On this day in 1620 the Mayflower Compact was signed aboard the eponymous ship. The Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony and was written by the male passengers of the voyage, consisting of separatist Puritans, adventurers and tradesmen.

The Mayflower was originally bound for the Colony of Virginia but storms forced it to seek anchor at the hook of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Owning to a lack of provisions it was considered unwise to continue and that a colony should be established there. Because they would not be settling in the agreed-upon Virginia territory this inspired some of the non-Puritan passengers to proclaim that they "would use their own liberty; for none had power to command them". To prevent this, the Pilgrims determined to establish their own government, while still affirming their allegiance to the Crown of England. Thus, the Mayflower Compact was created, forming a social contract in which the settlers consented to follow the community's rules for the sake of order and survival. Historian Nathaniel Philbrick has argued that this  provided “the basis for a secular government in America”.
 
The original document has long been lost, but three slightly different versions printed later in the 17th century still exist. A modern version of the wording goes as follows:
 
"IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience. IN WITNESS whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini; 1620."

Forty-one of the Mayflower’s 101 passengers signed the document. This was done on the 11th November under the Old Style Julian calendar, since England did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752. The Gregorian date would be November 21st.
 
Next year is the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage with many events planned to commemorate the event.  So… who wants to guess what our big build of 2020 will be?
 
These scenes were both built by James Pegrum; find out more by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

On this day in 1819, 60,000 to 80,000 people gathered on  St. Peter's Field in Manchester to demand the reform of parliamentary representation. Constituency boundaries had failed to keep pace with the profound effects of industrialisation, with the burgeoning cities bereft of representation, while so-called rotten boroughs, which returned MP’s form just a handful of voters, held a disproportionate sway over government. In the wake of the Napoleonic Wars, high unemployment, depressed wages and famine, exacerbated by the punishing effects of the Corn Laws, had resulted in a strong desire among the working classes for change.

Previously planned meetings had been banned by local magistrate, who feared rioting or even a full insurrection; the events of the French Revolution and its aftermath were still fresh in the memory of the ruling classes. The meeting on the 16th of August was therefore held with the declared aim “to consider the propriety of adopting the most LEGAL and EFFECTUAL means of obtaining a reform in the Common House of Parliament“.

Among others, the crowd was there to hear the radical speaker Henry Hunt. However, no sooner had Hunt arrived at the hustings, constables assisted by the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry pushed through the crowd to arrest him; the charge would be sedition. The day had already seen its first casualty when 2-year old William Fildes was knocked from his mother’s arms by a galloping rider as he raced to catch his fellow Yeomanry on their way to the field. Now, having carried out the arrest, the inexperienced and possibly drunk riders of the Yeomanry began destroying the banners and flags of the hustings before turning on those in the crowd. In the ensuing melee, the Yeomanry began striking indiscriminately at the crowd with their sabres and trampling them with their horses. Hemmed into the field by its narrow exists as well as the bayonets of 88th Regiment of Foot, who blocked the main thoroughfares, the crowd was unable to disperse effectively.

As a result 18 people would lose their lives and a further 400-700 injured. The massacre was given the name Peterloo in an ironic comparison to the Battle of Waterloo, which had taken place four years earlier. Historian Robert Poole has called the Massacre one of the defining moments of its age. In its own time, the London and national papers shared the horror felt in the Manchester region, but Peterloo's immediate effect was to cause the government to crack down on reform, not embrace it. It would not be until the Great Reform Act of 1832 that Manchester would be able to elect MPs of its own.

Furthermore, in a partnership with the Age of Revolution and The University of Kent, the authors and publishers have created a free twenty-page schools’ version of the graphic novel specially adapted for teachers wishing to explore the events in the classroom. Its aim is to help students to understand the event, and to identify links and symbols that bridge periods and topics. It will provoke insights into the nature of political protest in British history, its representation in art, and its relevance to the world today. Find out more and download the schools' version at:

www.ageofrevolution.org/the-peterloo-graphic-novel-available-free-to-schools-now

Our model, which will depict the massacre and the local landmarks that existed in 1819, will go on display at the Great Western Brick Show in Swindon on the 5th and 6th October. Find out more and buy tickets at:

www.steam-museum.org.uk/events

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On this day in 1547 one of England's most intriguing monarchs, Henry VIII, died. At the time of Henry birth on June 28th 1491, he was second in line to the throne. This changed in 1502 with the death of his older brother, Arthur aged 15. Within seven years of his brother's death, his father Henry VII died and  so the younger Henry became king, being crowned on  24th June 1509. 

