The oldest door in Britain

The oldest door in Britain i s located in Westminster Abbey. Made from timber from the original Anglo-Saxon abbey, it is just under a thousand years old. Made from mature oak, that means the trees that produced these planks could have been saplings when the Romans evacuated Britain.

A study about class differences…

A study about class differences in 18th & 19th century England, showed that on average, a wealthy 16-year old boy was 8.5 inches taller than a poor 16-year old boy, as a result of malnourishment and living standards. 00

In 1889 a lion escaped from a traveling show…

In 1889 a lion escaped from a traveling show in Birmingham and ran into the sewers. When an angry mob formed, Frank Bostock, the owner secretly snuck another lion out the back. He then returned with the lion clearly visible and was hailed a hero. The escaped lion was still in the sewers. 00

Bedlam, Bethlem Royal Hospital, may surely be one of the most famous psychiatric…

Bedlam, Bethlem Royal Hospital, may surely be one of the most famous psychiatric institutions in the world. its been around since 1247 and is infamous as a lunatic asylum. In the 18th century people used to go to Bedlam to stare at the lunatics. For a penny one could peer into their cells, view the freaks of the “show of Bethlehem” and laugh at their antics, generally of a sexual nature or violent fights. Entry was free on the first Tuesday of the month. Visitors were permitted to bring long sticks with which to poke and enrage the inmates. In 1814 alone, there were 96,000 such visits.