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John Ruskin, one of the most prolific of nineteenth-century authors, first made a name as a writer on art with Modern Painters. His study of art and architecture in Britain and Europe led him to a consideration of the conditions of the people who lived in the same world as his art. His interests broadened to embrace social and political economy, and ideas which he propounded in such books as Unto This Last have had a profound effect on life today. William Morris, Bernard Shaw and many othe rearly socialists practised what Ruskin had preached. His Utopian Guild of St. George sought to establish a community where life was fair and the Companions found happiness and satisfaction through the work of their hands. Meanwhile in art he championed J.M.W. Turner, introduced the English to Tintoretto and other early Italian artists and helped the Pre-Raphaelites on their way. The effects of his teaching can be see today in green belts, town planning, smokeless zones, the Rent Restrictions Act and the National Trust. Ruskin was truly one of the prophets on the nineteeth century.

The SOE (Special Operations Executive) was one of the most innovative British creations of the Second World War. This book looks at the men and women who made up the SOE, the rigorous training to which they were subjected, and their lives during and after the war.

The source of tremendous power and focus of incredible devotion, throughout history notions of beauty have been integral to social life. Each age has had its own standards: a gleaming white brow during the Renaissance, the black eyebrows considered charming in the early eighteenth century, and the thin lips thought desirable by Victorians.

Explains the history of British occupational dress from around 1750 to 1950, a period that saw the decline of many traditional forms of employment, the emergence of new types of job and the alteration of various existing roles to meet the changing demands of the workplace. This guide demonstrates the adaptation of regular clothes for manual tasks.

During her sixty-five-year career, Susie Cooper introduced more than 4,500 ceramic patterns and shapes, versatile and influential designers the industry has ever seen. This title charts her progress from the creation of patterns for Gray's Pottery in the 1920s, to running her own Susie Cooper Productions from the 1930s to the 1950s.

By learning how to identify the stylistic phases that resulted from shifts in architectural fashion, it is possible to date each part of a church to within a decade or two. This book introduces key features of each succeeding style, from Anglo-Saxon and Norman through to the three great gothic styles, Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular.

In the 1950s and 1960s, luxury car buyers, from government ministers to captains of industry, almost invariably bought British. These were stately, dignified, and grand vehicles, with many featuring leather interiors and wood trim. Unfortunately, that market has now largely disappeared and, with it, so have the car-makers themselves. The book covers cars in the over-3-litre class from the biggest names in British luxury motoring including Alvis, Daimler, and Lagonda, and high-end models from Austin, Rover, and Jaguar. It examines the features and characteristics of these classic cars, as well as explaining why they fell from prominence in the 1970s. Replete with beautiful photography throughout, this book is a loving portrait of the British luxury car, a dearly missed saloon defeated by foreign imports.

The British industry was exhorted to 'export or die', and until well into the 1950s the majority of the British bikes were sold abroad. During this period, the industry continued to develop various exciting machines. This book tells the story of the British post-war motorcycle during this golden age of the industry.

'Jasper' refers to the highly distinctive blue-and-white wares that have been produced by the Wedgwood company for more than two centuries. It was arguably Josiah Wedgwood's most important contribution to ceramic art and was a direct result of several thousand experiments over many years. This book explores the history and stories of this ware.

Garden Cities: the phrase is redolent of Arts and Crafts values and nineteenth-century utopianism. But despite being the culmination of a range of influential movements, and their own influence, in fact there were only ever two true garden cities in England. This book offers a guide to the movement and to the communities which are its legacy.

Few cars have achieved the iconic status of Volkswagen's classic and much-loved Beetle - yet its origins are intertwined with the dark days of Nazism. This book looks at those origins, at the marque's initial post-war rescue by the British.

Illuminated manuscripts are among the most beautiful, precious and mysterious works of Western art. Before the printing press was invented, books were produced by hand, and their illustration using brightly colored pigments and gold embellishments was a labor of love and an act of piety in itself. The results are stunning. The works emanating from the scriptoria of monasteries were mainly religious texts, including illuminated bibles, psalters, and works for private devotion known as books of hours. Illuminated Manuscripts describes the origin and history of illumination in the Middle Ages, covering the artists and their techniques, and the patrons who commissioned them. It explains the subject matter found in medieval works, such as saints and Bible stories and the use of ornamental flourishes, and is illustrated with many fine examples of the genre including the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells.

