Category: Victorian life
Carlisle Central School vs the Industrial Revolution
Carlisle Central School, in the early years of the 19th century, was set up to counter ‘the pernicious effects’ of the Industrial Revolution. A worthy (if perhaps self-interested) venture, it also... Read More
The telephone: ‘useless for postal purposes’
A 2016 survey by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) asked people what two possessions (non-living things) they’d save from a fire if they had three minutes to do safely. The results were Cr... Read More
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