Tag Archives: real life tales

Consecration of Westminster Abbey, 28 December 1065

Posted on December 28, 2018 by

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster is a large Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London, England, situated to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It was a Benedictine monastic church until the monastery was … Continue reading →

Posted in Anglo-Saxons, architecture, British history, buildings and structures, Church of England, customs and tradiitons, Great Britain, history, legends and myths, Living in the UK, medieval, real life tales, religion, tradtions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Have You Ever Heard of a “Bachelor Tax”?

Posted on December 10, 2018 by

In British history, in 1695, the English parliament passed The Marriage Duty Act or Registration Tax, which imposed a tax on births, marriages, burials, childless widowers, and bachelors over the age of 25. It was primarily used as a revenue … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, business, history, Living in the UK, marriage, real life tales, war, world history | Tagged , , , , , , ,

Albert Young’s Threat Toward and Arthur O’Connor’s Attempt to Kill Queen Victoria

Posted on November 30, 2018 by

It was twenty-two years after Robert Pate’s ill-fated attempt to kill Queen Victoria before another attempt was made against her. According to Raymond Lamont-Brown in How Fat Was Henry VIII (The History Press, 2009, page 149) Albert Young’s threat against … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, England, Great Britain, history, real life tales, research, royalty, Victorian era | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Robert Pate Strikes Queen Victoria with His Cane, but Does Not Kill Her

Posted on November 23, 2018 by

A little over two years passed after William Hamilton’s attempt to assassinate Queen Victoria on 19 June 1849, before Robert Pate made his attempt on 27 June 1850. Born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on Christmas Day 1819, Pate came from a … Continue reading →

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William Strickland, the Man Who Introduced Turkeys to England

Posted on November 21, 2018 by

Tomorrow in the U.S., we will be all about the turkey and fixings and football and preparing for Black Friday sales, but in the U.K., turkeys are a more traditional dish for Christmas. Why might you ask? We can blame … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, buildings and structures, Christmas, Church of England, customs and tradiitons, England, history, holidays, kings and queens, legends, Living in the UK, real life tales, religion, Thanksgiving | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

My Memories of the Marshall University Plane Crash

Posted on November 14, 2018 by

This is not a post based on Jane Austen and her writing or on the Regency Period in England as you would customarily find on my blog. Rather it is a a moment in time when I stood witness to … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, film, real life tales, sports history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

James Lackington: The Man Who Revolutionized Book Stores

Posted on November 12, 2018 by

In a time when we bemoan the loss of Borders, Waldenbooks, and fear the demise of Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million, it is hard for us to imagine what it must have been like for those who entered “The Dome … Continue reading →

Posted in books, British history, buildings and structures, business, England, Georgian England, history, publishing, reading, reading habits, real life tales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,