‘Come and take them!’ The Greeks’ reply to a demand to lay down their arms, Thermopylae, 480 BC.

© Konstantinos Tamateas. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source

Leonidas I of Sparta r. 491-480 BC

For me, to die for Greece is better than to be the sole ruler over the people of my race.

On being offered the throne of Greece in return for selling out to Xerxes I of Persia.

Welcome to

Clay Lane

Straightforward English

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)

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Blog Latest

November 2

One More Pounce

A Welshman was not keen on handing over his employer’s money just because Tom Dorbel had a gun.

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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 The Hare and Many Friends

Friendship, like love, is but a name,
Unless to one, you stint the flame.
The child, whom many fathers share,
Hath seldom known a father’s care.
’Tis thus in friendships; who depend
On many, rarely find a friend.

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Featured Exercise

Spinners Find in Think and Speak

For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.

The words in this puzzle are taken randomly from a list of 927 common words. You can change e.g. cat → cats, go → went, quick → quickly.

1 Piece. Pull. Tend.

2 Change. Include. Security.

3 Leave. Number. Sound.

Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)

Featured Subjects

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.

Poets and Poetry

Posts 58

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.

Abolition of Slavery

Posts 36

Heart-breaking tales of slavery, in which Britain played a shameful part; and heart-warming tales of Abolition, in which she played a courageous one.

Animal Stories

Posts 80

Fables and true tales about animals, including a dog who regularly commuted to Matlock, a horse who didn’t approve of bad language, and a cat who saved her owners from an earthquake.

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.

Classical History

Posts 60

Tales of tragedy, ambition and heroism from the Battle of Marathon and Hannibal’s passage of the Alps to Caesar’s fateful crossing of the Rubicon.

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