Welcome! My name is Emma, I live in Hampshire, England and wrote the articles on Come Step Back In Time between July 2011 and October 2016. There are 185 articles in total (280K word count) covering a wide-range of fascinating historical topics, so grab a coffee (or tea!) and have a browse.
Please note, as of October 2016, I no longer post articles on this blog.
I am a graduate and post-graduate who loves to share a passion for social history with as wide an audience as possible. I pride myself on producing high quality, well-researched, accessible content.
I continue to be a regular contributor on television, radio and podcasts. I also fulfil research requests from the media, often sourced from my extensive collection of 20th Century ephemera. Specifically, relating to 20th Century society, food, popular culture and fashion. I am particularly skilled at interpreting retro recipes and recreating 20th Century dining experiences.
I look forward to hearing from you:
- E-mail: astepbackintimeinfo [@] yahoo.co.uk
Just a few more things before you go:
- Come Step Back In Time is a non-commercial blog. I have only ever recommended exhibitions/events/heritage locations/books which are of the highest standard and I believe my readers will not be disappointed to visit/purchase. If I have found an exhibition/event/heritage location/book not be of the highest standard, then it will simply not be featured on my website;
- All photographs, unless otherwise captioned to indicate a third party attribution or sourced from Getty Images, have been taken by myself and I retain the copyright. If you wish to re-use any of my images please contact me via e-mail: astepbackintimeinfo [@] yahoo.co.uk to obtain permission before re-using;
- I often discover my photographs being re-used on-line, without prior permission. Please note, I will always make contact to alert you of this oversight. Those who approach me out of courtesy before republishing, find me very amenable with regards image re-use. Those who have not sought prior permission, will be required to remove the relevant image(s), immediately and permanently, no exceptions. If I discover my images published, without consent, in a magazine or book publication (digital or print versions), I will contact your Editor/Publisher direct, making them aware that copyright permission has not been obtained from me by the article/book’s author. I DO NOT SIGN RETROSPECTIVE COPYRIGHT RELEASE FORMS. Approaching me in the first instance avoids embarrassment for both yourself and your publishing house in the long run. You have been warned!;
- If you wish to quote text from any of my articles, please credit me accordingly, linking back to the original source. Credit should also contain the following citation: ©Come Step Back In Time (please copy and paste this copyright citation, it contains the correct weblink). I would also be grateful if you could send me a courtesy e-mail with a link to any article that you have quoted my writing in. [astepbackintimeinfo ‘AT’ yahoo.co.uk].
Thank-you for visiting:) Emma.XX
Text copyright August 2022©Come Step Back In Time
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Come Step Back In Time 
Enjoyed visiting your site. Would you permit me to use a copy of the image of the Southampton Hulk on the Oakley & Watling structure, on my website with the text “By kind permission of …..(per your instructions)”.
My website is devoted to the artist Herbert C Oakley, whose father was the partner in the Oakley & Watling Company.
Regards,
Andrew Gray
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Dear Andrew,
Thank you very much indeed for your comment. I am delighted that you enjoyed visiting my website.I appreciate you asking for permission to use my photographs of the Oakley & Watling building in Southampton. I am indeed the photographer who took these images and give you permission to use them on your website. Please credit as follows: ‘By kind permission of Come Step Back in Time’. I would be grateful if you could also put a link back to the original article from which the images came from:
https://comestepbackintime.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/footprints-in-clay-british-ceramics-and-pottery-part-1/
If you have any problems saving the images to your PC then please e-mail me (astepbackintime’AT’yahoo.co.uk – just substitute the ‘AT’ for @) and I can send you the original JPEGs.
I would also be interested in keeping in touch as my research into the impact of ocean liner travel and local trade in Southampton is an ongoing project (I nearly secured a publisher a couple of years ago). I am interested to find-out more about Oakley & Watling and your website devoted to artist Herbert C Oakley is so interesting (http://www.hcoakley.org/index.html). I am also keen to find-out where the original account ledgers for the O & W store are now? I understand they were sold into a private collection a number of years ago. It is lucky that the exterior of the O & W building still survives though. If you do have any thoughts on the possible whereabouts of the account ledgers for the store, then this would be greatly appreciated.
Very best wishes.
Emma.
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Emma well done x
Joanna
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Thank you Joanna, hope you enjoy watching the programme. Best wishes. Emma.
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Hi,
Sorry to bother you 🙂 but I am looking for a ceramic butter churn, or someone who might be able to make me one. I am a re-enactor and I am trying to set up a living history company with my partner. It would be really great if you could let us know how to get in contact with the lady who made the butter churn as I’m finding it really hard to locate someone to make us one!
Many thanks and thank you for your time 🙂 Your tiles look awsome!
