Böcker av Paul Hurley

'Sir William A. Stanier FRS' is a photographic celebration of the life and work of renowned railway engineer Sir William A. Stanier. His steam and diesel locomotives are iconic, and predominated in Britain from the 1930s to the end of steam in 1968.

Tragic tales of misfortune and disaster in historic Cheshire. This book will fascinate anyone who want to know more about the history of the area.

Commemorating the creation of the Big Four railway companies, 100 years ago

This collection of true-life crime stories gives a vivid insight into life in Cheshire in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Commemorating the anniversary of the end of steam railway traction in Britain 50 years ago

From its foundation as a Roman fort, Chester has played an important role in the history of north-west England. Close to the Welsh border, the city is still surrounded by an almost complete circuit of city walls, enclosing the cathedral, castle and many other ancient buildings, including the famous Rows of black and white half-timbered buildings. Chester continued its prominence into the industrial age, with the arrival first of the canal system then the railways. Today, the city of Chester has extended with new housing well beyond the city walls and redevelopments within the city, but still attracts many to its historic centre, its racecourse beside the River Dee and lively cultural scene. Chester Reflections features an exciting collection of historic and modern pictures that are individually merged to reveal how the area has changed over the decades. Each of the 180 pictures in this book combines a recent colour view of Chester with the matching sepia archive scene. Through the split-image effect, readers can see how streets, buildings, the docks and everyday life have transformed with the passing of time. Local author Paul Hurley presents this fascinating visual chronicle that ingeniously reflects past and present glimpses of Chester. This book will be of interest to residents, visitors, local historians and all those with links to the area.

As the days of steam ended, other forms of power took over...

Macclesfield is an ancient Cheshire town that stands beneath the sprawling and beautiful Peak District. It is Cheshire's furthest outpost before taking the road into Derbyshire and many years ago entered the Industrial Revolution in a more genteel manner perhaps, by becoming a silk town. Here all manner of silk items were manufactured such as the narrowest ribbons and the best of silks and satins.It is the perfect place to explore Macclesfield Forest and the Cheshire Peak District but the town itself has plenty to offer including the Heritage Centre with its museums and tea room. Paul Hurley has carefully selected modern and old views to paint a nostalgic historical portrait, so enjoy this pictorial tour of the town and see what is here now and compare it to what was here many years ago.

Explores the rich and fascinating history of the City of Chester through an examination of some of its greatest architectural treasures.

As the fifties faded away, sixties style swept Chester into the modern age.

As soon as we set foot in Chester we are taken back to the Middle Ages; time seems to have slipped backwards. Is it a dream? Or are these decorated timber-framed houses, like big doll's houses, actually for ordinary habitation. We look around and see a fairytale city with its castle looking down from a high perch, its beautiful cathedral glowing rosily in sandstone, the most complete medieval monastic complex still standing in this fair country. Then in the same ancient stone the Old Dee Bridge, and what of The Rows that convert the pathways into shadowed corridors, once protecting the Doulton-like ladies' voluminous dresses from the dirt below? The quaint inns have a history drifting back through the centuries. Chester is unique, a city of contrasts and antiquity that have been preserved and improved upon by the likes of architects Penson, Douglas, Lockwood, James Harrison and his namesake Thomas Harrison who took the already beautiful city and, unlike more modern developments, improved upon it. So let us take a tour around the walls and the city inside them to get a taste of what Chester has to offer for those who appreciate beauty, antiquity and history.

A guided tour of Knutsford, showing how this famous port has changed over the past century and more.

The drinking establishments of Saxon Chester are a mystery to us. The nineteenth-century historian Thomas Hughes wrote, 'Anglo-Saxons had their eala-hus [ale house], win-hus [wine house] and cumen-hus [inn]'. We don't know where they could have been located, but we do know that weak beer was the staple drink throughout the land because it was safer to drink than water. Chester has many cosy, historical and picturesque public houses, some that have served the public for hundreds of years. Chester pubs, like those throughout the country are going through a time of radical change. Reinvented for a new generation of patrons, many of the pubs have turned into gastro and themed pubs and bars. Within the pages of the Chester Pubs you will find a mixture of typical pubs from down the ages, some from a long way down, and a few of the newer bars.