Coracles & Fishing

Fractured English History Tales- coracles & fishing

                Visited St. Fagan’s today which is a collection of Welsh homes and barns, churches, and shops, and more all gathered together at St. Fagan’s to create an open air museum that is delightful and informative and fun.  We visited in late January which is admittedly not the best time of year as there were very few flowers blooming (just a few crocus), and the trees were bare and some of the exhibits weren’t active yet but it was still delightful.

                One part of the museum is a fishing exhibit.  We entered and walked through reading about the fishing nets and eel pots and such.  Quite a nice exhibit and good explanations.  There were 5 coracles sitting on their ends.  Most of the buildings have a caretaker in them or a docent or someone with some knowledge to answer any questions.  We asked the caretaker about the coracles.  He started telling us about the men who fished them.  First off, they were made for rivers only, not ocean going although there is a variant to them that could be taken into the ocean.  The coracles themselves are quite small, one person only, and very, very tippy.  He said he had tried to get into a coracle two times and both times ended up on his bottom in the water!   They weren’t made to be rowed but they had an oar that was for steering only.  The men would launch them into the river and the current would be what took them downstream.  Families would buy a license for a certain part of the river, maybe a mile or maybe two.  Usually, two men would each have a coracle and would stay even with each other, one steering right and one steering left.  As they floated downstream, a net would be stretched between their coracles and they hoped to catch fish in it as the moved.  They had the ability and skill to stay still in the river as well and could pull in the net and land the fish, usually salmon.  Depending on water level, current strength, time of year, they would often be late afternoon to past twilight fishing and could catch maybe 3 or 4 large salmon on a run.  There would be time for two or three runs depending on all the factors.  They would put the caught fish into a bag and tie it up on a tree so that a fox couldn’t get it, carry their boats back to the starting point and begin again.   To kill the fish, they would whack it over the head with a wooden mallet.  We commented how we had seen the same type of killing on a cow just a few weeks ago in Albania.  That led to more stories.

                These days there are no salmon left in the rivers which is rather ironic because in the 1800’s when this style of fishing was going strong, men would complain about having to eat so much salmon.  The fish licenses would remain in the family and there are still families that have their licenses and councils are trying to buy them back for heaps of money.  The law is on the side of the fishermen so they know they have a bird in hand with their hereditary licenses and are loath to relinquish them.

                Of course there was poaching.  Poachers came out in the middle of the night with lights to entice the fish and would scoop them up with nets of some kind or eel pots.  The eel pots had a one way entrance and were long and skinny to accommodate the eels.  Women would collect cockles, a type of mussel from the tidal flats.  They’d take donkeys out onto the flats and scrape a bit of a hole then use a rack to further rack out the cockles, sieve out the undersized ones, and load up the donkey for the trip home. 

                Our friendly docent had some more tales for us.  He was part of the British Embassy in Ankara, Turkey many years ago and was a caterer.  So he had to go to the slaughter house to pick out the meat for the dinners.  He was commenting on our story of finding it a bit uneasy to see the meat/cow actually being killed and he didn’t much like going to the slaughter house either.

                It was quite nice and always is to talk to the locals and to the people who have experienced different parts of history that we only usually read about in history books.

Nell Gwyn, social climber

Nell Gwyn: Mistress and Society Hostess

            In my Women’s Club, for the English Experience group, I attended a lecture given by Amanda Bryett on Jan 26.  She talked about and told stories about Nell Gwyn who lived in the late 1600’s and became a mistress of Charles II.  A lot of her information came from “The Darling Strumpet” by Gillian Bagwell which I haven’t read but am most interested in getting it now as the stories were quite interesting.

            These are some of the things I learned from the lecture regarding Nell.  She was probably born but definitely grew up in the area of London that is now Covent Gardens.  Back then it was Convent Garden and belonged to Westminster.  Henry VIII declared himself the Pope of the Church of England when he broke away from Rome and he took a lot of land in the 1530’s.  He gave the first Earl of Beauford  (? Not sure which Earl it was)  the land around Convent Gardens. 

