Victorian 1837 – 1901
Britain Applies Poor Law Act to Ireland 1838
Poor Law 1834 is applied to Ireland
Read MoreFirst Lyons tea shop opens 1894
Lyons Tea Shops
Read MoreFirst and Second Opium Wars 1856-1860
First Opium War Britain defeats China (1839-1842 and Second Opium War 1856-1860 British and French occupy the forbidden city Beijing.
Read MoreRussian occupation of Manchuria 1900
Russians occupy Southern Manchuria China
Read MoreKhaki uniforms for British troops 1848
British colonial troops in India in 1848, were issued with khaki uniforms to give them camouflage in the arid dusty conditions they found themselves in. Khaki is the Hindi word meaning ‘dust covered’. Take a look at old military photos, the type of uniform could give you a hint if your ancestor served overseas and…
Read MoreGold is discovered in california 1848
On 24th January 1848, a man called James Marshall from New Jersey, was helping to build a sawmill on the America River for a man called Johann Sutter. He went to free the wheel in the millrace and saw, in the shallow pool that formed, a nuggett of gold, just over the size of a…
Read MoreManchester Ship Canal 1894
The Manchester Ship Canal was opened in 1894 and was the largest river navigation canal in the world. It took six years to build and cost £15 million. It was 58km long and started at the Mersey estuary in Liverpool and terminated at the dock in Manchester. It allowed the newly created Port of Manchester…
Read MoreRepeal of the Navigation Acts 1850
The Repeal of the Navigation Acts by the British Parliament, on 26th June 1850, ends the restriction on foreign shipping, allowing US clipper ships to bring cargoes of China tea into British ports.
Read MoreMarshalsea Prison first mentioned in 1373
The Marshalsea debtors prison first records show it existing as early as 1373…Charles Dickens father was imprisoned there and this had a major impact on Dickens work.
Read MoreSt George The Martyr Southwark
The church of St George The Martyr has been documented since 1122 but the present church was built between 1734 and 1736 by the architect, John Price. In the middle ages Borough High Street ran south from London Bridge and at it’s end stood the church of St George with fields lying beyond. In 1951…
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