Portsmouth

Last week I went on a short "holiday" to Cherbourg (more of that in posts to come) - but in order to catch the early morning ferry (I live in Milton Keynes which is 120 miles from the ferry port), I had to go down the day before to Portsmouth. In fact, I've visited Portsmouth many times in recent weeks.

While I'm in the city, I enjoy exploring the history, of which it has so much. For many centuries it was the major centre of Britain's naval defences. The dockyard houses Nelson's flagship, the Victory, on which he died at the Battle of Trafalgar; the Mary Rose from the Tudor period - and so much more. I haven't visited on any of my recent visits - but I hope to soon.

The defences for the city itself are worth a visit. From just south of Gunwharf Quays (and the Spinnaker Tower - pictured above) the walls can still be walked around. That is pleasant in itself, but there are also interpretation boards which tell the visitor more about the history. Southsea castle is also worth a visit.

During our visit we bought some of the "Portsmouth Papers" which are short booklets about various aspects of Portsmouth's history. I'll be writing pieces based on some of them, once I've read them!

We also visited the birthplace of Charles Dickens, which I also indeed to write about in coming posts.

So - keep an eye on this blog - and together we can explore Portsmouth (and other places)

Milton Keynes History

Does Milton Keynes have any history? The general impression of Britain's newest city is that its "history" only covers the last 50 years. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. As well as making an excellent base for discovering key sites in British History (fast rail link to London - and the slower trains stop at Berkhamsted : almost the mid-point between Oxford and Cambridge ; Close to Buckingham and Aylesbury) - MK has plenty to see within its boundaries.

Now known across the world - Milton Keynes is where Bletchley Park is to be found. Perhaps you've seen the film "The Imitation Game"? Some of it was filmed there - but if you visit you can see Alan Turing's office - and the mansion itself.



The Roman road which we now know as "Watling Street" runs through the city. In fact it runs at the end of Furzton - and through the town of Stony Stratford. There are the remains of a large Roman villa in the estate of Bancroft (which I love visiting) - not very far from the concrete cows. Other villas have been unearthed as archaeologists gained the opportunity to discover the city's ancient history before the developments went ahead. I live just yards from an iron age settlement and bronze age; iron age; Roman; and medieval remains have been uncovered across the city.

When Edward IV died, the crown was inherited by his young son. It was in Stony Stratford that he was met by his uncle, who was to become Richard III, and taken into "protective custody". A sign on a house commemorates where
 they met. Stony itself is full of historic buildings.

The area played a key role in the transport history of England - and as well as a Roman road; there is the canal and the railway. Wolverton works was an important place for building and repairing railway stock.

The villages that sat in the countryside which was used for the new city remain - though are hidden from the hidden roads. Loughton; Milton Keynes (the original village); Shenley Brook End and Shenley Church are just some of the delights to be discovered.

Newport Pagnell played an important role in the English Civil War of the Seventeenth Century.

Over this summer I will be revisiting many of these places - and along with book research - will have lots of materials to post on this blog.

Joan of Arc

Over the weekend I watched the silent classic "The Passion of Joan of Arc". It is currently available on the BFI player at https://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-the-passion-of-joan-of-arc-1927/. It is regarded as one of the greatest films of the silent era - and relies purely on the gestures and facial expressions to convey the feelings of the characters. It is very powerful. It was based on the transcript of the trial of Joan of Arc, held in Rouen in 1431.

This prompted me to read Helen Castor's excellent book about this incredible character from medieval history. I've almost finished the book, and will probably post some pieces about her life, and the places associated with her. I've made many visits to Poitiers, where she was sent to be questioned after turning up to tell the Dauphin that she had been sent by God to restore him to the French throne and throw the English out of France. Chiron is one of my favourite towns in the world - it is where Joan first met the Dauphin (and has many other important historical connections).