            In the 1600’s, Inigo Jones was hired by the fourth Earl who wanted the land redeveloped into an Italian plaza.  Inigo asked if Earl IV wanted a church built in the square and the Earl replied that he’d rather have a barn.  So Inigo made him the most beautiful barn of a church which became St. Paul’s.  The market was established in 1649.  The market was in the middle of the plaza which led to its slumping into a less than desirable area. 

            Nell came along on Feb 2, 1650 but again, not sure where but definitely was raised by her mother, Eleanor Gwyn (nee Smith) along with her sister Rose and was brought up in the Coal Yard Alley bawdy house of which her mother was the bawd or what we would call a Madame these days.  Gwyn is a Welsh name but it is thought that her dad was probably a Welsh captain. 

            The year 1650 was still during turbulent times.  Charles I had been executed as he had abolished Parliament and thought he was only answerable to God.  Parliament was run by Oliver Cromwell who wasn’t happy about being abolished so he took over, got Charles I executed, and ran England like a republic until 1660.  Oliver took the title of Lord Protectorate on England and banned music, dancing, singing, and actresses.  There were still actors but no females could be on stage.  Nell is spending her formative years during this unsettled time in history and was living close to Drury Lane which was seedy and dangerous.  As she was being raised in a brothel or bawdy house, she might have been a child prostitute. 

            By 1660, Oliver Cromwell had died and the republic fell apart.  Charles II was 30 years old and had been in exile in France and The Hague in the Netherlands.  He was invited to come back and take the throne again.  He did with a massive parade down the Strand which Nell may or may not have seen and had some influence upon her decisions.  It is fun to speculate what she might have done.

            Charles II was 6’2” tall.  His dad, Charles I was only 4’9” tall.  Charles II was dark and swarthy with dark hair and complexion and was often known as the Black Boy.  There are even pubs today in England called the Black Boy.  So he returns to take the throne and starts the Restoration which involved restoring the monarchy and parliament.  He became known as the Merry Monarch because he now allowed singing, dancing, music, and actresses.  Basically, he reversed all of Oliver Cromwell’s old rules.   

            A new theatre was built in Covent Gardens.  A new theatre is built in Drury Lane.  Women started becoming actresses as it was a bit of a step up from being a prostitute and it might secure them a sponsor where they could become a mistress of someone rich. 

And since there had been 10 years without actresses when men played all the female roles, women would have their portraits done  with their breasts shown to prove that they were female.  There are several portraits of Nell in this fashion. 

            By 1663, Charles II had married Catherine of Braganza of Portugal.  (Interesting side note, she was the last Queen Catherine but there will be another with Kate when Will takes the throne).  Catherine never bore a live child for Charles II.  By this time he had several mistresses and several illegitimate children so he just kept on in this fashion.   

            By the time she was 12, Nell had supposedly taken a lover, Duncan, who was a regular client at her mother’s bawd house.  Nell and Rose and their friends would go to the theatre and stand in front of the stage with their backs to the stage and sell fruit.  They call out “oranges” and people would come to buy the fruit and they would get 1/6^th of the sales.  In order to get more sales, Nell became somewhat saucy and witty and she got noticed and got a nickname of  “Orange Girl”.

            Rose, Nell’s sister, was carrying on with Thomas Kelligrew who was the theatre manager’s son (not sure I have spelled names correctly).  He thought that Nell would be a good actress so he became her mentor.  Nell is illiterate throughout her life apparently but she could memorize lines and ad lib with the audience.  Thomas got Charles Hart – a 30 year old actor – to mentor Nell and teach her lines and he became her lover.  She called him Charles I.  Nell wasn’t any good at drama so she moved into comedy and there she shone. 

            In 1665 there is the Great Plague of London and about 1/5 of the population died.  The theatres were closed and the King took his court of Oxford.  Thomas Killigrew took his crew to Oxford as well and that included Nell.  Then in 1666 there was the Great Fire of London and much was burnt in 4 days but it did not reach Covent Gardens. 

