,Wishing you all the very best. We are taking our own holiday and will return in the New Year for more walks about Regency Britain.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas
by Ann Lethbridge and Michele Ann Young
,
Wishing you all the very best. We are taking our own holiday and will return in the New Year for more walks about Regency Britain.
,Wishing you all the very best. We are taking our own holiday and will return in the New Year for more walks about Regency Britain.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Regency London
by Michele Ann
It's been a while since we visited London, but I thought we might have a change of scene.
Inns in our period were very important places. The larger ones were not only watering holes, but they were meeting places, transportation terminals and hotels.
The Talbot pictured here in 1810. This inn which was established in 1307 on the east side of Borough High Street in Southwark. A principal route in and out of London.
(Originally called the Tabard after a short coat, either sleeveless, or with short sleeves or shoulder pieces, which was a common item of men's clothing in the middle ages.)
The Tabard appears in Chaucer's Cantebury Tales as the place where the pilgrims gathered prior to setting out on their journey.
It was renamed after a fire destroyed it and it was rebuilt 1669.
It became a posting house, and a place for visitors to London to stay on the other side of the Thames opposite the city.
The gallery which runs around the inside of the courtyard of many these inns always reminds me of a modern motel.
The Cock Inn Leadenhall Street.
This is a lesser known inn according to my source "Inns and Taverns of Old London" and was thought to be originally a boys charity school - the carvings of small boys holding up the over-hanging second story giving it away. You can also make out the cockerel sign below the bay window. It is a beautiful building and still in existence during our period. It is a tavern rather than a coaching inn and would have provided food as well as a favourite libation.
That's all from me. Until next time, happy rambles.
It's been a while since we visited London, but I thought we might have a change of scene.
Inns in our period were very important places. The larger ones were not only watering holes, but they were meeting places, transportation terminals and hotels.
The Talbot pictured here in 1810. This inn which was established in 1307 on the east side of Borough High Street in Southwark. A principal route in and out of London.(Originally called the Tabard after a short coat, either sleeveless, or with short sleeves or shoulder pieces, which was a common item of men's clothing in the middle ages.)
The Tabard appears in Chaucer's Cantebury Tales as the place where the pilgrims gathered prior to setting out on their journey.
It was renamed after a fire destroyed it and it was rebuilt 1669.
It became a posting house, and a place for visitors to London to stay on the other side of the Thames opposite the city.
The gallery which runs around the inside of the courtyard of many these inns always reminds me of a modern motel.
The Cock Inn Leadenhall Street.This is a lesser known inn according to my source "Inns and Taverns of Old London" and was thought to be originally a boys charity school - the carvings of small boys holding up the over-hanging second story giving it away. You can also make out the cockerel sign below the bay window. It is a beautiful building and still in existence during our period. It is a tavern rather than a coaching inn and would have provided food as well as a favourite libation.
That's all from me. Until next time, happy rambles.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Stourhead - Part of the sixth
by Ann
This must be the longest walk we have ever taken together. I do so enjoy your company.
I promised the Pantheon, but this is not it.
This is just the sweetest little cottage. I honestly do not know the history behind it. If anyone does, there is a prize waiting for you.
I'm guessing it was a sort of half way house where the owners could stop and have a cup of tea and pretend to be rustics, the way Marie Antoinette did, but I'd be more than pleased to have the true story.
So here we have our Temple dedicated to Apollo, the sun god and without whom no garden can flourish.
And the Pantheon
The Pantheon first called the Temple of Hercules, as its interior is dominated by a marble statue of Hercules by Rysbrack whose biceps were apparently modelled on Jack Broughton,'the father of English boxing'.
Other statues lining the curved wall below the dome are St Susanna; Diana, goddess of hunting; Flora, goddess of gardens; Livia Augusta, wife of Emperor Augustus; Meleager, Atalanta’s lover and god of hunting; and Isis an Egyptian goddess. You can see a picture of the inside here at the National Trust Website
And so we continue on our journey.
Until next time, Happy Rambles
This must be the longest walk we have ever taken together. I do so enjoy your company.
I promised the Pantheon, but this is not it. This is just the sweetest little cottage. I honestly do not know the history behind it. If anyone does, there is a prize waiting for you.
I'm guessing it was a sort of half way house where the owners could stop and have a cup of tea and pretend to be rustics, the way Marie Antoinette did, but I'd be more than pleased to have the true story.
