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Family history is so much more than names and dates

Category: Victorian life

Penrith Pong old and new

Penrith Pong old and new

Posted on January 14, 2024January 14, 2024 by HarrietP
Stepping off the bus in Penrith one day last summer, my first thought was: “Ewww!!” And it wasn’t ‘just me’. A bill board outside the Spar near the bus station, bore the words ‘Penrith Pon... Read More
Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Posted on December 24, 2023December 24, 2023 by HarrietP
After labour’s long turmoil, Sorry fare and frequent fast,  Two-and-fifty weeks of toil, Pudding-time is come at last… This post is set to appear on December 24. So, while it will remain ‘o... Read More
Coronation Day in Kendal

Coronation Day in Kendal

Posted on May 6, 2023May 6, 2023 by HarrietP
Coronation Day, Kendal ‘Coronation Day. Kendal, though somewhat tardy in its movements on public occasions, will not, we are glad to find, let the Coronation Day pass over unnoticed.’ No, not that... Read More
Coughs and sneezes and Victorian ‘cures’

Coughs and sneezes and Victorian ‘cures’

Posted on October 17, 2021October 17, 2021 by HarrietP
Victorian cures for illness were an extremely serious matter for the sick. Reading contemporary newspaper adverts for pills and potions makes one very glad modern medicine (and Trading Standards) have... Read More
Christmas 1843 in Cumbria

Christmas 1843 in Cumbria

Posted on December 20, 2020January 22, 2021 by HarrietP
Charles Dickens’ arguably most-popular work, A Christmas Carol, was published in 1843. It was also the year of the first Christmas card. So, how did folk in Westmorland celebrate Christmas 1843?’ ... Read More
The Popular Educator – and lessons for women

The Popular Educator – and lessons for women

Posted on October 11, 2020October 11, 2021 by HarrietP
The Popular Educator was a series of heavyweight books published by the firm of Cassell, Petter and Gilpin, of the delightful address La Belle Sauvage Yard, London. Founded by John Cassell, the books... Read More
Carlisle Central School vs the Industrial Revolution

Carlisle Central School vs the Industrial Revolution

Posted on August 23, 2020August 23, 2020 by HarrietP
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’

The telephone: ‘useless for postal purposes’

Posted on June 21, 2020 by HarrietP
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: A policeman’s lot

Posted on May 24, 2020 by HarrietP
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

J&J Graham of Penrith and the water closet furore

Posted on February 9, 2020 by HarrietP
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
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