History
Weird London: The Cock Lane’s ghost

Published
1 month agoon

Cock Lane is near Smithfield Market and is where perhaps London’s most famous ghost was spotted. The reason for knowing this story that happened in the 18th century is that it caused quite a stir, at the inquiry one of the commission was the famous Samuel Johnson and the case was mentioned in many literary works, including those of Dickens. You can also find it in numerous drawings by William Hogarth.
The protagonists of the story were a local church employee named Richard Parsons who was also the landlord of the house with the ghosts, his 12-year-old daughter Elizabeth and the tenants of the house in question William and Fanny Kent. Richard Parsons had alcohol problems and struggled to support his family.

William Kent’s wife Elizabeth had died in childbirth and William began an affair with the deceased’s sister, Fanny. The law of the time did not allow the two to marry but in any case they went to London to live together. And they went to live on Cock Lane in Richard Parsons’ house. Note that William Kent was a money lender and had also made loans to his landlord.
In any case, there were immediately reports of strange apparitions and noises in that house. William Kent had to travel out of London for a few days and asked Elizabeth Parsons to keep Fanny company as she was pregnant. The two always heard strange noises and saw apparitions.
Since the birth of the child was approaching Kent decided to take Fanny to give birth elsewhere but in the meantime the woman fell ill with what the doctor diagnosed as smallpox and died. As the apparitions continued Richard Parsons organized a séance and here appeared the spirit of Kent’s first wife Elizabeth who said she had been killed by her husband and Fanny’s spirit who claimed she had been poisoned with arsenic.
The case had immense publicity, had political and religious implications. There were many séances, commissions, inquiries, expert discussions and it was concluded that there was no ghost. It ended with William Kent denouncing Richard Parsons of conspiracy against him. In fact if the ghosts had been taken seriously, he would have been sentenced to murder and death. The court agreed with William Kent.
Worked in many sectors including recruitment and marketing. Lucky to have found a soulmate who was then taken far too soon. No intention of moving on and definitely not moving to Thailand for the foreseeable future. Might move forward. Owned by a cat.

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History
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese – a pub with a literary history


Published
2 days agoon
February 27, 2021By
Carole Ford





As I was born a Londoner,, my thoughts have been turning in the pandemic, to how Londoners coped with Spanish Flu in 1918. My grandfather returned from WW1, having been gassed in the trenches. He resumed running his grocery business in Hampstead High Street. My grandmother, who was asthmatic, gave birth to her youngest son in 1918.
Whatever their personal circumstances, no word of Spanish Flu causing any problems or deaths, has been passed down through the generations in my family. The Imperial War Museum has a collection of documents bequeathed to the museum by historian and journalist Richard Collier. The collection was made in the 1970s and comprises approximately 1,700 accounts of first hand witnesses of the pandemic. In 1918 half of the population of London was infected with the disease and 2.5% of the population died of it.








History
The Roman walls of London, a great architectural feat


Published
2 weeks agoon
February 15, 2021
The walls were built relatively late for a Roman city, around the year 200.
How were the Roman walls of London built?
London did not offer the right stone for this construction and therefore had to come from the Maidstone area by navigating the Thames, where there was a a type of clay mixed with limestone that was strong enough for the walls.
Furthermore for the Romans it was a great architectural and logistical feat. One of the boats that was used to transport the material sank and was found in 1962 near Blackfriars Bridge. London’s Roman walls incorporated all gates and a fort, Moorgate being the only gate added in the Middle Ages. The walls were almost 3 km long and 5 and a half metres high, the width varied. On average it was around 2.5 meters. There was also a 2.5 meter moat around it.
In 400 AD the walls were reinforced and about 20 bastions were added, just before the Romans withdrew. For a long time the walls were abandoned, but they were still able to defend the city as for example against the Saxons in 457.




They were later repaired and maintained and only after 1500 did the city become too big for the walls. In the second half of the 1700s the Roman walls of London became a problem with increasing traffic and were slowly demolished along with the medieval gates.
The walls can still be seen in several places in London, mainly the City. You can still see pieces from the Barbican, near the Tower of London, Cooper’s Row, Noble Street and in the Museum of London garden.
The surprising thing when you think of the city walls and gates is how small London was then compared to London now. Areas that are very central to us now, were very far from the walls and considered countryside even a few centuries ago.
Close to the walls of London is the Barbican district. The name Barbican comes from the Latin Barbecana, here there was in fact a Roman fortress that was used for centuries until its destruction in 1500.
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