In January, the ‘coney is so ferreted that she cannot keep in her borough’ says Nicholas Breton. He wrote in the January entry of the Kalendar of Shepherds. (See my post here). In modern speech he means, ‘the rabbit is so hunted with the aid of ferrets that she cannot keep to her burrow’. The London Illustrated Almanac of 1873 chose the Rabbit as its wild animal of the month.
Good Luck Rabbits!
If you need good luck say ‘Rabbit, Rabbit’. No less a person than FD Roosevelt used to say this. No one knows why. Rabbits’ feet are lucky too. I remember some of my friends had them in our Surrey village in the early 60s. Some of Dad’s neighbours kept ferrets, and I remember dead Rabbits hanging from walls. The merits of the feet are given by the history.com website:
“A 1908 British account reports rabbits’ feet imported from America being advertised as ‘the left hind foot of a rabbit killed in a country churchyard at midnight, during the dark of the moon, on Friday the 13th of the month, by a cross-eyed, left-handed, red-headed bow-legged Negro riding a white horse,’
As to why, no one really knows. But Pliny the Elder in 71AD reported that cutting off the foot of a live hare could cure gout. There are European traditions of rabbit and other animal’s feet amulets curing all sorts of ailments. There are associations with witches, who could shape-shift into a rabbit. So a rabbit’s foot would be witchy and therefore powerful. In March, I reported on the Hare, and their, similar, associations with witches:
For lovers (?) of music, Chas and Dave’s hit song ‘Rabbit’ has a chorus of ‘Rabbit, Rabbit’. According to the Cockney singers (they do love a Knee’s Up) it comes from the Cockney Rhyming Slang expression: Rabbit and Pork. This means ‘Talk’ because it rhymes with ‘Pork’. But, according to the rules of Cockney, you can shorten the phrase to Rabbit. To hear about the origins of the song, and royal connections, click here. To watch the official video. (It is misogynistic and of its day. Also, you may have to listen to an advert, but I don’t make any money from the ad!)
Now, I must stop rabbiting on. Time to get things done.
“To Concordia,the Sixth Legion, Victorious, Loyal and Faithful and the Twentieth Legion [dedicates this].” Found at Roman Corbridge (Coriosopitum)
Concordia on the Day of Peace
Today, doesn’t seem a great day for peace. But, Concordia was the Roman goddess of conciliation and harmony. The 17th January is also the Day of Peace for the Goddesses Felicitas, and Pax. So, let’s hope the Roman Goddesses can dispense some peaceful balm and wisdom on our leaders.
There are altars to Concordia in Britain at Corbridge and Carlisle on the Roman Frontier. The Gods of Roman Britain points out that the altars are found where there were:
‘detachments of troops from more than one Roman legion posted in the same place’.
Does this suggest that the soldiers needed to be reminded that they should not fight each other?
The altar stone pictured above is dedicated to the VI Legion and the Twentieth. The Twentieth, called Valeria Victrix, was stationed in Deva – Chester. But there are stones such as the one above which shows a detachment (or vexillation) was sent to Hadrian’s Wall. For more on the stone and Corbridge see this site. The VIth Victrix legion served on Hadrian’s Wall and their HQ was at Eboracum (York).
Ovid & Concordia
The Roman Poet, Ovid seemingly locates the Day of Peace on the 16th January. But for the 16th he writes: ‘Radiant One, the next day places you in your snow-white shrine’. The Goddess Book of Days puts her on the 17th. So, perhaps, I’m right placing her on the 17th, afterall?
The translator of Ovid’s almanac poem, the Fasti, A. S. Kline, explains that the Goddess Concordia:
‘symbolised the harmonious union of citizens. A temple was erected to her in 367BC (on the Capitol, near the temple of Juno Moneta) It was erected by Marcus Furius Camillus at the time when the plebeians won political equality. The Temple of Concord was restored by the Emperor Tiberius from his German spoils in AD10.
This is how Ovid puts it:
The Fasti, by Ovid
Book I: January 16 Radiant one, the next day places you in your snow-white shrine, Near where lofty Moneta lifts her noble stairway: Concord, you will gaze on the Latin crowd’s prosperity, Now sacred hands have established you. Camillus, conqueror of the Etruscan people, Vowed your ancient temple and kept his vow. His reason was that the commoners had armed themselves, Seceding from the nobles, and Rome feared their power. This latest reason was a better one: revered Leader, Germany Offered up her dishevelled tresses, at your command: From that, you dedicated the spoils of a defeated race, And built a shrine to the goddess that you yourself worship. A goddess your mother honoured by her life, and by an altar, She alone worthy to share great Jupiter’s couch.
Book I: January 17 When this day is over, Phoebus, you will leave Capricorn, And take your course through the sign of the WaterBearer.
