• Home
  • Events
  • Testimonials
  • Patreon
  • Photo Gallery
  • Gazette
  • Calling Card

'a halfpennyworth of news'

gazette: Origin
Early 17th Century; via French for Italian gazzetta, originally Venetian gazeta de la novita 'a halfpennyworth of news' (because the news-sheet sold for a gazeta, a Venetian coin of small value)
Picture
16th December 2022

Simpson's Tavern off Cornhill CLOSED! 

It was with some surprise, shock and horror we discovered in mid-October that Simpson’s Tavern had been closed without notice by the off-shore owner of the freehold. A foreclosure notice was pasted on the windows and doors, and the locks changed!
Not sure as to what was happening and why, we made a call to Simpson’s to have our worst fears confirmed, the chop house was unlikely to be opened for the Christmas Season. Our event on 8th December was not going ahead at our favoured venue.
As a chop house established in 1757, Simpson’s Tavern will be a huge loss to the City of London. Also, to the many people who have frequented it over many decades. Please note this affected more than the workers in the Square Mile.

The outcry of disgust and distress became international, so many remembered their happy days of feasting and imbibing at this traditional restaurant. The press jumped to it and not only the restaurant reviewers, local and national news took up the baton. Twitter chirped its soul out and Facebook demanded justice of the philistines who would consider such a closure of an ancient and revered haunt.

Crowdfunding was put in place immediately and today £112,696 has been raised of the required £385,000. Many supported fast and furiously, but as you can see funds are still required, and there are only 27 days to go. https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-our-simpsons-tavern

Simpson’s Tavern is back in the news on 15th December, when the support of Peter Dunphy, who is a City of London Councillor for the ward of Cornhill, joined in the support of ‘Save Our Simpsons’. A request was put before the Court of Common Council to grant protection of Simpson’s as an Asset of Community Value. The vote was was unanimous! Read about it here: https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/simpsons-tavern-granted-protection-as-it-fights-to-reopen-59416/

We now await the fate of the sale of the property, Simpson’s Tavern as was, is at the forefront and negotiating with the vendor.
For our part we found a new (temporary) venue at Ye Olde Watling. The manager and staff made us very welcome. The Dining Room was perfect, the menu excellent and we enjoyed ourselves in our usual Georgian manner. Also a special thank you to our guests, who supported us with the swift move.

It is with hope and trust we may return to our favourite chop house some day soon to celebrate the continuance of over 250 years of excellent dining and conviviality.

Please support ‘Save our Simpsons’ in any way you can, Crowdfunding, Facebook, and Twitter.
​
Picture
Seasons Greetings & A Happy New Year

​Simpsons Tavern - Yuletide Fest - October 2019
Picture
Necromancer
Picture
Baritone - Alistair Sutherland
Picture
Dr Matthew Green - Historian/Author
Picture
Miss B & Miss Kitty Pridden - Grand Dames of the Salon
If you wish to make contact with our superlative entertainments:

Necromancer : www.thelondonspy.com/
Baritone: www.alistairsutherland.com/
Dr Matthew Green: unrealcityaudio.co.uk/





​A special treat - Alistair Sutherland serenading a guest to celebrate her birthday.

A Gift for Christmas - The Extraordinary Tale of Elizabeth Bridge Armistead by Catherine Curzon

12/17/2016

4 Comments

 
Picture

​Before we begin, a word of warning.
 
This is not a cautionary story.
 
If you seek an unhappy ending, a morality tale or a fable of a woman punished for transgressing ladylike norms, turn back now. If, however, you’d like to meet a courtesan made very good, a woman whose origins are lost in mystery, who took a name that wasn’t hers and went on to great things in a long and happy life, then read on.
 
It is my pleasure to introduce the estimable Mrs Elizabeth Armistead. Famed society hostess, celebrated political wife and beloved philanthropist, Mrs Armistead wasn’t always as respectable as she would one day became. Indeed, her journey from a place that might or might not have been Greenwich to respectability and life as “the heroine of St Ann’s Hill”[1] via the bed of a prince and a fair few other mattresses besides, is a story that is uniquely, gloriously Georgian.
 
Where Elizabeth Bridget Armistead, née Cane, came from and who her parents were is a matter of conjecture. According to the lady herself, she was born on 11th July 1750 but on the other details of her earlier life, Elizabeth was deliberately vague. Greenwich later laid claim to the infamous lady thanks to speculative press reports that emerged as her fame grew, but without any good reason. Instead, she seemed to have come from nowhere, emerging fully formed and wonderfully skilled into the pleasure-filled world of Georgian London where she was known as Mrs Armistead to the clients who flocked to see her in the brothel where she built her reputation.
 
