Tag: Research
-
ARTFUL FOXES AND BUTTER CHURNS, March 2025
The Slang and Phrases of C19th Theatres & Music Halls In the nineteenth century, as now, slang and peculiar phrases could be heard in all manner of establishments and echelons of society. The music halls and theatres were no different. They, like the pugilists, had their own brand of (often) non-sensical terms to refer to the…
-
TREAT YOUR LOVED ONE, February 2025
The Victorian Way It’s February again, which means love is in the air for some of us. Not everyone is in a romantic relationship, though, and some people use Valentine’s Day as a way of telling a friend or relative how much they mean to them. Whatever your Valentine’s Day thoughts or plans, I’ve pulled…
-
COFFEE WITH AN ARCHIVIST: David Luck, Bethlem: Museum of the Mind, January 2025
I’m thrilled to bring you a new Coffee with a Curator feature for 2025. Previous instalments have featured chats with curators, archivists, historians, and heritage managers from a variety of organisations including police museums, housing associations, and virtual museums. This time, I’m delighted to welcome David Luck, archivist at Bethlem: Museum of the Mind to chat about the…
-
LONDON’S BURNING, November 2024
A Brief History of Fire Fighting in the Metropolis For many in England, November 5th is a night of bonfires and fireworks to mark Guy Fawkes Night and the historical gunpowder plot to destroy parliament. As the rhyme goes: remember, remember, the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason…
-
GETTING SHIPWRECKED, February 2024
C19th Phrases for Drinking & Drunkenness February may be the month of pancakes and love for some, but for others it marks the end of Dry January and a return to celebrating (almost) anything with a tipple or two (it’s Friday!) Most of us know drunkenness was a major social problem in the nineteenth century.…
-
MUG MAY: A Brief History of Mugs, May 2022
‘Mug (n.) “small, cylindrical drinking vessel, often with a handle,” 1560s, “bowl, pot, jug,” of unknown origin, perhaps from Scandinavian (compare Swedish mugg “earthen cup, jug,” Norwegian mugge “pitcher, open can for warm drinks”), or Low German mokke, mukke “mug,” also of unknown origin. Hence mug-hunter (1883) “one who enters sporting contests solely to win prizes” (frequently in the form of engraved…
-
COFFEE WITH AN ARCHIVIST: Neil R.A. Bell, Leicestershire Police, November 2021
I’m delighted to welcome widely respected student of the Jack the Ripper case Neil R. A. Bell to this month’s blog. His book Capturing Jack the Ripper: In the Boots of a Bobby in Victorian London is a must-read for anyone fascinated with the case and policing in the Victorian Era. With Adam Wood, he also wrote…
-
COPPERING IN THE WEST COUNTRY, December 2021
Exploring policing heritage beyond London Over the course of my blog, I’ve interviewed many fascinating people connected to the Metropolitan Police. Whether that be by preserving its heritage through museum collections and archives, or recounting personal experiences from their time working within the service. Clearly, the British police and its history extends beyond the limits…