And Did Those Feet

I quite often revise wikipedia pages if I feel I have a moment. This one I did because the London Archaeologist had an article by Barbora Brederova about an excavation in the Fields, and it gave information not clearly listed on Wikipedia. If you want to read it here it is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%27s_Inn_Fields#History I included a reference to the discovery of a fragment of a fudding cup.

They have discovered a complete ice house by Regent's Crescent. near Regent's Park https://www.mola.org.uk/blog/18th-century-ice-house-re-discovered-beneath-streets-marylebone?mc_cid=1d0f108c34&mc_eid=c123dc770c

Saturday March 30 2019 The City of London Architecture Walk Sat 14:30 · Tower Hill tube station · London     Pub Crawl up the River Fleet on May 18 London Bridge to Bermondsey on July 13 The Archaeology of London Bridge on July 14 City Backstreets on Oct. 5Roman Archaeology and Culture on Aug. 3 Chelsea on Sept. 28 Decline and Fall of Roman London on Sept. 28 Myths and Legends and the Origins of London on Oct. 5 The City and the Blitz on November 23

They have started filming it in Lyme Regis.  The story casts Anning as a lesbian which has created a bit of a tiss. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/mar/19/mary-anning-biopic-kate-winslet-fossil-hunter-film?utm_term=RWRpdG9yaWFsX0d1YXJkaWFuVG9kYXlVS19XZWVrZGF5cy0xOTAzMjA%3D&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUK&CMP=GTUK_email

I  updated the wikipedia entry for the Walbrook. Walbrook Wikipedia Firstly, the augment the section on the Skulls that were found there which only he 2 original theories of their origin. Secondly, to add the section on Tributaries particularly to add reference to the Langbourne.

Yesterday, after days of research, I gave my walk around Langbourn.  The ward is small, almost arrow shaped ward, that runs from Bank to Fenchurch Street.    It is basically the land on either side of Lombard Street and the west end of Fenchurch Street, although recent boundary changes mean it is now only on the north side of those streets. It actually begins as St Mary Woolnoth, the Hawksmoor Church, crosses Lombard Street and the southern border runs west to Billiter Street. The North side runs from Billiter Street, through the lanes and alleys south of Cornhill. Its a great walk because the alley ways around Change Alley are very charismatic. The walk began with a look at the Royal Exchange which despite not being in the ward is intrinsic to the story of the ward which is as the centre of London's financial district. Lombard Street was where the Italian banking community set up after the Jewish Bankers were expelled by Edward 1st.  It was the medieval...

This is a great summary of the work being done in aDNA, ancient DNA which is overturning 60 years of folly among prehistorians. Invasions are back in fashion http://uclporticomagazine.co.uk/magazines/portico_issue5/body-of-work/

This is great and will give much more accurate estimations of past value. I wrote a blog post about it earlier. But this is just a little advert for the folk at Measuring Worth. Have a go its fun. https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ukcompare/

Saturday I attended a walk/event based on the slave owners who lived in  Bedford Square. The tour was organised and given by Jean Campbell from MA for Narrative Environments at CSM. She used the UCL database of compensation payments for those who owned slaves when it was abolished in 1833. Legacies of British Slave Ownership this enabled her to identify several people who lived in Bedford Square who owned slaves.  Jean used this to help raise consciousness not only of slavery but of legacy issues, such as educational attainment of Black students.  The walk used several methods to increase interaction and to stop it being a didactic exercise. The Government borrowed £20m pounds from 2 Bankers, one of them being Rothschilds. Jean reported that this debt was only paid off recently in 2015. ( Taxpayers still paying).

The answer is that is is very complicated. History Today dealt with this in an article by Roderick Floud 'Pricing the Past' March 2019. It is often done using inflation indices which have been compiled for the past, these might be based on prices or earnings, or a combination - each giving different result. But the article suggests, as my anecdotal experience would confirm, that these give a result far too low.  People have resorted to other methods for example including taking a single commodity and using that at as the measure.   For example. you could give an idea of the buying power of a daily wage by giving it in the number of Mars Bars it could buy, or the income of a Doctor  in terms of the daily wage equivalent of unskilled labours, or Roman Legionaries. Froud uses a site called MeasuringWorth.com which helps calculate historic value by a range of methods. Be warned it is complicated. However, I have just discovered that if you go straight to this page, t...