This year for the 187th anniversary of the fire which burned down the old Houses of Parliament, I’m marking the event with a talk on Zoom. With stunning images from the Parliamentary Art Collection and other galleries, you’ll have a ringside seat from the comfort of your own home as I recount the story through […]
Old Palace of Westminster
Snuff’s Enough
It had to happen. Yes, more stuff boxes have come to light. Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a growing collection of memorabilia relating to the old Palace, specifically items made from the salvaged wood and metal extracted from the smoking ruins in 1834. And I’m always on the lookout for […]
In the Picture
Here is a recent blogpost I wrote for the excellent Virtual St Stephen’s Project, a collaborative academic project based at York University which is seeking to reconstruct the history and architecture of one of the most famous and influential buildings of the old Palace of Westminster. It describes how one of the biggest paintings of […]
Another Relic of the Old Houses of Parliament
News has reached me from British Columbia of yet another snuff box made from the salvaged wood of the Painted Chamber. So far this is the most far-flung one I know of: taken there by someone who emigrated in 1929. Can anyone do better? Any in Australia or New Zealand, for example? Keep hunting!
James Gillray and the Old Palace of Westminster
James Gillray (1756-1815) was one the most brilliant caricaturists of all time. He was brought up in the Moravian faith, a strict Protestant sect which forebade any form of entertainment or indulgence. Although he rebelled as an adult against this, becoming a student at the Royal Academy, its influence can be seen in his engravings which are […]
Yet 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 made from stonework of St Stephen’s for the delight of antiquaries. Now I’m thrilled to report that this week I acquired two pieces of fabric from […]