His reign has gone down in history for many reasons.  One of the foremost was his six wives and the resulting split from the Roman Catholic church, which was a consequence of his divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.  The cause for so many wives was his drive to secure the Tudor line, which at this time required a son.  His first two marriages did not provide him with a male heir.  At the time of his death, he had three successors, Edward, Mary and Elizabeth, all of who would successively take the throne.  His successors were to have varying relationships with the Roman Catholic church, which was to have a significant consequence in national and international politics for years to come.  During his reign, his split from Rome and lead nationally to the dissolution of the monasteries and played its part in his international wars.

As a King, he was known for military achievements (and causalities, such as the loss of the Mary Rose) and his athleticism.  It was during one of his sporting activities that his physical decline began following an accident in a jousting tournament in 1536, where he reopened a wound in his leg.  

It took some ten years for this wound to cause his health to deteriorate to the point where it was life threatening and in August 1546 his youthful vigour was noticeable deserting him.  As his health became a concern, his stools and sputum were regularly examined.  Furthermore, the doctors at that time believed that the letting of his blood, in accordance with the waxing and waning of the moon could save him.  Between August and December, the privy chamber spent increased amounts on his medical treatment to no avail.

It was treason to predict the king’s death, though it was obviously imminent by January 1547, and so Henry’s doctors did not summon the courage to break the news to the King.   This was not surprising as Henry had ordered numerous executions during his reign (some estimates give as a high an estimate as 72,000), including two of his wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. As the month wore on and his health declined, he took Holy Communion and gave his confessions on the 27th.  It is also likely that during the evening of the same day he finalised his will, which was witnessed by eleven people (possibly including the ever-present lutenist, Patrec) and in doing so laid the way for Edward his son to become the next monarch, securing the future of the Church of England, for the time being at least.

In his room, Henry lay dying, the aroma of the air was heavy, oppressive, with grey amber and musk, smothering the stench of physical decay along with the shadowy gloom created by the window tapestries.  With it being the depth of winter, they would have been drawn tightly, keeping the damp out.  A great wood fire, continually fed, would have provided him with warmth whilst eliminating all ‘evil vapours’, whilst giving off a stifling fug.   It is also possible that the king would have continued to have been attended with potions and plasters by his doctors, in vain, whilst they knew death was inevitable before the rising of another sun.  Lying, dying he was not alone, as the death of a monarch during this period was a public affair.    

In his last hours it was also crucial that Henry had time to prepare his soul and he we was aided by Sir Anthony Denny who warned his master that ‘in man’s judgement, he was not likely to live’ and that he should remember his sins, ‘as becometh every good Christian man to do’.  In response, Henry said that he believed that Christ in all His mercy would ‘pardon me all my sins, yea, though they were greater than can be’.  He later that evening of the 27th asked for Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, who rode at breakneck speed from Croydon, to be with the king.  With Cranmer by his side, the archbishop begged the king to give a sign that he trusted Christ for salvation.  In response, Cranmer felt the grip on his hand tighten slightly. And so at around 2 a.m., King Henry VIII left this world.

This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on British history. Follow us on  Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first.

Octavia Hill was an English social reformer whose main concern was the welfare of the inhabitants of Britain's cities, especially London. Born on December 3rd 1838 she would become one of the 19th centuries most active philanthropists, perhaps most importantly establishing a more enlightened approach to the provision and management of housing for working people, an approach on which most modern housing associations find their model.

Octavia was the daughter of James Hill, corn merchant, banker and follower of Owenism. The family's comfortably prosperous life was disrupted by James' financial problems and his subsequent mental collapse. In 1840 he was declared bankrupt.

The family settled in a small cottage in Finchley, now a north London suburb, but then a village. Octavia Hill was impressed and moved by Henry Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor, a book that portrayed the daily lives of slum dwellers. She was also strongly influenced by the theologian, Anglican priest and social reformer F. D. Maurice, who was a family friend.

