Recent Posts
Workhouse life in Victorian England/Britain
Workhouse orphan Oliver Twist, one of Charles Dickens’ best-known creations, famously gets into trouble for daring to ask for second helpings of food. Researching the life of George Fawell (born Dac... Read More
Help, My House is Haunted: unlikely ghost
Help, my House is Haunted: unlikely ghost Help, my House is Haunted, is a UK-based paranormal investigations programme. Things have moved on since the early days of the genre. When a few ‘orbs’ (t... Read More
Robert Carleton, last of the Carletons
In a previous post, I mentioned Robert Carleton, of Carleton Hall, near Penrith, almost ‘in brackets’. Here is a bit more about Robert, the last of the Carletons. Robert Carleton: a long pedi... Read More
The Sorceries – and old traditions in Carlisle
An account, printed in 1842, of the rescue of notorious reiver Kinmont Willie from Carlisle Castle in 1569 includes: On the 13th of April, they crossed the Eden two hours before daybreak, “at the St... Read More
Benjamin Franklin’s experiment in Cumberland
Pouring oil on troubled waters Pouring oil on troubled waters – as a metaphor – is familiar to all of us. It means trying to calm a dispute with soothing words. Benjamin Franklin’s experimen... Read More
Coughs and sneezes and Victorian ‘cures’
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
Dead but no one noticed: sleeping arrangements 1800s
Sleeping arrangements in bygone times could see servants sharing a bed with their employer. As this curious 1835 inquest hearing records. ‘Suicide not noticed for 16 hours by woman sleeping next... Read More
Average life expectancy in 1776 and 1845
The idea that people in olden days didn’t make it into old age says a lot about statistics and less about actual life expectancy facts. The average, in maths, is what you get when you add up the fig... Read More