Index of Chapter 11
- Hauntings of Ye Olde London – Part 1
- Hauntings of Ye Olde London – Part 2
- Hauntings of Ye Olde London – Part 3
- Hauntings of Ye Olde London – Part 4
- Witches of Leicester – England from 1420AD
- Royal Mail – from 1516 AD to Present Day
- The Ashes – A Cricketing and Sporting Icon
- Hawk-Eye The Electronic Referee
- British Prime Ministers – First Lord of the Treasury
- Sir Terry Pratchett – Fantasy and Discworld Genius Author
- Tommy Steele – Iconic English Performer
Hauntings of Ye Olde London – Part 1
London is famous for it's history, designers, inventors, fashion and music. Ghosts and Ghoulies are also endemic across London which not a lot of people know about and which I have decided to write about in this article. London is said to be the most haunted City in the world. Below I have listed just some of the spooky hauntings of London.
The Tower of London is haunted by many ghosts and one recorded haunting from the 19th century was from a Crown Jewel keeper E. L. Swifte. He and his family were having dinner in the Martin Tower when his alarmed wife spotted a moving object. Both he and his wife witnessed what looked to be a cylindrical object, resembling that of a lab tube, filled with blue bubbling fluid. Tube or not, the wife claimed it tried to grab her (not sure how a tube with no hands would do that but it gave the wife that impression). The tube seemed to be an apparition as Swifte tried to throw a chair at it but it went straight through it. it then vanished into thin air.
Other famous ghosts are Thomas A. Becket who struck down the Traitor's Gate with a crucifix, witnessed by a priest. People have also seen 12-year-old King Edward V and his 9-year-old brother Richard Duke of York in the Bloody Tower still wearing the white gowns they were imprisoned in. Foggy figures, soldiers, and 16-year-old Lady Jane Grey haunt the battlements of the Tower of London. Whole squads of soldiers have been seen marching the grounds.
Hampton Court is haunted by many ghosts including:
Catherine Howard The best known haunting at Hampton Court is by Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife. Charged with adultery in 1541 and placed under house arrest, she broke free from her guards and ran to her husband to plead for her life. The guards dragged her back and she was executed. To this day, it is claimed, a woman in white can be seen floating down the Haunted Gallery.
• JANE SEYMOUR Henry VIII's third wife, who died in childbirth in 1537, is said to walk through the cobbled courtyard carrying a lighted taper.
• LADY IN GREY Sybill Penn was nurse to Prince Edward, Henry's only son. She died in 1562 and was buried in Hampton Church. When the church was pulled down in 1829 her remains were disturbed and it is said she returned to the rooms she once lived in.
• THE WOLSEY CLOSET The room has a 'strange atmosphere'. A phantom dog has been seen and heard here on more than one occasion.
The Spooky Hauntings of London Underground
- Anne Naylor haunts Farringdon Underground Station. The odd screams that have been heard in this area are attributed to Anne Naylor a thirteen year old girl who was murdered on this site in 1758. She is now referred to as 'the Screaming Spectre'.
- Tapping sounds at the Elephant & Castle Station, Northern Line. Footfalls and rapping have been often heard in the station when it is closed - on investigation, no source can be found. Another story says the last train of the night is haunted by a lone girl who walks from the last carriage to the tip of the train, vanishing as she reaches the engine.
- A Faceless Woman at the Beacontree Station. A station employee working alone heard the door to his office rattle several times. Unnerved, the man began to climb upstairs to find a colleague but felt he was being watched. Turning around, he saw a woman standing there with long blond hair but no face - her features were completely smooth. Talking to his colleague a short time later, the employee discovered that he was not the only person to have seen her.
- Sarah Blackhead haunts Bank Station, Central Line. Possibly the same figure that haunts the Bank of England; in life this poor girl couldn't handle news that her brother had died, and returned daily to his office to meet him. Dressed in black clothing, she is affectionately called 'the Black Nun'. A worker once chased what he thought was an old lady locked in the station during the early hours of the morning, but she vanished down a corridor with no possible exit. In addition, at least one employee has reported something knocking on an empty lift door from the inside, way after normal closing time.
- Rebecca Griffiths hauntsLiverpool Street Station. Once the site of the first Hospital of the Star of Bethlehem, an asylum for the insane, the area was haunted by the screams of Griffiths who was buried without a coin she compulsively held on to when locked away here. She also had the habit of exciting other inmates by peering through their cell windows. More recently there have been reports by underground staff of a man in white overalls on the platforms that can only be seen on CCTV.
- Cries and Screams haunts Bethnal Green Station. A station master working alone in the station office late at night heard the soft sounds of children crying. As time went by, the cries grew louder and were joined by the screams of women. He ran from the office. One hundred and seventy-three people died in the station in a single accident during World War 2, the vast majority being women and children.
- Grinning Man haunts Channelsea Depot, Stratford. A former British Rail employee reported seeing a tall man wearing a cape and top hat standing by a hanger. He had a terrible grin and a mouth full of white teeth, and immediately vanished, leaving the witness very cold and apprehensive. A few months later, in the same area, the witness felt a strong tug at her bag that almost pulled her over; she spun around expecting to see a colleague, but no one was in sight.
- Silhouette haunts King William Tunnel, Under London Bridge (disused underground tunnel). An image taken by a photographer shows what appears to be a silhouetted figure along this tunnel, though no one else was there at the time. A medium called to the location claimed that the ghost was that of a man who died while breaking up a fight.
- Old Woman haunts Aldgate Underground Station. This old woman was seen by an engineer as it stroked his friend's hair, seconds before the co-worker touched a live wire which sent 20,000 volts through his body. Remarkably, he survived. Phantom footfalls have also been reported coming from down the tunnel, abruptly finishing.
- A Distressed Woman haunts King's Cross underground station. A witness spotted a woman in her twenties with long brown hair, wearing jeans and t-shirt. The figure was kneeling at the side of the corridor with her arms outstretched, and appeared distressed and crying. Someone walking in the opposite direction then walked through the woman. The witness said that upon reflection, it was like watching a repeating piece of film.
- Sir Winston Churchill haunts Queensway Station, Northern Line. Witnessed waiting on the platform, Sir Winston Churchill once lived quite close to the station.
- A Steam Train haunts East Finchley to Wellington Sidings underground. This stretch of the Northern Line is reputed to be haunted by a spectral steam engine.
- Boadicea's haunts King's Cross Station, Platform 10 which is the final resting ground of the warrior queen which is reported to be under this busy platform.
