Category Archives: travel

The Beginning of the Turnpike Roads in Georgian England

 The roads leading into London were placed under the control of individual turnpike trusts during the first 30 years of the 1700s in England. My mid century, cross-routes were added to the list under turnpike trusts. The roads, especially those … Continue reading

Posted in British history, buildings and structures, commerce, Georgian England, Industrial Revolution, Living in the UK, Scotland, travel | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Use of Dog Carts in Regency England

In my first post of August, a reader asked about a means for a female to go about the estate to paint scenery, etc. In my response, among my suggestions, I mentioned the use of dog carts as a possibility … Continue reading

Posted in Act of Parliament, British history, Georgian England, Georgian Era, history, laws of the land, real life tales, Regency era, research, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Reader Question: What Were the Choices of Carriages for a Lady in the Regency to Simply Travel About Her Husband’s Estate to Sketch and Paint?

CARRIAGE CHOICES: New Question from a Familiar Follower: I have a character in the book I am writing who prefers to keep her distance from horses, but she enjoys painting and walking quite long distances to sketch outdoors. Her husband … Continue reading

Posted in British history, Georgian England, Georgian Era, heroines, historical fiction, history, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, reading, Regency era, research, tradtions, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rotten Row: How This Fashionable Place Earned Such an Unusual Name?

During the Regency Era one of the places to see and be seen was a broad stretch of track running along the south side of Hyde Park in London. It was known as Rotten Row, not a very enticing name … Continue reading

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Controlling a Carriage During the Regency

“In Jane Austin’s Northanger Abbey, Mr. Thorpe enthuses over his new carriage, boasting, “Curricle-hung, you see; seat, trunk, sword-case, splashing-board, lamps, silver moulding, all you see complete; the iron work as good as new or better” — and all for … Continue reading

Posted in Always Austen, British history, Georgian England, Georgian Era, history, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Northanger Abbey, Regency era, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Brief History of Ballooning

By the Regency, hydrogen balloons were more typically used than hot air. The problem with hot air balloons at that time was they did not have a good fuel source, as we do now. So they could stay up only … Continue reading

Posted in British history, Georgian England, Georgian Era, history, real life tales, research, travel, world history | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Phaeton, a Regency Carriage with Wide Appeal – and a Dangerous Side, a Guest Post by Eliza Shearer

Towards the end of Pride and Prejudice, in a letter explaining Mr Darcy‘s role in securing Lydia’s marriage to Mr Wickham, Mrs Gardiner writes to her niece Elizabeth, whom she suspects the master of Pemberley admires very much: “I shall never be … Continue reading

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“To See a Fine Lady on a White Horse”

Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross,To see a fine lady upon a white horse;Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,And she shall have music wherever she goes. [I. Opie and P. Opie. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. Oxford: … Continue reading

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Appleby-in-Westmorland, a Market Town and Home of the Biggest Horse Fair in the World

Appleby-in-Westmorland, the smallest county town in England with a population of 2600, lies to the east of what is referred to as “the Lake District.” Its history goes back to the 9th Century when the Vikings settled in the area. … Continue reading

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The Amazing “Daddy Long Legs” and Brighton’s History

Many of us who write Regency Romance have our tales connected to Brighton, a seaside resort some 50 miles removed from London, in East Sussex. Brighton’s popularity with the rich, famous, and royal continued in the 19th century, and saw … Continue reading

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