Category: Victorian life
Thomas Hetherington: A policeman’s lot
Thomas Hetherington gave at least 13 years of his life to the police service at a time when police forces in the UK were in their infancy. During that time he was attacked, praised, rewarded, risked h... Read More
J&J Graham of Penrith and the water closet furore
Water closet – by any other name Water closet; toilet; privy; lavatory; loo; bog, ty bach in Welsh (‘little house’), khazi, netty… Brits have a LOT of words for what other English-speaking nat... Read More
Electrotherapy and complimentary mourning
Electrotherapy and complimentary mourning aren’t terms that go naturally together. Unless the former goes horribly wrong. But they were both on the front page of the Carlisle Journal 150 years a... Read More
Winter solstice & fashion tips 1893
Winter solstice and curious questions ‘Winter solstice 2019 in Northern Hemisphere was at 04:19 on Sunday, 22 December’. So Google informs us. Bringing up with it such puzzling questions as: ‘... Read More
Dating advice in the 1840s
The following dating advice was supplied by the Westmorland Gazette in 1841. Some 178 years later, we don’t need dating advice, do we? Because none of us would be daft enough to fall for the wrong ... Read More
Bicycle mania in Cumbria in 1869
The 2019 Tour de France is coming to an end, after 23 gruelling days. The winner on the Champs Elysées on Sunday will have completed around 2,000 miles, over 21 stages, and beaten almost 200 other co... Read More
Middens – and their biggest (?) fan
Middens, for anyone unfamiliar with the word, are heaps (large piles) of domestic waste material – mini rubbish tips that could include human excrement and animal waste, as well as kitchen waste and... Read More
Brunswick Square school Penrith
My post on the young men of Brunswick Square, Penrith, who went off to fight in the First World War brought an inquiry from a reader. “I’m looking for information about a ladies school run at 6 B... Read More