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Category Archives: London
Inland Sandcastles
Snippets 152. In 1845 Victoria Park opened in London, and soon became a popular place for the working people of the East End of London to relax and enjoy playing games. For many of the local children it would have … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, Britain, England, History, London, Newspapers, People, Snippets
Tagged Childhood, Victoria Park
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Drapery Misses
Snippets 151. In Lord Byron’s Don Juan there is a puzzling verse: The milliners who furnish “drapery Misses” Throughout the season, upon speculation Of payment ere the honey-moon’s last kisses Have waned into a crescent’s coruscation, Thought such an opportunity … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, Britain, England, History, London, Newspapers, People, Snippets
Tagged Byron, Drapery Misses, Glasgow Evening Citizen, Social History
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The Mischievous Physician
Christmas History 26. It’s that time of year again! The following quote is taken from An Historical and Descriptive Account of the Royal Hospital, published in 1805, and is an anecdote about one of the physicians of the hospital at … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, Christmas, Christmas History, History, Humor, Humour, Inspiration, London, People, Travel
Tagged Royal Hospital
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Funiculì, Funiculà? “One-an-threppence”
Snippets 128. When the first funicular cable car on Mount Vesuvius opened in 1880, renowned Neapolitan journalist Peppino Turco came up with the idea of a commemorative song and made the suggestion to composer Luigi Denza that he could put … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, 20th Century, Britain, England, History, Humor, Humour, Language, London, Snippets, Travel
Tagged Naples, Slang, Thomas Rees
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A Ghost in the Night
Creepy History 23. For the last Creepy History blog post we looked at a quote from At Home and Abroad, by Bayard Taylor, published in 1859. Taylor was a successful American poet, who used his earnings from his poetry to … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, Books, Britain, Creepy History, England, London, Memoirs, Travel
Tagged Bayard Taylor, Ghosts
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Northern Lights in London
Snippets 87. The Royal Society of London Journal is one of the greatest sources of historical information available. Established in 1665 as the first exclusively scientific journal in the world, it has been in continuous publication ever since. The remit … Continue reading
Posted in 18th Century, Astronomy, Britain, England, History, London, Magazines, Nature, Science, Snippets
Tagged Aurora, Northern Lights, Royal Society of London
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The End of an Era
Snippets 82. In 1898 Daimler sold a double-decker bus to the Motor Traction Company, to be used in London. By 1910 double-decker buses were being mass produced and were becoming a common sight on the streets of London. In 1908, … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century, Books, Britain, England, History, London, Stagecoaches, Travel
Tagged Buses, Transport
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Restlessness and Rush of London
Snippets 69. Lydia Sigourney was a popular American poet during the early-mid 19th Century. Although she enjoyed considerable success in her lifetime she is now almost forgotten, perhaps due to the impersonal nature of her work. However, despite largely keeping … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, Books, Britain, England, History, London, Snippets, Travel
Tagged Lydia Sigourney
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An Encounter with Liszt
Snippets 63. Percy Hetherington Fitzgerald was a biographer and author, who contributed to Household Words, his friend Charles Dickens’s magazine, and wrote several books about theatre, opera and history. He was also a sculptor, and his bust of Dickens can … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, Autobiographies, Books, Britain, England, History, London, Memoirs, Music, Snippets
Tagged Alexander Mackenzie, Charles Santley, Franz Liszt
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London Dialect for the “Curous Scholard”
Snippets 59. In 1814 Anecdotes of the English Language was published, a revised and expanded edition of the 1803 original. Written by Samuel Pegge (1704-1796) but published posthumously, it was subtitled Chiefly Regarding the Local Dialect of London and its … Continue reading
Posted in 18th Century, 19th Century, Books, Britain, England, History, Language, London, Snippets
Tagged Dialects
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Windows into History 