The Hansom cab is one of the most striking images of the Victorian city, but it was not the only type of cab in use during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Much of the work was done by the 'growler', a four-wheeled cab that rattled through the streets, laden with luggage and with families eager to catch a train. Trevor May travels through the streets of Victorian and Edwardian England to trace the origins of the horse cab and the improvements in its design throughout the period, and to celebrate the cab drivers themselves, who had a reputation for quick-wittedness and repartee equal to...
The Hansom cab is one of the most striking images of the Victorian city, but it was not the only type of cab in use during the Victorian and Edwardian...
Smuggling was rife in Britain between the seventeenth century and the mid-nineteenth century, and smugglers have come to be highly romanticized as cheeky rogues, cunningly evading heavy taxes imposed by an overbearing government. In reality, many smugglers were prepared to use excessive force as often as they used cunning, and the officers whose job it was to apprehend them were regularly intimidated into inaction. The whole social hierarchy was riddled with those willing or compelled to help smugglers, and many a fortune was built on this illicit trade. Trevor May explains who the smugglers...
Smuggling was rife in Britain between the seventeenth century and the mid-nineteenth century, and smugglers have come to be highly romanticized as che...
