On the morning of 10th March 1777 a crowd, estimated as being twenty thousand strong, gathered by the naval dockyard in Portsmouth. Towering above them was the… Read More »Re-visiting the death of John Aitken, a.k.a. John the Painter, 10th March 1777
As obituaries go, this one from the 1821 edition of the Gentleman’s Magazine is perhaps the least revealing: the Countess of Jersey, mother of ten… Read More »Another chance to wish “Happy Birthday” to Frances, Countess of Jersey, born 25 February 1753.
John Peel, Cumberland farmer and keen huntsman. Prudence suggests I preface my words with a confession: I am not here to… Read More »D’ye ken John Peel – a reminder of the man behind the song: huntsman, died 13th November 1854.
In my current book, ‘In Bed with the Georgians, Sex Scandal and Satire’ I mention the small-but-beautifully-formed ‘pocket rocket’ known as Gertrude Mahon. As a… Read More »A journey across the Channel, and a visit to Paris in 1750.
A week after the naval victory over the French at Quiberon Bay, Richard noted the “Day of General Thanksgiving, observed for the great and plentiful… Read More »20th November 1759, Hawke’s heroic victory at the Battle of Quiberon Bay.
Richard Hall kept meticulous details of his travels around the country. He recorded the mileage, he recorded the length of journey and whether he had… Read More »Travel in the Eighteenth Century
On Monday 22 September I am giving a talk about 18th Century paper-cutting at the Holburne Museum at Bath. It includes a section about the… Read More »In Black and White – the story of silhouette-maker Auguste Edouart
Little did I think, when I used some of Richard Hall’s paper cut-outs to illustrate “The Journal of a Georgian Gentleman”, that I would end… Read More »In Black and White – a forthcoming lecture on 18th Century paper-cuts and silhouettes!
I am not quite clear why some villains manage to capture the public’s imagination as heroes, while others are treated as a thieving menace. Take highway… Read More »Sixteen String Jack – the making of a hero (John Rann).
I recently came across the bill submitted to my ancestor Richard Hall by the Funeral Director on the occasion of the death of his first… Read More »A funeral 233 years ago – 18th Century style – and the undertakers bill!