Dr Ian Friel
LightNews LightNews
banner
drianfriel.bsky.social
Dr Ian Friel
@drianfriel.bsky.social
270 followers 320 following 280 posts
Independent historian, FSA and FRHistS, specialising in maritime, local and house history, based in UK. Author of five books on maritime history, multiple research papers and house histories. www.ianfriel.co.uk Rep: @donaldwin.bsky.social
Posts Replies Media Videos
drianfriel.bsky.social
Glad to help! The bases probably looked a bit like these wrought-iron (15th cent) Venetian examples, or those from the #MaryRose. The word 'foist' came from the Italian 'fusta' (light galley), which had apparently come into English by 1485.
Two wrought-iron swivel gun barrels, mounted on reconstructed stocks. They have been dated to the 15th century, and were found in the Lagoon at Venice. The handle on the nearest gun is attached to the detachable breech chamber, which contained the powder charge. Guns like these normally fired stone or lead roundshot, or sometimes mixtures of metal fragments and stone, and were intended for use against the crews of enemy ships. The shot was loaded at the back of the barrel, before the breech chamber was put in place and secured with a rope binding.
November 12, 2025 at 8:03 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
I like this photo, so thought I would post it. This visitor arrived in our back garden in Chichester in April 2024. A peregrine falcon, I think, but happy to be corrected (nesting peregrines have taken up residence in the tower of #Chichester Cathedral every year for the last 20 years+).
A ?peregrine falcon standing at the edge of a garden pond, with a small solar-powered fountain behind.
November 10, 2025 at 10:47 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Roman merchant vessel and oared warship on the Danube, from Trajan's Column in Rome (113 AD), which commemorated his Dacian Wars. The detail is incredible: regarding #maritimehistory interestingly, I don't recall seeing any vessels in this riverine campaign being shown with sails. #ReliefWednesday
A Roman merchant ship unloading (lefthand side) at a town quay and a bireme warship (right; bireme = two banks of oars). Soldier are shown unloading rope-bound packages from the merchant vessel, with the ?Emperor Trajan and a group other senior figures standing on the right.
October 29, 2025 at 9:57 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Thinking of wind powered ships, I've got a book called 'Something New in Model Boat Building' (publ 1945-50, I think) by D H Matheson with illus by Bernard Richardson. Among the conventional ship-type models are instructions for building a rotor ship, based on the principles developed in the 1920s!
The image shows a model ship with three rotors, which rotate int he wind and cause the vessel to move. The first rotor ship was designed and built in the mid-1920s by the German engineer Anton Flettner. Though it did not catch on then, the idea has been revived in recent decades as shipbuilders explore ways of propelling vessels that lower their carbon footprint.
October 29, 2025 at 1:03 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Working through some medieval manorial accounts for my maritime history book: every year the places were spending money on cart repairs - they seem to break or wear out regularly. #medievalsky @themerl.bsky.social can anyone suggest good recent works on road vehicles in medieval Britain, please?
A photo taken c 1906 in southern England, showing a boy with a horse and two-wheeled cart.
October 29, 2025 at 11:19 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Photo taken in East Street, Chichester (UK) just after sunset yesterday: shows the Cathedral spire, clock on the 1501 Market Cross (purple dot!) and the late 14th/early 15th cent Cathedral bell tower beyond. The red sky promised good weather today: it lied - the rain is tipping down this morning.
A view taken just after sunset in East Street (Chichester) looking west, with a deep red sky. The row of buildings on the left of there photo mostly date from the 18th century. The Market Cross, its clock dial illuminated with a purple glow, was built in 1501. It stands and the meeting-point of the four main streets of medieval Chichester - East, South, West and North Streets, which radiate in from the former positions of the Roman and medieval city gates.
October 29, 2025 at 10:57 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Another part of the western end of Hadrian's Wall - Bowness-on-Solway fort. Ph: portions of a W gate guard chamber & a piece of the W wall, dug by @lancasteruni.bsky.social archaeologists & students in December 1973. First excavation I ever took part in- freezing, gloomy, wet weather. It was great!