Camillus was a semi-legendary military leader who is said to have built the Temple to Concordia in 367BC. The Temple was rebuilt several times. In 121 BC is was rebuilt at a larger size. Thereafter, the Senate would meet there during and after political conflict. Ovid’s revered Leader above is Tiberius, and his mother is Livia, the wife of Augustus. Tiberius filled the Temple full of art treasures. So, it became a museum and a tourist attraction for visitors to Rome. For more on Concordia and Pax look at my post here. For more Ovid, read my post here.
On This Day!
1752 – Today is also Twelfth Night Old style which is the date of the celebration of the last night of Christmas according to Julian Calendar which was replaced by the Gregorian in 1752. So Old Style time to Wassail the Orchard! Wassails are currently being held in various places in London. See here for the Bermondsey Wassail. See below for more details.
1773 – Captain Cook captained the first Ship (the Resolution) to cross the Antarctic Circle
1917 – The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Island
Today is St Antony’s Day – father of Monasticism, curer of St Antony’s Fire, patron Saint of domestic animals, especially pigs. The runt of a litter is a ‘tantony pig’ and the smallest bell in a chime is a ‘tantony bell’. His symbols are pigs and bells.
Run by the London Wild Life Trust. The web site says:
Celebrate Wassail Day with us on Saturday
London Wildlife Trust welcomes the local community to awaken the apple trees to ensure a good harvest of fruit in autumn in a traditional Wassailing event.
Activities on the day will include apple inspired crafts, bird feeders, warming bread on the fire (weather permitting), pinning toast to trees (this apparently helps with a good harvest!) and more!
First written in Jan 2023, revised and republished in Jan 2024,2025,2026
Queen Elizabeth 1 Coronation. Litter at her royal entry, accompanied by footmen and Gentlemen Pensioners. Unidentified engraver. (Wikipedia)
Queen Elizabeth 1 Accession
Queen Elizabeth 1 ascended the throne on 17 Nov 1558. Her accession was greeted with an outbreak of joy by the Protestant population. But the supporters of her dead sister Mary 1 did not want a Protestant monarch. On hearing the news of the death, Elizabeth rushed to occupy the Tower of London. She even risked shooting London Bridge, such was her haste. (see my post of the accession of Queen Elizabeth I)
She consulted lawyers about the legal position. Elizabeth, and her sister Mary, were declared bastards by two Succession Acts passed during Henry VIII’s ‘troubled’ married life. The Third Succession Act of 1543/44, following Henry’s marriage to Katherine Parr, restored Mary and Elizabeth to the Royal line. But it did not restore their legitimacy. Rather than tackle the complex legislation, Sir Nicholas Bacon, the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, advised:
“the English laws have long since pronounced, that the Crown once worn quite taketh away all Defects whatsoever“. (Wikipedia)
Which, when you think about it, basically legitimises any successful ‘coup’! And, from a legal perspective, she was still, arguably, illegitimate.
Queen Elizabeth 1 Coronation
Her courtiers immediately began work on the Coronation, scheduled for January 15th 1559. In terms of Coronations, this was rushed. The precise date was, in fact, chosen by the Royal Astrologer. John Dee, a famous mathematician and credulous astrologer,. He found a date that the celestial bodies deemed propitious. But it needed to be sooner rather than later because Elizabeth’s position was so insecure.
Queen Elizabeth 1 Coronation Procession
The Coronation began with a procession from the Whitehall Palace in Westminster. Then back to the Tower of London for the Vigil. Followed by a Royal Procession through the City of London to Westminster Abbey for the Coronation service. After the Coronation, there was the traditional Coronation Banquet at Westminster Hall.
The Vigil Procession was on the Thames where she was escorted to the Tower by ‘ships, galleys, brigantines‘ sumptuously decorated. The Royal Entry consisted of 5 Pageants and 11 Triumphal Arches.
The first pageant showed the Queen’s descent from Henry VII and his marriage to Elizabeth of York. This marriage effectively ended the Wars of the Roses by linking the House of York and the House of Lancaster. The pageant also emphasised her ‘Englishness’ as opposed to the Spanish affiliations of Mary. The second pageant demonstrated that the Queen would rule by the four virtues of True Religion, Love of Subjects, Wisdom and Justice. At the same time she was shown trampling on Superstition, Ignorance and other vices.
The Procession at Cheapside
The third pageant, at the upper end of Cheapside near the Guildhall, provided the opportunity for the City to give Elizabeth a handsome present. This was a crimson purse with 1000 marks of gold, showing the closeness of the City and the Crown. The fourth pageant, contrasted a decaying country during the time of Mary with a thriving one under Elizabeth. It featured the figure of Truth, who was carrying a Bible written in English and entitled ‘the Word of Truth’. The Bible was lowered on a silken thread to the Queen. The Queen kissed it and laid it on her breast to the cheers of the crowd. She promised to read it diligently. The final pageant was Elizabeth portrayed as Deborah, the Old Testament prophet. Deborah rescued Israel and ruled for 40 years. So she was an ideal role model for Elizabeth. (For more details, look here.)