- A Rail Worker haunts Tulse Hill Station, platform one. Killed as he walked on the tracks, the worker's footfalls are sometimes heard echoing through the station late at night.
- A Nun haunts London Road Depot (Bakerloo Line). This area is thought to be haunted by a nun who is connected to a nearby Roman Catholic school.
- Many Monks haunt the Jubilee Line, from Westminster to Stratford. Since the construction of the Jubilee Line, reports of phantom monks walking the tracks have begun to emerge. The sightings may be connected to the large number of graves which were disturbed while work was commencing.
- A Woman with a Red Scarf haunts Uxbridge (Greater London) - Ickenham Station. This ghostly figure stands at the end of the platform, close to where she fell and was electrocuted. She sometimes waves to attract attention before vanishing.
- A Tube Traveller haunts the Elephant and Castle Underground Station, Bakerloo line. Seen by both staff and commuters, this young woman enters the train's carriages, but is never seen leaving. Some also allocate the blame on the same entity when invisible footfalls create loud echoing around the station after hours.
- The Sounds of a Steam Train haunts Highgate High Level Station. Started during the Second World War, the station was never finished, though locals sometimes reported the sound of a steam train along where the track was supposed to have been laid. One rational explanation put forward is that the sounds of the trains came from nearby stations which were active until the 1970.
- The Cries of the Trapped haunts Lewisham Station. A crash in 1957, caused partly by fog, killed ninety people and injured over one hundred. It is their cries which can be heard on the anniversary on the accident.
- A Tall Man haunts Vauxhall Underground Line. This seven foot tall man was seen underground several times by diggers working on the line - he wore brown overalls and a cap.
- A Bricked Up Train haunts an Area below Crystal Palace Park. A local legend states that there is a train bricked up under the park, complete with dead passengers and crew - sometimes the hands of the dead reach up from the ground and try to grab the living
- A Reflection haunts the Bakerloo line, Elephant & Castle and other stations along the line. It is reported that occasionally, while travelling northbound, some passengers can see the reflection of someone sitting next to them, even though there is no one in the seat.
- The sound of Slamming Doors haunts Kennington Loop. All passengers disembark at Kennington and the carriages are checked just prior to trains turning in the loop. However, as the train drivers sit waiting in the dark loop tunnel, at least two have reported hearing the connecting carriage doors open and close as if someone is moving from the rear of the train towards the driving compartment.
- A Workman haunts West Brompton tube station. A man dressed in dark, old looking workman's clothing has been spotted early in the morning and late at night. He walks to the end of the platform before disappearing.
- Man with a Tilly Lamp haunts South Island Place, Northern Line, near Stockwell Station. A trainee manager sent to walk the line by himself as part of his training encountered an old man with a tilly lamp working at South Island Place. They exchanged a couple of words in passing. When the trainee reached Stockwell Station and commented that he had seen someone else along the line, a search party was dispatched to find the worker as no maintenance work was scheduled. No one could be found, and the trainee later discovered that the old man had been seen dozens of times over the years, and was believed to be the ghost of a worker killed on the spot during the 1950s.
- An Oppressive Feeling is felt along the Embankment Station - Page's Walk. Staff who walk along the long dark tunnel known as Page's Walk complain of cold winds, doors which open and slam shut, and an oppressive feeling.
- The sound of Footprints haunts Baker's Street to St John's Wood, northbound tunnel. Bill, an underground track walker, sat down for a break while patrolling the line. He reported disembodied footprints which crunched down in the ballast and appeared before him. The footsteps went straight past him and stopped ten metres from his position. When he finished his rounds, one of his colleagues said that other people had also encountered the footsteps, and they belonged to a workman killed in the area.
- A Striding Grey Man haunts Acton Green common, near Turnham Green tube station. This semi transparent entity was observed walking parallel to the railway line, wearing a knee length cape. The dark grey figure vanished when the witness momentarily looked away.
- An Egyptian Princess haunts British Museum Station (which closed 1933). Connected to the 'curse' of the Amen-Ra's tomb, this Egyptian Princess would return from the grave late at night and would wail and scream in the tunnels. A more recent report states that these sounds can now be heard further down the track, in Holborn station.
- William Terriss haunts Covent Garden Station, on the Piccadilly Line. The actor, Mr Terriss was stabbed to death in December 1897 at a nearby theatre. His ghost, tall in stature, has been seen dressed in a grey suit with white gloves, standing on the platform late at night.
- A Displaced Actress haunts Aldwych Underground Station (no longer operational). Built where the Royal Strand Theatre once stood, it is thought the female ghost seen standing on the tracks migrated from the original building to the station shortly after it became operational. She is normally reported by cleaning staff working the night shift.
Hauntings of Ye Olde London – Part 2
London theatres are famous for the ghosts and spirits with many famous actors experiencing the ghosts for themselves. So widespread is the belief in Britain that many theaters in Britain have what is called a 'ghost light' burning on the stage all through the night. In Shakespeare's time it would have been a candle. Now it is a single bare light-bulb and its intended purpose is to keep the ghosts at bay. Below is listed just some of the most haunted Theatres.
The Adelphi Theatre, is haunted by the shade of the great actor William Teriss. He was stabbed to death at the Stage Door in 1897 by a fellow actor. Terriss is supposed to haunt not only the backstage areas of the Adelphi Theatre but also the Lyceum Theatre and Covent Garden Tube Station. Terriss is described as an imposing figure, being tall and wearing a grey suit with white gloves. His murderer was found to be 'insane' and spent the remainder of his life in a mental institution. It is interesting to note that on the day before Terriss was murdered, his understudy related a disturbing dream he had had in which he had seen Terriss lying on the dressing room steps with blood flowing from a gaping wound in his chest.
The Dominion Theatre was built in 1930 on the site of Meux's House Shore Brewery. Over the years, many audience members have reported seeing a brewery worker in the Dominion Theatre. There has also been heard the sound of a child giggling. And as with so many other haunted theaters in London, there is reported poltergeist activity. At least one book suggests that the spirit of Freddie Mercury haunts the Dominion Theatre allegedly because the theatre is the home to the musical,'We Will Rock You'.
The Fortune Theatre is haunted by a woman dressed in black, who is often seen in the hospitality bar and in one of the boxes from where she appears to be watching the play. During the performance of the play,'Woman in Black', one of the actors, Sebastian Harcombe, saw two women to the right of the stage where no living person was in fact standing. At the same time, the leading lady mentioned that she felt that she had been followed onto the stage by someone she couldn't see.
