Category Archives: Travel

The Terrors of the 18th-century German Ocean

Posted on November 21, 2018 by William Savage

Our correspondent at Corton has favoured us with the following melancholy account of the damage the shipping sustained by the high winds, on Tuesday and Wednesday last, near that place: ­­ The Millbank, of Lynn, John RITETRIE, master, to the … Continue reading →

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The Intrepid John Money

Posted on January 24, 2018 by William Savage

John Money was born in Trowse Newton, near Norwich, probably in 1741. Some accounts say 1752, but I think this is almost certainly wrong, since it would require him to begin his career in the regular army at the age … Continue reading →

Posted in Georgian Society, Travel | 2 Comments

The Purposes of the Grand Tour

Posted on February 15, 2017 by William Savage

During the 17th and 18th centuries, rich young Englishmen finished their education by going on The Grand Tour — an extended cultural and collecting trip through continental Europe. You can think of it as a ‘finishing school’ for the sons … Continue reading →

Posted in Fashion, Leisure, Travel | 5 Comments

Georgian Travel: Bad Weather and Bad Roads

Posted on January 25, 2017 by William Savage

Here is a final group of examples of travel problems from the diaries of Mary Hardy. Most relate to coping with bad weather, especially in winter, but bad roads were just as great a difficulty in many parts of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | 8 Comments

Georgian Travel: Falling off your Horse

Posted on May 4, 2016 by William Savage

  One of the commonest problems facing travellers in the 18th century was staying in the saddle. Considering how much some of them must have ridden, this is odd. Nevertheless, people seem to have fallen off their horses with suspicious regularity, … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | 3 Comments

Georgian Travel: Vehicle Accidents and Breakdowns

Posted on April 13, 2016 by William Savage

I set out the background to the daily perils of Georgian roads and travel in my previous post. Now it’s time to delve into the specifics. As I wrote in the first instalment, all these examples are drawn from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | 2 Comments

Georgian Travel’s Less-romantic Perils

Posted on March 22, 2016 by William Savage

The Main Problem for Travellers wasn’t Highwaymen It’s inevitable that historical novelists, screen-writers – even the writers of popular history – should focus primarily on the more dramatic dangers facing travellers in the 18th century. Like highwaymen and footpads on … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | 4 Comments

Traffic on Georgian Roads in Norfolk

Posted on January 12, 2016 by William Savage

A Better Picture? Britain’s roads in the Georgian and Regency periods were much busier than many people might imagine. Modern life makes it attractive to conjure up an idyllic picture of an 18th-century landscape free from human intrusion. There might … Continue reading →

Posted in C18th Norfolk, Travel | 2 Comments

The Turbulent Life of John Black (1)

Posted on January 5, 2016 by William Savage

A Norfolk Adventurer, Mutiny Survivor and Privateer John Black was born on 31 October, 1778, in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, though he spent his childhood at Woodbridge in Suffolk, where his father, also called John, was curate at Butley from 1789 … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Travel | 2 Comments

A Norfolk Clergyman Takes The Grand Tour—Twice!

Posted on December 1, 2015 by William Savage

Going on The Grand Tour in 17th and 18th-century Britain became an essential element in the education of the sons[1] of the gentry and nobility. They were sent to acquire the correct veneer of polish, based on personal acquaintance with … Continue reading →

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