Do you know Jemima Nicholas, Heroine of Fishguard?
Jemima Nicholas was the heroine of The Battle of Fishguard, which appears to have been the “last invasion of mainland Britain”. What happened? It was an invasion by Revolutionary France, that only lasted three days, 22nd to 24th February 1797. Basically, 1,400 troops landed at Fishguard. It was made up of 600 French regular […]
The Battle of Margate
Have you ever heard of the naval battle of Margate, where the rewards of this victory were over 2 million gallons of wine! More interestingly, I believe that it took place by mistake. You see on the 24th and 25th March 1387, the English fleet thought they were fighting the might of the French […]
The Plumstead Ghost, 1897
The Mysterious Case of the Plumstead Ghost in 1897. Ghosts, apparitions, and even the supernatural have long been part of our history, their existence are always in the shadows of our imagination. From ancient folklore to modern-day horror films, the idea of spirits walking among us is a theme that continues to fascinate us. […]
The Amazing story of Anne Green
Anne Green was a scullery maid who was seduced by the grandson of her master, she became pregnant, miscarried, then hid the foetus. The result was that she was charged with infanticide, a hanging offence in those days, and was sentenced to hang at Oxford Castle on 14 December 1650. After half an hour, they […]
The Vikings
For 300 years, from the 8th to the 11th centuries, the Vikings struck terror into the hearts of their enemies and victims. Christian monasteries and churches were their favourite targets as they had rich ornaments and gold. In fact, many of the accounts of their attacks come from monks and priests. For example, a raid […]
Et tu Brutus
Why did Shakespeare write this famous line? Well, first of all Shakespeare wrote it in Latin, which translates to “Even you, Brutus?” which isn’t so dramatic as “et tu Brutus”, so it was obviously written for effect. In the play, Caesar utters these words as he is being stabbed to death, having recognized his friend, […]
A novel way to invent
On September 10th 1846 Elias Howe Jr was granted a patent for the sewing machine. However, I am fascinated by the story he told of how he came up with the invention. He claimed it came to him in a dream! Basically, he dreamed he was building a sewing machine for a savage king in […]