Her Majesty's Theatre was the venue that saw the first performance of 'The Phantom of the Opera' should also be a haunted theatre in its own right. Her Majesty's Theatre was built in 1897 for actor-manager Sir Beerbohm Tree and he made several appearances on its stage. His favourite place in the house from which to watch performances was the top box, stage right and it appears that this is the centre for the manifestations. Occupants of the box complain of cold spots and of the door to the box suddenly opening of its own accord.
If it is Sir Beerbohm who is responsible then he does not seem to restrict his activities to this area. In the 1970's, during a performance of, 'Cause Celebre', the entire cast of the play, which included the actress Glynis Johns, watched as the ghost walked across the theatre at the back of the stalls.
Lyceum Theatre is a haunted theatre with a unique ghost. For sitting in the cheaper seats in the Lyceum Theatre has been seen an elderly woman cradling what appears to be a severed head in her lap. No-one knows the identity of the ghost or indeed the owner of the cranium (if this what it is). It has been suggested that woman might be Madame Marie Tussaud who, in 1802, showed her waxworks in the theatre for the first time, with one of her exhibits. However, why anyone would want to 'stroke' a wax head is beyond me!
The Noel Coward Theatre is one of the more modern haunted theatres, the New Theatre as it was originally called was built in 1903 a few years after the Wyndham Theatre which stands behind it. Sir Charles Wyndham is believed to have been seen walking in the corridors and appearing in the dressing rooms.
The Piccadilly Theatre is haunted by a minor actress called Evelyn Lane, who worked at the Piccadilly Theatre when it first opened. She may not have made much of an impression when alive but she is making up for it now. For it is she who is blamed for the poltergeist activity for which the theatre is known. Her photograph hangs in the theatre offices and when the picture was removed some years ago, the poltergeist became especially violent. Fortunately, someone realised the cause of the problem and when the picture was returned to its accustomed place, everything became quiet again.
The Queen's Theatre is the only one of the haunted theaters to have a gay ghost! Male staff report feeling that they are being watched as they change into their uniforms before a performance. There have also been reports that some of them have felt their bottom pinched by an invisible presence.
The Theatre Royal is haunted by the Man In Grey that ensures the Theatre Royal a place in the list of haunted theaters. The Theatre is the oldest in London and is home to an absolute gaggle of ghosts. There is actor Charles Macklin perhaps he feels remorse for 'accidentally' killing another actor in 1735 during an argument over a wig by stabbing him in the eye with his cane. The clown Joe Grimaldi has also been seen and it is he who it is thought helpfully guides nervous actors to their correct position on the stage. The music hall entertainer and clog-dancer Dan Leno haunts the building. The sound of clog dancing has been heard coming from empty dressing rooms and actors have felt his presence on stage and smelt the distinctive scent of lavender which Dan Leno always wore.
The friendly phantom of actor-manager John Buckstone has been seen many times in the Theatre Royal Haymarket. When shown a picture of John Buskstone witnesses always confirm that that is he whom they saw. As indeed did Dame Judi Dench and Donald Sinden.
Apparently, John Buckstone is still very much attached to his old Dressing Room 1 as that is where he usually manifests. However, he has been observed in other places in the building as well, including the stairwells and once on the stage. Staff backstage have heard him rehearsing his lines although he has not seen there.
Visiting haunted theatres can certainly be a 'hair-raising' experience. At least it be if you go to the Victoria Palace Theatre For there have been many numerous reports of poltergeist activity involving, of all things, wigs. They have been observed flying through the air unaided. The door to the room in which the hair-pieces are kept, opens and closes by itself And it is no use locking it as it unlocks and locks itself apparently without any human assistance. No-one seems to have an explanation for this bizarre paranormal activity.
Hauntings of Ye Olde London – Part 3
London is famous for it's history, designers, inventors, fashion and music. Ghosts and Ghoulies are also endemic across London which not a lot of people know about and which I have decided to write about in this article. London is said to be the most haunted City in the world. Below I have listed Part 3 of just some of the spooky hauntings of London.
The Old Bailey is London's main criminal court. A figure supposedly appears in the building during important trials. These appearances have been allegedly witnessed by judges, barristers and policemen.
Bruce Castle in Tottenham, North London is haunted by the ghost of a woman who allegedly appears every 3 November. The ghost is thought to be Lady Coleraine, who was kept locked up in a chamber within the castle by her husband
50, Berkeley Square is a four-storey brick town house was constructed in 1740. From 1770 to 1827 it was the home of British Prime Minister George Canning commemorated by a plaque on the house today. During the subsequent Victorian era, it was the location of reported apparitions, screams and noises. After the death of its ninety-year-old occupant in 1859, the house was unoccupied until 1880. "It is quite true that there is a house in Berkeley Square (No. 50), said to be haunted, and long unoccupied on that account. There are strange stories about it, into which this deponent cannot enter." - George Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton in Notes and Queries – 1872.
In 1873, the local council sued a new tenant of 50, Berkeley Square called Myers for not paying taxed or rates. He didn't appear in court, but the judge summed up "the house in question is known as a 'haunted house' and has occasioned a good deal of speculation amongst the neighbours."
A writer in 1880 said that Myers had leased the house for his impending marriage and began to furnish the house, when his wife-to-be left him.
"This disappointment is said to have broken his heart and turned his brain. He became morose and solitary, and would never allow a woman to come near him" said the writer.
Myers, to escape society lived in the famous top room of the house and would often walk around the house at night to see what should have been the scene of his happiness bathed in candlelight. His midnight wanderings could have laid the foundations for ghost story.
Hallam also writes that in 1907, ghost author Charles Harper revealed "The secret of the house, according to Mr Stuart Wortley, was that it belonged to Mr Du Pre, of Wilton Park, who shut his lunatic brother in one of attics. The captive was so violent he could only be fed through a hole. His groans and cries could be distinctly heard in the neighbouring houses."
So could it be the nocturnal wanders of a jilted recluse or the insane cries of violent lunatic spurned the stories of a lurking murderous ghost? Or may be the house was damned, haunted by angry ghosts, hell bent on revenge on the living.
Hauntings of Ye Olde London – Part 4
London is famous for it's history, designers, inventors, fashion and music. Ghosts and Ghoulies are also endemic across London which not a lot of people know about and which I have decided to write about in this article. London is said to be the most haunted City in the world. Below I have listed part 4 of just some of the spooky hauntings of London.
Haunted Hotels and Pubs of London
CROOKED BILLET
14-15 Crooked Billet, Wimbledon Village, London.
This property can date back to the early 16th century and is of course reputed to be haunted. It is an Irish ghost that haunts here, a female with most of the activity being limited to the area of the cellar.
