The name of George Bradshaw is forever linked with the railway guides that were at one time in every traveller’s pocket. In fact the publishing company founded by Bradshaw spread its net far wider than timetables, and among the many titles that came out under its patronage was a rather splendid handbook to London, which first appeared in 1880, price …
The Magic of Christmas, or, Charles Dickens and Hamley’s of High Holborn
One of the most delightful items of Dickensiana to have come my way is the memoir of her father—My Father As I Recall Him—written by Mary “Mamie” Dickens. The 1897 edition printed by the Roxburghe Press is a slim octavo, its blue cover adorned with a gold embossed image, the significance of which is explained by the author in Chapter …
Tavern Rats, or, The Strange Story of Edward Shuter
A good story is told about a fellow called Edward Shuter. He was a Methodist, of sorts, although his religious leanings do not concern us that much. He was also an actor on the London stage, and his theatrical activities concern us rather more. He was a man of the eighteenth century, born early in the reign of George II …
A Young Father, or, Shocking Immorality in the Pentonville Road
On Wednesday the 23rd of March 1870 regular visitors to the Thames Police Court in Arbour Street in Stepney witnessed the sadly common sight of a young woman bringing a summons for support against the father of her illegitimate child. Like Mr Franklin Lushington, the attending magistrate, they no doubt sat back waiting for the usual story of seduction and betrayal, …
The Whistling Oyster of Vinegar Yard
Behind the Theatre Royal in the Covent Garden area of London there was once a narrow court called Vinegar Yard. All that remains of it now is a passage entered through an arched gateway. But there was a time when you could walk through Vinegar Yard from Drury Lane to what was then Bridges Street or Brydges Street. And it …
A Phoenix at Eventide, or, The Story of William Henry Monk
This is the story of William Henry Monk. He was a professor of music, and, if perhaps his name is not familiar to you, a melody he composed in a moment of inspiration most certainly will be. But it is also the story of his daughter Florence—full name Florence Emily Caroline Monk—who unwittingly provided that inspiration. But you are warned …
John Willis of Seven Dials, or, The Stuff of London Legend
If you read our recent post on Grip, the raven much beloved of Charles Dickens, you will remember that it was removed from the writer’s home on its demise in March 1841 in a covered basket, and was returned stuffed, in a rather fine glass-fronted “rustic” case. In other words, it had been taken to a taxidermist. Sadly, we have …
Cochrane’s Calculator, or, The Story of Edward Leyden
If you read my earlier post on the work of the National Philanthropic Association, you will know that it was a charitable institution founded in 1842 by Charles Cochrane. The principal object of the enterprise was to keep the streets of London clean, but it went on to run a soup kitchen in Leicester Square, and a refuge, the Mount …
A Short Fuse, or, Robert Milnes Newton and the London Fireworks Brigade
On the 8th of November 1886, which was a Monday, a raggle-taggle mob of youthful defendants found themselves in the dock at the police court in Great Marlborough Street, just off Oxford Street. The magistrate presiding over the proceedings was Robert Milnes Newton. You may well recognise the name from the infamous trial of February 1865, when Oscar Wilde had …
Haunted by Sadness, or, Is 50 Berkeley Square London’s most Ghost-Ridden House?
50 Berkeley Square would appear to be an unlikely location for the most haunted house in London. This elegant Mayfair townhouse on the west side of the square certainly does not look from the outside as if it would be troubled by disturbed spirits. Its reputation is probably connected to the popularity of haunted house stories in nineteenth century newspapers—for …