Category Archives: Britain

Jumping to Conclusions

Posted on October 10, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Creepy History 59.  Happy Halloween, and welcome to another October of “creepy histories” on Windows into History.  A brief snippet today.  The following quote is from the Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail, 4th January 1918: Stories of a mysterious highwayman seen … Continue reading →

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Bitten by a Ghost

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Creepy History 58.  Happy Halloween, and welcome to another October of “creepy histories” on Windows into History.  The following quote is from the Staffordshire Advertiser, 28th December 1918, but reuses a report from 1864, which in turn concerns an incident … Continue reading →

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Ghosts in Parliament

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Creepy History 57.  Happy Halloween, and welcome to another October of “creepy histories” on Windows into History.  We start with a quote from the Sheffield Weekly Telegraph, 23rd February 1918. However much men and women who boast of their minds … Continue reading →

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The Platter-Faced Pin Basket in the Nicknackatory

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 210.  Francis Grose (1731-1791) was a noted antiquarian who wrote a series of books about medieval antiquities. Financial difficulties inspired him to branch out into other areas of writing, and in 1785 his A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar … Continue reading →

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The Child Actor Who Caused a Riot

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 208.  Every so often a child actor rises to levels of fame that seems to eclipse that of their adult equivalents. It doesn’t happen all that often, but when a child actor makes a strong impact in a particular … Continue reading →

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Safety Last in Cinemas

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 207. The following quote, concerning the safety of children in cinemas, is taken from the 25th February 1909 edition of The Bioscope: In the meantime there is the question of the Children Act, 1908, which those concerned in entertainment … Continue reading →

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A Widow’s Cruel Fate

Posted on August 1, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Max of the Month 5.  When reading non-fiction books from the 19th Century, one finds no shortage of great writers who have now been largely forgotten. However, occasionally a writer comes to light whose work is so entertaining, and who … Continue reading →

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Living Too Rapidly

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 205. Comments about the pace of life are ubiquitous in the media nowadays, but this is far from being a modern concern, and a generation “living too rapidly” was already a worry over a century ago. The following quote is … Continue reading →

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A Scarecrow in Petticoats

Posted on June 10, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Max of the Month 4.  When reading non-fiction books from the 19th Century, one finds no shortage of great writers who have now been largely forgotten. However, occasionally a writer comes to light whose work is so entertaining, and who … Continue reading →

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Midhurst Local Issues, 1908

Posted on June 6, 2019 by Roger Pocock

The following quote is taken from the Bognor Regis Observer, 16th September 1908, and features three small pieces of news relating to Midhurst: Workhouse Struck by Lightning. At the last meeting of the Midhurst Guardians it was reported that the … Continue reading →

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