Holly, scientifically known as Ilex aquifolium, from acus, meaning ‘needle’, and folium, meaning ‘leaf’, is more than just a decorative element during the Christmas season; it’s also a plant steeped in tradition, mythology, and symbolism. Historical Significance It has been a symbol of the winter solstice since pre-Christian times, its evergreen leaves representing the continuityContinue reading “The Symbolism of the Holly”
Category Archives: #History
Northern Shores: Morecambe Bay’s Cockles
‘From Silverdale to Kent sand side, Whose soil is sown with cockle shells’From Cartmel eke, and Connyside, With fellows fierce from Furness fells’ The expansive sands of Morecambe Bay cover over 120 square miles and from their muddy creeks and channels, where flounder abound, to the sandy, silty flats where fields of shellfish can beContinue reading “Northern Shores: Morecambe Bay’s Cockles”
Dalehead Chapel
Dalehead Chapel or St James’ is a very picturesque and sylvanian-appearing church set in Gisburn forest on the road from Tosside to Keasden, its present construction dates from the 1930’s when it was moved and rebuilt from its original location serving the village of Stocks-in-bowland which was flooded to make Stocks reservoir. It was originallyContinue reading “Dalehead Chapel”
The Lancaster Canal
The Lancaster Canal currently stretches over 42 miles from the City of Preston to the village of Tewitfield near the county’s northern boundary, it is a very famous waterway for all sorts of reasons, for its scenic beauty, long history, wildlife, but not least because it is the longest lock-free stretch of inland waterway inContinue reading “The Lancaster Canal”
The Unnatural Histories Collection
The Tragic Tale of Private Patrick McCafferty Dandy the Dog Burnley’s Boggarts The Crier of Claife The Martyr’s Skull The Witch’s Seat The Fairy Hole Caves A Grim Discovery at Quernmore The Peculiar Tale of Peg O’ Nell The Story of William Southworth, Landlord of the Lower Buck Ralph Pudsey and the Silver Bit TheContinue reading “The Unnatural Histories Collection”
The Witches’ Seat
(Part of the Unnatural Histories series) In the Old Days, when the world was infinitely vaster and more terrifying, and eldritch beings were thought to fly about their business on the blackest of nights, many precautions were taken to ensure that home and family were protected from such unknown evils. Hearts were crossed, rosary beadsContinue reading “The Witches’ Seat”
Unnatural Histories, The Martyr’s Skull
Deep in the ancient Forest of Bowland, at the heart of a medieval hunting estate, sits the old stone hall of Browsholme. At one end of the hall, in a dark library full of odds-and-ends from over the centuries, suits of armour, swords, muskets and even a piece of a zeppelin, stands a locked cabinet.Continue reading “Unnatural Histories, The Martyr’s Skull”
Ralph Pudsey and the Silver Bit, a Ribble Valley Fairytale
In Deepest, Darkest Yorkshire, under the shadow of Pendle, in the church of St Peter and St Paul, in the ancient village of Bolton-by-Bowland, can be found one of the most ornate tombs in all of Christendom. This is the final resting place of the medieval landowner and noble Sir Ralph Pudsey, his three wivesContinue reading “Ralph Pudsey and the Silver Bit, a Ribble Valley Fairytale”
Northwest Nature and History 