A vibrant illustrated history of Grinling Gibbons, the master carver of the Restoration era. Master Carver Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721) is famous for his breathtakingly delicate, intricate and realistic carvings, both in wood and stone. Tantalizing cascades of fruit and flowers, puffy-cheeked cherubs, crowds of figures and flourishes of architecture are all trademark features of his energetic, animated carvings that grace stately homes, palaces, churches and colleges across the country. His work can be found in some of Britain's most beloved buildings, including St Paul's Cathedral and Hampton Court Palace. From his early work in the Low Countries to his "discovery" by the diarist John Evelyn in London, and his appointment as the king's Master Carver, this book celebrates Grinling Gibbons' unequaled talent, his visionary genius, and his ability to transform humble pieces of wood into some of the most exquisite artworks of his day.

Introduces the homes that people fell in love with in the 1930s, and the fixtures and fittings that went in them. This book features illustrations and informative chapters on architectural styles, gardens, furnishings and technology in the home.

Provides a catalogue of commonly encountered coins, dating from ancient times until the modern day, explaining their historical context, how they might have come to be lost and where they may be found today.

With an introduction to the world of bells and bell-ringing, this book explains how bells are made and how a ringing installation works. It explains the nature of change ringing, which has mathematical as well as musical aspects. It provides insights into the ringing community, and more.

The Volkswagen Transporter is one of the best-loved and most recognisable motor vehicles of all time. This book looks at the development, production and use of the class first, and second, generation Transporter. It includes many colour photographs.

In the Middle Ages, it was thought that praying at the right shrine could save you from just about anything, from madness and famine to false imprisonment and even shipwreck. Kingdoms, cities, and even individual trades had patron saints that would protect them from misfortune and bring them wealth and prosperity, and their feast days were celebrated with public holidays and pageants. With saints believed to have the ear of God, veneration of figures such as St Thomas Becket, St Cuthbert, and St Margaret brought tens of thousands of pilgrims from all walks of life to sites across the country. Saints, Shrines and Pilgrims takes the reader across Britain, providing a map of the most important religious shrines that pilgrims would travel vast distances to reach, as well as descriptions and images of the shrines themselves. Featuring over 100 stunning photographs and a gazetteer of places to visit, it explains the history of pilgrimage in Britain and the importance that it played in medieval life, and describes the impact of the unbridled assault made on pilgrimage by the Reformation.

In the 1950s and 1960s, British sports car ruled the road, and their charge was led by Triumphs. From the TR2, its first modern sports car, Triumph went on to produce a host of classic sports designs such as the Spitfire, GT, and Stag, as well as more TR models, ending with the TR7 in the late 1970s. These represented the epitome of the contemporary classic British sports car. Fast, nimble, and gorgeous to behold, Triumphs offered the everyday motorist an exhilarating drive at a price that they could afford. Popular both in the UK and the US, the Triumph range helped define the entire genre, with sports cars today like the Mazda MX-5 having their roots in models like the Stag. Illustrated throughout and written by acclaimed motoring writer and historian Graham Robson, this book guides the reader through the history of this classic British marque from its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s through to its eventual demise in the 1980s.

In the early years of the Industrial Revolution, canals formed the arteries of Britain. Most waterways were local concerns, carrying cargoes over short distances and fitted into regional groups with their own boat types linked to the major river estuaries. This new history of Britain's canals starts with the first Roman waterways, moving on to their golden age in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and ends with the present day, describing the rise and fall of canal building and use in the UK. It tells the story of the narrow boats and barges borne by the canals, and the boatmen who navigated them as well as the wider tale of waterway development through the progress of civil engineering. Replete with beautiful photographs, this a complete guide to some of the most accessible and beautiful pieces of Britain's heritage.

Designed to dominate the surrounding area, to house powerful garrisons, offer sumptuous quarters for local nobility, and to discourage and repel enemy attacks, castles dominated England and Wales for more than half a millennium. Though some were built before 1066, the Norman Conquest left a lasting legacy in the form of fortifications ranging from small earthworks now barely discernible, to mighty and dominating stone fortresses. This book examines why castles were so essential to medieval warfare, their importance in domestic politics, and the day-to-day lives of those who lived and worked within them. It also shows how the development of new technologies affected their construction and design, and why they eventually fell into disrepair in the late Middle Ages. Beautifully illustrated with stunning photographs, this is the perfect guide for any castle enthusiast seeking to discover more about medieval fortifications and their inhabitants.

More than a footnote to the Second World War, or a foreword to the youth-obsessed exhilaration of the Sixties, the Fifties was a thrilling decade devoted to newness and freshness. The British people, rebuilding their lives and wardrobes, demanded modern materials, vibrant patterns and exciting prints inspired by scientific discoveries and modern art. Despite the influence of glamorous Paris couture led by Dior, home-grown fashion labels including Horrockses and the young Queen Elizabeth''s couturier Norman Hartnell had an equally great, if not greater impact on British style. This book, written by an assistant curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, is a fascinating look back to the days when post-war Britain developed a fresh sense of style.