            In November 1666, the theatres were reopened.  By 1667, Nell had become a mistress.  Charles Sackville, later Earl of Dorsett became Nell’s lover.  She was still with Charles I but she called Charles Sackville “Charles II”.  Her affair with Charles II didn’t last long and was over by summer’s end but now she had a reputation.  No more “Orange Girl” but is now called “Pretty Witty Nell”. 

            Barbara Palmer, age 27, and the Duchess of Cleveland, became a mistress of Charles II (the King, not Charles Sackville).  Charles II looked after his mistresses and his illegitimate children and usually made them all Dukes and Duchesses.  In total, he had 13 mistresses and 13 acknowledged illegitimate children.  Barbara was his chief mistress in 1667.  She was from the aristocracy herself and the Duke of Buckingham was her cousin.  She had 5 children by the king.  This gave her a lot of power which the Duke of Buckingham didn’t particularly like and Barbara herself wasn’t much liked by other people at court.  So Buckingham decided that Nell would be a good mistress of the King but she declined.  With some good political maneuvering, Buckingham managed to get Moll Davis, Nell’s chief rival, to be the King’s mistress. 

            At age 18, in 1668, Nell was introduced to the King, invited to a supper, and then became his mistress and she called him “Charles III”.  Two years later, in 1670, she had a son by the king and called him Charles.  Charles, her son, remained without a surname for the first 6 years of his life.  Usually Charles II, the king, would bestow a surname on the child but for some reason, did not do so with Charles, Nell’s son.  Often the surname might be Fitzroy because Fitz meant illegitimate.  It is said that Nell despaired that her son didn’t get a surname so she took him to court one day and said something like (to the entire court), “come in here you little bastard, you might as well meet your dad”.  I suspect he got a surname shortly after that.

            Nell went back to the stage but by 1771 she had a 2^nd son (James) by the king and stopped acting.  As she was not the only mistress, she had to watch her back.  So she wasn’t too happy when Louise de Keroville became a mistress.  Charles II’s sister was married to the King of France.  Louise was a spy for Charles II in the court of the King of France but when his sister died, he lost his spy as she had to come back to England.  He let Louise come to be a maid for his wife but she became his mistress.  She was the same age as Nell.  Witty Nell called her “Squintabella” because she had squinty eyes and because no one could pronounce her last name, she became Squintabella Cartwheel”

            All mistresses were trying to scheme and get property and titles for their children by the king.  Nell was given #79 Pall Mall in London which is quite a rich area of town now.  She got the leasehold but she asked for the freehold and she got it for some reason.  It remained in her family until 1860.  So with this property, she became a society hostess.  She had 14 servants eventually but did a lot of the entertaining herself.  She got a sedan chair so she could be carried about town.  She would serve 9 or 10 course meals but they were more like buffets.  There were paparazzi camped outside her house and she was quite popular because unlike Barbara Palmer, Nell was one of the common people.

            Squintabella Cartwheel became the Duchess of Portsmith with her son (Charles II’s 9^th).  Poor Nell was never awarded a title, maybe from her low birth or maybe because she was a bit too witty for her own good and argued a bit too much. 

            Moll Davis, Nell’s rival, had a daughter by the king and eventually then 2 sons as well.  Charles, Nell’s son, eventually got a title, The Earl of Buford, but her younger son, James, died in Paris at the age of 9.

            Eleanor, Nell’s mother – the bawd – who smoked a pipe and drank brandy, moved in with Nell at 79 Pall Mall as did her sister Rose.  Nell got a pension of 100 pounds a year from a marriage to a high ranking soldier so she used this to hire her mother as a nanny.  Her mother was in her 40’s and an alcoholic and an old hag and embarrassed the king so he moved her to Chelsea.  When she died, she was buried at St. Martin’s in the Field and almost had a state funeral but did have a big procession from Coal Alley.

            Nell gets another house, Buford House which was inside the castle walls so she was finally acknowledged in that manner.  She might have been one of Charles II’s mistresses who really loved him.  They would fish together in the Thames outside Windsor.

