Category Archives: Tid-bits

“Great Cry and Little Wooll …”

Posted on September 25, 2019 by William Savage

One of the joys of looking through editions of early eighteenth-century newspapers is finding the unexpected. Only last week, I was browsing through the pages of the Ipswich Journal for April 15th, 1721, when I came across this gem: the … Continue reading →

Posted in Theatre, Tid-bits | 2 Comments

An 18th-century Domestic Fire Engine

Posted on May 9, 2018 by William Savage

The picture above shows the 18th-century Newsham domestic fire engine which today stands in a corridor at Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk (NT). Fire was a constant threat in Georgian mansions, especially given the number of candles, the flammable fabrics of curtains … Continue reading →

Posted in Tid-bits | 4 Comments

Cat Epitaphs

Posted on March 28, 2018 by William Savage

From the middle of the century, epitaphs for pet cats, usually in the form of poems, begin to appear in various newspapers and magazines. Here are some lines from one published anonymously in the London Magazine of 1733, obviously by a … Continue reading →

Posted in Textiles, Tid-bits | 7 Comments

Eighteenth-Century Literary Cats

Posted on February 14, 2018 by William Savage

  The eighteenth century is often counted as the beginning of the modern era. Many attitudes and customs, associated with the Middle Ages, were replaced by approaches that we recognise as closely akin to our modern ways of doing things. … Continue reading →

Posted in Tid-bits | 3 Comments

John Money: Despair and Rescue

Posted on February 7, 2018 by William Savage

We left Major John Money, the balloonist, on Saturday, July 23rd, 1785, up to his waist in water and convinced it was only a matter of time before his balloon sank and he would be drowned. At first, he seemed … Continue reading →

Posted in C18th Norfolk, Tid-bits | 4 Comments

John Money Aloft

Posted on January 31, 2018 by William Savage

In the first instalment of balloonist Major John Money’s story, I dealt with the background and the arrangements made in Norwich for the balloon to take off. You will recall, that Money was to have gone up with two other … Continue reading →

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The Georgian Ship’s Cat

Posted on January 10, 2018 by William Savage

Cats have been taken aboard ship since at least Viking times and possibly well before that. It was not unusual for ships to be infested with rats and mice, causing obvious problems to on-board supplies of food. The ship’s cat … Continue reading →

Posted in Tid-bits | 7 Comments

Don’t Mess with Eighteenth-Century Doctors!

Posted on August 23, 2017 by William Savage

Here’s a delightful story from The Norfolk Chronicle of 26th March, 1796, concerning a quarrel between a doctor and an army officer over the officer’s demand that the doctor should play his flute when he didn’t want to. Since it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Tid-bits | 2 Comments

The Georgian Way with People ‘Passing off’ or Short Measure

Posted on March 25, 2016 by William Savage

Giving short measure or trying to pass-off substandard goods is not a modern phenomenon. As the following notice from The Norwich Mercury of December, 1757 shows, the masters of the trade guilds sometimes took strong action against those who threatened … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Tid-bits | 1 Comment

A Quarrel at the Dinner Table

Posted on March 4, 2016 by William Savage

  Here‘s proof that feelings about the correct ordering of meals could run high, even amongst genteel Georgian ladies. The piece comes from a Norwich newspaper of 1772. “I went a few days ago to dine in the country with … Continue reading →

Posted in Tid-bits | Tagged | 2 Comments