The name of the town of Holywell in North Wales has an obvious origin. The holy well in question is the shrine of St Winefride, or Gwenffrewi – Winifred in modern English – and her story is a grim one. Winefride was a young maiden, famed for her beauty, who lived in the early 7th […]
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Wales
Portsmouth is my hometown. When growing up there, a walk along the seafront was a frequent occurrence. It is still often on the agenda when visiting today, so that’s what this is all about. There are ships to watch coming and going on the Solent, one of Britain’s busiest and best-known waterways, with the Isle
Along the seafront at Portsmouth Read More »
South East
Which anniversaries will be marked in Britain in 2025? Open a window on the past by reviewing a selection of noteworthy British anniversaries, from the year 2000 as far back as Roman Britain. Also mentioned are more than 80 British celebrities born in the last 150 years. Each event and person is on someone’s calendar
Anniversaries in 2025 Read More »
British Stuff History
I have been contemplating Christmas; it must be the time of year. I normally look forward to the season, finding some joy and hope in it. Consequently, there are several festive-themed articles on A Bit About Britain and, because they are what I like to refer to as ‘evergreen content’, people look at them every
Happy Christmas, 2024 Read More »
Events
The skeletal ruins of Coventry’s medieval cathedral of St Michael’s are a stark reminder of the destruction of an old war. Paradoxically, it and the adjacent new cathedral of which it is a part, serve as emblems of reconciliation and the quest for peace. The appearance of both buildings was conceived in one night, Thursday
Coventry’s Blitz and Cathedral Read More »
West Midlands
Britain, the haunted island Tracking down Britain’s most haunted places is a tough mission. The entire British Isles is a place of myths and legends, of ghosts and gods and spirits, where folk memories go back thousands of years. Travelling from the east, the first settlers found these islands at the farthest edge of Europe.
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British Stuff
I took the afternoon off and went in search of mild adventure. Nothing too exciting – just the memory of a drowned and forgotten village, some ancient stones, a bit about a saintly 7th century king, a couple of long-ruined castles not many people have heard of – and a cockatrice. Surprisingly few people have
The cockatrice of Renwick and other tales Read More »
North West England
The Abbey and Gold Hill are two very good reasons to visit the historic town of Shaftesbury. Another is the views; at something over 700 feet, it is the highest settlement in the county of Dorset. To get to know it a bit, you also need to understand that, whilst most places are happy to
Shaftesbury Abbey and Gold Hill Read More »
South West
I don’t get too many invitations these days. So, when one pops onto the digital doormat it receives serious attention. The invitation in this instance was to the Chalke History Festival and it came from a nice bunch of folk collectively known as ‘Guidl’. Guidl is a new venture and was a sponsor of the
6 June 2024 is the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the ‘Day of Days’. Was it really that long ago? Growing up in the ‘60s and ‘70s, with parents who lived through the Second World War, reminders were ubiquitous and it never seemed that far away. It wasn’t, when you think about it – it is
North-West England’s River Lune meanders around 50 miles from the Cumbrian fells to Lancaster. It seems attractive and tranquil, a mixture of woodland, meadows and beckoning hills, punctuated by attractive stone-built villages. Yet, once upon a time, it must have been a very different, possibly even violent, place – because it possesses an apparently disproportionate
The Castles of the Lune Valley Read More »
North West England
Which anniversaries were marked in Britain in 2024? Below is a selection of more than 80 noteworthy anniversaries for interest and amusement, from the Millennium Bug to the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons. Each one was on someone’s calendar for 2024 – and each one offers a fascinating insight into Britain’s story. This is a long
Anniversaries in 2024 Read More »
British Stuff History