‘All the houses in Cheapside were dressed with banners and streamers, and the richest carpets, stuffs and cloth of gold tapestried the streets’.
British History.ac.uk Vol 1 pp315 -332
Queen Elizabeth 1 Coronation in Westminster Abbey
The Coronation was traditional – in Latin and presided by a Catholic Bishop, but there were significant innovations. Important passages were read both in Latin and in English. The Queen added to the Coronation Oath the promise that she would rule according to the:
‘true profession of the Gospel established in this Kingdom.’
This showed the path Queen Elizabeth was going to take. She would introduce innovation gradually into tradition, but emphasizing that the fundamentals had indeed changed. This was going to be a Protestant reign.
Can I remind you that I wrote a best-selling book on the Kings and Queens of Britain? It has sold over 130,000 copies, has been reprinted several times and in several editions. Further details here.
On This Day
1535 King Henry VIII became Supreme Head of the Church of England
1759 The British Museum opened to the Public.
1867 Ice breaks on the boating lake at Regent’s Park, London, Forty people die.
2001 Wikipedia Day. The free wiki content encyclopedia launched. (Other days are possible but this one is the earliest recovered wikipedia page. I begin editing pages on November 28th, 2003.
This page is about the discovery of evidence for an Ice age Lunar Calendar. The alignment of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments shows that there was a calendar of the year in use. But in 2023, evidence of a Palaeolithic Calendar was discovered by an ‘amateur’. Furniture maker Ben Bacon studied markings in cave paintings at Lascaux, Altamira and other caves.
Sketch of 23,000 year old cave painting, below the head of the animal are 4 dots which are thought to be lunar months of the mating season
He collaborated with Professors at UCL and Durham. They interpreted markings showing the use of an Ice age Lunar Calendar to mark the mating season of particular animals. A Y shaped mark he interpreted as meaning ‘giving birth’. The number of dots or dashes drawn by or in the outline of the creature coincided with their mating season. They determined this by studying the mating season of modern animals, which corresponded with the palaeolithic markings.
At Stonehenge, there are suggestions that the alignments to Midsummer and Midwinter Solstices stretch further back into the Mesolithic period. (For more about Stonehenge see my post).
On this Day! A Whopping, whopping mallard!
1437 – Workmen discovered a giant Mallard which inaugurated ‘Mallard Day’ at All Souls, College, Oxford. It must have been colossal, as they celebrated with an annual torch lit duck hunt on the nearby River Thames.
Sadly, it is no longer annual and has been relegated to a once-a-century event. Each year, however, all they do is sing the song:
Griffin, Bustard, Turkey, Capon, Let other hungry mortals gape on, And on the bones their stomach fall hard, But let All Souls men have their Mallard. Oh! by the blood of King Edward. Oh! by the blood of King Edward. It was a whopping, whopping mallard.
Therefore, let us sing and dance a galliard, To the remembrance of the mallard. And as the mallard dives in pool, Let us dabble, dive and duck in bowl. Oh! by the blood of King Edward. Oh! by the blood of King Edward. It was a whopping, whopping mallard
Chambers. Book of Days, 1864
1872 Greyfriars Bobby died. Bobby was a Skye Terrier or Dandie Dinmont Terrier. When his master died, he spent 14 years guarding his owner’s grave in the famous Greyfriars’ graveyard in Edinburgh. There are books, there are films, there are statues. But facts are in short supply. One claim is that stray dogs have been known to find their way into graveyards, people feed them. The dog makes it their home. So Bobby may not have been related to anyone buried there, and was devoted to the food he was given. But then that ruins a good story.
GreyfriarsInformation Board for statue of Greyfriars BobbyStatue of Greyfriars BobbyBurial Stone marking the grave of Greyfriars Bobby
St Hilary’s Day is traditionally the coldest day in the year. It is normally in January, or February. This is because although the Sun is at its lowest at the Solstice, the earth and the sea retains heat. But, even so, sometimes the coldest day is in December and occasionally as early as November, or as late as March.
In 2024 the coldest day, was at Dalwhinnie, 17th January at -14.0C. In 2023, it was -16.0C, recorded at Altnaharra on the 9th of March. The coldest day in 2025 was -18.9C Altnaharra 11 January. Both places are in the Scottish Highlands.
At the bottom of the post are the coldest days in the UK since 2000.
St Hilary & the Arians
I can’t help think that this heading sounds like a very good 1980s post-punk band?
St Hilary (born 315) was the Bishop of Poitiers in France, where he died around 367 AD. He was a vigorous opponent of the Arian Heresy, which swept through the Catholic world in the late Roman period. Catholic doctrine was that God – the Father, Son and Holy Ghost was a Trinity. Arius took the view that: “If the Father begat the Son, then he who was begotten had a beginning in existence, and from this it follows there was a time when the Son was not.” Seems like solid logic, doesn’t it? But this means that for Arians, Jesus was not equal with God. Another question at the time was, ‘Was Jesus divine?’
