Weymouth -- Princess Charlotte's Refuge

1814 was a difficult year for Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Prince Regent, heir to the throne of Great Britain. She had agreed, unwillingly, to wed the Prince of Orange; she had fallen in love with an unsuitable Prussian prince; her mother Caroline, Princess of Wales, was leaving the country--and her--for life on the continent; and her father had her virtually imprisoned in Cranbourne Lodge at Windsor.

But in August, things improved--she was permitted to go to the seaside, which doctors had recommended for her health. She wanted to visit Brighton, but her father chose Weymouth, long a royal seaside favourite and a goodly distance from his summer home.

The Duke of Gloucester had first wintered there in 1780 and had built a fine house, Gloucester Lodge. George III visited, and bought the house from his brother in 1789 and spent the following fourteen summers in Weymouth. The Lodge became the royal home-from-home for various of the Princesses, and it was there that Princess Charlotte arrived in August, and she stayed until December!

In his 1840's book The Spas of England, author A. B. Granville, declared that the town's situation--facing east--was a great detractor, and that it really was not suitable for patients being subject to east winds. He does however admit that the Esplanade is "one of the finest marine promenades I have seen in England". The Esplanade was about a mile long and it faced the fine sand beach which stretched for two miles in an arc.

John Constable painted the bay in 1816.

But it was the town that interested Princess Charlotte and, starved of company as she was, the people visiting there. Gloucester Lodge was situated on the Esplanade in the midst of the Georgian terraces and residences which still line it.

In 1815, A Guide to all the Watering and Sea-Bathing Places was published, and it devoted some ten pages to the delights of Weymouth:

"...by rapid enlargements, and many elegant buildings, it has now become a very respectable place, with a population of 4000 souls. The most fashionable residences are, the Royal Terrace, Gloucester-row, Chesterfield-place, etc., etc. These being in the vicinity of the rooms, the libraries, and the theatre, and commanding extensive views, both by sea and land, are held in general estimation by strangers as well as natives."

Sea-bathing was recommended--"immersion in the briny flood is safe and delightful". There were some forty bathing-machines "in constant requisition from six in the morning till noon". In addition there was a hot salt-water bath in the centre of town for use "in many cases of human infirmity" at the cost of 3s.6d per session.

There was one theatre which held upwards of four hundred spectators: "The house is elegantly fitted up, and the performers are frequently of the first order of merit." The public rooms were in Gloucester-row, owned by a Mr. Russel:

"The Assembly-room is lofty, light, and spacious, and very handsomely decorated, as well as delightfully situated. The master of the cermonies is Mr. Rodber..."

Among the regulations which Mr. Rodber instituted were:

1. That Gentlemen are not to appear in the rooms, either on Tuesday or Friday evenings, in boots; nor Ladies in riding-habits.

II. That the ball shall begin as soon as possible after seven o-clock, and finish precisely at eleven.

IV. That no Lady or Gentleman can be permitted to dance in coloured gloves.

V. That no tea-table be carried into the card-room.

VII. That Gentlemen will be pleased to leave their swords at the door.

The terms of subscription were not cheap--one pound for a single transferable ticket.

Wood's Library and Hervey's Library served the public; one had a card room in addition to its reading material, the other rented musical instruments as well as books. Hervey's Library additionally hosted the post-office with daily delivery to and from London. The Church of St. Mary is deemed, by the author of the guide, inadequate to its congregation and without interest to antiquarians but is considered to have a good organ "erected here in 1806, by voluntary subscription" and is much praised for its singing and music.

The town was well stocked with hotels, lodging houses and boarding houses, though "the price, though in some measure regulated by the number of rooms, is high." At the boarding houses--Scriven's on the Esplanade and Clark's in St. Mary-street--the terms are three guineas per week. Some inns and taverns are rated as 'good houses': the King's Head Inn, the Crown Inn, and the Golden Lion.

Princess Charlotte, accustomed to solitude and inactivity, must have been overwhelmed by the delights on offer. If one cared to walk, there was always the Esplanade, but also the nearby town of Melcombe Regis, connected by a bridge to Weymouth: "from thence along the Quay to the end of the New Pier, is an amusing saunter, replete with variety." There was a Camera Obscura near the Look-out on the bay, and the ruins of Sandsfoot Castle not so far away.

And then there were the 'Aquatic Excursions':

"Sailing and fishing in the bay is a frequent and pleasant amusement at Weymouth, and for this every facility is furnished by the industrious and obliging boatmen of the place."

Portland, with its seven villages, castle ruins, cavern, light-house and quarries was additionally a site of interest for visitors to Weymouth:

"about four miles from Weymouth, is commonly called an island, but is, properly speaking, a peninsula, as it joins the main land by an isthmus composed of a ridge of pebbles."

