This is a wonderful resource for anybody researching life in late C16th / early C17th London. 

The book is an easy read and brings a new knowledge of the streets within the City of London where years ago I had once worked. It's one of those books that you can dip into at any time for the sheer quirky pleasure of it - but it's also a superb historical document in its own right.

The introduction by Antonia Fraser in this edition is a fascinating essay.

Now, other people come to work & walk along s...

John Stow, an historian and antiquarian, is best known for his ‘Survey of London, originally printed in 1598, during the reign of Elizabeth I. 

Stow’s Survey of London is a chorographical study, it maps Tudor London with words. Anybody looking at any of London's history is bound to have come across this at some point or another.

It’s a critical source for knowing what life was like in Tudor London, a city which mostly disappeared during the great fire of London in 1666. Further damage was...

International Women's Day is a day where people come together to help forge a better working world, a more gender inclusive world. This year's International Women's Day is #BeBoldForChange

By definition bold means (of a person, action, or idea) showing a willingness to take risks; confident and courageous. Bold, taking risks, confident and courageous aren't words often associate with women, not in a positive light. But why?

Women such as Anne Askew, Edith Cavell and Fanny Burney are all wom...

The statue of Henry VIII on top of the main entrance gate to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in West Smithfield is apparently the only public statue of the Tudor king in London. Is familiar frontal stance shows off his shapely calves and codpiece off to full advantage.

What is a codpiece?

The word comes from Middle English with cod meaning scrotum and was originally required to provide a fashionable man of the Middle Ages with modesty as the short doublets failed to do so.

What is a Tudor codpiece?

â...