Tag: Victorian

Mummy Unwrapping Parties

The Victorians were both an amazing and slightly weird lot. They pioneered the science and engineering almost everyone in the world takes for granted whilst being extremely strong on morals and keeping ankles covered and where a morbid curiosity about death clashed with the fledging modern medicine. **It should be noted this post does contain 2… Continue reading Mummy Unwrapping Parties

St. Saviour’s Union Workhouse at Mint Street

Following on from the previous post on the dismal history of the Mint Street area in Southwark, I thought I’d investigate more to see how just this one example was the inspiration for a very famous Charles Dickens moment. Maybe even find a way to jazz up my original Ye Olde England Tours Charles Dickens… Continue reading St. Saviour’s Union Workhouse at Mint Street

The Lit & Phil Library in Newcastle

In a rather unassuming building close to the central station is a place I’ve wanted to visit for many years but have always been too busy. The Lit & Phil is Newcastle’s exquisite independent library, open to all and free to explore and browse.  Founded in 1793, its purpose-built  library  opened  in 1825 on Westgate… Continue reading The Lit & Phil Library in Newcastle

The Newcastle-Gateshead Swing Bridge

Last week to get away for a change of scene, I went to spend a few days in my childhood city of Newcastle Upon Tyne, to meet an old friend and some new ones who made an epic 12 hour return car journey to drop off food for me during the height of Covid and… Continue reading The Newcastle-Gateshead Swing Bridge

My New Book: Angels of Postman’s Park

For the last two years or more I have been working on my new book which I’m very happy to have released on the 28th March as my little tribe to my wonderful mother who died 10 years ago on that date. Sat almost in the shadow of St Pauls Cathedral, Postman’s Park is a… Continue reading My New Book: Angels of Postman’s Park

Tiny the rat catcher extrodinaire

Very close to the wonderful Bunhill Fields (previously bone hill) is the pub that was in Victorian times as The Blue Anchor but which is now the Artillery Arms. The 1835 Cruelty to Animals Act prohibited pastimes such as bull baiting, cock fighting and dog fighting but no mention was made of rats – a… Continue reading Tiny the rat catcher extrodinaire

Life in a Victorian Dosshouse

For many of us, the closest we come to experiencing what Victorian poverty was like is by watching a television adaptation of a work of Charles Dickens. He would use his writing to bring about societal change in a similar way to how actors and musicians put their name to good causes today. It can… Continue reading Life in a Victorian Dosshouse

Remains of old wooden roads in London

It used to be said that the streets are London are paved with gold. This was in reference to how for centuries London has been a place where not just the rich and powerful live and work but how the city attracts people from across the country and indeed the world in the hope that… Continue reading Remains of old wooden roads in London