A co-operative guild providing employment for 'distressed gentlewomen' accepted Hill for training in glass-painting when she was 13. When the work of the guild was expanded to provide work in toy-making for 'ragged school children', she was invited, at the age of 14, to take charge of the workroom. She was deeply aware of the dreadful living conditions of the children in her charge at the guild.

Since the early 1830s some members of Parliament and other social reformers had been attempting to improve the condition of housing for the working poor. From Hill's point of view most attempts had failed the poorest members of the working class, the unskilled labourers. She found that their landlords routinely ignored their obligations towards their tenants, and that the tenants were too ignorant and oppressed to better themselves. She tried to find new homes for her charges, but there was a severe shortage of available property, and Hill decided that her only solution was to become a landlord herself.

In 1853 Hill began working for John Ruskin as a copyist and being impressed with her work and drive, in 1865 he acquired for £750 the leases of three cottages of six rooms each in Paradise Place, Marylebone. Ruskin placed these houses, which were "in a dreadful state of dirt and neglect", under Hill's management. He told her that investors might be attracted to such schemes if a 5% annual return could be secured. In 1866 Ruskin acquired the freehold of five more houses for Hill to manage in Freshwater Place, Marylebone. Once the houses were repaired and improved they were let to those on intermittent and low incomes. The 5% annual was achieved and any excess was invested back into the properties. In consequence of her prudent management, Hill was able to attract new backers, and by 1874 she had 15 housing schemes with around 3,000 tenants.

In 1886 Hill founded the Horace Street Trust, which became the model for many subsequent housing associations, and has since developed into the present-day Octavia Housing association.

in 1889 Hill formed the first independent Cadet Battalion in London, a concept which rapidly spread, becoming the modern Army Cadets, with around 40,000 members today. She felt strongly that the military context would socialise urban youths struggling for direction.

Another of Hill's concerns was the availability of open spaces for poor people. She campaigned against development on existing suburban woodlands and helped to save London's Hampstead Heath and Parliament Hill Fields from being built on. In 1896 she was one of the three founders of the National Trust, set up to preserve places of historic interest or natural beauty for the enjoyment of the British public.

She died on August 13th 1912 in Marylebone.

These scenes were built by James Pegrum as part of our model London 1875: Capital of an Empire. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see all of our models first.

On this day in 1939, Operation Pied Piper, which aimed to evacuate people, especially children, out of Britain’s cities, began. The Operation’s aim was to move people away from areas most at risk from aerial bombing into more rural, less industrialised areas that were less likely to be targets.

In total over 3.5 million people were moved, although the initial aim had been to evacuate more. There was enormous variation in the level evacuated between cities, with only 15% of children evacuated from some Ares, which over 60% were evacuated from Manchester, Belfast and Liverpool.

Many children went to Devon, Cornwall and Wales. Other children moved to villages in the North, East Anglia and Scotland. A smaller number of children (perhaps 10,000) went to other countries such as Canada, Australia and the United States. Evacuees went to live with host families, in what were called billets. Evacuees and their hosts were often astonished to see how each other lived. Some evacuees flourished in their new surroundings. Others endured a miserable time away from home.

By the end of 1939, when the widely expected bombing raids on cities had failed to materialise, many parents whose children had been evacuated in September decided to bring them home again and by January 1940 almost half of the evacuees returned home. However, following the German invasion of France in May-June 1940 the Lufftwaffe was able to increase attacks on Britain and so the period known as the Blitz instigated another period of evacuation. Nevertheless, the evacuation was still voluntary and many children remained in the cities. A further late wave of evacuation began in June 1944, pushed by the introduction of the German V-weapon, which was launched against cities in the east and south-east of England.

For some children, the end of the war brought an end to a prolonged period of fear, confusion and separation. For others, it brought considerable upheaval as they returned to cities and families they barely remembered.

​This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on British important events and people in British history. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first.

On this day in 793, Vikings raided the Anglo-Saxon monastery on Lindisfarne heralding the beginning of the Viking age.

This model is available to rent and if you're interested in renting it then please get in touch via one our many forms of contact. We're a friendly helpful bunch so don't be shy.

