@ Tate Modern, London

Hrair Sarkissian’s Execution Squares 2008 comprises a series of photographs depicting the sites of public executions in Syria, the artist’s country of birth. The images were taken in three different cities – Damascus, Aleppo and Lattakia – in places where public executions have taken place, for civil rather than political crimes. Sarkissian took these photographs early in the morning when the streets were quiet, around the time when executions are carried out. The subject of an execution will usually be brought to the square at 4.30 a.m., but their body is routinely left there in full view of passers-by until around 9.00 a.m. Sarkissian’s first personal experience of an execution was as a child when he passed one of these squares on his journey to school and saw three bodies hanging in the street.

 

Charles Paul Renouard , born in Cour-Cheverny ( Loir-et-Cher ) on November 5 , 1845and died in Paris onJanuary 2 , 1924, is a French painter , engraver and illustrator .

 

Born in Cour-Cheverny onNovember 5, 1845, the sixth child of a modest clog-maker, Paul Renouard left his native region in 1859 to earn a living in Paris . He became a building painter and had the opportunity to come and work on the premises of the École des beaux-arts . He occasionally shows a talent for drawing that he has had since childhood. He was noticed and in 1868 he was admitted to the Beaux-Arts where he entered the studio of Isidore Pils . A beloved pupil of the latter, he helped him in the execution of the interior decorations of the Opéra Garnier and, in 1875, Pils having fallen ill, Paul Renouard painted the ceilings of the grand staircase from the cartoons of his master.

 

He painted dancers, portraits of many of the personalities of his century: Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau , Sarah Bernhardt and Victorien Sardou , Ambroise Thomas , Alexandre Dumas fils , Émile Bergerat , Ravachol , Michel-Eugène Chevreul , Louis Ménard , Joseph Meissonnier , Camille Saint-Saëns , General Boulanger , and all the members of the Institute and the Chamber of Deputies , then Lawrence Alma-Tadema , John Everett Millais, Marshal Katie Booth , Frederic Leighton , Luke Fildes , the nine sketches of Henry Irving as Mephistopheles .

 

Paul Renouard is above all a prolific illustrator working in black and white for the major illustrated newspapers. Regular contributor to L'Illustration , Paris illustré , Revue illustrée , The Graphic , he was famous for his series on English life, the Opéra Garnier and events such as the Universal Exhibition of 1900 , the ' Dreyfus affair , the trial of Émile Zola , the Thérèse Humbert and Steinheil affairs , the coronation celebrations of Edward VII , the funeral of Queen Victoria , the celebrations and tournament of 75th anniversary of the Independence of Belgium and the Universal Exhibition of 1905 in Liège , the Franco-Russian celebrations in Compiègne in 1901, the First World War .

 

In London , where he lived almost as much as in Paris and elsewhere, he illustrated Parliament , Drury Lane , the Salvation Army , the prisons, the docklands , the opium dens of the East End , the Lyceum Theatre , the Courts of Justice , the barracks of horse-guards, the world of sports, the music-halls, the Royal Academy for The Graphic . In his Pocket Sketches in London , he humorously depicts the types of English daily life, clubmen buried in large leather armchairs, visitors to museums, policeman and copyists of theNational Gallery , the railway station staff, the walkers in Hyde Park , the sleepers in Kensington Gardens , the coachmen, the omnibus conductors, the small world of the schools of the East, the class of babies… He attends the Jubilee of the Queen , prize distributions by the Dean of Westminster Abbey , the reassembly of Big Ben , the Royal Tournaments , dance classes by Katie Lanner , sessions of the Berners Street Anarchist Circle. Then it's Ireland, a series of pages with dark accents: children carrying peat to pay for school, a meeting, an eviction, police approaches...

 

In Rome during Holy Week , in Washington during Congress , he captured overseas political life vividly in a collection of portraits and scenes as expressive as they were witty: the Appropriations Committee, the Ways and Means Committee , the left, the right, the representatives of the press in Parliament, the stenographer, the portraits of Mark Carlisle , President of the Chamber of Deputies, of John James Ingalls (in) , President of the Senate…

 

"More than a painter of modern life, he was the superiorly informed journalist, the intelligent and clairvoyant reporter, who with a lively and rapid gaze from which nothing seems to have to escape, immediately perceives what must be seen and retained from picturesque and tragic; for Paul Renouard knew how to rise up to the story on occasion and faithfully noted with a firm, prompt and bold pencil, with a power of truth which surely localizes the scene and the environment, energetically outlined the characters, accusing with decision and precision characters and types in individuals 1 . »

 

He left his mark on his era and touched his contemporaries such as Vincent van Gogh who, through his correspondence with his brother Theo , showed great admiration for his work and his talent.

 

Member of the National Society of Fine Arts and the Society of French Artists , Paul Renouard obtained a gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889 and 1900 . He was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1893.

 

He was a professor at the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris in 1903.

 

He died in Paris onJanuary 2, 1924and rests in the small cemetery of Chambon-sur-Cisse .

 

His works are kept in Paris at the Louvre Museum and the Paris Museum of Modern Art (series on English life), at the Opera Library-Museum (series on dance and the Opera), at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo , at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels , at the Museum of Fine Arts in Tours , Limoges and Blois .

 

Hayashi Tadamasa was one of Paul Renouard's patrons, and his collection of nearly 200 engravings and drawings was, on the collector's death, donated by his heirs to the Imperial Household Museum in Tokyo (now the National Museum of Tokyo ).

 

Blois is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours.

 

With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the department, and the 4th of the region.

 

Historically, the city was the capital of the county of Blois, created on 832 until its integration into the Royal domain in 1498, when Count Louis II of Orléans became King Louis XII of France. During the Renaissance, Blois was the official residence of the King of France.

 

Since 2013, excavations have been conducted by French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP in French) in Vienne where they found evidence of "one or several camps of late Prehistory hunter-gatherers, who were also fishermen since fishing traps were found there.. They were ancestors of the famous Neolithic farmer-herders, who were present in current France around 6,000 BCE [i.e.: 8,000 years ago]."

 

Ancient times

A major urban development begun in 1959 uncovered the remains of a late Gallic settlement and an urban centre from the Gallo-Roman period. At that time, the town was located on the road linking Chartres to Bourges. In the network of cities of the Carnutes people, Blois was a secondary settlement. Excavations carried out on the right bank between 2001 and 2016 and on the left bank in 2013-2014 revealed the presence of a largely developed town on the right bank and an occupation on the left bank during the Gallic and Gallo-Roman periods. The Loire river has undoubtedly always been a major axis route, although no traces of a port have been uncovered. However, there are remains of former bridges linking the two banks.

 

Middle Ages

Though of ancient origin, Blois is first distinctly mentioned by Gregory of Tours in the 6th century, and the city gained some notability in the 9th century, when it became the seat of a powerful countship known as Blesum castrum.

 

Main article: County of Blois

Blois was first organised around a county, which was recreated in 956 by Count Theobald I of Blois, also known as The Trickster. His descendants, known as "Thibaldians", remained as Counts up until the county was incorporated into the royal domain in 1397. The House of Blois also succeeded in raising some of its members or descendants to the highest levels of the European nobility, notably by acceding to the thrones of France, England, Navarre, Spain and Portugal.

 

Main article: Counts of Blois

In 1171, Blois was the site of a blood libel against its Jewish community that led to 31 Jews (by some accounts 40) being burned to death. Their martyrdom also contributed to a prominent and durable school of poetry inspired by Christian persecution. In the Middle Ages, Blois was the seat of the County of Champagne it passed to the French crown in 1314, forming the province of Champagne. In 1196, Count Louis I of Blois granted privileges to the townsmen; a commune, which survived throughout the Middle Ages, probably dated from this time. The counts of the Châtillon dynastic line resided at Blois more often than their predecessors, and the oldest parts of the château (from the 13th century) were built by them. By 1397, Count Guy II of Blois-Châtillon offered the county to his cousin, Duke Louis I of Orléans, son of King Charles VI. In 1429, Joan of Arc made Blois her base of operations for the relief of Orléans. She rode the 35 miles on 29 April from Blois to relieve Orléans. In 1440, after his captivity in England, Duke Charles of Orléans (son of Duke Louis I) took up residence in the Château of Blois, where in 1462 his son was born, Duke Louis II of Orléans who would afterwards be known as Louis XII.

 

Renaissance era

By 1498, King Charles VIII died with no heirs in the Château of Amboise. As a result, Duke Louis II ran 22 miles between the Château and Blois, and was crowned as King Louis XII of France. He then married Charles VIII's widow, Queen Anne of Brittany, in 1499. The birth of their daughter, Claude of France, started the union of Brittany with France. Louis XII, as the last hereditary Count of Blois, naturally established his royal Court in the city. The Treaty of Blois, which temporarily halted the Italian Wars, was signed there in 1504–1505. During his reign, the city experienced a massive redevelopment, with some architectural elements inspired from the Italian Renaissance, as seen in the medieval castle immediately turned into a château, and the construction of many hôtels particuliers for the nobility throughout the entire kingdom. One of which, Hôtel d'Alluye, was built as a copy of an Italian palace for Florimond Robertet, who was an important French minister under King Charles VIII, King Louis XII and King Francis I.

 

On 1 January 1515, Louis XII died. His throne would be passed to Francis I, the husband to his daughter, Claude of France. In 1519, King Francis I ordered the construction of the Château of Chambord (10 miles away from Blois), but its construction lasted for one year before he died in 1547. In the meantime, he gradually expressed his will to move to Fontainebleau, near Paris, and started to abandon Bloisian. Much of the royal furniture was moved from Blois to Fontainebleau by 1539.

 

The French Wars of Religion was a significantly destructive conflict among the French people. The city's inhabitants included many Calvinists, and in 1562 and 1567 it was the scene of struggles between them and the supporters of the Catholic Church. On 4 July 1562, Blois and Beaugency, conquered by Protestants just before, were looted by Catholics led by Maréchal de St. André. On 7 February 1568, Protestants under Captain Boucard's command, looted and invaded the town, eventually killing many Catholics. Grey friars were also killed and thrown in the well of their own convent. In addition, all the churches were ransacked. In 1576 and 1588, King Henry III convoked the Estates General to Blois where he attained refuge after an uprising called the Day of the Barricades. In response, Duke Henry I of Guise was assassinated on 23 December 1588 for his involvement in the uprising. The following day, his brother, Cardinal Louis II of Guise, who was also archbishop of Reims, suffered the same fate. Their deaths were shortly followed by that of the Queen-Mother, Catherine de' Medici.

 

In the 16th century, the French Royal court often made Blois their leisure resort.

 

Modern era

After the departure of the Royal Court towards Paris, Blois lost the status of Royal residence, along with the luxury and economic activity that came with it. King Henry IV displaced the Royal library to Fontainebleau, which would later be the National Library of France (Bibliothèque nationale de France).

 

In 1606, Philippe de Béthune gave his ownership of Vienne-lez-Blois village, on the left bank of the Loire river, to Blois, making it a part of the city afterwards known as Blois-Vienne. From 1617 to 1619 Marie de' Medici, wife of King Henri IV, exiled from the court by his son, King Louis XIII, lived in the château. By 1622, the Counter-Reformation got establishment in Blois, founded a Society of Jesus and financed the construction of the St. Louis Chapel, which is today St. Vincent Church.

 

Then in 1634, Louis XIII exiled his brother, Gaston, Duke of Orléans and Count of Blois, who became attached to the city. The Duke in 1657, found a hospital in Blois-Vienne, now named Résidence Gaston d'Orléans, and financed the reconstruction of the Hôtel-Dieu. He remained in Blois until his death, in 1660.

 

Under Louis XIV's reign, Blois became un independent bishopric. David Nicolas de Bertier, first bishop of Blois from 1697, chose as seated cathedral St. Solenne Church, that had been destroyed by a storm and was under reconstruction, before being completed 3 years later in 1700, thanks to the intervention of Colbert's wife, who herself came from Blois. The new edifice became Blois Cathedral and got dedicated to St. Louis.

 

A wide episcopal palace is built by King Louis XIV's official architect, Jacques Gabriel, right next to the newly built cathedral, on a site overlooking the Loire Valley. Landscaping of terraced gardens began in 1703 and lasted nearly 50 years. The so-called Bishopric Gardens were first open to the public in 1791 by Henri Grégoire (known as the Abbot Grégoire), the first constitutional bishop after the French Revolution.

 

During the night between 6 and 7 February 1716, the medieval bridge collapsed. Construction of a new one is ordered during the following year. Jacques-Gabriel Bridge was inaugurated in 1724. All the levies were consolidated, and the river channel of La Bouillie in the prolongation of La Creusille Harbor was closed and dried out.

 

When Duke Gaston of Orléans died, the château ended up stripped by King Louis XIV, completely abandoned, to the point that King Louis XVI once considered to demolish it by 1788. The edifice was saved when the Royal-Comtois Regiment established their base within it.

 

In 1790, Orléanais province was dismantled, and the First Republic created the Loir-et-Cher department, with Blois as the local capital.

 

By 1814, Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma and wife of Napoleon I, found refuge in Blois.

 

Contemporary era

Another wind blew in Blois in the 19th century. First, the railroad came in 1846 with the inauguration of the Paris–Tours railway, whose Blois Station is a stop. The competition against river transportation gradually forced La Creusille Harbor to reinvent its activity. In parallel, the city got more industrialised from 1848 thanks to a successful chocolate brand created by Bloisian, Victor-Auguste Poulain.

 

Like Paris, Blois urban organisation was redesigned during 1850 and 1870 by Mayor Eugène Riffault, who was friends with Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann. Thus, he had bound through a boulevard holding his name the modern upper town (where the cathedral, Hôtel of Préfecture, and Halle aux Grains are located), and the medieval lower town. He also paved the way to the construction of the boulevard Daniel Depuis, in the West of Blois. Between 1862 and 1865, the Denis-Papin staircase are built under La Morandière's supervision, in the axis of Jacques-Gabriel Bridge and Blois-Vienne's Wilson Avenue.

 

In the meantime, the lower town faced three of the most significant flooding of the Loire river: in 1846, 1856 (the worst), and 1866. The downtown districts of St. Jean and Blois-Vienne were under water, as well as La Bouillie spillway.

 

On 13 December 1871, the Prussian army took control of Blois during the Franco-Prussian War. The city was taken back by Lieutenant Georges de Villebois-Mareuil, General Joseph Pourcet, and General Bertrand de Chabron. Since then, a memorial stands on Wilson Avenue in Vienne.

 

In 1939, Blois Basilica construction was completed. That same year, between 29 January and 8 February, more than 3,100 Spanish refugees came to the Loir-et-Cher department, fleeing the Spanish Civil War and Dictator Francisco Franco. In June 1940, the German bombings destroyed a large part of the downtown, and the French destroyed the 10th arch of Jacques-Gabriel Bridge to prevent further advance for their enemies. The German army bombed the former Town Hall on 16 June, thus killing Mayor Émile Laurens in the process, and took over the city 2 days later, on 18 June, the exact same day of Charles de Gaulle's Appeal for Internal Resistance.

 

Between June and August 1944, US-English-allied bombings destroyed other infrastructures, like the railroad bridge between Blois and Romorantin. In total during WWII, 230 people were killed, and 1,522 buildings were entirely or partially destroyed. On 16 August 1944, the German troops ran to Blois-Vienne to get refuge there and destroyed the three central arches of the bridge. On 1 September, they surrendered. The bridge was rebuilt and reopened in December 1948.

 

In 1959, Mayor Marcel Bühler received President Charles de Gaulle and launched the construction of the ZUP, at the North of the city, on the same scheme of so-called banlieues of Paris or any other French city.

 

Landmarks and tourism

Since 1986, Blois is part of the French Towns of Art and History program, which promotes the cultural and historical estate.

 

Château of Blois

The Château of Blois, a Renaissance multi-style château once occupied by King Louis XII, is located in the centre of the city, and an 18th-century stone bridge spans the Loire. It was also the residence of many Counts of Blois, who were amongst the most closest vassals to the King of France between the 9th and the 14th century. Many gardens are located around the château, like:

 

House of Magic

Right in front of the château, La Maison de la Magie Robert-Houdin (i.e.: Robert-Houdin House of Magic) is a museum dedicated to illusionism. This is the only public museum in Europe which incorporates in one place collections of magic and a site for permanent performing arts, and directly reflects the personality of Robert-Houdin.

 

Louis-XII Place and Fountains

Opened after bombings in 1944, the place stands right below the château, closest to the Loire river, and is actually located at the center of Blois downtown. There are local shops and restaurants, and a 16th-century fountain stands below the Sycamores planted in the place. Known as Louis XII Fountain (Fontaine Louis XII), this is one of the greatest and oldest water inlets throughout the city, but far from being the only one. Among the other founts, there are:

 

St. Martin Fountain (Fontaine Saint-Martin), below the staircase between the château and Louis XII Place;

 

St. Nicholas Fountain (Fontaine Saint-Nicolas), within the St. Nicholas Church;

 

Elected Representatives' Fountain (Fontaine des Élus), in rue Foulerie;

 

Ave Maria Fountain (Fontaine Ave Maria), in place Ave Maria;

 

Town hall Fountain (Fontaine de l'Hôtel de Ville), below the

Denis Papin staircase (where was the former Town Hall before WWII);

 

St. Jack Fountain (Fontaine Saint-Jacques), in rue Denis Papin;

 

Corbigny Fountain (Fontaine de Corbigny), in Victor Hugo Square ;

 

Simple Fountain (Fontaine des Simples), in the Lily Garden, in remembrance of a monumental Versailles-style fountain lost after WWII bombings.

 

Comics Museum

Blois is also the location of so-called Maison de la BD, a museum devoted to the art of comic books. Since the 1980s, this museum hosts an annual comic festival in late November called BD Boum, described as "the leading free comic book festival in France".

 

Former Hôtel-Dieu

Already by 924, monks from the St. Lomer community were given some acres below the medieval castle, but outside the city walls, on the bank of the Loire river. In the 13th century, a proper church was built, then fortified because of the Hundred Years' War. St. Lomer Abbey was completely destroyed during the French Wars of Religion. The edifice was rebuilt until the early 18th century. When the French Revolution broke out by 1789, the church was turnt into a Hôtel-Dieu, namely a charity hospital for the have-nots, because Revolutionners destroyed many clergy- and royal-related monuments. After that, new buildings were added to the original St. Lomer Abbey, which became St. Nicholas Church, and the additional edifices remained dedicated to the Hôtel-Dieu of the city. Nonetheless, this part was gradually abandoned and taken back by some public services. A reconversion project is currently under study.