            Charles II dies in 1685 at the age of 55 probably from kidney failure.  Pretty much certain he had syphilis as did Nell and probably most of the mistresses.  This was a difficult time in English history too as he had no legitimate heirs so the throne goes to his brother James, the Duke of York (New York named after him).  Both Charles II and James had been raised as Protestants but James had Catholic leanings.  Before Charles II died, he passed acts making it illegal for Catholics to hold high office or to go to university.

            Nell gets pulled into political intrigue when Charles II’s eldest son (remember illegitimate), the Duke of Monmouth, plotted to overthrow James and take the throne.  Nell gave him a room at 79 Pall Mall.  This was seen as a very bad move.  Plus, James had persuaded Charles II, on his death bed, to get the last rites by the Catholic Church.  So overnight, the court changed to become more sedate, no more mistresses, and Nell found herself in difficult times.  Supposed Charles II had said to James, “Be kind of Cleveland (Barbara Palmer), be kind to Portsmouth (Squintabella), and let not poor Nell starve.”  So at this point, Nell had a lot of debt and with the king’s passing, people wanted it back.  She lost her king, and lost her place in society all overnight.  The year before he died, he did make her son the Duke of St. Albans so she is higher up the society ladder at least.  She didn’t have much interest in anything now so retired to 79 Pall Mall and James paid off her debts. 

            In 1687 she had a stroke which paralyzed one side then later same year, had another stroke and died at age 37.  Her funeral was in St. Martin’s in the Field but not sure where she is buried, nor where her mum is actually buried.  Her rival, Moll Davis, don’t know where she died either but her daughter became famous and her sons were executed.  Barbara “curse of the nation” Palmer was targeted by men who were after her money.  Married one who left her penniless and she died at 68.  Louise (Squintabella) went back to Paris and died at 85. 

            Nell’s son was the first Duke of St. Albans, Charles Beauclerc.  Even today, the Dukes of St. Albans are called Beauclerc.  They did have to sell 79 Pall Mall.  But he lived in Buford house and was made a Knight of the Garter and had 9 sons and one daughter.  Today, the 14^th Duck of At. Albans is Muray Beauclerc but Buford house is gone.  Samantha Cameron (David Cameron’s wife) is the 8^th granddaughter. 

The Peerage

I belong to a women's club and am fortunate to be able to attend lectures and outings sponsored by the club. I attended my first one Jan. 19 where the lecturer was Rob Williamson and he spoke on The Peerage, Liveries, the Lord Mayor of London.  I took notes.  As it was my first lecture, I had no idea what to expect.  it was quite informative and interesting.  But my notes were crazily disjointed.  I wrote them up anyway in kind of an abbreviated form.  they make sense to me and might be interesting to others, I hope.

  19 January- Lecturer:  Rob Williamson "THE PEERAGE, THE LORD MAYOR & LIVERY COMPANIES"

Things I learned and a good deal of it I just copied from the handout he gave us.


The Orders of Knighthood in order of Importance

#1) Most Noble Order of the Garter (1348) motto in Latin: Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense

Never more than 24 but with the Queen and Prince Phillip, are 26 in total

This is the only one where the Queen only chooses who becomes a Knight.

Order came about by Edward III during the Black Death or Plague years

Believe that there was a dance done before him by the Countess of Saucenry (?) and her garter was slipping down her leg and showing her underwear and people were starting to snicker.  He stopped the dance and slowly took off her garter and then waved it about and stated the motto meaning that don't be evil in your thoughts.  This is the folklore on how the order came about because it was during a very chivalrous time but could also have referred to a belt that men wore called a garter.  

The number 24 is important because these kings were trying to recreate Camelot and there were 24 Knights around the Round Table.  Edward III had a round table.  Also 12 is believed to be the optimum amount for the cooperation and working together of any group, e.g. unlucky 13?  Also, there are two teams in jousting and 12 members on a team so 24 Knights in a joust.

