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Just in time for the main event, expert and Shire author Judith Millidge takes a look at precisely how popular past jubilees really were ...   The other side of the bunting   While researching Royal Jubilees, I came across a fair bit of sycophantic nonsense regarding the monarch and the monarchy stretching across two centuries. Disraeli famously said that, 'everyone likes flattery and when you come to royalty you should lay it on with a trowel', but even he may have baulked at some of the more extreme examples. One writer referred to George III's jubilee as 'a spontaneus effusion of love', and in 1886 MPs asked whether 'the jubilee year of Her Majesty's accession to the Throne should be appropriately celebrated in some National manner, so as to give pleasure and satisfaction to all loyal subjects'.Continue Reading

If you haven't yet had the opportunity to pick up a copy of our excellent Mid-Georgian Britain by Jacqueline Riding then perhaps these reviews can spur you into having a look.Continue Reading

In the hope that joviality might atone for a lack of ideas, hello! As a brand spangly new recruit, I confess to being slightly in awe of the veritable treasure trove that is the Shire archive. It is home to a copy of every book ever published by Shire, from the very earliest local history guides to the new Living Histories series. I’m happy to say we’re certainly not in danger of running out of reading material.Continue Reading

With the launch this month of the Shire Living Histories series this guest blog from James Daly asks us to consider all the ways in which history is constantly around us.Continue Reading

Type into a search engine Things to do in [your local area here] when you’re bored and with ready access to the internet, and you’re confronted with a bewildering list of pages. The nature of search engines mean most can be dismissed but among the commonplace stalwarts of swimming, cinemas, gyms etc you may just be lucky enough to find that unusual hobby. The kind of hobby you didn’t even realise could be a hobby. For me that happened to be beekeeping.Continue Reading

Here at the Shire Journal we are delighted to bring you another guest author. Lucy Inglis runs the 'Georgian London' website, which has recently won the 'History Website of 2009' as voted for by the online readers of History Today magazine. Most of the time Lucy can be found swimming around the 18th century but today she is looking closer to home, and her own experiences at her grandparents small-holding.Continue Reading

Welcome to the first in a new series of articles from guest authors on the Shire Journal. This week our guest author is Joe Crosby from Pop Cult Magazine. Read on to see how farmers and homeowners would be well served by utilising their own resources - and becoming owners of their own power stations.Continue Reading

It was a normal Wednesday morning in the Shire office. I was printing out some images of Dinky toys, replying to an e-mail about letter boxes, and sipping happily from a mug of tea, made for me by Russell. It was just about perfect, although he had perhaps put in too much milk. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, the unmistakable figure of Michael Aspel appeared clutching a large, red Shire book.Continue Reading

The size and scope of the Shire catalogue is impressive. With over 500 titles in the Shire Library series alone, the range of subjects is quite staggering. By taking the recent scores from an English test match, and applying these random numbers to the catalogue, the link between a pair of Shire books can be discovered.Continue Reading