 

Former Poulain Chocolate Factory

In the late 19th century, Bloisian industrialist and chocolatier Victor-Auguste Poulain established his brand's factory next to Blois station. The premises moved in the 1980s. Nowadays, those are housings and host the National Institute and School of Applied Sciences (INSA).

 

Denis-Papin Staircase

As Blois is built on a pair of steep hills, winding and steep pathways run through the city, culminating in long staircases at various points. The most iconic of them is the monumental Denis-Papin staircase which overlooks the town, provides a panoramic view by overlooking the downtown and the Loire Valley, and regularly enlivens urban space with original decorations. The fountain next to the staircase is a reminder of the location of the first Town Hall, destroyed after bombings on 16 June 1940.

 

Town Hall and Bishopric Gardens

Blois achieved independence from the Diocese of Chartres in 1697, and the cathedral was completed by 1700. As a result, the first bishops engineered wide gardens on several levels, next to the premises. Since the destruction of the former Blois town hall during World War II, local authorities requisitioned the bishop's apartments to establish there the new town hall. Now organised as an urban park, the gardens offer a panoramic view on the downtown, the Loire river, and Blois-Vienne. A statue of Joan of Arc, given to the city by American patron J. Sanford Saltus, stands in the middle of the park. Bishopric gardens are open to public all the year, and a remarkable rose garden can be visited from 15 May and 30 September, each year.

 

Hôtels Particuliers and Timber Framing Houses

Since Count Louis II of Orléans became King Louis XII of France in 1498, the city started to host many noblepersons from all the Kingdom. All would build their own mansion as close from the château as they could. King Louis XII also imported Renaissance style from Italy due to his successful military campaigns there. Among these so-called hôtels particuliers, there are:

 

the Hôtel d'Alluye;

the Hôtel d'Amboise;

the Hôtel de Belot;

the Hôtel de la Capitainerie (a.k.a. Hôtel de Bretagne);

the Hôtel de la Chancellerie (i.e.: Chancellery Hotel);

the Hôtel Denis-Dupont;

the Hôtel d'Épernon;

the Hôtel de Guise;

the Hôtel de Jassaud;

the Hôtel de Lavallière, built for Louise de Lavallière;

the Hôtel de Rochefort;

the Hôtel Sardini;

the Hôtel Viart;

the Hôtel de Villebresme, in which Denis Papin lived;

the Château de la Vicomté (i.e.: Château of Viscounty), in the hamlet of Les Grouëts.

 

Blois-Vienne and the Loire river

Please note all the above edifices have been listed as Blois-Vienne (or merely Vienne) is the name given to the southern part of the city, on the left bank of the Loire river. Independent from the city until 1606, there are many traces of the river's past. The main link between both banks is the Jacques-Gabriel Bridge, built in the early 18th century. From the levees circling the surroundings to other abandoned bridges, Vienne has also conserved a harbour, named La Creusille, which is now an urban park right on La Loire à Vélo bike route. Beyond the levees, La Bouillie Park is getting rehabilitated, and actually is a spillway in the event of floodings. Further to the south of the city, the Forêt de Russy is a reminder of the thick woods that once covered the area.

 

Religious Buildings

The city also is provided with many religious edifices, including:

Blois Cathedral, dedicated to both Kings Louis IX and Louis XII, built between 1564 and 1700.

St. Vincent Blois Church, dedicated to Saint Vincent de Paul, built between 1625 and 1660.

St. Nicholas Blois Church, dedicated to bishop Saint Nicholas of Myra, built in the 12th century.

Blois-Vienne Church, dedicated to Saint Saturnin of Toulouse, built between c. 1500 and 1528.

The Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Trinité, dedicated to Our Lady of the Holy Trinity, built between 1932 and 1939.

 

Historical and political figures

Ivomadus (5th century), Breton chieftain who would have conquered Blois and established there an independent Kingdom until Clovis I's conquest.

Count William of Orléans (died 834), first count of Blois.

Count Theobald I (913–975), viscount who declared himself Count when Duke Hugh the Great died in 956.

Thubois (c. 1044–1090)[citation needed]

Lady Adela of Normandy (c. 1067 – 1137), daughter of William the Conqueror, married to Stephen II, Count of Blois.

King Stephen of England (c. 1096 – 1154), second son of Count Stephen II and Lady Adela, he became King of England from 1135 to 1154.

Lady Adela of Champagne (c. 1140 – 1206), daughter of Count Theobald IV of Blois, she married King Louis VII and gave to him future King Philip II.

Duke Charles of Blois (1319–1364), notable stakeholder during the Hundred Years' War.

King Louis XII (1462–1515), Count of Blois from 1465 to 1498, then King of France up to 1515.

Queen Anne of Brittany (1477–1514), last Queen of Brittany, she remarried King Louis XII in 1499, then moved to Blois until her death.

King Francis I (1494–1547), King of France born in Cognac, but he lived in Blois since his marriage in 1506 with Louis XII and Anne's daughter.

Queen Catherine de' Medici (1519–1589), Queen consort of France, who died in the Château of Blois.

Queen Marie de' Medici (1575–1642) was exiled to the Château of Blois by her son, King Louis XIII.

Duke Henry I of Guise (1550–1588), assassinated on 23 December 1588 in the château.

Duke Gaston of Orléans (1494 in Fontainebleau – 1547), uncle of King Louis XVI, he got establishment in the château, and died there.

Jean Morin (1591–1659), theologian and biblical scholar of Protestant parents

Michel V Bégon (1638–1710), officier de plume of the French Navy.

Marie Anne de Bourbon (1666–1739), also known as Mademoiselle de Blois, daughter of King Louis XIV.

Michel VI Bégon de la Picardière, (1669–1747). Commissioner in the French Navy; intendant of New France and Le Havre.

Thomas de Mahy, Marquis de Favras (1744–1790), royalist

Jean-Marie Pardessus (1772–1853).

Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo (1773–1828).

Eugène Riffault (1803–1888).

Joséphine Marchais (1842–1874).

Émile Laurens (1884–1940).

Georges Litalien (1896–1952), deputee of the Loir-et-Cher department.

Henri de La Vaissière (1901–1944).

Pierre Sudreau (1919–2012).

Jack Lang (1939–).

Bernard Boucault. Préfet de Police in Paris (from 2012 to 2015).

 

Artists

Pierre de Ronsard (1524–1585), poet from Vendôme but he met his muse Cassandre in the Château of Blois in 1549.

Jacob Bunel (1568–1614), Bloisian painter who studied in the Royal School of Fontainebleau.

Antoine Boësset (1587–1643), composer of secular music, and superintendent of music at the Ancien Régime French court.

Jean Monier (1600–1656), painter close to Queen Marie de' Medici.

Étienne Baudet (1638–1711), engraver born in Vineuil.

Pierre Monier (1641–1703), painter and son of Jean Monier.

Jacques Gabriel (1667–1742), Parisian architect who designed the Jacques-Gabriel Bridge in Blois.

Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805–1871), watchmaker, magician and illusionist, widely recognized as the father of the modern style of conjuring.

Ulysse Besnard (1826–1899), painter, then ceramist.

Daniel Dupuis (1849–1899), painter, sculptor and medal artist.

Jules Contant (1852–1920), painter born in Blois-Vienne, son of a politician.

Émile Gaucher (1858–1909), sculptor.

Alfred Jean Halou (1875–1939), sculptor from Blois, who designed the Franco-Prussian War memorial in Blois.

Étienne Gaudet (1891–1963), engraver and painter from Nevers but who lived and died in Blois.

Bernard Lorjou (1908–1986), painter.

Claudine Doury (born 1959), photographer.

Jean-Louis Agobet (born 1968), composer.

Christian Jui (born 1973), poet.

Niro (born 1987), rapper born in Orléans but he grew up and currently lives in Blois.

Hildegarde Fesneau (born 1995), violinist.

 

Artisans

During the 16th and 17th centuries, Blois was the hometown of many artisans in the watchmaking and goldsmithing industries. Among them:

Julien Coudray, who was one of the first watchmakers in Blois according to Tardy, worked for Kings Louis XII and Francis I. There is a street in Blois that holds his name.

the Cuper family : the Louvre museum, Paris, possesses two watches made by Michel Cuper, and two other ones by P. Cuper. A street also holds their name in the city.

the Bellanger family : Martin with a first wife got 2 sons born between 1594 and 1597 (among them, one was called Isaac), then at least 3 other ones with a Suzanne, named Pierre (born in 1603), Jean (married in 1641 and dead in 1678), and Théophile.

Guillaume Couldroit, from whom the British Museum, London, has a table clock.

Jacques de la Garde, from whom the British Museum has a striking clock, and from whom a table clock can be found in the National Museum of the Renaissance in Écouen, France.

Charles Perras, from whom 2 watches can be found in the British Museum, as well as in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

the Duduict brothers.

Blaise Foucher, Duiduict's disciple, from whom the British Museum possesses one watchcase.

the Vautier family, among whom the British Museum has several Louis' watchcases.

the Gribelin family, among whom Simon was watchmaker and engraver for the King, and his son Abraham (1589–1671) succeeded to him. Nowadays, the Louvre Museum has a watch made by Abraham.

the Girard family, among whom Marc came from the Netherlands and established in Blois, his son Théodore and grandson Marc II were both watchmakers.

Christophe Morlière (born in Orléans in 1604 – 1643), who moved to Blois. By 1632, he was ordered a watch for Lady Marguerite of Lorraine when she married Gaston, Duke of Orléans and Count of Blois.

Pierre Brisson.

Paul Viet, from whom the British Museum got a painted watchcase.

Jean Bonbruict, from whom the British Museum has a silver coach watch.

Nicolas Lemaindre, who was watchmaker and valet for Queen Catherine de' Medici. The British Museum also possesses one of his works, as well as the Louvre and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Pierre Landré, from whom a watch is visible in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City.

the Chartier family, among whom Pierre had a son registered as T. Chartier in the Louvre where a cylindrical table clock is exposed.

François Laurier.

Londonian watchmaker Henry Massy was son of Nicolas Massy, born in Blois.

Robert Vauquer, who has now 2 watches in the Louvre and 1 in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.

 

Intellectuals

Peter of Blois (c. 1130 – c. 1211), theologian, poet and diplomat born in Blois.

Paul Reneaulme (c. 1560 – c. 1624), doctor and botanist born in the city.

Florimond de Beaune (1601–1652), jurist and mathematician born in Blois.

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1643–1687), first explorer of Louisiana, born in Rouen, then teacher at the Royal College of Blois.

Denis Papin (1647–1713), physicist, mathematician and inventor from Blois.

Angel Baffard (1655–1726), genealogist specialist of Bloisian.

Jean Marie Pardessus (1772–1853), lawyer.

Augustin Thierry (1795–1856), historian born in the city.

Amédée Thierry (1797–1873), historian like his elder brother, and journalist.

Félix Duban (1798–1870), Parisian architect who restored the Château of Blois.

Louis de La Saussaye (1801–1878), numismatist and historian from Blois.

Jules de La Morandière (1813–1905), architect, and Duban's disciple.

Victor-Auguste Poulain (1825–1918), chocolatier who created the Chocolat Poulain brand in 1848.

Albert Poulain (1851–1937), chocolatier and industrialist, son of the precedent.

Tiburce Colonna-Ceccaldi (1832–1892), diplomat and archaeologist born in Blois.

Édouard Blau (1836–1906), dramatist and opera librettist from Blois.

Arthur Trouëssart (1839–1929), architect, historian, and genealogist specialized in Bloisian history.

Adrien Thibault (1844–1918), ceramist born in La Chaussée-Saint-Victor, then historian of Bloisian.

René Guénon (also Sheikh 'Abd al-Wahid Yahya; 1886 – 1951), author, philosopher, social critic, the founder of the Traditionalist School.

Philippe Ariès (1914–1984), medievalist and historian.

Albert Ronsin (1928–2007), 20th-century French scholar, historian, librarian, and curator.

Françoise Xenakis (1930–2018), novelist and journalist.

Maxime Schwartz (born 1940), molecular biologist who has been a research director at the CNRS, and Director General of the Pasteur Institute.

Henri Tézenas du Montcel (1943–1994), economist

Pierre Rosanvallon (born 1948), historian and sociologist.

Christophe Lebreton (1950-1996), Trappist monk and one of the Tibhirine monks.

Luc Foisneau (born in 1963), philosopher and director of research at CNRS.

 

Sportspersons

Marcel Lehoux (1888–1936), racing driver

Philippe Gondet (1942–2018), footballer.

Nicolas Vogondy (born 1977), cyclist.

Sonia Bompastor (born 1980), female footballer.

Aly Cissokho (born 1987), footballer of Senegalese descent.

Bernard Onanga Itoua (born 1988), footballer.

Alexis Khazzaka (born 1994), Lebanese footballer.

Corentin Jean (born 1995), footballer.

Alpha Kaba (born 1996), basketball player

With the rain falling harder, it was a bit of a route march to Holborn and my next church, the stunning St Sepulchre, which was also open.

 

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St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Holborn), is an Anglican church in the City of London. It is located on Holborn Viaduct, almost opposite the Old Bailey. In medieval times it stood just outside ("without") the now-demolished old city wall, near the Newgate. It has been a living of St John's College, Oxford, since 1622.

 

The original Saxon church on the site was dedicated to St Edmund the King and Martyr. During the Crusades in the 12th century the church was renamed St Edmund and the Holy Sepulchre, in reference to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The name eventually became contracted to St Sepulchre.

 

The church is today the largest parish church in the City. It was completely rebuilt in the 15th century but was gutted by the Great Fire of London in 1666,[1] which left only the outer walls, the tower and the porch standing[2] -. Modified in the 18th century, the church underwent extensive restoration in 1878. It narrowly avoided destruction in the Second World War, although the 18th-century watch-house in its churchyard (erected to deter grave-robbers) was completely destroyed and had to be rebuilt.

 

The interior of the church is a wide, roomy space with a coffered ceiling[3] installed in 1834. The Vicars' old residence has recently been renovated into a modern living quarter.

 

During the reign of Mary I in 1555, St Sepulchre's vicar, John Rogers, was burned as a heretic.

 

St Sepulchre is named in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons as the "bells of Old Bailey". Traditionally, the great bell would be rung to mark the execution of a prisoner at the nearby gallows at Newgate. The clerk of St Sepulchre's was also responsible for ringing a handbell outside the condemned man's cell in Newgate Prison to inform him of his impending execution. This handbell, known as the Execution Bell, now resides in a glass case to the south of the nave.

 

The church has been the official musicians' church for many years and is associated with many famous musicians. Its north aisle (formerly a chapel dedicated to Stephen Harding) is dedicated as the Musicians' Chapel, with four windows commemorating John Ireland, the singer Dame Nellie Melba, Walter Carroll and the conductor Sir Henry Wood respectively.[4] Wood, who "at the age of fourteen, learned to play the organ" at this church [1] and later became its organist, also has his ashes buried in this church.

 

The south aisle of the church holds the regimental chapel of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), and its gardens are a memorial garden to that regiment.[5] The west end of the north aisle has various memorials connected with the City of London Rifles (the 6th Battalion London Regiment). The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 4 January 1950.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Sepulchre-without-Newgate

 

The Early History of St. Sepulchre's—Its Destruction in 1666—The Exterior and Interior—The Early Popularity of the Church—Interments here—Roger Ascham, the Author of the "Schoolmaster"—Captain John Smith, and his Romantic Adventures—Saved by an Indian Girl— St. Sepulchre's Churchyard—Accommodation for a Murderess—The Martyr Rogers—An Odd Circumstance—Good Company for the Dead—A Leap from the Tower—A Warning Bell and a Last Admonition—Nosegays for the Condemned—The Route to the Gallows-tree— The Deeds of the Charitable—The "Saracen's Head"—Description by Dickens—Giltspur Street—Giltspur Street Compter—A Disreputable Condition—Pie Corner—Hosier Lane—A Spurious Relic—The Conduit on Snow Hill—A Ladies' Charity School—Turnagain Lane—Poor Betty!—A Schoolmistress Censured—Skinner Street—Unpropitious Fortune—William Godwin—An Original Married Life.

 

Many interesting associations—Principally, however, connected with the annals of crime and the execution of the laws of England—belong to the Church of St. Sepulchre, or St. 'Pulchre. This sacred edifice—anciently known as St. Sepulchre's in the Bailey, or by Chamberlain Gate (now Newgate)—stands at the eastern end of the slight acclivity of Snow Hill, and between Smithfield and the Old Bailey. The genuine materials for its early history are scanty enough. It was probably founded about the commencement of the twelfth century, but of the exact date and circumstances of its origin there is no record whatever. Its name is derived from the Holy Sepulchre of our Saviour at Jerusalem, to the memory of which it was first dedicated.

 

The earliest authentic notice of the church, according to Maitland, is of the year 1178, at which date it was given by Roger, Bishop of Sarum, to the Prior and Canons of St. Bartholomew. These held the right of advowson until the dissolution of monasteries by Henry VIII., and from that time until 1610 it remained in the hands of the Crown. James I., however, then granted "the rectory and its appurtenances, with the advowson of the vicarage," to Francis Phillips and others. The next stage in its history is that the rectory was purchased by the parishioners, to be held in fee-farm of the Crown, and the advowson was obtained by the President and Fellows of St. John the Baptist College, at Oxford.

 

The church was rebuilt about the middle of the fifteenth century, when one of the Popham family, who had been Chancellor of Normandy and Treasurer of the King's Household, with distinguished liberality erected a handsome chapel on the south side of the choir, and the very beautiful porch still remaining at the south-west corner of the building. "His image," Stow says, "fair graven in stone, was fixed over the said porch."

 

The dreadful fire of 1666 almost destroyed St. Sepulchre's, but the parishioners set energetically to work, and it was "rebuilt and beautified both within and without." The general reparation was under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, and nothing but the walls of the old building, and these not entirely, were suffered to remain. The work was done rapidly, and the whole was completed within four years.