Princess Charlotte must have seen it all--she was in the vicinity for five months, and it was probably the most carefree period of her life. She had the intention to return for the people loved her; she was regarded as the queen who would redeem the monarchy. There were illuminations on her arrival in the town displaying, in the center, the motto:

Hail Princess Charlotte,
Europe's Hope and Britain's Glory

How could one not enjoy oneself with an adoring public, a host of entertainments--and an unprecedented degree of freedom to enjoy them? The following summer she was betrothed to the Prince of Saxe-Coburg, in 1816 she was wed, and in November of 1817, she died. I hope she made the most of her months in Weymouth--she deserved all the enjoyment it could offer.

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

The Legendary 95th Rifles by Ginny McBlain

Every army has its legendary units and Wellington’s was no exception. Among them were the 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles), nicknamed the Green Jackets by the British and Grasshoppers by the French.

I was first introduced to the 95th in a made for TV movie, Sharpe’s Waterloo, based on the novels by Bernard Cornwell. Later I viewed Sharpe’s Rifles, the first of the film series. I was intrigued.

As I began thinking about writing a story set during the Regency, I realized much of my success has been in writing contemporary stories with a military background. Why not translate that “expertise” into a story with the backdrop of the Peninsular War?

I began studying the history of the Peninsular campaign and reading various novels set during the war. The more web sites I looked at, the more often I found reference to the Sharpe series for their accurate detail, especially in the uniforms. My husband bought the entire Sharpe series, all fifteen episodes. I’ve seen them at least four times each and noticed something new each time. As my study went on, I realized my hero had to be a rifleman.

Why, you ask? Because he is a duke’s second son, raised in that rarified atmosphere of wealth and deference to the nobility. I needed a scenario that would make him a tad less arrogant, more accessible and compassionate without making him less noble. The Rifles were so different from other units that being a rifleman would change his character enough to make him the kind of hero I envisioned.

The 95th were the sharpshooters, organized by Colonel Coote Manningham in 1800. They were unique in many ways from the rest of the army. Most visible was their uniform, a dark green and with black accessories, rather than the bright red and white of other regiments. The colors were an early version of camouflage. Instead of standard issue Brown Bess muskets, the 95th used the Baker rifle, a far more accurate weapon.

The rifles came into their own when Sir Arthur Wellesley reorganized his forces in 1809. Among his innovations, he attached at least one company of riflemen to each brigade.

(photo credit: by Jakednb Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free documentation License )

The men of the 95th were the first on the field of battle and last out. Their tactics, adapted from lessons learned fighting in North America, called for taking cover behind rocks, trees or whatever was available and catching the enemy unaware. They picked off the officers and sergeants to create confusion in the ranks of the enemy. The men were trained to think for themselves, to work in groups of twos, threes or even alone. The officers mingled with the enlisted troops more than was tradition. This not only built esprit de corps, but allowed the officers to know each man’s strengths and weaknesses and use him to best advantage.

During the Peninsular War the 95th served as part of the Light Division. This force saw action in many of the important battles during the entire six years of the campaign.

As victory was declared and Napoleon exiled to Elba, many of the battle hardened veterans were assigned posts in North America during the War of 1812. Some of those veterans were still in the army in 1815. The Green Jackets participated in the final defeat of Bonaparte at Waterloo. The 2/95th led Wellington’s Army in their triumphant march into Paris on the seventh of July 1815.

The 95th became legend, due, in part, to the memoirs of soldiers who served in the regiment. Among those were Harry Smith, later to distinguish himself as a Lieutenant General in the Victorian army, John Kincade, Jonathan Leach and Ned Costello.

Recommended for further study:
Mark Urban, Wellington’s Rifles
Georgette Heyer, The Spanish Bride (based on the true story of Harry Smith and his 14 year-old-bride, Juana)
Sir John Kincade, Random Shots from a Rifleman
Sir John Kincade, Adventures in the Rifle Brigade
Lt. Colonel Jonathan Leach, Rough Sketches of an Old Soldier
Edward Costello, The True Story of a Peninsular Rifleman
Lt. General Sir Harry Smith, Autobiography, available free online
Bernard Cornwell, the Sharpe novels
Sharpe series DVDs
The Royal Green Jacket Museum, Winchester, England
The Sharpe Compendium http://sharpecompendium.net

Ginny McBlain is an author of contemporary romance. At present she is meeting a new challenge—writing a historical set in the wonderful world of the Regency. Her work-in-progress, Honor Bound, is set against the backdrop of the Peninsular War.

Ginny is a pioneer in the field of electronic publishing. Her first e-book, Heart Broken, Heart Whole, was released in 1996. Both Bear Hugs and Faith, Hope and Charity were finalists in the EPPIE contest. She has served in writing organizations in many capacities, including first President of EPIC, the Electronically Published Internet Connection and the first EPIC conference chair.

Ginny’s books are available from Awe-Struck Publishing, and Uncial Press,  in a variety of electronic formats. Visit her web site, www.ginnymcblain.com.

The Soho Bazaar 1815-1885

When John Trotter, who had made a fortune supplying the Army during the recent war, opened The Soho Bazaar in 1815, he could not have known that he was creating a whole new shopping experience. He had merely an unused warehouse to fill with some sort of business, and he had a praiseworthy desire to assist the widows and daughters of Army officers killed in the Napoleonic War.

