Europe
Saxon Guilds and Livery Companies
In Saxon Britain,before the poor law acts were introduced, religious guilds formed to provide support and relief for their members. As communities became more settled, working together to provide mutual help made sense. Many of these guilds became City Livery Companies.
Read MorePunishment of Vagabonds and Beggars 1536 Henry VIII
1536 Anne Boelyn executed. Dissolution of the Monasteries commences following Henry VIII’s declaration of Supremacy over the Church… Doesn’t bode well for the poor and idle if that is how you treat the people you love…Trace what happens next in the plight of the poor and the evolution of the wlefare state. It all goes back a lot further than you might think….
Read MoreStatute Punishment of Beggars and Vagabonds 1531
Was Henry VIII and his rule kind to Beggars? How does this act reflect the longer timeline of legislative events that lead to our current day Welfare State and how far back do the roots go, a snippet in a series of linked posts, designed to piece together the evidence that led to the British Welfare State. With great relevance and resonance with our current and hard pressed economic climate…
Read MoreStatute of Cambridge 1388
The starting point the putting down by Richard II of the Peasants Revolt of imposing order and punitive conditions on the poor in what was to become known and codified as the Old Poor Law…follow this chronology and the related law provides a great source of information and the reason why our welffare state in the UK evolves as it does…
Read MoreVagabonds and Beggars Act 1494
Set in the stocks for even being suspected of being idle, puts in context ‘we don’t know just how lucky we are, part of the sequence of the Old Poor Law and certainly gives some insight into the plight of the poor and the conditions imposed on them by the ruling elite…
Read MoreOld Poor Law
The Old Poor Law was the codified series of statutes that predated the draconian Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the timeline of this law casts some light on the origins of welfare and the plight of the poor in England for many years. If you have any reason to want to better understand the basis of society during the 19th century then some reference to these legal orgins will be helpful.
Read MoreStructure of the Church and Parish in Medieval England
Just how important was the church to life in Medieval Britain and how were our ancestors lives affected?
Read MoreAn intriguing afternoon with Lady Carnarvon about The Real Downton Abbey Highclere Castle
Highclere history highlights some intriguing connections after an enjoyable afternoon with Lady Carnarvon. Did the price of grain lead to a significant increase in Anglo-American Marriages amongst the British Aristocracy? Were the aristocratic marriages significant in the development of our society and what impact did they have subsequently through two world wars on the Special Relationship between two Nation-States. Amazing what you can learn from an intriguing lunch-time talk…
Read MoreTimber and the Agricultural Revolution
The social, political, industrial and agricultural unrest in the early C18th had a profound affect on the wooded landscape of Britain.
Read MoreSalvador Dali and Edward James collaborated on two artworks together in West Sussex?
Mae west’s Lips, A Sofa, A Lobster Telephone known as the Aphrodisiac, West Sussex Dali Edwards and life in an english Country House, you have got to admit it is intriguing? Oh yes Edward the Prince of Whales, the Wellcome Foundation and just for good measure Somerset Maughan…oh what a tangled web the people and personalities spin throughout our history…
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