“Cheshire” takes a detailed look at this beautiful English county, exploring its people, places, and customs. This illustrated volume will appeal to those with an interest in history of Cheshire or those looking for a glimpse into England in the late nineteenth century. Contents include: “Cheshire and Chester”, “Wirral—The Dee Side”, “Wirral—The Mersey Side”, “The Royal Forest of Delamere”, “The Forest Outskirts”, “The Story of Vale-Royal”, “The Dee Valley and the Welsh Border”, “Beeston Castle and the Peckfortons”, “Nantwich and Combermere”, “Halton and Norton”, “The Roads from Warrington”, “Northwich and Salt”, “South of the Lancashire Border”, etc. Thomas Coward (1867 – 1933) was an English ornithologist and amateur astronomer. He wrote on natural history, local history and Cheshire for a number of publications and books. Other notable works by this author include: “The Vertebrate Fauna of Cheshire and Liverpool Bay” (1910), “The Migration of Birds” (1912), and “Bird Haunts and Nature Memories” (1922). Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.

The main aim of this book is to consider how and by whom the County Palatine of Chester was governed and administered during the later Middle Ages. It aims to assess how effectively and efficiently the wheels of government operated in this area. The study is based upon a detailed examination of the Palatine records for the years 1442-1485, during the reigns of Henry VI to Richard III.

Following the appointment of its first aristocratic Grand Masters in the 1720s and in the wake of its connections to the scientific Enlightenment, 'Free and Accepted' Masonry became part of Britain's national profile and the largest and most influential of Britain's extensive clubs and societies. The organisation did not evolve naturally from the mediaeval guilds and religious orders that pre-dated it but was reconfigured radically by a largely self-appointed inner core at London's most influential lodge, the Horn Tavern. Freemasonry became a vehicle for the expression of their philosophical and political views, and the 'Craft' attracted an aspirational membership across the upper middling and gentry. Through an examination of previously unexplored primary documentation, Foundations contributes to an understanding of contemporary English political and social culture and explores how Freemasonry became a mechanism that promoted the interests of the Hanoverian establishment and connected the metropolitan and provincial elites. The book explores social networks centred on the aristocracy, parliament, the learned and professional societies, and the magistracy, and provides pen portraits of the key individuals who spread the Masonic message. Foundations and Schism (Sussex Academic, 2013), have been described as 'the most important books on English Freemasonry published in recent times', providing 'a precise, social context for the invention of English Freemasonry'. Berman's analysis throws a new and original light on the formation and development of what rapidly became a national and international phenomenon.

The history of Chapel Street in Altrincham. This book tells the fascinating story of this remarkable little street, ‘the bravest little street in England’.