Forex Exchange

by Mike Rendell I recently came across the bill submitted to my ancestor Richard Hall by the Funeral Director on the occasion of the death of his first wife Eleanor in 1780. The undertakers (that is to say, the company which undertook the arrangements….) were John Cooper & Co. Here is the bill:    I have included it because it gives some idea of what was involved in a funeral in the Georgian Era in the latter part of the 18th Century. Eleanor Hall had died in her 47th year – she got up and had breakfast as normal on 11th January 1780 at her home at One London Bridge, had a splitting headache at midday, and was dead by six in the evening. In all probability she suffered a brain haemorrhage.  It must have been a terrible shock for Richard, who had married Eleanor nearly 27 years earlier, and for their three grown-up children, who all lived at the property. Richard records her death in his diary “Oh the affliction of this Day. My Dear and Affectionate Wife was suddenly s...

by Tony Franks-Buckley Although mostly associated with Cornwall, smuggling was a common occupation in poor seaside communities along all the coasts of Britain. Like many forms of crimes, it came about as the result of legislature, when Edward 1 placed a customs duty of wool exports to Europe, a duty that increased throughout the Hundred Years War, in order to fund the king’s attempts to become King of France. The customs service was primarily concerned with collecting duties, but as time went on, illegal trade increased, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries when smuggling reached industrial proportions. Wool exports were criminalised in 1614, and made punishable by death in 1661.[1] Smugglers began to arm themselves against the dreaded Revenue men, who were soon provided with 'cutters' to patrol the coasts. (Wirral Smugglers, Wreckers & Pirates - Gavin Chappell) Wallasey forms the northerly corner of the Wirral and has always been somewhat remote from the remainder o...

by Jenna Dawlish In 2011 there was rioting in London. It was a year before the Olympics was due to be held and the world watched as people from all classes rioted and looted. There was much discussion as to why it happened (the shooting dead of a young man by the police was the principle initiating reason). However, it soon became clear that there was an underlying reason for the rioting, and that there were other soci-economic reasons. Young people were fed up of lack of prospects and money and this spilled onto streets. Rewind about 150 years previously, to a small Devon town called Exeter. It's 1854 and the lower classes - known as the "underclass" are tired and fed up of the price of food going higher and higher. They end up rioting in much the same way as the Londoners. I have transcribed the following from the newspaper the Exeter Flying Post. It describes the riots and the authorities' reaction to it. There was much discussion in 2011 about whether or not to br...

By Rosanne E. Lortz We have all heard the story of Thomas Becket, the archbishop who refused to surrender to the will of King Henry II and ended up lying murdered on the floor of the church at Canterbury. What many people do not know, however, is that Thomas Becket was not the first Archbishop of Canterbury to defy a king in order to protect the power of the Church against the encroachments of the monarchy. He was simply following in the grand tradition of his illustrious predecessor, Anselm of Canterbury. When William the Conqueror died in 1087, his son William Rufus inherited the throne of England. The office of Archbishop of Canterbury fell vacant. For four years, the king refused to allow the office to be filled, declaring that he would be his own archbishop. The flock of England was thus left with no shepherd to tend her while a wolf wore the crown. Eventually, King William Rufus was prevailed upon to fill the office in Canterbury. He selected Anselm of Bec for this privilege,...

Karen V. Wasylowski "The communication of the dead is tongued with fire beyond the language of the living" Epitaph on the memorial to T.S.Eliot. The South Transept of Westninster Abbey is a special place when it comes to British culture.   It is here the mortal remains (or at least a memorial) of some of the greatest poets, playwrights and writers in English literature have been laid to rest, beginning with Geoffrey Chaucer in 1556.  Over the centuries the tradition has grown, and only a chosen few have been considered worthy of this honor. You can see how brilliant this man is... Chaucer actually owed his Westminster burial more to his position, Clerk of Works of the Palace of Westminster, than to his writing, but in 1556 he was moved the South Transept, along with Edmund Spencer, British Poet and writer of 'The Faerie Queen', and the popular corner began to take off.  Lord Byron is commemorated there, William Shakespeare as well (although his actual buria...

Nancy is giving away two copies of her new release, Loving Miss Darcy. One print copy will go to someone in the US or Canada and one ebook to someone internationally. You can read more about the book HERE . You will be prompted to return to this post to comment. Please be sure to leave your contact information and country.

By Jonathan Hopkins In the 18th and 19th centuries Britain’s standing army was made up entirely of ‘volunteers’. They weren’t forced into joining the military or obliged to serve by statute as in many European countries. While officers mostly purchased their commissions from the Crown, the rank and file were recruited from local militia groups, Yeomanry and fencibles, from amongst prisoners, and from within the general population. Joining the army of the time was not seen as the good career move it often is today. In peacetime soldiery was considered by the public as a rabble - gangs of uncouth, unprofessional troublemakers, regularly used by government to police instances of public disorder with unnecessary violence. Women who married soldiers were pitied as fools, not surprising since those whose husbands were sent to serve abroad would be often left destitute unless they had another source of income. It is difficult to see what, bar a sense of adventure, encouraged young me...