Looking through North Somerset Museum's archives I stumbled across a folder named 'Order of the Zuzimites' so being a tad nosey I had to have a look and found this fascinating story in the 1933 Mercury.Apparently the owner of the Three Queens in Oxford
Alongside our glorious dead at the Commonwealth War Graves area in Milton Road Cemetery lie the Luftwaffe fallen, Mathias van Kaldenkerken, Erich Bluher, Hans Dolata, Werner Grothe and Henrich Schink.
Wireless Operator Henrich Schink's parachute
This week I researched Somerset during World war 2 and have found some stories during this traumatic era. One of the best books I have read on the subject is Somerset At War by Mac Hawkins, as he uses oral histories of people in the forces and civilians
Poetry , to me, is similar to a photograph as it is a snapshot of time. This week I thought I would share with you some C19/ early C20 poetry about Weston and as you can see some things stay the same for example, the question about Weston’s future . I
I found this little gem in Ernest Baker’s ‘A few notes on the History of Weston -super-Mare from 1326’ where he records ‘The Late Fred Martills Story’.
Fred begins by telling us about Birnbeck Island in the 1850’s before the building of the pier. Apparently,
Though I have researched local history for a few years now I have largely ignored the Smyth-Pigott’s due to my assumption that they were just boring Lords of the Manor and have already been researched by many historians. However, one member of that family,
Today I am going to tell you about a Westonian, Mr Henry Butt, who in my opinion made Weston the town it is today. Walking round Weston we can still see his influences on the town, for example, the Winter Gardens, Worlebury Golf Course, Monks Steps and
In the 1800s when French Brandy, laces and foreign cigars were being smuggled into Weston a visitor to the town would have been surprised at meeting a four horse hearse and funeral coach racing across the hill from Keystroke or Woodspring to Weston. However,
A few months ago two drunken men came into the museum arguing over whether one of them saw a 12 ft two headed giant on Weston’s pier.
Believe it or not, it is true! Being one of the best Victorian resorts Weston had its fair share of weird and wonderful
To some historians oral history is just people rambling, and of little value, but I love it as it gives every person a voice and gives us clues on the beliefs of that time.
Victorian local historian Ernest Baker gives us an insight into early 1800s
This week I researched Weston's suffragette and active socialist Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence and was interested in how her date at court was reported in the local papers.
Emmeline was born in Weston in 1871 , second of 13 children of businessman Henry
This week I have two short stories for you from the 1906/07 Weston Mercury and Somerstshire Herald and Weston Gazette which, I feel, reflect the way they viewed class difference. For example, if an upper classed man committed suicide the papers called
Hello all and welcome to my light-hearted local history blog.
Sometimes looking through the early 1900s newspapers somethings appear to never change, for example, people writing in to complain about the Council etc. However, here is a story that shows