How did the English Heralds get their names? Edward III (1312-1377) loved the idea of knightly chivalry, and he created many of the heralds whose ceremonial duties still exist today. You have probably seen heralds take part in state occasions. Edward honoured many of his sons by appointing heralds to their households. The Chester herald is named after on e of the titles of his eldest son, the Black Prince, and...

What happened near the village of Agincourt in 1415?   Edward III of England claimed the throne of France in 1337 and began the conflict known as the Hundred Year War. It started with spectacular victories for Edward and his son, the Black Prince, but these early promises of success were not fulfilled, and the fighting became very spasmodic. When Edward’s great- grandson, Henry V, came to the throne, hostilities were...

What was a Victorian education like? While Britain was the richest country in the world during the reign of Queen  Victoria (1837-1901) there were many people who were very poor and life was hard for them. Many country people went  to live in towns during the nineteenth century because there was work for them in the newly built factories. Housing conditions were often appalling and children were forced to work in...

What did Victorian Children play with? If you keep a sharp lookout, sooner or later you will come across Victorian toys in museums or antique shops. The pictures on these pages will give you some idea of what they are like. Victorian children used to play with beautiful dolls, gaily painted rocking horses, mechanical, toys that were exact replicas of such things as steam trains, correct in every detail, and perhaps,...

What is an Electromagnet? A compass needle will only point north- south if there are no other magnets near it. If there are, the needle will be attracted towards them and will point in a different direction or be deflected. It was discovered that if a compass was held near a wire carrying an electric current, the needle was deflected. But, if the current was switched off the needle swung back...

Where is the Earth’s South Pole? The earth has north and south geographic poles. If we could draw a line between these two poles it would pass through the center of the Earth. It would also lie along the axis about which the earth Rotates. The Earth acts like a giant magnet and so also has north and south magnetic poles. The magnetic poles are not always in the same  place....

How does a compass work? A magnet will always point north- south because it is attracted to the north and south magnetic poles of the earth. This property is used in the compass. A small needle – like magnet with its north and south poles marked is balanced on a pivot. The pivot is placed in the center of a card with all the directions or ‘points of the compass’ marked...

What are the poles of magnet? Two magnets are illustrated above. The one on the left is known as a horseshoe magnet and the one on the right is known as a bar magnet. If some small pieces of iron are put near either of these magnets most of them will cluster around the ends  of the magnet. This means that the magnetic effect is strongest at the ends. These are...