I was recently contacted by Andrew Plaster, a fellow member of Bristol & Avon FHS who, via the Facebook Group (Bitton, Hanham, Longwell Green & Oldland Memories, (administered by Julie Johns) discovered a...
The first in my new series of my Pillinger women ancestors starting with Hephzibah Day Pillinger. When I began my family tree back in Palaeolithic times like most newbies I was guilty of racing...
The majority were young men all convicted by the Bristol courts for (usually) petty thefts committed in the city. Most had waited years in Newgate gaol, and suffered further imprisonment and hard labour in...
We had a coal fire at home at 33 Victoria Park, Kingswood. (I was born in 1937, so I’m thinking of about 1945 onwards.) Dad had already left for work at the Gas Company...
Jacob Shartman senior & junior & William Shartman: “This is to certify to all persons that are afflicted by worms in many parts of their bodies or any other distemper that I, William Shartman,...
The history of Jimmy Peters, the first black man to play Rugby Union for England, and the sketchy life of his father George is told in a previous blog. In this post, I return...
‘Peters, it may be mentioned is, as a Rugby player, English whatever his nationality proper may be.’ Western Mail, 8.9.1906. N.B. This account contains terms that are no longer acceptable, though were in common...
We had it pretty sticky for a few days – our casualties up to Wednesday were approximately a thousand, The Gloucesters were over 600 and the other two battalions about 150 each.” ...
Through the magic of the internet assisted by the mention of Brislington on this blog, I was recently contacted by Carol Gordon of Bolton, Lancashire. A while ago Carol bought a tiny autograph book,...
In 1761, John Wesley who was interested in prison reform noted that Bristol’s Newgate Gaol was lately wearing ‘a new face’ and had changed for the better from ‘the filth, the stench, the misery...
I have been researching the social history of the West Country for 45 years. During this time I have collated information on a wide range of people living and working in the West Country including miners, ethnic minorities, petty criminals, sailors, tommies, benefactors, brassmakers and many more. The thing that I find amazing is that ordinary people always lived extraordinary lives. I hope you like my blog that brings together my lifetime of research.
A “shaggy heifer” tale, or “One thing leads to another”
11 February 2024
Connections – Sappho and Jonathan Dove’s Odyssey
02 February 2024