Of Elizabeth’s parents we know nothing, rumours of preachers, cobblers and market men scattered here and there like seeds in the wind, though none of them took root. Perhaps she had been a servant or a hairdresser’s assistant, perhaps she hadn’t, perhaps in theatre, perhaps not, this woman of mystery leaving every question as to her youth unanswered until the very day she died.
 
Even the name she became known by, Mrs Armistead, is a mystery. There appeared to be no Mr Armistead or if there was, he was long since departed by the time Elizabeth came to the public eye. In fact, the very first suggestion of her existence comes courtesy of the great Sir Joshua Reynolds, who listed an appointment with Mrs Armistead at Mrs Mitchell’s in Soho.
 
Mrs Mitchell’s brothel on Upper St John Street was one of the most famous in the city. To be a resident here, and a resident with an appointment with Sir Joshua Reynolds, no less, points to a woman who was going places and for Mrs Armistead, a woman with big ideas, the future looked bright.
 
Like all enterprising courtesans Elizabeth was determined to land herself a patron, a gentleman who would take her out of the brothel and give her the existence of a lady, making her mistress to one instead of many. She hit the big time when she charmed a succession of dukes, capping them with Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, into taking on the role. Famed for his glittering, profligate life, Bolingbroke was a stereotypical bad boy and became notorious for his ruinously expensive lifestyle and acrimonious divorce from his wife, Lady Diana Spencer. In Elizabeth’s company, however, he need not worry about divorce and debt, for she promised only pleasure.
 
Elizabeth wasn’t about to rest on a viscount with a reputation for trouble, however, but he had plans for his mistress. Bolingbroke arranged for his lover to take a turn on the stage and, in 1774, she strutted her stuff at Covent Garden Playhouse.
 
The notices were not good.
 
Still, such exposure does a girl no harm and soon Elizabeth had a residence of her own, financed by Bolingbroke, though she was soon moving onwards and upwards. Now Elizabeth was on a roll and she took up residence in a Bond Street house paid for by General Richard Smith, a leading light in the East India Company. Here she lived a life of leisure and opulence, indulging herself with the occasional acting role in and around appointments with her many, ever-grander patrons.
 
General Smith was exchanged for John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset and, for the first time in her glittering career, Elizabeth was about to have her first disappointment. Lord Dorset might have set her up in a rather grand house on Clarges Street, but he also proved a romantic at heart and abandoned Elizabeth in favour of Elizabeth Smith-Stanley, Countess of Derby. That affair would drag Lady Derby’s name into the mud but it also dragged Elizabeth out of her bubble and she looked to her swiftly emptying coffers and quickly began gathering new patrons to plug the financial gap left by the duke. Among those who did, ironically, was none other that Lady Derby’s own husband; never let it be said that Georgian society wasn’t tangled.
 
As the years passed and Elizabeth became more and more famous in society, she developed a marked interest in politics. Many of her patrons were influential Whigs and Elizabeth opened her house to Whig politicians as a meeting place and salon. In the heart of London she was soon moving in political circles that included the famed Whig statesman, Charles James Fox, the man Elizabeth had first met when he drunkenly pranked Bolingbroke by kicking in the door of the brothel chamber where the couple were enjoying a liaison.
 
Although she would later fall deeply in love with Fox, for now he was nothing more than a friend. Instead, Elizabeth seemed to settle on Lord George Cavendish and for a time, all was well.
 
Enter the Prince of Wales, later notorious as the Prince Regent and, of course, King George IV.
 
Well, not really, enter, more hide in the corner and hope no one notices you.
 
Elizabeth’s affair with the prince, who met her via their shared Whig circle, was uncovered in a farcical episode by Lord George Cavendish. Whilst paying a late night call to his mistress, Lord George had the distinct feeling that things weren’t quite right. Drunk, rowdy and ready to uncover the truth, he began a search of her house, even as Elizabeth asked him to let things be. Instead he persevered, and uncovered a right royal rival.
 
“Ld George was returning one night to Mrs Armitstead's, rather drunk. In going into her room he perceiv'd some unaccustomed light in another, and much against her entreatys went in. The room seem'd empty, but willing to examine everywhere he soon found there was a man conceal'd behind the door. He stretched out his arm with the candle in his hand close to the person's face, and to his great surprise found it was the P. of Wales.”
 
In Elizabeth, the Prince of Wales had more than met his match. He was used to being the man of the moment, the one everyone wanted yet this time, he was the one doing the chasing. She was attacked for the affair, seen as a tool of the Whigs, a honeytrap designed to capture the prince for their cause but, in truth, he was perfectly willing to be trapped by her, by any attractive woman. Far from a scheming political tool in the hands of the opposition, Elizabeth was living life on her own terms and the Prince of Wales didn’t hold any lasting fascination for her. Soon George’s appeal and bank balance wore thin and Elizabeth took a jaunt to the continent in the company of her patrons, correctly guessing that he would soon drown his sorrows with other lovers. When she returned, she established herself in a new Surrey home, St Ann’s Hill, and took her old friend, Fox, as her lover.
 
