I've always been fascinated by John Playford's English Dancing Master. As a collector of antiquarian books with a particular interest in folk music and dance, this was one of those books I always wanted to find. I've had saved searches on various antiquarian book and auction websites but nothing has every turned up and I've never seen an actual copy either in the flesh or photograph.
Turns out that despite it's fame and the numerous facsimiles available, including of the 1651 edition, ...
Carte de Visite of a Victorian Village Band, c.1860s with various brass instruments including trombone outside a public house which appears to be The Star Inn, location unknown. Photographer unidentified.
Mill Bay laundry was one of the largest in Plymouth. Sited nearby were the Alkali Soap & Soda Works, providing the cleaning materials, and the Railway, giving the company convenient transport of good to towns & cities throughout the West Country. In about 1780, before the laundry was established, a musket redoubt, or fort, was built here on top of a large hill. By the 1850s the hill and redoubt had been quarried away.
Formally built as a hall for non-conformists in the late 1830s, by the 1870s it was the premises of the famous organ builders Hele & Co. They were to produce stops, pipes and complete organs throughout the city. A notable one was made for St Peter's Church which was later destroyed in WWII. During that period, the hall's basement was the HQ for the local Air Raid Wardens, after which the building also hosted boxing matches and acted as a gym.
Sewers were known to harbour things that were lethal to humans and the environment. In these early days of sanitisation one of these was the problem of the build-up of noxious and explosive gases such as Methane, Carbon Monoxide, etc. To solve the problem sewer lamps were installed or ventilation chimneys were built like this one (c1885) which is still in service and connected to the 'Dead Lake Sewage System'
Here stood what was known as 'Albert Hall' built in 1871; soon after it was known as The Royal Albert Hall. It was said to be an ugly building on the outside but very pretty and tasteful on the inside. Originally intended for concerts it could seat 2800 people and 4000 standing. By 1875 Thomas Martin the owner following a skating craze decided to put together the 'Monster Rink' here in the hall. It was later said to be the largest in the Westcountry
Until the passing of the Suicide Act 1961, Suicide was still a criminal offence in England and until 1882 suicides had to be buried on unconsecrated ground. In the seventeenth and eighteen century, those declared to have commited felo de se (the archaic term for suicide) were given a shameful burial, usually under cover of darkness with a stake driven through the body, and forfeited their estate to The Crown.
This map shows the locations of documented cases as and when found
Why were ...
Until the passing of the Suicide Act 1961, Suicide was still a criminal offence in England and until 1882 suicides had to be buried on unconsecrated ground. In the seventeenth and eighteen century, those declared to have commited felo de se (the archaic term for suicide) were given a shameful burial, usually under cover of darkness with a stake driven through the body, and forfeited their estate to The Crown.
In 1806, the Oxford Journal reported the burial of Jacob Sallis of Littleport in ...
Trying to identify the location of this mid-Victorian photograph, inscribed on the reverse:
"A very old amateur plate taken before old Latham destroyed ancient earthworks. A valuable picture found by chance amongst some old plates"
