Search

Between 2009 and 2010 the Sparkbrook Caribbean and African Women's Development Initiative (SCAWDI) undertook a twelve month project called History Detectives to research the experiences of the black population who lived in the west midlands prior to 1918. A register of more than two hundred individuals was created of all those who have been found, and fourteen of them have been investigated in more detail and their stories told in the History Detectives publication. In this article some of the information held in the register is presented and analysed to chart the changing lives of the black population in the region in the context of the changing economic and social environment. The sources used to find the black population are discussed and how they reflect the experiences of black individuals and their families. Themes considered include slavery and emancipation, motivations for migration to the west midlands, gender and the white reaction to this migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two distinct life stages are examined in this article: the end of youth and the onset of old age. Each of these life stages affected a person's ability to engage with late medieval London society and institutions. Records of litigation between masters and apprentices are used to show that difficulties were common at all stages of an apprenticeship, and that they were a feature of the transition from youth to adulthood, as experienced by apprentices. While remedies and support mechanisms were available, they often existed outside the apprenticeship system. Old age is studied using petitions for exemption from jury duty: about 500 Londoners petitioned for such exemption between 1375 and 1496. The petitioners' desire to withdraw from civic involvement contrasts with their earlier active role. A final section explores possible causes raised by a striking peak in the number of exemptions between 1400 and 1430. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the raid on the Royalist garrison town of Bewdley, Worcestershire, in May 1644 by Colonel John 'Tinker' Fox, the governor of the Parliamentarian garrison at Edgbaston House in Warwickshire, which resulted in the surprise of the Royalist soldiers and the capture of Sir Thomas Lyttelton, the governor of Bewdley and one of the leading Royalists in Worcestershire. The article also examines a letter, written later in May 1644, which casts new light on the timing of the raid and on the Royalists' reaction to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the ringing schemes in the regions of England and Ireland. It features narration of the practice's history, interests and applications such as local dispersal of roost sites, and determination of chances with certain birds that can transmit disease to the area. It also presents an insight on the future of bird ringing including the collaborations between ringers, ornithologists and statisticians, innovation and fund raising.

This article explores the nature of interpersonal violence in eighteenth-century London through the records of the summary courts. Since almost all previous work on the treatment of violence by the courts has been confined to the records of the higher courts, this article provides a new insight into attitudes towards assault in the period. It explores the nature of assault and how disputes were resolved as well as considering the implications of gender to this process. This article demonstrates that the summary courts of the City of London played an important role in the regulation of violence and community relations which is evidenced by the large numbers of cases that they dealt with. Historians of crime have, to a large extent, seriously ignored the summary courts. This article suggests that these courts have much to tell us about attitudes towards violence and access to the criminal law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of excavations carried out in the Roman civil settlement at Heronbridge, two kilometres from the legionary fortress at Chester (Deva), since its discovery in 1929 arc summarized and the overall history and character of the site assessed. Evidence from other provinces is deployed to show that the existence of two, nucleated civilian settlements in the immediate vicinity of a legionary fortress was a common, rather than an irregular, occurrence. The possible reasons for this phenomenon of 'Siedlungsdualität' are discussed and it is suggested that the more distant settlement, unlike the canabae, lay outside the boundaries of the prata legionis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on topics related to surface engineering discussed at a symposium held at the Riverside Centre in Derby, England on June 29, 2010. The symposium analyzed the use of chromate and cadmium in sealants and issues related to surface engineering in the automobile industry. The symposium featured several specialists including executive Dave Dixon, and academicians Gary Critchlow, and David Rickerby.

The article presents inquiries on the biographical sketch of John Roach made by the industrial espionage in the iron shipbuilding industry in England. The author wonders whether the activities were reported to the authorities and the Parliament. The author questions the meaning of "sounds" in maritime and fishing communities.

A biography of Roy Hammond, defence finishing researcher is presented. He was born in 1902 and was educated at Aske's Haberdashers Company School in New Cross, London. Hammond was 16 years of age when he took up an apprenticeship in chemistry with the Venesta Company in Silvertown. He gained a London County Scholarship to the Royal College of Science (now Imperial College) upon completion and graduated in 1926 as Associateship of the Royal College Society (ARCS) and Bachelor of Science (BSc)