History Shorts: snippets of local history

Though technically within the boundaries of Oxford city, Iffley retains a distinct village charm and historical significance of its own, most notably through its remarkably well-preserved Norman church dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. Perched on the east bank of the River Thames (or, Isis in this stretch), Iffley sits safely above the river, approximately two miles downstream of Oxford. The origins of Iffley can be traced back to the chronicles of Abingdon Abbey in the 940s, where it was referred to as Gifteleia. In the Domesday Book in 1086, it was called Givetelei , with "ley" likely deriving from the Saxon term for cleared ground. The name transitioned through Iftele in the 13th century and to Iffley in the 16th century. Evidence of even older settlements is abundant: a sixth-century Saxon brooch found in Iffley is now housed in the British Museum, while nearby Roman pottery sites and Neolithic artifacts hint at a site with a long history. A timeless masterpiece  Dating ...

The Crumlin Road Gaol in north Belfast, built to designs by celebrated architect Sir Charles Lanyon, received its first prisoners (106 in number, marched in procession in chains) in 1846, succeeding Carrickfergus as the new Antrim County Gaol. Directly opposite, also from Lanyon designs, the grander Crumlin Road Courthouse was built at the same time. The new prison initially housed women and children as well as male prisoners. It was divided between four wings (A–D), each three stories high, and each holding different categories of prisoner (remand, sentenced, lifer, long-term prisoner).   These two buildings of course transformed the justice system in Belfast but also the Crumlin Road itself, formerly an area of gentlemen's residences and now an important thoroughfare for a rapidly growing city.  Crumlin Road gaol remained in use until 1996 when the last prisoners were moved out of a now crumbling building. In the intervening years, more than 25,000 prisoners, inclu...

The idea of a lost medieval village sounds mysterious and thrilling, conjuring images of streets and houses lost to modern maps, abandoned for reasons unknown and buried under layers of subsequent history. In reality these deserted villages were most likely very small settlements populated by a few families linked to a manor house and perhaps a church. There are literally thousands in England alone and the factors driving their abandonment were probably more mundane than catastrophic.  One such abandoned settlement is Bix Brand nestled in a valley in the Chiltern Hills a few miles from Henley. What remains today is the ruins of a Norman era church dedicated to St James but the area is known to have been populated in Roman times - a Roman farmhouse and artefacts have been discovered in the vicinity. Also nearby lies part of the prehistoric earthworks known as Grim's Ditch.  By the time of the Domesday Book, there were two settlements in the area known as Bixa Brand, which had t...

The Dorset chalk figure known as the Cerne Giant was most probably created in the early Middle Ages, according to recent dating work. Contextualising the archaeological work by the National Trust, authors of a new study say the figure was cut in the ninth or early tenth century when there was much interest in the Greek hero Hercules. In their paper in the journal Speculum , Thomas Morcom and Helen Gittos explain at length when and why the figure was cut in the image of Hercules and why it was done in this West Saxon landscape. By PeteHarlow,  CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link The Cerne Giant, located outside the village of Cerne Abbas, is approximately 55 metres long and 51 metres wide. The hill on which it was carved also features an Iron Age earthwork, which the authors say, has never been investigated archaeologically but which was considered important enough to give the hill its name until recently.  Previous attempts to date the giant placed its creation either sometime in prehistory o...

Ripon Cathedral in North Yorkshire stands as an important historical and religious site in England, its origins dating back to the Anglo-Saxon era. St Wilfrid (c. AD 633-~710) played a significant role in the foundation of what was to become Ripon Cathedral. The church he constructed in the 660s-670s, dedicated to St Peter, was one of the first stone buildings erected in Northumbria since the Roman legions left Britain more than two centuries earlier. While much of that structure has been rebuilt many times over the centuries, ultimately becoming Ripon Cathedral, the stone crypt from Wilfrid's church remains to this day - more on that later.   The hagiographical  Vita Sancti Wilfrithi , written by Stephen of Ripon and Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People ( Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum ), both near-contemporary, are the main sources for Wilfrid's life and activities. Stephen's account stresses the impressiveness of Wilfrid's church at Ripon,...

This article is republished with permission from The Conversation How taking a closer look at your family tree can help you get to grips with climate change By  Flossie Kingsbury , Aberystwyth University Engaging people when it comes to climate change can be challenging. Climate conversations are often technical and dry, making it hard to see how it connects to our own lives. As a historical researcher I’ve been figuring out how we can make this connection clearer, and believe that taking a look at our family histories might hold the answer. Tracing our ancestors’ connections to colonialism and industrialisation can help us personally connect with the climate crisis. Photo: Pixabay While climate change might seem abstract or distant, our own history is inherently personal. Tracing a family tree can show how historical events, including those that influenced climate change , altered life courses. Through pilot research with my own family tree, I’ve found that family history ...

The former Bank of Ireland building at the corner of Belfast's Royal Avenue and North Street has been called one of the finest Modernist buildings in Ireland. Finished in what was presumably once bright white Portland limestone, this Art Deco wonder was built from 1928-1930 and was Grade B+ listed in 1990. It was designed by the architect Joseph Vincent Downes for the Dublin-based firm of McDonnell & Dixon, a practice responsible for many bank and office buildings of different styles in Ireland from the 1900s and which is still in business today! Despite its status, and like so many of the buildings on nearby North Street, the Bank of Ireland building in Belfast seemed destined to fall into a state of disrepair after its closure in 2005.  Thankfully it seems like the bank is to get a new lease of life as part of a significant new tourism and cultural regeneration investment by none other than Belfast City Council. I, for one, will be keen to visit when it opens again in 2028! ...