Trouble At T'Mill

A new drama, The Mill, airs on Channel 4 on Sunday 28 July. It's based on the true-life stories of Esther Price and Lucy Garner, two parish apprentices who lived and worked at Quarry Bank Mill, Cheshire. The drama was filmed at Quarry Bank Mill, which was owned by the Greg family. The Gregs built a school for their child workers. There's more info on the drama and clips here. I for one can't wait to see it!

Photo of Quarry Bank Mill © Sue Wilkes.

Royal Baby

The whole nation (well the press pack part of it anyway) is on 'royal baby watch', as the Duchess of Cambridge's new baby should make an appearance soon.

So I thought it would be nice to look at some of Queen Victoria's family: she had nine children with Albert, the Prince Consort.  The first, born in 1840, was  'Vicki', or the Princess Royal.  Next came the heir to the throne, the Prince of Wales, Albert Edward (Bertie), then came Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold, and finally Beatrice.  Queen Victoria outlived three of her children.

It will be interesting to see which name the Duke and Duchess choose for the new heir to the throne - and I wonder how long it will be before the baby has its own Twitter account?

Update: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had a baby boy on Monday 22 July 2013.
Update 25 July: The new prince has been named George Alexander Louis - so when he becomes King (and if he decides to use that name) he will be George VII. 

Images:
Mother and baby, Family Magazine, Cassell, Petter & Galpin, 1879. 
An early portrait of Princess Victoria before she became queen. 
The Princess Royal aged 17 months and the Prince of Wales aged 5 months.
The Princess Royal.
The Queen's Resolve, A Jubilee Memorial, London, c.1887.

Peterloo veterans

A wonderful image of Peterloo veterans in 1884 is now on Flickr.

A Historical Gem

One of the exciting things about holidaying in Britain is how much history can be packed into one small village, and Skenfrith in Monmouthshire, which we visited recently, was an amazing place to explore.  It has a 12th century castle (left) and an unusual church, St Bridget's, which is home to some very interesting tombs and a beautifully preserved pre-Reformation cope (below). 

Apparently the village featured in a Dr Who episode, but luckily there were no Daleks around when we pottered about - just peace and tranquillity, and history oozing from every moss-covered stone.

 All images © Sue Wilkes.