A wet Monday morning in November, in school term-time, may not sound the ideal conditions for a visit to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard but better than the crowds in summer.
Dulcibella
Pompey
Pompey’s Pillar is a Roman triumphal column not built in memory of the emperor Pompey (106 – 48 BC), as you might expect, but to honour Diocletian (284 – 305 AD). It stands at the eastern side of the temenos of the Serapeum of Alexandria, which is now in ruins. So you have two obscure… Continue reading Pompey
Empire
Gin Palace
Adie and Button
“The high regard for modern architecture and design today is arguably the work of Pioneers of Modern Design. Originally published in 1936 as Pioneers of the Modern Movement, this book by the late art historian Nikolaus Pevsner laid the foundation for the recognition of “modern design” by lining up a progressive historical narrative to explain the… Continue reading Adie and Button
Green Park
Margravine Cemetery & Gardens
John Bellew, Part II
The army also participated in peacetime Imperial domestic affairs. From the early to mid-1780s, Bellew was in various camps in northern Hungary, the usual station for cavalry units, because of the inexpensive provisions. In 1785-87, he was with the troops in the Trans-Danubian county of Gyor who assisted in conducting Imperial land surveys and kept… Continue reading John Bellew, Part II
The Wild Geese in Austria
While “The Wild Geese” usually refers to Irish Catholics serving in the French service in the 18th century some served in the Austrian service. Captain John Bellew was one and Karen Harvey writes interestingly, I think, about him and other Irishmen serving the Habsburgs in The Journal of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland… Continue reading The Wild Geese in Austria