Deen Mahomet and London's First Indian Restaurant*-
Enough of diverting scandal, I must blog about my favourite subject: the foreigner in Georgian London. One such character is Deen Mahomet (later Sake Dean Mahomed). Mahomet is rightly remembered a...
View Article'The Life, Spring and Motion of the Trading World': A Very Brief Account of...
London, like Venice was a trading hub, and throughout the documents of the 18thC, London is compared with her Italian counterpart in all things apart from our 'superior' manner of government (they let...
View ArticleMap: The Main Ethnic Settlements in 18thC London
It occurred to me as I was tagging some of the older posts that it might help the mental geography to have a little map with indications of where London's main foreign populations were. There was a...
View ArticleTottenham: Never do anything when you are in a temper, for you...
Tottenham: Never do anything when you are in a temper, for you will do everything wrong.Tottenham developed rapidly from a small village during the Georgian period, into a place of cheap housing for...
View Article‘An eccentrical lady’: Mrs Griggs of...
‘An eccentrical lady’: Mrs Griggs of Bloomsbury‘Died, 16th January 1792, at her house, Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, Mrs. Griggs. Her executors found in her house eighty-six living and twenty-eight dead...
View ArticleAn Epitaph, by a FriendTomorrow I’m giving a walkie-talkie...
An Epitaph, by a FriendTomorrow I’m giving a walkie-talkie at Sir John Soane’s Pitzhanger Manor-House for Open House Weekend 2011. I have lots of thoughts about Soane and his ruthless pursuit of...
View ArticleFor Ada Lovelace Day: Eleanor Coade
In 1769, Eleanor (sometimes Elinor) Coade arrived in Lambeth from Lyme Regis, bringing with her one of Georgian London’s forgotten wonders: Coade stone, or as she called it Lithodipyra. She had been...
View ArticleBook Review: The Music Trade in Georgian England I have been...
Book Review: The Music Trade in Georgian EnglandI have been lucky enough to receive a review copy of The Music Trade in Georgian England, edited by Michael Kassler and published by Ashgate. Well, where...
View ArticleNominate your Favourite Historian and Favourite History Book Poll
On November the 11th, History Today magazine released an online poll for the most influential historian, and most influential history book of the last 60 years. Those nominated for the most...
View ArticleArt: Why I’m Proud to be a Shuffler ‘Every major art...
Art: Why I’m Proud to be a Shuffler‘Every major art exhibition is always the same. The ticket holders go in with their expensive tickets, and with their guide-books and ear-phone sets, and they look...
View ArticleHomeopathy: A Most Extravagant Conceit The following is from...
Homeopathy: A Most Extravagant ConceitThe following is from medical doctor John Hogg’s book, London As It Is, published in 1837:One of the most extravagant conceits ever promulgated in connexion with...
View ArticleGuest Post: The Gin Lane Gazette That mischievous cartoonist...
Guest Post: The Gin Lane Gazette That mischievous cartoonist and scribe Ade Teal is featured on pioneering publishing project Unbound at the moment with his most excellent Georgian miscellany The Gin...
View ArticleAt the Harp and Hoboy: John Walsh, Music Publisher Where has...
At the Harp and Hoboy: John Walsh, Music Publisher Where has the time gone? First there was Christmas, then these book thingys which seem to keep you very busy indeed. Then, as some of you know I...
View ArticleReview: A Grim Almanac of Georgian London The History Press were...
Review: A Grim Almanac of Georgian LondonThe History Press were kind enough to send me A Grim Almanac of Georgian London by Graham Jackson and Cate Ludlow. Cate’s obsession with the darker side of...
View ArticleEvent: A Coffeehouse Tour Dr Matthew Green is rather passionate...
Event: A Coffeehouse TourDr Matthew Green is rather passionate about coffeehouses, and coffee history. So passionate, in fact he wrote his PhD on the subject. On Saturday, he’ll be leading a very...
View ArticleSaartjie Baartman, The Hottentot Venus Throughout Georgian...
Saartjie Baartman, The Hottentot VenusThroughout Georgian London there are many ‘freaks’, whose main source of income was displaying themselves: tall or strong women, tiny people, the prematurely aged...
View ArticleWilliam Freeman: A West Indian Englishman At the turn of the...
William Freeman: A West Indian EnglishmanAt the turn of the eighteenth century, London was becoming increasingly diverse. International trade meant that foreigners were a common sight on the streets,...
View ArticleLady Mary Wortley Montagu and the Destroying Angel Lady Mary...
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and the Destroying AngelLady Mary Wortley Montagu would not only introduce London to innoculation against smallpox, but also her series of ‘Turkish Embassy Letters’ make up...
View ArticleWhat folly is this?: Animal Welfare in Georgian London The cruel...
What folly is this?: Animal Welfare in Georgian LondonThe cruel treatment of animals is a sad constant even now, but dramatic changes during London’s Georgian period show the emergence of a modern...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....