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.
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.
London, October 1814 – a time of peace. Britain was no longer at war with France, though the war with the United States of America continued. Nobody realised that in early 1815 Europe would be engulfed by turmoil when Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from Elba, which would culminate in the Battle of Waterloo.
The Horseshoe Brewery, which was named after the public house next door, lay between Tottenham Court Road, Bainbridge Street, New Street and Great Russell Street. This was almost the unmarked boundary between the upmarket West End of London and the notorious slums of St Giles.
The slum tenements of St Giles, London
This brewery was known for its porter, which had grown out of the custom of Londoners drinking a mix of two or three weak and strong beers. In the 1720s one brewer had produced a blend of three beers that was dark brown, almost black, in colour. This strong beer was so popular with market porters that Continue reading
