By Tim Lambert Early Westminster Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) built a royal palace in the countryside outside the walls of London. He also built a church, Westminster Abbey, consecrated in December 1065. In December 1066 William the Conqueror was crowned in Westminster Abbey. Since then every English monarch has been crowned there (except for Edward V and… Continue reading A History of Westminster
Author: Tim Lambert
A History of Leigh Park
By Tim Lambert The Beginning of Leigh Park In 1944 Portsmouth City Council bought the Leigh Park Estate near Havant. They planned to build a new overspill community there. Altogether the council bought 1,670 acres and work on building Leigh Park began in 1947 when the mayor of Portsmouth operated a digger and dug the… Continue reading A History of Leigh Park
Hinckley in the Civil War
By Alan Roberts Hinckley played a prominent part in the Civil War. Its proximity to several rival garrisons – the royalist garrisons at Ashby de la Zouch and Leicester, the Parliamentarians at Tamworth and Coventry, and parties of troops or brigands occupying several fortified houses in Warwickshire ensured frequent visits by the warring parties. The… Continue reading Hinckley in the Civil War
A Biography of William Wilberforce
By Tim Lambert William Wilberforce campaigned against the slave trade. He was born on 24 August 1759 in Wilberforce House in High Street, Hull, Yorkshire. William had 3 sisters but only 1 lived to adulthood. His father, Robert was a merchant. His mother was called Elizabeth. As a child, William was educated at Hull Grammar… Continue reading A Biography of William Wilberforce
A Biography of John Wesley
By Tim Lambert His Early Life John Wesley was a famous preacher of the 18th century. He helped to found the Methodist movement. John Wesley was born on 28 June in the village of Epworth in Lincolnshire. His father was Samuel Wesley and his mother was Susanna. In 1714 John was sent to Charterhouse School.… Continue reading A Biography of John Wesley
A History of North End
By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Steve and Jane Skinner Early North End In the Middle Ages, a village existed at the end of Kingston Crescent. It was called King’s tun, which meant king’s estate. In the 17th century houses were built north of the village. The new area was called ‘the north end of Kingston’.… Continue reading A History of North End
The Origins of some Portsmouth Street Names
By Tim Lambert Like many towns, Old Portsmouth has a High Street. It was the most important street. St Thomas’s Street gets its name because Portsmouth Cathedral was, at first a parish church dedicated to St Thomas. Penny Street is probably a corruption of a Latin word that meant supplies because merchants stored supplies there.… Continue reading The Origins of some Portsmouth Street Names
King Alfred and the Danes
By Tim Lambert Alfred the Great was born in Wantage, Oxfordshire in 849. He was the youngest son of King Aethelwulf of Wessex. (In those days England was divided into four kingdoms, Northumbria in the north, East Anglia and Mercia in the Midlands, and Wessex in the south). In 868 Alfred married Ealhswith. King Alfred… Continue reading King Alfred and the Danes
A History of Rotherham
By Tim Lambert Early Rotherham In the 1st century AD, the Romans built a fort by the river Rother. In time civilians moved nearby and a little town grew up. (The soldiers provided a market for the townspeople’s goods). However, in 407 AD, the Roman army left Britain. Afterward, Roman civilization broke down and Roman… Continue reading A History of Rotherham
A History of the Outer Solar System
By Tim Lambert The Planet Uranus In 1781 William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus. Since ancient times only 6 planets had been known, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The discovery of a previously unknown planet was a landmark and it made William Herschel famous. Herschel wanted to name the new planet Georgium Sidus… Continue reading A History of the Outer Solar System