People have always attached meaning to the landscape that surrounds them. In Storied Ground Paul Readman uncovers why landscape matters so much to the English people, exploring its particular importance in shaping English national identity amid the transformations of modernity. The book takes us from the fells of the Lake District to the uplands of Northumberland; from the streetscapes of industrial Manchester to the heart of London. This panoramic journey reveals the significance, not only of the physical characteristics of landscapes, but also of the sense of the past, collective memories and cultural traditions that give these places their meaning. Between the late eighteenth and early twentieth centuries, Englishness extended far beyond the pastoral idyll of chocolate-box thatched cottages, waving fields of corn and quaint country churches. It was found in diverse locations - urban as well as rural, north as well as south - and it took strikingly diverse forms.

This colourful and thoroughly researched history of the Lord Delamere branch of the British aristocracy focuses on the famous Vale Royal Abbey in Cheshire, England. The Cholmondeley family, who owned the Abbey throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, are described in lavish and intimate detail as they maneuvered to maintain, through three generations, their status as a leading family in the United Kingdom. Beginning in the late 17th century, we follow Charles Cholmondeley as he served as a member of the King’s army in Canada in the war against the French. Part I witnesses the ubiquitous Thomas Cholmondeley who purchased the title ‘Lord (Baron) Delamere’ for £5000 from the British crown in 1821. Part II covers the 2nd Lord Delamere, Hugh Cholmondeley, who led a very sad and difficult life, and experienced the deterioration of Vale Royal. Part III reviews the life of Hugh Cholmondeley, Jnr., 3rd Lord Delamere, his abandonment of Vale Royal Abbey and his relocation to East Africa. Narcissistic Hugh was part of the notorious “happy valley crowd” of Kenya and their lives of debauchery, sex and drugs. The Vale Royal Abbey lives on today, a national treasure and testament to the intriguing lives of those who occupied it over the centuries.

Floating Islands in science, history, the arts and any number of sightings elsewhere