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The Duke of Wellington Tour – Video Highlights – Part One

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be bringing you video of the places we’ll be visiting on The Duke of Wellington Tour in September. Today, we begin with our first stop – London.

The Grosvenor Hotel, Victoria, above, where our journey begins.

Apsley House, the first stop on our tour, where our group will be given a private, guided tour of the property.

Afterwards, we’ll visit the Wellington Arch.

We’ll then proceed by private motor coach to the Tower of London, where we’ll see the exhibition being mounted to illustrate the Duke of Wellington’s influence upon the Tower in the capacities of both Constable of the Tower and Prime Minister. Here’s a video that provides some background on the office of Constable, as well as Wellington’s influence on the Tower. We’ll also be meeting with the Ravenmaster of the Tower, who regularly posts amusing pictures of his charges on Twitter.

You can find the complete itinerary and pricing for The Duke of Wellington Tour here.

Do You Know About . . . . . . Victorian Farm?

Amazingly enough, I only discovered the six part documentary called Victorian Farm when I was trolling around Youtube recently. The show follows three modern day people spending a year as Victorian farmers in Shropshire and originally ran for six episodes in 2009.

From the BBC website:

“Historical observational documentary series following a team who live the life of Victorian farmers for a year. Wearing period clothes and using only the materials that would have been available in 1885, historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn are going back in time to relive the day-to-day life of the Victorian farmer.

“The project is based on the Acton Scott estate in Shropshire – a world frozen in time, lost in Victorian rural England. Its buildings and grounds are cluttered with antique tools and machinery collected by the Acton family, who have lived on the estate since the 12th century.

“Working for a full calendar year, Ruth, Alex and Peter are rediscovering a lost world of skills, crafts and knowledge, assisted by an ever-dwindling band of experts who keep Victorian rural practices alive.
The team move into a Victorian smallholding on the Acton Scott estate that has not been used in nearly half a century. Their first task is the restoration of the cottage. As incoming tenants, they help thresh the previous summer’s wheat crop, their first experience of steam-powered machinery. Alex attempts to sow a wheat crop using horse-power. Ruth and Peter install a range in the cottage and take a trip to the canals to load up on coal. It’s time for the apple harvest, so Alex and Peter turn their hand to making cider. Ruth explores the challenges of Victorian cooking by making preserves ready for winter and cooks her first meal on the range. And the team must learn shepherding skills the hard way as the first livestock arrive on the farm – a flock of Shropshire ewes.”

I adore this series, as watching it is a bit like getting a private history lesson – housewifery and animal husbandry are brought to life along with nearly forgotten crafts, skills and traditions. Here’s the link to the first episode.

Because of viewer response to the series, the BBC went on to film Edwardian Farm and Victorian Pharmacy, followed by War Time Farm, all three series also featuring Ruth, Alex and Peter. These should hold you for a few weeks, at the very least – enjoy!

Waving the Flag…

Victoria here. I recently visited Fort McHenry in Baltimore, MD, where after a bombardment by the British Navy in 1814, American writer Francis Scott Key (1779–1843) wrote the words to the Star Spangled Banner, which became the American national anthem.

Ft. McHenry’s 15-star and stripe flag of 1814 (in use from 1795-1818)

Now, the flag of the USA has thirteen red and white stripes, representing the original 13 British colonies, and fifty stars, representing the 50 states of the union.

The Grand Union Flag was used from December 1775 to June 1777, incorporating the thirteen stripes for the 13 colonies and the British Union Jack.

Later there were several versions of the flag with thirteen red and white stripes and thirteen stars on a the latter either on a blue field in rows or in a circle.

Often called the Betsy Ross Flag

There have been many, many U.S. flags over the years. Then I got to wondering where the Maryland State Flag came from, as it has a quite unique design. Turns out it is based on the heraldic arms of the founding family of the colony of Maryland, the Calverts, Barons Baltimore, incorporating the arms of the Crossland family as well. According to Wikipedia, it is the only state flag that is based on English heraldry.

