This is neat: a paymaster's account book for the 16th Regiment of Foot from 1770, when they were in New York (Battle of Golden Hill). I hope an archive gets this one so more historians can do work like Serena Zabin's, treating "redcoats" as individuals, not a faceless mass. @boston1775.bsky.social

Not a sniff of rain forecast for the next 10 days. So fed up of having to water the garden every night.

The Gansey | Saturday 1 August, 11am-12.30pm | FREE Join us for a fascinating talk by artist and knitter Sue Taylor on the fisherman’s jumper. Once worn by fishermen on the north-east coast, ganseys featured decorative patterns which identified the wearer’s home port. @hulllibraries.bsky.social

It's Wed., & you need an eel. But you also deserve a stork. So enjoy this stork eating an eel from a 13th C. edition of Gerald of Wales' book on Ireland. (I know it doesn't look quite like a stork, but you can see a faded label below the bird. Sometimes that's what you get from monastic artists)

The reredos in the north aisle at St Andrew's, Barnwell is a fascinating piece of sculpture. Two slim ogee arches sit either side of a wider one, the cusps covered in carvings of foliage with a frieze of very cheery heads above the finials. (insensitive wiring of the day.. ) #WallsonWednesday

UK research at Cern to shrink as government approves STFC cuts. 🚨Exclusive: Science department approves UKRI’s cost-saving proposal, with major UK facilities also facing cutbacks. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

In 1855, a woman gave birth at Gloucester station after an over-zealous conductor took her ticket a stop early, forcing her off the train. So, GWR remains... themselves

Security or INSecurity Stamps? 1598 Ortelius Atlas with Ayer Collection markings on the verso of every single map, plus a couple for good measure. @newberrylibrary.bsky.social (Ayer oversize 135 .O7 1598)

Made of sturdy oak and set low to the ground, this is a hooded cradle. The cover shielded the child from draughts and sunlight. #cradle #history #Tudor #Heritage #England

Did you know that charities working to challenge racism, support refugees & promote human rights increasingly face large-scale online abuse & threats? What this report - quite strikingly - omits to mention is that such abuse often follows hostile UK media attacks /1 news.sky.com/story/staff-...

More a cynical choice trying to piggyback on the Manchester brand for foreign students. See also Brunel (where I used to teach decades ago, although lots of people assumed it was located at the other end of the railway line) and UCLAN rebranding to the University of Lancashire.

This coming Sunday I’ll be talking about Charles Booth’s Poverty Maps (1889-1903) as part of Stanfords’ ‘Mapping Lost London’ mini-festival, at the Guinness Vaults, Mercer St, Covent Garden. 3pm, £12.50. (Should be cool) Tickets: londonmonthofthedead.com/tickets.html

2/2 Herself as Fame, painting a man's portrait, because she's the only way anybody will remember him! Artemisia Gentileschi, 1630. Today is her birthday.

In 1638, Artemisia Gentileschi paints herself as the allegorical figure of Pictura. Bold! But justified. Today is her day.

Art Nouveau Four book covers from The Netherlands, circa 1900. #History #HistoryMatters

Quite a significant Brexit moment happening, with the removal of Spain-Gibraltar border posts in preparation for the UK-EU agreement being signed & implemented next week. Effectively, this marks the end of the process triggered by invoking Article 50 in 2017: etias.com/articles/spa... 1/3

Cracked 28,000 signatures today, thank you! Hopefully more good media coverage as a result (looking your way @lbc.co.uk @mrjamesob.bsky.social ) #DefendExeterUni

It is now the Birmingham & Midland Institute building at 9 Margaret Street, but was previously the premises of the private Birmingham Library, dates from 1899 & was designed by Jethro Cossins, F. B. Peacock & Ernest Bewlay. The Birmingham Library became part of the Birmingham Institute in 1956. /1

Gorgeous, golden & gauzy, I am in awe of the 1820s approach to evening dress which so often includes not only fabulous fabrics but smart decorative details. Here the lovely silk rouleaux have been plaited across the bodice & arranged in waves around the skirt #FashionMuseumBath #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

Ha ha! Discuss. Legislation www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Edw2/7/0...

150 years after a general decision that mass literacy was essential to the future of industrialised countries, the dominant culture of the West is rowing back on that assumption...

If any of you are on LinkedIn - first, I am sorry. And second: I have been cajoled into writing things about the ares of law I do actually practice in - commercial and media law. And so you can sign up for a new stream of my drivel here: www.linkedin.com/pulse/mercan...