American History in the comfort of your home (or on headphones at the coffee shop)

I have a professional interest in C-SPAN, as a researcher into the US Congress. But that network is not just about live broadcasts of proceedings in the House of Representatives and Senate. When Congress isn't sitting C-SPAN still broadcasts - and much of their output concerns history. In bed this morning - using the C-SPAN App on my iPad, I enjoyed "Unrest and Reform in the Gilded Age".

This app (which I have on both my iPhone and iPad) is called "C-SPAN Radio". Despite its name - the app allows you to listen to the live audio feeds from C-SPAN Radio: C-SPAN 1: C-SPAN 2: and C-SPAN 3. You can also look at the day's schedules. You can also chose podcasts of programmes already aired.

On C-SPAN2 and C-SPAN3 there are programmes at the weekend which go into greater detail about books or focus on history. There are a couple of websites which tell you more (and feature previous broadcasts)

Book TV

American History TV

Welcome to JDM's History Explorer

This week I am relaunching four of my blogs (strictly speaking three - a new one joins the family tomorrow). If you are a former reader of JDM's History Explorer - welcome back. If this is your first visit - a very warm welcome.

History has always interested me. As a child living in the English West Midlands, two of the delights of visiting my grandparents in South Wales were to stop at Raglan Castle on the way down, and Carreg Cennen Castle when we arrived. Local history always attracted - so I read a lot about the places I have lived in: Aldridge; Sheffield; Northampton; Rugby and now Milton Keynes.

A few weeks after we arrived in Britain's newest city, an American friend visited - and told me that while they were thrilled that we clearly enjoyed the delights of MK, for an American it was a disappointment. Old English towns and cities were great, but "Milton Keynes has no history". It was like a red rag to a bull - and in the last seven years I've spent a lot of my spare time finding out about the history of the area covered by MK. One of the advantages of a new-build city is that the archaeologists went in first - and excavated the areas before the builders moved in. As a result there is a wealth of information about the city's ancient past. I live only yards from an iron age settlement - and the Roman Watling Street runs at the eastern end of Furzton, the estate in which I live.

In my spare time, I love to visit historic sites - last week I visited both Waddesdon Manor (near Aylesbury) and the Tower of London. Reading about people, places and events in history is a delight for me.

JDM's History Explorer will share that with you. I will regularly include hyperlinks to web sites about the topics being discussed (just click on the highlighted words). I have also been building up a library of photos and information. My aim is to entertain and inform you.

Do send your comments and suggestions to jdavidmorgan@googlemail.com

Are you ready?

JDM's History Explorer has seen the occasional post in the past - (do scroll through and see what has already been published)

but it is about to undergo a revival and professional overhaul!

Do return to this blog on Tuesday 26th April


See you soon

David

New Years Day

The Celts apparently celebrated 1st November as the start of their year. One website I found states:-
“November 1 is the Celtic feast of Samhain. Samhain, Gaelic for “summer’s end,” was the most important of the ancient Celtic feasts.

The Celts honored the opposing balance of intertwining forces of existence: darkness and light, night and day, cold and heat, death and life. The Celtic year was divided into two seasons: the light and the dark, celebrating the light at Beltane on May 1st and the dark at Samhain on November 1st.

Therefore, the Feast of Samhain marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year. Some believe that Samhain was the more important festival, since it marked the beginning of a new dark-light cycle. The Celts observed time as proceeding from darkness to light because they understood that in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed below the ground. Therefore, the Celtic year began with the season of An Geamhradh, the dark Celtic winter, and ended with Am Foghar, the Celtic harvest.”

If this was the case, then there would have been plenty of celebrations in the so-called "New City" of Milton Keynes on this day a couple of thousand years ago. When our new city was being built, archaeologists were given a great opportunity to discover our ancient history. There were a number of iron age sites – including a settlement in the centre of Furzton (where I live); and close to the site of the Roman Villa in Bancroft.

The map below (from Croft and Mycroft’s excellent “The Changing Landscape of Milton Keynes” [copies available for loan from the libraries at Bletchley; Stony Stratford; Wolverton; and Woburn Sands – and at the MK Local Studies Library in the Central Library]) show the main sites. You may be able to enlarge the picture by clicking on it.