Maryland flag

However, the Flag of the District of Columbia, is based on the family crest of the Washington family of County Durham, England, originating in the 12th century.

District of Columbia Flag, adopted in 1938

Below the arms of the Washington Family, in a 14th C. window of the Selby Abbey in Yorkshire.

Who knew???

The Duke of Wellington Tour: St. James's Palace

On Sunday, September 5, 2014, the lucky participants in The Duke of Wellington Tour will take a walking tour (aka a leisurely stroll with many stops for refreshment) of part of London, principally through St. James’s. Victoria here, with a few facts and pictures.

St. James’s can mean a number of things in London, but generally it refers to a small neighborhood south of Mayfair and west of Whitehall and Trafalgar square, bounded by Piccadilly on the north, St James’s Park on the south, Green Park on the west and Haymarket on the east. St. James’s is a royal palace; a church on Piccadilly, designed by Sir Christopher Wren; a lovely park; an area known as clubland, and a street of distinguished shops.

The name comes from St. James’s Palace, so named because it was built on the site of a hospital for lepers dedicated to St. James the Less, one of the twelve Apostles. Here Henry VIII built the red brick structure which still serves as the official residence of the British monarch. Note that Ambassadors to Great Britain are officially designated as Ambassadors to the Court of St. James.

Main Entrance on Pall Mall

at the foot of St. James’s Street

The Tudor Entrance

Official events are held here and the Chapel Royal is often the venue for royal weddings and baptisms, such as the christening of Prince George of Cambridge on October 13, 2013.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, the Duchess of Cambridge

and Prince George of Cambridge at St James’s Palace for the Christening

The Altar, Chapel Royal, from The Mirror

for more pictures of the Chapel Royal, click here.

St. James’s Palace is not open to the public, though it is possible to attend some Sunday worship services at the Chapel Royal from October to Good Friday. Click here for details.

Caroline and George

The ill-fated wedding of George, Prince of Wales (later George IV) to Princess Caroline of Brunswick took place on April 8, 1795.

Albert and Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha on February 10, 1840 in the Chapel Royal. Eighteen years later, their daughter Victoria, The Princess Royal, married here as well, to the future German Emperor Frederick III.

The Marriage of George V and Princess Mary of Teck, July 6, 1893

Gardens at St. James’s, ca. 1700

According to the Garden Visit website (click here), the original renaissance garden, shown above, compartments, were re-designed in the “gardenesque style.”

18th Century Print: Cherries; a seller outside the Palace

St. James’s has often been the venue for Royal levees and receptions . This plate below from the Microcosm of London, 1810, shows a “Drawing Room,” where a chosen circle could present themselves and their friends and family formally to the Royals.

Ackermann’s Microcosm of London

On the Duke of Wellington Tour, we won’t be going inside, but we will see the Palace and its neighbors, The Queen’s Chapel, Marlborough House, Lancaster House, Clarence House, the Mall, St. James’s Street, and more. Below are a few pictures I took on a previous visit to St. James’s.

Palace from Marlborough Road

The Queens Chapel in Marlborough Road

Along the Mall, Trooping of the Colour, 2011

Marlborough House

St. James’s Church, Piccadilly

For all the Details about The Duke of Wellington Tour, click here.

And From Elsewhere On The Web . . . . .

Regency History – The Print Room at Queen Charlotte’s Cottage, Kew
Discovering London – Bird’s eye view maps of Victorian London
Blog for the Immortal American Series – A Regency Palette – popular Regency fashion colours
Sir John Soane’s Museum – Adam’s London: Then and Now – Carlton House, Pall Mall
Past Horizons: Adventures in Archaeology – The Archaeology of a Dress
Downton Abbey Cooks – Mrs. Patmore’s Infamous Raspberry Meringue Pudding
The Art of Mourning – The Hair Work Collection
Royal Central – Palace moves to protect online presence of royal family members
UK Destinations – Visiting stately homes on horseback
C18th Girl – Law enforcement and the criminal courts – Yorkshire 1718-1775