Why high quality local journalism matters .

Good line though.

I was harassed in the restrooms of a museum in London two weeks ago for… having short hair and loose clothing. I was with my toddler, who’s still asking about it. And a lot of signs have been swapped, from men/women to male/female. The UK isn’t just going back, it’s inventing a whole new hell.

I hope everyone facing forced AI adoption knows about this wonderful set of resources from AAUP www.aaup.org/issues-highe...

The BBC needs to remember what it's here for: to educate, inform and entertain. That's why it's a state broadcaster. Fund it any way that's appropriate, but make it compulsory for every household (with concessions). Then:

What do the frontispieces of Leviathan and The History of the Grecian War reveal about Thomas Hobbes' ideas on power, politics and conflict? Explore these remarkable books from Newcastle University Library's Special Collections in our Digital Showcase: digitalshowcase.ncl.ac.uk/showcases/co...

There have been 65 Kings & Queens of all England since Aethelstan became the 1st recognised monarch in the year 927 (let the arguments begin 🤴) This tree hasn’t just witnessed all of them, it was born up to 2,000 years BEFORE Aethelstan The Linton Yew, Herefordshire

This stuff is just utterly normal at universities now.

Horned Owls and Fragrant Olive (ca 1880) Kono Bairei Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, Canada

Look at these!

Grebes feeding their new babies out at the Koll Wetlands yesterday, birding with @sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social

Today is the feast of the Saints of Selja, a collective of saints who had come ashore on an island in Western Norway. In the mid-twelfth-century, it was believed that they had been led by Saint Sunniva, an Irish princess. (1/n) [Kulturhistorisk museum, Oslo, C5067]

The gold came from mines worked by enslaved people. The stone cutting and case assembly used indentured apprentice labor in London. None of that shows in the enamel or agate. Built to be looked at, not looked into. James Cox, Cabinet Clock, c. 1770–75. Cleveland Museum of Art.

The cabinet doors open onto two tiny drawers. Their only job was holding the keys that wound the clock above. Cox's workshop was famous for adding music boxes to pieces like this one. This clock's mechanism is gone now, but the trick drawers survive.

6.5 inches tall. Gold, agate, enamel. Built in London around 1770 by a goldsmith named James Cox. It was never meant to stay in England, and it was never meant to be used by anyone who bought it.

Scotland's national film archive holds 26,000 films – from Clyde shipyards to St Andrews parades. But half are on decaying formats, and time is running out. This year's Annual Appeal is raising funds to digitise and restore them, before they're lost > auth.nls.uk/support-us/w...

On 8 July 1923, severe flooding around #Carrbridge resulted in the collapse of six bridges (rail & road), the levelling of nearly half a mile of railway embankments and the destruction of existing flood protection works.  [photo: William Paterson]

We've made the news! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Lane of Apple Trees near Osny, Pontoise https://botfrens.com/collections/49/contents/15584

Our archives and the John Blatchly Library will close on 9 and 10 July while we wait for an air-conditioning unit to be fixed. This is to protect the records from excessive heat. The exhibition, cafe, and shop will be open. Sorry for any inconvenience. Email any queries to [email protected]

Lammy announces conditional pardon for Ruth Ellis, in recognition she was hanged for murder triggered by abuse - www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

If elected, Count Binface may face a parliamentary standards investigation after it’s revealed he often makes collections on the wrong day

More Reform UK transactions worth millions reported to National Crime Agency

Joseph Chamberlain, MP for Birmingham (later Birmingham West) from 1876 to 1914, was born on this day in 1836. Originally a Liberal, he later formed the Liberal Unionist Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule. He was a keen gardener, noted for his love of orchids.

Happiness is when your illuminated Venetian Breviary is deliciously on-brand for the second week of Wimbledon. 🍓🎾🍓 This stunning page features little strawberries set against a gold-leaf background. It comes from a Breviary printed in Venice in 1490. Inc.6.B.3.47c[3693].

Here is the Hansard from 1842 which appears to show when the government (last?) refused to allow a MP to resign (ie, apply for the Chiltern Hundreds). May write on this later.

PSA: I’ve had two calls (from 07342 120477 & 07342 271876) from people calling to be from the Sim Support Department informing me my sim is out of date & needs to be replaced, which involved being asked for a minor personal detail. It’s a scam - one of the callers lost it when I refused to play ball