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Early Cartography and How Ossett-born Christopher Saxton Mapped the Counties
A look at early map-making from the ancient Egyptians to the late medieval period. How Christopher Saxton, a young man from Dewsbury, became one of the great map-makers of the Elizabethan Era and produced the first county maps of England and Wales.
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Medieval Tales of Revenge and The Elland Feud
An account of the Medieval feuds between two factions of the Plantagenet family in West Yorkshire during the 14th Century...beginning with the Earls of Lancaster and Surrey, culminating in the Elland Feud.
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Fishers of Briestfield – Coal Miners
In the 1870-72 Gazetteer of England, Briestfield was described as a hamlet in Lower Whitley, situated on the edge of Thornhill parish in West Yorkshire. Also known at various times as Briestwell and Briestwistle, records show that in 1150 it was known as Brerethuisel, meaning “common or waste overgrown with briars in the confluence of two rivers”. Flint stones found nearby hark back to a much earlier occupancy and cannon balls found in the vicinity were a legacy of the Civil War bombardment of nearby Thornhill Hall. The villagers were won over to Wesleyan Methodism and a chapel was built in 1875. It is a place with which I had…
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Earlsheaton History and Family Connections
A potted history of the village of Earlsheaton, my Hemingway ancestors' involvement in woollen blanket manufacture there and my own memories of growing up in the village in the mid-20th Century.
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Weighing the World – John Michell 1724-1793
The story of John Michell, Rector of Thornhill Parish Church near Dewsbury, who was a member of the Royal Society, and who entertained some of the world's most eminent scientists of the18th century at his Rectory. He published ideas in astronomy that were 200 years before his their time and is one of the greatest unsung scientists of his age.
