A broad landscape of archaeology, history and heritage.
Edward Lloyd I was a guest on a podcast recently, where I was asked to talk about Edward Lloyd, owner of one of the world’s most famous coffee houses in the late 17th to early 18th century, and unbeknownst to him, a founder of a global marketplace that almost underwrites the world. Rather than celebrate […]
Read More Edward lloyd, the man.Chocolate took off as a popular and luxurious drink in 17th century Europe. It has all the trappings of an expensive commodity, using expensive imported ingredients and difficult to make. But what was it like?
Read More 17th Century “Choclatt”Coffee became fashinale in the late 17th century. What was it like?
Read More The Coffee Drink of the 17th CenturyWe all know about the Great Fire of London. But what about the other parts of the story that were unfolding before and after the Fire itself?
Read More The Great Fire of London: Hidden Perspectives and ImpactsIt’s been 10 years since I started the Historier’s Miscellany…
Read More AnniversariesA Wartime Christmas.
Read More Wartime ChristmasI traversed this day, by Steamboat, the space between London and Hungerford bridges… the appearance and the smell of the water forced themselves at Once Upon my attention. The whole of the river was an opaque, pale brown fluid… the smell was very bad, and common to the whole of the water. Michael Faraday, in […]
Read More The ThamesI’m away for the May Day Bank Holiday weekend in Hampshire, and the world has changed. The weather atrocious, the journey down was difficult and tiring, but today, it is perfect. I’ve always adored early May. The early spring has gone, Easter, which has always been a busy time for me, has passed and finally […]
Read More May DayI almost spat my coffee across the train carriage when I saw my name in a 15th century manuscript.
Read More The 15th Century Ancestor.This short cold period we are in, and my research on 17th century coffee houses took my mind to wearing wigs.
Read More It’s cold out there… wear a wig.J.T. Smith published the Ancient Topography of London in 1815. Within it, I discovered a “sunken building”.
Read More J.T. Smith’s Ancient Topography of LondonThe heat did me in this week. I am usually OK with high temperatures, or at least I thought I was. I have often worked outside in soaring temperatures. As an archaeologist I worked in wide open fields during heatwaves and remember the sweat dripping off my nose like a leaking tap. I developed a […]
Read More HeatwaveWhat is London Wall? It is many things including a main road. It is archaeology, history and mythology. But above all, it is a boundary, that, although no longer here, is still ever present.
Read More London WallThe yew tree in the Corhampton Church graveyard appears to predate the church.
Read More CorhamptonIron Age hillforts have an impact on the landscape. In this blog I look at Old WInchester Hill in Hampshire.
Read More Old Winchester HillJacob Foster’s gravestone is the last in Dunwich. To us, it represents so much more than just Jacob.
Read More the last gravestone in dunwichWalls have so much to say. All the scars, knocks and scrapes tells of a wider story.
Read More A Wall Will tell a 1000 StoriesDark Earth is an amorphous, bland and unremarkable archaeological deposit. but it represents so much more.
Read More Dark EarthA 1772 list of East India Company ships, from the Jerusalem Coffee House.
Read More The Coffee House Ships ListThe Kaledarium Hortense is a classic gardening book by John Evelyn. It takes the gentleman gardener through the year, detailing what he is meant to do in the garden with fruit vegetables and flowers. Much of his advice is straight forward gardening knowledge and logic, and something you may well hear on TV, radio or […]
Read More The Gard’ner’s AlmanacThe meaning of historic places has very much changed in recent years. People have been using them in very different and personal ways, above and beyond the usual interest in architecture and historical events. I’ve seen this developing at Creake Abbey, an historic site I’ve been visiting for the past 15 years or so. It […]
Read More The AbbeyClaes Visscher’s panorama of London is one of the most famous images of the City for many reasons. We see the various landmarks across London, such as the churches, Leadenhall and the Exchange, all of them labelled. Architecturally the panorama is superb, with the buildings drawn in great quality, detail and precision. It shows us […]
Read More Visscher’s PeopleI don’t really believe in ghosts, or the supernatural, but I am fascinated by it. Rationally, I don’t believe in ghosts. Emotionally, I want to, or rather, want to be left with a feeling of mystery and slight fear. I am caught between two worlds: rational logic and emotional desire. I am not looking to […]
Read More There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio…
An Historier's Miscellany 