 

"The tower," says Mr. Godwin, "retained its original aspect, and the body of the church, after its restoration, presented a series of windows between buttresses, with pointed heads filled with tracery, crowned by a string-course and battlements. In this form it remained till the year 1790, when it appears the whole fabric was found to be in a state of great decay, and it was resolved to repair it throughout. Accordingly the walls of the church were cased with Portland stone, and all the windows were taken out and replaced by others with plain semi-circular heads, as now seen—certainly agreeing but badly with the tower and porch of the building, but according with the then prevailing spirit of economy. The battlements, too, were taken down, and a plain stone parapet was substituted, so that at this time (with the exception of the roof, which was wagon-headed, and presented on the outside an unsightly swell, visible above the parapet) the church assumed its present appearance." The ungainly roof was removed, and an entirely new one erected, about 1836.

 

At each corner of the tower—"one of the most ancient," says the author of "Londinium Redivivum," "in the outline of the circuit of London" —there are spires, and on the spires there are weathercocks. These have been made use of by Howell to point a moral: "Unreasonable people," says he, "are as hard to reconcile as the vanes of St. Sepulchre's tower, which never look all four upon one point of the heavens." Nothing can be said with certainty as to the date of the tower, but it is not without the bounds of probability that it formed part of the original building. The belfry is reached by a small winding staircase in the south-west angle, and a similar staircase in an opposite angle leads to the summit. The spires at the corners, and some of the tower windows, have very recently undergone several alterations, which have added much to the picturesqueness and beauty of the church.

 

The chief entrance to St. Sepulchre's is by a porch of singular beauty, projecting from the south side of the tower, at the western end of the church. The groining of the ceiling of this porch, it has been pointed out, takes an almost unique form; the ribs are carved in bold relief, and the bosses at the intersections represent angels' heads, shields, roses, &c., in great variety.

 

Coming now to the interior of the church, we find it divided into three aisles, by two ranges of Tuscan columns. The aisles are of unequal widths, that in the centre being the widest, that to the south the narrowest. Semi-circular arches connect the columns on either side, springing directly from their capitals, without the interposition of an entablature, and support a large dental cornice, extending round the church. The ceiling of the middle aisle is divided into seven compartments, by horizontal bands, the middle compartment being formed into a small dome.

 

The aisles have groined ceilings, ornamented at the angles with doves, &c., and beneath every division of the groining are small windows, to admit light to the galleries. Over each of the aisles there is a gallery, very clumsily introduced, which dates from the time when the church was built by Wren, and extends the whole length, excepting at the chancel. The front of the gallery, which is of oak, is described by Mr. Godwin as carved into scrolls, branches, &c., in the centre panel, on either side, with the initials "C. R.," enriched with carvings of laurel, which have, however, he says, "but little merit."

 

At the east end of the church there are three semicircular-headed windows. Beneath the centre one is a large Corinthian altar-piece of oak, displaying columns, entablatures, &c., elaborately carved and gilded.

 

The length of the church, exclusive of the ambulatory, is said to be 126 feet, the breadth 68 feet, and the height of the tower 140 feet.

 

A singularly ugly sounding-board, extending over the preacher, used to stand at the back of the pulpit, at the east end of the church. It was in the shape of a large parabolic reflector, about twelve feet in diameter, and was composed of ribs of mahogany.

 

At the west end of the church there is a large organ, said to be the oldest and one of the finest in London. It was built in 1677, and has been greatly enlarged. Its reed-stops (hautboy, clarinet, &c.) are supposed to be unrivalled. In Newcourt's time the church was taken notice of as "remarkable for possessing an exceedingly fine organ, and the playing is thought so beautiful, that large congregations are attracted, though some of the parishioners object to the mode of performing divine service."

 

On the north side of the church, Mr. Godwin mentions, is a large apartment known as "St. Stephen's Chapel." This building evidently formed a somewhat important part of the old church, and was probably appropriated to the votaries of the saint whose name it bears.

 

Between the exterior and the interior of the church there is little harmony. "For example," says Mr. Godwin, "the columns which form the south aisle face, in some instances, the centre of the large windows which occur in the external wall of the church, and in others the centre of the piers, indifferently." This discordance may likely enough have arisen from the fact that when the church was rebuilt, or rather restored, after the Great Fire, the works were done without much attention from Sir Christopher Wren.

 

St. Sepulchre's appears to have enjoyed considerable popularity from the earliest period of its history, if one is to judge from the various sums left by well-disposed persons for the support of certain fraternities founded in the church—namely, those of St. Katherine, St. Michael, St. Anne, and Our Lady—and by others, for the maintenance of chantry priests to celebrate masses at stated intervals for the good of their souls. One of the fraternities just named—that of St. Katherine— originated, according to Stow, in the devotion of some poor persons in the parish, and was in honour of the conception of the Virgin Mary. They met in the church on the day of the Conception, and there had the mass of the day, and offered to the same, and provided a certain chaplain daily to celebrate divine service, and to set up wax lights before the image belonging to the fraternity, on all festival days.

 

The most famous of all who have been interred in St. Sepulchre's is Roger Ascham, the author of the "Schoolmaster," and the instructor of Queen Elizabeth in Greek and Latin. This learned old worthy was born in 1515, near Northallerton, in Yorkshire. He was educated at Cambridge University, and in time rose to be the university orator, being notably zealous in promoting what was then a novelty in England—the study of the Greek language. To divert himself after the fatigue of severe study, he used to devote himself to archery. This drew down upon him the censure of the all-work-and-no-play school; and in defence of himself, Ascham, in 1545, published "Toxophilus," a treatise on his favourite sport. This book is even yet well worthy of perusal, for its enthusiasm, and for its curious descriptions of the personal appearance and manners of the principal persons whom the author had seen and conversed with. Henry VIII. rewarded him with a pension of £10 per annum, a considerable sum in those days. In 1548, Ascham, on the death of William Grindall, who had been his pupil, was appointed instructor in the learned languages to Lady Elizabeth, afterwards the good Queen Bess. At the end of two years he had some dispute with, or took a disgust at, Lady Elizabeth's attendants, resigned his situation, and returned to his college. Soon after this he was employed as secretary to the English ambassador at the court of Charles V. of Germany, and remained abroad till the death of Edward VI. During his absence he had been appointed Latin secretary to King Edward. Strangely enough, though Queen Mary and her ministers were Papists, and Ascham a Protestant, he was retained in his office of Latin secretary, his pension was increased to £20, and he was allowed to retain his fellowship and his situation as university orator. In 1554 he married a lady of good family, by whom he had a considerable fortune, and of whom, in writing to a friend, he gives, as might perhaps be expected, an excellent character. On the accession of Queen Elizabeth, in 1558, she not only required his services as Latin secretary, but as her instructor in Greek, and he resided at Court during the remainder of his life. He died in consequence of his endeavours to complete a Latin poem which he intended to present to the queen on the New Year's Day of 1569. He breathed his last two days before 1568 ran out, and was interred, according to his own directions, in the most private manner, in St. Sepulchre's Church, his funeral sermon being preached by Dr. Andrew Nowell, Dean of St. Paul's. He was universally lamented; and even the queen herself not only showed great concern, but was pleased to say that she would rather have lost ten thousand pounds than her tutor Ascham, which, from that somewhat closehanded sovereign, was truly an expression of high regard.

 

Ascham, like most men, had his little weaknesses. He had too great a propensity to dice and cock-fighting. Bishop Nicholson would try to convince us that this is an unfounded calumny, but, as it is mentioned by Camden, and other contemporary writers, it seems impossible to deny it. He died, from all accounts, in indifferent circumstances. "Whether," says Dr. Johnson, referring to this, "Ascham was poor by his own fault, or the fault of others, cannot now be decided; but it is certain that many have been rich with less merit. His philological learning would have gained him honour in any country; and among us it may justly call for that reverence which all nations owe to those who first rouse them from ignorance, and kindle among them the light of literature." His most valuable work, "The Schoolmaster," was published by his widow. The nature of this celebrated performance may be gathered from the title: "The Schoolmaster; or a plain and perfite way of teaching children to understand, write, and speak the Latin tongue. … And commodious also for all such as have forgot the Latin tongue, and would by themselves, without a schoolmaster, in short time, and with small pains, recover a sufficient habilitie to understand, write, and speak Latin: by Roger Ascham, ann. 1570. At London, printed by John Daye, dwelling over Aldersgate," a printer, by the way, already mentioned by us a few chapters back (see page 208), as having printed several noted works of the sixteenth century.

 

Dr. Johnson remarks that the instruction recommended in "The Schoolmaster" is perhaps the best ever given for the study of languages.

 

Here also lies buried Captain John Smith, a conspicuous soldier of fortune, whose romantic adventures and daring exploits have rarely been surpassed. He died on the 21st of June, 1631. This valiant captain was born at Willoughby, in the county of Lincoln, and helped by his doings to enliven the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. He had a share in the wars of Hungary in 1602, and in three single combats overcame three Turks, and cut off their heads. For this, and other equally brave deeds, Sigismund, Duke of Transylvania, gave him his picture set in gold, with a pension of three hundred ducats; and allowed him to bear three Turks' heads proper as his shield of arms. He afterwards went to America, where he had the misfortune to fall into the hands of the Indians. He escaped from them, however, at last, and resumed his brilliant career by hazarding his life in naval engagements with pirates and Spanish men-of-war. The most important act of his life was the share he had in civilising the natives of New England, and reducing that province to obedience to Great Britain. In connection with his tomb in St. Sepulchre's, he is mentioned by Stow, in his "Survey," as "some time Governor of Virginia and Admiral of New England."

 

Certainly the most interesting events of his chequered career were his capture by the Indians, and the saving of his life by the Indian girl Pocahontas, a story of adventure that charms as often as it is told. Bancroft, the historian of the United States, relates how, during the early settlement of Virginia, Smith left the infant colony on an exploring expedition, and not only ascended the river Chickahominy, but struck into the interior. His companions disobeyed his instructions, and being surprised by the Indians, were put to death. Smith preserved his own life by calmness and self-possession. Displaying a pocket-compass, he amused the savages by an explanation of its power, and increased their admiration of his superior genius by imparting to them some vague conceptions of the form of the earth, and the nature of the planetary system. To the Indians, who retained him as their prisoner, his captivity was a more strange event than anything of which the traditions of their tribes preserved the memory. He was allowed to send a letter to the fort at Jamestown, and the savage wonder was increased, for he seemed by some magic to endow the paper with the gift of intelligence. It was evident that their captive was a being of a high order, and then the question arose, Was his nature beneficent, or was he to be dreaded as a dangerous enemy? Their minds were bewildered, and the decision of his fate was referred to the chief Powhatan, and before Powhatan Smith was brought. "The fears of the feeble aborigines," says Bancroft, "were about to prevail, and his immediate death, already repeatedly threatened and repeatedly delayed, would have been inevitable, but for the timely intercession of Pocahontas, a girl twelve years old, the daughter of Powhatan, whose confiding fondness Smith had easily won, and who firmly clung to his neck, as his head was bowed down to receive the stroke of the tomahawks. His fearlessness, and her entreaties, persuaded the council to spare the agreeable stranger, who could make hatchets for her father, and rattles and strings of beads for herself, the favourite child. The barbarians, whose decision had long been held in suspense by the mysterious awe which Smith had inspired, now resolved to receive him as a friend, and to make him a partner of their councils. They tempted him to join their bands, and lend assistance in an attack upon the white men at Jamestown; and when his decision of character succeeded in changing the current of their thoughts, they dismissed him with mutual promises of friendship and benevolence. Thus the captivity of Smith did itself become a benefit to the colony; for he had not only observed with care the country between the James and the Potomac, and had gained some knowledge of the language and manners of the natives, but he now established a peaceful intercourse between the English and the tribes of Powhatan."

 

On the monument erected to Smith in St. Sepulchre's Church, the following quaint lines were formerly inscribed:—

 

"Here lies one conquered that hath conquered kings,

Subdued large territories, and done things

Which to the world impossible would seem,

But that the truth is held in more esteem.

Shall I report his former service done,

In honour of his God, and Christendom?

How that he did divide, from pagans three,

Their heads and lives, types of his chivalry?—

For which great service, in that climate done,

Brave Sigismundus, King of Hungarion,

Did give him, as a coat of arms, to wear

These conquered heads, got by his sword and spear.

Or shall I tell of his adventures since

Done in Virginia, that large continent?

How that he subdued kings unto his yoke,

And made those heathens flee, as wind doth smoke;

And made their land, being so large a station,

An habitation for our Christian nation,

Where God is glorified, their wants supplied;

Which else for necessaries, must have died.

But what avails his conquests, now he lies

Interred in earth, a prey to worms and flies?

Oh! may his soul in sweet Elysium sleep,

Until the Keeper, that all souls doth keep,

Return to judgment; and that after thence

With angels he may have his recompense."

 

Sir Robert Peake, the engraver, also found a last resting-place here. He is known as the master of William Faithorne—the famous English engraver of the seventeenth century—and governor of Basing House for the king during the Civil War under Charles I. He died in 1667. Here also was interred the body of Dr. Bell, grandfather of the originator of a well-known system of education.

 

"The churchyard of St. Sepulchre's," we learn from Maitland, "at one time extended so far into the street on the south side of the church, as to render the passage-way dangerously narrow. In 1760 the churchyard was, in consequence, levelled, and thrown open to the public. But this led to much inconvenience, and it was re-enclosed in 1802."

 

Sarah Malcolm, the murderess, was buried in the churchyard of St. Sepulchre's in 1733. This coldhearted and keen-eyed monster in human form has had her story told by us already. The parishioners seem, on this occasion, to have had no such scruples as had been exhibited by their predecessors a hundred and fifty years previous at the burial of Awfield, a traitor. We shall see presently that in those more remote days they were desirous of having at least respectable company for their deceased relatives and friends in the churchyard.

 

"For a long period," says Mr. Godwin (1838), "the church was surrounded by low mean buildings, by which its general appearance was hidden; but these having been cleared away, and the neighbourhood made considerably more open, St. Sepulchre's now forms a somewhat pleasing object, notwithstanding that the tower and a part of the porch are so entirely dissimilar in style to the remainder of the building." And since Godwin's writing the surroundings of the church have been so improved that perhaps few buildings in the metropolis stand more prominently before the public eye.

 

In the glorious roll of martyrs who have suffered at the stake for their religious principles, a vicar of St. Sepulchre's, the Reverend John Rogers, occupies a conspicuous place. He was the first who was burned in the reign of the Bloody Mary. This eminent person had at one time been chaplain to the English merchants at Antwerp, and while residing in that city had aided Tindal and Coverdale in their great work of translating the Bible. He married a German lady of good position, by whom he had a large family, and was enabled, by means of her relations, to reside in peace and safety in Germany. It appeared to be his duty, however, to return to England, and there publicly profess and advocate his religious convictions, even at the risk of death. He crossed the sea; he took his place in the pulpit at St. Paul's Cross; he preached a fearless and animated sermon, reminding his astonished audience of the pure and wholesome doctrine which had been promulgated from that pulpit in the days of the good King Edward, and solemnly warning them against the pestilent idolatry and superstition of these new times. It was his last sermon. He was apprehended, tried, condemned, and burned at Smithfield. We described, when speaking of Smithfield, the manner in which he met his fate.

 

Connected with the martyrdom of Rogers an odd circumstance is quoted in the "Churches of London." It is stated that when the bishops had resolved to put to death Joan Bocher, a friend came to Rogers and earnestly entreated his influence that the poor woman's life might be spared, and other means taken to prevent the spread of her heterodox doctrines. Rogers, however, contended that she should be executed; and his friend then begged him to choose some other kind of death, which should be more agreeable to the gentleness and mercy prescribed in the gospel. "No," replied Rogers, "burning alive is not a cruel death, but easy enough." His friend hearing these words, expressive of so little regard for the sufferings of a fellow-creature, answered him with great vehemence, at the same time striking Rogers' hand, "Well, it may perhaps so happen that you yourself shall have your hands full of this mild burning." There is no record of Rogers among the papers belonging to St. Sepulchre's, but this may easily be accounted for by the fact that at the Great Fire of 1666 nearly all the registers and archives were destroyed.

 

A noteworthy incident in the history of St. Sepulchre's was connected with the execution, in 1585, of Awfield, for "sparcinge abrood certen lewed, sedicious, and traytorous bookes." "When he was executed," says Fleetwood, the Recorder, in a letter to Lord Burleigh, July 7th of that year, "his body was brought unto St. Pulcher's to be buryed, but the parishioners would not suffer a traytor's corpse to be laid in the earth where their parents, wives, children, kindred, masters, and old neighbours did rest; and so his carcass was returned to the burial-ground near Tyburn, and there I leave it."

 

Another event in the history of the church is a tale of suicide. On the 10th of April, 1600, a man named William Dorrington threw himself from the roof of the tower, leaving there a prayer for forgiveness.

 

We come now to speak of the connection of St. Sepulchre's with the neighbouring prison of Newgate. Being the nearest church to the prison, that connection naturally was intimate. Its clock served to give the time to the hangman when there was an execution in the Old Bailey, and many a poor wretch's last moments must it have regulated.

 

On the right-hand side of the altar a board with a list of charitable donations and gifts used to contain the following item:—"1605. Mr. Robert Dowe gave, for ringing the greatest bell in this church on the day the condemned prisoners are executed, and for other services, for ever, concerning such condemned prisoners, for which services the sexton is paid £16s. 8d.—£50.

 

It was formerly the practice for the clerk or bellman of St. Sepulchre's to go under Newgate, on the night preceding the execution of a criminal, ring his bell, and repeat the following wholesome advice:—

 

"All you that in the condemned hold do lie,

Prepare you, for to-morrow you shall die;

Watch all, and pray, the hour is drawing near

That you before the Almighty must appear;

Examine well yourselves, in time repent,

That you may not to eternal flames be sent.

And when St. Sepulchre's bell to-morrow tolls,

The Lord above have mercy on your souls.

Past twelve o'clock!"

 

This practice is explained by a passage in Munday's edition of Stow, in which it is told that a Mr. John Dowe, citizen and merchant taylor of London, gave £50 to the parish church of St. Sepulchre's, under the following conditions:—After the several sessions of London, on the night before the execution of such as were condemned to death, the clerk of the church was to go in the night-time, and also early in the morning, to the window of the prison in which they were lying. He was there to ring "certain tolls with a hand-bell" appointed for the purpose, and was afterwards, in a most Christian manner, to put them in mind of their present condition and approaching end, and to exhort them to be prepared, as they ought to be, to die. When they were in the cart, and brought before the walls of the church, the clerk was to stand there ready with the same bell, and, after certain tolls, rehearse a prayer, desiring all the people there present to pray for the unfortunate criminals. The beadle, also, of Merchant Taylors' Hall was allowed an "honest stipend" to see that this ceremony was regularly performed.