So here we have our Temple dedicated to Apollo, the sun god and without whom no garden can flourish.And the Pantheon
The Pantheon first called the Temple of Hercules, as its interior is dominated by a marble statue of Hercules by Rysbrack whose biceps were apparently modelled on Jack Broughton,'the father of English boxing'.
Other statues lining the curved wall below the dome are St Susanna; Diana, goddess of hunting; Flora, goddess of gardens; Livia Augusta, wife of Emperor Augustus; Meleager, Atalanta’s lover and god of hunting; and Isis an Egyptian goddess. You can see a picture of the inside here at the National Trust Website
And so we continue on our journey.
Until next time, Happy Rambles
Monday, December 7, 2009
Regency Fashion for December
Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat Please put a penny in the old man's hat If you haven't got a penny and ha'penny will do, If you haven't got a ha'penny, God bless you.
An old song, but one we still remember and that reminds us to be charitable in this time of feasting.
A carriage dress from La Belle Assemblee 1813.
It is quite beautiful.
Thanks to Sue, whose comment you will find below, here is the description!
Kutusoff Mantle. Pink or scarlet cloth mantle, trimmed with a broad velvet ribband to correspond, a spenser of the same materials, one sleeve of which is concealed by the folds of the mantle; the collar, which is high and puckered, fastened at the throat with a broach; and a long lappel, which ends in a point, falls considerably over the left shoulder.
A Kutusoff hat of pink or scarlet cloth, turned up in front, with a little corner to the right side, ties under the chin, and is finished with a pink or scarlet feather; a full puffing of lace or net is seen underneath. Plain cambric high dress, and pink or scarlet leather half boots.
Our readers will be able to form a much better idea of this very elegant mantle from our Plate than from description; its effect upon a tall and graceful figure is amazingly striking, and it is, for the carriage costume, decidedly the most elegant cloak that we have seen for some seasons back, and does the greatest credit to the tasteful fancy of its inventress, Miss Powell, successor to Mrs. Franklin, Piccadilly.
This is a morning gown from:
Here you see the classic look and the very high waist, but a surprisingly dark bodice.
This is an unusual print because it shows the back and the front of the same gown and is described as follows.
Demi corset of black or coloured velvet, lined and trimmed with blue silk. Bonnet a la Repentir, of black velvet trimmed with blue, and deep lace veil. White muslin or chintz dress. Slate-coloured gloves, bear muff, and purple shoes.
Until next time, Happy Rambles
An old song, but one we still remember and that reminds us to be charitable in this time of feasting.
A carriage dress from La Belle Assemblee 1813.It is quite beautiful.
Thanks to Sue, whose comment you will find below, here is the description!
Kutusoff Mantle. Pink or scarlet cloth mantle, trimmed with a broad velvet ribband to correspond, a spenser of the same materials, one sleeve of which is concealed by the folds of the mantle; the collar, which is high and puckered, fastened at the throat with a broach; and a long lappel, which ends in a point, falls considerably over the left shoulder.
A Kutusoff hat of pink or scarlet cloth, turned up in front, with a little corner to the right side, ties under the chin, and is finished with a pink or scarlet feather; a full puffing of lace or net is seen underneath. Plain cambric high dress, and pink or scarlet leather half boots.
Our readers will be able to form a much better idea of this very elegant mantle from our Plate than from description; its effect upon a tall and graceful figure is amazingly striking, and it is, for the carriage costume, decidedly the most elegant cloak that we have seen for some seasons back, and does the greatest credit to the tasteful fancy of its inventress, Miss Powell, successor to Mrs. Franklin, Piccadilly.
This is a morning gown from: The Ladies Monthly Museum, 1799
Here you see the classic look and the very high waist, but a surprisingly dark bodice.
This is an unusual print because it shows the back and the front of the same gown and is described as follows.
Demi corset of black or coloured velvet, lined and trimmed with blue silk. Bonnet a la Repentir, of black velvet trimmed with blue, and deep lace veil. White muslin or chintz dress. Slate-coloured gloves, bear muff, and purple shoes.
Until next time, Happy Rambles
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Bits and Bites
Here is a neat link for history buffs: A Christmas Carol
Nothing quite like seeing the writer at work, in this case Charles Dickens. Dickens was born in 1812, so while his novels were written later, his childhood is squarely in the Regency. And it being the Christmas Season, I thought you would enjoy this particular fascinating bit of information.
Until next time, Happy Rambles