Mumsnet Talk

It gives me a huge kick that I can look out of my window and see a line of trees where the main road is that Henry VIII travelled along on the way back to London from his Progress of the North with Katharine Howard.

Actually given that it's a main road there have probably been all sorts of significant people travelling along it, but that's my favourite.

What things happened, or famous historical people have been, near where you live?

The Witchfinder General lived here, and is reputed to be buried in the churchyard where I used to keep my ponies.
We had a Civil War encampment nearby.
The village where I grew up belonged to the manor of Walter Tyrell, who killed William Rufus in the New Forest, and later came a royal deer park. People from my village were put in the Tower of London for poaching the kings deer.

The Berlin Wall ran along 100 metres from our house.

There used to be big roman settlements in my area, they recently done a dig and found all sorts of Roman stuff.

If we are talking wider area, Colchester (our town) is Britains oldest recorded market town. We have Anglo Saxon settlements, the Romans were here, Boadicea razed the town to the ground, William the Conquerer built the castle, King John laid siege to it, we were a Royalist stronghold in the civil war, the Parliamentarians laid seige to us, Humpty Dumpty is based on a civil war cannon sited on a church tower, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was written here and we were top of the Russians nuclear hit list in the Cold War. Our town is absolutely packed with history. Sadly, nowadays, it's history is pretty much all it has going for it.

In the very living room, in the spot where I am now sitting, a perfect little baby was born 6 months ago.

lots of film studios were here once upon a time, not so many now! also a bomb landed here during the blitz, was on this site

26 children were killed in a pit disaster. It led to Lord Shaftesbury changing the law about children working down the pits.

Nearest train station was one of the main ones for deportation of Jews to Auschwitz

henry viii blockhouse opposite my house

<outs self>

I live near the Pale line around Dublin. Inside the Pale was civilised and subject to English rule, outside was considered lawless and barbaric (especially if you were English). It's the origin of the expression 'beyond the pale'. As it happens I go beyond the Pale several times most days as I live inside it and the DC's school is outside it.

The first passenger train journey in the world set off from this town!

Recent history, this town has produced several of the UK's most infamous murders. Moors murderers, Dr. Shipman and mostly recently the two Female PC's.

In 1923 the Flying Scotsmsn crashed into the back of a gods train in the fog.

Beside the main church is a weighty black cannon with a plaque saying 'Captured at Sevastopol 1865', which I (Bill Bryson) thought was a remarkable piece of initiative on the part of the locals - it's not every day, after all, that you find a Nottinghamshire market town storming a Crimean redoubt and bringing home booty.

Not much happens here

Not sure what a gods train is!! A goods train, if you please!!!

The planet Uranus was discovered from here.

The Industrial Revolution started here!

William Withering discovered that foxgloves (digitalis) could be used for certain heart problems.

Apparently I live in an "ancient market town". I also live near Colchester, Britain's oldest recorded town. Oh and John Constable painted stuff near where I live as well.

I've just found out, according to Wikipedia, that there is a Danish King buried in our churchyard.

Where I married DH was where John George Haigh was taken to be remanded in custody after his arrest. The cell door is now in the local museum.

Gandhi is reputed to have stayed in the house next door but one when he visited the cotton mills in the north of England.

Lots of famous performers have lived around here like Les Dawson, Dick Emery, Joseph Locke (the tenor) and George Formby. Oh, and Russell Grant used to live just up the road, I always met him in the Post Office and he was lovely, very friendly and chatty.

The country's very first bit of motorway was built here (my dad was one of several who drove down it before it officially opened.

The Temperance movement stated here. I was brought up in a v old house that was once a village pub and during temperance the landowner turned it into a temperance inn - I have a fantastic photo on the wall of it at that time.

Same as Catpuss, as im a colchester girl too, although id disagree that history was all it has going for it. I <3 the place.

I live in a tiny,tiny place,so not much of note.A robber baron and his gang lived here in the 1340's and killed a local nobleman among their other crimes.The church in the next village is the only one in the country with a lifesize statue of a man on horseback inside.Edward met Mrs Simpson just up the road.The nearest town was world famous for hunting [and still is] and Lord Cardigan had a hunting box there.My grandad and great grandad used to hunt with the old King here.

Charles I described where I live as "a private sweet village where Squire Grosvenor lives".

there is an armarda post which is on the east coast.. it marks the furthest point in land that the Spanish armarda managed to reach on land..
Oliver Cromwell stationed his troops in the old farm house opposite me which is noted in the doomsday book.. (I live in a 1930's house! so not as grand sadly)

I grew up in a village a few miles from Stamford Bridge, where Harold did battle with the Norwegians. He then marched his troops along the main road passing the village to go do battle with William.

Anne Boleyn's family owned land and property near where I live. Don't think she ever came here though.
It's mentioned a lot in The Other Boleyn Girl!

I live near the Bridgewater Canal & lots of industrial revolution stuff which I think is bloody fascinating. Love days out at Styal Mill.

The church that Queen Elizabeth I described as "the fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England" is just down the road from us. Um, we were part of the slave triangle, Isambard Kingdom Brunel had a lot to do here and we can see his bridge from our house ... Civil War was quite a thang round these parts too and we are quite well known for our rioting.

A woman who lived in the old house that stood on this site was tried and hung as a witch in the 1640's.

There is a big mansion up the road where lots of ETA prisoners were tortured to death in the early 80s:-(

General Franco's summer residence is just up the road.

Very recent history, and not British, but still!

The Norman Conquest.

Do I win?

Lots and llots of Romans.
Oh and a very famous golf tournament a few years ago.

Bunbaker Was that the Huskar Colliery disaster?

That's quite local to me, too.

We live in a tiny little village but it's got the most beautiful little Saxon church. We live quite close to a major Roman centre so quite a lot going on there. I still kick myself that until a few years ago I lived not to far from part of Hadrian's wall and I never got around to making a trip to see it.

The last British battle on English soil took place about 10 miles away. We are in the middle of Monmouth rebellion country.

I live in Inner London so there is Famous History at every turn. I am a very spoilt Zebra in that respect.