Nicole
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Hi Nicole,
Lovely to hear from you. What an exciting venture you are about to embark upon. I met Emma Shelley in the summer of 2011 and wrote https://comestepbackintime.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/a-taste-of-the-tudor-kitchen/ all about her demonstration of Tudor cookery. If you scroll down to the end of that article and click on contact link indicated, then that will take you to her Facebook page. If my memory serves me well, I don’t think that she actually made the items used in her Tudor cookery demo she purchased them from someone who specialises in making historical pottery (sorry I can’t remember who that was).
You could also try The Tudor Group http://www.tudorgroup.co.uk/ – Emma received some of her training from Ruth Goodman who set-up this re-enactment group with her husband Mark Goodman. The Tudor Group also has some very interesting links to companies or individuals who make supplies for Tudor re-enactment groups http://www.tudorgroup.co.uk/Links.html – Trinity Court Potteries may be able to help you http://www.trinitycourtpotteries.co.uk/.
Hope the above helps and thank you for the kind comments about my pottery attempts (I had lots of help from the tutor but got there in the end). I loved doing those series of workshops (organized by Tudor Revels http://www.tudorrevels.co.uk/) and amazingly they were all free!
Best wishes.
Em.
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Hello, I would be grateful if you could place me in touch with Peter and Claire Mitchell – RMS Olympic. I would like to understand whether they have in their collection one of the bathroom cabinets ex RMS Olympic.
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Dear Bruce,
If you could e-mail me your request to astepbackintimeinfo ‘@’ yahoo.co.uk then I will forward on to Peter and Claire. I hope you understand that I am not able to give out individual’s e-mail addresses but am happy to pass on your query.
Kind regards.
Emma.
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Hello,
Thank you for the post. I am on a clear the clutter mission and had just been deciding to chuck out a box all beat up and dusty but leather and old and then I thought lets google this name on it . The L was not complete but I google Rose Baird and Rose Laird and your post came up.when. It had been my grandmother’s and I had not taken good care of it. Your post was delightful read and so informative. Thank you. I will not be chucking the box just yet.
I am wondering if it was a gift from my grandfather as he traveled to NYC often.
Nora
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Dear Nora,
Thank you so much for your delightful comment. I love to hear stories like this from my readers. I am very glad that you enjoyed my article on 1930s hair and beauty, it was a really interesting topic to research and write about. What a lovely story about the mysterious box belonging to your grandmother. What a wonderful find, how luck you are if you do find out that it was in fact packaging that once contained Rose Laird products. Let me know if you discover any more about the provenance of the mysterious ‘Rose Laird’ box.
Kind regards and best wishes.
Emma.
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Dear Emma
Enjoyed reading your blogs – look forward to reading more
All the best. Sandy
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What an interesting blog. You may enjoy taking a look at mine. I just started blogging about my grandfather an American shoe designer originally from London who I interviewed as a child.
http://womensfootwearinamerica.com/2014/01/19/shoe-patent/
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Dear Julia,
Thank you so much for your lovely comments. I have just had a look at your blog http://womensfootwearinamerica.com/2014/01/19/shoe-patent/ , how interesting. I think all historians should delve into their family history for stories/topics to write about, it makes for such a rich source of material that you can connect to on such a personal level.
Kind regards. Emma.
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Thank you for taking a look!
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Emma – really enjoy reading your blog – and your photographs are wonderful.
Sandy Clark
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If you like the Bitterne Scarecrows you should visit the Sandleheath event. It runs for a week in June, and is growing in popularity and standard. If you would like some of this years photos, I can send you some. Your blog re Bitterne’s was very informative, and I even though I take the kids every year, your blog still taught me much about local history. Many thanks, Valerie
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Hi Valerie,
Thanks so much for getting in touch. Really pleased you enjoyed the article on Bisterne. I love the annual scarecrow festival. Thank you for letting me know about Sandleheath, I didn’t know about that event. Be great to see pics. If you are on Twitter, then Tweet them to me, I know that my followers would be interested to see too:) My Twitter handle is @emmahistorian – Best wishes Emma
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Dear Emma
I am the author of a non-commercial research web-project devoted to the history of the British post office building. I wonder whether you would be so kind as to permit me to use your image of the former Southampton Dock post office. I should be most grateful.
Best wishes
Julian Osley
http://www.britishpostofficearchitects.weebly.com
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Dear Julian,
Thanks so much for your comment. I would be delighted to help you. Please could you drop me an e-mail to: astepbackintimeinfo [AT] yahoo.co.uk (substitute contents of brackets with @) and I can sort from there. I also have some images of the old central red brick Post Office building that was at the bottom of Southampton’s High Street. I can send you those. There may be a day or two’s delay in replying to your e-mail, I am just a little bit snowed under with all thing VE Day at mo but I promise I will get back to you before the end of the weekend. Many kind regards. Emma
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Dear Julian,
I also have some pics of the old post office in Lyme Regis, the wooden post box and plenty of other Post Office related pics that I have taken over last 4 years since I started this blog. I am particularly fond of old village/rural post offices. Would be worth letting me know if you have gaps in your collection for certain villages and I may well have an image to help you fill-it with, fingers-crossed:)
Best wishes. Emma.
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