Incredible experience to see the Exeter Book up close. I was genuinely starstruck. Written c. 970 and believed to be the oldest surviving book of English literature in the world! At the Treasures Exhibition at Exeter Cathedral. I highly recommend this! @exetercathedral.bsky.social

The perils of church crawling. Very sad to see a memorial in this state.

A very early mineral railway - part of the Liskeard and Caradon line. I think this section dates to 1846. Original stone block sleepers are from the nearby Cheesewring quarry. They were cheaper than wood but sometimes sank into the ground after heavy rain, which buckled the tracks.

This postcard from the 1925-26 New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition shows the Grand Court. As was often the case with big exhibitions, the buildings were designed to be temporary. Most of what you see here are sports fields today - including one of NZ's best test cricket venues. 📸 My Collection.

Today, it's exactly one hundred years since the opening ceremony of the New Zealand & South Seas International Exhibition in Dunedin. To celebrate, I'm sharing some images from an original copy of the ceremony's official souvenir programme. My Collection.

Something special to share. I’ve been up to my old tricks again – scanning, restoring, and researching a collection of over 600 Edwardian-era glass slides that were found in an attic. I've connected them to Birmingham schoolmaster and amateur photographer Charles Francis Hayward.

'Remember, remember the 5th of November!' 🔥 These are thought to be the earliest photographs of a bonfire. These photographs were taken in 1853 by John Dillwyn Llewelyn at Penllergare in Swansea 📷 museum.wales/articles/972... #Wales #BonfireNight #History

The mile-long carriage drive to Pencarrow House goes smack through the middle of an Iron Age Hillfort. Luminaries that rattled through here on their carriages include Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Sullivan, and, apparently, Lord Byron. #HillfortsWednesday

Finally made it to one of those Titanic exhibitions where you are given a boarding pass with the name of someone who was onboard. I can’t wait to get to the end and find out if they survived or not…

I can't do it again. I can't let myself get excited about an upcoming historical drama, not after the disappointments that were Napoleon and King & Conqueror. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q3W...

The Battle of Hastings was fought on this day in 1066. I enjoyed walking the battlefield earlier this year and imagining the battle unfold. I'm not usually a big fan of audio guides, but I really enjoyed their walkthrough, and the life-sized sculptures add to the atmosphere.

I enjoyed attending the open day at the archaeological dig at Castilly Henge, Cornwall. Late Neolithic. What a neat experience to see a dig like this underway and hear from some of the experts.

My favourite doorway in Cornwall! The Norman west door of St Germans Priory. Nothing short of exceptional. Finally got to visit today.

A couple of friends I made on the weekend. On the banks of the Bristol Avon, Wiltshire. I feel the internet needs to meet them too.

One of the most interesting Roman sites I've visited. Dorchester is home to the only fully exposed Roman Town House in Britain. Wonderful to see the surviving mosaics and imagine each room in use. Built 307 AD, with an extension added in 341 AD. Complete with hypocaust underfloor heating.

This is a book for the wish list. Back in NZ, I enjoyed Charlotte MacDonald's talk about British soldiers on the Otago goldfields.

Half-Moon Battery, Pendennis. I've explored quite a few WW2 coastal fortifications, including some of my fav spots in NZ, but this is the best preserved example I've seen. Camo paint, a pair of 1946 6-inch guns, and lots of little details like the hooks used to hang helmets, gas masks, etc.

A highlight for me at Pendennis Castle was learning that the wooden portcullis is original! Made from oak that tree-ring analysis indicates was likely felled in 1541.

A bucket lister experience for me today - attending a jousting tournament! An exciting day out at Pendennis Castle. This is what my childhood was missing. So much fun.

Believed to be the only known surviving pelt from a native British bear. Early Bronze Age. Found in a cist burial on Dartmoor in 2011. On display at The Box, Plymouth.

Gargoyle at St Guron's Holy Well, Bodmin. One of a pair of gargoyles that have lived here since 1545. They are good friends of mine.

Up on the moor, where the stones have faces. Staring towards the tors and stone circles, and the rain gods beyond.

Life finds a way

Thoroughly enjoyed the popup exhibition about St Paul’s Watch - the brave men and women who risked their lives during the war to save the cathedral.

I love this installation. Only learned about the lost hill figures of Plymouth Hoe thanks to this. Written records of the 'giants' go back to the 15th century, but they were believed destroyed when the citadel was built over them late 17th century.