Current Garters are not necessarily English and there was controversy when Queen Elizabeth appointed the Emperor of Japan

Current Garters include Queen Julianne of the Netherlands and King Carlos of Spain

#2) Most Ancient and Noble Order of the Thistle (revived 1687), Nemo Me Impune Lacessil

Mostly for Scots

Sean Connery is a member of the Order of the Thistle

#3) Most Illustrious Order of St. Patrick (1783) Quis Separabit for northern Ireland

#4) Most Honourable Order of the Bath (1399, revived 1725) Tria Juncta in Uno

Henry IV, had his order in the Tower of London in the Chapel and before Knights went into battle, (usually against the French) they would gather in the chapel and be blessed and in part of the ceremony, they would completely disrobe and get into a tin bath.  Kind of like being baptized again before battle.  Was a lot of concern when they had a queen and how was she going to be in that room with all the naked men but they rigged up a gauze something so she could be there and sort of see.  So it was and still is a military award.  Now it is maintained in Westminster and they don’t actually get into a bath anymore.  There are only 115 members but are more honorary members.  Colin Powell, George Swartzkoff, and George Bush Sr are all members but since they are not British citizens or members of a commonwealth nation, they are honorary and not entitled to be called "Sir"

#5) Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (1818) Auspicium Melioris Aevi, started by George IV and was for diplomatic services overseas

#6) Most Exalted Order of the Star of India (1861) Heaven’s Light our Guide – for service in India

#7) Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (1866) Imperatricus Auspiciis, same as #6

#8) Royal Victorian Order (1896) Victoria – she started it

#9) Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (1917) For God and the Empire

The Chapel is at St. Paul’s Cathedral Crypt (dedicated in 1969) and has one of the few stone ceilings in the world that was carved in situ or as the blocks were sitting in the ceiling.

This order was started by King George V and Queen Mary and in the first two years, they awarded 15,000

There are 5 ranks within the OBE

First one is GBE or Grand Cross or the British Empire

Second one is KBE or Knight of the British Empire only these first two ranks of the OBE are allowed to be called “Sir”

Third is CBE or Commander of the British Empire

Fourth is OBE or Officer and last is MBE or Member

Before this system was nothing for women at all

There is also a Knights Bachelor created in 1207 for knighthoods lesser in honour but not an order of chivalry (letters Kt), it means one who fights in battle, not one who is not married.  Paul McCartney is somehow a Knights Bachelor

And finally and Order of Merit in 1902 for outstanding service but not a Knighthood and a Companion of Honour in 1917 is a similar but lessor honour

Honours are awarded two days each year, New Year’s honours and the Queen’s birthday honours.  About 45% are women and 15% are ethnic minorities of some type.  Now there are over 100,000 living OBE’s.  every 4 years there is a service at St. Paul’s that they are invited to attend but of course most don’t because they are spread all over the world.  But as an OBE, you can be married in the chapel in the crypt.  On those 2 days, there are around 900 each time for the OBE.  The only qualification is that there be valued public service and you cannot nominate yourself.  

Press is often wrong in how they address people e.g., they address Bob Geldof as a Sir but he is Irish so he is not entitled to Sir

OBE chapel is in St. Paul’s and was adopted in 1960

They have the largest crypt in Western Europe

Nelson and Wellington are buried there, national heroes

The queen and prince Phillip are Grand Masters of the OBE

Buckingham Palace does all the knighting since it has a room for it.

Duke of Wellington: most recognized and came up through the ranks within 5 years, a record held unto today.  He wasn’t born into the aristocracy.  In 1815 he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo and so he also has a Spanish Dukedom.  There are some 43 things named after him like Wellington boots or Wellies, and Wellington, the capital of New Zealand

The Duck of Marlbough is John Churchill, Winston’s family and built Blenheim Palace.  They married into the American Vanderbilt family but they fell out with the queen and she took away her patronage so it took 200 years to build the palace and then finish paying it off.

Duke of Westminster owns a lot of property in London but he also invested overseas (one of the earlier ones).  He owns the land where the American Embassy is located in London.  We only rent it from him.  We have offered to buy it but he won’t sell.  It is one of only 2 U.S. Embassies where we don’t own the land.