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Edward the Elder (c. 874 – 17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from October 26th 899 until his death on July 17th 924. He was crowned on June 8th 900 in Kingston upon Thames. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith.

Shortly after Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æthelwold, who had a strong claim as the son of Alfred's elder brother and predecessor, Æthelred, from who Alfred had inherited the throne of Wessex. Æthelwold seized the royal estates of Wimborne, symbolically important as the place where his father was buried, and Christchurch, both in Dorset. Edward responded by moving an arm, to the nearby Iron Age hillfort at Badbury Rings and Æthelwold thus paving the way for Edward’s coronation at Kingston upon Thames on June 8th 900.

In 901, Æthelwold came with a fleet to Essex, and the following year he persuaded the East Anglian Danes to invade English Mercia and northern Wessex, where his army looted and then returned home. He was eventually met in battle at the Battle of the Holme, where he was killed, despite his Danish allies carrying the day. Thus ended Æthelwold's threat to Edward's throne

In 910 a Mercian and West Saxon army inflicted a decisive defeat on an invading Northumbrian army, ending the threat from the northern Vikings. In the next few years, he and his sister Æthelflæd, who had succeeded as Lady of the Mercians, conquered Viking-ruled southern England and by the end of the 910s only Northumbria remained under Viking rule.

In 924 Edward faced successfully quashed a Mercian and Welsh revolt at Chester, but died shortly after at Farndon in Cheshire on July 17th 924. He was succeeded by his eldest son Æthelstan.

Edward's eponym the Elder was first used in the 10th century in Wulfstan's Life of St Æthelwold, to distinguish him from the later King Edward the Martyr. His legacy is now generally regarded as successfully destroying the power of the Vikings in southern England, and laying the foundations for a south-centred united English kingdom.

​This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on British history. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first.

On June 4th 1913, the suffragette Emily Davison was killed when she was struck by Geroge V's  horse at the Epsom Derby.

Since 1906 Emily had been a member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), which had been formed in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst. The Union felt strongly that militant and confrontational tactics were needed in order to achieve women's suffrage (the right for women to vote). During here activism, Emily was arrested nine times, went on hunger strike seven times and was force fed forty-nine times.

On 4 June Davison obtained two flags bearing the suffragette colours of violet, white and green from the WSPU offices. She then travelled by train to Epsom, Surrey, to attend the Derby, where she positioned herself at Tattenham Corner, the final bend before the home straight.

At this point in the race, with some of the horses having passed her, she ducked under the guard rail and ran onto the course; she may have held in her hands one of the suffragette flags. She reached up to the reins of Anmer—King George V's horse, ridden by Herbert Jones—and was hit by the animal, which would have been travelling at around 35 miles (56 km) per hour, Anmer fell in the collision and partly rolled over his jockey, Herbert Jones, who had his foot momentarily caught in the stirrup. The event was captured on three news cameras.

Those watching tried unsuccessfully to revive both Davison and Jones, they were carried off by ambulances to Epsom Cottage Hospital. Emily was operated on 2 days later but died on the 8th June from a fracture at the base of her skull. She received hate mail during here time there. 

Quiet why Emily Davison attended the derby at Epsom is unknown. Theories have been suggested, including that she intended to cross the track, believing that all horses had passed; that she wanted to pull down the King's horse; that she was trying to attach one of the WSPU flags to a horse; or that she intended to throw herself in front of one of the horses.

The contemporary news media were largely unsympathetic and many publications questioned her sanity and characterised her actions as suicidal. The WSPU were quick to describe her as a martyr, part of a campaign to identify her as such. On June 14th 1913 Davison's body was transported from Epsom to London; her coffin was inscribed "Fight on. God will give the victory." Five thousand women formed a procession, followed by hundreds of male supporters,

Davison's death marked a culmination and a turning point of the militant suffragette campaign. The First World War broke out the following year and so campaigning more or less came to a halt as attention turned to the war effort. However, support for the suffragettes grew and in 1918 The Representation of the People Act was passed. The Act allowed women over the age of 30 who could pass property qualifications, to vote.n 1928 the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act extended the vote to women over 21 to put them on equal terms with male voters.

​This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on British important events and people in British history. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first.

On this day in 1944, the improved Colossus Mark 2 started working just in time for the Normandy Landings on D-Day.

