Writing about anything and everything to do with the Georgian Era
Prompted by an email from a reader, David Lear, this article takes us back long before the Georgian era. We begin in 1672, on the island of Guernsey, inside the 800-year-old walls of Castle Cornet, which was at the time, the official residence of Governor, Sir Christopher Hatton. His household included his mother, his sisters, Continue reading How a 1672 tragedy may have influenced the raising of…
I am delighted to welcome back Jim Symington who has written several articles for All Things Georgian, incuding Catherine Clements and Selina Diana Catherine Milner. With that, I ll hand you over to Jim to tell you about his recently acquired painting: I am fortunate to have come into possession of a painting traditionally called Young Continue reading Guest post Casting a little light upon…
Today I am delighted to welcome back Dr Paul Main, a regular guest to All Things Georgian to share more fascinating information about Bristol. Paul has contributed several articles previously, such as The Romantic Poets in Bristol and The Story of the Hotwell at Bristol which if you haven t read them already, they are fascinating, Continue reading Clifton Parish Lower churchyard, also referred to…
Today’s article is about Phoebe Hessel who lived a remarkable life, in part as a man. According to her grave, she was born in 1713, so right at the end of the reign of Queen Anne and lived long enough to see George IV become king in 1821. If her age was correctly noted in Continue reading Phoebe Hessel: Brighton’s 108-Year-Old Soldier
In the previous article, we left John Spencer Smith, the former page boy at the Royal court, Oxford graduate, failed soldier (on half pay as a ‘ reduced lieutenant ‘ of 8th regiment of foot from December 1792 to December 1793 ) and blagger among the diplomats in late eighteenth century Constantinople, investing in a Continue reading Guest post by R M Healey John Spencer Smith: an English gentleman…
I am delighted to welcome back R M Healey, who has written several articles for All Things Georgian who is going to tell us more about an Englishman in Constantinople. Born in 1769 in Midgham, Berkshire, the son of John Smith, a merchant, and younger brother of the naval hero, William Sidney Smith, John Spencer Continue reading Guest post by R M Healey John Spencer Smith: an English gentleman on…
I am delighted to welcome a new guest to All Things Georgian, Jennie Goutet. She is the best-selling author of eighteen historical romances, including the Clavering Chronicles, Memorable Proposals, and The Bridwells’ Grand Tour series. Her books have received first place in historical romance for the New England Reader’s Choice Awards and have hit the Continue reading Guest post by Jennie Goutet…
I was delighted when Elaine Thornton contacted me about another story she had unearthed some new information about, so I ll hand over to Elaine to tell you more about a tale with an unexpected ending. While looking through the Home Office papers for 1786 for an earlier article on Margaret Nicholson, I came across an Continue reading A Prison Romance Guest Post by Elaine Thornton
Today, we will take a brief look at spring fashionable London dress from two hundred years ago courtesy of the trusty reference book, Ackermann, Repository of arts, literature, commerce, manufactures, fashions and politics. The 1820’s saw a transition in fashion from Neoclassical to the Romantic and guidance was readily available for the fashion conscious woman Continue reading The fashion for…
Alford is a small market town in rural Lincolnshire, which, in 1823, had a population of under 2,000. In December of that year, however, it gained national notoriety. Why? Sadly, it was due to a young woman named Sarah Arrowsmith, who died at the hands of her ‘partner’, John Smith. He was charged with poisoning Continue reading The Tragic Fate of Sarah Arrowsmith: The Pitchfork Poisoning