Maritime ‘treasure trove’ raised
From the BBC: Maritime ‘treasure trove’ raised. A treasure trove of artefacts is being recovered from what experts describe as one of the most important maritime discoveries since the Mary Rose. The...
View ArticleThe medieval ‘New England’: a forgotten Anglo-Saxon colony on the...
Now this is a treasure of a thing. Settle down and read Caitlin Green’s article, The medieval ‘New England’: a forgotten Anglo-Saxon colony on the north-eastern Black Sea coast. It begins: Although the...
View ArticleThe last master cooper
From Port Magazine: The Last Master Cooper. In November 1983, a young Alastair Simms was placed in the barrel he had just made, doused in water, and covered in a ‘muck’ of soot, feathers, shavings,...
View ArticleThe Nightwalker and the Nocturnal Picaresque
From The Public Domain Review: The Nightwalker and the Nocturnal Picaresque. At the end of the seventeenth century a new literary genre or subgenre emerged in England, one that might be characterized...
View ArticleHow snobbery helped take the spice out of European cooking
From NPR: How Snobbery Helped Take The Spice Out Of European Cooking. In medieval Europe, those who could afford to do so would generously season their stews with saffron, cinnamon, cloves and ginger....
View ArticleBritain’s most famous 1700s sailor spent 4 years disguised as a man
From Atlas Obscura: Britain’s Most Famous 1700s Sailor Spent 4 Years Disguised as a Man. In 1747, when she was 22, Hannah Snell left home in search of her missing husband. Instead, she found fame. Over...
View ArticleWater meadows
Caught by the River has a lovely post on water meadows. In his excellent book The History of the Countryside, Oliver Rackham describes four ways in which we lose our landscape: the loss of beauty, of...
View ArticleLondon ‘alight’ for Great Fire retelling
Wow! From the BBC: London ‘alight’ for Great Fire retelling. A giant wooden replica of 17th century London has been set ablaze on the River Thames in a retelling of the Great Fire of London 350 years...
View ArticleVirtual Tudors
Grab a cup of coffee, my dears, and head over to Virtual Tudors. The site introduces itself with this: When Henry VIII’s flagship, the Mary Rose, sank in 1545 almost 500 people drowned. Now, almost...
View ArticleSchool for teenage codebreakers to open in Bletchley Park
Who can resist things that land on the intersection of history and geekiness? From the Guardian: School for teenage codebreakers to open in Bletchley Park. Its first operatives famously cracked coded...
View ArticleVery merry seventeenth century punch recipe found in Yorkshire
Oh, just imagine making a batch of this stuff! From the Guardian: Very merry seventeenth century punch recipe found in Yorkshire. A recipe for a very merry Christmas drink for 17th century monks,...
View ArticleVictorians’ Christmas parlor games will leave you burned, bruised, and puking
An Atlas Obscura article makes it clear that the Victorians were insane. Indeed, in the early years of Queen Victoria’s rule, Christmas rivaled Spring Break for sheer bawdiness and self-destruction....
View ArticleQueen Elizabeth I’s vast spy network was the first surveillance state
From Atlas Obscura: Queen Elizabeth I’s vast spy network was the first surveillance state. In a lowly tavern in an English town in the 1580s, a group of men met to organize the assassination of their...
View ArticleSecret room in UK mansion tied to King James I assassination attempt
From Live Science: Secret Room in UK Mansion Tied to King James I Assassination Attempt. Agile scientists equipped with 3D laser scanners have revealed the secrets of a hidden room, known as a “priest...
View ArticleNew study reignites debate over Viking settlements in England
From Science Nordic: New study reignites debate over Viking settlements in England. The Vikings plundered, raided, and eventually reigned over a large part of what is modern day England. But exactly...
View ArticleExcavation reveals secrets of Tudor Life
From Heritage Daily: MOLA excavations at Crossrail Farringdon site reveal secrets of Tudor Life. Excavations carried out by MOLA at the Crossrail site at Farringdon have revealed fascinating insights...
View ArticleRabbit hole in farmer’s field leads to ‘mystery caves’
From the Beeb: Rabbit hole in farmer’s field leads to ‘mystery caves’. An apparently ordinary rabbit’s hole in a farmer’s field leads to an underground sanctuary said to have been used by devotees of a...
View ArticleThe fake British radio show that helped defeat the Nazis
You’ll enjoy this Smithsonian Magazine article, I think: The Fake British Radio Show That Helped Defeat the Nazis. Summary: By spreading fake news and sensational rumors, intelligence officials...
View ArticleOrnamental hermits
Later, a fad for hermits swept 18th-century England. It was believed that hermits radiated kindness and thoughtfulness, so advertisements were placed in newspapers for “ornamental hermits” who were...
View ArticleRisk insurance in the eighteenth century
From Wonders and Marvels: Risk Insurance in the Eighteenth Century. Travelers to distant lands have always known that risk is an inevitable part of the adventure. And from ancient times they invented...
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