Black and white photo of an archaeological excavation of the western side of the Roman fort at Bowness-on-Solway, Cumbria. Part of the northern guard chamber of the west gate is shown (left), with a section of the fort's wall at right angles to it.
October 27, 2025 at 1:05 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Is this a cat that thinks it's a jug, or a jug with feline aspirations? (and no, before anyone asks, her head did not get stuck in the jug).
A tortoiseshell cat standing on a windowsill, with its head in a blue jug.
October 23, 2025 at 9:56 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Very much enjoyed my visit to the Nautical Archaeology Society's Heritage Open Days event at Gosport, about studying the remains of MMS 113, a wooden WW2 minesweeper. The vessel was taken apart for its upper timbers (1950s?), but what is left is good for training students in surveying wrecksites.
September 14, 2025 at 3:01 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Absolute cloudburst in Chichester at the moment! Still, the plants will like it...
A back garden and furniture in heavy rain, photographed through glass. The fuzzy patches on the image are caused by rain on the glass.
July 31, 2025 at 1:51 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Amongst other things, I'm currently working on a #househistory in E Sussex. Most of the key sources are at the wonderful 'The Keep' at Falmer, home of the E Sussex Record Office. Rail journey involves a change at Brighton, & I never fail to be impressed by the station's magnificent 1882 canopy!
July 31, 2025 at 11:42 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
HMS Hind was built at Itchenor on #ChichesterHarbour, W Sussex, one of 4 warships constructed in the 1740s by Chitty & Vernon. Nothing of the yard is now visible, but it lay between the house & yachts. It was used intermittently until early 1800s & in 1780s built 2 huge Eastindiamen #MaritimeHistory
The site of Chitty and Vernon's former 1740s shipyard at Itchenor on Chichester Harbour. Nothing of the yard is now visible, but it lay between the house on the left and the laid-up yachts in the distance. The yard had at least two launching slips.
July 23, 2025 at 9:46 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
We went out for a bike ride south of Chichester (UK) this afternoon in brilliant sunshine. Then...

Still drying out!
July 6, 2025 at 5:28 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
I went to the Rotary charity dragon boat race on the Chichester Canal yesterday - great event and lots of excitement. It was also fascinating two truly ancient types of boat technology in use - paddles and a steering oar! #MaritimeHistory
A dragon boat in the race on Chichester Canal 22 June 2025. The dragon boat, based on a. Chinese design, has a red and green dragon figurehead. A drummer sits near the prow, beating a drum to enable the pairs of paddlers to keep time. The steerswoman stands at the stern, holding the steering oar. A dragon boat steerswoman and steering oar. The oar has a handle like that of an old-fashioned shovel. It is held in place between two metal uprights by rope or rubber strops. The long, straight blade of the steering oar is partially visible.
June 23, 2025 at 10:46 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Just posting a beautiful sight for a Monday - the sky at Chichester about half an hour before sunset on the longest day.
The setting sun and clouds over Chichester (UK) at about 8.50pm on Saturday 21 June 2025. Rays of sunlight can be seen projecting through the clouds.
June 23, 2025 at 10:31 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Really enjoyed giving a talk about my historical research for the 13th-century Mortar Wreck project with Tom Cousins of @buarchanth.bsky.social speaking about the extraordinary archaeological finds at the @antiquaries.bsky.social last evening! #maritimehistory #medievalhistory #MedievalSky
The lecture room in the Society of Antiquaries at Burlington House, London, showing speaker, lectern and the projection screen. The image behind 'The Maritime World of the Mortar Wreck' title slide shows a 13th/14th century graffito of a one-masted ship carved on a pillar in the church of St Mary the Virgin, Hayling Island, Hampshire UK. Photo courtesy of Tom Cousins. 13th/14th century graffito of a one-masted ship carved on a pillar in the church of St Mary the Virgin, Hayling Island, Hampshire UK. The ship has a curved bow and straight stern, with a bowsprit projecting from the bow (with a flagstaff and triangular flag at its tip) and a crenellated aftercastle at the stern. The standing rigging, the ropes that support the mast, are shown in some detail, along 2with some other rigging, and the sail is furled against the yard. A cable goes from the bow to an (off-camera) anchor. The graffito may well have had a votive purpose, drawn in the church to give thanks for a safe voyage, or to ask for protection in an upcoming journey.