The control tower at RAF Davidstow Moor, Britain's highest wartime airfield. Opened October 1942. Aircraft from here raided the U-Boat base at St Nazaire, supported the Normandy landings, and conducted vital anti-submarine and search and rescue missions during the Battle of the Atlantic. #SWW

Enjoyed touring the visiting Nao Victoria at Plymouth. A replica of the first ship to successfully circumnavigate the globe.

I love it up on the moor, you never know what monument or ruin you'll stumble on next - remnants of the ancient past and the forgotten people who once lived here. People who in many ways were much like us.

Our #PopularItem is C18th-19th Sun Fire Office policy registers! Fire was a real threat to property so many took out insurance against it. They weren't just insuring buildings either, here's a 1793 policy for Gilbert Pidcock who has insured a rhino. Yes, you read that correctly... 🦏 📖 #archives30

Remembering my great great uncle Thomas Gillanders, killed in action 110 years ago on 25 April 1915, during the landing at Gallipoli while serving with the 16th Waikato Company, Auckland Battalion.

Easter pilgrimage to one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain - St Piran’s Oratory, Perranporth is believed to have been erected in the seventh century. Once claimed by the dunes the ruin now sits within protective walls

On the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, we thought we'd answer a question that's often asked, "If they raised the Mary Rose, why not raise the Titanic?" Allow our scaled diagram to explain...

"I am pretty busy tonight packing up as we are going over to France tomorrow and I will write the very first chance I get" - John First World War postcard, possibly sent by a Kiwi. The New Zealand Rifle Brigade was stationed for a while at Brocton Camp, Cannock Chase. My Collection. #FWW

Very sad to hear the news that Kajsamoor has deteriorated beyond repair.

"We just went into action at Ypres before I left. The town is only brick dust now. Ted" #FWW postcard. My Collection.

A late-medieval carved bench end featuring Reynard the Fox preaching to a congregation of geese, at least one of which he intends to eat for dinner. Half a millennium later, the message feels as relevant as ever. St Petroc's church, Padstow.

Here's a short series of patriotic postcards from the South African War, sent from the UK to New Zealand. I bought these from an antique shop when I was a teenager. This card highlights the contributions of colonial units, including the Royal Canadian Artillery and the New South Wales Lancers.

These kind of memories re a national event often appear in Victorian autobiographers' recollections of their childhoods. (And peace celebrations v commonly recalled) I find it really interesting for what it says about assumptions re children and the public sphere

Went on a Titanic pilgrimage this afternoon, visiting the Duke of Cornwall Hotel in Plymouth, where twenty stewardesses from the Titanic spent their first night ashore back in England after returning from the United States.

This lovely photograph shows the USS Princeton. I suspect from other images in the album this came from that this photograph was taken in Sydney, Australia, late 1912. Sure enough, that looks to coincide with a visit by the United States gunboat. My Collection.

Remains of 300-year-old sailor to be buried www.bbc.com/news/article...

Edwardian postcard of the British Museum, London. Sent to New Zealand in October 1905. My Collection.

A beautiful postcard of Raglan Castle, Monmouthshire. I understand why preservation trumped romanticism, but I do sometimes wish that I could go back in time to visit castles when they were still draped in ivy. This postcard was sent just over 120 years ago, on 14 February 1905. My Collection

A postcard of the 'Nudge Nudge Wink Wink' variety, not dated but I'm guessing from either during or slightly before the First World War. That bench looks a little crowded. My Collection.

Enjoying using the UK 1921 census to help me connect some dots. A useful research resource!

Count Felix Von Luckners SMS Seeadler, by Christopher Rave (1881 - 1933). One of my fav maritime paintings. I managed to snag this print a while ago, signed by Von Luckner himself. He was at the helm during one of the last chapters of the age of sail. My Collection. #FWW #MaritimeHistory

Driving down a poplar-lined road near Christchurch, New Zealand. April, 1933. My Collection. #FoundPhoto

Censored #FWW postcard. Google reverse image search reveals this shows Pont-de-Nieppe, Armentieres. Message on reverse "This picture is the place it was once, but today it's in ruins, most of people left, there is a few people with their shops open, that is what is left of them.." My Collection

The Kajsamoor sitting on the mud at Charlestown, Cornwall, while the lockgate is repaired. Built in Norway in 1939, it's said that the German Navy requisitioned her during the war and used her for training recruits. #SWW #History #Cornwall #TallShips

#FWW Censorship. The blackened out 'Ypres' is visible. Not sure what they gained from attempting to censor this, the fact that Allied forces were fighting at Ypres would hardly have been news to the Germans, or to those at home and that splatter of ink ain't hiding nothing! My Collection