The Deepest Hand-Dug Well
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 13, 2021
Sitting outside the Nuffield Hospital in Woodingdean, near Brighton and Hove, is a small, inconspicuous-looking covered well. But despite it...
Showing posts with the label England
The Bridge Built By Women
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 15, 2021
When the Waterloo Bridge over River Thames opened in the December 1945, Deputy Prime Minister, Herbert Morrison spoke on its inauguration: ...
The Maharaja’s Well
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 9, 2021
We think that charity always flows from the richer nations to the poorer ones, but sometimes it also flows the other way. When Ireland was s...
The Great Sheep Panic of 1888
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 2, 2021
Sheep are notoriously timid and nervous animal, and can get startled easily. But what mysterious provocation could have caused thousands of ...
Britain’s Secret Fuel Pipelines
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 2, 2021
How do airline companies procure fuel for their fleet? In the UK at least, the fuel comes through pipelines delivered directly at the airpor...
Mr. Bean’s Failed Assassination Attempt of The Queen
Kaushik Patowary
May 25, 2021
The closest Mr. Bean came to killing the Queen was when he headbutted the head of the British Royal family. The Queen was hurt but survived...
Brennan’s Gyro Monorail
Kaushik Patowary
May 19, 2021
In the early 20th century, at least two different engineers working independently in different parts of the world, put forward a unique conc...
Gnomonic Blocks, or Multi-faceted Sundials
Kaushik Patowary
May 11, 2021
In the park of the Abbey of Epau, in Yvré-l'Evêque in France, you can admire a curious monument in the shape of an obelisk. Built by the...
Fonthill Abbey And Its Eccentric Creators
Kaushik Patowary
May 7, 2021
At Fonthill Gifford in Wiltshire, England, where now stands a small four-story tower with an attached two-story wing, there once stood one o...
The Duck-less Statue of Sir Nigel Gresley
Kaushik Patowary
May 4, 2021
There is a bronze statue of British railway engineer Sir Nigel Gresley towering over passengers as they pass through London King's Cross...
Heroic War Pigeons
Kaushik Patowary
Mar 16, 2021
World War One, and to some extent, the Second World War, was a strange blend of archaic and modern technology. The First World War, in parti...
Dazzle Camouflage: Hiding in Plain Sight
Kaushik Patowary
Mar 5, 2021
Unlike a submarine that can lurk beneath the waves, or an artillery tank that can camouflage itself among trees and the surrounding terrain,...
The Great Smog of 1952
Kaushik Patowary
Feb 24, 2021
Londoners are no stranger to the cold, but on the morning of December 5, 1952, the sting of winter was felt worse than ever. The cold had th...
The Mad World of Hat Making
Kaushik Patowary
Feb 19, 2021
Hat-making in the 18th and 19th centuries was a hazardous business, because it involved the use of many chemicals, one of which was the toxi...
The Ingenuity of The ‘Ha-Ha’
Kaushik Patowary
Feb 17, 2021
What’s in a wall but a simple structure to keep intruders out, you might say. But a surprising amount of thought goes behind the constructio...
London’s Protected Views
Kaushik Patowary
Feb 8, 2021
Many prominent landmarks in London, such as St Paul's Cathedral, the Monument to the Great Fire of London , the Tower of London, The Pal...
William Walker: The Man Who Saved Winchester Cathedral
Kaushik Patowary
Feb 4, 2021
More than a century ago, Winchester Cathedral, which is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe and the longest of all Gothic cathedrals, wa...
Shoeburyness Boom: A Cold War Era Defense Across The Thames
Kaushik Patowary
Jan 28, 2021
At first glance, the concrete piles lying off the coast of southeast Essex, near the town of Shoeburyness, looks like the exposed columns of...
Anderson Shelters: The Backyard Bunkers That Saved Britons From Luftwaffe Bombings
Kaushik Patowary
Jan 7, 2021
In 1938, before the Second World War had even begun, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain placed Sir John Anderson in charge of air ra...
The Night The Moon Exploded
Kaushik Patowary
Jan 5, 2021
In the early evening of 18 June 1178, five monks from Canterbury in southern England, reported having witnessed an unusual phenomenon in the...
