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Showing posts from April, 2024

The Old Bull Ring in Preston - Often Passed, but Rarely Seen

Often Passed, but Rarely Seen The Old Bull Ring The old bull ring can be seen in Market Place, Preston. It is in the south west corner of the Market Place. The old bull ring, in the south west corner of the Market Place, Preston. If you walk through Preston's Flag Market, beneath your feet is a little bit of history that generally goes unnoticed.  It may look some kind of bodged job left behind, but it is actually remnants of an iron ring once used for the cruel sport of baiting.  Many towns and villages would have a baiting ring and it was a popular form of entertainment.  A bull, or sometimes even a bear, would have a collar placed around its neck and would then be tethered to a stake or iron ring like this one. The old bull ring can be seen in the south west corner of the Market Place in Preston. Dogs would then be released on the captive animal and attempt to bring it down by grabbing it by the nose, which would bring it to the ground. The struggling, tossing and figh...

My Uncles - An Unusual Name on an Ordnance Survey Map (The Easter Egg)

My Uncles (The Easter Egg) I was going to post this on Easter Monday, when I discovered it.  However, I refrained from doing that, as I thought people might take it for an 'April Fools' post. I have always liked looking at maps from planning bike rides, walks, road trips, holidays, etc. to just looking at them out of sheer curiosity. More recently the Internet opened up even more opportunities with things like freely available satellite images and street views.  It is only a few years ago when someone made me aware of old maps that had been digitised and published online. It's been a real 'virtual' adventure looking at them. Particularly the early Ordnance Survey Maps from 1848 and (around) 1910. The ability to view them and compare them to modern maps and satellite image really helps bring the history to life. So far, I have tended to focus around Lancashire and Preston specifically, being a local and all that.  I thought I had spotted most things of interest alrea...