Category Archives: London

The Unhappy Countess

Posted on 07/08/2020 by carolinemmurray

I was lured into reading about the melodramatic and unhappy life of Mary Eleanor Bowes (1749–1800), by the National Trust, who said, on its website on Gibside, one of her many homes, that she was a botanist. Further investigation revealed … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, Botany, Gardens, History, Literature, London, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Object of the Month: July 2020

Posted on 24/07/2020 by carolinemmurray

This was going to be Object of the Month for November 2019, but various unfortunate events from a database problem up to Covid-19 have rather got in the way. However, onwards and upwards!

Posted in Art, Biography, History, London, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Captain Gurle

Posted on 03/07/2020 by carolinemmurray

I came across the name of Captain Gurle (also spelled Garle and Garrle) in the excellent Economic History of the English Garden, by Sir Roderick Floud, a really cracking book, with eye-opening figures about the importance of gardening in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Botany, Gardens, History, London, Museums and Galleries, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

SPAB

Posted on 29/05/2020 by carolinemmurray

Anyone with even a transient acquaintance with the life and works of William Morris will probably know that, inter multa alia, he founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877, saying that ‘We are only the trustees … Continue reading →

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Jonas Webb, the Southdown Man

Posted on 03/04/2020 by carolinemmurray

I imagine that most people these days, if they have heard of Babraham at all, know it for the Babraham Institute, a research campus at which the nineteenth-century Babraham Hall (it had several antecedents) sits in the centre, and which, … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Botany, Cambridge, London, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sir Thomas Gresham and His College

Posted on 13/02/2020 by carolinemmurray

I had for some time been meaning to find out more about Sir Thomas Gresham, but, when embarking on this quest, was diverted almost immediately by the discovery that the first substantial biography of him was written by John William … Continue reading →

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Art and Spectacle

Posted on 12/01/2020 by carolinemmurray

… is the subtitle of the current exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery on the art collections of George IV, of whom I wrote, some time ago and in another place: ‘But the mystery of the Prince’s character – childish, petulant, … Continue reading →

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Francesco Cupani

Posted on 23/10/2019 by carolinemmurray

The Alpine House @CUBotanicgarden is pretty stunning at the moment, what with the cyclamen, autumn crocus and colchicums – do go and have a look! Among all the incredibly photogenic flowers, I came across Colchicum cupani, which compelled me finally … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Botany, Gardens, History, Italy, London, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Great Belzoni

Posted on 23/07/2019 by carolinemmurray

… is today hung on display in the Fitzwilliam Museum – or, at any rate, a spectacular likeness produced after his death is. I mentioned this fascinating character several times in my previous blogging persona, but his arrival in Cambridge … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Biography, Cambridge, Exploration, History, Italy, London, Museums and Galleries, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Popinjays

Posted on 17/07/2019 by carolinemmurray

I didn’t mention that at Niguliste, there is also a collection of silver objects, many of them formerly owned by the various guilds of Tallinn. By far (in my view) the most attractive of these items is a popinjay, made … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, London, Museums and Galleries, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments