The original speaker had to withdraw for health reasons and the ACA is grateful to Shirley Eaton from The Magic Attic in Swadlincote for stepping in at short notice. She gave an informative and witty presentation entitled “Crossing Places 2”. Thirty attendees learnt about the history of public travel from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to the coming of the Canal Age.

Before the Industrial Revolution there were few options for public travel. Most people simply walked to their destinations, or went on horseback. The advent of public travel came with the stagecoach, a dangerous and uncomfortable form of travel in the early days. We then heard about the toll houses and the advent of road building. Pot holes, which we think of as a modern phenomenon, have in fact been a problem since before the Industrial Revolution. According to Shirley, the term ‘pot holes’ may have originated from the early practice of filling holes in the road with shards of pottery from Stoke on Trent!

We hope that Shirley may return at a later date to give us another presentation.