Story of a Honeymoon in 1814 A Bridal Tour of Britain
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
The author is a retired NHS consultant anaesthetist (UK), who has lived and worked in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire UK, for 35 years. Married to Rosemary, who is also a retired NHS Consultant, they have two grown up sons. In retirement he has taken on the mantle of family historian to the Caldcleugh, Lewis and Ancrum families. During the cataloguing of the family archives, several stories were revealed that he thought would be enjoyed by the family and general reader alike. The content would also contribute to the rich social history of the 18th and 19th centuries in Great Britain and both North and South America. This is his first book.Summary:
⦁ Travel by landaulet carriage with bride Margaret on her honeymoon tour of Britain in 1814
⦁ This family story reveals how three brothers emigrated to America in 1768 and took different sides in the War of Independence (1755-1783).
⦁ Discover why Margaret's youngest daughter Emily and her husband Dr Ancrum, have recently been commemorated in a new set of Pitcairn Island postage stamps
⦁ Read Emily's troubling tale of her return voyage from Valparaiso to England, in 1857 - as sole carer of her three vulnerable children.
⦁ Emily's moving story was so powerful, it has been set to music for solo piano, by the author on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/hD-qQCpWiLA
The first major section of this book is transcribed from Margaret's honeymoon diary, after her marriage to Arthur Lewis in Croydon, 1814. Leaving her home Broad Green House, Croydon, Margaret's tale of her tour in a cramped Landaulet carriage, will entrance todays readers with an insight into Regency travel and tourism. The objective was to introduce the newly weds to friends and relations as far north as Merton Hall, Dumfriesshire - and back. Since Margaret's father had died five years earlier, Margaret had planned her own tour's itinerary herself - for her husband and invited guests, favourite sister Eliza and cousin Caroline, to enjoy.
Margaret's own words will take the reader to tourist attractions of Regency Britain, visiting, among others: Cheltenham Spa for the waters; Gloucester cathedral for the lecherous sexton; Chamberlain's shop of Worcester China; Gretna Green for a 'fake' elopement; Manchester cotton mills; the 'Devils Arse' and other caverns of the Peaks; the Derby silk mill and back home to Broad Green House. This story is illustrated with near contemporary prints of the topography that Margaret describes, in the gothic style of images in the early 19th century.
Subsequent sections introduce family members and friends in a way that builds up an interesting historical story for general readers and social historians alike, over one and a half centuries:
⦁ The story of how Margaret's father and his two brothers emigrated to the American Colonies in 1768, after their father remarried on the death of their mother. The brothers ended up on opposing sides during the American War of Independence - one murdered by the British, one General Washington's quarter master and one, Margaret's father, sailing for the British.
⦁ How Margaret's youngest daughter, Emily, sailed out to Valparaiso in 1852 for an 'arranged' marriage to Dr Ancrum, superintendent of the British Naval Hospital there.
⦁ How the newly weds met and supported the Pitcairn Island descendants of the Mutineers of the Bounty, for which kindness they have been commemorated by the Crown in a set of Pitcairn Island postage stamps.
⦁ The sad and tragic tale of Emily's journey home from Valparaiso in 1857. Travelling without her husband, sole carer of her three children under five and their nanny Eliza, the reader will be touched by the mental torment Emily must have endured during the long watery nights on the sailing ship Camperdown, when all seemed lost. This period only to be followed by the death and destruction of a yellow fever outbreak, after Emily jumped ship seeking the safety of the paddle steamer Tyne, in Rio.
The Author found reading Emily's letters on the voyage so moving, that he composed a score for solo piano, to tell the tale of her strength and fortitude. The a recording of the composition can be found with the YouTube link https://youtu.be/hD-qQCpWiLA ; the piece has since been played on BBC Radio 3 Unwind.
A Bridal Tour of Britain
by Michael J Richards
- Travel by landaulet carriage with bride Margaret on her honeymoon tour of Britain in 1814
- This family story reveals how three brothers emigrated to America in 1768 and took different sides in the War of Independence (1755-1783). One was killed by the British; one became General Washington's Quartermaster; and the third, Margaret's father, sailed transports for the British, supplying their supporters in New York and Charles Town, until the end of the war.
- Discover why Margaret's youngest daughter Emily and her husband Dr Ancrum, naval surgeon Valparaiso have recently been commemorated in a new set of Pitcairn Island postage stamps
- Read Emily's troubling tale of her return voyage from Valparaiso to England, in 1857 - as sole carer of her three vulnerable children
- Emily's moving story was so powerful, it has been set to music for solo piano, by the author. The reader is invited to listen to a performance on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/hD-qQCpWiLA
This book presents a social history based on archival material from three generations of the Caldcleugh, Lewis and Ancrum families and their friends' journals, diaries, paintings and letters, from 1749 to 1898. The story unfolds with a honeymoon journal kept by Margaret, after her marriage to merchant Arthur Lewis, in Croydon, 1814. A detailed insight into travel through Regency Britain in a cramped landaulet carriage is unveiled as are their visits to historical, geological and industrial sites of interest such as Lancaster Cathedral, Peak Cavern (Devil's Arse) and the Derby Silk Mill, describing the places and people they meet. To enhance Margaret's descriptions, many contemporaneous prints of the time, have been resourced adding atmosphere to the text.
The couple's family and friends are introduced in more detail and the emigration of Margaret's father to America in 1768 is recorded, along with his two elder brothers who ended up on opposite sides in the American War of Independence.
Follow Emily, Margaret's youngest daughter, as she enters into an 'arranged' marriage with Dr Ancrum, surgeon superintendent of the British Naval Hospital, Valparaiso (1848-1857). Some of the events in this section are now commemorated by the issue of postage stamps by the Pitcairn Island Government of British Overseas Territories, using images from the book. In 1857 Emily returned to England with her small children on a voyage that was hazardous in the extreme. Ships that were hardly seaworthy, Yellow Fever sickness, and the possibility that she might die leaving her children in the hands of strangers - this was a harrowing story over which love ultimately triumphed. Such was the impact of Emily's words on the author, that included in the book is an original score he composed for solo piano, to celebrate her resilience.
This is a remarkable story and journey, beautifully constructed through painstaking research and which provides a wealth of supporting and fascinating information.
This book is published by Cockshutts Press in association with Whittles Publishing.
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