Links: Topics in History

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Topics in British History

Architecture · Castles · Christmas · Church · Costumes · Crime & Punishment · Food · Knights · Medicine & Herbs · Military History · Titles & Nobility · Smuggling · Witches · Miscellaneous

Architecture

BBC History: Architecture: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/society_culture/architecture/index.shtml; Includes a history of British architecture, and a look at some "amazing buildings."
Anglo-Saxon Churches: http://www.anglo-saxon-churches.co.uk; British and Anglo-Saxon architecture in England between the end of the Roman period and 1066, with particular reference to church fabric, both extant and from excavation.

Castles

Castles of Britain: http://www.castles-of-britain.com/index.htm; Includes general information on castles, castles with ghosts, castle preservation, a photo gallery, castle trivia, and information on visiting and staying at castles. Huge. (Even more information is available through a paid annual membership.)
Castles of Wales: http://www.castlewales.com/home.html; "We provide information on over 400 different Welsh castles, accompanied by high quality photographs, as well as profiles of the men responsible for their construction and an explanation of the turbulent times in which they lived. Although we provide detailed information and photographs for the most famous Welsh castles... we also provide large, high quality photographs for many of the lesser-known Welsh castles with less impressive remains. We also feature a smaller section on Welsh Abbeys and Other Religious Sites, monuments that, like the Castles of Wales, represent an important component of Welsh medieval heritage and history."
Castles on the Web: http://www.castlesontheweb.com/; One of the best castle sites available.
Medieval Castles & Fortifications of England and Wales 1000-1600: http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/Menu3.html; A gazetteer of more than 4000 castles, which can be searched either by type or by county. Not a lot of information about each castle, but a great place to find them.
NOVA: Life in a Castle: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/trebuchet/castle.html; A Q&A presentation on life in a medieval castle.

Christmas

A Victorian Christmas: http://www.victoriana.com/christmas/default.htm; Information on Victorian Christmas decorating, entertaining, cards, gifts, crafts, and children's activities.

Church History

Anglican Timeline: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/timeline/index.html
Anglo-Saxon Churches: http://www.anglo-saxon-churches.co.uk; British and Anglo-Saxon architecture in England between the end of the Roman period and 1066, with particular reference to church fabric, both extant and from excavation.
The Cistercians in Yorkshire: http://cistercians.shef.ac.uk/index.php; Links to Cistercian Abbeys in Yorkshire, plus a list of Cistercian Abbeys throughout Britain, with lots of historical information.
Early Church Documents: http://www2.evansville.edu/ecoleweb/documents.html; Tons of material, including translations of non-English text.
English Literature and Religion Links: http://www.english.umd.edu/englfac/WPeterson/ELR/links/links_page.html; Huge collection of links to primary resources and collections relating primarily to church documents and literature throughout British history.

Costume

Bissonnette on Costume: http://dept.kent.edu/museum/costume; Subtitled "a visual dictionary of fashion," this site can be searched by region, time or subject.
The Costume Gallery: http://www.costumegallery.com; Information and illustrations on costumes from a variety of periods and regions (not limited to the UK).
Costume History And Construction (Victorian and Edwardian): http://www.tudorlinks.com/treasury/articles/index.html; Articles about fashion, as well as articles from period publications, and lots of free patterns.
The Costume Page: http://www.costumepage.org/; More than 2000 links to costume resources, including museums, articles, images, etc.
The Costume Site: http://milieux.com/costume/costume1.html
The Elizabethan Costuming Page: http://costume.dm.net/
History of Costume: http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/TEXT_INDEX.HTML
The Ladies Treasury of Costume and Fashion: http://www.tudorlinks.com/treasury/index.html; A costume site with pictures from vintage Victorian and Edwardian magazines, with information and patterns.
Notes and illustrations on Regency clothing styles: http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/ppbrokil.html
Regency Fashion Page: http://locutus.ucr.edu/~cathy/reg3.html
TudorLinks: Textiles and Costumes: http://www.tudorlinks.com/textiles.html; Links to articles and websites on costumes and textiles throughout history, including costumers.

Crime & Punishment

Newgate Calendar Stories: http://www.ryerson.ca/~denisoff/newgate.html; "The Newgate Calendar is a publication containing stories based on sensational crimes committed primarily during the eighteenth century.Ê The first Newgate Calendar appeared in five volumes in 1773, and later Calendars appeared in 1824-26 and again in 1826." This site offers several tales from the Calendar.
Tyburn Tree: Public Execution in Early Modern England: http://www.evergreen.loyola.edu/%7Ecmitchell/; "Tyburn Tree is designed to provide information on the Web about public execution in Early Modern England, specifically London." Includes background information, primary documents, dying speeches, ballads, etc.

Food

Medieval and Anglo Saxon Recipes
Medieval/Renaissance Food Page: http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/food.html; Links to recipes, ingredients, and details on what folks ate when -- such as "How to Pig Out with 130 of Your Closest Friends," "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Ancient Cookery," and, if you're in a dieting mood, "An Article on Medieval Famine."

Knighthood & Chivalry

Feudal Terms of England: http://eserver.org/langs/feudal-dictionary.txt
Knighthood, Chivalry & Tournaments Resource Library: http://www.chronique.com/; Information on knights, swordsmanship, jousting, armoury, and more, with links to contemporary tournament and jousting societies.

