Tag: Research
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150 YEARS OF THE CRIME MUSEUM, October 2025
An Interview with Dr Clare Smith Regular readers of the blog will know that museums and archives are some of my favourite places to visit, and curators and archivists are some of my favourite people to talk to. Therefore, I’m absolutely delighted to be welcoming Dr Clare Smith back to the blog this month. We…
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VICTORIAN URBAN LEGENDS: Spring-Heeled Jack, September 2025
For as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated by urban legends and folklore. In fact, many years ago, I created a series of collages depicting the Bloody Mary legend for my A-Level art exhibition. Urban legends can tell us as much about ourselves and human nature as the fantastical creatures and yarns they’re…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.…