THE FLASK
14 Flask Walk, London.
This is supposedly the haunt of a former landlord who can become more fluid in his haunting if changes are made.
THE GATEHOUSE
1 North Road, Highgate, London.
The ghost here is thought to be a woman who was a guest at the old pub called 'Mother Marnes.'
THE GEORGE & VULTURE
63 Pitfield Street, London.
Established in 1600, there are claims that the upstairs is the haunt of a female.
GEORGIAN HOUSE HOTEL
35-39 St. George's Drive, Westminster, London.
Since being extended it is now a much larger property. Several spirits are said to reside here, including those of children.
GORDON'S WINE BAR
47 Villiers Street, Strand, London.
A delivery boy is said to have fallen to his death and still haunts the place.
THE GRANGE BLOOMS HOTEL
7 Montague Street, London.
Haunted by a ghostly chambermaid.
THE GRENADIER
18 Wilton Row, London.
Wisps of smoke have been recorded and photographed.
THE JOHN SNOW
39 Broadwick Street, London.
Apparently the ghostly male spirit with glowing red eyes sits in a corner. It is thought to be a victim of a cholera epidemic. The pub is named after Dr John Snow who discovered that cholera is water-borne, tracing the outbreak to a local water pump.
THE LANGHAM
1c Portland Place, Regent Street, London.
A Victorian gentleman with grey hair, another gentleman in Victorian dress who is said to be more active during the month of October, a German in military uniform, and even Napoleon Bonaparte are said to haunt here. There is one spirit that tips people out of bed.
THE MORPETH ARMS
58 Millbank, London.
The cellar is said to be haunted by a convict who died there. He was probably an escapee hiding out to evade capture, but the reason for his death differs from suicide to natural causes. There are also a couple of animal manifestations in the form of a squirrel and a hare.
OLD BULL & BUSH
North End Way, London.
When renovations took place a skeleton was found behind a bricked up wall. It is now the haunt of a Victorian gentleman. It is also interesting to note that medical implements were found bricked up with the body. This is only speculations but worth thinking about as Victorian London was in the grip of terror by Jack the Ripper. Did the unsuspecting doctor go out on a call, only to be waylaid thinking he was the Ripper! Or is it that the reason why the murders stopped so abruptly!
OLD QUEEN'S HEAD
44 Essex Road, London.
The haunt of a woman and a young girl from the Tudor period, the child often looking sad. Footsteps have been heard and doors frequently open and close of their own accord.
THE OPERA TAVERN
23 Catherine Street, Covent Garden, London.
An actor from the 18th century named Robert Baddely is said to haunt the inn.
ROSE & CROWN
185 Clay Hill, Enfield, Middlesex.
This claims to be one of the many haunts of Dick Turpin. He is said to have used the inn as a place to lie low as his grandfather, Mr Mott was at one time a proprietor.
THE SPANIARDS
Spaniard Road, London.
This is one of the haunts of Dick Turpin and the hoof beats of Black Bess are often said to be heard.
THE VIADUCT TAVERN
126 Newgate Street, Blackfriars & St. Paul's, London.
The cellar is reputed to be haunted. There are two ghosts, one a prostitute and the other named Fred who is blamed for the poltergeist type activity.
THE VOLUNTEER
245-247 Baker Street, London.
The ghost said to be haunting this place is that of Robert Neville. The Neville family home stood on this spot until it was burned down in 1654.
Be warned if you decide to stay at any of these hauntings you may wake up with your hair turned white!!!
Witches of Leicester – England from 1420AD
I thought as Christmas Time is the time for ghostly stories I thought it would be fun to write about the Witches of Leicestershire, England.
Abbot William Sadyngton, OnychomancerWilliam Sadyngton was made Abbot of Leister Abbey on 26th October 1420 and he died in 1442. The Abbot is probably best known for using the occult power of Onychomancy to catch the thief of a silver plate and some coinage. William did not by all accounts have a good relationship with the fourteen Canons he worked with and he accused one of them, Canon Thomas Asty of the theft. Asty refused to confess, so Sadyngton turned to occult means to prove his guilt. In September 1439, whilst at Ingarsby, he polished the thumb nail of a boy called Maurice and whilst he recited a magical incantation the boy stared at the nails surface and told the Abbot what he saw. The boy named Thomas Asty as the culprit, though it is feasible that William had told Maurice what he expected the answer to be. Upon his return to Leicester he accused Asty again, who then sought absolution from the Abbot in the confessional, which Sadyngton refused to give.
The Bilson Boy
In 1620, another English boy, William Perry, accused an old woman, Jane Clark, of bewitching him and causing fits. This time, during the trial, the court was skeptical, most likely because of the results of the Leicester cases. The boy eventually confessed that he, like Smith, faked the fits because he also enjoyed the attention.
Perry didn’t let matters be. Not much later, he repeated the same fraudulent behavior. The Bishop of Lichfield, Thomas Morton, investigated. He saw the boy regurgitate different objects and was ready to concede witchcraft was involved when he saw Perry pass blue urine, but decided that there had to be further tests. A spy was stationed to secretly watch Perry when he was alone in his room. The boy put blue ink in his chamber pot to change the color of his urine.
Perry claimed that the devil caused him to have fits whenever the first words of the Gospel of Saint John were read. The boy didn’t have hysteria when the words were read in Greek, a language he didn’t understand. According to beliefs at that time, if this was the work of the devil via witchcraft, Perry would have comprehended the foreign tongue and acted accordingly.
What caused the phenomena was that a priest taught the boy how to vomit strange objects and other chicanery in order to pretend to be possessed. The priest hoped that by “exorcising” the boy, who was in cahoots with him, he would impress his superiors.
King James I of England held much legal influence of the witch-hunts of the late 1500's. He greatly feared the power of witches. He believed wholly that a storm which threatened to sink his ship and drown both him and his 15-year-old wife, Queen Anne, was summoned by witches. As a result of this belief, the two women 'responsible' were burned at the stake (one still alive at the time).
Although James believed witches were to be destroyed, he did find some court procedures to be conscientiously objectionable. "He ended one of the most dubious forms of condemnation, that of denunciation by children at a time when the courts were prepared to accept any flight of fancy by impressionable children as evidence." This injunction occurred after James took time to investigate two cases involving children. In the first, nine-year-old Jennet Device testified against her eleven-year-old sister and against her mother who were both then hanged in 1582. The second case regarded the young John Smith of Leicester. Smith "feigned fits and the vomiting of pins to frame old women for casting a spell on him. Nine were already hanged on his evidence when James I intervened. At the King's behest, the boy was dispatched to the care of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Within weeks he broke down and confessed." Denunciation by children would no longer be accepted in court.