 

The affecting admonition—"affectingly good," Pennant calls it—addressed to the prisoners in Newgate, on the night before execution, ran as follows:—

 

"You prisoners that are within,

Who, for wickedness and sin,

 

after many mercies shown you, are now appointed to die to-morrow in the forenoon; give ear and understand that, to-morrow morning, the greatest bell of St. Sepulchre's shall toll for you, in form and manner of a passing-bell, as used to be tolled for those that are at the point of death; to the end that all godly people, hearing that bell, and knowing it is for your going to your deaths, may be stirred up heartily to pray to God to bestow his grace and mercy upon you, whilst you live. I beseech you, for Jesus Christ's sake, to keep this night in watching and prayer, to the salvation of your own souls while there is yet time and place for mercy; as knowing to-morrow you must appear before the judgment-seat of your Creator, there to give an account of all things done in this life, and to suffer eternal torments for your sins committed against Him, unless, upon your hearty and unfeigned repentance, you find mercy through the merits, death, and passion of your only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of God, to make intercession for as many of you as penitently return to Him."

 

And the following was the admonition to condemned criminals, as they were passing by St. Sepulchre's Church wall to execution:—" All good people, pray heartily unto God for these poor sinners, who are now going to their death, for whom this great bell doth toll.

 

"You that are condemned to die, repent with lamentable tears; ask mercy of the Lord, for the salvation of your own souls, through the [merits, death, and passion of Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of God, to make intercession for as many of you as penitently return unto Him.

 

"Lord have mercy upon you;

Christ have mercy upon you.

Lord have mercy upon you;

Christ have mercy upon you."

 

The charitable Mr. Dowe, who took such interest in the last moments of the occupants of the condemned cell, was buried in the church of St. Botolph, Aldgate.

 

Another curious custom observed at St. Sepulchre's was the presentation of a nosegay to every criminal on his way to execution at Tyburn. No doubt the practice had its origin in some kindly feeling for the poor unfortunates who were so soon to bid farewell to all the beauties of earth. One of the last who received a nosegay from the steps of St. Sepulchre's was "Sixteen-string Jack," alias John Rann, who was hanged, in 1774, for robbing the Rev. Dr. Bell of his watch and eighteen pence in money, in Gunnersbury Lane, on the road to Brentford. Sixteen-string Jack wore the flowers in his button-hole as he rode dolefully to the gallows. This was witnessed by John Thomas Smith, who thus describes the scene in his admirable anecdotebook, "Nollekens and his Times:"—" I remember well, when I was in my eighth year, Mr. Nollekens calling at my father's house, in Great Portland Street, and taking us to Oxford Street, to see the notorious Jack Rann, commonly called Sixteenstring Jack, go to Tyburn to be hanged. … The criminal was dressed in a pea-green coat, with an immense nosegay in the button-hole, which had been presented to him at St. Sepulchre's steps; and his nankeen small-clothes, we were told, were tied at each knee with sixteen strings. After he had passed, and Mr. Nollekens was leading me home by the hand, I recollect his stooping down to me and observing, in a low tone of voice, 'Tom, now, my little man, if my father-in-law, Mr. Justice Welch, had been high constable, we could have walked by the side of the cart all the way to Tyburn.'"

 

When criminals were conveyed from Newgate to Tyburn, the cart passed up Giltspur Street, and through Smithfield, to Cow Lane. Skinner Street had not then been built, and the Crooked Lane which turned down by St. Sepulchre's, as well as Ozier Lane, did not afford sufficient width to admit of the cavalcade passing by either of them, with convenience, to Holborn Hill, or "the Heavy Hill," as it used to be called. The procession seems at no time to have had much of the solemn element about it. "The heroes of the day were often," says a popular writer, "on good terms with the mob, and jokes were exchanged between the men who were going to be hanged and the men who deserved to be."

 

"On St. Paul's Day," says Mr. Timbs (1868), "service is performed in St. Sepulchre's, in accordance with the will of Mr. Paul Jervis, who, in 1717, devised certain land in trust that a sermon should be preached in the church upon every Paul's Day upon the excellence of the liturgy o the Church of England; the preacher to receive 40s. for such sermon. Various sums are also bequeathed to the curate, the clerk, the treasurer, and masters of the parochial schools. To the poor of the parish he bequeathed 20s. a-piece to ten of the poorest householders within that part of the parish of St. Sepulchre commonly called Smithfield quarter, £4 to the treasurer of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and 6s. 8d. yearly to the clerk, who shall attend to receive the same. The residue of the yearly rents and profits is to be distributed unto and amongst such poor people of the parish of St. Sepulchre's, London, who shall attend the service and sermon. At the close of the service the vestry-clerk reads aloud an extract from the will, and then proceeds to the distribution of the money. In the evening the vicar, churchwardens, and common councilmen of the precinct dine together."

 

In 1749, a Mr. Drinkwater made a praiseworthy bequest. He left the parish of St. Sepulchre £500 to be lent in sums of £25 to industrious young tradesmen. No interest was to be charged, and the money was to be lent for four years.

 

Next to St. Sepulchre's, on Snow Hill, used to stand the famous old inn of the "Saracen's Head." It was only swept away within the last few years by the ruthless army of City improvers: a view of it in course of demolition was given on page 439. It was one of the oldest of the London inns which bore the "Saracen's Head" for a sign. One of Dick Tarlton's jests makes mention of the "Saracen's Head" without Newgate, and Stow, describing this neighbourhood, speaks particularly of "a fair large inn for receipt of travellers" that "hath to sign the 'Saracen's Head.'" The courtyard had, to the last, many of the characteristics of an old English inn; there were galleries all round leading to the bedrooms, and a spacious gateway through which the dusty mail-coaches used to rumble, the tired passengers creeping forth "thanking their stars in having escaped the highwaymen and the holes and sloughs of the road." Into that courtyard how many have come on their first arrival in London with hearts beating high with hope, some of whom have risen to be aldermen and sit in state as lord mayor, whilst others have gone the way of the idle apprentice and come to a sad end at Tyburn! It was at this inn that Nicholas Nickleby and his uncle waited upon the Yorkshire schoolmaster Squeers, of Dotheboys Hall. Mr. Dickens describes the tavern as it existed in the last days of mail-coaching, when it was a most important place for arrivals and departures in London:—

 

"Next to the jail, and by consequence near to Smithfield also, and the Compter and the bustle and noise of the City, and just on that particular part of Snow Hill where omnibus horses going eastwards seriously think of falling down on purpose, and where horses in hackney cabriolets going westwards not unfrequently fall by accident, is the coach-yard of the 'Saracen's Head' inn, its portals guarded by two Saracen's heads and shoulders, which it was once the pride and glory of the choice spirits of this metropolis to pull down at night, but which have for some time remained in undisturbed tranquillity, possibly because this species of humour is now confined to St. James's parish, where doorknockers are preferred as being more portable, and bell-wires esteemed as convenient tooth-picks. Whether this be the reason or not, there they are, frowning upon you from each side of the gateway; and the inn itself, garnished with another Saracen's head, frowns upon you from the top of the yard; while from the door of the hind-boot of all the red coaches that are standing therein, there glares a small Saracen's head with a twin expression to the large Saracen's head below, so that the general appearance of the pile is of the Saracenic order."

 

To explain the use of the Saracen's head as an inn sign various reasons have been given. "When our countrymen," says Selden, "came home from fighting with the Saracens and were beaten by them, they pictured them with huge, big, terrible faces (as you still see the 'Saracen's Head' is), when in truth they were like other men. But this they did to save their own credit." Or the sign may have been adopted by those who had visited the Holy Land either as pilgrims or to fight the Saracens. Others, again, hold that it was first set up in compliment to the mother of Thomas à Becket, who was the daughter of a Saracen. However this may be, it is certain that the use of the sign in former days was very general.

 

Running past the east end of St. Sepulchre's, from Newgate into West Smithfield, is Giltspur Street, anciently called Knightriders Street. This interesting thoroughfare derives its name from the knights with their gilt spurs having been accustomed to ride this way to the jousts and tournaments which in days of old were held in Smithfield.

 

In this street was Giltspur Street Compter, a debtors' prison and house of correction appertaining to the sheriffs of London and Middlesex. It stood over against St. Sepulchre's Church, and was removed hither from the east side of Wood Street, Cheapside, in 1791. At the time of its removal it was used as a place of imprisonment for debtors, but the yearly increasing demands upon the contracted space caused that department to be given up, and City debtors were sent to Whitecross Street. The architect was Dance, to whom we are also indebted for the grim pile of Newgate. The Compter was a dirty and appropriately convictlooking edifice. It was pulled down in 1855. Mr. Hepworth Dixon gave an interesting account of this City House of Correction, not long before its demolition, in his "London Prisons" (1850). "Entering," he says, "at the door facing St. Sepulchre's, the visitor suddenly finds himself in a low dark passage, leading into the offices of the gaol, and branching off into other passages, darker, closer, more replete with noxious smells, than even those of Newgate. This is the fitting prelude to what follows. The prison, it must be noticed, is divided into two principal divisions, the House of Correction and the Compter. The front in Giltspur Street, and the side nearest to Newgate Street, is called the Compter. In its wards are placed detenues of various kinds—remands, committals from the police-courts, and generally persons waiting for trial, and consequently still unconvicted. The other department, the House of Correction, occupies the back portion of the premises, abutting on Christ's Hospital. Curious it is to consider how thin a wall divides these widely-separate worlds! And sorrowful it is to think what a difference of destiny awaits the children—destiny inexorable, though often unearned in either case—who, on the one side of it or the other, receive an eleemosynary education! The collegian and the criminal! Who shall say how much mere accident— circumstances over which the child has little power —determines to a life of usefulness or mischief? From the yards of Giltspur Street prison almost the only objects visible, outside of the gaol itself, are the towers of Christ's Hospital; the only sounds audible, the shouts of the scholars at their play. The balls of the hospital boys often fall within the yards of the prison. Whether these sights and sounds ever cause the criminal to pause and reflect upon the courses of his life, we will not say, but the stranger visiting the place will be very apt to think for him. …

 

"In the department of the prison called the House of Correction, minor offenders within the City of London are imprisoned. No transports are sent hither, nor is any person whose sentence is above three years in length." This able writer then goes on to tell of the many crying evils connected with the institution—the want of air, the over-crowded state of the rooms, the absence of proper cellular accommodation, and the vicious intercourse carried on amongst the prisoners. The entire gaol, when he wrote, only contained thirty-six separate sleeping-rooms. Now by the highest prison calculation—and this, be it noted, proceeds on the assumption that three persons can sleep in small, miserable, unventilated cells, which are built for only one, and are too confined for that, being only about one-half the size of the model cell for one at Pentonville—it was only capable of accommodating 203 prisoners, yet by the returns issued at Michaelmas, 1850, it contained 246!

 

A large section of the prison used to be devoted to female delinquents, but lately it was almost entirely given up to male offenders.

 

"The House of Correction, and the Compter portion of the establishment," says Mr. Dixon, "are kept quite distinct, but it would be difficult to award the palm of empire in their respective facilities for demoralisation. We think the Compter rather the worse of the two. You are shown into a room, about the size of an apartment in an ordinary dwelling-house, which will be found crowded with from thirty to forty persons, young and old, and in their ordinary costume; the low thief in his filth and rags, and the member of the swell-mob with his bright buttons, flash finery, and false jewels. Here you notice the boy who has just been guilty of his first offence, and committed for trial, learning with a greedy mind a thousand criminal arts, and listening with the precocious instinct of guilty passions to stories and conversations the most depraved and disgusting. You regard him with a mixture of pity and loathing, for he knows that the eyes of his peers are upon him, and he stares at you with a familiar impudence, and exhibits a devil-may-care countenance, such as is only to be met with in the juvenile offender. Here, too, may be seen the young clerk, taken up on suspicion—perhaps innocent—who avoids you with a shy look of pain and uneasiness: what a hell must this prison be to him! How frightful it is to think of a person really untainted with crime, compelled to herd for ten or twenty days with these abandoned wretches!

 

"On the other, the House of Correction side of the gaol, similar rooms will be found, full of prisoners communicating with each other, laughing and shouting without hindrance. All this is so little in accordance with existing notions of prison discipline, that one is continually fancying these disgraceful scenes cannot be in the capital of England, and in the year of grace 1850. Very few of the prisoners attend school or receive any instruction; neither is any kind of employment afforded them, except oakum-picking, and the still more disgusting labour of the treadmill. When at work, an officer is in attendance to prevent disorderly conduct; but his presence is of no avail as a protection to the less depraved. Conversation still goes on; and every facility is afforded for making acquaintances, and for mutual contamination."

 

After having long been branded by intelligent inspectors as a disgrace to the metropolis, Giltspur Street Compter was condemned, closed in 1854, and subsequently taken down.

 

Nearly opposite what used to be the site of the Compter, and adjoining Cock Lane, is the spot called Pie Corner, near which terminated the Great Fire of 1666. The fire commenced at Pudding Lane, it will be remembered, so it was singularly appropriate that it should terminate at Pie Corner. Under the date of 4th September, 1666, Pepys, in his "Diary," records that "W. Hewer this day went to see how his mother did, and comes home late, telling us how he hath been forced to remove her to Islington, her house in Pye Corner being burned; so that the fire is got so far that way." The figure of a fat naked boy stands over a public house at the corner of the lane; it used to have the following warning inscription attached:— "This boy is in memory put up of the late fire of London, occasioned by the sin of gluttony, 1666." According to Stow, Pie Corner derived its name from the sign of a well-frequented hostelry, which anciently stood on the spot. Strype makes honourable mention of Pie Corner, as "noted chiefly for cooks' shops and pigs dressed there during Bartholomew Fair." Our old writers have many references—and not all, by the way, in the best taste—to its cookstalls and dressed pork. Shadwell, for instance, in the Woman Captain (1680) speaks of "meat dressed at Pie Corner by greasy scullions;" and Ben Jonson writes in the Alchemist (1612)—

 

"I shall put you in mind, sir, at Pie Corner,

Taking your meal of steam in from cooks' stalls."

 

And in "The Great Boobee" ("Roxburgh Ballads"):

 

"Next day I through Pie Corner passed;

The roast meat on the stall

Invited me to take a taste;

My money was but small."

 

But Pie Corner seems to have been noted for more than eatables. A ballad from Tom D'Urfey's "Pills to Purge Melancholy," describing Bartholomew Fair, eleven years before the Fire of London, says:—

 

"At Pie-Corner end, mark well my good friend,

'Tis a very fine dirty place;

Where there's more arrows and bows. …

Than was handled at Chivy Chase."

 

We have already given a view of Pie Corner in our chapter on Smithfield, page 361.

 

Hosier Lane, running from Cow Lane to Smithfield, and almost parallel to Cock Lane, is described by "R. B.," in Strype, as a place not over-well built or inhabited. The houses were all old timber erections. Some of these—those standing at the south corner of the lane—were in the beginning of this century depicted by Mr. J. T. Smith, in his "Ancient Topography of London." He describes them as probably of the reign of James I. The rooms were small, with low, unornamented ceilings; the timber, oak, profusely used; the gables were plain, and the walls lath and plaster. They were taken down in 1809.

 

In the corner house, in Mr. Smith's time, there was a barber whose name was Catchpole; at least, so it was written over the door. He was rather an odd fellow, and possessed, according to his own account, a famous relic of antiquity. He would gravely show his customers a short-bladed instrument, as the identical dagger with which Walworth killed Wat Tyler.

 

Hosier Lane, like Pie Corner, used to be a great resort during the time of Bartholomew Fair, "all the houses," it is said in Strype, "generally being made public for tippling."

 

We return now from our excursion to the north of St. Sepulchre's, and continue our rambles to the west, and before speaking of what is, let us refer to what has been.

 

Turnagain Lane is not far from this. "Near unto this Seacoal Lane," remarks Stow, "in the turning towards Holborn Conduit, is Turnagain Lane, or rather, as in a record of the 5th of Edward III., Windagain Lane, for that it goeth down west to Fleet Dyke, from whence men must turn again the same way they came, but there it stopped." There used to be a proverb, "He must take him a house in Turnagain Lane."

 

A conduit formerly stood on Snow Hill, a little below the church. It is described as a building with four equal sides, ornamented with four columns and pediment, surmounted by a pyramid, on which stood a lamb—a rebus on the name of Lamb, from whose conduit in Red Lion Street the water came. There had been a conduit there, however, before Lamb's day, which was towards the close of the sixteenth century.

 

At No. 37, King Street, Snow Hill, there used to be a ladies' charity school, which was established in 1702, and remained in the parish 145 years. Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Thrale were subscribers to this school, and Johnson drew from it his story of Betty Broom, in "The Idler." The world of domestic service, in Betty's days, seems to have been pretty much as now. Betty was a poor girl, bred in the country at a charity-school, maintained by the contributions of wealthy neighbours. The patronesses visited the school from time to time, to see how the pupils got on, and everything went well, till "at last, the chief of the subscribers having passed a winter in London, came down full of an opinion new and strange to the whole country. She held it little less than criminal to teach poor girls to read and write. They who are born to poverty, she said, are born to ignorance, and will work the harder the less they know. She told her friends that London was in confusion by the insolence of servants; that scarcely a girl could be got for all-work, since education had made such numbers of fine ladies, that nobody would now accept a lower title than that of a waiting-maid, or something that might qualify her to wear laced shoes and long ruffles, and to sit at work in the parlour window. But she was resolved, for her part, to spoil no more girls. Those who were to live by their hands should neither read nor write out of her pocket. The world was bad enough already, and she would have no part in making it worse.

 

"She was for a long time warmly opposed; but she persevered in her notions, and withdrew her subscription. Few listen, without a desire of conviction, to those who advise them to spare their money. Her example and her arguments gained ground daily; and in less than a year the whole parish was convinced that the nation would be ruined if the children of the poor were taught to read and write." So the school was dissolved, and Betty with the rest was turned adrift into the wide and cold world; and her adventures there any one may read in "The Idler" for himself.

