65 suggestions for "uncategorized"
1858 Bradford sweets poisoningThe 1858 Bradford sweets poisoning was the arsenic poisoning of more than 200 people in Bradford, England, when sweets accidentally made with arsenic were sold from a market stall in the town.
Alice GlastonProbably the youngest female to be legally executed in England, in 1546.
Amenity societyOrganisation tasked with monitoring the planning and development of listed structures.
Barque of St PeterAncient Christian symbol for the Church.
BarratryEnglish common law crime of excessive litigation, particularly for the purposes of profit or harassment.
BeerhouseType of public house created in the United Kingdom by the 1830 Beerhouse Act, legally defined as a place “where beer is sold to be consumed on the premises”.
BluestockingRedirected to Bluestocking Circle.
Bluestocking CircleGroup formed around a number of wealthy and influential English women during the mid-18th century, to debate literature and the arts, and support female education and writing.
Buttock MailFine payable to the ecclesiastical courts for the crime of fornication, as an alternative to a session on the stool of repentance.
CareeningMethod of exposing the hull of a ship for cleaning or repair by laying it on its side.
Chiltern HundredsStewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds is a procedural device allowing members of parliament to resign before a general election.
Chorlton Poor Law UnionFounded in January 1837 in response to the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, also known as the New Poor Law. It was overseen by an elected board of 19 guardians representing the 12 parishes in the area it served: Ardwick, Burnage, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, Chorlton with Hardy, Didsbury, Gorton, Hulme, Levenshulme, Mosside, Rusholme, Stretford, and Withington, all in south Manchester, England.
Church grimSpirit that protects graveyards from witches and the Devil, usually appearing as a black dog.
Cookie policy (UK)Our website uses cookies and other related technologies (for convenience all technologies are referred to as “cookies”). Cookies are also placed by third parties we have engaged. In this document we inform you about the use of cookies on our website.
Crazy Sally MappRedirected to Sarah Mapp.
Death of Kevin GatelyStudent who died as the result of a head injury received in the Red Lion Square disorders in London in 1974.
DoggerelClumsy and awkward verse often employed for comic effect.
Early Closing Association19th-century movement in support of the closure of shops on Saturday afternoons.
Eastbourne manslaughter1860 legal case concerning the death of 15-year-old Reginald Cancellor at the hands of his teacher, Thomas Hopley.
Five MembersFive members of parliament whom King Charles tried to have arrested in the House of Commons on 4 January 1642.
Flixton Footpath BattleRedirected to Flixton House.
FrankpledgeSystem of joint suretyship common in England throughout the Early and High Middle Ages.
Gin CrazePeriod during the first half of 18th-century Great Britain when the consumption of gin increased rapidly, leading to an epidemic of extreme drunkenness.
Gropecunt LaneStreet name found in English towns and cities during the Middle Ages, believed to be a reference to the prostitution centred on those areas; it was normal practice for a medieval street name to reflect the street’s function or the economic activity taking place within it.
Guy FawkesMember of the group of English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
Hamlet (place)Rural settlement smaller than a village.
Hearse houseBuilding used to house the horse-drawn carriages that carried the deceased to their funerals.
Henry GarnetEnglish Jesuit priest executed for his complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
Henry GoodcoleChaplain of Newgate Prison and author of criminal biographies, the most important of which is that of Elizabeth Sawyer.
Leigh Poor Law UnionEstablished on 26 January 1837 in accordance with the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, covering the townships of Astley, Atherton, Bedford, Pennington, Tyldesley with Shakerley and Westleigh all in the ancient parish of Leigh, plus Culcheth, Lowton and part of Winwick.
Leigh silk industryLeigh’s silk industry grew after 1827 in and around the area of the old parish when silk was woven on domestic hand looms and later in weaving sheds using silk yarn supplied from Macclesfield by agents from Manchester.
Leighth FeightClash between Chartists and police in Leigh, Lancashire in August 1839.
Manchester LinersCargo and passenger shipping company founded in 1898, based in Manchester, England.
Margaret ClapOwner with her husband of a notorious molly house in 18th-century London.
Newgate calendarGenre of publications chronicling the crimes and punishments of notorious criminals.
Newgate novelEarly form of sensation literature, drawing its inspiration from the
Newgate Calendar, first published in 1773 and containing biographies of famous criminals.
Number of the beastHideous beast whose number is 666, introduced in the Book of Revelation, which many have seen as a description of the end of the world.
Pail closetSmall outhouse containing a seat underneath which was a bucket into which the user would defecate. The buckets were regularly removed and emptied by the local authority.
Pedrail WheelType of all-terrain wheel developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Bramah Joseph Diplock.
PinfoldEnclosure in which stray domestic animals, cattle, sheep, pigs, geese were kept until their owners paid a fine to collect them.
Plague stonesHollowed out stones or boulders containing vinegar to disinfect coins, usually placed at or near parish boundaries, relics of medieval plagues.
Privacy policyPrivacy policy,
last updated on 13 June 2020
Queen’s HouseFormer royal residence near Greenwich Palace, built between 1616 and 1635.
Records of the Past Exploration SocietySociety established in 1900 in Washington D.C., with a particular interest in biblical archaeology.
ResurrectionistsThose who exhumed the bodies of the recently deceased during the 18th and 19th centuries to provide cadavers to anatomists for their research.
Robert KeyesOne of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
Robert KirkChurch of Scotland minister, Gaelic scholar and folklorist.
Russell InstitutePublic building commissioned by Agnes Russell and donated to the Burgh of Paisley as a memorial to her brothers.
Sarah Mapp18th-century bone-setter, nicknamed Crazy Sally.
SocageForm of tenure under English feudal property law.
Society for the Diffusion of Useful KnowledgeSociety founded in London in 1826 to publish cheap and accessible works on scientific and artistic subjects.
Sponging houseA sponging house was a place of temporary confinement for those arrested for non-payment of a debt.
Taxes on knowledgeLong-running campaign against duties on newspapers, their advertising content and the paper they were printed on.
TithingEnglish historic legal and administrative unit comprising the men of ten neighbouring households, held responsible for the actions for any one of its members.
Tree of JesseArtistic depiction of Jesus's family tree, establishing him as a descendent of King David, and therefore the rightful Messiah.
Triangulation pillarsPillars erected by the Ordnance Survey to allow more accurate maps of Great Britain to be produced.
Trig pointRedirected to triangulation pillars.
Vatersay RaidersTen Scottish cottars who were imprisoned in 1908 after illegally setting up homes on the small Hebridean island of Vatersay.
Violet AlfordInternationally recognised authority on folk dancing and its related music and folk customs.
Walter ArnoldFirst person in the UK to be fined for speeding.
Whipping TomName given to two sex offenders, one in London and the other in the nearby village of Hackney, active in 1681 and 1712 respectively.
White Cross ArmyOrganisation set up in 1883 by the social campaigner and author Ellice Hopkins, together with the Bishop of Durham, to promote “social purity”.
White poppyThe white poppy was introduced in 1933 by the British Women's Cooperative Guild as a pacifist alternative to the Royal British Legion's annual red poppy appeal.
Wife sellingWay of ending an unsatisfactory marriage by mutual agreement that probably began in the late 17th century, when divorce was a practical impossibility for all but the very wealthiest.
Wilkes’ GobsRedirected to brick tax.
