Category Archives: News

The Bottomless Tram

Posted on April 15, 2019 by

Quick Quotes 25.  The following quote is from a newspaper report in the Western Morning News, from 14th December 1898: Between nine and ten o’clock last evening a very usual and rather alarming mishap occurred in Devonport. As a tramcar was … Continue reading →

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Missing Mail in 1862

Posted on April 8, 2019 by

Snippets 196.  In the mid 19th Century the postal service in Britain was not exactly in its infancy, but was certainly undergoing a rapid programme of modernisation.  The Penny Black was introduced in 1840 and the first post boxes started … Continue reading →

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Hot Air Balloon Crash

Posted on April 1, 2019 by

Snippets 194. The Crystal Palace was a famous London landmark, built for the Great Exhibition of 1851.  After the Exhibition it was relocated from Hyde Park to Penge Common, where it stood until it was destroyed by fire in 1936.  … Continue reading →

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The Early Cinema Queuing Nuisance

Posted on March 25, 2019 by

Snippets 193.  Looking at old newspaper articles, one thing that is often quite striking is how much resistance can be found to an idea that we now consider commonplace, but was unusual at the time.  One such example comes from … Continue reading →

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Early Closing at 7pm? No thanks.

Posted on February 25, 2019 by

There is much of interest to be found by trawling through the pages of old local newspapers.  On 7th October 1908, the Bognor Regis Observer carried a report about the popularity of the Women’s Suffrage movement in Midhurst, West Sussex: … Continue reading →

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Caesar’s Short Skirt

Posted on February 21, 2019 by

Snippets 189. An early name for a film camera was a “bioscope”, and the name was chosen for a film journal during the silent era of film, published in London. It ran from 1908 to 1932. The Bioscope was aimed at … Continue reading →

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New Year Across the Pond

Posted on January 3, 2019 by

Snippets 177. One hundred and fifty years ago, at the dawn of the year 1869, the British papers were all full of reports of new year celebrations.  The local papers tended to recount meetings in church halls with speeches delivered … Continue reading →

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