Popped into the St Stephen’s cloisters by Westminster Hall today, which were half destroyed by the fire in 1834 (then again by the Blitz) but half survive. They were built just over a decade before the dissolution of the monasteries, so weren’t used as intended for very long. They are marvellous, and an incredible survival right in the middle […]
The 1834 Fire
Tally Ho!
Tallies were responsible for the fire of 1834 at Parliament. Or rather: the idiocy of people disposing of them was responsible. One of the tallies on display at work had split into pieces, so our collection care manager took on the task of repairing a seven-hundred year old stick of hazel-wood. But before she did that, she needed […]
The Story So Far
I’ve been researching this book seriously for three or four years now, but it’s only in the last six months that I’ve really got down to doing some serious writing. That’s been aided by finding a range of new sources, and by setting up a permanent writing station in the cellar (otherwise our dining room). […]