Eventually, the ecumenical First Council of Nicaea of 325, declared Arianism to be a heresy. This was during the reign of Constantine the Great. Arianism was strong in the Eastern Empire and was accepted by Constantine’s son. It continued as a major influence, especially among the Goths and Vandals who were an increasingly important force in the Late Roman Empire.
The Church takes the position that there is one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons (wikipedia). It’s sobering to think how many people were martyred over these arcane attempts to maintain a coherent monotheism despite this difficult idea of three entities being one God. For more heresy please look at my post on the Pelagian Heresy and St Germanus.
Hilary Term
St Hilary was a scholar and is one of those rare early Saints not to be horrifically martyred. We remember him in the UK with the dedication of a few Churches, particularly in Wales. He has also given his name to one of the terms of the academic year. At least for Oxford. There, Hilary Term is their name for the ‘spring term’ and this year Hilary began on the 12th January.
Oxford names its terms Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity. Cambridge and London School of Economics share Michaelmas but call the next term ‘Lent term’ and then ‘Summer Term’. Most other universities split the academic year into three terms (autumn, spring and summer) across two academic semesters.
For most of us ‘terms’ are a thing of our youth. For the rest of our lives we participate in the hard slog of ‘real life’. Real life is not split into terms. It is work, work, work, separated by a few short breaks. But not for the High Court and the Court of Appeal. No! They have stuck to the idea of the term. The legal establishment also uses ‘Hilary.’ This year the legal year is:
2026
Hilary: Monday 12 January to Wednesday 1 April Easter: Tuesday 14 April to Friday 22 May Trinity: Tuesday 2 June to Friday 31 July Michaelmas: Thursday 1 October to Monday 21 December
Too much like hard work, for the lords of Justice! Although to do them credit they have four terms.
As I travel around Britain I find there are a lot of historic ‘Stately Homes’ which were bought by eminent Judges or lawyers. The legal establishment is based at the four Inns of Court: Lincoln’s Inn, Grey’s Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. These were founded in London in the medieval period. They provided homes and well as offices (chambers) for the lawyers. The lawyers stayed in them during the legal terms. About 30 weeks out of the 52 available in the year. Then they would go off to their country estates to recuperate and enjoy the fruits of their privileged position.
2009 -18.4 Aviemore 9 February, Braemar 29 December
2010 -22.3 Altnaharra 8 January
2011 -13.0 Althnaharra 8 January
2012 -18.3 Chesham (Bucks.) 11 February
2013 -13.4 Marham (near Norwich, Norfolk) 16 January
2014 -9.0 Cromdale (Morayshire) 27 December
2015 -12.5 Tulloch Bridge, Glascarnoch 19 January
2016 -14.1 Braemar 14 February
2017 -13.0 Shawbury (Shropshire) 12 December
2018 -14.2 Faversham (Kent) 28 February
2019 -15.4 Braemar 1 February
2020 -10.2 Braemar 13 February and Dalwhinnie (30 December)
2021 -23.0 Braemar 11 February
2022 -17.3 Braemar 13 December
2023 -16.0 Altnaharra 9 March
2024 -14.0 Dalwhinnie 17 January
2025 -18.9 Altnaharra 11 January (so far – it hasn’t been finalised as of St Hilary’s Day)
If you look at the long list you will see that Braemar and Althnaharra, both in the Scottish Highlands are the most common places to host the coldest day in the UK.
On This Day
1404 King Henry IV banned alchemy. In fact, he banned transmutation of base metals into gold. Had someone succeeded, they could have turned upside down the basis of the medieval economy.
1893 The Independent Labour Party formed, led by Keir Hardie
1968 Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom State Prison
2021 – Outgoing President Donald Trump is impeached for a second time on a charge of incitement of insurrection following the January 6 United States Capitol attack one week prior. (Wikipedia)
January is when people buy diaries, calendars and almanacs. January is named after the Roman God Janus. He faces both ways, to the old year and forward to the New Year. January is Ionawr in Welsh. An ceud Mhios Biadhna in Gaelic meaning ‘the first month of the year’.
This is a Roman Barrel from Scotland is shown on the Trimontium Web Site with the name Januarius on it.
Almanacs
Arguably, they grew from medieval manuscript Books of Hours. The 1493 Kalendar of Shepherds, published in Paris, was particularly important. Each month has a succinct description of the activity. Moreover, there was important information for farmers and others. Eventually, a British version was made.
From the Kalendar of Shepherdes (illus. 1529)
Kalendar of Shepherds
The Kalendar of Shepherds was printed in 1493 in Paris and provided ‘Devices for the 12 Months.’ I use a modern (1908) reconstruction of it using wood cuts from the original French and adding various text from English 16th and 17th Century sources. The text of the month (as shown above) is provided from a 17th Century source. It gives an interesting view of the countryside in January. To see the full Kalendar, look here:
Nicholas Breton, the writer of the text above, concludes that January:
‘is a time of little comfort, the rich man’s charge, and the poore man’s misery.’
