Benjamin Disraeli ..... on the wireless today

 I am looking forward to listening to Benjamin Disraeli on the In Our Time series broadcast on Radio 4.*

Benjamin Disraeli, 1878

It goes out at just after 9 am and if you miss it you can listen to the programme  by following the link.

He was one of those two "giants" of the mid and late 19th century who I followed at 'O' level, 'A' level and across my three years as an undergraduate. 

I started my acquaintance with the man aged 15, at which time he was just a name to remember, later I he was one half of the Gladstone Disraeli duo and later still I came to see him as a consummate politician and a way of getting into the world of the period. 

"Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the major figures in Victorian British politics. Disraeli (1804 -1881) served both as Prime Minister twice and, for long periods, as leader of the opposition. 

Born a Jew, he was only permitted to enter Parliament as his father had him baptised into the Church of England when he was twelve. 

Disraeli was a gifted orator and, outside Parliament, he shared his views widely through several popular novels including Sybil or The Two Nations, which was to inspire the idea of One Nation Conservatism. He became close to Queen Victoria and she mourned his death with a primrose wreath, an event marked for years after by annual processions celebrating his life in politics.

With Lawrence Goldman, Emeritus Fellow in History at St Peter's College, University of Oxford, Emily Jones, Lecturer in Modern British History at the University of Manchester, and, Daisy Hay, Professor of English Literature and Life Writing at the University of Exeter

Producer: Simon Tillotson"

And yes aged 17 I read his novels.

Location; Radio 4

Picture; Earl of Beaconsfield, K.G. Photographed at Osborne by Command of H.M. The Queen, July 22, 1878 [Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)], 1878, Glossy collodion print on card

*Benjamin Disraeli,  https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0022z8v

One hundred years of one house in Well Hall part 12 ........... the bomb that dropped next door

This is the continuing story  of one house in Well Hall Road and of the people who lived there including our family.*

That bombed house, 2015

Now I never knew that a bomb had totally demolished the house two doors down from us.

But then why should I?  The event occurred in 1916 and there was no one around to recount the tale.

Nor would I have ever known about it had a picture of the destroyed house not surfaced recently.

It was discovered by Tricia Leslie and was taken from the back of the house showing just part of the front wall and beyond it the houses on the opposite side of Well Hall Road.

When I first saw the image I was interested but it wasn’t till Daniel Murphy did some detective work that I made the connection with our house.

Looking at the original and comparing it with that stretch of Well Hall today, the unmistakable block of houses opposite gives the location perfectly.

The houses opposite which offered up the clues

In 1918 it was the home of Mr Frederick John Ward but I have yet not be able to discover if he was there when the bomb fell, nor have I found a newspaper record of the event but the Greenwich Heritage Centre I bet will be able to help.

All of which makes it a nice bit of detective work on the part of Tricia and Daniel and leaves me only to comment that the fire place shown in the ruined house was identical to the one in our front room, but then that was only to be expected, given that to keep costs down the Ministry had quite rightly bought interior fittings in bulk.

Still it’s odd seeing it there and even more so because I in the past I have stood in that very front room where the bomb fell.

But just as I finished the story Tricia discovered it had been a Zeppelin raid on August 25 1916 resulting in all three members of the Allen family being killed.  All were buried in St John's churchyard.

Which was a result but not what I had wanted.

Location;Well Hall, Eltham, London

Pictures; Well Hall Road, 2015, courtesy of Daniel Murphy

*One hundred years of one house on Well Hall Road, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/One%20hundred%20years%20of%20one%20house%20in%20Well%20Hall

Shopping the years …… with Habitat

The blog doesn’t do nostalgia … it’s a false and dangerous place, where the sun always shines during summer holidays and Wagon Wheels never lose their size.

But just sometimes it worms its way into the blog and in the case of these Habitat catalogues it is allowed.

If you are of a certain age to have thrilled at the first time you heard “She Loves You”, felt the light go out at the news of the death of Otis Reading and trembled during the Cuban Missile Crisis, then Habitat will resonate.

It was the go to place for those of us rebeling at our parents taste, and wanting to set up home with the exciting designs of the 1960s and 70s.

Much of what they sold was relatively cheap and allowed us to think we were chic, and different.

