Saxton's Map 1577

Another post, another historic map for enthusiasts of local cartography. This time its Saxton's map of Lancashire from 1577. It's interesting to compare this with our previously posted Speed's map of 1610. You can't help thinking that Speed might have gone in for a spot of plagiarism to cut a few corners.

Whatever the case, as always just click on the thumbnail and the full-sized version should, hopefully, open up. Make sure first, of course, that you've got broadband to handle the file size.

For anybody who hasn't upgraded to broadband yet (and, to be honest, it's about time you did because you're missing our excellent slideshows) we've included a smaller version below, detailing only the Fylde and the Wyre. Again, just click on the thumbnail, make yourself a mug of coffee, and wait for the full-sized map to load.

Most Haunted at Mains (Part Two)

Time for a mid-week posting…not something we do very often but we didn’t want to keep everyone on tenterhooks waiting for the second part of ‘Most Haunted at Mains Hall’. Richard Felix’s claims in part one, incidentally, that the lands around Mains were first settled in the eleventh century, might have been a bit on the stingy side, especially considering that, at the gymkhana field next to Old Mains Lane, evidences for a Bronze Age settlement have been unearthed in the form of flint tools, red deer bones and Bronze Age pottery, and that a Romano/British road is known to have crossed ‘Aldwath’ at Point Shard, the cuttings of which are clearly Roman. It seems inconceivable given these facts that Mains itself wasn’t occupied during prehistoric times and throughout the Norse/Saxon period etc. Not that we’re complaining. Richard Felix has apparently been sacked from the ‘Most Haunted’ team now anyway, although probably on personal grounds rather than for his research.
By the way, we’ll be posting as normal on Friday. This is just a ‘bonus’ (if you can call it that)…