Category Archives: Tid-bits

Private Education in 18th-century Norfolk

The following advertisement appeared in the Norfolk Chronicle for 27th June, 1780. EDUCATION. Mr RIVETT, Writing-master, Accountant, Teacher of Mathematical and Philosophical Sciences at East Dereham, in Norfolk, tenders his respectful Acknowledgements to those Gentlemen and Ladies who have obliged … Continue reading

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“Concerning Buggs”

Katherine Windham’s Book of Cookery and Housekeeping of 1707,  transcribed by my friends Bonnie Lovelock and Roger Sykes, contains much more than cooking recipes. There are also various medicines, human and animal, and practical household tips such as these. In her … Continue reading

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A True Gentleman of the Road

From the Ipswich Journal. Highwaymen were rarely this kind. August 7th 1773 On Friday evening last as two ladies and a gentleman were coming by post chaise from Ingatestone to Chelmsford, they were attacked by a highway man within a … Continue reading

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An Intriguing Variant on Wife Selling

The following item was printed in the Ipswich Journal. It could be a variant form of the well-attested practice of wife-selling, or it could have been a ploy all along to get hold of a fine animal to sell, since … Continue reading

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The 18th-Century Gutter Press

Observers from continental European countries during the 18th century were amazed – and envious – at the lack of censorship in Britain. There were some laws against too free a use of the printing press, such as the charge of … Continue reading

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An 18th-century Public Apology

One of the penalties that could be enforced on guilty parties in the eighteenth century was to pay for a public apology and admission of guilt to be published in a suitable local newspaper or newspapers. It seems to have … Continue reading

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Be Careful What You Wish For!

The following poem appeared in the Norfolk Chronicle in 1784. A citizen of you know where, Discoursing with his dearest dear, As o’er the silver stream they rode Close cheek by jowl together stow’d, Of fiddle-fiddle gan to chatter, He … Continue reading

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Buried At The crossroads

Here’s a little extra for Hallowe’en, proving that old customs lingered on in some rural parts of England. It’s from the Bury and Norwich Post. October 2nd 1783 There was an inquisition taken at Ballingdon in Essex near Sudbury on … Continue reading

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The Wrong Trousers

No, not Wallace and Gromit, but a cautionary tale from the Norwich papers of 1775. It seems even the good people of Holt in Norfolk were not averse to a ‘bit on the side’. The following odd affair happened at … Continue reading

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