June 20, 2025 at 9:46 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Francis Drake commanded the fleet that fought the Spanish Armada. No! The English fleet was led by Lord High Admiral Charles Howard: Drake was a vice-admiral. At one point he even disobeyed an order to tail the Armada through the night & sailed off to capture a damaged (& lucrative) Spanish ship!
Full-size plaster model of Sir Francis Drake by Sir Joseph Boehm (1834-1890) made for reference use in his studio - it came from the moulds used to make the bronze sculptures of Drake at Tavistock and on Plymouth Hoe. This imposing work is displayed in Drake's former home, Buckland Abbey in Devon.
June 18, 2025 at 11:51 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
West Sussex (UK) has been my home for over 30 years, and as it's #SussexDay, it's a chance to celebrate both West and East Sussex. Photos show some of the remarkable more-than-lifesize sculptures in the beautiful garden of the sculptor Philip Jackson near Midhurst, West Sussex.
A sculpture by Philip Jackson of a female figure in a long dress, wearing a tricorn hat and blowing a brass trumpet. A sculpture group by Philip Jackson, with the figures of a pope and cardinals. The hands of the pope are made of brass. These figures are about 2.5 metres tall.
June 16, 2025 at 4:43 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Went for a walk around Heyshott Common, W Sussex (UK), yesterday- got slightly lost & spotted a building amid the trees. It turned out to be a WW2 pillbox, obviously built before the tree grew up around it!
The top of a low building amid trees, see across a bed of ferns. One side of the building, a Second World War pillbox, built before the trees grew up around it. The Pillbox has multiple firing slits, and was accessed by a doorway at the back. The back of the Heyshott Common pillbox. It was built of brick, with a concrete roof that was evidently reinforced with sections of steel rail taken from an old train line (two rails protrude from under the roof). The pillbox was almost certainly manned by the local Home Guard detachment, a part-time military organisation made up of civilians, better known perhaps nowadays as 'Dad's Army' (after the popular 1960s/70s TV series).
June 2, 2025 at 1:13 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
New dig in Chichester's (UK) Priory Park- see BBC link. Park is in the NE corner of the Roman city: was the site of a Norman castle & 13th-cent Franciscan friary. Its chancel became the town's Guildhall in 1541. Poet William Blake was tried for sedition there in 1804!
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
An aerial view from 2011, taken from the north, showing Priory Park, Chichester, annotated to show some of its historic features. The Park is bounded on two sides by the city wall, which was originally built by the Romans, and the boundaries on the other sides are believed to follow the line of the defensive around the bailey, the outer area of the late 11th-century Norman castle. The much-reduced stump of the motte, the mound on which the castle's tower or keep sat, still survives. The castle was destroyed on royal orders in c 1217 after a brief French invasion. The site was given to the Franciscans in 1269 and their priory was completed c 1282. It was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538 and in 1541 the surviving chancel of the Franciscan church was given to the city, and became the Guildhall, or town hall. The Guildhall was also used as a courthouse: in 1588, four Jesuits were tried here and condemned to death. The same thing happened to the notorious Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers in 1749. William Blake was tried here in 1804 on a trumped-up charge of sedition, but fortunately acquitted.
May 21, 2025 at 3:46 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Hope you're feeling better soon! In the meantime, here is a piece of (W) Sussex coastline with history- the shifting channel at Pagham Harbour mouth, spring 2021. Photo: rare surviving section of Admiralty Obstacle Z1- WW2 beach defence, probably long buried in shingle, that re-emerged for a time.
