It’s Halloween and I’ve done a number of related posts on the origins of Halloween, hauntings, the modern day Enfield Poltergeist and of course the infamous Jack The Ripper. Real life figures such as the Victorian poisoner Mary Cotton and figures that merge myth and reality such as Springheeled Jack. Perhaps more horrendous than any of… Continue reading The Ratcliffe Highway Murders
Category: history
Posts predominantly history related.
Æthelflaed – Lady of the Mercians
Every now and then I like to write a post about one of the important and often overlooked women in history and British history in particular. Sometimes they appear in the most unexpected places such as the Wrestling Mongolian Princess Khutulun or a very Grace Darling who became a heroine around the world in Victorian times. We… Continue reading Æthelflaed – Lady of the Mercians
The ticking timebomb shipwreck that could damage half of London
Every now and then a newly made discovery of a long-lost shipwreck makes the news with everything from RMS Titanic to the lost ship of Captain Cook and everything in between. There are a few shipwrecks however that are well known, even visible to us today. Out of them all, there can’t be any more… Continue reading The ticking timebomb shipwreck that could damage half of London
Ratcliffe Cross Stairs – Where fires raged, explorers set sail and pirates hung
Last week whilst scouting out a new walking tour of just a small part of East London, one of the places I most wanted to visit is the slipway which was once known as Ratcliffe Cross Stairs. The village of Ratcliffe itself is all but forgotten and subsumed by Limehouse which is itself unknown by… Continue reading Ratcliffe Cross Stairs – Where fires raged, explorers set sail and pirates hung
There but not there
Last week whilst in the Sussex town of Arundel, I unexpectedly came across a very moving art installation. It is something I had heard about a few years ago and fleetingly throughout 2018 but for some reason had not expected to come across it just as I did. It is known as THERE BUT NOT… Continue reading There but not there
Up Close and Personal with the Greenwich Painted Hall Ceiling
Two weeks ago you may have seen my post on the Painted Hall in Greenwich which is often referred to as the Sistine Chapel of England. The artwork is 300 years old however and due to age, wear and tear and earlier attempts at preservation, the imagery had become very dark and rather indistinguishable from… Continue reading Up Close and Personal with the Greenwich Painted Hall Ceiling
The day we rioted as the government stole 11 days of our lives!
If you think moving the clock an hour in October is a tedious, weird thing to do that only cheats you of an hour of precious useful daylight in the evening then do spare a thought for our forebears who centuries ago were trying to come to terms with the government stealing 11 days of… Continue reading The day we rioted as the government stole 11 days of our lives!
The Painted Hall of Greenwich – Englands Sistine Chapel
Said by many to be the English equivalent of the Sistine Chapel, The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich is one of the most spectacular and important baroque interiors in Europe. You might get some idea what awaits when you first arrive at the Cutty Sark station or as I prefer to… Continue reading The Painted Hall of Greenwich – Englands Sistine Chapel
The Tale of the Cursed Amethyst at the Natural History Museum in London
Whilst preparing for a tour tomorrow to the Natural History Museum in London, I thought I should do a reconnaisance sortie as well as a bit of research. The museum is a work of art and shows what value Victorians placed on education. Amethysts were used as charms by the ancient Greeks to… Continue reading The Tale of the Cursed Amethyst at the Natural History Museum in London
The Divine Right of Kings and the Execution of King Charles I
Ever since I wrote the post Thomas Harrison – Executed whilst cheerful! who was hung drawn and quartered, I have been thinking about the tulmultuous events leading up to the execution of King Charles I. Regicide as it is known, is very rare in British history and usually when it was comitted, it was done so 1500… Continue reading The Divine Right of Kings and the Execution of King Charles I
Stephen Liddell 