Category Archives: Historical

Historical posts about various things. Not biographical.

54 High Street

Lymington post office used to be at 54 High Street. It was housed in a pretty unremarkable 1960’s building which probably had some amazing views from the roof. The house that was originally there certainly had some great views. And … Continue reading

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Emulating Ragnar “Lothbrok” Sigurdsson

In 1949, a group of health fanatics decided to build a replica of the Norwegian Viking boat, the Gokstad ship. Gokstad was discovered and excavated in the late 19th century. It was similar to the Oseberg ship we saw in … Continue reading

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The rim remains the same

A little while ago, I wrote about the iron manhole covers from Tierp. Since then, I’ve noticed a lot of them, dotted around the ground from each place we’ve been. Clearly, the iron foundry was very popular with people that … Continue reading

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Looking down

Last summer, when I came here for three weeks, I visited a small town, north of Stockholm, called Tierp. It’s between Uppsala and Gävle and is a sleepy, quiet place with everything you’d need to live. I had been sent … Continue reading

Posted in Gary's Posts, Historical, Tyresö 23 | 1 Comment

The barmaid is lying on the floor

King’s Lynn, in Norfolk, was once called Bishop’s Lynn. Then Henry 8 came along with his forced possession notices and the town thought it wise to change its name. That was in 1537. It didn’t work for long. Good King … Continue reading

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From the noisy pits of hell to a quiet corner of heaven

The house we stayed in at Flerohopp was massive. I was talking to the host yesterday, and she said that they were expecting a booking for a kid’s football team numbering 20 people. She told them that there’s only one … Continue reading

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In Booze We Lose

I was researching a soldier today when I came across an odd bit of military history that I hadn’t known about before. I guess that’s not surprising, after all, a fact you didn’t know is just something you haven’t learned … Continue reading

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Poor little apple

The church we visited in Dalarö on Saturday has a rich maritime history. This would be because a lot of ships were wrecked in the harbour. In fact, marine divers can do a tour of many of the wrecks. There’s … Continue reading

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Schools for girls

In 1840 The Royal Female School for the Daughters of Naval and Marine Officers opened. It had been the idea of Admiral Sir Thomas Williams who realised that, due to various wars and general shipboard life, some ex-Naval officers would … Continue reading

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On the Clyde

Today was mostly about a Scottish shipyard at Fairfield Farm. It was on the banks of the Clyde, at Govan, not far from Glasgow, and produced all manner of ships. The business really started off in 1834, as Randolph, Elliott … Continue reading

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