IHGS Summer 2024 Quiz
This month’s quiz marks the arrival of the peak summer holiday season and, for at least a few days, some much welcome sunshine. All answers relate, in some way, to British coastal locations and are a mix of history and genealogy, with just a dash of heraldry thrown in for good measure.
Submit your entry to Chris Broom at ihgstutorchris@gmail.com by 31st August for a chance of winning free entry to an IHGS tutorial of your choice.
1. The invention of coloured seaside rock is attributed to an ex-miner from Burnley. At which address were his family living at the time of his baptism in 1843? (1 point)
2. Who were the designers of an iconic structure inspired by a Parisian tourist attraction? (1 point)
3. The death of which English king triggered a series of events which culminated in the Battle of Hastings? (1 point)
4. Which church features in the name of what is believed to be the longest name of a town in Europe? (1 point)
5. A purpose-built gallery overlooking the sea at Margate is named after a famous romantic artist. Who played the artist in a 2014 biographical drama? (1 point)
6. What is the name of the most southerly parish on the British mainland? (1 point)
7. Which Yorkshire fishing village is famously associated with the novel Dracula and, according to the 1901 census, what was the author’s occupation? (2 points)
8. Which coastal town in East Anglia gave England its first mayoress and how is she connected with a female statue in Parliament Square? (2 points)
9. Named after the peer John Montagu, this popular lunchtime snack also shares the name of a coastal resort in South-East England. But in which historic hundred was the town located? (1 point)
10. John Eric Bartholomew was born in 1926, but by which name did he become instantly recognisable and what was his father’s occupation on 2 September 1939? (2 points)
11. The legendary creator of ‘Middle Earth’ spent most of the final years of his life in this enduringly popular South Coast resort. At which hotel did he and his wife, Edith, always stay as holiday makers before moving to the town? What was the full name of the Austro-Hungarian ambassador appointed to London in 1904, for whom the Edwardian manor house which would later become the hotel, was originally built? (2 points)
12. How is the parish of Holy Island better known and what is the date range of records of the manor held in 32 collections by 4 different archives? (2 points)
13. Which popular tourist town shares its name (at least phonetically) with a famous newsreader, a character in the American HBO series, Succession and a source of energy popular among climbers and mountaineers? Who did a woman with the same surname as the registration district sharing the town’s name, marry in Q4 1889? (2 points)
14. Described as the place where the sea meets England’s largest National Park, this town was used in the 18th century as a template for the expansion of New York. A wealthy family first began to capitalise on the rich seams of coal in the area in the surrounding 17th century, but which specific family member is credited with developing the town into a major trading-port? (1 point)
15. Associated alliteratively with seafood, this town is the birthplace of a famous modern inventor. Who is he and to whom was probate of his ‘near’ namesake granted following his death in the same location on 6 March 1965? (2 points)
16. Who was the bearer of the coat of arms ‘Sable, a fess wavy between two estoiles Argent’ and which game does popular legend suggest he was playing on 20th July 1588? (2 points)
17. Known as ‘The Cobb’, the harbour wall of this south-west coastal town features famously in a film in which the titular character is often found staring out to sea. But what is the town and on what precise date did the author of the book on which the film was based die there? (2 points)
18. A pre-Raphaelite stained-glass window in the church of St. Michael in this town featured on a Christmas stamp issued by the Royal Mail in 2017. Who did the designer of the window marry at Betws-y-Coed in 1864? ( 1 point)
19. Once located in Scotland, but now the northernmost town in England, this coastal resort was somewhat bizarrely mentioned by name in the declaration of which war, signed by Queen Victoria in 1853? (1 point)
20. This East Coast seaside town is described on a famous promotional poster as ‘SO bracing’. What is the name of the town and how is the county in which it is located denoted in Chapman Code? (2 points)
Maximum possible score: 30 points.
