Tag: OTD
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On this day in 1804: Jane Ewbank’s Journey to Whitby
Hardly a week goes by without news of some historical document being digitised. Recently, a diary of a lady named Jane Ewbank who lived in York during the time of the Napoleonic Wars has been published. Jane was born in 1778, and her father, George Ewbank, was a well-known druggist and banker in York. He…
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Forgotten Fields and Stolen Commons: The Tragic Consequences of Enclosure
On this day in the year 1845, Parliament passed the Inclosure Act 1845, an ominous piece of legislation that concluded a grim transformation to the country. This Act, a tool of the powerful, wrested away the public land and enshrined the authority of enclosure commissioners, who, free from the yoke of parliamentary scrutiny, could enclose…
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W.T. Stead and the birth of tabloid journalism
On this day, April 10th, 1912, the luxurious liner Titanic embarked on its maiden voyage from Berth 44 at the White Star Line dock in Southampton, with the destination of New York. A total of 920 passengers were on board, comprising 179 First-Class, 247 Second-Class, and 494 Third-Class passengers. Among the First-Class passengers was William…
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A boundary stone on Hutton Moor
A boundary stone on Hutton Moor inscribed on the north-east face with “RC TC 1856” which stand for Robert and Thomas Chaloner who inherited the manor of Guisborough in turn on the death of their father, also named Robert, in 1842. On this day in 1649, the funeral of King Charles I took place. His…
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On this day in 2000, the Labour Government’s first attempt to repeal Section 28 was defeated in the House of Lords
Section 28 had been introduced by the Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher and prohibited the “promotion of homosexuality” by local authorities. Later that year the Prime Minister Tony Blair would claim that opposition to reform was “a piece of prejudice, pure and simple“. The Shadow education secretary Theresa May called the defeat “a victory for…
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On this day in 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor, the head of the German government
A short wander up Cliff Rigg this, reflecting on happenings 90 years ago today, Then, the elderly Weimar President, Paul von Hindenburg, was persuaded by the conservative elite to appoint Hitler as chancellor, the head of the German government. An appointment that was entirely legal and constitutional. At the same time, one of those conservative elite,…
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With a teachers’ strike likely, it seems timely to point out that exactly 50 years ago today teachers resumed their normal working after a three-month work-to-rule dispute with the local authority
On this day in 1973, the Daily Mirror published interviews with some Teesside pupils: HILARY COX, age 13: “It’s rotten, it’s boring, and my Mam says she’s sick of me going in and out like a yo-yo all day. There’s nothing to do at all. “I’ve been going to all the classes that have been…
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In 1740, High Farm, Pinchinthorpe (centre of photo) was owned by Ralph Ward
Ward, a Guisborian, was “once described as the richest commoner in North Yorkshire” with property in Boulby, Loftus, Aislaby (Yarm), Sandsend, and Guisborough. He was related to the Pease family of Darlington and through his sister’s marriage to the Jackson family. Farming seemed to have been his main business, buying and selling cattle, sheep, and…
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Today is the 380th anniversary of the Battle of Guisborough, fought between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War
I’ve posted about the battle before: here and here. The conventional thinking was that the battle took place on the east side of the town, in fields off Butt Lane. But recent metal detector finds suggest another site for the battle — on the west side of the town, to the north of Hutton Hall.…
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On this day in 1853, the Middlesbrough & Guisborough Railway was opened with great fanfare to transport ironstone from Joseph Pease’s mines at Codhill to the smelting furnances of the nascent Teesside
The York Herald reported the event. This line was opened for mineral traffic on Friday, the 11th inst. The day being highly propitious, several hundred people assembled to do honour to the occasion. Long before the hour specified, masses of human beings might be seen wending their way to the far-famed Codhill, where the ironstone…