Clay Lane › Straightforward English

Editor Nicholas

English Literacy Inspired by the Vision of NL Clay

Clay Lane is a website for people who care deeply about the language and heritage of the English people, and who want to know more about them because they understand how important these things are for our future. It is inspired by textbooks written by Yorkshire schoolmaster NL Clay, and used in English schools and homes from the 1920s to the 1960s. Clay Lane is ideal for those who prefer traditional methods, traditional content, and the option of one-to-one human contact.

Read famous (and not so famous) passages from history, legend, biography, politics, poetry and fiction, and try your hand at exercises similar to those Clay gave to pupils in secondary schools before the educational changes of the 1960s. Use what you find here to improve your command of good, clear, correctly spelled and punctuated English, or just browse for pleasure.

Everything on Clay Lane is free to use. Share your creativity with me, and if you’d like a little help, just ask. See Email Support.

“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)

More...

Blog Latest

October 16

Elocution

What is the best way to read these sentences out aloud?

Read

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 Out of Reach

By Homer 8th century BC

Verily he would brace himself with hands and feet, and thrust the stone toward the crest of a hill, but as often as he was about to heave it over the top, the weight would turn it back, and then down again to the plain would come rolling the ruthless stone.

Read

Featured Exercise

Homonyms Find in Think and Speak

Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.

1. Toast. 2. Spy. 3. Mould. 4. Sanction. 5. Fine. 6. Host. 7. Tender. 8. Kind. 9. Mine.

Show Suggestions

For each word above, choose one or more suitable meanings from this list.

1. Very nice weather. 2. A very large number (e.g. of soldiers). 3. Grilled bread. 4. Pit. 5. Sort, type. 6. Delicate or of high quality. 7. Sort, sore to the touch. 8. Offer. 9. A secret agent. 10. Belonging to me. 11. Sympathetic and generous. 12. A hollow container used to give a desired shape to whatever is poured or forced into it. 13. A fee paid in punishment. 14. A railway truck carrying water and coal for a locomotive. 15. Warmly affectionate. 16. Throw a party; one who throws a party. 17. Salute with a drink. 18. A growth that forms on e.g. bread or cheese when it goes off. 19. Notice. 20. Impose a penalty. 21. Grant permission.

Featured Subjects

Sport and Sportsmen

Posts 27

Stories from the world of cricket, football and other sports, and the men and women who have played them.

Liberty and Prosperity

Posts 169

Stories from Britain and elsewhere confirming the social and economic benefits of keeping politicians and their cronies out of the trade and business of ordinary people.

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.

Greece

Posts 52

Tales about the cradle of Western civilisation, from Socrates and the first democracies to the fall of the Roman Empire, the Ottoman yoke, and Britain’s part in the fight for independence.

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.

Railways

Posts 37

Stories about the British transport revolution that changed the world, from the first locomotive and the first whistle to Flying Scotsman.

See All