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historyshorts.bsky.social
History Shorts
@historyshorts.bsky.social
25 followers 45 following 73 posts
Curious. Dabbler in local history, family history, ancient history, changing landscapes, placenames etc
Blog: https://historyshorts.blogspot.com/
Posts Replies Media Videos
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bgs.ac.uk
A historic watercolour has been unearthed on the back of a Dryburgh geological field map🗺️

The beautiful painting, believed to have been made by geologist Benjamin Neeve Peach while on fieldwork in the early 1870s has been discovered in the BGS archives.

Learn more:
www.bgs.ac.uk/news/histori...
The watercolour painting of the Dryburgh Suspension Bridge, believed to have been painted by Benjamin Peach whilst conducting field work in the 1870s. The image shows the bridge in the centre with trees covering the banks. In the background are mountains and in the foreground sit two rowing boats on the banks of the river. BGS © UKRI. The front of the Dryburgh field slip used by Benjamin Peach when surveying the area in the 1870s. BGS © UKRI.
October 5, 2026 at 9:09 AM
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timdaw.bsky.social
Historic England vanishing archive - details of why it is broken : www.sarsen.org/2026/09/hist...
Historic England’s Vanishing Archive
Not just the aerials. The lot. Historic England still holds the negatives, the prints and the scans. What the public lost, in early Sept...
www.sarsen.org
September 27, 2026 at 2:57 PM
historyshorts.bsky.social
I learned today of the top two essays from @theconversation.com Prize for writers 2026, and they're both fantastic!

First prize by Prof Emily Robinson for her essay on her obsession with Ravenser Odd theconversation.com/ravenser-odd...

Puts my rambling on Littletown to shame!

1/
Ravenser Odd, the sunken medieval island that continues to inspire and obsess
A medieval island that was home to a wealthy city continues to fascinate 800 years after it disappeared beneath the waves.
theconversation.com
September 24, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by History Shorts
antiquity.ac.uk
📰 The northernmost Anglo-Saxon coin found in the UK has been unearthed in Shetland, suggesting trading links between Viking-controlled Shetland and Anglo-Saxon England.

🏺 #ArchaeologyNews via BBC News

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Rare Anglo-Saxon coin unearthed in Shetland
Archaeologists say the discovery suggests possible trading links between Viking and Anglo-Saxons.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 24, 2026 at 1:25 PM
historyshorts.bsky.social
They are rare, but a post box was installed somewhere every 1.2 days during Edward VIII's reign - I reckon that's a fair old rate, which presumably reflects a boom in housebuilding /growth of suburbia in the 1930s
September 22, 2026 at 10:59 AM
historyshorts.bsky.social
Spotting a rare Edward VIII post box in the wild...

historyshorts.blogspot.com/2026/09/edwa...
Edward VIII post box: Quite rare and in a state of disrepair!
A relatively rare Edward VIII post box in the wild in London
historyshorts.blogspot.com
September 21, 2026 at 5:36 PM
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nattrustarch.bsky.social
**NEWS**

Neolithic ‘Devil’s Arrow’ stones travelled 11 miles across Yorkshire, study reveals.

Researchers have shed new light on a series of prehistoric stones in Yorkshire, revealing the 25-tonne structures were hauled 11 miles across land by Neolithic builders. 🧵
Rock formations at Brimham Rocks, North Yorkshire
September 10, 2026 at 9:52 AM
historyshorts.bsky.social
"We don't have much need for a nuclear bunker these days - I hope – and that's why it's important that we reuse it."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Cold War: Former nuclear bunker now home to more than a million government files
Historic environment records are being stored in what used to be an emergency hub in case of a nuclear bomb.
www.bbc.co.uk
August 21, 2026 at 2:44 PM
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northages.bsky.social
A great earthquake was felt throughout England #OTD in 1089, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Symeon of Durham. A quake depicted in the Queen Mary Apocalypse 📸British Library
A tower topples and trees are uprooted as a haloed figure looks on.
August 11, 2026 at 9:04 AM
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nattrustarch.bsky.social
Our very own Emily revealing the secrets behind the parchmarks in the lawns at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire!
@nationaltrust.org.uk

