Georgian

Current Archaeology’s June Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home

There are many great ways to get involved with archaeology and heritage this summer, including new exhibitions, events, activities, and more. Or, if you would prefer to get your history fix at home, there is a wide variety of resources available online, from new apps and digital exhibitions to virtual heritage site tours, podcasts, games, and more. Amy Brunskill has put together a selection of some of the options available.

Wren 300

In CA 373, we lamented the lack of a society ready to take on the task of managing the tercentenary of the death of Sir Christopher Wren. Fortunately, the Georgian Group has put on the mantle of chief co-ordinator of…

Stories of St James’s Burial Ground

A new exhibition running at St James’s Church in Piccadilly tells the story of how HS2 works uncovered a huge Georgian and Victorian burial ground near Euston Station, and introduces some of the individuals laid to rest there. Carly Hilts visited to find out more.

ABOVE Once a star of the Georgian Royal Navy, HMS Invincible sank off Portsmouth in 1758. Today, its wreck is the best preserved 18th century warship in UK waters, and recent excavations have revealed vivid insights into what life was like on board.

HMS Invincible: excavating a Georgian time capsule

In its heyday, HMS Invincible was considered one of the finest ships in the Royal Navy – and although it sank off Portsmouth in 1758, its remains represent the best-preserved 18th-century warship known in UK waters. Carly Hilts spoke to Daniel Pascoe, who headed recent excavations of the wreck, and visited an exhibition currently running at The Historic Dockyard Chatham to find out more.

MarbleHillHousePlans

This week: Marble Hill

The glorious, far-reaching south-western outlook from Richmond Hill has long been one of England's most famous views. For centuries, painters (including Reynolds, Gainsborough, Constable and Turner) have climbed to the top in search of inspiration from the landscape, and to marvel at the beauty of the Thames as it wends its way serenely past the grand houses below.

Below Marble Hill in Twickenham is one of the last survivors of a grand neighbourhood of Georgian villas that once stood beside the Thames.

Restoring Marble Hill: how archaeology helped to revive a Georgian gem

When Henrietta Howard (née Hobart) built her Thames-side country house in Twickenham in the 1720s, it represented so much more than a fashionable escape from the bustle of court life: it was a refuge from her abusive marriage, and a sign of hard-won independence. With the house and its grounds now restored to their Georgian glory, and the site reopening to the public, Carly Hilts visited to find out more.

Below Overlooking some of the male felon cells, which were arranged in threes on either side of a corridor, in blocks linked by communal dayrooms. The walls of an exercise yard can be seen at the bottom of the picture, while the remains of a series of felon workshops are just visible top right (and more clearly shown on p.32).

New Bailey, Salford: prison’s industrial revolution

At its peak, New Bailey was the largest jail in England, but its imposing Georgian buildings were designed on the basis of radical progressive ideals. Modern development has wiped away all traces of the pioneering prison above ground, but archaeologists are now bringing its methods to light once more, as Rachael Reader and Michael Nevell explain.