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Karen Averby 🌊

@karenaverby.bsky.social

4.3K followers 1.2K following 7.7K posts

karenaverby.co.uk Buildings Historian/Consultant Seaside Heritage, House History, Hotels, Architecture, Local History, Archaeology, Other Delights Director ArchangelHeritage.co.uk FRHistS ACIfA Extreme Seagazer/ex-Archivist Rep Past Preservers Brum/London

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Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 1d

OH WE DO LIKE TO STROLL ALONG THE PROM< PROM, PROM!
I'll be giving this ONLINE talk on seafront buildings, 23 Oct 2pm- a jolly post-lunch slice of seafront buildings your ancestors may have encountered & enjoyed in years past.
#LocalHistory #FamilyHistory #Architecture #SeasideHistory #UKCoast

The Story of Britain’s Seafront Buildings

Talk on Zoom by Karen Averby, a seaside-loving historian, heritage research consultant and former archivist.

portal.sog.org.uk

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Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 2h

Hurrah That Friend! It is a desirable condiment that deserves more love... 😀

Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 2h

I never knew this! Mind you, the Archaeology modules I did at Aber in the '90s were undoubtedly far removed from anything he introduced back then...

Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 2h

They really don't. Hhhm, wonder when that happened? I have seen some Chinese food recipes that call for white pepper though!

Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 2h

That would be a somewhat miserable condiment-based mishap 🤔

Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 2h

Good job I like pepper! It would probably have to be white pepper though...

Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 2h

It is! I want one!

Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 2h

Ooh, fab- have just registered for this!

Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 2h

For #FindsFriday- Rather lovely mid-20th century tourist salt and pepper shaker, Llandudno Museum & Art Gallery. Perfect for fish 'n' chips!
llandudnomuseum.co.uk/20th-century...

#SeasideHistory #Wales #Llandudno #20thCentury

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Reposted by Karen Averby 🌊

Simon Briercliffe @simonbriercliffe.bsky.social · 7h

I have a set of hand-drawn comics/gossip sheets/newspapers donated alongside our aluminium foundry at @bclivingmuseum.bsky.social, dating from (I think) late 1940s. Does anyone know any lit that will help me explore this as a source? I've found work on company mags but this is very different.

Excerpt from handwritten zine-style text entitled "Burglar's editorial"

Hand-drawn comic panel showing workman thumping a desk and shouting "I demand shorter hours" - the caption reads, "whadoya want then = fifty nine minutes"

Hand-drawn caricature of Ernest Bevin, reading "Bevin says - even Russians read this paper"

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Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 3h

Waiting...

Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 4h

I did! Really encouraging- will be in the ADSUK/ SHN talk for sure :)

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Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 4h

This looks great! Pop to #Ilfracombe Museum to see their exhibition on The Holiday Industry, featuring 1870s VR experience of the glamorous luxury Ilfracombe Hotel! Plus how The Holiday Trade influenced the town www.ilfracombemuseum.co.uk#iLightbox[ga... #SeasideHistory #LocalHistory #Devon #UKCoast

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Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 6h

I cover this sort of thing in my upcoming talk on seafronts :)

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Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 6h

It's something I ponder every time I see a building that would have been an anomaly at the time- What did the local community make of it all..especially seafronts- such wildly dramatic changes!

Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 1d

The Story of Britain’s Seafront Buildings

Talk on Zoom by Karen Averby, a seaside-loving historian, heritage research consultant and former archivist.

portal.sog.org.uk

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Reposted by Karen Averby 🌊

C20 Society @c20society.bsky.social · 1d

Happy 60th Birthday to the BT Tower!

Built 1961-65 to the designs of Eric Bedford, Chief Architect at the Ministry of Public Works, the 582ft telecommunications tower is one of Britain's most distinctive post-war buildings and after being sold in 2024, is set to be converted to a destination hotel.

BT Tower, Fitzrovia, London - Eric Bedford, Chief Architect at the Ministry of Public Buildings, 1961-65
Image credit: James Burbs (@londonfromtherooftops)

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Reposted by Karen Averby 🌊

Alison Brackenbury @abrackenbury.bsky.social · 9d

To celebrate #LincolnshireDay a free Lincolnshire book,in Kindle/computer/phone version. (Paperback also for sale!)'Village' -stories of cheerful survival in 6 houses, cottage to Manor, 1841 - 1971, witches, wheelbarrows, dogs, spherical sheep & our pioneering historian Mrs Rudkin! LINK IN COMMENTS!

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Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 1d

Thank you!

Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 2d

Thank yoooou!!!!!
My ageing process was splendid- historic riverside village perambulations, lashings of pink prosecco, home-made coffee & walnut cake that didn't quite tower but was excellent. Stretched the celebrations out over a week, incl Black Sabbath Ballet & afternoon tea in a Grand Hotel :D

Nigel J.Hetherington @pastpreservers.bsky.social · 14d

Happy birthday to our amazing Buildings Historian, Karen Averby! We hope your day is filled with as much charm and character as the historic structures you study. May your celebrations be picture-perfect and your cake as grand as a stately manor! 🥳
@karenaverby.bsky.social

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Reposted by Karen Averby 🌊

Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 23d

#PerryBarr #BirminghamHistory A three-bedroom property for sale in Birmingham for £440 – a steal! Hold on, those are February 1939 prices. Ref - Modern House & Home, LF 41.8 #LibraryofBham

An advertisement for a property in a brochure. Title at the top of the page is Modern House & Home. Beneath this, details of the sale of the property on the Greenholm estate, Perry Barr. A photograph of a semidetached house beneath this. Further details about the property beneath the photograph including the cost of the property.

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Reposted by Karen Averby 🌊

Art Deco Society UK @artdecosocuk.bsky.social · Feb 5

ADSUK member and modeller @PaulzSmith1 has written an excellent piece on how he created a scale model of the 1937 Rio cinema in Sheerness. See how his painstaking work brings this icon to life which includes street scenes & other buildings:
https://tinyurl.com/uus6n3m

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Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 23d

Zoinks!

Reposted by Karen Averby 🌊

Society for One-Place Studies @oneplacestudies.bsky.social · 23d

House History for Beginners🔗, a half-day #HouseHistory course led by @dunedingenie.bsky.social Lorna Kinnaird, will take place on Tuesday 30 September 2025 at Eastwood House in Giffnock, East #Renfrewshire. Follow the link for more info and to book. #OnePlaceWednesday

House history for Beginners

Half-day course led by experienced genealogist, Lorna Kinnaird

www.ercultureandleisure.org

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Karen Averby 🌊 @karenaverby.bsky.social · 23d

Fab canal trip on Sun courtesy of Canal & River Trust/ Birmingham Heritage Week with visit to Icknield Port Rd GII listed stables, covered dock, workshops, etc. The Trust volunteers were utterly fantastic & was interesting to see canalside regen up close...plus the rain stayed away! #BHW2025

Reposted by Karen Averby 🌊

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 23d

So the DFS sale really has been going on as long as we thought

Jonathan Foyle @jonathanfoyle.bsky.social · 23d

AI is hilarious at period furniture

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