In his later years, James came to realize that many witchcraft accusations were maliciously falsified.
Regardless, it was James I who authorized the translation of the King James Bible. Under his control, the soon to be oft-quoted Exodus 22:18 was changed from "Thou must not suffer a poisoner to live" to "Thou must not suffer a witch to live."
Royal Mail – from 1516 AD to Present Day
The Royal Mail here in the UK is one of the most iconic British institutions and as such I thought it would be an idea to write about this great icon. The Royal Mail traces its history back to 1516, when Henry VIII established a "Master of the Posts", a post which eventually evolved into the office of the Postmaster General. The Royal Mail service was first made available to the public by Charles I on 31 July 1635, with postage being paid by the recipient, and the General post office (GPO) was officially established by Charles II in 1660.
Between 1719 and 1763, Ralph Allen, Postmaster at bath, signed a series of contracts with the post office to develop and expand Britain's postal network. He organised mail coaches which were provided by both Wilson & Company of London and Williams & Company of Bath. The early Royal mail Coaches were similar to ordinary family coaches but with Post Office Livery.
In December 1839 the first substantial reform started when postage rates were revised by the short-lived Uniform Fourpenny Post. Greater changes took place when the Uniform Penny Post was introduced on 10 January 1840 whereby a single rate for delivery anywhere in Great Britain and Ireland was pre-paid by the sender. A few months later, to certify that postage had been paid on a letter, the sender could affix the first adhesive Postage Stramp, the Penny Black that was available for use from 6 May the same year. Other innovations were the introduction of pre-paid William Mulready designed postal stationary letter sheets and envelopes.
As the United Kingdom was the first country to issue prepaid postage stamps, British stamps are the only stamps that do not bear the name of the country of issue on them.
By the late 19th century, there were between six and twelve mail deliveries per day in London, permitting correspondents to exchange multiple letters within a single day.
Royal Mail - Time Line
- 1516: Royal Mail established by Henry VIII under Master of the Posts.
- 1635: Royal Mail service first made available to the public by Charles I.
- 1654: Oliver Cromwell grants monopoly over service in England to "Office of Postage".
- 1657: Fixed postal rates introduced.
- 1660: General Post Office (GPO) officially established by Charles II.
- 1661: First use of date stamp. First Postmaster General appointed.
- 1784: First Mail coach (between Bristol and London).
- 1793: First uniformed delivery staff. Post Office Investigation Branch formed, the oldest recognised criminal investigations authority in the world.
- 1830: First mail train (on Liverpool and Manchester Railway).
- 1838: Post Office Money order system introduced.
- 1839: Uniform Fourpenny Post introduced.
- 1840: Uniform Penny Post introduced.
- 1840: First adhesive stamp (the Penny Black).
- 1852: First Post Office pillar box erected (in Jersey).
- 1853: First post boxes erected in mainland Britain.
- 1857: First wall boxes installed Shrewsbury and Market Drayton
- 1870: Post Office begins telegraph service.
- 1870: Post Office Act banned sending of `indecent or obscene` literature; introduced the ½d rate for postcards; banned the use of cut-outsfrom postal stationery; introduced the ½d rate for newspapers; provided for the issue of newspaper wrappers.
- 1880: First use of bicycles to deliver mail.
- 1881: Postal order introduced.
- 1882: Army Post Office Corps formed from GPO employees (see British Forces Post Office)
- 1883: Parcel post begins.
- 1894: First picture postcards.
- 1912: Post Office opens national telephone service.
- 1919: First international airmail service developed by Royal Engineers (Postal Section) and Royal Air Force.
- 1941: Airgraph service introduced between UK and Egypt. The service was later extended to: Canada (1941), East Africa (1941), Burma (1942), India (1942), South Africa (1942), Australia (1943), New Zealand (1943) Ceylon (1944) and Italy (1944).
- 1941: Aerogram service introduced.
- 1968: Two-class postal system introduced. National Giro bank opens.
- 1969: General Post Office changes from government department to nationalised industry.
- 1971: Postal services in Great Britain were suspended for two months between January and March as the result of a national postal strike over a pay claim.[19]
- 1974: Postcodes extended over all UK.
- 1981: Telecommunications services split out as British Telecom. Remainder renamed as "Post Office".
- 1986: Separated businesses of delivering letters, delivering parcels and operating post offices.
- 1988: Postal workers hold their first national strike for 17 years after walking out over bonuses being paid to recruit new workers in London and the South East.
- 1989: Royal Mail establishes RoMec (Royal Mail Engineering & Construction) to deliver Facilities Maintenance services to its business. RoMec becomes owned 51% Royal Mail and 49% Haden BML in a joint venture.
- 1990: Girobank sold to the Alliance & Leicester Building Society.
- 1990: Royal Mail Parcels re-branded as Parcelforce.
- 1999: A new business: Royal Mail ViaCode - or ViaCode Limited - was launched. This wholly-owned subsidiary of the Post Office offered online encryption services to businesses, using "digital certificate" technology. The short-lived venture was wound up in 2002.[20]
- 2004: Reduction of deliveries to once daily. Travelling post office ("Mail Trains") end.[21] SmartStamp is introduced.
- 2005: Mail Trains re-introduced on some lines.
- 2006: Royal Mail loses its monopoly when the regulator,[22] PostComm, opens up the Postal Market 3 years ahead of the rest of Europe.[23] Competitors can carry mail, and pass it to Royal Mail for delivery, a service known as Downstream access. Also introduces Pricing in Proportion (PiP) for first and second class inland mail.
- 2006: Online postage allows Royal Mail customers to pay for postage on the web, without the need to buy traditional stamps.
- 2007: Royal Mail Group PLC becomes Royal Mail Group Ltd in a slight change of legal status.
- 2007: Official Industrial Action takes place over pay, conditions and pensions.
- 2007: Sunday collections from pillar boxes end.[24]
- 2009: (September) CWU opens national ballot for industrial action.[25]
- 2010: Bicycles begin to be phased out, 130 years after they were first used.
One of the most competitive sporting traditions is the cricket series of matches between England and Australia which dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in England and Australia. Ask any Australian or Englishman how serious he takes the Ashes and he will reply to have the bragging rights for the two years they hold the ashes is great fun. It is taken seriously enough to be one of the world's most intense sporting rivallry. While growing up in the 1970's and 1980's one of the most memorable sportsman was Sir Ian Botham who from an impossible position helped beat the Aussies in 1981 with the greatest innings in Cricket history.
