An easy-to-use reference for those looking to trace English ancestry connected to the North Staffordshire pottery industry. Tracing Your Potteries Ancestors introduces readers to the wealth of information available to those wishing to trace their North Staffordshire roots. Michael Sharpe gives a fascinating insight into the history of this part of the Midlands, which was for so long dominated by the pottery industry. The six pottery towns—Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton, and Longton—are at the heart of the story. His handbook is an essential guide for anyone researching the life of an individual or family connected with the area, bringing together all the relevant local and national archives for the first time. In a series of short, information-packed chapters, it describes the lives and experiences of ordinary people in this most extraordinary of landscapes. It charts the transition of the Six Towns from scattered farming communities to a thriving industrial conurbation. The living conditions of the urban poor, health and welfare, the influence of religion and migration, education, leisure pursuits, and the traumatic experience of war are all explored, and the many different archives and sources that are open to family history researchers are explained. “Impressively researched, expertly written, deftly organized and presented, Tracing Your Potteries Ancestors: A Guide for Family & Local Historians is an extraordinarily informative and thoroughly reader-friendly resource.” —Midwest Book Review

One of the earliest great stories of English literature after ?Beowulf?, ?Sir Gawain? is the strange tale of a green knight on a green horse, who rudely interrupts King Arthur's Round Table festivities one Yuletide, challenging the knights to a wager. Simon Armitrage, one of Britain's leading poets, has produced an inventive and groundbreaking translation that " helps] liberate ?Gawain ?from academia" (?Sunday Telegraph?).

All lovers of British history and ceramics enthusiasts will want to own the first comprehensive collectors' reference book devoted exclusively to early 19th century enamel painted figures made in the Staffordshire potteries. In this lavish volume, over 400 superb color photographs of figures from museums and private collections serve as time capsules. Along with a meticuously researched text, they reveal astonishing information about life almost two centuries ago. The book also explores and illustrates design sources used for the figures and divulges a wealth of information for collectors.

This unique book offers an in-depth look at the cultural, socio-economic, religious, political, and technological conditions that defined the subject matter of Staffordshire Figures. Each chapter is a self-contained study of the potteries, the potters, and various categories of pre-Victorian and Victorian figures including spaniels and other animals, the monarchy, religious figures, children, heroes and rouges, architectural figures and much more. Included are over 550 superb color photographs of Staffordshire figures (some previously unrecorded), and detailed captions with values.