In the febrile religious & political climate of late sixteenth-century England when the grip of the Reformation was as yet fragile & insecure & underground papism still perceived to be rife Lancashire was felt by the Protestant authorities to be a sinister corner of superstition lawlessness & popery. & it was around Pendle Hill a sombre ridge that looms over the intersecting pastures meadows & moorland of the Ribble Valley that their suspicions took infamous shape. The arraignment of the Lancashire witches in the assizes of Lancaster during 1612 is Englands most notorious witch-trial. The women who lived in the vicinity of Pendle who were accused convicted & hanged alongside the so-called Salmesbury Witches were more than just wicked sorcerers whose malign incantations caused others harm. They were reputed to be part of a dense network of devilry & mischief that revealed itself as much in hidden celebration of the Mass as in malevolent magic. They had to be eliminated to set an example to others. In this remarkable & authoritative treatment published to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the case of the Lancashire witches Philip C Almond evokes all the fear drama & paranoia of those volatile times: the bleak story of the storm over Pendle. ...

The landscapes of this beautiful & rewarding area range from the shores of Morecambe Bay & the wild Forest of Bowland in the north to the coastal flatlands & Pennine mill towns in the south. Lancaster the historic county town boasts some of the finest Georgian buildings in northern England while Blackpool is unrivaled anywhere for spectacular seaside architecture. The resorts of Morecambe & Southport the planned Early Victorian port at Fleetwood & industrial Preston with its grand Victorian churches all add to the urban diversity. Rural highlights include the celebrated Jesuit school at Stonyhurst & the extravagantly Neo-Gothic Scarisbrick Hall two key sites of Catholic architectural patronage. A diverse inheritance of gentry houses & some distinctive traditions of vernacular building lend further variety. Each city town & village is treated in a detailed gazetteer. An expert general introduction provides a historical & artistic overview. Numerous maps & plans over a hundred new color photographs full indexes & an illustrated glossary help to make this book invaluable as both reference work & guide. ...

The Spitfire & the Lancaster were the two RAF weapons of victory in the Second World War but the glamour of the fighter has tended to overshadow the performance of the heavy bomber. Yet without the Lancaster Britain would never have been able to take the fight to the German homel&. Highlights the scale of the bombers achievements including the famous Dambusters attacks. With its vast bomb bay ease of handling & surprising speed the mighty Lancaster transformed the effectiveness of the Bomber Comm&. Whilst addressing the political controversy surrounding the bombing offensive against Germany Leo Mc Kinstry also weaves individual tales into this compelling narrative. Rich characters are brought to life such as Roy Chadwick the designer who taught himself engineering at night school & Sir Arthur Harris the austere head of the Bomber Comm&. This is a rich saga a story of triumph over disaster & the history of an iconic plane. ...

It is no accident that the RAFs Battle of Britain Memorial Flight consists primarily of three aircraft types the Spitfire the Hurricane & the Lancaster. The Spitfire & Hurricane of course are famous for their roles during the Battle of Britain over the skies of southern England in 1940. The Lancaster on the other hand did not enter operational service with the RAF until 1942 long after the official Battle of Britain was over. Yet the aircraft has more than earned its place in the Battle of Britain flight. The Lancaster has carved its place in history in its own unique way. During the Spitfires lifetime more than 20 000 were built while the Lancasters total is less than half of that. Yet the Lancaster had a crew of seven with at least as many again in each Lancs ground crew. More personnel therefore had a close association with the Lanc than with the worlds most famous fighter plane. Neither should it be forgotten that when Britain defended its shores as an island fortress during the darkest days of WW II the Lancaster & its crews were taking the fight to the enemy delivering their deadly payloads to targets deep in the heart of Germany. A tangible reminder to everyone suffering in Britain that we were still striking back still fighting the Lancaster & its crews won the affection of the British people. Lancasters dropped Barnes Wallis bouncing bombs on Germanys Ruhr Valley dams to earn 617 Squadron its Dam Busters nickname & Tony Iveson was among those Lanc pilots whose aircraft crossed the North Sea to sink the battleship Tirpitz. In Lancaster" Tony Iveson has created a riveting biography of the aircraft focussing not just on its operational history but on the crews who flew & maintained Lancs even talking to German fighter pilots who flew against them. The stories in " Lancaster" run from the time of its initial design right through the war to when variants such as the Lancastrian entered civilian service BOAC using the aircraft on scheduled services between Britain & Australia from May 1945. A salute to the men & women who built flew & maintained the Lancaster this book stands as a tribute to a truly great British icon." ...