The rich man is burdened by having to help out all the poor people who depending upon him to get through the shortages of winter. The image for January shows that January is best spent indoors by a roaring fire, eating pies.
Months of Your Life
The Kalendar introduces a ‘conceit’ which is that the year mirrors our lives, and we can forecast what will happen in our lives by looking at the months.
Kalendar of Shepherds, January text
So our lives, which are of 72 years, can be divided into 12 ages of man, each of 6 years. So, January represents the first 6 years of a person’s life. And as you can see, that during these first 6 years, the child is ‘without witte, strength, or cunning, and may do nothing that profiteth‘. As the year changes every month, so, ‘a man change himself twelve times in his life’. At three times 6 (18 or March) a child becomes a man, and 6 times 6 (36 or June) man is at his best and highest. And at 12 times 6 (72 or December) man is at the end of his allotted span.
Shakespeare numbered the Ages of Man as seven, in the great speech of Jacques in ‘As You Like it’ I dealt with this and other Ages of the World in my post:
By the 1600s almanacs were the most published form of book apart from the Bible. Lauren Kassell in ‘Almanacs and Prognostications’ reports estimates that by 1660 one third of every household had one.
Originally, they had a Calendar for each month, and information about the phases of the month, the tides. They gave predictions of the weather, and health issues likely to occur at that time of the year. Astrology was an important element. London Almanacs contained further information about the year, its ceremonies and elections of officials. As this informational side to the almanac grew, they included lists of monarchs, interesting stories, verse foretelling the weather, recipes and cures.
As the New Year dawns, we might turn to an almanac to see what the year has ahead. Newspapers and the web have now taken over largely from almanacs. They print articles about the upcoming highlights of the Political, Sporting, Gardening or the Musical year. But almanacs are still produced. One of the most popular is Old Moore’s which has been in production since 1697. For more on Old Moore’s see my post here. As you can see, they promise to help with your gambling, gardening, fishing and help you through the year with predictions and horoscopes.
Originally published in 2024, republished in 2025. Content moved to new page and expanded 2026.
Winter at Abney Park Cemetery photo by Harriet Salisbury
Or so says the Shepherd’s Almanac for 1676. Until the 12th Night we were predicting that the weather on each of the 12 days will match the month of the same number. But having past Twelfth Night we have to find turn to other methods of weather lore.
Weather lore seems convinced of the undesirability of a warm January
‘January warm, the Lord have mercy’.
‘January commits the fault and May bears the blame.’
‘If Birds begin to Whistle in January, frosts to come’
‘When gnats swarm in January, the peasant become a beggar’
Most of the sayings about January quoted in Richard Inwards ‘Weather Lore’ first published in 1893, have this as their main focus. And the contrary (cold January good growing season) also generally holds:
‘When oak trees bend with snow in January, good crops may be expected.’
‘A cold January, a feverish February, a dusty March, a weeping April , and a windy May presage a good year and gay.’
The Weather according to Animals
So much for long range forecasts. Let’s see how Weather Lore helps us use animals to determine whether it will rain today.
‘If animals crowd together, rain will follow.’
‘When dogs eat grass it will be rainy‘
‘When a cat sneezes, it is a sign of rain‘
‘If young horses do rub their backs against the ground, if is a sign of great drops of rain to follow.’
The only weather lore repeated in my family was ‘Cows sitting down means it will rain.’ (And of course ‘red sky at night, shepherd’s delight’).
Meteorology Office on weather lore.
A survey by the Met Office in 2017 found that a surprisingly large number of people (75%) use ‘folklore’ to predict weather, and 55% think they are useful methods of predictions. Here is a quote from their post.
Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight – used by 70% of UK adults – CORRECT
It can be too cold to snow – used by 49% – PROBABLY NOT IN THE UK
Cows lie down when it is about to rain – used by 44% – NOT CORRECT
Pine cones open up when good weather is coming – used by 26% CORRECT
If it rains on St Swithin’s day, it will rain on each of the next 40 days – used by 22% Not Correct. In fact since records began in 1861, there has never been a record of 40 dry or 40 wet days following St Swithin’s Day
‘Negroland and Guinea with the European Settlements, Explaining what belongs to England, Holland, Denmark, etc’. By H. Moll Geographer (Printed and sold by T. Bowles next ye Chapter House in St. Pauls Church yard, & I. Bowles at ye Black Horse in Cornhill, 1729, orig. published in 1727) Source Wikicommons.
The Royal Africa Company
The Royal Africa Company was set up with a monopoly on trade with the west coast of Africa in:
“redwood, elephants’ teeth, negroes, slaves, hides, wax, guinea grains, or other commodities of those countries”
On January 10th. 1663 King Charles II affirmed the new charter for the Company that, above all else, was responsible for British continuing involvement in enslavement. Shareholders included his nephew, Prince Rupert, Samuel Pepys, and much of the British Establishment, Aristocracy, and City Merchants. Its headquarters were in Cornhill, not far from the East India Company’s HQ. The company was closed in 1752.