And even if after an hour of wandering through the show room you came out with just a set of wine glasses or ceramic pot advertising “Dripping” you felt you were up there with Conran, Quant, and heaps of forgotten pop stars.

These catalogues were sent over by my friend Ann in France.  

I had finished a story on design and history with an appeal for anything Habitat.*

Ann replied with “In response to your request, I have an assortment of these, from, I think , when the Habitat shop opened in Manchester.

It was when I was at Art College, and our tutor took us on a visit.

After having to search for good design in large stores, it was wonderful to find that everything in the same shop was well designed.

I have long been a fan of Conran, and much of our first and second home was based on what we saw in the Conran House, and Kitchen books. And later on his book on France.

I laughingly said to Howard, what Andrew needs is a couple of days over here, with a small van.

Then I went to look for the Habitat magazines.  I have about 20 dating from 1972, which was the year after we got married.

Will shake off the vintage dust, and send a couple of pictures, when I've got my breath back!”

And sure enough she did with the promise that some will come back with friends returning home after visiting Ann and Howard.

So there you are …… a little bit of 60s and 70s design when we were all so young.

And yes I suppose it is a slice of nostalgia

Next; a wander through the insides.

Location; the 1960s and 70s

Pictures; catalogues from Habitat, circa 1970scourtesy of Ann Love 

*Wendy houses …… and a bit of social history, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2023/06/wendy-houses-and-bit-of-social-history.html

Walk the Chorlton history walk with Andrew Simpson ……Sunday September the 22nd …..

Chorlton Book Festival is back and with it comes that ever popular history walk which takes a stroll across Chorlton, exploring our past.

The graveyard, 2008

It has been a feature of the festival for the last decade and a bit, lasts for about an hour ending in the café at the Edge Theatre for a light meal.

During the make over, 1981

This year by popular request we will be back in the graveyard by the village green uncovering the history of the old parish church, and the stories of some who were buried there.

They include Thomas Walker who campaigned against the slave trade, supported the French Revolution and was tried for sedition, along with a mix of the “good, the bad, and the ordinary". 

Along with the good and worthy, will be the Nixon family who ran a beer shop on Beech Road, the last women to do penance in the parish church, and the story of the Great Chorlton Burial Scandal.  There will be news about the efforts to improve the graveyard, and the restoration work on the Lych Gate.

All this and a look at the archaeological digs in the 1970s and 80s which offered up some gruesome discoveries, followed by a preamble via the village green and other historic spots to the Edge.

Narnia on the Green, 2022

There will be a few stops to top up the stories and heaps of opportunities to ask me interesting historical questions about things no one else will tell.

We will meet at the Narnia lamppost on the village green at 2pm and aim to be in the Edge roughly an hour and a bit later. 

Tickets cost £9.92  and include oodles of Chorlton stories and a meal in the café.

All events are bookable through Chorlton Book Festival, https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/chorlton-book-festival-2024-3536319

But it would be remiss of me if I didn't mention some of the events I will be attending.

On September 21st in the Central Church at 7.30, Brian Groom will be talking about his new book on the history of Manchester.

On the 24 between 12-2pm at Benito Lounge, Jo Somerset will introduce "Mission for to find Mun which is aimed at children  Chorlton and is an " introduction to the adventures of Isla and Lac in a mission that takes them 500 miles from home to an island of secrets. 

Set on a remote Scottish island, the novel explores climate activism, heritage, disability, betrayal and family secrecy. 

Fighting hostile weather, wild elements and suspicious adults, they find Mum and discover her secret about their missing Dad"

And lastly Juliette Tomlinson will be at the Edge on the 24th between 2 and 4pm to introduce her new novel on the John and  Enriqueta Rylands.

Location; Chorlton Green

Pictures;  Chorlton graveyard, and village green 1978- 2022 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

One book … three events …….. and a heap of history

 The story of John and Enriqueta Rylands is one that I am not really familiar with, other than that the couple lived in Longford Hall and on his death his wife commissioned and built that magnificent library on Deansgate.

Longford House, 1914

So, I have fallen on Juliette Tomlinson’s debut novel, "Longford", which charts the lives of Enriqueta and John before they met and takes the reader on that journey that eventually saw the two of them married.*

It is the first of a trilogy which will span the decades from 1864 into the twentieth century and on the way offers up glimpses into the lives of the two, set against provincial France and Manchester, with of course sideways looks at Longford Hall, Stretford and other bits of south Manchester.

