Regency Hot Spots: The Bartholomew Fair

Dating back to the Middle Ages, the charter fair was a street fair or market established by Royal Charter.  Originally held as markets for merchant trading, by the 19th century the charter fair began to shift towards entertainment as the main attraction. One of the most notable summer charter fairs was Bartholomew Fair, held for … Continue reading →

Regency Hot Spots: Regent’s Park

Regent’s Park was, in Medieval England, a part of the Barking Abbey property.  Around the mid 1600s, after the dissolution of monasteries, it was transformed into Marylebone Park for hunting grounds. Later in the 1600s, it was subdivided into farming lots.  Its use went through many ownerships, including gentleman.  The last lease holder was the … Continue reading →

Regency Lexicon: Chit

The word chit, used to refer to a saucy or impertinent young girl, is commonly found in the pages of hist-ro. Our rakehell hero might raise his lorgnette while admiring our heroine, “an impudent chit”. Or he might tell his mates down at the club that he met “The most peculiar chit.” So we guess … Continue reading →

Regency Words: Breaking Down the Lexicon

I am a bit of an etymology buff.  Words are like a comfort food for me–and semantics a deliciously warm bubble bath. So in this new year, I have decided to start yet another new category of Regency history. A word (or expression) of the week broken down into contemporary speak. So please leave comments … Continue reading →