

Published in partnership with the company, this illustrated book celebrates 50 years of National Express.