A Grim Almanac of Old Berkshire is a day-by-day catalogue of ghastly tales dating from the twelfth to the twentieth centuries. Full of torment and torture, heinous homicides and cataclysms of nature, these pages contain multiple murders, horrendous hauntings and audacious thefts. Have you heard the story of the pub landlord who attempted to end it all by leaping down his own well? All he achieved was a broken ankle. Also featured here are the Watchfield farmer who tried to turn his wife into cooking fat, the family who charged people to view their relative's decapitated body, and the violent poltergeist activity that took place at the old forge at Finchampstead and made national news headlines in 1926. This compilation of grim deeds contains a veritable plethora of poisonings, assaults, drownings, kidnappings, suicides and disasters. If you have ever wondered about what nasty goings-on occurred in the Berkshire of yesteryear, then look no further – it's all here. But do you have the stomach for it?

A Grim Almanac of Old Berkshire is a day-by-day catalogue of ghastly tales dating from the twelfth to the twentieth centuries. Full of torment and torture, heinous homicides and cataclysms of nature, these pages contain multiple murders, horrendous hauntings and audacious thefts. Have you heard the story of the pub landlord who attempted to end it all by leaping down his own well? All he achieved was a broken ankle. Also featured here are the Watchfield farmer who tried to turn his wife into cooking fat, the family who charged people to view their relative’s decapitated body, and the violent poltergeist activity that took place at the old forge at Finchampstead and made national news headlines in 1926. This compilation of grim deeds contains a veritable plethora of poisonings, assaults, drownings, kidnappings, suicides and disasters. If you have ever wondered about what nasty goings-on occurred in the Berkshire of yesteryear, then look no further – it’s all here. But do you have the stomach for it?

A Grim Almanac of Oxfordshire is a day-by-day catalogue of 366 ghastly tales from the county’s past.There are murders and manslaughters, including the killing by Mrs Barber of her entire family in 1909 while temporarily insane, and the brutal murder of four-year-old Edward Busby in 1871, killed by his mother to prevent his father ill-treating him. There are bizarre deaths, including those of four-year-old Charles Taylor, who was accidentally kicked clean through a top storey window in 1844 by a child playing on a swing, George Sheppard, who was struck by a cricket ball during a match in 1905, and of the vicar of Bucknell, who starved himself to death in 1935.There is an assortment of calamities which include strange and unusual crimes, devastating fires, rail crashes, explosions, disasters, mysteries, freak weather and a plethora of uncanny accidents.Generously illustrated, this chronicle is an entertaining and readable record of Oxfordshire’s grim past. Delve into the dreadful deeds of Oxford’s past, if you dare...

Jostling for position in this cornucopia of the criminal and the curious are diverse tales of baby farmers, garrotters, murderers, poisoners, prostitutes, pimps, rioters and rebels. Other tales tell of those who walked the poverty-stricken streets of 'the abyss', trying to earn a few honest coppers by the most unusual and desperate occupations, from tater man to tosher. This colourful cast of characters is accompanied by accounts of prisons and punishments, as well as a liberal smattering of funerals, executions, disasters and bizarre events. If it's horrible, if it's ghastly, if it's strange, its here - and if you have the stomach for it, then read on.

This new edition of the definitive guide to the political map of the United Kingdom has been thoroughly revised and updated since the second successive Labour election victory in 2001, detailing each of the constituencies sending representatives to the House of Commons.

This fascinating, fully illustrated volume is the definitive guide to every aspect of the workhouse and of the poor relief system in which it played a pivotal part. Compiled by Peter Higginbotham, one of Britain's best-known experts on the subject, this A-Z cornucopia covers everything from the 1725 publication An Account of Several Work-houses to the South African Zulu admitted to Fulham Road Workhouse in 1880. With hundreds of fascinating anecdotes, plus priceless information for researchers including workhouse locations throughout the British Isles, useful websites and archive repository details, maps, plans, original workhouse publications and an extensive bibliography, it will delight family historians and general readers alike. Where was my local workhouse? What records did they keep? What is gruel and is it really what inmates lived on? How did you get out of a workhouse? What famous people were once workhouse inmates? Are there any workhouse buildings I can visit? If these are the kinds of questions you've ever wanted to know the answer to, then this is the book for you.