The series is named after a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, he Sporting Times, in 1882 after a match at The Ovall in which Australia beat England on an English ground for the first time. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. The English media dubbed the next English tour to Australia (1882–83) as the quest to regain The Ashes.
During that tour a small terracotta urn was presented to England captain Ivo Bligh by a group of Melbourne women. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of an item of cricket equipment, possibly a bail, ball or stump. The Dowager Countess of Darnley claimed recently that her mother-in-law, Bligh's wife Florence Morphy, said that they were the remains of a lady's veil.
The urn is erroneously believed by some to be the trophy of the Ashes series, but it has never been formally adopted as such and Bligh always considered it to be a personal gift.
Replicas of the urn are often held aloft by victorious teams as a symbol of their victory in an Ashes series, but the actual urn has never been presented or displayed as a trophy in this way. Whichever side holds the Ashes, the urn normally remains in the Maryleborne Cricket Club Museum at Lord's since being presented to the MCC by Bligh's widow upon his death.
Since the 1998–99 Ashes series, a Waterford Crystal representation of the Ashes urn has been presented to the winners of an Ashes series as the official trophy of that series.
Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues being in opposite hemispheres, the break between series alternates between 18 and 30 months. A series of "The Ashes" comprises five Test matches, two innings per match, under the regular rules for test Match Cricket. If a series is drawn then the country already holding the Ashes retains them.
During the ashes test In 1981, England, despite being 135 for 7, produced a second innings total of 356, Sir Ian Botham scoring 149. Chasing just 130, Australia were sensationally dismissed for 111, Bob Willis taking 8/43. It was the first time since 1894–95 that a team following on had won a Test match. Under Brearley's leadership, England went on to win the next two matches before a drawn final match at The Oval to regain the ashes.
Hawk-Eye The Electronic Referee
As a fan of many sports including tennis, cricket and football and with the recent development of Hawk-Eye to sort out line calls etc. I thought it would be of interest to write about this British invention and how it came about. As a football fan I have hopes that Goal Line technology will eventually be taken up by Football clubs here in England (Hopefully Sepp Blatter will have left FIFA by then).
In a few days time the World Cup hosting city will be decided for 2018 and 2022 and if England are not awarded the hosting of the World Cup in 2018 then the earliest the cup could come to England will be in 2026 – a good 60 years since it was last held in England!!! If this is the case then I think the Premier League should just introduce Goal Line technology and ignore FIFA who are just a bunch of corrupt jumped up plonkers.
Hawk-Eye is a complex computer system used in Cricket, Tennis and other sports to visually track the path of the ball and display a record of its most statistically likely path as a moving image. In some sports, like tennis, it is now part of the adjudication process. It is also used in some instances to predict the future path of a ball in cricket. It was developed by engineers at Roke Manor Research Ltd of Romsey in Hampshire, England, in 2001. A UK patent was submitted by Dr Paul Hawkins and David Sherry. Later, the technology was spun off into a separate company, Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd., as a joint venture with television production company Sunset + Vine.
All Hawk-Eye systems are based on the principles of triangulation using the visual images and timing data provided by at least four high-speed video cameras located at different locations and angles around the area of play. The system rapidly processes the video feeds by a high-speed video processor and ball tracker. A data store contains a predefined model of the playing area and includes data on the rules of the game.
In each frame sent from each camera, the system identifies the group of pixels which corresponds to the image of the ball. It then calculates for each frame the 3D position of the ball by comparing its position on at least two of the physically separate cameras at the same instant in time. A succession of frames builds up a record of the path along which the ball has travelled. It also "predicts" the future flight path of the ball and where it will interact with any of the playing area features already programmed into the database. The system can also interpret these interactions to decide infringements of the rules of the game.
The system generates a graphic image of the ball path and playing area, which means that information can be provided to judges, television viewers or coaching staff in near real time. The pure tracking system is combined with a back end database and archiving capabilities so that it is possible to extract and analyse trends and statistics about individual players, games, ball-to-ball comparisons, etc.
The technology was first used by Channel 4 during a Cricket test match between England and Pakistan on Lord's Cricket Ground on 21 May 2001. It is used primarily by the majority of television networks to track the trajectory of balls in flight. In the winter season of 2008/2009 the ICC trialled a referral system where Hawkeye was used for referring decisions to the third umpire if a team disagreed with an LBW decision. The third umpire was able to look at what the ball actually did up to the point when it hit the batsman, but could not look at the predicted flight of the ball after it hit the batsman.
Its major use in cricket broadcasting is in analysing leg before wicket decisions, where the likely path of the ball can be projected forward, through the batsman's legs, to see if it would have hit the stumps. Consultation of the third umpire, for conventional slow motion or Hawk-Eye, on leg before wicket decisions, is not currently sanctioned in international cricket and doubts remain about its accuracy in cricket.
Due to its real-time coverage of bowling speed, the systems are also used to show delivery patterns of bowler's behaviour such as line and length, or swing/turn information. At the end of an over, all six deliveries are often shown simultaneously to show a bowler's variations, such as slower deliveries, bouncers and leg-cutters. A complete record of a bowler can also be shown over the course of a match.
Batsmen also benefit from the analysis of Hawk-Eye, as a record can be brought up of the deliveries batsmen scored from. These are often shown as a 2-D silhouetted figure of a batter and colour-coded dots of the balls faced by the batsman. Information such as the exact spot where the ball pitches or speed of the ball from the bowler's hand (to gauge batsman reaction time) can also help in post-match analysis.
The system was also officially introduced to Tennis in the 2006 Hopman Cup in Australia. Now it is used in Tennis, it has become much more exciting and nail biting, as in Cricket..
At the World Snooker Championship 2007, the BBC used Hawk-Eye for the first time in its television coverage to show player views, particularly in the incidents of potential snookers. It has also been used to demonstrate intended shots by players when the actual shot has gone awry. It is now used by the BBC at every World Championship, as well as some other major tournaments. The BBC uses the system sporadically, for instance in the 2009 Masters at Wembley the Hawkeye was at most used once or twice per frame. In contrast to tennis, the Hawkeye is never used in snooker to assist referees' decisions.
In the future the hope is that many other sports will take up the Hawk Eye system such as Baseball, Football (Soccer), Rugby, Hockey (Grass and ice versions) and many other sports.
British Prime Ministers – First Lord of the Treasuries
Great Britain is famous for it's history, designers, inventors, fashion and music. It's amazing how many times British Prime Ministers helped in the defeat of dictators like Napoleon and Hitler. I have decided to write about who was Prime minister and when including the First Lord of The Treasury who which was the name and title of the early Prime Ministers.