Guineas
Gold from the Gold Coast in Guinea was used to make coins, which became known as ‘guineas’. They were originally made from one quarter of an ounce of gold. Below is a sketch of a two guinea coin from the reign of Charles II. Note the elephant at the bottom of the coin.
Sketch of a two guinea coin from the reign of Charles II showing an elephant below the image of the King.
The guinea was original worth 1 pound but fluctuated with the price of Gold. Pepys records it at 24 or 25 shillings. It was eventually phased out, but it became a posh way of expressing value. Ordinary goods would be priced in pounds, but expensive ones in Guineas. By then valued at 21 shillings. (£1 pound 5 pence). Wikipedia suggests it was used for ‘prices of land, horses, art, bespoke tailoring, furniture, white goods and other “luxury” items‘. I remember going shopping with my parents in London and wondering at the fur coats being priced in Guineas. It died out, as a practice, in the 70s.
Enslavement, Government & the Royal Africa Company
There are many sites giving a history of slavery, and the British involvement with it. But, here, I would just like to point out how involved the British Royal Family was in the trade. One of the instigators of the Trade, in the 16th Century was John Hawkins. He secured investment in his second slaving expedition from: Queen Elizabeth I, Robert Dudley, Edward Clinton, Lord Burghley amongst others. Royal involvement in the foundation of the Royal Africa Company was only one of many connections between Royalty and Slavery.
It should be noted that the British education system has emphasised the role of Britain in the abolition of slavery. We are more reluctant to highlight our involvement in setting it up and continuing it. This has begun to change. A new generation of school children in London can visit the excellent London: Sugar & Slavery Gallery at the Museum of London in Docklands.
Compensation for Slavery & Reparations
University College, London has undertaken a profound project where they took the records of compensation payments to:
The slaves, you are thinking?
No, to the slave owners!
The compensation of £20m pounds was provided by a loan to the Governemt by Rothschilds Bank in the City of London. It probably represents around £16billion in modern terms. I have been unsure of the case for historic ‘reparations’. But when ‘we’ compensated the slave owners, it makes the case for compensation to the enslaved overwhelming. The least we can do is to fund projects to correct the educational and life disadvantages of people and countries impacted by slavery. And £16 billion seems like the right amount.
Legacies of British Slave-ownership project
UCL have created a resource where you can click on the streets of London and other areas, to find out the holders of slaves who were compensated in that street.
I looked at the UCL resource looking for the closest slave owner in my area of the East End of London. The nearest person lived about 500 yards away from me. Here are the abridged details from the database. It is very simple to use. Have a go by following this link.
Solomon Nunes Flamengo of Kingston, living at Mutton Lane in Hackney when he wrote his will in 1778. Merchant. Estate probated in Jamaica in 1779. Slave-ownership at probate: 6 of whom 2 were listed as male and 4 as female. 4 were listed as boys, girls or children. Total value of estate at probate: £21356.26 Jamaican currency of which £332.5 currency was the value of enslaved people.
I guess the value of his compensation was £332.5. Solomon was Jewish, which is unusual for the records, by far the majority being Christian. I chose Solomon simply because he was the closest to my house. The UCL website is at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/.
Britain began regulating the Slave trade in the late 18th Century, abolished the Slave Trade in 1807. Slavery, with the compensation to slave owners in 1833, was abolished but they replaced slavery with apprenticeship – in effect bound labour. This was ended in 1838. For more details look at https://www.parliament.uk/
Slavery or Enslavement
Finally, I have seen several exhibitions and TV documentares in recent months where victims of the pernicious trade are referred to as ‘enslaved’ and not slaves.
It is a profound difference. The victims did not make themselves slaves, they did not identify as slaves. They were forced into lt by violence, kidnap. rape, murder, torture, imprisonment, trafficking, forced exile. They were enslaved.
Edinburgh from Arthur’s Seat. Castle to the left, St Giles the ’rounded’ spire in the middle, and Salisbury Crags to the right
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
This is my select booklist for Edinburgh, one of my favourite towns. Strangely, heading it up is a book based in London, and written in Bournemouth. However, Stephenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a very Edinburgh book but published in London on January 9th 1886.
What makes it fit for an Edinburgh booklist? Firstly, Edinburgh is the best place for a science-based Gothic Horror Novella. A City made for Ghost Tours, but with a scientific legacy arguably second to none. One of the inspirations for the book was the story of Deacon Brodie. He was a cabinetmaker who rose to be Deacon (president) of the craft of cabinetmaking. Therefore, he had wealthy clients and was impeccably respectable. When he went to his clients houses, or made them locked cabinets, he would copy the locks using wax moulds. Then he and his team would rob the house. He hid a cache of keys underneath Salisbury Crags which you can see above.