OS Explorer Map is the Ordnance Survey's most detailed map & is recommended for anyone enjoying outdoor activities like walking horse riding & off-road cycling. Providing complete GB coverage the series details essential information such as youth hostels pubs & visitor information as well as rights of way permissive paths & bridleways. ...

The legendary Avro Lancaster receives the famous Haynes manual treatment with the full co-operation & authorisation of the Royal Air Force. Here is a unique insight into what it takes to restore & operate a Lancaster as well as a wonderful insight into the engineering & construction of this remarkable aeroplane. Presented mainly in colour this highly detailed & attractively designed book is based primarily around the major overhaul of the Battle of Britain Flight Lancaster at RAF Coningsby. ...

The Avro Lancaster was the RAF's most famous & successful heavy bomber of the Second World War. Used predominantly at night ' Lancs' dropped 608 612 tons of bombs in 156 000 sorties in the period 1942-1945. Some of these missions were incredibly daring
- notably the 'dambusters' raid of 617 squadron on the Ruhr valley dams in May 1943. The success of such operations was testament both to the rugged reliable qualities of this amazing aircraft & the bravery & skill of the pilots navigators bombardiers flight engineers & gunners that crewed it. They relied on their training & experience supplemented by various pamphlets & manuals that were produced throughout the war. This fascinating pocket manual collates such period literature to provide a unique guide to this awe-inspiring aircraft.
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The RAFs most succesful heavy bomber of World War II the Avro Lancaster formed the backbone of Bomber Command during the large-scale night bombing campaign against occupied Europe. Produced in massive numbers (over 7300 up to VE-Day) the first examples entered squadron service on Christmas eve 1941 & tasted combat the following March. The second of two volumes on the British bomber icon of World War II this title details Bomber Commands massive nocturnal bombing campaign its support for the D-Day landings Tallboy raids against the U-boat pens in France & the battleship Tirpitz in Norway & the final daylight missions of 1945. ...

The town of Lancaster has long been a centre for culture education & commerce. The Romans had a permanent settlement on the same hill as Lancaster Castle sits today. The name of the town is derived from the River Lune & caster the Old English word for fort. In later years Lancaster developed unique ties to the British monarchy. The House of Lancaster became a branch of the royal family after being embroiled in the Wars of the Roses with the House of York. Although Lancaster has lost many treasures there are some fine examples of change which marries the best of the old with the best of the new such as the White Cross Mills site. St George's Quay probably looks better than at any time in its history & there's more to come on the freshly cleared site just west of Carlisle Bridge. Lancaster has suffered some tragic losses but it is still a graceful & humane city; it is a place to cherish & many people do. ...

The narrative description & condensed history of the Lancasters construction combat career & post-war service bought together to tell the complete concise history of the worlds most famous aircraft of all time & undoubtedly the finest bomber of World War 2. A superlative colour section of 50 photos of the BBMF Lancaster & the Canadian Warplane Heritage Lancaster (the only two Lancasters still flying) are featured in what is a unique photo section to complement the 150 mono contemporary images many of which have never been before published. Appendix sections detailed & expert captions & other material complement the exciting narrative which

Includes:: a special chapter on the Dam Busters to coincide with the release of the new movie by Peter Jackson & the unveiling of the Bomber Command Memorial in Hyde Park London.

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