In Mamucium in 79AD, the establishment of the Roman fort is the first known record of any formal military presence in the area that is now the Castlefield district. The site was previously occupied as a defensive hill fort by the ancient Britons or Brigants who were native to the area. Roman auxiliaries used the fort to protect the road from Chester (Deva Victrix) to York (Eboracum). The next major era of military activity at Manchester occurred in the Civil War and the Siege of Manchester in 1642. Manchester's declaration as a Parliamentarian town had far-reaching consequences in terms of its military legacy and on the voting rights of Mancunians. The Peterloo Massacre of August 1819 was a scene of a mass rally brought about by demands to repeal the Corn Laws, introduce universal suffrage, and reform other repressive legislation. The cavalry charge that resulted in the deaths of 18 innocent protestors and the wounding of over 500 took place at St. Peter's Fields, now St. Peter's Square. It resulted in the establishment of the Manchester Guardian and also the rise of radical free-thinking in the city, not always welcomed by those in authority. Both world wars had a profound influence on the city and through the pages of the local press, the establishment of the Manchester Regiment is detailed as is the later Manchester Pals. Heaton Park became their base while Field Marshal Kitchener visited the city to boost recruitment. Later the Luftwaffe's bombing campaign of December 1940, the Manchester Blitz, left the city with a legacy that has changed it beyond all recognition into the 21st century. Other chapters include The Boer War and The Home Front. Packed with nostalgic photographs throughout, 128pp in large softback, maps and colour plates.

Fought near to or around York, Towton, Stamford Bridge, Marston Moor and Fulford were some of the most infamous and bloodiest battles on English soil. One of the oldest settlements in western Europe, York has changed and been changed by waves of settlers and conquerors and was easily reached as historically navigable from the great Humber Estuary and surrounded by Yorkshire fens. York has long been significant both politically and militarily, and with overland transportation difficult, this route inland from the coast to York provided deep penetration into the northern English countryside. The Romans built a great fortified city and military settlement from which they could foray to Scotland and the Picts. York's significance was emphasised when Constantine was made Emperor whilst residing there. The Vikings then swept into Northern England with Jorvic, reborn as their capital, York, much to their liking. Once subsumed into Anglo-Saxon Northumbria, York continued its strategic significance through late Saxon times, during the Norman Conquest, and into medieval England. Following vicious religious strife during the reigns of the later Tudors, civil war played out again under the Stuart kings and Parliamentary Commonwealth. The last direct conflict occurred when York was targeted for retaliatory Baedeker raids by German bombers during April 1942. The city's remarkable history and longevity and significance on the English and sometimes international stage has left a unique and unparalleled military history. Useful chronology, chapters include The Jacobite Rebellion, The Second World War and the Cold War, Service, Honours and Awards, The Walls and Other Defences and The Military Heritage among them. 128 page large softback, very well illustrated throughout, fact boxes and colour plates and maps.

'From slavers to rock icons, from comedians to the Great War's fallen, Lytollis goes into the why they are there in bronze and granite, but also talks to the people who pass them every day. Fascinating and funny.' - Mike Craven. Part history, part travelogue, this is the first book to examine public statues around the nation. Lytollis travels Britain and encounters a man at Liverpool's Beatles statue convinced that Rod Stewart was in the Fab Four. In Edinburgh he walks into a row over Greyfriars Bobby's nose, and in Glasgow learns why the Duke of Wellington wears a traffic cone on his head. London brings a controversial nude statue and some hard truths about racism. He sees people dancing with Eric Morecambe, finds a statue being the backdrop to a marriage proposal, looks at the emergence of statues into our culture laws, the trends for portraying musicians, pop stars and comedians rather than monarchs, politicians and generals, and tells amazing tales of many of those commemorated on our streets. It also features interviews with sculptors including Sir Antony Gormley who discusses the Angel of the North and more traditional statues. As soon as Captain Tom Moore, Dame Vera Lynn and Prince Philip died, there were demands for statues. They will continue to stand over and among us, inspiring, amusing, enraging or just blending into the background and they all have stories to tell. 296pp, eight pages of colour and b/w photos.

Presented by TV personality and journalist John Sergeant, these ten BBC documentaries follow in the footsteps of pioneering Victorian photographer Francis Frith who set himself the formidable task of photographing as much of Britain as possible in the latter half of the 19th century. The three discs are grouped by London and the Southeast, South and Southwest and The North with coverage from Tower Bridge witnessing Victorian engineering at its most impressive, Charles Dickens's favourite holiday home, sampling the wares of a Hampshire brewing town, visiting an ancient watermill in Lyme Regis and the dungeons in Exeter Guildhall, picturesque South Wales, from Liverpool to Blackburn, Stirling to Falkirk, Hartlepool to Whitby and Chesterfield to Eyam, from the comfort of our armchairs the entire box set has 250 minutes running time. Three colour DVDs.