 

There is an entry in the school minutes of 1763, to the effect that the ladies of the committee censured the schoolmistress for listening to the story of the Cock Lane ghost, and "desired her to keep her belief in the article to herself."

 

Skinner Street—now one of the names of the past—which ran by the south side of St. Sepulchre's, and formed the connecting link between Newgate Street and Holborn, received its name from Alderman Skinner, through whose exertions, about 1802, it was principally built. The following account of Skinner Street is from the picturesque pen of Mr. William Harvey ("Aleph"), whose long familiarity with the places he describes renders doubly valuable his many contributions to the history of London scenes and people:—"As a building speculation," he says, writing in 1863, "it was a failure. When the buildings were ready for occupation, tall and substantial as they really were, the high rents frightened intending shopkeepers. Tenants were not to be had; and in order to get over the money difficulty, a lottery, sanctioned by Parliament, was commenced. Lotteries were then common tricks of finance, and nobody wondered at the new venture; but even the most desperate fortune-hunters were slow to invest their capital, and the tickets hung sadly on hand. The day for the drawing was postponed several times, and when it came, there was little or no excitement on the subject, and whoever rejoiced in becoming a house-owner on such easy terms, the original projectors and builders were understood to have suffered considerably. The winners found the property in a very unfinished condition. Few of the dwellings were habitable, and as funds were often wanting, a majority of the houses remained empty, and the shops unopened. After two or three years things began to improve; the vast many-storeyed house which then covered the site of Commercial Place was converted into a warehousing depôt; a capital house opposite the 'Saracen's Head' was taken by a hosier of the name of Theobald, who, opening his shop with the determination of selling the best hosiery, and nothing else, was able to convince the citizens that his hose was first-rate, and, desiring only a living profit, succeeded, after thirty years of unwearied industry, in accumulating a large fortune. Theobald was possessed of literary tastes, and at the sale of Sir Walter Scott's manuscripts was a liberal purchaser. He also collected a library of exceedingly choice books, and when aristocratic customers purchased stockings of him, was soon able to interest them in matters of far higher interest…

 

"The most remarkable shop—but it was on the left-hand side, at a corner house—was that established for the sale of children's books. It boasted an immense extent of window-front, extending from the entrance into Snow Hill, and towards Fleet Market. Many a time have I lingered with loving eyes over those fascinating story-books, so rich in gaily-coloured prints; such careful editions of the marvellous old histories, 'Puss in Boots,' 'Cock Robin,' 'Cinderella,' and the like. Fortunately the front was kept low, so as exactly to suit the capacity of a childish admirer. . . . . But Skinner Street did not prosper much, and never could compete with even the dullest portions of Holborn. I have spoken of some reputable shops; but you know the proverb, 'One swallow will not make a summer,' and it was a declining neighbourhood almost before it could be called new. In 1810 the commercial depôt, which had been erected at a cost of £25,000, and was the chief prize in the lottery, was destroyed by fire, never to be rebuilt—a heavy blow and discouragement to Skinner Street, from which it never rallied. Perhaps the periodical hanging-days exercised an unfavourable influence, collecting, as they frequently did, all the thieves and vagabonds of London. I never sympathised with Pepys or Charles Fox in their passion for public executions, and made it a point to avoid those ghastly sights; but early of a Monday morning, when I had just reached the end of Giltspur Street, a miserable wretch had just been turned off from the platform of the debtors' door, and I was made the unwilling witness of his last struggles. That scene haunted me for months, and I often used to ask myself, 'Who that could help it would live in Skinner Street?' The next unpropitious event in these parts was the unexpected closing of the child's library. What could it mean? Such a well-to-do establishment shut up? Yes, the whole army of shutters looked blankly on the inquirer, and forbade even a single glance at 'Sinbad' or 'Robinson Crusoe.' It would soon be re-opened, we naturally thought; but the shutters never came down again. The whole house was deserted; not even a messenger in bankruptcy, or an ancient Charley, was found to regard the playful double knocks of the neighbouring juveniles. Gradually the glass of all the windows got broken in, a heavy cloud of black dust, solidifying into inches thick, gathered on sills and doors and brickwork, till the whole frontage grew as gloomy as Giant Despair's Castle. Not long after, the adjoining houses shared the same fate, and they remained from year to year without the slightest sign of life—absolute scarecrows, darkening with their uncomfortable shadows the busy streets. Within half a mile, in Stamford Street, Blackfriars, there are (1863) seven houses in a similar predicament— window-glass demolished, doors cracked from top to bottom, spiders' webs hanging from every projecting sill or parapet. What can it mean? The loss in the article of rents alone must be over £1,000 annually. If the real owners are at feud with imaginary owners, surely the property might be rendered valuable, and the proceeds invested. Even the lawyers can derive no profit from such hopeless abandonment. I am told the whole mischief arose out of a Chancery suit. Can it be the famous 'Jarndyce v. Jarndyce' case? And have all the heirs starved each other out? If so, what hinders our lady the Queen from taking possession? Any change would be an improvement, for these dead houses make the streets they cumber as dispiriting and comfortless as graveyards. Busy fancy will sometimes people them, and fill the dreary rooms with strange guests. Do the victims of guilt congregate in these dark dens? Do wretches 'unfriended by the world or the world's law,' seek refuge in these deserted nooks, mourning in the silence of despair over their former lives, and anticipating the future in unappeasable agony? Such things have been—the silence and desolation of these doomed dwellings make them the more suitable for such tenants."

 

A street is nothing without a mystery, so a mystery let these old tumble-down houses remain, whilst we go on to tell that, in front of No. 58, the sailor Cashman was hung in 1817, as we have already mentioned, for plundering a gunsmith's shop there. William Godwin, the author of "Caleb Williams," kept a bookseller's shop for several years in Skinner Street, at No. 41, and published school-books in the name of Edward Baldwin. On the wall there was a stone carving of Æsop reciting one of his fables to children.

 

The most noteworthy event of the life of Godwin was his marriage with the celebrated Mary Wollstonecraft, authoress of a "Vindication of the Rights of Women," whose congenial mind, in politics and morals, he ardently admired. Godwin's account of the way in which they got on together is worth reading:—"Ours," he writes, "was not an idle happiness, a paradise of selfish and transitory pleasures. It is, perhaps, scarcely necessary to mention, that influenced by ideas I had long entertained, I engaged an apartment about twenty doors from our house, in the Polygon, Somers Town, which I designed for the purpose of my study and literary occupations. Trifles, however, will be interesting to some readers, when they relate to the last period of the life of such a person as Mary. I will add, therefore, that we were both of us of opinion, that it was possible for two persons to be too uniformly in each other's society. Influenced by that opinion, it was my practice to repair to the apartment I have mentioned as soon as I rose, and frequently not to make my appearance in the Polygon till the hour of dinner. We agreed in condemning the notion, prevalent in many situations in life, that a man and his wife cannot visit in mixed society but in company with each other, and we rather sought occasions of deviating from than of complying with this rule. By this means, though, for the most part, we spent the latter half of each day in one another's society, yet we were in no danger of satiety. We seemed to combine, in a considerable degree, the novelty and lively sensation of a visit with the more delicious and heartfelt pleasure of a domestic life."

 

This philosophic union, to Godwin's inexpressible affliction, did not last more than eighteen months, at the end of which time Mrs. Godwin died, leaving an only daughter, who in the course of time became the second wife of the poet Shelley, and was the author of the wild and extraordinary tale of "Frankenstein."

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45116

The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: Ponte dei Sospiri) is a bridge located in Venice, northern Italy. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone and has windows with stone bars. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the New Prison (Prigioni Nuove) to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. It was designed by Antonio Contino (whose uncle Antonio da Ponte had designed the Rialto Bridge) and was built in 1600.

  

The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. The bridge name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before being taken down to their cells. In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals. In addition, little could be seen from inside the Bridge due to the stone grills covering the windows.

  

A local legend says that lovers will be granted eternal love and bliss if they kiss on a gondola at sunset under the Bridge of Sighs as the bells of St Mark's Campanile toll.[1] This legend served as a plot line for the movie A Little Romance, featuring Laurence Olivier and Diane Lane.

or maybe i should title it "any last words?"

 

This is Chaari-,... the mouth of a sailor, this one, and she is a bit mad, and that's what i love about her. As will you if you ever have the good fortune to bump into her somewhere in the world.

 

What was that Kerouac line? the one that starts "the only people for me are the mad ones,..."

----------------------------------------

 

also,...

 

Dear Fujifilm,

 

Fuck you.

 

Since Fuji cant wait to get rid of their film division I say that we dont buy more in the hopes that they will change their minds, cos they wont.

 

so why throw money at people who cant wait to clock out?

 

Instead, I say we help them die. Because the faster fuji dies, the faster the market will move to Kodak and give them the financing necessary to feed our addiction for a long time.

 

I say we send our hard earned cash to people who intend to support our crazy analog fetish.

 

As such, in an effort to hasten the death of Fuji's film division, I shall mostly be shooting Kodak Alaris from here on out.

 

yeah i know, i'm sure that any fuji exec that happens to read this will be all "OoOoh we're shaking"

 

which is my point,... the wankers.

 

Hello Kodak :D

Project Blur

 

stock-http://www.flickr.com/photos/29591209@N06/ www.sxc.hu/profile/bugdog

Thanks to Martin Widlund for using his photo...!

Jumbo Puzzle (Holland) No. 80076. Recent eBay purchase.

1.500 pcs, 90 x 60 cm.

I must confess that I have a weakness for historical motives and this was pure joy (and quite easy too).

 

William Bell Scott (12 September 1811 – 22 November 1890) was a Scottish artist in oils and watercolour and sometimes printmaking. He was also a poet and art teacher, and his posthumously published reminiscences give a chatty and often vivid picture of life in the circle of the Pre-Raphaelites; he was especially close to Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

 

On the morning of August 23rd, 1305, there was something of a carnival atmosphere in London. Since the early hours of what promised to be a fine day for Edward I’s capital city, crowds had been gathering to watch that most appealing of spectacles, a public execution. Such an event was not, of course, unusual when the law was often capricious and brutal; thieves, coiners, servants who had struck their masters, the simple-minded and the irreligious, these were some of the subjects on which the hangmen could rely for employment. But today’s proceedings promised to be special. The victim of the judicial process on this occasion was the Scot, William Wallace. Over the years English propaganda had depicted Wallace in the most extreme terms, as a man void of pity, one crueller than Herod, madder than Nero. Above all, he was portrayed as a traitor to Edward I and as such worthy of the worst the law could devise. Not since the execution of Thomas Turberville, the Englishman who had spied for France ten years before, had Londoners had the opportunity to enjoy the death of a traitor.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rizal_Monument

 

The Rizal Monument (original title: Motto Stella, Latin, "guiding star") is a memorial in Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines built to commemorate the executed Filipino nationalist, José Rizal. The monument consists of a standing bronze sculpture of Rizal, with an obelisk, set on a stone base within which his remains are interred. A plaque on the pedestal's front reads: "To the memory of José Rizal, patriot and martyr, executed on Bagumbayan Field December Thirtieth 1896. This monument is dedicated by the people of the Philippine Islands".

 

The perimeter of the monument is guarded continuously by the Philippine Marine Corps’ Marine Security and Escort Group, the changing of the guard having become a daily ritual. About 100 m (330 ft) north-northwest of the monument is the exact location where Rizal was executed, marked by life-size dioramas depicting his final moments.

 

An exact replica of the Rizal Monument can be found in Madrid, Spain at the junction of Avenida de Las Islas Filipinas and Calle Santander.

Following the modest success of the post-WWII Ralston Tigre MkII, the Ralston company looked to a more ambitious and glamorous execution with the Tigre MkIII, released in 1961.

 

The basis for the new car, again came from the General Motors' premium division - Cadillac - for the architectural hardware.

 

The Frame & Underbody was developed from the 1959/60 GM 'C' Bodies - a short-lived production run for GM, hence the availability to the Ralston Company. Wheelbase was set at 130 in (3,302 mm) for the standard sedan, and all the specialty 2-door cars. The long-wheelbase Limousine, Town Car and Specialty models sharing the GM 'D' Body 150 in (3,805 mm) with the Cadillac Series 75 / Fleetwood.

 

Powertrain was also Cadillac derived, incluing the 390 CID (6.4 Litre) V8 engine. Power was rated the same 345 bhp (257 kW). Cadillac was to retire this engine, with the development of a new engine of the same capacity for 1961. For the MkIII-C of 1967 the V8 engine was enlarged to 429 CID (7.0 litre) with the new OHV Cadillac engine, but power remained the same as the 1961-67 models, while torque rose to 480 lb.ft (650 Nm).

 

One notable characteristic of all Ralston Tigre MkIII models are the reverse-opening doors. On all two-door cars, the doors operated on special hinges to move backwards along the body, offering easier ingress and egress for all passengers. For the four-door models, the front doors were conventionally hinged, per the originating GM 'C' and 'D' body vehicles, whilst the rear doors adopted the special hinged mechanism to allow rear passengers easier access. The adoption of GM's body-on-frame chassis permitted the omission of a conventional B-pillar on the four-door cars. A rarity at the time, but shared with the contemporary Lincoln saloons.

 

The real party trick appeared in 1964, with the introduction of the MkIII B. This model, though visually little changed from the MkIII of 1961, incorporated the first (and only) reintroduction of the V12 engine to the US-based motor industry.

 

Once more, the engine was based on that of a Cadillac.

 

www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/04/the-ohc-v12-that-cadill...

 

The prototype engines were produced in 7.4 and 8.2 litre forms, originally to support the fitment of the V12 to the upcoming Cadillac Eldorado - Cadillac's first front-wheel-drive vehicle. Ultimately the V12 installation in the Eldorado was cancelled, as the engineering team considered the engine to be transversely installed, until late in the development, where the V12 length would have been a significant disadvantage in terms of installing a matching transmission. Cadillac instead, continued with V8 development at the same swept capacities, even when the Eldorado was ultimately launched with the longitudinal engine installation with the gearbox alongside. As the Eldorado was to be the most premium of premium Cadillacs, the large capacity V8s filtered across to the RWD BOF models, but the V12 was not fitted to any of the division's cars.

 

This opened the possibility of offering the V12 to another luxury vehicle manufacturer who did not have the funding to develop such an engine on their own.

 

Ralston, wishing to also continue the production of the V8 models launched in 1961, renamed the V8 as the E I G H T, and offered the V12 engined as a premium model above this. In truth, the engine was the only key difference, as there were very few restriction on the use of either engine in combination with the low-volume bodystyles on offer.

 

Ralston remained (relatively) conservative on the engine specification, choosing not to lift the power from the original Cadillac specification, nonetheless choosing the larger 8.2 litre capacity engine at a rated 394 hp (296 kW) and 506 lb.ft (686 Nm).

 

Externally there was noting to differentiate between the fitment of the V8 and V12 engines to the cars, other than the subtle text spelling out or on the side engine vent ahead of the doors. The 1964 introduction coincided with a minor external facelift, key change being the fitment of a third 'X' feature in the front grille, replacing the '5th' headlamp feature fitted on 1961-early 1964 vehicles. Additionally, the modest tailfins were trimmed smaller again, and a more conservative rear licence plate treatment used in place of the 3rd rocket pod in the rear facia.

 

In 1967, the Tigre MkIII-C underwent further revisions. There were new front fenders, eliminating the large, round double stacked headlamps, replacing them with small corner bumperettes and small double-stacked corner lamps. the headlamps were now hidden behind louvres in the new grille. There was now a single 'X' form at the front of the grille, centrally mounted. At the rear, the existing rocket pod tail lamps were retained. The 1967 MkIII-C reverted to the MkIII 1961-64 trunklid and bumper, but with the central '+' rocket feature supplanted by the licence plate. For all SWB body styles. there were new tapered fender tops (barely fins), recalling the Tigre MkII C & D. Long wheelbase 4-door cars retained the MkIII-B rear fenders as they suited the overall vehicle lines better.

 

Minor changes to the side of the vehicle included deeper opening doors, and a more open front wheelarch taper. A chrome trim feature led from the front fender vent to the rear rocket pod.

 

The model shown here is the commonly ordered Hardtop Coupe - a very sharp looking car, despite the origins dating back eight years to 1959 for the basic architecture. The model is one of the 7.0 litre V8s, despite there being little differentiation externally to vehicles fitted with the V12.

 

A very similar car was used as the prototype vehicle fitted with early versions of the extremely rare V16. These cars were development mules for the proposed Ralston Centaur - to be termed , though ultimately no completed customer cars were ordered, the 21 prototype engines fitted to various Tigre MkIII vehicles were either completed as un-homologated show cars for use by the Ralston family on their various estates, later restored from their mule conditions to rare collector cars, or unfortunately, destroyed. It has been long rumoured that the 13 crushed cars all had their engines removed, so potentially there is a small pool of functioning 10 litre V16s waiting for re-fitment to Ralston chassis.

 

This Lego miniland-scale Ralston Tigre MkIII C Hardtop Coupe (1967) has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 95th Build Challenge, - "Designing the Ralston Legacy", - for the design of vehicles under the fictional 'Ralston' company. The models must include a 'X' design feature on the car or bike. A number of Ralston challenge vehicle concepts are possible in this challenge.

 

[Cadillac V12 engine information taken from 'thetruthaboutcars.com']

 

www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/04/the-ohc-v12-that-cadill...

