Portal:United Kingdom/Did you know/2007

January 2007

...that there are four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Scotland and four more sites currently undergoing a process of evaluation including the iconic Forth Bridge?
...that David Anderson QC claimed that the scandal which ended his career arose from the KGB framing him for having prevented a Soviet invasion of Norway in 1945?
...that the BBC journalist Barbara Plett's admission of having cried at the sight of the terminally ill Yasser Arafat led to a controversy and a widespread discussion about the network's coverage of the Israeli-Palestine conflict?
...that Robert Keyes was related to five of the other Gunpowder Plot conspirators?

February 2007

...that Old St. Paul's Cathedral (pictured) in the City of London had one of the tallest spires in the world at 149 metres (489 feet) and was destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666?
... that in 1916 Charles Leach, the British Liberal Member of Parliament for Colne Valley, became the only MP ever to be disqualified under the Lunacy (Vacating of Seats) Act 1886?
...that the earliest ballads referencing Robin Hood's Merry Men give names to only three members of the group, Little John, Much the Miller's Son, and Will Scarlet?
...that The earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Britain was found at Aveline's Hole one of the Caves of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England?
...that a road in Charlcombe, Somerset, England is closed for two months every spring to allow frogs and toads to cross safely?

March 2007

...that the Loch Arkaig treasure, a large amount of specie provided by Spain to finance the Jacobite rising in Scotland in 1745, is said to be still hidden at Loch Arkaig (pictured) in the Scottish Highlands?
...that Bryan Pearce overcame learning disabilities from congenital phenylketonuria to be recognised as one of the UK's leading naïve artists?
...that the House of Lords declined to hear an appeal from the decision of the Court of Appeal in Aerotel v Telco and Macrossan's Application, concerning the patentability of computer programs in the United Kingdom?
...that Able Seaman Just Nuisance is the only dog to have been officially enlisted in the Royal Navy?
...that the 7th century King Cynegils, the first West Saxon ruler known to have been baptised as a Christian, is called the son of at least three different fathers in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle?

April 2007

...that George Pocock invented a kite-drawn carriage which could outstrip the horse-drawn mail coach?
...that the The Bull Ring is a henge which was built in the late Neolithic period near Dove Holes in Derbyshire?
...that despite being illiterate, Duncan Bàn MacIntyre became one of the most famous Scottish Gaelic poets?
...that British Labour politician Fiona Jones was disqualified from the House of Commons when she was convicted for submitting fraudulent election expense returns, but was later reinstated?

May 2007

...that Charlotte Stuart (pictured) was the illegitimate daughter of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the secret mistress of the Archbishop of Bordeaux?
...that the University of Cambridge denied Edward A. Irving a PhD when he submitted evidence supporting continental drift?
...that Ann Ebsworth was the first female High Court judge to be assigned to the Queen's Bench Division, the previous five having all been assigned to the Family Division?
...that the statue of the Virgin and Child in the porch of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford was cited as evidence in Archbishop Laud's execution trial, and has bullet holes made by Oliver Cromwell's troops?
...that Sir Francis Mitchell was the last British knight of the realm to be publicly degraded?

June 2007

Anstruther Seafront

...that the Anstruther Fish Bar (pictured) in Fife has won the accolade "best fish and chip shop" in Scotland, on three occasions?
...that the 101 female Members of Parliament elected in the United Kingdom in Labour's landslide general election victory in 1997 were popularly known as Blair Babes?
...that British Postmaster General Reginald Bevins's promise in November 1962 to "do something" about the BBC programme That Was The Week That Was was immediately countered by the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan?
...that the Newgate novels of the 19th century were attacked by the press for glamorizing the criminals portrayed in their stories?

July 2007

...that William Leybourn (pictured) wrote the first English language compendium on astronomy?
...that the collapse of the Penmanshiel Tunnel, during engineering work in 1979, killed two workers and severed the main railway line between London and Edinburgh for five months?
...that the architect Hans Price was responsible for the distinctive look of many buildings in Weston-super-Mare during the Victorian era?

August 2007

...that Churche's Mansion, Nantwich, Cheshire, one of the few buildings to survive the Great Fire of 1583, bears a carved salamander (pictured), a traditional protection against fire?
...that today, Ardencaple Castle is used as a navigational aid for shipping on the Firth of Clyde?
...that 24 Royal Marines cadets aged 10 to 13 were killed when a double-decker bus ploughed into their marching column in the 1951 Gillingham bus disaster, making it one of the worst road accidents in British history?

September 2007

...that Orator Hunt's (pictured) presentation of the first petition in support of women's suffrage was received in Parliament with ribald laughter?
...that Holbeach House served as the theatre for the final battle of the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot, in which the conspirators undid themselves after they accidentally detonated their gunpowder store?
...that the Falklands Crisis of 1770 nearly touched off a war between Great Britain and Spain?

October 2007

...that Mary Howitt (pictured) wrote The Spider and the Fly (the poem parodied in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) and 120 other books, and translated Hans Christian Andersen?
...that Hampshire and England cricketer Derek Shackleton took over 100 wickets in 20 consecutive seasons of first-class cricket?
...that British farmer Sir Nigel Strutt, great-nephew of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Lord Rayleigh, was offered a peerage, but, like his great-great-grandfather, Joseph Holden Strutt, declined?
...that English inventor Edward Butler produced an early three-wheeled automobile capable of travelling up to 10 mph, but was prevented from adequately testing it because it exceeded the legislated speed limit of 4 mph at the time?

November 2007

...that visitors to the House of the Binns (pictured) in Scotland can see the table where General Tam Dayell is supposed to have played cards with Satan?
...that Lucas Horenbout was "King's Painter" to Henry VIII and the founder of the English tradition of the portrait miniature, painting Henry and several of his Queens?
...that when English composer Sir Edward Elgar died in 1934, he left more than 130 pages of sketches for a third symphony?

December 2007

...that St Mary's Church in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England, a Grade I listed building, was built in the 16th century and houses a stone cross dating to the 11th century?
...that Christ Church in Macclesfield (pictured) was built by Charles Roe for the Rev. David Simpson, because he had been denied a curacy in another church?
...that William Mainwaring argued that possession of holy scripture might be included as documents liable to incite disaffection if spread among the British armed forces?
...that former Hampshire wicketkeeper Adi Aymes went on to manage football club Fleet Town F.C., and is the fitness coach Havant and Waterlooville?

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Portal:United Kingdom/Did you know/2007

January 2007

February 2007

March 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

July 2007

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

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