18th Century 1700-1799

Smallpox Inoculation 1721

Smallpox

Smallpox is a devastating disease that holds a unique place in medical history. The foresight of people such as Lady Montague helped in it’s eradication. Many people had their lives saved due to her persistent and courageous actions before Jenner’s vaccination took over.

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Copyhold Tenure what does it mean?

Copyhold document
This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series Property Law

If you were a Serf, you had no rights of appeal to a court outside that of your Manor, where your elied upon the biased and often harsh law of your particular lord, who might only be goverened by local custom. Copyhold tenure lifted you out of such servitude and established increased legal rights which were only abolished in 1926. Whilst the Land Registry was established in 1862, it did not record all transactions, find out how you can explore copyholders relevant to you and your history project for connections and insights that date back well before the 1837 BMD Registers…

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Temple Church London 1185-2012

Temple Church london

The spirtual centre in the UK for the Knights Templar, how much is fable and what are the facts? From Temple to the Inns of Court, the significance of the Round, the importance of the effigies and a most extraordinary knight William Marshall together with the reason and consequence for Heraclius’s presence in London…

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The Luddites

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Agricutural Revolution
This entry is part 14 of 14 in the series Industrial Revolution
This entry is part 13 of 15 in the series Reformers and Radicals

What made the Luddites riot? Was it worth the loss of 17 lives? Have our attitudes to technology changed or does the fear of the new pervade in our social response to innovation and invention generally or only specifically when it impacts on our ability to earn a fair living? In the early 19th century we see a rebellious element emerge and a collective consciousness of the working class begins to emerge, what other lessons can we learn from what makes the British riot throughout our history? The first in a series of posts and explorations…

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Old Poor Law

This entry is part 3 of 7 in the series Poor Law through the Ages

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.

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The Mast Trade

The mast trade

The Mast Trade, of huge importance to the growth of the Royal Navy and the British Empire. Timber played a pivotal role in building a nation. Deforestation does not a nation make.

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