Carolineld

LATEST ARTICLES ( 803 )

• Light Relief

  

  If you want a few minutes' London-themed silliness, why not try Race Against Chime? In this game on the Parliament website, you clean the face of Big Ben and... Read more

  Posted on 10 August 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Cleaning London's Streets

  

  This morning, London's attention turned to clearing up the mess left by riots. Many volunteers have brought gloves, binbags and brooms to affected areas, a... Read more

  Posted on 09 August 2011 CURRENT, SOCIETY

• London Riots: a Long History

  It's impossible to be anything other than miserable about the current London riots. Whatever the causes and context might be, the worst results are being felt b... Read more

  Posted on 08 August 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• From the Archives: France's First Woman Lawyer

  

  While England's first women solicitors and barristers qualified in 1922, it was in 1799 that a Frenchwoman first argued a court case. The circumstances were... Read more

  Posted on 07 August 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Prize-fighting Rules and Unsuitable Epitaphs

  

  In discussing the extraordinary gravestone of George Taylor, pugilist and master of the cross-buttock throw, I mentioned his dispute with fellow prize-fighter... Read more

  Posted on 05 August 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Hogarth, Prizefighting and a Gravestone Scandal

  

  An intriguing anecdote is related by Thankfull Sturdee in his Reminiscences of Old Deptford. He explains why this watercolour of the New Cross Road from 1840... Read more

  Posted on 04 August 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (60): Bath Butchers

  

  I really like the lettering on this ghost sign in Bath city centre, which is actually a palimpsest. One advertisement read 'E Dillon Son, Purveyors of Prime... Read more

  Posted on 02 August 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Story of London 2011

  

  The Mayor's Story of London festival has always been a mixed blessing, involving much rebranding of existing events and a hard-t0-navigate website. Read more

  Posted on 01 August 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• From the Archives: Deptford's Corsair Connection

  

  As the Museum of London Docklands explores London's pirate links, here's the story of Deptford's privateer connection.Deptford, like Saint Malo, has its... Read more

  Posted on 31 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Bradshaw, Railway Pioneer

  

  210 years ago today, George Bradshaw was born in Lancashire; he spent most of his life in Manchester. His work would have huge impact on the Victorian... Read more

  Posted on 29 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Underground Listed

  

  Sixteen London Underground stations have just been listed on the advice of English Heritage - the BBC have some good vintage photographs. Read more

  Posted on 27 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Weird Waters

  

  Harrogate was transformed from a couple of hamlets into an elegant town because of its mineral waters. Its motto spells that out: arx celebris fontibus, 'a... Read more

  Posted on 25 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• From the Archives: Deptford Dockyard Chips

  

  Not the potato sort - 'chips' were offcuts of wood. A valuable perk for shipyard workers, they were often substantial in size. Read more

  Posted on 24 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Monk Bar Defences

  

  There's nothing like a friendly welcome - and York's Monk Bar offered nothing like a friendly welcome. Would-be intruders not only faced a stone gate complete... Read more

  Posted on 22 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Facadism

  

  One of the more controversial issues in building conservation is facadism: the situation where a historic facade is preserved, but an entirely new structure is... Read more

  Posted on 21 July 2011 ARCHITECTURE, CULTURE, HISTORY

• Two Right Feet

  

  The memorial to Archbishop Lamplugh in York Minster was carved by none other than Grinling Gibbons - an unexpected Deptford connection in Yorkshire. However,... Read more

  Posted on 20 July 2011 ART & DESIGN, CULTURE, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (59): Bile Beans

  

  No visit to York (for me, at least) could be complete without seeing this ghost sign, just outside the Monkbar gate. It was restored some time ago, a sign of it... Read more

  Posted on 20 July 2011 HISTORY

• From the Archives: London's First Buses, the Lewisham Connection

  

  London's first bus route may have been north of the river, but south-east London has been crucial to the story too. London's early buses have been mentioned her... Read more

  Posted on 17 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Poison, Mistaken Identity and a Sermon

  In 1839, there was a mysterious death in Greenwich Park near the 'wilderness'. An unknown young man was found dead, apparently from poison. He was scruffily... Read more

  Posted on 15 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (57): Persepolis

  

  These signs don't involve a visit to Iran but to Peckham! They are on the walls of the shop of that name, a renowned Persian deli. The clearest is a fairly... Read more

  Posted on 14 July 2011 CULTURE