History Magazine
The Codpiece
The codpiece. Originally a modesty flap, it soon became a padded and decorative fashion accessory by which the wearer demonstrated his masculinity. It was, literally, a way of showing that mine is bigger than yours.
Britain’s Blacksmithing Legacy: From Domesday Forges to the Modern Workshop
Before the village pub, there was the village forge. You couldn’t have a working village without one: the smith made the tools that worked the land, the horseshoes that moved people across it, and the nails that held the buildings together. Modern forges keep the tradition and skills alive today.
The Bathing Machine
The brightly coloured little beach huts at the seaside have a rather curious Victorian ancestor: the bathing machine. Designed to preserve modesty and dignity, these little huts on wheels rolled into the sea, giving bathers somewhere to change in private before entering the water.