 

Braintree Essex glass, window, stained, light, background, church, pattern, abstract, cross, color, religion, mosaic, yellow, colorful, texture, red, style, interior, green, black, decorative, transparent, symbol, textured, design, vector, translucent, orange, cathedral, spectrum, blue, illustration, craftsmanship, chapel, creative, art, shapes, multicolored, lines, white, diagonals, form, irregular, amber, stained-glass, blocks, shape, catholic, christian, backdrop, square, architecture, bright, faith, violet, reflection, brown, concept, decoration, spirituality, religious, ornament, stained glass window, sky, pastel, decline, stylization, sunlight, worship, indigo, craft, image, sunrise, detail, sunset, jesus, artwork, backgrounds, spiritual, arts, colors, fragility, cover, clouds, illuminated, material, indoors, setting, beautiful, spirit, render, gothic, building, sea, christianity, element, holy, crucifix, arch, digital, circle, sacred, christ, pink, vertical, old, star, vibrant, lit, plant, cell, effect, god, divine, celebration, confession, confirmation, eucharist, leaves, colored, crown, culture, flowers, architectural, wall, spotlight, stained glass, the passion, illustrations, lead, anointing, baptism, believe, cartoon, traditional, rose, leaded, father, ornamental, catechist, belief, abbey, unclouded, altar, heritage, inside, indoor, sunny, ray, pray, peace, resurrection, flash, glow, monastery, norman, protection, pard, shade, shiny, toned, stain, opaque, line, curve, back, day, elegance, handmade, eps10, bible, sacraments, reconciliation, seven, sick, stole, son, priesthood, priest, marriage, liturgical, matrimony, orders, penance, symbolic, teaching, scilly, saint agnes, uk, blocks brown, antique, rural, isles, unction, theology, windows, anglican, england, hand, twine, water, field, grass, acute, sun, ocean, template, tracery, web, cloud, angle, broken, part, piece, purple, rainbow, imitation, glaze, contour, crack, decorate, example, technology, structure, convergence, diamond, flower, geometric, connect, communication, advert, ball, blindness, commerce, grilles, icon, round, set, sign, simple, precious, net, jewelry, mark, mesh, modern, sample, shell, artistic, close, closeup, decor, places, ideas, awe, buildings, concepts, defined, elements, gold, crucifixion, death, ethereal, execution, christians, catholicism, graphic, illumination, 3d, bricks, weave, wallpaper, ear, fabulous, fantastic, fantasy, dynamic, corn, substrate, tile, braid, computer, fractal, futuristic, scythe, spin, tongue, tress, plash, plait, generated, kaleidoscope, magical, pigtail, heavenly

 

Finallllly exams are over [: and i can get back to photography.

 

Today i shot a video for a project about education world wide. This is a picture from the shoot [: She was acting as an african child who had to drop out of school to take care of her siblings <3

Five women fall victim to a firing squad, they were among 100 Slovenians shot in the village of Celje in 1942.

One method the Nazis used to discourage rebellion was the shooting of hostages, especially women and children, in retaliation for acts of resistance. Five women, about to fall victims to a firing squad, were among 100 Slovenians shot in the village of Celje in 1942. The Nazis believed that the shooting of women and children would be especially effective in discouraging resistance activity. Yet, even such atrocities did not completely halt the actions of the Yugoslavian partisans.

Photo: Lydia Chagoll / United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archive

www.holocaustchronicle.org/staticpages/319.html

أولاً الحمدلله انها وصلت بالسلامه ^_^

 

ثانياً أتمنى تعجبكم الفكره

 

ثالثاً .. انت يا السوني اريكسون .. الله يرحمك .. انتهى دورك من اليوم وخلّك حق المكالمات بس ;p

 

رابعاً .. أتمنى تقبلوني معاكم يا كانونييييييين

 

أخيراً .. لكم كل الشكر يا أصدقاء على التشجيع والحافز

وأهم شي لأتخطى مرحلة الموبايلات :p

A complete equipment for the execution with an axe (1:5 replicas). Used in Germany at the end of the 19-th and early 20-th century. The executions took place in the gray morning in each prison yard. The bench, as well as the block was attached to the bottom of the scaffold, in order not to endanger the safe running of the execution. Around the block was sprinkled a lot sawdust to soak up the blood. The convict was printed by the assistants of the executioner to the bank. Here, the arms of the condemned were pulled down by using the rope and shackles on the existing block rings around the block . The head was printed in the notch on the block and is fixed. The whole ceremony was "accompanied" by the ringing of the sinners' bell until the ax fell.

For Star Wars Factions

Execution on the Old Town Square 21. 6. 1621

23-06-2001 | Olaf Barth, Katrin Bock

Olaf Barth and Katrin Bock now take a look at the events that took place on the Old Town Square 380 years ago.

Execution on the Old Town Square 21. 6. 1621

If you have ever been to Prague, you may have noticed the 27 crosses which have been embedded into the pavement at the foot of the Old Town Town Hall. Perhaps you have wondered about their origin. Well, in the following minutes you will learn more about the context of these crosses. First of all, listen to the Czech writer Alois Jirasek portraying the events at the end of the 19th century in one of his stories:

"In the night of 20 to 21 June 1621, fear and grief prevailed everywhere in Prague, and the roads had become like deserted, for on Prague restrictions had been imposed. Only the clash of the weapons and the heavy steps of foreign soldiers broke through the oppressive silence. On the Old Town Square there was a lot of activity, and boards and beams were unloaded from wagons and carried to the middle of the place, where a scaffold grew by the flickering light of numerous torches. By daybreak a gallows covered with red cloth was towering. At sunrise fulminated a cannon cracker showing that the execution had to begin. On the scaffold dark hooded people were visible, the assistents of the executioner and the gravedigger. Finally, the executioner, Jan Mydláø, also appeared. Immediately the imperial judges took their seats, and the names of the twenty-seven death-condemned noblemen were exclaimed. While foreign soldiers were drumming in the streets of Prague, in the houses people of Prague prayed for their faithful, the 27 men who were either beheaded or hanged at the same time. It is reported that once a year, always in the night from the 20th to the 21st of June, the noblemen and citizens appear on the Old Town Square. Silently they walk over the square to the church, where, kneeling before the altar, they receive the Last Supper in both forms. And as silently as they have come they disappear again."

The Hradschin 1618, in the year of the window-lintel (contemporary engraving)

So far the Czech writer Alois Jirasek about the events of that night 380 years ago, when the leaders of the insurrection of the Estates against the Catholic Habsburgs were judged. 27 nobles, gentlemen and citizens, Czechs and Germans, Protestants and a Catholic then left their lives. They were punished for having joined an uprising against the legal Habsburg emperor which had a religious background, for the Emperor had previously tried to restrict the freedom of religion which had been in force in the Bohemian lands since the middle of the fifteenth century. The revolt had begun on May 23, 1618, with the famous Prague defenestration, and ended with the battle Battle of White Mountain in November 1620, for the Czechs still today a national trauma. In that battle before the gates of Prague the army of the Catholic Habsburgs the Protestant Estates had utterly vanquished. What followed was a relentless persecution of all insurgents, regardless of their social position or nationality. Emperor Ferdinand II used his military victory to strengthen his position in the rebellious Bohemian lands, to suppress the Protestant faith and to break the power of the Estates once and for all.

Procession on the White Mountains (Josef Berka and A. Gustav, around 1800)

All persons who had somehow participated in the uprising of the Estates were punished. The worst punishment experienced three lords, seven knights and 17 citizens, who were executed in the early morning hours of June 21, 1621 on the Old Town Square. The execution took place conforming to the etiquette: first came the lords, then the knights, and finally the citizens. It is said the bloodthirsty torture to have lasted for four hours, while the executioner Jan Mydlar in the proces was to have beaten blunt four swords.

Joachim Andreas Graf Schlick was the first to be beheaded, whose family had grown rich thanks to the silver mines in the west Bohemian Jáchymov valley. Count Schlick had worked for many years at the Saxon court as an educator of the future ruler Johann Georg. During the Bohemian uprising of the Estates, Schlick had been quite active. Among other things, he was one of the participants of the famous 1618 defenestration. Next came Vaclav Budova from Budovec. Since the beginning of the 17th century, he had been strongly committed to the observance of the freedom of belief in the Bohemian lands and had been one of the spokesmen of the insurgents. As the third nobleman, Krystof Harant of Polzice and Bezdruzice lost his head. He had been court musician and companion of Rudolf at the court of Emperor Rudolf II. He was not very interested in politics, but he had been one of the military leaders of the insurgents, which now cost him his head. All three of them, without any doubt, belonged to the intellectual elite of the country, all three of them had been to many places, were well-educated, spoke several languages, and were Protestants.

Among the 7 knights was also the Catholic Divis Cernin of Chudenice. This one had made the fatal mistake of opening the gates of the castle to the representatives of the Estates on the 23rd of May, 1618, who then threw the three representatives of the Habsburg power out of a window in protest against the restriction of the rights of the Protestants.

Jan Jesensky

Jan Jessenius, the rector of the Charles University of Prague, was one of those who got the severest judgement. He was not only beheaded, his tongue had been cut off before, additionally he was also quartered after the execution. Emperor Ferdinand had expressed himself personally for this harsh judgment. The internationally respected scholar, who had carried out the first public autopsy in Prague in 1600, had aroused the wrath of the ruler as he had himself pronounced against the election of Ferdinand for the King of Bohemia as well as published a series of harsh writings against the Habsburgs.

The heads of twelve executed were hanged in iron baskets for deterrence and warning at the Old Town Bridge Tower. From there they were removed only 10 years later, when the Saxons 1631 occupied Prague for a short time.

Ferdinand II.

Emperor Ferdinand II took advantage of the victory over the rebellious Protestant estates, which had dethroned him, the legitimate heir, and elected another one, the "Winter King", Frederick of the Palatinate. 166 nobles Ferdinand had completely dispossessed, another 500 lost a large part of their estates. On the other hand, his faithful were rewarded. Those were given great lands in the Bohemian lands. In addition, monasteries were returned lands that they had lost during the Hussite wars in the 15th century.

The greatest winners were probably Albrecht von Waldstein, Karl von Liechtenstein, and Johann Ulrich von Eggenberg, who were now able to call great domains their own. But also other noble families then settled in the Bohemian lands, like the Trauttmansdorff, Thun, Metternich and Clary families.

Even ordinary citizens and peasants were affected: those who did not convert to the Catholic faith had to leave the country. In 1624 the Catholic faith became the only one recognized in the Bohemian lands - more and more subjects saw themselves forced to emigrate. Some 150,000 people are said to have left the Bohemian lands for religious reasons in the years after the defeat of the Protestant Estates. The probably most famous emigrant of that time is Jan Amos Komensky - Comenius. The pedagogue and bishop of the Unity of the Brotherhood settled down after a few journeys in Holland, where he died in 1670 at the age of 78.

Even in the eyes of most of today's Czechs, the "time of darkness" began with the defeat of the Protestant estates in the Battle of Weissenberg. As such, the almost 300 years of the unrestricted rule of the Habsburgs over the Bohemian countries were designated, which ended only with the independence of Czechoslovakia in 1918. The formerly proud kingdom of Bohemia had been degrated to a Habsburg province according to the new regional order of 1627, and had lost most of its rights, including the freedom of faith for which its inhabitants had fought since the death for heresy of Jan Hus in 1415. Today, not only the 27 crosses embedded on the Old Town Square, but also all the magnificent Baroque buildings in the country, are reminiscent of this historic epoch. With these the Catholic Habsburgs showed their Bohemian and Moravian subjects who is the boss in the country.

And so we are already at the end of our trip into the 17th century.

 

Hinrichtung auf dem Altstädter Ring 21. 6. 1621

23-06-2001 | Olaf Barth, Katrin Bock

Olaf Barth und Katrin Bock werfen heute einen Blick auf die Geschehnisse, die sich vor 380 Jahren auf dem Altstädter Ring ereigneten.

Hinrichtung auf dem Altstädter Ring 21. 6. 1621

Wer von Ihnen schon mal in Prag war, dem sind sie vielleicht aufgefallen, die 27 in das Pflaster eingelassenen Kreuze zu Füssen des Altstädter Rathausturmes. Vielleicht haben Sie sich über deren Ursprung gewundert. Nun in den folgenden Minuten erfahren Sie mehr über die Bewandtnis dieser Kreuze. Hören Sie zunächst einmal, wie der tschechische Schriftsteller Alois Jirasek die entsprechenden Ereignisse Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts in einer seiner Geschichten schilderte:

"In der Nacht vom 20. auf den 21. Juni 1621 herrschte überall in Prag Angst und Trauer. Die Strassen waren wie ausgestorben, denn über Prag war Ausgangsverbot verhängt worden. Nur das Klirren der Waffen und schwere Schritte fremder Soldaten durchbrachen die bedrückende Stille. Auf dem Altstädter Ring herrschte reger Betrieb. Bretter und Balken wurden von Wagen abgeladen und zur Platzmitte getragen, wo beim flackernden Licht zahlreicher Fackeln ein Gerüst wuchs. Als es zu dämmern begann, ragte da ein mit rotem Stoff überzogener Galgen empor. Beim Sonnenaufgang donnerte von der Prager Burg ein Kanonenschlag. Ein Zeichen dafür, dass die Exekution beginne. Auf dem Galgengerüst waren dunkle vermummte Gestalten zu sehen - die Henkershelfer und der Totengräber. Schliesslich erschien auch der Henker Jan Mydláø. Alsbald nahmen die kaiserlichen Richter ihre Sitze ein, und die Namen der 27 zum Tode verurteilten Standesherren wurden ausgerufen. Während in den Strassen Prags fremde Soldaten trommelten, beteten in den Häusern die Prager für ihre Getreuen, die 27 Herren, die zur selben Zeit geköpft oder gehängt wurden. Es wird berichtet, dass die hingerichteten Adeligen und Bürger einmal im Jahr, immer in der Nacht vom 20. auf den 21. Juni, auf dem Altstädter Ring erscheinen. Schweigend gehen sie über den Platz zur Kirche, wo sie, vor dem Altar knieend, das Abendmahl in beiderlei Gestalt empfangen. Und so lautlos wie sie gekommen verschwinden sie wieder."

Der Hradschin 1618, im Jahre des Fenstersturzes (Zeitgenössiger Stich)

Soweit der tschechische Schriftsteller Alois Jirasek über die Ereignisse jener Nacht vor 380 Jahren, als die Anführer des Ständeaufstandes gegen die katholischen Habsburger gerichtet wurden. 27 Adelige, Herren und Bürger, Tschechen und Deutsche, Protestanten und ein Katholik liessen damals ihr Leben. Bestraft wurden sie dafür, dass sie sich einem Aufstand gegen den rechtmässigen Habsburger Kaiser angeschlossen hatten, der einen religiösen Hintergrund hatte, denn der Kaiser hatte zuvor versucht, die seit Mitte des 15. Jahrhunderts in den Böhmischen Ländern geltende Religionsfreiheit einzuschränken. Der Aufstand hatte am 23. Mai 1618 mit dem berühmten Prager Fenstersturz begonnen und mit der für Tschechen noch heute ein nationales Trauma darstellenden Schlacht am Weissen Berg im November 1620 geendet. In jener Schlacht vor den Toren Prags hatte das Heer der katholischen Habsburger die protestantischen Stände vernichtend geschlagen. Was folgte war eine unbarmherzige Verfolgung aller Aufständischen, ungeachtet ihrer gesellschaftlichen Stellung oder Nationalität. Kaiser Ferdinand II. nutzte seinen militärischen Sieg, um seine Stellung in den aufständischen Böhmischen Ländern zu stärken, den protestantischen Glauben zurückzudrängen und die Macht der Stände ein für alle mal zu brechen.

Prozession am Weißen Berge (Josef Berka und A. Gustav, um 1800)

Alle Personen, die irgendwie an dem Ständeaufstand beteiligt gewesen waren, wurden bestraft. Am schlimmsten traf es dabei drei Herren, sieben Ritter und 17 Bürger, die in den frühen Morgenstunden des 21. Junis 1621 auf dem Altstädter Ring hingerichtet wurden. Bei der Hinrichtung wurde die Etike gewahrt: zuerst waren die Herren dran, dann die Ritter und schliesslich die Bürger. Vier Stunden lang soll die blutige Tortur gedauert haben, vier Schwerter soll der Henker Jan Mydlar dabei stumpf geschlagen haben.

Als erster wurde Joachim Andreas Graf Schlick geköpft, dessen Familie dank der Silberminen im westböhmischen Joachimsthal reich geworden war. Graf Schlick hatte jahrelang am sächsischen Hof als Erzieher des zukünftigen Herrschers Johann Georg gewirkt. Während des böhmischen Ständeaufstands war Schlick recht aktiv gewesen, unter anderem gehörte er zu den Teilnehmern des berühmten Fenstersturzes von 1618. Als nächstes kam Vaclav Budova von Budovec an die Reihe. Dieser hatte sich seit dem Beginn des 17. Jahrhunderts stark für die Einhaltung der Glaubensfreiheit in den Böhmischen Ländern eingesetzt und war einer der Wortführer der Aufständischen gewesen. Als dritter hochgestellter Adeliger verlor Krystof Harant von Polzice und Bezdruzice seinen Kopf. Dieser war am Hofe Kaiser Rudolfs II. Hofmusikant und Gesellschafter Rudolfs gewesen. Für Politik interessierte er sich nicht sehr, doch war er einer der Heerführer der Aufständischen gewesen, das kostete ihn nun seinen Kopf. Alle drei Herren gehörten ohne Zweifel zur geistigen Elite des Landes, alle drei waren weitgereist, hervorragend gebildet, sprachen mehrere Sprachen - und waren Protestanten.

Unter den 7 Rittern war auch der Katholik Divis Cernin von Chudenice. Dieser hatte den verhängnisvollen Fehler gemacht, am 23. Mai 1618 den Repräsentanten der Stände die Burgtore geöffnet zu haben, die dann die drei Vertreter der Habsburger Macht aus Protest gegen die Einschränkung der Rechte der Protestanten aus einem Fenster warfen.

Jan Jesensky

Eines der härtesten Urteile traf Jan Jessenius, den Rektor der Prager Karlsuniversität, der als 16. an die Reihe kam: er wurde nicht nur geköpft, zuvor wurde ihm die Zunge abgeschnitten, ausserdem wurde er nach der Hinrichtung noch geviertelt. Für dieses harte Urteil hatte sich Kaiser Ferdinand persönlich ausgesprochen. Der international angesehene Gelehrte, der 1600 in Prag die erste öffentliche Obduktion durchgeführt hatte, hatte den Zorn des Herrschers erregt, da er sich auf verschiedenen Landtagen gegen die Wahl Ferdinands zum böhmischen König ausgesprochen sowie eine Reihe von scharfen Schriften gegen die Habsburger veröffentlicht hatte.

Die Köpfe von zwölf Hingerichteten wurden in Eisenkörben zur Abschreckung und Warnung an den Altstädter Brückenturm gehängt. Von dort wurden sie erst 10 Jahre später entfernt, als die Sachsen 1631 Prag für kurze Zeit besetzten.

Ferdinand II.