“Mr. Fox and Mrs. ARMISTEAD are about to set off on their Tour abroad. They will in all probability remain there for some time.”[2]
 
The courtesan who had once held all of London in the palm of her hand had, quite unexpectedly, fallen in love with the man who had been her friend for years. The relationship took everyone by surprise, most likely including Fox and Elizabeth, but the couple were inseparable and remained devoted to one another for the rest of their lives. With her patrons gone, Elizabeth’s life changed forever and the lifestyle she had once taken for granted became the source of debt and anxiety. Living a quiet existence at St Ann’s Hill, she sold her properties and belongings to keep their heads above water, experiencing life without a rich lover for the first time in years.
 
When Fox was offered the opportunity to marry into serious money and Elizabeth offered to step aside to let him do so, he refused to even consider it. He was devoted to his Liz and no other would do. Instead, Fox and Elizabeth married one another instead. Fearing that the scandal of such a marriage would damage her new husband’s political career, the newlywed Elizabeth begged her husband to keep it their union secret and, for seven years, they did.
 
The truth of the marriage came to light in 1802, when Fox was invited to France to meet Napoleon. He insisted on taking his wife with him and, though London society was whipped into a frenzy by it, the cool Elizabeth negotiated this new territory with grace and dignity. She had known plenty of scandal in her time, after all, so this was nothing to be afraid of. There was little mud that could be thrown at a couple so happy and together, the Foxes were gradually accepted into society as more than mistress and patron, but as husband and wife.
 
“For some days past it has been confidently reported, that the Hon. CHARLES FOX had rewarded the constancy and other merits of MRS ARMSTEAD [sic] with his hand at the altar. […] The wit and accomplishments of this Lady have long been justly celebrated, and she is as much entitled to every privilege that the event we allude to can confer upon her, as many Ladies who preside over fashion in the present laxity of her manners.”[3]
 
As a member of one of the great Whig dynasties, however, there were elements of the press that couldn’t help heave a sigh of disappointment. The marriage was childless and would remain so, leading The Times to point the finger at Elizabeth. She might be charming and accomplished and full of wit, but she wasn’t, they reminded readers, completely perfect.

​
 
“Mrs. ARMISTEAD’s marriage to Mr Fox is now mentioned as a certainty; which for ever destroys the hope of a legitimate successor to our great orator’s personal and mental estates; the lady having passed that climacteric of life, which shuts out the possibility of children - What a pity!!!”[4]
 
Tragically, the happiness of Elizabeth and Fox was to be all too short-lived and in 1806 Fox died, his body exhausted by years of hard living. The last word the Whig grandee spoke was his wife’s name, murmuring of his “dearest Liz”.
 
And what of Elizabeth?
 
If this were a cautionary tale, things would now go very badly indeed and penury, exile and an early death would no doubt be on the cards. Happily, this is a true story and Elizabeth was not an innocent abroad, but a woman of intelligence, resources and popularity. She was’t about to fade away.
 
Heartbroken for the loss of the man she adored, Elizabeth maintained the home they had shared and continued to mix in the Whig circles where she had once glittered so brightly. The pension she received of £1200 per year on Fox’s death was later joined by a £500 annuity courtesy of her former lover, George IV, and these sums allowed her to live the quiet, settled life that she had come to so love. She was noted for the sweetness of her temperament and many of her former patrons now rode to her financial aid, saving her from the penury that might otherwise threaten her dotage.
 
As she grew older, Elizabeth became ever more devoted to her philanthropic activities and her charity made her a beloved figure in the nearby village of Chertsey. The woman who had once been so notorious, a beacon of scandal and opulence, was now an elder stateswoman of the Whigs and held in respect as such. She lived to the grand old age of ninety two (despite what The Times claimed), and passed away on 8th July 1842, having spanned the Georgian era, the regency and the dawn of the Victorian age.
 
“We regret to announce the death of Mrs. Fox, the widow of the Right Hon. Charles James Fox. This venerable lady expired on Friday morning, at her sear at St. Anne’s Hill, near Chertsey, in the 97th year of her age.”[5]
 
Elizabeth’s funeral was intended to be private but her friends and supporters had other ideas. The service at All Saints church in Chertsey was overwhelmed with not only friends but those who wanted to pay their respects to the woman whose kindness, charity and grace had endeared her to people from all classes and all walks of life.
 