All this is from Rob Williamson’s handout

Features of a Dukedom:

Of the 24 Dukedoms surviving today, the oldest surviving, and still regarded as the Premier, is the title Duke of Norfolk (1483).  Royal Dukedoms can, however, be traced to 1337 when Edward III created his son the Black Prince, duke of Cornwall (still attends the male heir to the throne to this day).  To complicate matters, they can be divided up into Dukes of England, Scotland, Great Britain, Ireland and the United Kingdom!  Some pedigrees, such as Westminster (the Grosvenor family), Leinster, Beaufort and Northumberland can be traced back to the Norman Conquest of 1066.  Many titles were extinguished (by the end of a family line or even treason) only to be revived later in history.  At one extreme, 6 Dukes were created in one day by Richard II in 1397 and  Charles II created 26 Dukes (often for his illegitimate offspring), and at the other end, religious and political upheavals in the time of the Tudors meant there were no dukedoms at all for at least 30 years after 1572!  No new Dukes have been created since Fife (1900).  Tow, Portland and Newcastle, have died out in the last 30 years.

Reason for Decline

1)      Extravagance – the consequences of excessive gambling and bad management led in the 19^th Century to a need for a fresh injection of capital, often in the form of lucrative marriages to American heiresses ($800 million is estimated to have been derived this way between 1880 and 1905)ref: The Glitter and the Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt covers the store of her marriage to the 9^th Duke of Marlborough in 1895.  Others simply sold up their estates to the Government.

2)       Death Duties, Capital Transfer & Wealth Taxes – especially the land tax of 1909

3)      Eccentricity – inter breeding and disastrous father/son relationships.

Top Land Owning Dukes (2001) in land value order

Duke of Westminster (11.5 bn pounds), Duke of Northumberland (800 m pounds), duke of Devonshire (435 m pounds), Duke of Atholl (430 m pounds), Duke of Bedford (340 m pounds), Duke of Beaufort (310 m pounds) Duke of Buccleuch & Queensbury (282 m pounds), Duke of Richmond & Gordon (260 m pounds), Duke of Norfolk (210 m  pounds), Duke of Rutland (150 m pounds), Duke of Roxburgh (150 m pounds)

Top Landowners in the UK in acreage order

Forestry Commission, Ministry of Defense, national Trust (England & Wales), Pension Funds ?, Utilities, Crown Estate, RSPB, Duke of Buccleuch, National Trust (Scotland), Duke of Atholl, Duchy of Cornwall, Duke of Westminster, Church of England.

The Peerage (ref: The Dukes by Brian Masters – 2000 edition)

Five Ranks: Duke (Duchess), Marquess (Marchioness), Earl (Countess), Viscount (ess), Baron (ess).  Baronets are hereditary knights, invented by James I to raise money!

This ends bits from Rob Williamson’s handout

He suggested reading The Dukes by Brian Masters and also “Order Order, a Parliamentary Miscellany” by Robert Rogers which unfortunately is out of print but available at Amazon for about 80 pounds.

He said Margaret Thatcher was given the title of Baroness but her husband got a Baronet title and her son is now a Sir because it is hereditary.  All of the ranks are known as Lords and Ladies but the Duke and Duchess are called “Duke and Duchess”.  Until 1991, all had seats in the House of Lords automatically but in 1991, the hereditary bit of House of Lords seats was ended.  

Livery:  it is originally a uniform to show the trade you were in and its function was to provide burials and to look after widows and orphans.  Also to keep out foreign competition.  Kept them out because didn’t recognize them as following a trade so they couldn’t practice in the City of London. Now mainly they do charity work.  Now the guildhall is open for touring

Churches often connected to livery and liveries often had dining rooms as well and the goldsmith livery dining room is the most opulent




There are currently 108 Liveries including the Information Technologists formed in 1992

The next bits are from Rob Williamson’s handout:

“””Mercers – members all merchants.  Provided more than 70 Lord Mayors.  No 1 in precedence

Grocers – originally the Pepperers – 1180 – controlled spices and drugs

Drapers – merchants of woolen cloth, very important in middle ages

Fishmongers – controlled wet & dry fish trades, still regulates Billingsgate today

Goldsmiths – existed prior to 1180.  Responsible for testing and marking silver, platinum & gold and operating the “hallmark” system.  Receipts for gold deposited encouraged paper month

Merchant Tailors – developed from the Tailors & Linen Armourers.