The three most popular of Britain's finest stately homes on three quality colour DVDs, boxed, running time 138 minutes. Burghley House in Lincolnshire is a fabulous house built by William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Elizabeth I. Started in 1555 it took 32 years to build. Over 450 years later, its state rooms are filled with treasures including one of the finest collections of 17th century Italian masterpieces, an exceptional display of Oriental and European ceramics and fine furniture. And it still remains a family home. Colour TV programme on DVD. Chatsworth House was built by the remarkable Bess of Hardwick and altered by the First Duke. It is one of the nation's greatest private homes open to the public, its first floor taken up with richly decorated, state apartments built for a visit by King William III, but the King never came. 46 minute colour film of both the interior and exterior, and an opportunity to explore the home of the Duke of Devonshire. Blenheim Palace is the third and last in the series. In this programme, the Duke of Marlborough talks to Selina Scott about Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, paid for by an Act of Parliament in 1705 as a grateful nation thanked its greatest warrior, John Churchill, First Duke of Marlborough. Treasures include the tapestry which recalls the Battle of Blenheim in which Marlborough defeated the Franco-Bavarian forces in the War of Spanish Succession. Winston Spencer Churchill, who was born at Blenheim in 1874, is buried in the park at the tiny church of Bladon. Explore inside and outside of this fine stately home from the comfort of your armchairs. 46 minute colour programme. Set of three.

A second programme written and presented by Peter Gammond the authority on Betjeman with more than 50 books on music and the arts. Sir John Betjeman CBE died in 1984 but his reputation has lived on as the quintessential poet of the suburbs - evocative, jolly, nostalgic and wary of change. He was also one of the world's greatest writers and several parts of Britain were very special to him such as North Cornwall, London and Highgate, Oxford, the Vale of the White Horse and Norfolk. The second DVD Betjeman's Britain traces his steps and words around many of the places he enjoyed and celebrated and all who love his poems will find them greatly enhanced by seeing the actual places featured in his work. 52 minute colour and black and white film.

This impressive 55 minute colour DVD takes us through every important aspect of the rooms and gardens of this gracious home.Fronted by the River Derwent and backed by a tree-covered hillside, once the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, Chatsworth House is one of Britain's best loved historic houses. Set in the magnificent la Pride and Prejudice. It offers something for everyone to enjoy from famous works of art, exquisite décor and furnishings and the spectacular fountains in the garden, to the finest shopping and many miles of walks. This impressive grand home has a long tradition of welcoming local people and holidaymakers from around the world, and is especially twinkly and beautiful at Christmastime.

We travel north of the border into bonnie Scotland with our irrepressibly enthusiastic narrator and naturalist, David Bellamy. He explores from ground and air the natural environments of Britain's premier wilderness landscapes: the Peak District, our first National Park; the dramatic Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland; and the North Pennines, the wild 'backbone' of Britain. In his enthusiastic company we enter a world of wild heather and open water, high mountains, ancient settlements and deep forests with the odd bit of bog and marsh. Stories abound with adventurous spirits, of old mole catchers and reed cutters, ghosts and wolves, of lost warriors and battlegrounds, blood-drinking ravens and stone-worshipping priests, and a glorious company of singers and heroes - Wordsworth and Brooke, King Arthur, Wallace and Montrose. Along the way David meets some of the people responsible for managing our remaining wilderness areas and the resources we reap from them, and some who still make their livelihood within them. A breath-taking journey, 92 minute colour film.

One of three award-winning programmes Bibliophile is thrilled to have in stock, exploring England's last wilderness. David Bellamy explores from ground and air the natural environments of Britain's premier wilderness landscapes: the Peak District, our first National Park; the dramatic Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland; and the North Pennines, the wild 'backbone' of Britain. In his enthusiastic company we enter a world of wild heather and open water, high mountains, ancient settlements and deep forests with the odd bit of bog and marsh. Stories abound with adventurous spirits, of old mole catchers and reed cutters, ghosts and wolves, of lost warriors and battlegrounds, blood-drinking ravens and stone-worshipping priests, and a glorious company of singers and heroes - Wordsworth and Brooke, King Arthur, Wallace and Montrose. Along the way David meets some of the people responsible for managing our remaining wilderness areas and the resources we reap from them, and some who still make their livelihood within them. A breath-taking journey, 92 minute colour film.

In three award-winning programmes, David Bellamy explores from ground and air the natural environments of Britain's premier wilderness landscapes: the Peak District, our first National Park; the dramatic Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland; and the North Pennines, the wild 'backbone' of Britain. In his enthusiastic company we enter a world of wild heather and open water, high mountains, ancient settlements and deep forests with the odd bit of bog and marsh. Stories abound with adventurous spirits, of old mole catchers and reed cutters, ghosts and wolves, of lost warriors and battlegrounds, blood-drinking ravens and stone-worshipping priests, and a glorious company of singers and heroes - Wordsworth and Brooke, King Arthur, Wallace and Montrose. Along the way David meets some of the people responsible for managing our remaining wilderness areas and the resources we reap from them, and some who still make their livelihood within them. A breath-taking journey, 92 minute colour film.