Very Queer Pews in English Churches Across England
A survey of antique church pews reveals ingenious and humorous designs meant to deter sleep and display status. Examples include a Gatton Surrey squire’s multi‑room pew with fireplace and servants, a Colwich Staffordshire private door and cake, Windsor’s royal choir‑overlooking seat, and Norwich’s Benjamin church skeletized paramours’ pew built for wedding pairs.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Malpas
Cheshire
Gatton
Surrey
Gatton Hall
Colwich
Staffordshire
St. George's Chapel
Windsor
England
Little Benjamin Church
Norfolk
Stephen Crisbee
Trowbridge
Crabbe
Tennyson Humor Reveals Sharp Retort Among Friends
John Blackwood recalls Lord Tennyson showing playful humor when joking with Rev. James White over Bonchurch ownership. White claims part of Bonchurch belongs to him, Tennyson counters you mean the hole you live in, and White is silenced.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tennyson
Lord Lennyson
John Blackwood
Publishers
James White
Eee
Bonchurch
White
The Bitter Truth of a Lantern Valuation
Diogenes enters a pawn shop with an antique lantern and asks its worth. The pawnbroker notes the unusual design and questions its value. Diogenes confesses that he considers the item worthless, reflecting centuries of humility.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Diogenes
The Art of Life and the Will to Shape It
A Cornhill Magazine reflection on human agency noting that few craft meaningful lives through disciplined effort. It argues that the act of struggle and the method used to pursue goals reveal character more than mere outcomes or successes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cornhill Magazine
Jellyfish Awakening and the Sarsia Mirabilis Emergence
A fragment from Harper's Magazine describes early spring jellyfish emergence. The Sarsia mirabilis forms a double chambered bell from a single particle, then lifts, swims, and extends four tentacles. Its delicate body senses light, vibrations, and tactile stimuli, yet remains unseen and wondrous.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
H. J. Shannon
Harper's Magazine
Double Up Jane The Sun Has Risen
A London Answers anecdote features Suzie who spells words aloud, amusing classmates. The teacher corrects her on doubling letters, and Suzie, eager to comply, quips Double up Jane The sun has risen, turning a spelling lesson into a comic moment.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Suzie
Wood
Mary
Jane
London
Notable Philadelphia School Board Tale From Harper's Weekly
A Philadelphia school board member recalls a northern Pennsylvania school where the strict master drills boys at desks yet allows bites from lunch boxes. In a math class he notes one pupil paying more attention to pie than to the lesson. The boy, William, is rebuked for “listening with one ear and eating pie with the other.”
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
School Board of Philadelphia
Pennsylvania
William
Harper’s Weekly
Sheep as Beasts of Burden in Himalayan Paths
In northern India the sheep are used as burden carriers along steep Himalayan routes. Each animal carries fifteen to twenty pounds, driven village to village with wool growing. Farmers shear wool locally and swap grain for cargo, loading the sheep with provisions for the return journey.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
India
Himalayas
Cough Remedies Promoted by Local Pharmacists
An ad outlines how cough germs multiply in inflamed mucous membranes during a cold, endorsing Foley's Honey and Tar to soothe air passages and expel the cold. It cites Rev. F Starbird of East Raymond Maine praising Bucklen's Arnica Salve for wounds and sores and lists Hamrick's Pharmacy and W. E. Johnson Drug Co as sellers along with DeWitt's Little Early Risers liver pills.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Foley
Hamrick
F. Starbird
East Raymond
Maine
W. E. Johnson Drug Co
DeWitt’s
Hamrick’s
Endorsement for Electric Bitters by San Francisco Architect
Prominent architect Mr Norman R Coer in the Delbert Building San Francisco fully endorses Electric Bitters as a tonic. He says it corrects stomach liver and kidney disorders promptly and efficiently and builds up the system. It is touted as the best spring medicine and a superior blood purifier sold for 50 cents at W E Johnson Drug.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Norman R. Coer
Delbert
San Francisco
W. E. Johnson Drug
Kodol Marketed as Relief for Stomach Ailments
An advertisement proclaims Kodol as the best known remedy for stomach disorders including dyspepsia heartburn sour stomach and belching. It states Kodol contains the same gastric juices as a healthy stomach and is pleasant to take with a guarantee of relief, sold here by Hamrick's Pharmacy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hamrick’s
Pharemacy
Also Mentioned on This Page
Radius
Haney
Wee Wee
Sudh Ao
Radius Jewelry CO
Peachtree St
Atlanta
jGa
Paragon
Carrollton Furniture and Undertaking Company
N. A. Horton
R. A. Howell
Longview Street
Carrollton, Ga
Georgia
Leading Business Training School
Governor's Mansion
Business College
Hartier Erte
Kundre
South
Prac San Suan Cet
Analizond
Mall
J. O. Bagwell
Atlante
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!