Skinners – controlled the fur trade until the 18^th C.  Royalty & aristocracy wore fur collars

Haberdashers – dived into makers of hats and small wares or milliners

Salters – salt was expensive & important for preserving food.

Ironmongers – dealers in iron around 1300

Vintners – wine importers from 1364 when given monopoly of Gascony trade.

Clothworkers – formed by a merger of Shearmen & Fullers in 1528

City of London’s Privileges

Originated from the diplomatic settlement between the City and William the Conqueror.  Henry I granted the City the right to collect its own taxes and the first Lord Mayor – Henry Ritz Aylwin – was elected in 1189.  The merchants’ support for the nobles against King John led to the signing of the Magna Carta.  The City government had a history of semi-autonomy since the days of the Saxon Folk Moot at Paul’s Cross, summoned 3 times a year to air grievances.  The City divided into 24 wards, each with 1 Alderman and its own court with a weekly Hustling to settle commercial disputes.  The definition of a free citizen was determined by membership of a Livery. To join you had to: 1) show patrimony 2) undergo a 7 year apprenticeship or 3) purchase your way in.


Guilds – bodies of men with a common interest – grew around the 11^th C in towns and cities all over England and Europe.  The representation of trades in London, full of foreign competitors, was meant to limit competition, maintain standards & quality, care for the sick, widows & orphans, provide a decent burial for its members and place to worship & meet – a first in Guildhall.””””  (End of handout bits)

The government means: Parliament of the House of Lords and Commons and the Sovereign. 

May of this year, will be the opening of Parliament which the Queen does but reads a speech that they have written for her.

Heralds word coats of arms and were messengers so rarely attacked by either side

In current house of Lords there are more than 200 “Cross benches” which means they sit in the middle and are not Labor or Tory but have no political party.

You can get your own coat of arms made and recognized by the College of Arms but costs about 60,000 pounds.

Every Tue at 2 p.m. is a public tour of the Lord Mayer’s house.  David Wooten is the current 684^th Lord Mayer


Lord Mayors are only elected for 12 months.  Don’t get paid, makes 700 speeches a year.  It is not a political thing.  Elected by 9000 in the city to promote investment 

House of Lord’s doesn’t get paid either but gets 300 pounds a day for attendance

The queen’s yacht, Britannia is in Edinburgh and is a museum

Royal Courts of Justice

Royal Courts of Justice

            Took a tour on January 12 with the women’s club.  Unfortunately, I do not remember the name of our guide but he was delightful and had many stories to tell of the history of the courts and of people who have passed through the courts.  And of course, like the really, really cool stuff, there was no photography allowed inside.  Since we couldn’t take photos, there was a wonderful little booklet that he was selling and well worth the price of 2.50 pounds. 

            The building was magnificent.  One of those grand old buildings that would cost hundreds of millions of pounds to build now.  It is in the City of London which is actually only a square mile of real estate that is in the greater area of London so I suppose that technically, only this square mile should really be called London.  Built during Queen Victoria’s reign, one purpose was to bring all the courts together under one roof.  It is a VERY big roof.  And of course, in today’s times, the roof isn’t even big enough yet and the courts have expanded into other buildings and the court has been remodeled and added to many times. 

            Within the buildings are two courts: the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal.  The High Court is further divided into the Chancery Division, the Queen’s Bench Division, and the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division which was replaced by the Family Division in the 1970’s.  The cases heard in this building are generally civil cases with criminal cases being held at the Central Criminal Court or Old Bailey.  What amazed me was that our guide said anyone has the right to come and sit in on a case as a visitor or interested public member except the family division.  There have been some cases so notorious or the claimants so well known that hospitality tents and additional seating has been set up in tents outside the building with closed circuit TV.  But if one was really curious, I think you could just walk in, pass security, see what cases where on the board to be heard that day, and go walk into the courtyard and sit down in the gallery. 