The book came out on September 1^st and already there are three opportunities during the month to meet the author and hear about her passion for Enriqueta, how she came to write the book and her plans for the two subsequent books.

The official launch will be in the Horse and Jockey that ancient pub on Chorlton Green on September 19^th at 7pm.

I have no idea whether John and Enriqueta visited the place which first opened its doors to paying customers in the 1790s in a building which was already into its second decade when Henry VIII walked down the aisle with Anne Boleyn.

The book signing, 2024

But I bet some of the individuals who walk across the pages of the book will have been familiar with the Holland family who ran the pub from the 1840s into the 1890s.

And after the launch Ms Tomlinson will be at Waterstones in Oldham for the official book signing event from 1pm till 3 on Saturday September 21^st.

The novel, 2024

Leaving just an appearance at our own Chorlton Book Festival at the Edge Theatre on Manchester Road on September 27^th between 2 and 4 pm.**

That said I know there are other events including one at the Portico and no doubt more will follow as local organizations get to hear of the publication of Longford.

Like all of us who write, I know that the story of John and Enrique has occupied a big chunk of Juliette’s time so much so that last month the family holidayed in the town of Beziers in southern France which is where her novel begins.

Added to which she lives in Stretford, yards from Longford Park, which was a part of her childhood.

 At which point I could include the opening lines of the novel, but I won’t  ….. the book costs £9.99 and is available from Chorlton Book shop, Waterstones, and The Squeeze Press.***

Location; France, Manchester and of course Longford Hall

Pictures; Longford Park and Lake 1914 from the series Longford Park, issued by Tuck and Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, http://tuckdb.org/, book launch advert, courtesy of Waterstones, and cover of Longford, by permission of the author.

Longford Park and lake, 1914

*Longford, A Manchester love story, Juliette Tomlinson, 2024, The Squeeze Press

**Chorlton Book Festival, All events are bookable through Chorlton Book Festival, https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/chorlton-book-festival-2024-3536319

*** The Squeeze Press, www.woodenbooks.com

  

 

 

Sunny morning in Chorlton with a mystery beyond the gate …. and that building down on it's luck

Location; Chorlton

Pictures; Chorlton on a sunny Wednesday, 2024, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Stories of Egyptian mummies …… in conversation with Rosalie David ….. today on Radio 4

I thoroughly enjoyed and learned a lot from listening to Rosalie David talk about her work on the study of ancient Egypt today on Radio 4.

She was in conversation with Jim Al-Khalili on The Life Scientific which explores the contribution of scientist to our knowledge from the atom, to diseases and the physics of boiling water.

"Rosalie David is a pioneer in the study of ancient Egypt. 

In the early 1970s, she launched a unique project to study Egyptian mummified bodies using the techniques of modern medicine. Back then, the vast majority of Egyptologists regarded mummies as unimportant sources of information about life in ancient Egypt. Instead they focussed on interpreting hieroglyphic inscriptions, the written record in papyrus documents and archaeological remains and artefacts. Rosalie David proved that the traditionalists were quite wrong.

Rosalie tells Jim Al-Khalili about her journey from classics and ancient history to biomedicine, including some of her adventures in Egypt in the 1960s. She talks about some of her most significant research projects, and the 21st Century forensic detective work on the mummy of a young woman which revealed a gruesome murder 3,000 years ago...

Presented by Jim Al-Khalili

Produced by Andrew Luck-Baker*

And along the way I was reunited with mummy 1770 which my Wikipedia reminds "me was an ancient Egyptian female mummy. 

The specimen was found in a sarcophagus by Rosalie David, and was approximately 13 or 14 years old at the time of her death. The mummy's legs were not present, and were replaced by wooden planks. Her feet also consisted of sandals filled with mud and reeds, with the tips being substituted for toes. The fingernails and reed tips had golden coverings, which suggested that she lived in a wealthy family".

And any one who was in Manchester in 1975 with an interest in Egyptology will remember.

And that is it.

Location; Radio 4

Picture; faded poster on a wet day at Chorlton Bus Station, 2023, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Rosalie David on the science of Egyptian mummies, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002305z

**Mummy 1770, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1770_(mummy)