Cowper’s Olney Residence is a stunning example of Georgian architecture, noted for its symmetrical facade and refined aesthetic. This house, built in the early 18th century, provides visitors with a window into the architectural styles of that period, reflecting the lifestyle of its literary elites.

#4724 Red Sea and the Land of Edom The Land of Edom is shared today between Israel & South Jordan & has a written heritage going back to Bronze Age references. I don’t profess to understand the troubles in this volatile part of the world but I do know that the land – and its histories – play a major part in the conflicts. From a sense of place and beauty, the current image reveals a vast open expanse dominated by the Red Sea & its visiting nomads, looking from ‘below Eziongeb

#4969 Dacre Bridge, Cumberland Dacre Bridge, named after the delightful Dacre Beck and meaning 'trickling stream', has stood for nearly 300 years. Constructed in the C18, the same age as the present image, it once served as a true road bridge but is now by-passed by the modern A592. Formed from ‘mixed sandstone rubble’, it survives in Dalemain Park, surrounded by evocatively named features like Dog Kennel Wood, Snuffmill Wood, Friar’s Darrock Wood, Keepers Lodge, Deer Park Co

#5007 Star Chamber Westminster interior The medieval Star Chamber in the old Palace of Westminster heard cases of national import and personal gain, often with the monarch present. Renowned for trying the elite, & meting out swift, brutal justice, it quickly drew suspicions of corruption and favouritism and was abolished in 1641 during England’s Long Parliament & the build up to civil war. Memorable cases featured libel, corruption, illegal hunting & witchcraft, as well as as

Thomas Gray’s ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard’ (1751) contemplates life & death, worldly status and natural order, & envisages the mouldering decay that betrays us in the end. The literary genius wrote it here in St Giles graveyard, Stoke Poges, keenly observing “lowly” trades folk buried there, those from smith to ploughman who likely could not have read their headstone’s inscription had they yet lived to see it. He also pondered his own prepossessing mortality...‘The

#4968 Cowper's Residence near Olney Bucks The Cowper & Newton Museum  in Olney, Bucks celebrates all things William Cowper (d1800), poet, translator of Homer & literatus, and his friend & local clergyman John Newton with whom he penned many hymns. The popular ‘Amazing Grace’ is a Newton triumph, while Cowper gave us phrases still familiar today – such as ‘variety is the spice of life [that gives it all its flavour]’ extracted from his 5000 line epic ‘Task’. This striking red-

The burning of Newgate Gaol in June 1780 epitomised the grave violence of the Gordon Riots that year. Erupting in London on 2 June, tens of thousands fought against the proposed removal of anti-Catholic laws. On 6 June, the fourth day of the troubles, rioters attacked the infamous prison where several of their cohorts had been held during the protests, and left the penitentiary almost ruined. Scores of felons escaped, many never recaptured. Experts felt that Gordon’s anarchic