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February is Rural History month at Shire
Markets and Marketplaces of Britain

Markets and Marketplaces of Britain

Anna Hallett

This book charts the history of markets in the British Isles from the small rural fairs selling harvested crops, to the teeming markets of London’s Covent Garden, Smithfield and Camden. The author surveys the historic buildings and sites where these markets took place, and describes how they worked and what they sold. Accompanied throughout by colour photographs and paintings. ‘Markets and Marketplaces’ is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the history of British towns and society.

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February is Rural History month at Shire
British Cattle

British Cattle

Val Porter

Since the eighteenth century British cattle breeds have spread worldwide and have made the names of several counties famous in distant lands. Yet some of those breeds have become extinct and many others have become so rare in their own country that they are in danger of disappearing. In the hope of awakening enthusiasm for the diversity that still makes British cattle so interesting, this book describes all the existing breeds and many of those that have already gone.

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Out now
The Victorian Fern Craze

The Victorian Fern Craze

Sarah Whittingham

Fern Fever was a phenomena in Britain between 1837 and 1914. Although in previous centuries ferns played an important role in customs and folklore, it was only in this period that they were coveted for aesthetic reasons. This book, which is the first to deal exclusively with the subject for nearly forty years, looks at the how the craze developed, the ways in which ferns were incorporated into garden and home, and the spread of the fern through Victorian material and visual culture.

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Coming Soon from Shire
Topiary

Topiary

Twigs Way

Topiary, the art of creating sculpture in clipped plants, originated with the Romans and experienced periods of popularity during the Renaissance and Jacobean eras. However, as the fervour for ‘natural’ landscapes swept through Europe in the eighteenth century, fashion mocked the few gardeners who continued to clip, and in 1890 William Robinson claimed that ‘a man with shears in his hands is doing fool’s work’. Today, topiary has seen a revival, and amateurs in the art can purchase ‘preformed’

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Shire Journal

Shire on the World Wide Web

It is always nice when someone else likes the books you publish - and from different sources a couple of nice write-ups on Shire have caught my eye....

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Discovering Words Quiz

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