His warehouse, a substantial 300 by 150 feet, stood at the north-west corner of Soho Square. In it, he rented counter space--standings--to about 150 vendors at 3 pence per foot per day. Below is Soho Square in 1816 from Papworth's Views of London:

The Soho Bazaar was a benevolent exercise offering respectable women an opportunity to sell whatever fancy goods they could make in their homes. There was a certain stigma attached to public selling, and the righteous were quick to see opportunity for moral turpitude in the retail trade. In fact a ballad was published by printer James Calnach, deriding the leisured classes who frequented the Bazaar.

The Soho Bazaar

Ladies in furs and gemmen in spurs,
Who lollop and lounge about all day:
The Bazaar in Soho is completely the go--
Walk into the shop of Grimaldi!
Come from afar, here's the Bazaar!--
But if you won't deal with us, stay where you are."

But the majority of the public were supportive of the venture, and the popularity of the Bazaar was evidenced by the carriages that thronged the Square. Supporters like Joseph Nightingale "envisioned bazaars as the perfect mixture of capitalism and charity..." and one William Jerdan wrote a letter to the New Monthly Magazine. He declared the bazaar to help "a multitude of persons who have heretofore been condemned to penury and hopelessness by the insuperable difficulties and equally insuperable delicacies of their situation". The lady retailers were required to wear plain and modest clothes, there was a matron overseeing the whole, and unusually for the time, prices were fixed and marked on the product. The Gentlemen's Magazine remarked that the premises were "large, dry, commodious, well lighted, warmed, ventilated, and properly watched".

Goods sold in the early years included hats, reticules, lace, shawls, and toys; later the Bazaar included bookshops and bakeries and more. La Belle Assemblee, the famed ladies' periodical, published a news item regarding the Bazaar in 1826:

The Soho Bazaar

Possibly it may be information to some of the readers of La Belle Assemblee to state that, in consequence of the increased attendance of company, and of the increased demand for standings, at this place of fashionable resort, an additional suite of rooms has been opened up-stairs. This bazaar is well entitled to the patronage it enjoys, were it only for the support which it affords to young and respectable women.

An interesting sidelight to the Soho Bazaar is that famed artist, J.M.W. Turner, was attending school at the Soho Academy also in the Square. He was a frequenter of the Bazaar, and was quoted thus:

"As a boy, I used to lie for hours on my back watching the skies, and then go home and paint them; and there was a stall in Soho Bazaar where they sold drawing materials, and they used to buy my skies. They gave me 1s6d for the small ones and 3s6d for the larger ones."

The Soho Bazaar spawned a great fashion for bazaars (the name came from the Turkish with Italian intervention) and by 1830 there were many throughout London. One of the most famous was the Pantheon Bazaar, below as the building appeared in 1816 when it was still in use as an assembly room.

Then in the 1830's it was transformed and below is its appearance in 1845:

There is no drawing extant of the Soho Bazaar but I like to think it must have been somewhat similar, at least, to the Pantheon, with the great pillars of the warehouse rising above the selling floor. In June 1816 George Cruickshank issued a caricature entitled 'A Bazaar'--it was rife with references to the supposed negative and injurious aspects of such establishments.

Nevertheless charity bazaars proliferated throughout the 19th century, but excepting only that of the "Ladies Royal Benevolent Society" who began their charity fancy sales in 1813, the Soho Bazaar was the first. And it continued until 1885--a good run by any standards.

 Join us next week when multi-published author Ginny McBlain joins us to discuss "The Legendary 95th Rifles". Ginny is an author of contemporary romance. At present she is meeting a new challenge—writing a historical set in the wonderful world of the Regency. Her work-in-progress, Honor Bound, is set against the backdrop of the Peninsular War.

Ginny is a pioneer in the field of electronic publishing. Her first e-book, Heart Broken, Heart Whole, was released in 1996. Both Bear Hugs and Faith, Hope and Charity were finalists in the EPPIE contest. She has served in writing organizations in many capacities, including first President of EPIC, the Electronically Published Internet Connection and the first EPIC conference chair.

Ginny’s books are available from Awe-Struck Publishing, and Uncial Press,  in a variety of electronic formats. Visit her web site, www.ginnymcblain.com.

I hope you can join us. 'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

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Sources:

• Dyer, Gary R. "The Vanity Fair of Nineteenth Century England." Nineteenth Century Literature, vol. 46 no. 2 (Sept. 1991): 196-222.
• Prochaska, F. K. "Charity Bazaars in Nineteenth-Century England." Journal of British Studies, vol. 16 no. 2 (Spring, 1977): 62-84.
  
• Hindley, Charles. Life and Times of James Calnach. 1878.
• Knight, Charles. London. 1851.
• Whitlock, Tammy C. Crime, Gender and Consumer Culture in 19th Century England. Ashgate, 2005.
• "The Soho Bazaar." BBC h2g2 Entry. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A684434