Kaiser Ferdinand II. nutzte seinen Sieg über die aufständischen protestantischen Stände, die ihn, den rechtmässigen Erben, entthront hatten und einen anderen, den "Winterkönig" Friedrich von der Pfalz, gewählt hatten. 166 Adelige liess Ferdinand vollkommen enteignen, weitere 500 verloren einen Grossteil ihrer Güter. Belohnt wurden dagegen seine Getreuen. Diese erhielten grosse Ländereien in den Böhmischen Ländern. Ausserdem bekamen Klöster Ländereien zurück, die sie zur Zeit der Hussitenkriege im 15. Jahrhundert verloren hatten.

Die grössten Gewinner waren wohl Albrecht von Waldstein, Karl von Liechtenstein sowie Johann Ulrich von Eggenberg, die nun grosse Herrschaften ihr Eigen nennen konnten. Aber auch andere Adelsdfamilien setzten damals in den Böhmischen Ländern ihren Fuss, wie die Familien Trauttmansdorff, Thun, Metternich und Clary.

Auch einfache Bürger und Bauern waren betroffen: wer nicht zum katholischen Glauben übertrat, musste das Land verlassen. 1624 wurde der katholische Glaube der einzig anerkannte in den Böhmischen Ländern - immer mehr Untertanen sahen sich gezwungen, zu emigrieren. Rund 150.000 Menschen sollen in den Jahren nach der Niederlage der protestantischen Stände die Böhmischen Länder aus religiösen Gründen verlassen haben. Der wohl bekannteste Emigrant jener Zeit ist Jan Amos Komensky - Comenius. Der Pädagoge und Bischof der Brüderunität liess sich nach einigen Reisen in Holland nieder, wo er 1670 im Alter von 78 Jahren verstarb.

Auch in den Augen der meisten heutigen Tschechen begann damals mit der Niederlage der protestantischen Stände in der Schlacht am Weissen Berg die "Zeit der Finsternis". Als solche werden die knapp 300 Jahre der uneingeschränkten Herrschaft der Habsburger über die Böhmischen Länder bezeichnet, die erst mit der Unabhängigkeit der Tschechoslowakei 1918 endeten. Das einstmals stolze Königreich Böhmen war nach der neuen Landesordnung von 1627 zu einer Habsburger Provinz degradiert worden und hatte die meisten seiner Rechte verloren - auch das der Glaubensfreiheit, für das seine Bewohner seit dem Ketzertod des Jan Hus 1415 gekämpft hatten. Heute erinnern an diese Geschichtsepoche nicht nur die 27 in das Strassenpflaster eingelassenen Kreuze auf dem Altstädter Ring, sondern auch all die prächtigen Barockbauten im Lande. Mit diesen zeigten die katholischen Habsburger ihren böhmischen und mährischen Untertanen, wer der Herr im Lande ist.

Und damit sind wir bereits am Ende unseres Ausfluges in das 17. Jahrhundert.

www.radio.cz/de/rubrik/geschichte/hinrichtung-auf-dem-alt...

On 27 May 1541, Blessed Margaret Pole was executed in the Tower of London next to the church of St Peter ad Vincula.

 

After two years of being imprisoned as a traitor in the Tower, the 67 year old Plantagenet heiress was executed for opposing Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy. As a woman of noble birth, Margaret Pole was given a private execution. There are two accounts of her execution – One says that she was executed by an inexperienced axeman who missed her neck the first time, gashing her shoulder, and that it took a further ten blows to finish her off. The second account tells of how she managed to escape from the block and that she was hewn down by the executioner as she ran.

 

Margaret Pole was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886.

*once the order is given, nothing and no one can stop it; all is done in perfect harmony;

shooters are trained to go for the heart, but frequently the bullets hit other parts of the body

Isn't it funny how some people learn to fly only after they die?

"On the morning of 27th May 1541, Margaret Pole was informed she would be dead within the hour. Henry VIII was determined to rid his realm of anyone that may pose a threat to his throne, which included a frail 67-year-old lady. Until the end, Margaret claimed her innocence before God, she stated no crime had been imputed to her and that she was wrongly judged. According to popular belief, a poem was found carved on the wall of her cell, as follows:

 

‘For traitors on the block should die;

I am no traitor, no, not I!

My faithfulness stands fast and so,

towards the block I shall not go!

Nor make one step, as you shall see;

Christ in Thy Mercy, save Thou me!’"

 

Blessed Margaret Pole was beheaded here, on East Smithfield Green, within the precincts of the Tower, on 27th May 1541, and buried in the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula.

 

"She died a traitor under the law, but to many others an unlawfully judged elderly woman who did not deserve her cruel end. Following the execution of his mother, Cardinal Reginald Pole said that he would ‘Never fear to call himself the son of a martyr’. And 345 years later, in 1886, Lady Salisbury became exactly that. On the 29th December 1886, she became the Blessed Margaret Pole under the Roman Catholic Church. She was beatified by Pope Leo XIII."

 

Today, 28 May, is her feast day.

  

Elsdon Northumberland.

Visual interpretation of relief (exagerated) on Jupiter based on depth estimation from a single image

 

Zoedepth was not trained for DTM - the 3D image may contain errors, since it's not based on a DTM but on an AI model that hasn't been trained on planets.

 

2D process: Enhanced RGB, enlargement and crop of image taken on 2022-08-22 16:24 UT - perijove 44 - Junocam

 

Process on 3d image : not based on a DTM, but a visual interpretation of the surface by depth estimation from a single image

 

Thank you ZoeDepth: Zero-shot Transfer by Combining Relative and Metric Depth : see it on arxiv.org/abs/2302.12288

 

Science Credit of image taken by Junocam : NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

 

Choice of processing method (2D/3D) and execution : Thomas Thomopoulos

 

Credit for ZoeDepth: Shariq Farooq Bhat, Reiner Birkl, Diana Wofk, Peter Wonka, Matthias Müller

 

See it in 3D on sketchfab:

 

Jupiter - perijove 44 by tthomopoulos on Sketchfab

 

Please click on, or touch the link below to vote for me to become the next Miss YoModel on their web page;

www.missyomodel.com/coningsby131

My exceptionally comfortable, stylish & very swishy skirt is complemented by Very Voga peep toe Bowknot Kitten heeled slingbacks buckle shoes, with musical accompaniment entitled "Kingpin In A Skirt".

When I was very young & a shorts wearer, my Mother was also my Barber in the 1960`s. She would instruct me to sit on her stool in order to cut my hair. She frequently wore an evidently hypnotic black pleated cotton skirt which tickled my knees as it brushed across them while she was cutting my fringe. I now apparently have the image of her skirt deeply in my eyes. It was first noticed by my (secondary) School Teacher in the 1970`s & by subsequent girlfriends who have also mentioned it. The presence of the image & my Mother regularly sitting with her legs crossed on a high stool at our then Breakfast Bar with her new dark brown sequinned polyester Sunray pleated midi skirt very striking draped very close to the floor during the 1970s has strongly influenced my interest in cross-dressing & I regularly wear one of my pleated or circle skirts/dresses at home.

In November 2015, I was scapegoated by a group of criminals, who waited in a silver Private Hire Taxi outside the building in which I lived expecting me to emerge dressed as a woman with a bob hairstyle. My being dressed as a man rendered them indecisive with their execution plot, so the 3 men did not ambush & abduct me. In view of my cross-dressing hobby saving my life, I shall continue to enjoy femininity. There`s also additional information at; www.flickr.com/photos/127177664@N04/16024330889/in/datepo...

  

 

Accession Number: 1972:0033:0037

 

Maker: Unidentified

 

Title: Execution of the Conspirators - Springing of the Trap. [From Harpers Weekly, July 22, 1865]

 

Date: 1865

 

Medium: wood engraving

 

Dimensions: Image: 12.4 x 12.4 cm, Mount: 27 x 34.5 cm

 

George Eastman House Collection

 

About the Collection · Blog · Reproductions & Image Licensing

 

The view from the side of the executioner. On the backside of the block known as blood box is mounted. This element can be easily detached and reattached.

Execution site Herzogenbusch concentration camp

There's no avoiding the bullet holes in one of the walls near the entrance to the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, Baku, Azerbaijan. Vintage 1918 but victim/perpetrator identities depend on who one speaks to.

 

HD PENTAX-D FA 28-105mm f3.5-5.6

execution wall at Auschwitz

The Colosseum or Coliseum (/kɒləˈsiːəm/ kol-ə-SEE-əm), also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium; Italian: Anfiteatro Flavio [aŋfiteˈaːtro ˈflaːvjo] or Colosseo [kolosˈsɛːo]), is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Built of travertine, tuff, and brick-faced concrete, it is the largest amphitheatre ever built. The Colosseum is situated just east of the Roman Forum. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in AD 72, and was completed in AD 80 under his successor and heir Titus. Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian (81–96). These three emperors are known as the Flavian dynasty, and the amphitheatre was named in Latin for its association with their family name (Flavius).

 

The Colosseum could hold, it is estimated, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, having an average audience of some 65,000; it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles (for only a short time as the hypogeum was soon filled in with mechanisms to support the other activities), animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

 

Although partially ruined because of damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is still an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome and is listed as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and also has links to the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.

 

The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin.

  

The Colosseum

The Colosseum's original Latin name was Amphitheatrum Flavium, often anglicized as Flavian Amphitheatre. The building was constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, following the reign of Nero.]This name is still used in modern English, but generally the structure is better known as the Colosseum. In antiquity, Romans may have referred to the Colosseum by the unofficial name Amphitheatrum Caesareum (with Caesareum an adjective pertaining to the title Caesar), but this name may have been strictly poetic as it was not exclusive to the Colosseum; Vespasian and Titus, builders of the Colosseum, also constructed an amphitheater of the same name in Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli).

 

The name Colosseum has long been believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby (the statue of Nero was named after the Colossus of Rhodes).[citation needed] This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios (Sol) or Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.

 

In the 8th century, a famous epigram attributed to the Venerable Bede celebrated the symbolic significance of the statue in a prophecy that is variously quoted: Quamdiu stat Colisæus, stat et Roma; quando cadet colisæus, cadet et Roma; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus ("as long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world"). This is often mistranslated to refer to the Colosseum rather than the Colossus (as in, for instance, Byron's poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage). However, at the time that the Pseudo-Bede wrote, the masculine noun coliseus was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as the Flavian amphitheatre.

 

The Colossus did eventually fall, possibly being pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.

 

The name further evolved to Coliseum during the Middle Ages. In Italy, the amphitheatre is still known as il Colosseo, and other Romance languages have come to use similar forms such as Coloseumul (Romanian), le Colisée (French), el Coliseo (Spanish) and o Coliseu (Portuguese).

  

A map of central Rome during the Roman Empire, with the Colosseum at the upper right corner

The site chosen was a flat area on the floor of a low valley between the Caelian, Esquiline and Palatine Hills, through which a canalised stream ran. By the 2nd century BC the area was densely inhabited. It was devastated by the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, following which Nero seized much of the area to add to his personal domain. He built the grandiose Domus Aurea on the site, in front of which he created an artificial lake surrounded by pavilions, gardens and porticoes. The existing Aqua Claudia aqueduct was extended to supply water to the area and the gigantic bronze Colossus of Nero was set up nearby at the entrance to the Domus Aurea.

  

Cross-section from the Lexikon der gesamten Technik (1904)

Although the Colossus was preserved, much of the Domus Aurea was torn down. The lake was filled in and the land reused as the location for the new Flavian Amphitheatre. Gladiatorial schools and other support buildings were constructed nearby within the former grounds of the Domus Aurea. Vespasian's decision to build the Colosseum on the site of Nero's lake can be seen as a populist gesture of returning to the people an area of the city which Nero had appropriated for his own use. In contrast to many other amphitheatres, which were located on the outskirts of a city, the Colosseum was constructed in the city centre; in effect, placing it both symbolically and precisely at the heart of Rome.

 

Construction was funded by the opulent spoils taken from the Jewish Temple after the Great Jewish Revolt in 70 AD led to the Siege of Jerusalem. According to a reconstructed inscription found on the site, "the emperor Vespasian ordered this new amphitheatre to be erected from his general's share of the booty." Along with the spoils, estimated 100,000 Jewish prisoners were brought back to Rome after the war, and many contributed to the massive workforce needed for construction. The slaves undertook manual labor such as working in the quarries at Tivoli where the travertine was quarried, along with lifting and transporting the quarried stones 20 miles from Tivoli to Rome.[17] Along with this free source of unskilled labor, teams of professional Roman builders, engineers, artists, painters and decorators undertook the more specialized tasks necessary for building the Colosseum.

 

Construction of the Colosseum began under the rule of Vespasian in around 70–72 AD (73-75 AD according to some sources) The Colosseum had been completed up to the third story by the time of Vespasian's death in 79. The top level was finished by his son, Titus, in 80, and the inaugural games were held in A.D. 80 or 81. Dio Cassius recounts that over 9,000 wild animals were killed during the inaugural games of the amphitheatre. Commemorative coinage was issued celebrating the inauguration.The building was remodelled further under Vespasian's younger son, the newly designated Emperor Domitian, who constructed the hypogeum, a series of underground tunnels used to house animals and slaves. He also added a gallery to the top of the Colosseum to increase its seating capacity.

 

In 217, the Colosseum was badly damaged by a major fire (caused by lightning, according to Dio Cassius[20]) which destroyed the wooden upper levels of the amphitheatre's interior. It was not fully repaired until about 240 and underwent further repairs in 250 or 252 and again in 320. Gladiatorial fights are last mentioned around 435. An inscription records the restoration of various parts of the Colosseum under Theodosius II and Valentinian III (reigned 425–455), possibly to repair damage caused by a major earthquake in 443; more work followed in 484[21] and 508. The arena continued to be used for contests well into the 6th century. Animal hunts continued until at least 523, when Anicius Maximus celebrated his consulship with some venationes, criticised by King Theodoric the Great for their high cost.[16]

 

Medieval

 

Map of medieval Rome depicting the Colosseum

The Colosseum underwent several radical changes of use during the medieval period. By the late 6th century a small chapel had been built into the structure of the amphitheater, though this apparently did not confer any particular religious significance on the building as a whole. The arena was converted into a cemetery. The numerous vaulted spaces in the arcades under the seating were converted into housing and workshops, and are recorded as still being rented out as late as the 12th century. Around 1200 the Frangipani family took over the Colosseum and fortified it, apparently using it as a castle.

 

Severe damage was inflicted on the Colosseum by the great earthquake in 1349, causing the outer south side, lying on a less stable alluvial terrain, to collapse. Much of the tumbled stone was reused to build palaces, churches, hospitals and other buildings elsewhere in Rome. A religious order moved into the northern third of the Colosseum in the mid-14th century [22] and continued to inhabit it until as late as the early 19th century. The interior of the amphitheater was extensively stripped of stone, which was reused elsewhere, or (in the case of the marble façade) was burned to make quicklime.[16] The bronze clamps which held the stonework together were pried or hacked out of the walls, leaving numerous pockmarks which still scar the building today.

 

Modern

 

The Colosseum in a 1757 engraving by Giovanni Battista Piranesi

 

1747 view by Giovanni Paolo Panini, emphasizing the semi-rural environs of the Colosseum at the time

During the 16th and 17th century, Church officials sought a productive role for the Colosseum. Pope Sixtus V (1585–1590) planned to turn the building into a wool factory to provide employment for Rome's prostitutes, though this proposal fell through with his premature death.[23] In 1671 Cardinal Altieri authorized its use for bullfights; a public outcry caused the idea to be hastily abandoned.

  

Allied troops consult a guidebook outside the Colosseum after liberation in 1944

In 1749, Pope Benedict XIV endorsed the view that the Colosseum was a sacred site where early Christians had been martyred. He forbade the use of the Colosseum as a quarry and consecrated the building to the Passion of Christ and installed Stations of the Cross, declaring it sanctified by the blood of the Christian martyrs who perished there (see Significance in Christianity). However, there is no historical evidence to support Benedict's claim, nor is there even any evidence that anyone before the 16th century suggested this might be the case; the Catholic Encyclopedia concludes that there are no historical grounds for the supposition, other than the reasonably plausible conjecture that some of the many martyrs may well have been.[24]

  

Interior of the Colosseum, Rome (1832) by Thomas Cole, showing the Stations of the Cross around the arena and the extensive vegetation

Later popes initiated various stabilization and restoration projects, removing the extensive vegetation which had overgrown the structure and threatened to damage it further. The façade was reinforced with triangular brick wedges in 1807 and 1827, and the interior was repaired in 1831, 1846 and in the 1930s. The arena substructure was partly excavated in 1810–1814 and 1874 and was fully exposed under Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.[16]

 

The Colosseum is today one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions, receiving millions of visitors annually. The effects of pollution and general deterioration over time prompted a major restoration programme carried out between 1993 and 2000, at a cost of 40 billion Italian lire ($19.3m / €20.6m at 2000 prices).

 

In recent years the Colosseum has become a symbol of the international campaign against capital punishment, which was abolished in Italy in 1948. Several anti–death penalty demonstrations took place in front of the Colosseum in 2000. Since that time, as a gesture against the death penalty, the local authorities of Rome change the colour of the Colosseum's night time illumination from white to gold whenever a person condemned to the death penalty anywhere in the world gets their sentence commuted or is released,[25] or if a jurisdiction abolishes the death penalty. Most recently, the Colosseum was illuminated in gold in November 2012 following the abolishment of capital punishment in the American state of Connecticut in April 2012.

 

Because of the ruined state of the interior, it is impractical to use the Colosseum to host large events; only a few hundred spectators can be accommodated in temporary seating. However, much larger concerts have been held just outside, using the Colosseum as a backdrop. Performers who have played at the Colosseum in recent years have included Ray Charles (May 2002),[27] Paul McCartney (May 2003),[28] Elton John (September 2005),[29] and Billy Joel (July 2006).

  

The Colosseum today as a background to the busy metropolis

Physical description

Exterior

 

Original façade of the Colosseum

Unlike earlier Greek theatres that were built into hillsides, the Colosseum is an entirely free-standing structure. It derives its basic exterior and interior architecture from that of two Roman theatres back to back. It is elliptical in plan and is 189 meters (615 ft / 640 Roman feet) long, and 156 meters (510 ft / 528 Roman feet) wide, with a base area of 24,000 square metres (6 acres). The height of the outer wall is 48 meters (157 ft / 165 Roman feet). The perimeter originally measured 545 meters (1,788 ft / 1,835 Roman feet). The central arena is an oval 87 m (287 ft) long and 55 m (180 ft) wide, surrounded by a wall 5 m (15 ft) high, above which rose tiers of seating.