BBC News - Parched lawn reveals historic garden at Derbyshire's Hardwick Hall - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Parched lawn reveals historic garden at Derbyshire's Hardwick Hall
The lawn patterns were created when the garden was remodelled in the early 1800s.
www.bbc.co.uk
July 30, 2026 at 9:44 PM
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ukceh.bsky.social
Recent incidents, including the wildfire in Sussex, are a stark reminder that the UK isn't immune. As periods of hot, dry weather become more frequent from climate change, fire weather conditions are becoming more common, increasing wildfire risk across the country.

stateofwildfires.com

2/
State of Wildfires Project - We monitor, explain and predict wildfires.
Our researchers have united to help monitor, explain, and predict extreme wildfires and boost society’s resilience to the emerging threat.
stateofwildfires.com
July 31, 2026 at 11:09 AM
historyshorts.bsky.social
A fascinating open access read in the journal, Early Medieval Europe. I love that the article has a postscript from the author discussing what must have been an alarming development pointing to other possible candidates for Candidus and Carolus...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
A newly discovered Carolingian text: Candidus' <fi>Liber testimoniorum veteris testamenti</fi>, written for Charlemagne
This article presents a newly discovered Latin text: a theological treatise titled Liber testimoniorum veteris testamenti that was written by Alcuin’s friend Candidus (Wizo) at the request of Charlem...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 20, 2026 at 3:44 PM
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cambup-archaeology.cambridge.org
Did you know that @antiquity.ac.uk is now #openaccess for authors?

This means that all research content submitted to the journal since 1 June 2026 will be published open access and 🆓 to read online. Check out the latest articles now!

🔗 https://cup.org/3PjLTIJ

#archaeology
July 18, 2026 at 5:54 PM
historyshorts.bsky.social
Matthew Flatbread / Samuel Flatbread
kimmymonte.bsky.social kim @kimmymonte.bsky.social · Jul 15
your baseball pitcher name is your grandfather’s first name and the last thing you bought i’ll go first mine’s Dominic Sandals
July 17, 2026 at 2:12 PM
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seamas.bsky.social
Been seven years since I first read this, on the English language's *completely universal but totally invisible* adjective hierarchy, and I can honestly say I've thought about it most days since.
Adjectives in English absolutely have to be in this order: opinion-size-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose Noun. So you da. Have a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife. But if you mess with that word order in the slightest you'll sound like a maniac. It's an odd thing that every English speaker uses that list, but almost none of us could write it out. And since since comes before colour, green great dragons can't exist." - Mark Forsyth, quote from The Elements of Eloquence: How to turn the Perfect English Phrase
December 20, 2024 at 10:21 AM
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peterfrankopan.bsky.social
Some stats: There are 99 players at this World Cup born in France. Of those, 76 are not playing for France

(That's not just a football story. It's a history lesson) 2/5
July 1, 2026 at 9:36 PM
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gsoh31.bsky.social
Oh, now suddenly people notice! Absurd, pathetic. It's been going on for years. Wait until the Big Names suddenly piling in see what happens next - and where it happens. Serious failure of journalism on almost every front of the university crisis.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Fury over Exeter University plan to scrap dozens of humanities posts
Rowan Williams and Mark Kermode join campaign against proposed cuts for arts and social sciences
www.theguardian.com
July 1, 2026 at 6:07 PM
historyshorts.bsky.social
900-year anniversary of Bartlemas Chapel, Cowley, Oxford - originally founded in 1126, during the reign of Henry I, as part of a leper hospital

