April 11, 2015
Stealing underwear in a Victorian workhouse
Theft was endemic in Victorian London. Going through court records, one encounters a constant flood of petty stealing. And it wasn’t just precious items like gold watches and jewellery but clothes, bed covers, trousers and even underwear! You have to think of a world where many people had next to nothing. Such was the miserable…
Solomon Eagle predicts the Great Fire of London
Solomon Eagle was a preacher who claimed to predict great events. Just in case nobody was paying attention, he stormed around London with a flaming brazier on his head. During the great plague of 1665, he added to the general misery by screaming at his fellow Londoners that a great fire was about to consume…
A tight-rope walker in Vauxhall
If you visited Vauxhall now – dominated by its big bus terminal and a railway that ploughs through its centre – you might find it hard to believe that this was once the site of vast public gardens where eighteenth century high society socialised. In fact, the gardens got going during the Restoration of the…