A rare articulated section of Admiralty Obstacle Z1, previously buried in shingle, that emerged in the shifting channel at the mouth of Pagham Harbour, West Sussex (UK) in spring 2021. Made from commercial scaffolding, they stood on the surface of a beach and were intended to delay or obstruct tanks in the event of a German invasion during the Second World War. Many hundreds of miles of Z1 structures were built on the south and east coasts of England, but most were dismantled after the war. Surviving articulated sections are very uncommon.
May 18, 2025 at 11:55 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Just wanted to thank everyone for their good wishes for my election as a FRHistS!
Image of a heart from an 18th-century child's alphabet, with the word written above.
May 17, 2025 at 1:21 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Delighted & honoured to hear that I have been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society! @royalhistsoc.org @donaldwin.bsky.social @ospreypublishing.bsky.social Image: the c 1300 town seal of Dover. It depicts a ship about to get under sail & reflects some of my work in #MaritimeHistory.
A red wax impression of the town seal of Dover, c 1300. It shows a ship about to get under way: the bow is to the left, the stern to the right. Inside the hull, two men stand in front of the mast, working the bars of a windlass in order to raise the anchor. The steersman is near the stern, his hands on the large side rudder, while above him a sailor is climbing up the standing rigging behind the mast to unloose the sail. The ship has three crenellated defensive structures - the forecastle at the bow, the aftercastle at the stern and a small topcastle near the head of the mast. Dover is one of the Cinque Ports and a flag hangs from a staff in the aftercastle, bearing the arms of the Cinque Ports - the front halves of three lions, each with a back that consists of the stern of a medieval ship. There is also a streamer or vane at the head of the mast, blowing left, which would have revealed the wind direction. Two trumpeters stand in the forecastle, their trumpets evidently announcing the ship's imminent departure.
May 16, 2025 at 3:05 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
This year there seems to be a group of sparrows in our garden - maybe 6 young, after years of barely seeing a single sparrow around our house. Two years ago (photo) we had 2 successive broods of robins from a nest in the shed. The adult in the image was apparently encouraging the chick to fly.
An adult robin and a chick standing on a piece of timber by a garden wall.
May 15, 2025 at 1:08 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Bosham, West Sussex, UK. Fascinating Holy Trinity church, linked to the story of the Norman Conquest: Bosham was a port for the powerful family of Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king, killed at Hastings in 1066. Top section of the tower dates to c1080-1110 - lower parts are late Anglo-Saxon.
Bosham from the south, with the tower and spire of Holy Trinity to the right and the late-18th century quay and warehouse (small building with red roof) to the left, standing on the Bosham Channel, which leads to the main channel to Chichester Harbour and the sea. The tower of Holy Trinity from the west. Built in sections, each marked by a line of stones, the top section dates to c 1080-1110, when the manor was in the hands of William I (the Conqueror) and his successors William II and Henry I. The Norman kings may well have kept the manor in their hands as it was a good port of departure for voyages to Normandy. The lower sections of the tower are Anglo-Saxon, probably built by the powerful Godwinson family. Harold Godwinson is said to have sailed from here in 1064 on a voyage during which he was shipwrecked in Normandy. Taken in by Duke William of Normandy, he is said to have been conned into swearing in the presence of hidden holy relics that he would support William's claim to the English throne when the then-King Edward the Confessor died. The story is mired in Norman propaganda, and as a result it (and Bosham Church) feature on the Bayeux Tapestry. According to the Norman story, when Harold took the throne for himself in 1066, this gave William a legitimate reason to invade - leading to the Norman Conquest of England. The spire at the top of the tower here is much later - built with timber built from trees felled in 1405/1406. c 1080-1110 window in the top storey of the tower of Holy Trinity, Bosham. Scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry reproduced on the altar cloth of Holy Trinity, Bosham.
May 12, 2025 at 10:51 AM