Caprotti valvegear, Standard Class 5MT.

© Phil Sangwell, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0. Source

Robert Stephenson 1803-1859

The locomotive is not the invention of one man, but of a nation of mechanical engineers.

Welcome to

Clay Lane

Straightforward English

English Literacy Inspired by the Vision of NL Clay

Clay Lane is inspired by textbooks used in English schools and homes from the 1920s to the 1960s. The Copy Book is an anthology of short passages from all ages of literature in English, including novels, plays, poetry, biography and political debate. Think and Speak is a collection of brain-teasers of the kind given to pupils in secondary schools of the time.

“The course should train pupils to observe, learn more of the world they live in, think clearly, use the imagination and to speak clearly.”

NL Clay, Think and Speak (1929)

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Clay Lane Blog

Stay informed about new posts, revisit posts from the Archive, try your hand at some brainteasers from the 1930s classroom, and listen to classical music.

About Clay Lane About NL Clay

The Copy Book

Hundreds of short passages of history, fiction and poetry from Britain and around the world, with study notes and brainteasers on grammar and vocabulary.

Authors Subjects

Think and Speak

Exercises in expression and imagination based on those given to pupils aged 12-13 in English schools in the 1930s.

Exercises Word Games

Comfortable Words

The King James Bible of 1611, a model of straightforward English made for reading aloud, with a selection of prayers and hymns.

Hymns KJV Bible Prayers

Word Games

A selection of games with words and their letters, including Crosswords, Polywords and the Honeycomb Game.

Add Vowels Honeycomb Polywords

The Tale of Years

Find Copy Book posts in chronological order, from the story of Abraham to Julius Caesar, and from Caratacus to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Featured Post

From Powder Keg

Gus, seeing that the business was well begun, removed to the further end of the pew, sat down on the hassock, and took from his trousers’ pocket a large tin trumpet. I broke out all over in a cold perspiration as I looked at him. He saw my distress, and putting it to his lips, puffed out his cheeks.

Read

Featured Exercise

Homophones Find in Think and Speak

In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.

1. Canvas. Canvass. 2. Wile. While. 3. Isle. Aisle. 4. Vain. Vein. 5. Eerie. Eyrie. 6. Knot. Not. 7. Hart. Heart. 8. Bread. Bred. 9. Way. Weigh. Whey.

Featured Subjects

International Relations

Posts 41

Britain has always demanded respect, open seas, and to be left in peace to ‘work out our own salvation’ — a courtesy we should extend to others.

Myths and Legends

Posts 122

Stories of wisdom, wonder and imagination from the Fables of Aesop and the epics of Homer to the folklore of India, Japan, Russia and Britain.

India

Posts 87

Stories from the ancient and mighty civilisation of India, from classical mythology to the Mughal Emperors, the East India Company and the British Raj.

Russia

Posts 52

Stories from our cousins in the East, from Rurik the Viking and the Baptism of Rus’ to trade with Ivan the Terrible, a visit from Peter the Great, and the last Emperor.

France

Posts 25

Stories about our friends across the Channel, from Roman times to the Hundred Years’ War, her bloody Revolution, and the giddying rise and fall of Emperor Napoleon.

Poets and Poetry

Posts 55

Passages from English verse, from Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf to Shakespeare’s sonnets, Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade, Kipling’s If and many more.

See All