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The map bears witness to the culmination of the gargantuan engineering feat which produced 23,000 route miles in the 82 years since the first 25 miles of railway was completed between Stockton and Darlington in 1825. 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But before the days of television, newspaper advertising and junk mail how did people get to know about everything?  Over a million people solved the problem by buying a copy of this book which caused a publishing sensation in Victorian Britain. Because it explained so much about so many different aspects of life it continues to provide a very enjoyable and informative peep into the lifestyle of our forebears.  In 2775 entries the enquiring Victorian learns how to tell if food is fresh and when it is in season; how to dance; the difference between local dialects; correcting grammar and spelling; the rules of games and puzzles; hints on etiquette; kitchen and household hints and recipes; cures for scores of ailments including rheumatism and baldness; the origins of Christian names; first aid; employment and rental regulations; keeping fit; dressmaking and embroidery; births, marriages and deaths; personal conduct as well as scores of others. We know when and where the Victorians lived. This fascinating book explains much about how they lived.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49530204586257,"sku":"GOR001366125","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49657680003345,"sku":"GOR003560276","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50126002258193,"sku":"CIN187359030XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50338840510737,"sku":"CIN187359030XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52692744765713,"sku":"GOR005796919","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/187359030X.jpg?v=1751347077"},{"product_id":"bradshaws-diary-2017-book-old-house-books-9781783660568","title":"Bradshaws Diary 2017","description":"This third instalment of the bestselling Bradshaw's Diary is a must-have for any train enthusiast or 'Great British Railway Journeys' fan. 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Why suffer or rejoice alone when this book revealing the advice, observations and witty rejoinders of Jane Austen, Plutarch, Shakespeare, Trollope and Einstein could be your constant companion?","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49639142228241,"sku":"GOR005410531","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50402487992593,"sku":"CIN190840258XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50765136462097,"sku":"CIN190840258XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52882300076305,"sku":"GOR006275817","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53397188116753,"sku":"GOR005411155","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/190840258X.jpg?v=1750835408"},{"product_id":"historical-map-of-windsor-and-eton-1860-book-old-house-books-9781908402226","title":"Historical Map of Windsor and Eton 1860","description":"The suburban area encompassing the towns of Windsor and Eton has long been one of England's most popular historic sites, as home to the most familiar royal retreat, Windsor Castle, and the famous public school Eton College. 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The rapidly expanding industrial towns and cities were now the homes of workers who once laboured on the land but were now in the factories and mines creating and processing the needs of the mother country and the Empire. To record these changes the Victorians had become great map makers and the Ordnance Survey had already been publishing maps for a century. This series, created from Ordnance Survey maps, were coloured and published in book form. They are now available in sheets for the first time. The construction of the railway network, commenced a mere 72 years before, was now virtually complete with over 20,000 miles in use. They are all marked, as are their 'predecessors' the canals. But, despite all the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution, the great conurbations we know today were still surprisingly small in 1897. The countryside had changed little for centuries. There were still scores of aristocratic homes surrounded by park land where now the urban sprawl, new towns and industrial estates may be found. Just as interesting is what is not shown. Notice how small the towns and scattered villages are, indeed there is a village just to the west of London on sheet 9 which shows the three or four houses that made up the village of Heathrow. There are no by-passes and all the major trunk roads pass along the high streets of country towns. Motorways had, of course, not even been dreamt about but interestingly the route of a proposed channel tunnel is marked. These maps provide a fascinating insight into the past and will be a delight for local historians, walkers, genealogists and indeed anyone curious to see how their area used to be. 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Before the fire abated on the fifth day 373 acres had been reduced to a sea of smouldering ruins with 13,200 houses and 87 churches, including St Paul's Cathedral, had been destroyed. The City of London was the greatest commercial centre of the world, the hub of the new empire and now all the shops, offices and livery company halls in that area were destroyed leaving over 100,000 people homeless. The City was also a centre of great power and influence overseen by The Lord Mayor and the livery companies that fostered and regulated the crafts and professions. It was soon realised that it had to be re-built as quickly as possible for, as one observer noted 'Day by Day its wealth flowed out of the gate'. The city authorities wanted to prevent shopkeepers and craftsmen from setting up in outskirts such as Clerkenwell and Westminster where they would compete for trade but escape regulation and local taxes. An exact survey was immediately undertaken to assist with the task of re-development and this detailed, pictorial view was completed just three months after the disaster. It shows the full extent of the devastated area, the roads, churches and the coats of arms of the livery company halls that were destroyed. Beyond the limit of the fire little had changed since medieval times. Parks and churches are shown as well as the closely packed houses that survived and even the trees in their gardens. There is also a dramatic painting of the fire as it appeared to an artist on the south bank of the river. Each map has a history giving statistics and facts about the disaster, eye witness accounts of Samuel Pepys who wrote about it each day in his famous diary. This edition of the map, the original of which is in The Museum of London, has been sensitively coloured for re-publication.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50858817814801,"sku":"GOR002481996","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1873590601.jpg?v=1750768890"},{"product_id":"london-poverty-maps-1889-book-old-house-books-9781873590812","title":"London Poverty Maps 1889","description":"Two maps of Victorian London coloured street by street to show the lifestyle of the inhabitants from the wealthy upper classes to the vicious and semi-criminal lowest class.  A century after the start of the Industrial Revolution the Victorians finally began to turn their attention to matters of social conscience. The remarkable achievements of the entrepreneurs who had prospered as they developed new factories, railways and docks overshadowed a deprivation among the working classes that had hitherto been unseen in Britain. Certainly there had been destitution and hardship in the rural communities but as people sought work in the new industrial heartlands they encountered appalling disease, poorly constructed housing and little sanitation. Nonetheless high rents still had to be paid, invariably to unscrupulous landlords. There was little concern for the long working hours or child labour, and unguarded machinery and uncaring overseers caused serious accidents after which casualties were given little or no assistance other than the prospect of ending their days in the workhouse. Wealthy ship owner Charles Booth was appalled by conditions in London's docklands and vowed to do something about it. 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