The Colossus was the world's first electronic digital computer that was at all programmable. It was designed by Tommy Flowers at Bletchley Park, England to solve a problem posed by a mathematician, Max Newman. In December 1943 the prototype, Colossus Mark 1, was shown to work.  The computers were used by British code breakers, giving the Allies valuable intelligence obtained from reading many encrypted high-level telegraphic messages between the German High Command and their army commands.

By the end of the Second World War, there were ten Colossus computers in use.

​This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on British history. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to see them first.

Æthelred II, more commonly known as the Unready, was king of England from 978 to 1013 and again from 1014 to 1016. He didn’t gain the ‘Unready’ part of his name until some 150 years after his death, so it is no indication of how he was seen at the time. Furthermore, it does not derive from the modern word ‘unredy’, but in fact comes from the Old English word ‘unræd’, which means poorly advised. This is an attempt at humour, because ‘Æthelred’ means ‘well advised’.

Æthelred came to the throne on the 18th March 978 when his older stepbrother, Edward the Martyr was assassinated. There was speculation that the plot to kill Edward was led my Æthelred mother and though there is no evidence to support this allegation, following Æthelred ascension to the throne, no one was punished for a part in the crime. Thus, Æthelred’s reign began in an atmosphere of suspicion which badly affected the prestige of the crown.
 
England had experienced a period of peace after the reconquest of the Danelaw in the mid-10th century by Æthelred's father, King Edgar the Peaceful. However, early in Æthelred reign Danish Vikings began raiding the English coast, with Hampshire, Thanet and Cheshire attacked in 980, Devon and Cornwall in 981, Dorset in 982 and Devon in 988. In August 991 things became more serious when a sizeable Danish fleet began a sustained campaign in the south-east of England. Things truly came to ahead when the Danes and English met at The Battle of Maldon, resulting in a crushing defeat upon the English. Following the battle Æthelred decided that the English should grant the tribute to the Danes that they desired, and so a gafol of £10,000 was paid them for their peace. This does not seem to have worked however and the Danes continued to raid and an inconclusive battle was fought near London. Another treaty was signed with a tribute of that £22,000 of gold and silver paid for peace. These payments would become known as Danegeld.
 
Yet, this treaty was little more than a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ with the leader of the raiders, Olaf Tryggvason, who subsequently entered the employ of the English crown as a mercenary. In 997 the Danes returned under different leadership. The Danes harried England until 1000, when it left for Normandy. In their absence, Æthelred attempted to reinforce his military position. He also invaded the British kingdom of Strathclyde, the motive for which is unknown. The Danes returned in 1001, ravaged west Sussex. And were only subdued with a payment of £24,000 in the Spring of 1002.

On November 13th 1002, St Brice's Day, Æthelred ordered the massacre of all Danish men in England to take place. Among the dead were Gunhilde, sister of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark. Probably in response, Sweyn invaded England. The English put up a stiff resistance and although the Danes were able to harry much of England, they returned to Denmark in 1005. An expedition the following year was bought off in early 1007 by tribute money of £36,000, and for the next two years England was free from attack. Conflict returned in 1009 when a Danish army under Thorkell the Tall and his brother Hemming invaded and harried England until 1012, when it was bought off by a sum of by £48,000.

In 1013 Sweyn launched an invasion with the ultimate aim of gaining the English crown. Sweeping aside any opposition he conquered the country within the year and Æthelred and his family, including the future kings Edmund and Edward, were forced into exile in Normandy. Sweyn was however unable to enjoy his victory for long, dying on February 3rd 1014 and while the Danes threw in the support for Sweyn’s son, Cnut, the English sent a deputation to Normandy to negotiate Æthelred’s restoration to the throne.

Æthelred returned to England with an army and found support for him still existed in England. Cnut and his army decided to withdraw from England, in April 1014, but would return in 1016 to find a complex and volatile situation unfolding in England. Æthelred's son, Edmund Ironside, had revolted against his father and established himself in the Danelaw. Over the next few months Cnut conquered most of England, and on 23rd April 1016 Æthelred died, leaving Edmund as the sole opposition to the Danes.

These scenes was built by James Pegrum and Dan Harris as part of a series of models on the Kings and Queens of England and British history in general. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first.