My favourite PM's are Sir Winston Churchill who led the world to freedom from Hitler's tyranny and Margaret Thatcher who sorted out the militant unions and the Argentine dictator's.
First Lords of the Treasury
Earl of Halifax
From:
13th October 1714
To:
19th May 1715
Whig
Earl of Carlisle
23rd May 1715
10th October 1715
Whig
Robert Walpole
10th October 1715
12th April 1717
Whig
Earl Stanhope
12th April 1717
21st March 1718
Whig
Earl of Sunderland
21st March 1718
4th April 1721
Whig
Sir Robert Walpole
4th April 1721
11th February 1742
Whig
18th Century Prime Ministers, period of office and political party
- Sir Robert Walpole 1721-42 Whig
- Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington 1742-3 Whig
- Henry Pelham 1743-54 Whig
- Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle 1754-6 and 1757-62 Whig
- William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire 1756-7 Whig
- John Stuart, Earl of Bute 1762-3 Tory
- George Grenville 1763-5 Whig
- Charles Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham 1765-6 1782 Whig
- The Earl of Chatham, William Pitt ‘The Elder’ 1766-8 Whig
- Augustus Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton 1768-70 Whig
- Lord North 1770-82 Tory
- William Petty, Earl of Shelburne 1782-3 Whig
- William Bentinck, Duke of Portland 1783 and 1807-9 Whig
- William Pitt ‘The Younger’ 1783-1801 and 1804-6 Tory
- Henry Addington 1801-4 Tory
- William Wyndam Grenville, Lord Grenville 1806-7 Whig
- Spencer Perceval 1809-12 Tory
- Robert Banks Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool 1812-27 Tory
- George Canning 1827 Tory
- Frederick Robinson, Viscount Goderich 1827-8 Tory
- Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington 1828-30 Tory
- Earl Grey 1830-34 Whig
- William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne 1834 and 1835-41 Whig
- Sir Robert Peel 1834-5 and 1841-6 Tory
- Earl Russell 1846-51 1865-6 Liberal
- The Earl of Derby 1852, 1858-9 and 1866-8, Conservative
- Earl of Aberdeen 1852-5 Tory
- Viscount Palmerston 1855-8 and 1859-65 Liberal
- Benjamin Disraeli 1868 and 1874-80 Conservative
- William Ewart Gladstone 1868-74, 1880-85, 1886 and 1892-94 Liberal
- Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury 1885-6, 1886-92 and 1895-1902 Conservative
- The Earl of Rosebery 1894-5 Liberal
- Arthur James Balfour 1902-5 Conservative
- Henry Campbell-Bannerman 1905-8 Liberal
- Herbert Henry Asquith 1908-16 Liberal
- David Lloyd George 1916-22 Liberal
- Andrew Bonar Law 1922-3 Conservative
- Stanley Baldwin 1923, 1924-9, 1935-7 Conservative
- James Ramsay MacDonald 1924 and 1929-35 Labour
- Arthur Neville Chamberlain 1937-40 Conservative
- Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill 1940-5 and 1951-5 Conservative
- Clement Richard Attlee 1945-51 Labour
- Anthony Eden 1955-7 Conservative
- Harold Macmillan 1957-63 Conservative
- Sir Alec Douglas-Home 1963-4 Conservative
- Harold Wilson 1964-70 and 1974-6 Labour
- Edward Heath 1970-4 Conservative
- James Callaghan 1976-9 Labour
- Margaret Thatcher 1979-90 Conservative
- John Major 1990-97 Conservative
- Tony Blair 1997-2007 Labour
- 21st Century Prime Ministers, period of office and political party
- Gordon Brown 2007-2010 Labour
- David Cameron 2010-Present Conservative
During my many years as a born and bred Englishman, one of the most iconic English authors of comic surreal fantasy writing is Sir Terry Pratchett. As a great fan of his books especially his comic Discworld series I thought I would write about the author and list his many fabulous books. Sir Terence David John Pratchett, OBE was born on 28th April 1948 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.
He is more commonly known as Terry Pratchett, an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best-known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels. Terry Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People was published in 1971, and since his first Discworld novel The Colour of Magic was published in 1983, he has written two books a year on average.
In 1987 after finishing the fourth Discworld novel,Mort he began to focus fully on and make his living through writing. His sales increased quickly and many of his books occupied top places on the best-seller list. According to The Times, Pratchett was the top selling and highest earning UK author in 1996. Some of his books have been published by Doubleday and
another by Transworld imprint.
On 31 December 2008 it was announced that Terry Pratchett was to be knighted in the Queen's 2009 New Years Honour's. He formally received the accolade at Buckingham Palace on 18 February 2009. Afterwards he said, "You can't ask a fantasy writer not to want a knighthood. You know, for two pins I'd get myself a horse and a sword."
In late 2009, he did make himself a sword, with the help of his friends. He told a “Time's Higher education” interviewer that "'At the end of last year I made my own sword. I dug out the iron ore from a field about 10 miles away - I was helped by interested friends. We lugged 80 kilos of iron ore, used clay from the garden and straw to make a kiln, and lit the kiln with wildfire by making it with a bow.' Colin Smythe, his long-term friend and agent, donated some pieces of meteoric iron - 'thunderbolt iron has a special place in magic and we put that in the smelt, and I remember when we sawed the iron apart it looked like silver. Everything about it I touched, handled and so forth ... And everything was as it should have been, it seemed to me.'"
Although in the past he has written in the sci-fi and horror genres, Pratchett now focuses almost entirely on fantasy, explaining "it is easier to bend the universe around the story".
List of Terry Pratchett books:
- The Colour of Magic
- The Light fantastic
- Mort
- Sourcery
- Wyrd Sisters
- Pyramids
- Guards! Guards!
- Eric
- Moving Pictures
- Reaper Man
- Witches Abroad
- Small Gods
- Lords and Ladies
- Men At Arms
- Soul Music
- Interesting Times
- Maskerade
- Feet of Clay
- Hogfather
- Jingo
- The Last Continent
- Carpe Jugulum
- The Fifth Elephant
- The Truth
- Thief of Time
- The Last Hero
- The Amazing Maurice and His Educated rodents
- Night Watch
- Wee Free Men
- Monstrous Regiment
- A Hat Full of Sky
- Going Postal
- Thud!
- Wintersmith
- Making Money
- I Shall Wear Midnight. This is the most recent book by Terry Pratchett – launched in September 2010 and is one of his best books.