To cut a long story short, he made an attempt on robbing the Excise Office in Canongate, Edinburgh, on March 5th 1788. The heist failed, one of the robbers turned King’s Evidence. So Brodie fled to one of his mistresses in London, then to the Continent. But he was relentlessly pursued and captured in Amsterdam. He was brought back to face trial, found guilty, and hanged on a new scaffold, which he may just have had a part in designing.
Stevenson had cabinets made by William Brodie and as a young man produced a play about him. He was intrigued by the idea of a wealthy man having a dual life. The idea itself, seems obvious but the expression a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ character is still often used to describe someone with two opposing sides to their characters. The idea of duality provides many ways to look at the book. Edinburgh itself was a duality. There was the old, filthy, higgledy-piggledy Old Town on top of the Volcanic Ridge, with the spacious New Town in the Valley below, with modern wealthy houses providing healthy homes for the rich. The idea of Two Cities, of the rich and the poor; the good and the evil; rationality and sensuality; hetero and homosexual fits well with Victorian Britain, but perhaps best into Victorian Edinburgh, the City of Burke and Hare. These famous Edinburgh serial killers were working for one of Europe’s greatest medical centres, where debate about Darwinism, and the powers of the brain were hotly debated in a City with a strong Presbyterian background.
In Bournemouth, Stevenson befriended the former Reverend Walter Jekyll, younger brother of gardener Gertrude Jekyll. He was probably homosexual and the author borrowed the name for the rational part of Jekyll and Hyde. At a time when to be gay was a crime, most gay people had to live a Jekyll and Hyde existence. In fact, Sodomy was a capital offence in Scotland until the year after the publication of the ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Strangely, in a book list I would encourage you to watch the 1920 silent film starring John Barrymore to enjoy its ghastly atmosphere. You can watch it for free on YouTube here.
Ian Rankin’s Rebus
Ian Rankin is a typographical author of the highest rank. Every story brings Edinburgh, its people and its history to life. And yet set in a very readable crime fiction envelope. The Rebus I chose was ‘Set in Darkness‘ because it has the Scottish Parliament at its heart. It begins with a body found in Queensbury House, which is being preserved and incorporated into the new Scottish Parliament buildings. Please read my post on the book (link below).
Queensberry House to the right, with the Scottish Parliament in the background. Royal Mile, Cannongate in the foreground. (Photo: K. Flude)
Recently published is ‘Edinburgh a New History’ by Alistair Moffat. This is an excellent summary of Edinburgh’s History. He has written a large number of books about Scotland. I particularly liked ‘Reivers‘ which is a great book about the border raiders, both North English and Scottish who raided the borderlands between Edinburgh and York during the 13th to the 17th Centuries. They inspired the young Walter Scott, who collected Reivers ballads before inventing the Historical Novel.
As to Walter Scot, our Blue Badge Guide for Edinburgh, considers his long descriptive passages unreadable. But I’m not so convinced, having read Ivanhoe and Rob Roy as a boy. But if I were to recommend a Walter Scot, it would be Heart of Midlothian as it is set in Edinburgh and deals with crime, poverty, urban riots and other manifestations of life in Edinburgh in the 18th Century.
Midlothian is the country around Edinburgh, named after the legendary Celtic King Loth. The Heart of Midlothian, is Edinburgh or more precisely, a heart marked out in the cobbles. It is located outside of St Giles, on the Royal Mile, where the Tollboth (townhall and prison) and execution site for the City used to be. To this day, Edinburghers (or more correctly, Dunediners) are supposed to spit on the heart for good luck.
Old Print of the Tollbooth with St Giles to the right of the print.
It is hard to exaggerate the importance of Walter Scot. Byron said he had read his books 50 times, and never travelled without them. Goethe said ‘he was a genius who does not have an equal.’ Pushkin said his influence was ‘felt in every province of the literature of his age. Balzac described him as ‘one of the noblest geniuses of modern times’. Jane Austen and Dickens loved his books. The point is he invented the Historical Novel, and for the first time, as Carlyle wrote, he showed that history was made by people ‘with colour in their checks and passion in their stomachs.’ The only other person I can think of who was held in such universal regard was Tolstoy. There is also sense in which Scott invented our modern idea of Scotland, with its kilts and bagpipes.
The Scottish Enlightenment
A walk through the centre of Edinburgh has so many statues of people who made the modern world it is astonishing. So you should read: ‘The Scottish Enlightenment – the Scots Invention of the modern world‘ by Arthur Herman.
Burke and Hare: The True Story Behind the Infamous Edinburgh Murderers by Owen Dudley-Edwards
The story of Burke and Hare is well known, but it shows how important Edinburgh was as a medical centre in the early 19th Century. Bodies were shipped to Edinburgh from the London docks, such was the demand for bodies for anatomy teaching. Arthur Conan Doyle got his medical training here from a man called Joseph Bell, whose logical mind was the model for Sherlock Holmes.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
My last choice is Murial Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie set in a school in Edinburgh where the teacher singles out 6 of her pupils for special education. She wants to give them a cultured outlook in life which includes her own fascistic views. Made into a wonderful film starring Maggie Smith, but also a great book. It also, in a strange way, reinforces the huge legacy of the Scottish Education system. It is said that the Reformation brought to the Scots the idea that everyone should be educated enough to read the Bible in their own language. But it seems to me the Scots had a particular understanding of the importance of Education before the Reformation. St Andrews University was founded in 1410, Glasgow in 1410, Aberdeen in 1495 and Edinburgh in 1510.
