Tag Archives: London

A Lost Museum

Posted on 04/02/2021 by carolinemmurray

I have just come across the Leverian Museum, which sadly was broken up, after about thirty years, in 1806. Sir Ashton Lever, its founder, was born in 1729 at Alkrington Hall, then near, now in, Manchester. His father, Sir James … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, London, Museums and Galleries, Natural history, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

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 →

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

The Vernal Equinox

Posted on 20/03/2019 by carolinemmurray

‘The vernal equinox has come too soon’ is, Him Indoors assures me, the opening line of a welcome ode written to celebrate the visit of Her Majesty The Queen to his school at some point in the 1960s. I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Cambridge, London, Museums and Galleries, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Good Intentions of Lady Mico

Posted on 14/05/2018 by carolinemmurray

Fate, in the form of a house move, has brought the grand-daughter (and her parents, naturally) to another neck of the London woods, which I look forward to exploring on those occasions when grandmotherly duties take me down. My first … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Gardens, History, London, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Lord Mayor’s Show

Posted on 15/11/2015 by carolinemmurray

Him Indoors was let out today (14 November) because he has a ticket for the Lord Mayor’s Show. For us non-Londoners, this is an event which falls sometime between Guy Fawkes and Advent, stops all the traffic in London, and … Continue reading →

Posted in History, London | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Geffrye Museum

Posted on 02/07/2015 by carolinemmurray

Having been in London the other day for domestic and familial purposes, I thought I would get a cultural fix from visiting the Geffrye Museum, on Kingsland Road in the Hoxton/Shoreditch area. I understand from my more metrosexual acquaintances that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment