This article was originally published in the Tewkesbury Historical Society Bulletin 22 (2013) Who forgets the frost of ninety-five? Then was all dismal, scarce, and dear, And no poor man could thrive The winter of 1794-95 was severe throughout the land; the rivers Severn and Thames froze over and a temperature of minus 21c. was recorded in London. In Tewkesbury, the freeze began on 20 December 1794 and continued until 7 February 1795. The subsequent thaw caused major flooding of the rivers […]
This article was first published in the Tewkesbury Historical Society Bulletin 20 (2011). Having written an article for last year's Bulletin on Chartist activities in the area, I thought it appropriate that a closer study should be made of the chief Tewkesbury Chartist, William Morris Moore. Moore was the son of William and Elizabeth Moore, baptised on 11 July 1813 at Hathern, Leicestershire, a village approximately three miles north-west of Loughborough. The occupation of his father is not […]
This article was first published in Tewkesbury Historical Society Bulletin 19 (2009) “Last hope, to England turn their anxious eyes, And weary Parliament with ceaseless cries” Ernest Charles Jones (1819-1869) Chartist and poet. Two lines from a long poem The New World written in prison 1848-50, partly in his own blood on pages torn from a prayer-book. The Chartist Movement was at its most active during the decade 1838-1848 and was arguably the first mass working-class political movement that […]
This article was originally published in Cheltenham Local History Society Journal 28 (2012). "Let the people think they govern and they will be governed." William Penn (1644-1718) Some Fruits of Solitude 1682 William Penn Gaskell was born on 20 February 1808 at Burnham, Buckinghamshire. He was the son of William Penn Gaskell senior and his wife Elizabeth; they had a small family estate at Great Marlow. The Gaskells were descended from William Penn, the Quaker leader and founder of Pennsylvania. […]
Last night I bought a copy of the Daily Mail (for the first time in my life) as I am into surrealism in a big way. I just had to do it. There several headlines which took my fancy: "BBC 'Witch' Song Insult to Maggie" (front page) "....and now even a police sergeant tweets meassages of hate" (front page) "I hope Thatcher's death was degrading and painful, tweets sick Scotland Yard sergeant" (page 7) ...and unbelievably on their website headlines: "'They danced in the streets when Hitler died […]
Tommy Atkins' hidden tactics to avoid combat on the Western Front in WW1 or why ‘Blackadder Goes Forth’ could have been a lot funnier (and more subversive)… A young Army, but the finest we have ever marshalled; improvised at the sound of the cannonade, every man a volunteer, inspired not only by love of country but by a widespread conviction that human freedom was challenged by military and Imperial tyranny, they grudged no sacrifice however unfruitful and shrank from no ordeal however […]
Vasquez: All right, we got seven canisters of CN-20. I say we roll them in there and nerve gas the corpse just to make sure. Hicks: That's worth a try, but we don't know if it's gonna affect her. Ripley: I say we fire the corpse into low earth orbit and nuke it. It's the only way to be sure. Hudson: Fuckin' A! Burke: Hold on a second. Thatcher's history has a substantial dollar value attached to it. Ripley: They can bill me. Burke: Okay. This is an emotional moment for all of us. I know that. […]
Thomas Venner and the Fifth Monarchists Insurrection (6th January 1661) Some members of BRHG, 'The James Nayler Brigade' travelled to London on Sunday to support our comrade 5th Monarchists and Muggletonians. Armed with hatchets and a pike (which we had buried some years ago in readiness for the reimposition of the satanic monarchy) we helped storm the Guild Hall and St. Paul's in celebration of the 5th Monarchist rising against the return of the King on 6th january 1661. One of the leaders of […]
![The [Bread] Riot Or half a loaf is better than no bread. In a dialogue between Jack Anvil and Tom Hod. To the tune of "Cobbler there was"](https://www.brh.org.uk/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/cheap-repository-bread-riot-212x300.png)