Of course, you should read some poetry by Burns, and I would begin with Tam O’Shanter the story of Tam, Maggie his horse and Nannie, the witch with the short skirt (Cutty Sark). The version above (see link) is read over a comic novel of the poem. But if you prefer the words, this is the one I read for my groups where I ruin the Scots dialect, and disgrace myself, but oh how I enjoy it! www.poetryfoundation.org tam-o-shanter
The World’s Best Cities report makes London the top City followed closely by New York and Paris. London has had top spot for 11 years now. The Report is based on core statistics plus a survey of visitors and residents. It is created by Resonance, a consultancy group working in real estate, tourism, and economic development. They are based in Vancouver.
142026WORLD’S BEST CITIES “London is a city of constant reinvention. It is this remarkable commitment to ongoing growth that has seen us retain our crown as the World’s Best City. In 2025 we launched a 10-year plan for growth in the capital and celebrated a number of wins: record-breaking London-based scaleups going global, growing visitor numbers and an almost £10 billion planned investment in our experience economy over the next decade.” —LAURA CITRON, CEO, LONDON & PARTNERS
AFAR gives a good analysis of Resonance’s methods on its web site:
‘London’s magnetic appeal continues to draw a global audience, from students and entrepreneurs to tourists and corporate titans. The city’s robust recovery post- pandemic is reflected in its strong international traveler spending, which in 2024 reached almost $22 billion (up from $17.4 billion in 2023) and secured London the third-highest amount globally, outpacing destinations like New York and Dubai. Benefiting from a softer pound, London has remained a compelling bucket-list destination. Heathrow Airport recorded record-breaking arrivals, exceeding pre-pandemic passenger levels, and Gatwick Airport’s recent $320-million upgrade underscores London’s infrastructural excellence, enhancing the visitor experience with new concourses and improved amenities. The city’s airports, not surprisingly, rank #1 in our Top 100 cities.’
London No 1. Really?
Last year, I asked the question. Is it a fix? My thought below largely repeat what I said last year. It was a bit of a surprise to me given the hit Brexit has given to the City. But, London’s dominance for eleven years may be because of the consultancy’s focus on real estate as well as tourism and economic development. This gives London a head start as it has long been considered a very safe place to invest in property. London, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Singapore as 1-5 also suggests the report writers might have a bias to the big hitters. This year it notes that tax rises have hit the wealthy sector property prices but, the reduction in prices at the top end has made London very attractive, particularly to Americans. London seems a very sane City when compared to what is going on in America.
What London offers is its status as one of the world’s leading financial/business capitals. Supported by outstanding creative and services industries. At the same time, it has a superb cultural offering and, consequently, high figures for tourism. It is a City that seems to have a deep past behind it and an equally important future ahead.
The future might depend on the growing Knowledge Quarter around Kings Cross. (British Museum & Library, Wellcome Institute, Crick Institute, UCL, Central St. Martins, Google etc.) With Silicone Roundabout and the wealth of investments from the nearby City of London, providing London with a leading place in AI, the Knowledge economy, and Fintech. London also has a very high value on the internet as far as hashtags, and internet searches are concerned. Click here to see last year’s post.
On This Day
1889 The first ‘tabulating machine’ was patented by Dr Herman Hollerith in the US. It provided the beginnings of IBM, and the age of the Computer.
1923 The World’s first Outside Broadcast took place. The BBC broadcasted Mozart’s Magic Flute from the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. Early radios were called ‘Listening In’ devices. (see ‘Lucia in London’ by E. F. Benson).
1940 Rationing Introduced in the UK (initially Bacon, Butter and Sugar).
1947 David Bowie Born in Brixton as David Robert Jones
Today’s Link Rare Iron Age war trumpet and boar standard found in Norfolk. The Britons, and Celts on the continent, used a carnyx to provide the soundtrack to battle. A bit like the vuvuzela used at football matches, they make a horrible noise! This one is one of the most complete ever found. It is found with a Boar’s Head standard. For pictures and more information, look here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr7jvj8d39eo
Created on January 8th 2026 based on a similar post for 2025.
![“To Concordia,¹ the Sixth Legion, Victorious, Loyal and Faithful and the Twentieth Legion [dedicates this].” found at Roman Corbridge (Coriosopitum)](https://chr.org.uk/anddidthosefeet/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/To-Concordia¹-the-Sixth-Legion-Victorious-Loyal-and-Faithful-and-the-Twentieth-Legion-dedicates-this..png)
