Shire Publications imprint: 233 books

This guidebook presents stunning highlights from the treasures of the University of St Andrews collection, revealing objects from around the world and from ancient times to the present day. Featuring specially commissioned photography and articles on each object by the museum's co-director, this book brings the stories of these fascinating objects to a wider audience for the first time.

This book, beautifully illustrated with specially commissioned photography, is a celebration of UCL's unique collections, with leading academics from the university invited to select and write about an object each found inspiring. From a jar of moles to an Egyptian unguent spoon, a finger X-ray to...

Isambard Kingdom Brunel considered the Great Western Railway the 'finest work in England' and he contributed many groundbreaking features, none so unorthodox as the decision not to adopt the 'standard' track gauge of 4ft 8½in and instead introduce the new 'broad gauge' of 7ft ¼in. Describing the...

From the famous bascules of Tower Bridge and the august span at Westminster, through the engineering masterpieces at Ironbridge and the Forth, bridges are some of the most iconic landmarks of Britain. From the smallest arch to the largest overpass, they have a rich architectural, economic, social...

The rood screen was the visual focus of the medieval parish church, dividing the nave from the chancel. Most were built of wood and were adorned with intricate carved decoration painted in bright colours, often with images of saints. Defaced and often dismantled during the Reformation in the mid-sixteenth...

The parish church is a symbol of continuity, a cornerstone of the urban and rural landscape, and a treasure trove often as rich in cultural history as any museum. This compact and accessible guide explores all of these aspects of the parish church, beginning by examining why churches are built where...

Have you ever wondered why we talk about a handicap in sport, why boxing is so named, or whether a dumbbell ever rang? It was during the nineteenth century that hitherto local games with relaxed and varying rules were formalized. During this process terminologies developed to refer to these new standardized...

Evolving from the horse-drawn stage coaches that they soon eclipsed, railway carriages steadily grew in sophistication so that by the end of the nineteenth century the railway passenger travelled in comfortable rolling stock of a design familiar to many until the 1960s. While modern trains look different...

This War is a Food War…' In 1941 Lord Woolton, Minister for Food, was determined that the Garden Front would save England: 'Dig for Victory' was the slogan, digging for dinner the reality. With food imports dwindling the number of allotments grew, millions opted to 'Spend an Hour with a Hoe' instead...

From the Houses of Parliament to the Midland Hotel at St Pancras and Strawberry Hill House, Gothic Revival buildings are some of the most distinctive structures found in Britain. Far from a copy of medieval buildings, it was a style full of colour and invention, in which its exponents created a daring...

Often hidden away or incorporated into other architectural features, icehouses are a largely forgotten part of our heritage. As winters warmed through the nineteenth century, and supplies of natural ice declined, the development of artificial refrigeration made redundant these curious buildings –...

Sir Christopher Wren (1632–1723) is now mostly remembered as a genius of architecture – but he was also an accomplished polymath, who only came to architecture quite late in life. Most famous as the mastermind behind the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral and more than fifty parish churches after...

At the end of the Second World War Winston Churchill promised to manufacture half a million prefabricated bungalows to ease the housing shortage; in the end more than 156,000 temporary 'prefabs' were delivered. Nicknamed 'Palaces for the People', and with convenient kitchens, bathrooms and heating...

This is the guide to the exhibition, Turner and the Whale at the Hull Maritime Museum in Autumn 2017, which brings together for the first time in the UK, 3 of the 4 whaling pictures Turner was at work on in 1845-1846. As part of the city of Hull's year as the UK Capital of Culture the exhibition guide...