September 29, 1829 An act of Parliament, at the request of Sir Robert Peel, created the Greater London Metropolitan Police Force, later known as Scotland Yard. The men, afterward nicknamed “bobbies,” were named after Sir Robert himself.
The host must be delighted by the turnout! I won’t be able to forget this when describing a crowded ball or reception! The clothing is particularly interesting. Compare the lady on the right in white (a demure debutante?) and the one on the left with the train (rather less respectable, I think). The description in…
This month marks the anniversary of one of the most famous snubs in history, or at least in Regency history. For it was in July of 1813 that Beau Brummell snubbed the Prince Regent at London’s Argyle rooms. And that snub, for whatever momentary satisfaction it may have given Brummell, marked the beginning of the…
June is a busy month in the UK’s royal calendar. In addition to the King’s Birthday Parade (also known as Trooping the Colour), on the second Saturday of June there’s the Royal Ascot – arguably the most famous horse race in the world. The Royal Ascot races, held every year, span five days in the…
This month on the second Saturday in June, a curious and uniquely British ceremony took place, as it does every year. Trooping the Colour is a centuries-old tradition full of pomp and pageantry, where anything can, and sometimes does, happen.
Every era boasts its own cast of colorful characters – of people we wish we could have met, if for nothing else than their fascinating audacity. If Regency London could have nominated only one person for that role, it surely would have been Theodore Hook. The son of a composer, his precocious nature and scathing…
This post originally appeared on Sheri Cobb South‘s blog on January 6, 2014. Reposted with permission from the author. Patrick Colquhoun, London magistrate Some of my favorite comments from readers regarding the John Pickett mystery series concern the father-son relationship of Pickett and his magistrate, and how much the reader enjoys it. In fact, of…
A cross-post from The Regency Redingote: Yet again I have made a most delightfully serendipitous find in the course of my research. A lovely Regency-era guide-book which I think many Regency authors will find most helpful when they are seeking a setting for a new story, or perhaps planning a country excursion for their hero…
If you like history, romance or shopping, you will certainly enjoy today’s article by romance author, Regan Walker. Oxford Street in London is one of the settings in Regan’s new release, To Tame the Wind, which is set at the end of the eighteenth century. Though shopping malls had yet to be developed in the…
A cross-post from The Regency Redingote: Or to give this new history its full title, Prinny’s Taylor: The Life and Times of Louis Bazalgette (1750 – 1830). As is probably obvious from the fact that the subject of this book and the author share a rather unique last name, Charles Bazalgette has researched and…