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
Tag: Victorian
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
Is eating people always wrong?
In my 3rd and final post on this wacky world of Victorian legal cases related to murders, we travel back to September 1884 in Falmouth on the SW coast of England when three rather emaciated sailors disembarked from their ship, the Mignonette. They were Thomas Dudley, the master of the vessel, his first mate Edwin… Continue reading Is eating people always wrong?
The terrible murder of Fanny Adams which gives us a phrase we still use today.
Last I wrote about the attempted murder of Victorian Prime Minister Robert Peel that led to the concept that people suffering from extreme mental illness, may not be responsible for their acts. This was a time of great reform in man areas of life and in 1861, a legal milestone, the Offences Against The Person… Continue reading The terrible murder of Fanny Adams which gives us a phrase we still use today.
The secret world of Knocker-uppers!
We all know how job roles can become obsolete overnight but this isn’t something new. Have you ever given thought to how people would get up on time for work in the old days? I’ve never had a problem getting up for work. If I have to get up at 5am for work I get… Continue reading The secret world of Knocker-uppers!
The forlorn church of St Mary Somerset
When I was out in London last week, I went on a walk of discovery. As is often the way in London, I ‘discovered’ several places but also got the chance to visit somewhere I knew perfectly well even though I’d never been there… at least not for 6 or 7 years and never to… Continue reading The forlorn church of St Mary Somerset
Stephen Liddell 