A Grim Almanac of Oxfordshire


Book Description

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...




A Grim Almanac of Bristol


Book Description

A Grim Almanac of Bristol is a day-by-day catalogue of 365 ghastly tales from the city's past. There are murders and manslaughters, including the case of Thomas Buller, who was killed in 1875 by a man who was married only that morning, and Sarah Skinner, who was thrown out of a window in 1847. There are bizarre deaths, such as the mother who mistakenly fed her child rat poison instead of teething powders, and the deaths of a man and his wife from a gas leak, both of which occurred in 1861. There is an assortment of disasters which include devastating fires, such as the destruction of the Merchant Venturers' College in 1907 and the fire in a city hat shop in 1876, which claimed the lives of the proprietor and two of his children, not to mention mining disasters, rail crashes, explosions, shipwrecks, cases of cruelty and neglect, and a plethora of uncanny accidents. Generously illustrated, this chronicle is an entertaining and readable record of Bristol's grim past. Read on ... if you dare!




A Grim Almanac of the Black Country


Book Description

A Grim Almanac of the Black Country is a day-by-day catalogue of 366 ghastly tales from around the area. Full of dreadful deeds, strange disappearances and a multitude of mysteries, this almanac explores the darker side of the Black Country's past. Here are stories of tragedy, torment and the truly unfortunate with diverse tales of mining disasters, freak weather, bizarre deaths and tragic accidents, including the gunpowder explosion at a factory in Tipton which claimed nineteen lives in 1922. Also featured is the corpse in West Bromwich that was twice wrongly identified in 1929, the collapse of a concert hall roof in Walsall in 1921, and the two labourers buried in molten glass near Stourbridge in 1893. All these, plus tales of fires, catastrophes, mysteries and executions, are here. Generously illustrated, this chronicle is an entertaining and readable record of the Black Country's grim past. Read on ... if you dare!




A Grim Almanac of Herefordshire


Book Description

A Grim Almanac of Herefordshire is a day-by-day catalogue of 365 ghastly tales from around the county. Full of dreadful deeds, strange disappearances and a multitude of mysteries, this almanac explores the darker side of Herefordshire's past. Here are stories of tragedy, torment and the truly unfortunate with diverse tales of murderers, bodysnatchers, duelists, poachers, rioters and rebels. Joining them are accounts of tragic suicides, accidents and bizarre deaths, including William Prosser, who died in Clodock in 1893 as the result of a practical joke; the farmer bitten to death by his horse in 1887; and the young man from Colwall who allegedly sat on a spike. Also here is the case of a Yorkshire tramp, whose body was found in Weobley in 1894, and the murders and suicide of Charles Hankins and his two young children in Ledbury in 1896. Some killers were lucky to get away with charges of manslaughter, such as Thomas Carlyle, who shot a coachman near Leominster in 1871, and George Hatton, who rid himself of a nagging wife near Ross in 1893. All these, plus tales of fires, catastrophes, explosions and disasters, are here. Generously illustrated, this chronicle is an entertaining and readable record of Herefordshire's grim past. Read on... if you dare!




A Grim Almanac of Leicestershire


Book Description

A Grim Almanac of Leicestershire is a day-by-day catalogue of 366 macabre moments from the county's past. Featured here are such diverse tales as mining disasters, freak weather conditions, industrial catastrophes, train crashes and tragic accidents, including the Oadby woman who was killed by a wasp sting in 1925 and Dorothy Cain, who performed her first ever parachute jump in 1926 — without her parachute. Among the murders detailed in this volume are the assisted suicide of the vicar of Hungerton in 1925, and the unsolved 'Green Bicycle Murder' of 1919 at Little Stretton. Generously illustrated with 100 pictures, this chronicle is an entertaining and readable record of Leicestershire's grim past. Read on... if you dare!




The Bristol Book of Days


Book Description

Discover the rich and colourful history of Bristol with this collection of tales from across the city. Featuring a story for every day of the year, it includes famous historical events, such as the storming of the city during the Civil War, the maiden voyage of the SS Great Britain and the opening of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, alongside quirky and less well known tales, such as the poltergeist of the Lamb Inn, one of the earliest balloon flights and the bizarre death of Revd Newnham. Featuring events from as early as 1312 right up to the present day, this fascinating selection is sure to appeal to everyone interested in the history of one of Britain's oldest cities.




In Hot Blood


Book Description

This chilling compendium of historic crimes features 28 cases that shocked the nation during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Among the cases featured here are the shooting of Bessie Cross, after she fell pregnant while her husband was away serving his country in 1917, and the 1869 murders of Maria Death and her alleged lover by Maria's partner, Frederick Hinson. It also recalls the tragic stories of Elvira Barney and Ruth Ellis, who shot and killed their lovers in 1932 and 1955 respectively, with very different consequences. Along with the most notorious cases, this book also features many that did not make national headlines, examining not only the methods and motives but also the real stories of the perpetrators and their victims. This book is a must for true-crime fans everywhere.




A Grim Almanac of the Workhouse


Book Description

For two centuries, the shadow of the workhouse hung over Britain. The recourse of only the most desperate, dark, and terrible tales of malnutrition, misery, mistreatment, and murder ran like wildfire through the poorer classes, who lived in terror of being forced inside the institution's towering walls—and, as this collection proves, all of them were true! This book contains 365 incredible tales of fires, drownings, explosions, and disasters, infamous scandals such as the Andover affair—where inmates were forced to eat the bones they were supposed to be crushing to ward off starvation—and sickening tales of abuse, assault, bodysnatching, poisonings, post mortems, and murder. Accompanied by 70 rare and wonderful illustrations, this book will thrill, fascinate, sadden, and unnerve in equal measure.




Olde Cotswold Punishments


Book Description

Look beyond the pretty cottages and gentle landscapes of the Cotswolds, and you will find a dark history of crime and punishment. From child thieves, poachers, conmen, prostitutes and would-be suicides to bigamists, highwaymen and murderers, the Cotswolds has had its fair share of criminals – treated in what appears to us today to be an arbitrary and often unduly harsh manner by judges and juries. What crimes were committed in this rural society in the past, and how were they punished? This book looks at the variety of punishments bestowed to miscreants – from being hanged from a portable gallows at the scene of a crime to transportation or hard labour – and why some were punished more than others. Evidence is taken from contemporary sources: prison records, newspaper accounts and broadsides that celebrated the lives and deaths of local characters. It is a fascinating and shocking read.




A Grim Almanac of Manchester


Book Description

A Grim Almanac of Manchester collects together 365 of the darkest tales from Manchester's history – terrifying true tales of riot, assault, murder and crime, of slums, disease, death and disaster. Compiled by Manchester historian and genealogist Michala Hume, this book is filled with amazing historical horrors ranging from the bizarre – such as the night a poisoned cake caused a sickness to sweep through Ancoats – to the horrific, like the tragic time twenty-three people were crushed to death attempting to escape a fire in the overcrowded Victoria Music Hall. Some of these incidents were resolved, but many remain mysteries to this day. Generously illustrated, this chronicle is an entertaining and absorbing record of Manchester's grim past. Read on ... if you dare!