Chance, the London Firemen’s Dog
Stop me not! But onward let me jog! For I am Chance, the London firemen’s dog!
View ArticleHow I Got to Here
So, with just a week to go until publication of The Day Parliament Burned Down, the story behind the story… When I began work at the Parliamentary Archives in 1999, I often found myself having to tell...
View ArticleHow Turner Captured Parliament Burning in 1834
If you enjoyed this, you might also like these other blogposts about JMW Turner: Inspiration Talking Titles On the Anniversary of Turner’s Death
View Article178 Years Ago Today…
On the 178th anniversary of The Day Parliament Burned Down, I’m enjoying this cartoon… If you’d like to follow the story of the 1834 fire in real time today and tomorrow, go to Twitter and follow...
View ArticleA Prayer for the High Court of Parliament to be read during their Session
This year is the 350th anniversary of the Book of Common Prayer, the authorized text of services for the Church of England, and the accompanying Act of Uniformity. It’s interesting to note the Anglican...
View ArticleRelics of the Old Palace of Westminster
One of my hopes on publishing The Day Parliament Burned Down was that new information which I had been unable to track down in my research would come to light when readers and audiences got to hear...
View ArticleA Tale of Two Birthdays
It’s not just Dickens’ 200th birthday, this is Pugin’s year too. One of the most pleasing aspects of the bicentenary celebrations of Charles Dickens’ birth is the way in which his early life before he...
View ArticleOn Watling Street
Just before Christmas I found myself attending a week-long course in the City of London and, as chance would have it, the training centre was on the corner of Queen Street and Watling Street EC4....
View ArticleAn Eyewitness on an Omnibus Comes Forward
Breaking news! The Nichols family who edited and printed The Gentleman’s Magazine were also parliamentary printers and their office was at 25 Parliament Street. John Gough Nichols (1806-1873) sent a...
View ArticleMore Relics of the Old Palace of Westminster
News of some other mementoes carved from the ruins of the old Palace of Westminster following the 1834 fire has reached me. This time they’ve been created from salvaged stonework, and depict a...
View ArticleWilliam Cobbett MP on the Old Houses of Parliament
It’s William Cobbett’s 250th birthday today. In honour of the occasion, here are the great radical’s views on sitting in the very uncomfortable House of Commons chamber in the years leading up to the...
View ArticleMy Hot Date with Mr Turner
I’m currently on a lecture tour for the Royal Oak Foundation (Americans in Alliance with the National Trust), and a few days ago I had the opportunity to visit one of the great Turner oils of the 1834...
View ArticleWyatt’s the Difference?
Lost buildings are always fascinating, and the old Palace of Westminster is no exception. When I come across a building which still stands relating to it, I find it hard to resist picturing it in my...
View ArticleOne Year On…And the Search Continues
Today is the first anniversary of publication of the book. A lot’s happened. Many lovely people have got in touch to say how much they enjoyed it. New accounts and relics of the fire have come to...
View ArticleHappy Anniversary, Great Fire of Westminster!
Yes, it’s 179 years since the old Houses of Parliament burned down. Last year there was the very successful real-time tweet of the events of 16 October 1834 (you can still see the story as it unfolded...
View ArticleTalking Books 1: My Patented Talk-Giving Pack
Having given over 50 talks in the last year or so, I now have packing for them down to a fine art. The perfect history book talk pack comprises the following for me: One small hard-sided suitcase with...
View ArticleTalking Books 2: How to be the Perfect Talk Host
I’ve been in two minds about whether to publish this post. You see, this one is about what makes a good experience for a speaker. Not what makes a good talk, but the view from the other side of the...
View ArticleNot Seen, Not Heard: The Ladies’ Gallery of the Old Palace of Westminster
This week is Parliament Week, and 2013′s theme is ‘Women in Democracy’. I thought it would be fun therefore to provide you with a description of what it was like for women to visit a debate in the...
View ArticleYet More Relics of the Old Palace
I blogged this time last year about the snuff boxes made from salvaged wood from the old Palace which still occasionally turn up at antique dealers, and early in 2013 about the mysterious ornaments...
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