            Way back, when the powers that be decided to build a new court building, they purchased land, about 7.5 acres, where there were slums.  They paid almost 1 ½ million pounds and moved about 4000 people, knocking down some 450 houses.  I sincerely double if those 4000 people got very much, if any, of the 1 ½ million pounds.  Being poor and slums, they were probably just told to get out.    It took over 8 years to build it for less than 1 million pounds but was the first government building to have electricity.  It also had over 1000 rooms which included 88 courts. 

            When you walk into the building and make it through security, you are in the Main Hall or Great Hall.  It is 238 feet long by 80 feet high.  The floor is entirely made of mosaics which would have been laid by hand.    There are coats of arms in the windows.  Towards the back of the Great Hall is the Crypt Corridor which has some interesting history.  Workers were brought in when there was a dispute.  They lived in the corridor in the back so they wouldn’t piss off the strikers and cause fights.  Since they were in the building 24/7, they got bored with nothing to do in the back corridor at night so they would carve the pillars and make decorations on it.  As the architect was an ultra-control freak, he made them stop because he hadn’t put decorated pillars in his plans.  So only a few pillars are carved.   The architect left one pillar unfinished too in that it does not go all the way to the floor.  This is his religious upbringing in that only God is perfect so he built in one imperfection. 

            Up the stairs and down a hallway on one end of the building is the Painted Room and the Bear Garden.  In times past, the Bear Garden was used for meetings while the Painted Room was used for robing.  Supposedly the Bear Garden got its name (it is just a small room off the Painted Room) because Queen Victoria walked through when there were several different groups of people meeting and said that it sounded like a bear baiting competition.   Now they are mainly waiting rooms and still some meeting rooms for clients and solicitors and barristers to discuss their cases. 

            Court 4 is the court of the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.  It is the biggest courtroom and the most elaborate.  We were lucky enough to be able to go sit in this courtroom while we listened to our guide.  It is also one of the few original courtrooms left.  Back in the day, each courtroom was small but elaborate and reflected something of the tastes of the men who used it on a daily basis.  Now, the courtrooms are all monochromatically alike with no character at all.  Court 4 also is one that has a bared area for prisoners since criminal cases may be appealed here and a convicted felon could be brought up from the prison below the building and put into the bared seating area.  The is bared no so much to keep the criminal from escaping but to protect him from the wrath and anger and misery of his/her victims who might be in court. 

            The court personnel still wear robes and the little white wigs of ceremony in courts.  There is a room with robes and exhibits of prior justices that is quite interesting to see.  We were running out of time and had to race through this room in a hurry.  Our guide did pass around some of the hair pieces that are used and they are amazingly stiff and feel like bristles.  Not sure what the composition is.

            The Chancery Division presides over business disputes mainly, trade and industry, mortgage disputes, trusts, patents, probates and such.  The Queen’s Bench Division is into contract disputes, shipping, commercial, computer litigation, personal injury, medical negligence, civil wrongs, and building and engineering disputes.  On either of these courts, the public is welcome to enter, sit in the back two rows, stand when the judge enters or leaves, and follow the instructions of the court and no hats.

            The Family Division is the one court where the public cannot just walk in and sit down but our guide felt that would change eventually.  It handles: divorce, separation, maintenance, domestic violence, and matters regarding children.

            While I think there is a good chance I probably won’t go back to sit through a court case someday, it is nice to know that I could.  

History is cool

History is cool. There is so much of it and so much that people don't know about it. It's always fun to learn something new as well. I am not usually a reader of history though. I like to learn from talking to people and getting their versions and their take on things they have lived through or heard about from their relatives or seen or whatever. So thought I could share some of these tales. I am giving them as related to me. I am not researching them to see if what I have been told is factually accurate because, as I've said, it's a tale that someone has experienced and to them, it was real. So there will be gaps in times and dates when I don't put anything into the blog and there will be times when I load it. Hope you think it is cool and fun too.