Folly Books

07/12/2024

KILLED IN A COAL PIT Vol2: LIVES OF THE SOMERSET MINERS by D.P. Lindegaard
For centuries, and up until at least the 1960s, coal mining was a major employer in North Somerset. It was a dangerous occupation and over the course of history hundreds of miners were killed or seriously injured in often quite horrific ways. In every town, village and hamlet families would have at some time suffered loss, and probably financial ruin, through an accident at the pit.
Drawing upon contemporary newspaper reports, official enquiries and a host of other sources, the author has pieced together and recorded the story of every known death in the Somerset coalfield, and it is a sad list that includes many Somerset family surnames still well known in the local area .
Extending to almost 400 pages, D.P Lindegaard’s book is a fantastic resource for local and family history in the East Mendips and North Somerset area.
We have around 100 copies left in stock and will be posting them out via Royal Mail Tracked-48 to ensure they arrive before Christmas. Copies can be purchased from our website here: https://www.bradford-on-avon.org.uk/KIACP2.html

27/11/2024

Today, 27th November 2024, is the 80th anniversary of the Fauld disaster which, at the time and for decades to follow, was therlargest non-nuclear explosion the world had ever seen. Folly Books publication 'The Fauld Disaster' is the definitive account of the event of that day, of the aftermath that followed, and of the RAF ammunition storage and supply policies and planning that led to the construction of the underground depot in Staffordshire and other similar, (and often equally ill-fated), depots elswhere in England and Wales.
The book is illustrated with hundreds of photos of the site under construction, on the day of the explosion taken within hours of the disaster; of the aftermath and partial reconstruction; and of the surprising remains that still survive underground.
Further details of the book and how to obtain it can be found here: https://www.bradford-on-avon.org.uk/faulddisaster.html

A few months ago John Gretch asked me to write-up a small feature on the Fauld Disaster (27 November 1944) for his page 'WW2 Military Buildings'. Well, its taken a while, but here goes..! For much more information, by the way, and for apretty thorough history of RAF bomb storage during WW2, check out http://www.bradford-on-avon.org.uk/faulddisaster.html
A very brief history: The 50-odd acre underground bomb store at Fauld in Staffotrdshire was the largest of five huge underground reserve bomb stores built by the RAF in the 1930s andasalso home to the RAF MAintenance Command Master Provisioning Officer, responsible for supplying all RAF bases with bombs, ammunition and oxyen supplies. Virtually all the underground depots came to grief to some extent during the war, but Fauld's demise was catastrophic.
All went well until November 1944 when, due mainly to negligent handling of a damaged bomb returned to the depot for repair, a large part of the underground depot was destroyed when some 8000 tons of bombsexploded en-masse, taking the top off of the hillside it was built beneath, wiping out a nearby plasterboard works and killing 70 people in the process. It was the largest non-nuclear explosion ever to have occurred and left a crater a quarter of a mile wide and almost 100 feet deep.
It was thought for a long time that the entire underground depot hjad been destroyed, but in 2010 it was discovered that large sections remained intact and that what was left was absolutely spectacular........
Some more details of the story can be found in the photo captions.
The full story can be read in our book: http://www.bradford-on-avon.org.uk/faulddisaster.html
Can we ask that if yo want to buy the book, you get it from our website (although its widely available on Amazon ande) because that way we can afford to produce more equally remarkable books.......

27/11/2024

A few months ago John Gretch asked me to write-up a small feature on the Fauld Disaster (27 November 1944) for his page 'WW2 Military Buildings'. Well, its taken a while, but here goes..! For much more information, by the way, and for apretty thorough history of RAF bomb storage during WW2, check out http://www.bradford-on-avon.org.uk/faulddisaster.html
A very brief history: The 50-odd acre underground bomb store at Fauld in Staffotrdshire was the largest of five huge underground reserve bomb stores built by the RAF in the 1930s andasalso home to the RAF MAintenance Command Master Provisioning Officer, responsible for supplying all RAF bases with bombs, ammunition and oxyen supplies. Virtually all the underground depots came to grief to some extent during the war, but Fauld's demise was catastrophic.
All went well until November 1944 when, due mainly to negligent handling of a damaged bomb returned to the depot for repair, a large part of the underground depot was destroyed when some 8000 tons of bombsexploded en-masse, taking the top off of the hillside it was built beneath, wiping out a nearby plasterboard works and killing 70 people in the process. It was the largest non-nuclear explosion ever to have occurred and left a crater a quarter of a mile wide and almost 100 feet deep.
It was thought for a long time that the entire underground depot hjad been destroyed, but in 2010 it was discovered that large sections remained intact and that what was left was absolutely spectacular........
Some more details of the story can be found in the photo captions.
The full story can be read in our book: http://www.bradford-on-avon.org.uk/faulddisaster.html
Can we ask that if yo want to buy the book, you get it from our website (although its widely available on Amazon ande) because that way we can afford to produce more equally remarkable books.......

07/11/2024

04/11/2024

FOLLY BOOKS, based in Monkton Farleigh, publish a number of beautifully illustrated books about the secret subterranian world of Corsham.... and here's the first: 'SECRET UNDERGROUND CORSHAM' . This book tells the entire story of what lies 100-feet below the fields and buildings of Corsham, from the early Victorian stone quarries, through their adaptation during the Second World War into the largest underground ammunition depot and the largest underground factory in the world, through to the Cold War when one of the quarries was home to the Central Government Emergency War Headquarters, which would have been the alternative seat of government in the event of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

We've sold over 3,000 copies of this book, so virtually everyone in Corsham probably has a copy... but if you haven't, it will make a great Christmas present!.... it is an absorbing read and terrific value, and you can buy it here: https://www.bradford-on-avon.org.uk/Corsham.html

09/07/2024

A few random photos of Monkton Farleigh Mine, taken over a period of about 50 years (plus a smallnumber of wartime archive shots). I started arranging the album in chronological order but it soon became too unweildy, so in the comments for each image I've put the date of the photo.

Basically, they cover six periods:

First group of visits-1967
Second Group of visits -1973/4
Third visit -1984
Under our ownership 1985-1990
After it was abandoned - 1991
Operated by RESTORE 2010

09/07/2024

Lovely new arrival today... MSWJR enamel running-in board from Marlborough. Not sure whether to give it a permanent home in the Big Shed, or put it on posts in the garden... if I can find a vacant 12-foot space.....