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #history
The 900-year-old Oxford chapel built for lepers
Bartlemas Chapel opened during the reign of Henry I, and continues to serve its community in Oxford.
www.bbc.co.uk
May 17, 2026 at 3:29 PM
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Thought this was a model response from @celiarichardson.bsky.social to a pretty harsh article in the Spectator about the National Trust
Celia Richardson • • 2nd Director of Communications and F... 6h・ The National Trust is run by 'infantilised morons' according to a spectator article published this weekend. •+ Connect It is of course entirely reasonable to question how organisations like the National Trust serve the public. But I found myself less struck by the argument and more by the tone. During the school holidays this year the National Trust will be hosting Pokemon adventures for children and families in beautiful historic landscapes and gardens. I'm one of the morons behind the decision. This isn't something unique. From the Van Gogh Museum to the Natural History Museum, and city-wide experiences that lead visitors around landmarks like the Louvre, it's a global pattern of cultural organisations experimenting with how people encounter heritage. We know from their writers that articles attacking the National Trust get a lot of clicks for the Telegraph and Spectator, so we tend to expect more negative headlines than other culture, heritage and nature charities. There's a serious discussion to be had about how heritage organisations balance conservation, interpretation and access. That includes how we invite in children and young families-often their first step into places they may come to love for life. We won't all agree on how these places should be enjoyed and critics have every right to voice strong opinions. But I think we share a common goal: that the places continue to matter to people, and are cared for long into the future. The tone we choose shapes the debate and the kind of public life we create, around our institutions and everywhere. I'd like to think we can hold ourselves and each other to a standard that is both robust and respectful. Much of the article is behind a paywall. But anyone can read the opening abuse of our staff for free. And there is a cost to this kind of commentary.
May 11, 2026 at 3:10 PM
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natlibscot.bsky.social
We've just added #MoreMaps to our website 🗺️

Newly online maps provide detailed coverage of large parts of India as well as the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Burma/Myanmar and Pakistan in the first half of the 20th century.

Explore the maps > maps.nls.uk/additions/#201

#India #MapMonday
Detail from Survey of India One-inch to the mile map showing Tangasseri, 1916.
May 11, 2026 at 8:01 AM
historyshorts.bsky.social
Holywell Music Room in Oxford has a great, if unprovable, claim to fame #history

New blog post: historyshorts.blogspot.com/2026/05/is-e...
Is Europe's oldest concert hall really in Oxford?
Holywell Music Room in Oxford, Europe's oldest concert hall
historyshorts.blogspot.com
May 10, 2026 at 5:18 PM
historyshorts.bsky.social
Tolls saved Britain from pothole hell in the Industrial Revolution, diaries reveal | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

Recent #history research
Tolls saved Britain from pothole hell in the Industrial Revolution, diaries reveal
The &lsquo;turnpike&rsquo; toll road system deserves far more credit for improving roads in eighteenth-century England and Wales, a new study argues. Analysis of nearly 100 travellers&rsquo; diaries r...
www.eurekalert.org
May 7, 2026 at 7:32 PM
historyshorts.bsky.social
I'm rediscovering the fun of looking for old Ordnance Survey benchmarks...

historyshorts.blogspot.com/2026/04/ordn... #MapMonday #history
Ordnance Survey benchmarks: Britain’s mapping legacy
A short history of Ordnance Survey benchmarks
historyshorts.blogspot.com
April 27, 2026 at 7:24 PM
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groomb.bsky.social
How Northern Ireland's population has changed in past century. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
1926 Census of Northern Ireland: How NI has changed and grown
Although NI's 1926 Census forms were lost, surviving data gives a snapshot of society at the time.
www.bbc.co.uk
April 20, 2026 at 1:19 PM
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proflroach.bsky.social
Exciting times for the study 11thC England: the 'lost' seal of Edward the Confessor has been rediscovered in the Archives nationales de France! #SkyStorians #MedievalSky
Lost seal of Edward the Confessor found after being missing for 40 years
An 11th-century Anglo-Saxon seal belonging to Edward the Confessor has been rediscovered more than 40 years after being declared lost. The wax impression of the ‘Saint-Denis seal’ disappeared without ...
news.exeter.ac.uk
April 13, 2026 at 10:34 AM