Herbs, Medicine & Disease

A Modern Herbal: http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/mgmh.html; The hyper-text version of A Modern Herbal, first published in 1931, by Mrs. M. Grieve, contains Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-Lore of Herbs.
History of Western Biomedicine: http://www.mic.ki.se/West.html; Huge set of links to medical history, from all periods and parts of the world.
Victorian Medicine: http://www.geocities.com/victorianmedicine/; "Victorian Medicine is a comprehensive study by Henry Hattemer of professional and traditional medicinal practices, practitioners, and health trends in England between the years 1830 and 1910."

Military History, Battles, Arms & Armor

Armamentarium: The Book of Roman Arms and Armor: http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/archive/arma/index.htm; FAQ on Roman armor, glossary, bibliography and much more.
Battle of Trafalgar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Trafalgar
De Re Militari: http://www.deremilitari.org; If you're looking for information on military history, this is a great place to start.
The English Civil War: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/englishcivilwar/index.shtml
English Civil War Society: http://english-civil-war-society.org/public_html/index.html
English Civil War Society (re-enactors): http://www.english-civil-war-society.org/public_html/
Essential Norman Conquest: http://www.essentialnormanconquest.com/; "Essential Norman Conquest provides a day-by-day reconstruction of the days between William's landing at Pevensey and his victory at Hastings, and a dazzling combination of dynamic visuals and narrative bring the last successful invasion of England to life as never before."
Napoleonic Wars Series: http://www.wtj.com/wars/napoleonic/; Articles, original materials (correspondence, dispatches, etc.), gaming resources, links, FAQ, more.
The Sealed Knot Society: English Civil War Re-enactment: http://www.sealedknot.org/
Wars of the Roses: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_the_Roses

Smuggling

Smuggler's Britain: http://www.smuggling.co.uk/gazetteer_sw_13.html
Smuggling in Cornwall: http://www.connexions.co.uk/culture/smuggler.htm
The Smuggling Carters of Cornwall: http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Historic Kent: Smuggling in Kent: A very extensive (26-part) discussion of Kent smuggling.; http://www.historic-kent.co.uk/smugg01.htm
Smuggler's Britain: Gazetteer: http://www.smuggling.co.uk/gazetteer_se_14.htm
Smuggling in Kent: http://www.digiserve.com/peter/smug.htm

Titles, Etiquette and Nobility

British Titles of Nobility: http://www.chinet.com/~laura/html/titles01.html; "Although nearly everyone has heard the terms 'baron' and 'earl' and 'duke,' and has some vague notion that dukes are highly exalted and an earl sounds better than a baron, most people (outside Britain, anyway) know very little more on the subject. My purpose in creating these pages was to provide an authoritative reference work about the peerage on the Web (with an emphasis on Regency-era--and earlier--nobility)." Other sections of this site include correct forms of address; entails, marriage settlements, and dower; courtesy titles; and peerage basics.
Royalty: http://www.teacheroz.com/Great_Britain.htm; Loads of links to sites relating to British royalty, and more.

Witches, Witch Hunts and Magic

The Pendle Witches: http://www.pendlewitches.co.uk/; http://www.lancs.ac.uk; http://www.moorhouses.co.uk/witches.html
The Pendle Witch Project: http://www.pendlewitchproject.co.uk/
Witch Hunts: http://history.hanover.edu/early/wh.html; Huge collection of primary documents on witch-hunting in Europe and the U.S.

Miscellaneous

Folk Music of England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and America: http://www.ualberta.ca/~janes/EMPIRE.html; "Folk and Traditional Music and Popular Songs, with Lyrics, Midi, Tune Information and History behind the folksongs and ballads. Irish, British and American Folk Music including Francis J. Child Ballads and Sea Shanties."
Footlight Notes: http://members.tripod.com/FootlightNotes/index.html; Covers British theatre, music halls, vaudeville, circus, ballet, and other forms of entertainment between the 1850's and 1920's, with portraits, biographies, reviews and more.
The Industrial Revolution and the Railway System: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/ind_rev/index.html; Includes scholarly papers, articles and engravings from The Illustrated London News, writings from literary figures, images, etc.
Letter Writing, Road Transport & the Mail in the extended 'Regency' period.: http://www.geocities.com/leisurewrite/regent.html; This site offers fascinating information on roads, mail coaches, and the history of the English postal system, but the high point of the site is its collection of actual Regency-period letters (with both an image of the original and a transcription).
Saints and Angels: http://saints.catholic.org/stsindex.html; A great place to look up the lives of individual saints (many of whom came from Britain!)
The Victorian Wedding: http://www.victoriana.com/bridal/bridal-welcome.htm; Click the "Study Center" link for articles and links on Victorian wedding customs.
The Workhouse: http://www.workhouses.org.uk/ "Dedicated to the workhouse -- its buildings, inmates, staff and administrators, even its poets." Covers such topics as Poor laws, parish workhouses, workhouse life, architecture, memories, glossary, more.
(See also Historical Periods and Literature Links)

Recommended Resources:

Holiday cottages

Books by Our Authors:

The Great Castles of Britain and Ireland

Britain's Medieval Castles

Tracing Your Family History

A Book About Pub Names

100 Churches in Dorset

Narrow Windows, Narrow Lives:
The Industrial Revolution in Lancashire