Welcome to our blog. We are historians and archaeologists, and you can read here short features about all sorts of fascinating topics. It has been a bit quiet of late, but we have decided to be more active, especially with maritime themes. You can choose what to read by going to ARCHIVES or CATEGORIES on the right or top of your screen. Feel free to share with other people. You can also visit our website here.
Zennor Mermaid
Mermaids were supernatural sea creatures, their lower half being a fish’s tail and the upper half a woman, usually with very long blond hair. To see a mermaid was a sign of bad luck, and like witches, they were also considered to be evil, causing natural events like storms and floods, though in some stories they helped people in difficulties. As mythical creatures, they occur worldwide and have been linked to the sirens of ancient Greek mythology. Stories and legends about mermaids crop up all round the coast of Britain, with several from Cornwall.
The lure of the mermaid
On the Cornish Atlantic coast, just west of St Ives, lies the small village of Zennor, where in times past the inhabitants made a living from farming, fishing, mining and quarrying. Nowadays, tourism is predominant, and the attractions include a Museum of Cornish Life and the romance of the mermaid legend. What was probably a much older story was first published in 1873 by William Bottrell, an early collector of folklore, in his book Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall.
It began with a beautiful and richly dressed young woman attending local churches – sometimes Zennor, sometimes Morvah, 5 miles along the coast. Her visits were irregular, but Continue reading
AI or A1?
Just recently it has been impossible to get away from AI (artificial intelligence), because it is being used, abused and debated the world over. Reading about AI is disconcerting, because at a glance it looks like A1, and with some typefaces it is impossible to distinguish between the letter ‘I’ and the numeral ‘1’ (and to add to the confusion, I is the Roman numeral for one).
Classification of ships
In maritime history, A1 referred to the highest classification of seagoing vessels. Lloyd’s Register was founded as a classification society in 1760, and surveyors recorded the condition of vessels. The information was printed in annual Lloyd’s Registers of Shipping, whose abbreviations and symbols changed over the years. The earliest known Register covered 1764–6, when top-quality vessels were classed as AG – the hull being A and the equipment G (for ‘good’). AG later changed to ‘a1’, but the Register for 1775–6 used A1.
In order to keep their class, ships had to be well maintained. Although classification was not compulsory, it was highly desirable, as it facilitated insurance and was a reliable sign of quality, reassuring underwriters, merchants, passengers and crew. Disasters could still happen to A1 shipping, Continue reading
When There Were Birds
Our new book was published in hardback and e-book on 11th November 2021, called When There Were Birds: The forgotten history of our connections. It is available in all superior bookshops and libraries, as well as online retailers. See our website page for details and reviews.
An audiobook will be available in 2022.
“a marvellously original slice of social history” (Daily Mail, Book of the Week)
“an appealing social history of Britain … [with] a lot of quirky information” (The Independent)
“The facts and folklore of birdlife … are dissected in admirable detail” (The Sunday Times)
Sinking of the Royal George
Our article ‘Royal George: The Sinking of the Royal Navy’s Greatest Warship’ was published in the summer 2020 issue of the online magazine Quarterdeck. This was the disastrous accidental sinking of the Royal George warship at Spithead, off Portsmouth, in August 1782. As well as the loss of over 900 lives, it was also the loss of the flagship that was about to lead a relief convoy to the besieged Rock of Gibraltar. The delay caused by the sinking and its aftermath almost led to Gibraltar being captured by the French and Spanish, but the garrison of the Rock held out.
It was an important incident for British, American and Gibraltarian history, which we feature in Continue reading
A Good Pair of Boots
Cob walls
Many surviving thatched buildings are made of cob, which was a cheap material for constructing walls. There is an old West Country saying: ‘all cob needs is a good hat and a good pair of boots’.
The hat is the thatch, while the boots refer to the foundations. The phrase is still used by some builders today and can be traced back in magazines to at least 1837, but is probably as old as Continue reading
Daisy Powders
This advert for ‘Daisy Powders’ dates back only to 1952, when it was being marketed as a cure-all for everything, from the terrors of ‘faceache’ to chills, influenza, lumbago and sleeplessness. It feels much like the quack medicines of two centuries ago. No doubt Covid-19 would be added to the list of ailments if ‘Daisy Powders and Tablets’ were still available.
It sounds just like the medicine practised in Jane Austen’s time, which you can read about in our book Eavesdropping on Jane Austen’s England, or in Nelson’s Navy, which we describe in Jack Tar.
Trafalgar Audiobook
Excellent news for all you audiobook listeners (or would-be listeners) – Trafalgar: The Biography of a Battle was released for the first time as an audiobook on 22nd October, to coincide with the 215th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar (and death of Nelson) that took place on 21st October 1805.
Green Park Gates
While in London a year or so ago, we went to Green Park to see a pair of huge blue and gold wrought-iron gates, a Grade II* Listed Building. The gates, which once formed a grand entrance to Green Park, are a reminder that visible traces of history can be much more complex than first impressions. They were originally made for the estate that Lord Heathfield purchased in 1789 to the west of London, at Turnham Green, which was then a small rural village. Heathfield House was demolished in 1837, but the name survives locally as Heathfield Terrace – not much to mark the hero of the Great Siege of Gibraltar, who is better known as George Augustus Eliott.
The Turnham Green gates, now at Green Park
The gates were purchased in 1837 by the Duke of Devonshire for the front of nearby Chiswick House, but in 1897 or 1898 they were moved to the front of Devonshire House in Piccadilly, London. Continue reading
Climate Change in 1859
Earlier in the year, we were enjoying a lengthy bout of sunny weather in Britain, with predictions of the summer turning into a prolonged heatwave, like the memorable year of 1976. Record-breaking temperatures are often reported with triumph by newspapers, as if this is a good thing. Then later on came the inevitable floods and high winds, leading to much misery.
Sunshine and showers in Devon in the summer of 2019
Such changeable weather is duly attributed to climate change, and yet the evidence for Continue reading