During the late 1967 as a 6 year old My mother took me, my brother and sister to see Tommy Steele in the film 'Half a Sixpence' and ever since I have been interested in his career.Tommy Steele OBE was (born Thomas William Hicks, on the 17th December 1936 in was the eldest of Elizabeth Ellen and Thomas Walter's four children and was born in Mason Street in the South London suburb of Bermondsey, London). Tommy Steele is widely regarded as Britain's first teen idol and Rock 'n' Roll star.
As he is an English Icon who very rarely appears in the newspapers and deserves to be knighted for his services to the entertainment industry I thought I would write about his life.
He was Evacuated during the Blitz and in 1941 he returned to Bermondsey and attendded
Bacon's School for Boys, leaving as soon as the law allowed at the age of fifteen. He joined the merchant navy for a short time and after that he formed his first band, the Skiffle group"The Cavemen", with Lionel Bart and Mike Pratt. He was discovered by his soon-to-be Manager John Kennedy in September 1956 while singing at the famous Two I's coffee bar in Old Compton Street, Soho, London.
In 1956 he made his film debut and his films include "The Tommy Steele Story" (also known as "Rock Around the World") and featured in many films after that. Among his best remembered rock 'n' roll discs are "Rock With The Cavemen", "Give! Give! Give!", "Teenage Party" (also recorded by The Blue Cats in 1980), "Elevator Rock", Rebel Rock" and Two Eyes".
As Tommy Steele he made his stage debut at Sunderland on the 5th November 1957 and had his first experience of a 'book show' in pantomime at Liverpool in 1957. The following Christmas he played Buttons in Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" at the London Coliseum and since then his career has followed a varied and ever-developing course, embracing almost all areas of the entertainment world.
His major stage musical was "Half a Sixpence" and his one-man show - "An Evening with Tommy Steele" ran for fourteen months at the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1979/80 and is in the Guinness Book of Theatre Facts and Feats as "the longest running one-man show in West End history".
In 1974 he composed and recorded an autobiographical cycle of twelve songs under the title of "My Life, My Song". Another of his talents was shown in the album sleeve for this recording which was illustrated with twelve of his own paintings and these together with other works were shown in a one-man exhibition at the Christopher Wade Gallery. He has also developed a talent as a sculptor and two of his major works are on public display;"Bermondsey Boy" at the Rotherhithe Civic Centre and "Eleanor Rigby" which he gave to the City of Liverpool as a tribute to the Beatles. His talent for writing first manifest as a writer and co-writer of his own television specials which led to the publication of
"Quicy" a story for children, by Heinemann in hardback and Pan/Piccolo in paperback. He also wrote a best-selling novel for adults "The Final Run" published by Collins in hardback and Fontana in paperback.
History Timeline of Music and films by Tommy Steele
Singles:
With the Steelmen
- "Rock With the Caveman" / "Rock Around the Town" -#13 (Decca 1956)
- "Doomsday Rock" / "Elevator Rock" - (Decca 1956)
- “Singing the Blues” / "Rebel Rock" - UK #1 (Decca 1956)
- "Knee Deep in the Blues" / "Teenage Party" - UK #15 (Decca 1957)
- "Butterfingers" / "Cannibal Pot" - UK #8 (Decca 1957)
- "Water, Water" / "A Handful of Songs" - UK #5 (Decca 1957)
- "Shiralee" / "Grandad’s Rock" - UK #11 (Decca 1957)
- "Hey You!" / "Plant a Kiss" - UK #28 (Decca 1957)
- "Happy Guitar" / "Princess" - UK #20 (Decca 1958)
- "Nairobi" / "Neon Sign" - UK #3 (Decca 1958)
- "The Only Man on the Island" / "I Puts the Lightie On" - UK #16 (Decca 1958)
- "It’s All Happening" / "What Do You Do?" - (Decca 1958 )
- "Come On, Let’s Go" / "Put a Ring on Her Finger" - UK #10 (Decca 1958)
- "A Lovely Night" / "Marriage Type Love" - (Decca 1958)
- "Hiawatha" / "The Trial" - (Decca 1959)
- "Tallahassee Lassie" / "Give! Give! Give!" - UK #16 (Decca 1959)
- "Give! Give! Give!" - UK #28 (Decca 1959)
- "You Were Mine" / "Young Ideas" - (Decca 1959)
- "Little White Bull" / "Singing Time" - UK #6 (Decca 1959)
- "What a Mouth (What a North and South)" / "Kookaburra" - UK #5 (Decca 1960)
- "Happy Go Lucky Blues" / "Girl with the Long Black Hair" - (Decca 1960)
- "Must Be Santa" / "Boys and Girls" - UK #40 (Decca 1960)
- "My Big Best Shoes" / "The Dit Dit Song" - (Decca 1961)
- "The Writing on the Wall" / "Drunken Guitar" - UK #30 (Decca 1961)
- "Hit Record" / "What a Little Darling" - (Decca 1962)
- “Where have all the Flowers gone?” / "Butter Wouldn’t Melt in Your Mouth" - (Decca 1963)
- "He’s Got Love" / "Green Eye" - (Decca 1963)
- "Flash Bang Wallop" / "She’s Too Far Above Me" - (Decca 1963)
- "Egg and Chips" / "The Dream Maker" - (Columbia 1963)
- “Half a Sixpence”/ "If the Rain’s Got to Fall" - (RCA 1965)
- "Fortuosity" / "I’m a Brass Band" - (Vista 1967)
- "King’s New Clothes" / "Wonderful Copenhagen" - (Pye 1974)
- "Half a Sixpence" / "If the Rain’s Got to Fall" - (Safari 1984)
- "Singing the Blues" / "Come On, Let’s Go" - (Old Gold 1985)
- Tommy Steele Stage Show-#5 (Decca 1957)
- The Tommy Steele Story- UK #1 (Decca 1957)
- The Duke Wore Jeans (Soundtrack)- UK #1 (Decca 1958)
- The Tommy Steele Story (1957)
- The Duke wore Jeans (1957)
- Tommy the Toreador (1957)
- Light up the Sky 1960) known as Skywatch in the US
- It's All Happening (1963) known as The Dream Maker in the US
- Half a Sixpence (1967)
- the Happiest Millionaire (1967)
- Finian's Rainbow (1968)
- Twelfth Night (1969) (made for TV)
- Where's Jjack? (1969)
- The Yeoman of the Guard (1978)
- Quincy's Quest (1979)
Tommy Steele said: “It was two young men sharing the same love of their music. I swore never to divulge publicly what took place and I regret that it has found some way of getting into the light. I only hope he can forgive me."