Victorian pumping stations are colourful cathedrals of utility. Their imposing and striking exteriors enclose highly decorative cast-iron frames, built to encage powerful steam engines. They are glorious buildings which display the Victorians' architectural confidence and engineering skills. More than that, they represent a key part of the story of urban development and how our towns and cities were shaped in this period of ground-breaking invention and civic pride. In this illustrated guide, Trevor Yorke tells the story of Victorian pumping stations and explains why they were built in such a flamboyant manner, describing their architectural features and showing how their mighty steam engines worked. He includes examples of their glorious interior decoration from pumping stations across the country and provides a detailed list of those which are open to visitors.

The London and North Eastern Railway, or LNER as it was familiarly known, was one of the Big Four companies that took control of Britain''s railway network following the "Grouping" in 1923. This network represented a challenging mixture of mainline and rural passenger routes, suburban services, and freight and industrial lines across the east coast of England and Scotland. Despite this challenge, the LNER became famous for its style, speed, and efficiency, with record-breaking high-speed routes capturing the public''s imagination, supported by iconic locomotives such as the Flying Scotsman and Mallard. Full of beautiful photographs, this is a perfect introduction to one of Britain''s best-loved railway operators during the Age of Steam.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel considered the Great Western Railway the "finest work in England" and he contributed many groundbreaking features, none so unorthodox as the decision not to adopt the "standard" track gauge of 4ft 8┬╜in and instead introduce the new ''broad gauge'' of 7ft ┬╝in. Describing the rationale behind the choice of broad gauge, and also the unique track and locomotives used, this beautifully illustrated introduction to broad gauge railways chronicles the building of the original GWR between Bristol and London, and the expansion of that original 112-mile main line into a network stretching across the West of England, Wales and the Midlands. It describes how the clash between broad and narrow led to the "Battle of the Gauges" and also provides a list of places to visit where broad gauge artifacts still survive.

More complex and imposing than any other vehicle in the British emergency services, the fire engine has a long and interesting history. The earliest water pumps had been developed by the eighteenth century - basic manual pumps that had to be hauled around by people or horses, and were often only used on fire-insured premises. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries horse-drawn, steam-powered fire engines, and eventually motorised fire engines, came to revolutionise firefighting, offering far greater versatility and the brigades came to be run by the municipalities. In this beautifully illustrated introduction, Eddie Baker charts the history of fire engines and their variants, and the increasingly complex equipment they have carried, such as high-rise ladders and high-pressure hoses. He also explains the wider history of the fire service and how the engines have been shaped by its needs and, most importantly, those of the firefighters themselves.

The 1970s was a decade of style contrasts. More so than in any other decade, every extreme of fashion was met by an equally trendy opposite reaction. Ankle-length maxi skirts vied for attention with super-short hot-pants. Outfits in vibrant prints and obviously man-made fabrics contrasted with subtly-colored ensembles in wool jerseys and silky crepes. Delicate floral cottons, hand-knits, and hand-tooled leather came up against boldly synthetic and plastic looks perched atop platform shoes--for men and women alike. More so than at any other time, fashion looked backwards in order to dress the future, with quirkily ironic retro looks, while alternative street-style movements such as Punk used appearance to startle and challenge the establishment.

The 00 gauge train set was the ultimate "boy''s toy" of the 1950s and ''60s .Electric 00 gauge trains were introduced by Trix and Hornby Dublo in the mid-1930s, but the Second World War quickly halted production. However, they burst back onto the post-war scene with great success, and 00 quickly became the dominant scale in Britain, and was taken up by other large manufacturers including Tri-ang. Whilst the components of the sets themselves were often basic, they could be transformed into astonishing landscapes in the hands of imaginative builders. The sheer number of box sets, locomotives, rolling stock, buildings and accessories gave everyone the ability to form a bespoke layout. This beautifully illustrated introduction to the heyday of clockwork and electric 00 gauge trains tells their story up until 1975, when finer detailing and changing trends led to them becoming enthusiasts'' models rather than children''s toys.

The 1970s was a decade of style contrasts: every extreme of fashion was met by an equally trendy opposite reaction. Ankle-length maxi skirts vied for attention with super-short hot-pants. Outfits in vibrant prints and obviously man-made fabrics contrasted with subtly-colored ensembles in wool jerseys and silky crepes. Delicate floral cottons, hand-knits and hand-tooled leather came up against boldly synthetic and plastic looks perched atop platform shoes--for men and women alike. More so than at any other time, fashion looked backwards in order to dress the future with quirkily ironic retro looks, while alternative street-style movements such as Punk used appearance to startle and challenge the establishment. In this book, Daniel Milford-Cottam uses colorful photographs to illustrate an eye-opening introduction to the bold fashions that still have such resonance today.