#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-

#5017 Strawberry Hill House_Tribune Strawberry Hill House , described as ‘Horace Walpole’s little Gothic castle’, harbours triumph upon triumph. The mid to late C18 confection (formerly ‘Chopp’d Straw Hall’ & two understated dwellings) has long been exalted for its crenellations, pinnacles and now stark white walls - a real beacon to Walpole’s pioneering interest in the Gothic which formed into a “revived style” a century later & gave rise to the ‘Strawberry Hill Gothic’. Whe

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

#4827 Robert Banks Jenkinson Earl of Liverpool The closest to a Bank Holiday theme – 2nd Earl Liverpool, Robert Banks Jenkinson (groan!). Described as a ‘liberal tory’, he can perhaps best be described as the purveyor of the ‘carrot and stick’. In 1812, he succeeded the assassinated Spencer Perceval as PM (a similar end he later escaped) and oversaw emancipation and put-down in equal measure. With family connections to the East India Company , he fought for the abolition of

#4709 Christs Descent from the Cross What will be three daily images selected for the Easter weekend. One of history’s (and humanity’s) stories of death and rebirth. Each featured image is taken from our extensive Biblical collection. While regardless of faith, or if you have none, the recent arrival of Spring – itself bringing rebirth and joy - makes it a season to gladden your heart. And then there’s the chocolate… #4710 Christs Entombment 1

#4237 Odiham Castle The favourite of many, Odiham Castle is every inch the medieval ruin, and is one of the oldest. Known also as King John’s Castle, being one of just three founded by that C13 royal, it harboured secrets and prisoners through its colourful life. They included King David II of Scotland, held prisoner here for some for 11 years from the year 1346. Built from c1207 on, its site formed by realigning the Whitewater river, it once boasted an inner moat now reduced

#4545 London Local Politics_Satire Long before he became the UK’s 48th Prime Minister, Lord Rosebery (d.1929) was the subject of much mirth and debate. This Punch cartoon of 1889 satirises his re-election as Chair of the then London County Council. It shows ‘Mr Punch’ himself doffing his hat to ‘Mrs London Council’ as ‘she’ is dragged on at great personal effort of the one doing the pulling, the now familiar Chair. ‘CONGRATULATE YOU, MA’AM ON RETAINING SUCH A CAPITAL CHAIRMAN

#4233 Holy Ghost Chapel Hampshire Evocatively named Holy Ghost Chapel in Basingstoke, Hampshire, captured here in 1772, harbours many a secret. The cemetery it served was created during the Interdict of c1208-14, ‘when King John and all of England was excommunicated by the Pope’. It meant no English burials could be placed in consecrated ground and the chapel and cemetery were created as the ‘stop-gap’ Liten – crudely, an early ‘municipal’ graveyard. It was finally consecrate

#4501 Ashe House Devon Ashe House in Musbury Devon was once a majestic Tudor pile built in the mid-1580s but badly burned by Royalists in 1644. It was rebuilt in the subsequent decades but then partially dismantled in 1782. What survives today remains significant and perpetuates the history of a house on this site possibly since Saxon era! More recently, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough & Sir Winston’s ancestor, was baptised in the house’s neighbouring chapel, itself d

#4812 Capture of Lord Edward Fitzgerald for High Treason Lord Fitzgerald b1763, swapped nobility for revolution. From England to France and eventually to Erin, the son of the Duke of Leinster fought for change, emancipation and a nationwide and philosophical ‘levelling up’. From 1796, he became a central figure in the United Irish society and its increasingly radical militia, increasingly frustrated at the failure of diplomatic means to achieve reform. With his and the group’

#4825 Princess Charlotte of Wales Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, only daughter of the future George IV and Caroline of Brunswick, died after suffering a still-birth with her first child, a son, after 55 hours labour. She succumbed within days of the trauma and the nation’s grief was instant, palpable & long-lasting. There was anger too and the royal obstetrician, Sir Richard Croft, took his own life for what many described as his failure to ensure both mother & child ha

#4830 Spencer Perceval Assassination Britain’s only serving PM to be assassinated was Spencer Perceval, aged 49, shot though the chest on 11 May 1812. His killer, John Bellingham, an aggrieved merchant, was executed for the offence but only after his defence team had failed to secure the insanity plea. Judge Mansfield ordered the jury at his trial, held a meagre 4 days after the event, to entertain mitigation only on the 'distinct and unquestionable evidence that the prisoner

#4603 Elgin Cathedral Chapter House The romantic ruins of Elgin Cathedral in Moray Inverness never fail to rouse up the past. Founded 1224 & suffering repeated destructive acts of fire and violence, it succumbed to the Scottish Reformation of 1560 and began to collapse. Its jagged yet pleasing remains still betray its epitaph as ‘The Lantern of the North’, & here we marvel at several of its treasures, each captured in ink back in the mid-1800s. They include its Chapter House,

#4350 Gainsborough - Miss Linley & Her Brother Artist Thomas Gainsborough (d1788) needs little introduction - think of ‘Blue Boy’ or ‘Mr & Mrs Andrews’. This masterpiece of ‘Miss Linley & Her Brother’, like all his portraits, resonates with depth of character and unspoken stories withheld by those gazing out of the picture. The main subject here was Elizabeth, Bath-resident singer and eldest daughter of Thomas, composer & musician. She was one of the Blue Stocking Society and

The proud livery companies of London first touched the city nearly 900 years ago. But did you know they still thrive? Joined by modern trades unions, and numbering more than 100, the early pioneers included: Drapers (wool & cloth merchants), Fishmongers, Goldsmiths, Merchant Taylors (tailoring), Mercers (general merchants) & Grocers (spice merchants). Others from the so-called Great Twelve are Skinners (fur trade), Haberdashers (silk & fine cloths), Salters. Ironmongers, Vint

#4735 Scenes (4) of Jerusalem Sadly never far from grave news, the ‘Holy City’ of Jerusalem (Yerushaláyim/Al-Quds) perpetuates its chequered, fought-over existence. Four scenes depict: the C16th Damascus Gate (Sha'ar Shkhem/Bāb al-ʿĀmūd), Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Mosque of Omar and a View from the terrace of the Latin Convent.