 

The outer wall is estimated to have required over 100,000 cubic metres (3,531,467 cubic feet) of travertine stone which were set without mortar; they were held together by 300 tons of iron clamps.[16] However, it has suffered extensive damage over the centuries, with large segments having collapsed following earthquakes. The north side of the perimeter wall is still standing; the distinctive triangular brick wedges at each end are modern additions, having been constructed in the early 19th century to shore up the wall. The remainder of the present-day exterior of the Colosseum is in fact the original interior wall.

  

The exterior of the Colosseum, showing the partially intact outer wall (left) and the mostly intact inner wall (center and right)

The surviving part of the outer wall's monumental façade comprises three stories of superimposed arcades surmounted by a podium on which stands a tall attic, both of which are pierced by windows interspersed at regular intervals. The arcades are framed by half-columns of the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders, while the attic is decorated with Corinthian pilasters. Each of the arches in the second- and third-floor arcades framed statues, probably honoring divinities and other figures from Classical mythology.

 

Two hundred and forty mast corbels were positioned around the top of the attic. They originally supported a retractable awning, known as the velarium, that kept the sun and rain off spectators. This consisted of a canvas-covered, net-like structure made of ropes, with a hole in the center.[4] It covered two-thirds of the arena, and sloped down towards the center to catch the wind and provide a breeze for the audience. Sailors, specially enlisted from the Roman naval headquarters at Misenum and housed in the nearby Castra Misenatium, were used to work the velarium.[

  

Entrance LII of the Colosseum, with Roman numerals still visible

The Colosseum's huge crowd capacity made it essential that the venue could be filled or evacuated quickly. Its architects adopted solutions very similar to those used in modern stadiums to deal with the same problem. The amphitheatre was ringed by eighty entrances at ground level, 76 of which were used by ordinary spectators. Each entrance and exit was numbered, as was each staircase. The northern main entrance was reserved for the Roman Emperor and his aides, whilst the other three axial entrances were most likely used by the elite. All four axial entrances were richly decorated with painted stucco reliefs, of which fragments survive. Many of the original outer entrances have disappeared with the collapse of the perimeter wall, but entrances XXIII (23) to LIV (54) survive.

 

Spectators were given tickets in the form of numbered pottery shards, which directed them to the appropriate section and row. They accessed their seats via vomitoria (singular vomitorium), passageways that opened into a tier of seats from below or behind. These quickly dispersed people into their seats and, upon conclusion of the event or in an emergency evacuation, could permit their exit within only a few minutes. The name vomitoria derived from the Latin word for a rapid discharge, from which English derives the word vomit.

 

Interior seating

 

The raked areas that once held seating

According to the Codex-Calendar of 354, the Colosseum could accommodate 87,000 people, although modern estimates put the figure at around 50,000. They were seated in a tiered arrangement that reflected the rigidly stratified nature of Roman society. Special boxes were provided at the north and south ends respectively for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins, providing the best views of the arena. Flanking them at the same level was a broad platform or podium for the senatorial class, who were allowed to bring their own chairs. The names of some 5th century senators can still be seen carved into the stonework, presumably reserving areas for their use.

   

The tier above the senators, known as the maenianum primum, was occupied by the non-senatorial noble class or knights (equites). The next level up, the maenianum secundum, was originally reserved for ordinary Roman citizens (plebeians) and was divided into two sections. The lower part (the immum) was for wealthy citizens, while the upper part (the summum) was for poor citizens. Specific sectors were provided for other social groups: for instance, boys with their tutors, soldiers on leave, foreign dignitaries, scribes, heralds, priests and so on. Stone (and later marble) seating was provided for the citizens and nobles, who presumably would have brought their own cushions with them. Inscriptions identified the areas reserved for specific groups.

 

Another level, the maenianum secundum in legneis, was added at the very top of the building during the reign of Domitian. This comprised a gallery for the common poor, slaves and women. It would have been either standing room only, or would have had very steep wooden benches. Some groups were banned altogether from the Colosseum, notably gravediggers, actors and former gladiators.[16]

 

Each tier was divided into sections (maeniana) by curved passages and low walls (praecinctiones or baltei), and were subdivided into cunei, or wedges, by the steps and aisles from the vomitoria. Each row (gradus) of seats was numbered, permitting each individual seat to be exactly designated by its gradus, cuneus, and number.[32]

 

Arena and hypogeum

 

The Colosseum arena, showing the hypogeum now filled with walls. The walls were added early in the Colosseum's existence when it was decided it would no longer be flooded and used for naval battles.

 

Latin inscription in the Colosseum

The arena itself was 83 meters by 48 meters (272 ft by 157 ft / 280 by 163 Roman feet).[16] It comprised a wooden floor covered by sand (the Latin word for sand is harena or arena), covering an elaborate underground structure called the hypogeum (literally meaning "underground"). The hypogeum was not part of the original construction but was ordered to be built by Emperor Domitian. Little now remains of the original arena floor, but the hypogeum is still clearly visible. It consisted of a two-level subterranean network of tunnels and cages beneath the arena where gladiators and animals were held before contests began. Eighty vertical shafts provided instant access to the arena for caged animals and scenery pieces concealed underneath; larger hinged platforms, called hegmata, provided access for elephants and the like. It was restructured on numerous occasions; at least twelve different phases of construction can be seen.[16]

  

Detail of the hypogeum

The hypogeum was connected by underground tunnels to a number of points outside the Colosseum. Animals and performers were brought through the tunnel from nearby stables, with the gladiators' barracks at the Ludus Magnus to the east also being connected by tunnels. Separate tunnels were provided for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins to permit them to enter and exit the Colosseum without needing to pass through the crowds.[16]

 

Substantial quantities of machinery also existed in the hypogeum. Elevators and pulleys raised and lowered scenery and props, as well as lifting caged animals to the surface for release. There is evidence for the existence of major hydraulic mechanisms[16] and according to ancient accounts, it was possible to flood the arena rapidly, presumably via a connection to a nearby aqueduct. However, the construction of the hypogeum at Domitian's behest put an end to the practise of flooding, and thus also to naval battles, early in the Colosseum's existence.

 

Supporting buildings

 

The Colosseum – a view from the Oppian Hill

The Colosseum and its activities supported a substantial industry in the area. In addition to the amphitheatre itself, many other buildings nearby were linked to the games. Immediately to the east is the remains of the Ludus Magnus, a training school for gladiators. This was connected to the Colosseum by an underground passage, to allow easy access for the gladiators. The Ludus Magnus had its own miniature training arena, which was itself a popular attraction for Roman spectators. Other training schools were in the same area, including the Ludus Matutinus (Morning School), where fighters of animals were trained, plus the Dacian and Gallic Schools.

 

Also nearby were the Armamentarium, comprising an armory to store weapons; the Summum Choragium, where machinery was stored; the Sanitarium, which had facilities to treat wounded gladiators; and the Spoliarium, where bodies of dead gladiators were stripped of their armor and disposed of.

 

Around the perimeter of the Colosseum, at a distance of 18 m (59 ft) from the perimeter, was a series of tall stone posts, with five remaining on the eastern side. Various explanations have been advanced for their presence; they may have been a religious boundary, or an outer boundary for ticket checks, or an anchor for the velarium or awning.

 

Right next to the Colosseum is also the Arch of Constantine.

 

Use

 

Pollice Verso (Thumbs Down) by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1872

The Colosseum was used to host gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events. The shows, called munera, were always given by private individuals rather than the state. They had a strong religious element but were also demonstrations of power and family prestige, and were immensely popular with the population. Another popular type of show was the animal hunt, or venatio. This utilized a great variety of wild beasts, mainly imported from Africa and the Middle East, and included creatures such as rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, aurochs, wisents, Barbary lions, panthers, leopards, bears, Caspian tigers, crocodiles and ostriches. Battles and hunts were often staged amid elaborate sets with movable trees and buildings. Such events were occasionally on a huge scale; Trajan is said to have celebrated his victories in Dacia in 107 with contests involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators over the course of 123 days. During lunch intervals, executions ad bestias would be staged. Those condemned to death would be sent into the arena, naked and unarmed, to face the beasts of death which would literally tear them to pieces. Other performances would also take place by acrobats and magicians, typically during the intervals.

 

During the early days of the Colosseum, ancient writers recorded that the building was used for naumachiae (more properly known as navalia proelia) or simulated sea battles. Accounts of the inaugural games held by Titus in AD 80 describe it being filled with water for a display of specially trained swimming horses and bulls. There is also an account of a re-enactment of a famous sea battle between the Corcyrean (Corfiot) Greeks and the Corinthians. This has been the subject of some debate among historians; although providing the water would not have been a problem, it is unclear how the arena could have been waterproofed, nor would there have been enough space in the arena for the warships to move around. It has been suggested that the reports either have the location wrong, or that the Colosseum originally featured a wide floodable channel down its central axis (which would later have been replaced by the hypogeum).

 

Sylvae or recreations of natural scenes were also held in the arena. Painters, technicians and architects would construct a simulation of a forest with real trees and bushes planted in the arena's floor, and animals would then be introduced. Such scenes might be used simply to display a natural environment for the urban population, or could otherwise be used as the backdrop for hunts or dramas depicting episodes from mythology. They were also occasionally used for executions in which the hero of the story – played by a condemned person – was killed in one of various gruesome but mythologically authentic ways, such as being mauled by beasts or burned to death.

 

Today

  

The Colosseum today is now a major tourist attraction in Rome with thousands of tourists each year entering to view the interior arena.[33] There is now a museum dedicated to Eros located in the upper floor of the outer wall of the building. Part of the arena floor has been re-floored. Beneath the Colosseum, a network of subterranean passageways once used to transport wild animals and gladiators to the arena opened to the public in summer 2010.

 

The Colosseum is also the site of Roman Catholic ceremonies in the 20th and 21st centuries. For instance, Pope Benedict XVI led the Stations of the Cross called the Scriptural Way of the Cross (which calls for more meditation) at the Colosseum on Good Fridays.

 

Restoration

In 2011 Diego Della Valle, head of the shoe firm Tod's, entered into an agreement with local officials to sponsor a €25 million restoration of the Colosseum. Work was planned to begin at the end of 2011, taking up to two and a half years. Due to the controversial nature of using a public–private partnership to fund the restoration, work was delayed and began in 2013. The restoration is the first full cleaning and repair in the Colosseum's history.[38] The first stage is to clean and restore the Colosseum's arcaded façade and replace the metal enclosures that block the ground-level arches. Taking three years, the final product of this work was unveiled July 1, 2016, when the Italian minister of culture, Dario Franceschini, also announced that the funds have been committed to replace the floors by the end of 2018. These will provide a stage that Franceschini says will be used for "cultural events of the highest level." The project also plans to create a services center and to restore the galleries and underground spaces inside the Colosseum.. New to tours of the restored marvel beginning November 1, 2017, the top two levels have been opened for guided visits. The fourth level held the marketplace, and the top fifth tier is where the poorest citizens, the plebians, gathered and watched the show, bringing picnics for the day-long event.

  

Significance in Christianity

    

The Colosseum is generally regarded by Christians as a site of the martyrdom of large numbers of believers during the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, as evidenced by Church history and tradition.On the other hand, other scholars believe that the majority of martyrdoms may have occurred at other venues within the city of Rome, rather than at the Colosseum, citing a lack of still-intact physical evidence or historical records. These scholars assert that "some Christians were executed as common criminals in the Colosseum—their crime being refusal to reverence the Roman gods", but most Christian martyrs of the early Church were executed for their faith at the Circus Maximus.[48][49] According to Irenæus (died about 202), Ignatius of Antioch was fed to the lions in Rome around 107 A.D and although Irenaeus says nothing about this happening at the Colosseum, tradition ascribes it to that place.

 

In the Middle Ages, the Colosseum was not regarded as a monument, and was used as what some modern sources label a "quarry,"[54] which is to say that stones from the Colosseum were taken for the building of other sacred sites.[55] This fact is used to support the idea that, at a time when sites associated with martyrs were highly venerated the Colosseum was not being treated as a sacred site.[56] It was not included in the itineraries compiled for the use of pilgrims nor in works such as the 12th century Mirabilia Urbis Romae ("Marvels of the City of Rome"), which claims the Circus Flaminius – but not the Colosseum – as the site of martyrdoms. Part of the structure was inhabited by a Christian religious order, but it is not known whether this was for any particular religious reason.

 

Pope Pius V (1566–1572) is said to have recommended that pilgrims gather sand from the arena of the Colosseum to serve as a relic, on the grounds that it was impregnated with the blood of martyrs, although some of his contemporaries did not share his conviction.A century later Fioravante Martinelli listed the Colosseum at the head of a list of places sacred to the martyrs in his 1653 book Roma ex ethnica sacra. Martinelli's book evidently had an effect on public opinion; in response to Cardinal Altieri's proposal some years later to turn the Colosseum into a bullring, Carlo Tomassi published a pamphlet in protest against what he regarded as an act of desecration. The ensuing controversy persuaded Pope Clement X to close the Colosseum's external arcades and declare it a sanctuary.

  

Cross dedicated to the Christian martyrs, placed in 2000 by Pope John Paul II.

At the insistence of St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Pope Benedict XIV (1740–1758) forbade the quarrying of the Colosseum and erected Stations of the Cross around the arena, which remained until February 1874. Benedict Joseph Labre spent the later years of his life within the walls of the Colosseum, living on alms, before he died in 1783. Several 19th century popes funded repair and restoration work on the Colosseum, and it still retains its Christian connection today. A Christian cross stands in the Colosseum, with a plaque, stating:

 

The amphitheater, one consecrated to triumphs, entertainments, and the impious worship of pagan gods, is now dedicated to the sufferings of the martyrs purified from impious superstitions.

 

Other Christian crosses stand in several points around the arena and every Good Friday the Pope leads a Via Crucis procession to the amphitheater.

 

Flora

 

Plants on the inner walls of the Colosseum

The Colosseum has a wide and well-documented history of flora ever since Domenico Panaroli made the first catalogue of its plants in 1643. Since then, 684 species have been identified there. The peak was in 1855 (420 species). Attempts were made in 1871 to eradicate the vegetation, because of concerns over the damage that was being caused to the masonry, but much of it has returned. 242 species have been counted today and of the species first identified by Panaroli, 200 remain.

 

The variation of plants can be explained by the change of climate in Rome through the centuries. Additionally, bird migration, flower blooming, and the growth of Rome that caused the Colosseum to become embedded within the modern city centre rather than on the outskirts of the ancient city, as well as deliberate transport of species, are also contributing causes. Another reason often given is their seeds being unwittingly transported either on the fur or in the faeces of animals brought there from all corners of the empire.

 

Works modeled on, or inspired by, the Colosseum

The Kongresshalle, or "Congress Hall", (1935, unfinished) at the Nazi Party Rally grounds, Nuremberg, Germany

The Summer Olympic Games medal from 1928 to 2000, designed by Giuseppe Cassioli, features a depiction of the Colosseum. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens the Colosseum was replaced by a depiction of the Panathinaiko Stadium

The exterior of the Vancouver Public Library in British Columbia resembles the current state of the Colosseum. It was designed by Moshe Safdie.

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum entrance was inspired by the Colosseum.

The Palazzo della Civilta Italiana was very closely modelled on the Colosseum. It was built for Mussolini for the Universal Exhibition of 1942 but the exhibition never happened due to the outbreak of World War II. The architects were Giovanni Guerrini, Ernesto Bruno La Padula, and Mario Romano.

McCaig's Tower, overlooking Oban, Scotland.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Popular culture references

The Colosseum was featured in the 2010 video game Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. The Colosseum is of great importance to the entire Assassin's Creed series as a whole: first, it was an entrance site to a Lair of Romulus, second, the Lair beneath the Colosseum led directly to the Temple of Juno Moneta which housed the Apple of Eden, third, it was used in a Passion Play depicting Jesus Christ's crucifixion where an assassination attempt was unfoiled by the protagonist Ezio Auditore da Firenze, fourth, in the 21st century, Desmond Miles freeran through the maze in the Colosseum in order to find the Temple of Juno Moneta below the Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli and the Apple kept in it by Ezio in 1506 and fifth, it has a glyph at the top.[62] In addition, the Colosseum is elliptical (oval-shaped) in reality, but it was made circular for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, since devising shadows for different sides of the buildings would have "driven game designers nuts".[63]

 

The iconic status of the Colosseum has led it to be featured in numerous films, such as Roman Holiday, Demetrius and the Gladiators, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Way of the Dragon, Gladiator (in which it was re-created via CGI), Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, The Core, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Jumper, and the animated movie Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.

 

Austrian soldiers remove an executed civilian from the tree where he was hung.

The collection of diesels as the temporary allocation of the 330/474 is largely comprised of E’s, but a few WVL’s are also used. Most are from the 11 reg batch last used on the D7, but an older one is WVL293.

This one was displaced from the 321 at New Cross in early 2023, but together with sister WVL294 it avoided the chop thanks to being sent to Northumberland Park to cover for a couple of 476 allocated WVN’s which had met premature ends.

WVL293 is seen at Beckton Bus Station, running about 10 minutes late after the wheelchair ramp had a hissy fit just after I boarded at North Woolwich.

The first cascaded WHV’s (from the 188) are finally starting to arrive, so the conversation might take place soon.

WVL294 is still in the fleet too, helping out at Bexleyheath pending electrics. 2.10.25.

This picture is in two different collections with completely different identifications.

 

Naval History & Heritage Command, Washington, DC, USA identified as “Execution Wall, Cavite, P.I.”

 

California State Library description “Spanish fortifications, Luneta (Manila)”

Gift to the library by Mrs. Frank Atkinson, Feb. 16, 1948

 

I tend to believe the Naval History & Heritage Command description is accurate but it is not verifiable that the California State Library description “Spanish fortifications, Luneta” is undeniably in error so it will remain.

 

Repository: California Historical Society

 

Digital object ID: Vault 306.001.jpg

 

Date: 1875 March 16

 

Call number: Vault 306

 

Preferred citation: [Invitation to attend the execution of Tiburcio Vasquez], Vault 306, courtesy, California Historical Society, Vault 306.001.

For crimes against humanity...

barnabynutt.com/2018/09/16/waterford-walls/