by Dr N. Henry The best thing to do this weekend is, of course, to visit the Museum of Cambridge if you have not done so recently. Housed in the 17th century White Horse inn, the Museum is a quaint
What to do in and around Cambridge this weekend
The Miller of Cambridge: February1805 – The agricultural crisis and the intensification of the enclosure movement in Cambridgeshire
January ended with James waiting anxiously for a cargo of wheat from Hamburg which he bought for £1,300 (several tons of wheat). On Thursday 31st of January James writes in his diary: I hope the ship will come but no
Whose Town is it? Two 19th Century Takes on the Question
Oil painting by James Ward, View of Cambridge from Castle Hill By Dr N. Henry John Le Keux (a London engraver) and James Ward (a London painter) both produced artistic impressions of the town of Cambridge viewed from Castle Hill
Folklore Finds: Snakestone
While this might look like a simple fossil at first glance, if we take a closer look, it soon becomes clear that there is some fascinating folklore going on here! This is a snakestone – a name given to ammonites
The Miller of Cambridge: January 1805 – How do you feed Cambridge when there is no grain?
Christmas had been a non-event for James Nutter who, as a Baptist and a true Puritan spirit, had worked most of that day. After all, Christmas had been condemned and banned in the 1640s by the Puritan parliament who saw
Folklore Finds: Astragali, or Knucklebones
While these five small objects might not look important at first glance, on closer inspection they have a huge wealth of history and lore surrounding them. They are astragali, or knucklebones, and are the talus bones from sheep or goats.
The Miller of Cambridge – December 1804: Christmas Special!
In Georgian times, the festive season started on the 6th of December (Saint Nicholas’ day) and finished on Twelfth Night (the evening preceding Epiphany). This meant that, at least for the middle classes and the aristocracy, there was during this
Josiah Chater’s 1844 Christmas
We continue looking into Victorian Cambridge through the eyes of Josiah Chater, a young draper’s apprentice. Read on to see what 1844 Christmas had in store for him! An observation Josiah noted down and was impressed by was the amount
Josiah Chater and the Circus
Josiah Chater started to keep his diary in October 1844 at the age of 15. He was living at the time at 12 Market Street, apprenticed to William Eaden Lilley, draper, carpet warehouseman, paper merchant and seller of painting materials.
The Miller of Cambridge -November 1804: Straitjacket and Leeches
As we uncover more of James Nutter’s life, read on to see what November had in store for him, as we look into James’ discovery and research on his friend’s Reverend Robert Hall’s illness. At the end of October 1804,