 
References
Black, Jeremy. The Hanoverians: The History of a Dynasty. Hambledon and London, 2007.
David, Saul. Prince of Pleasure. Grove Press, 2000.
Davis, I.M. The Harlot and the Statesman. The Kendall Press, 1986.
Derry, John W. Charles James Fox. St. Martin's Press, 1972.
Hickman, Katie. Courtesans. Harper Collins, 2003.
Hicks, Carola. Improper Pursuits. Macmillan, 2001.
Linnane, Fergus. Madams, Bawds and Brothel Keepers of London. Sutton Publishing, 2005.
Smith, EA. George IV. Yale University Press, 1999.
 
Catherine Curzon is a royal historian who writes on all matters 18th century at. Her work has been featured on HistoryExtra.com, the official website of BBC History Magazine  and in publications such as Explore History, All About History, History of Royals and Jane Austen’s Regency World. She has provided additional research for An Evening with Jane Austen at the V&A and spoken at venues including the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, Lichfield Guildhall and Dr Johnson’s House.
 
Catherine holds a Master’s degree in Film and when not dodging the furies of the guillotine, writes fiction set deep in the underbelly of Georgian London.  
​Web Site: www.madamegilflurt.com
 
Her books, Life in the Georgian Court, and The Crown Spire, are available at the links below and at retailers worldwide.
 
She lives in Yorkshire atop a ludicrously steep hill.
 
Life in the Georgian Court
Amazon UK - Amazon US
 
The Crown Spire
Amazon UK - Amazon US
 
Twitter
Facebook


[1] True Briton (1793) (London, England), Tuesday, June 14, 1796; Issue 1082. 

[2] World (1787) (London, England), Friday, August 8, 1788; Issue 503.

[3] The Times (London, England), Friday, Aug 13, 1802; Issue 5488.

[4] The Times (London, England), Friday, January 23, 1789; Issue 1229. 

[5] The Times (London, England), Monday, Jul 11, 1842; Issue 18032.  

Picture
Hon Charles Fox
4 Comments

Winter Season Podcast

11/14/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
  • Last year we made a podcast with Londonist Out Loud broadcaster N Quentin Woolf.  We showed him Georgian London on our time travel walk, through thoroughfares, busy squares and dark dank alleys. We had a lot of fun bringing our guide training and love of things Georgian together as one amusing and entertaining podcast which you can listen to here: bit.ly/1INMvYu

​We hope you will enjoy it and you may decide that you would like to join us in one of our many exciting activities.  You can still book for 1st December Yuletide Supper and our events for 2017 will be going live in a couple of weeks.  

Dr Johnson's House will once again feature in our exciting calendar during May and September 2017. We leave you with a definition which is currently pertinent to the state of affairs in the world today.

Politician: 1. One versed in the arts of government; one skilled in politicks. 2. A man of artifice; one of deep contrivance.
Dr Johnson's Dictionary 1755



Picture
0 Comments

2017 - Dates for the Diary

11/3/2016

0 Comments

 

               Ka'lendar. n.s. [now written calendar.] An account of time
                                                                                       [Dr Johnson's Dictionary - 1755]



Once again we will be holding four events throughout the year at Simpson's Tavern off Cornhill, in the City of London.

There are slight variations to our previous calendars, we have introduced an August date which we hope will entice our friends, acquaintances and strangers who are really only free to indulge themselves copiously during the Summer Holidays!  Also we hope this will encourage some our overseas followers to visit us.

9th March
15th June
17th August

7th December

We are also planning some extra events which we hope will once again involve Dr Johnson's House, confirmation will be broadcast as soon as we know.  They are likely to be during May and/or September.

Meanwhile we hope as many of you as possible will come and join us on the first day of the festive month to imbibe fully and enjoy the hospitality of Georgian Dining Academy.

Picture
0 Comments

That's London Baby - Splendid epistle about the Supper at Dr Johnson's House 

10/20/2016

0 Comments

 

We had planned to write our own piece about the event in September but we were overjoyed with this wonderful description of the evening by a guest.  So read on ...

thatslondonbaby.com/2016/10/16/georgian-dining-academy/


Picture
0 Comments

Cherry Gardens & Pier

9/10/2016

5 Comments

 
Picture
PictureJamaica House [Picture Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum)

Miss Kitty and I enjoyed a walk through a recently created public garden between the River Thames and Bermondsey Wall East. Cherry trees have been planted there to echo the cherry orchard that was in situ in 17th century for the delight of the visitors to the pleasure gardens that were once there.
 
Samuel Pepys also took this route on his way from the City of London to the Dockyards at Greenwich, his diary entry of 13 June 1664 “and so to Cherry-gardens and carried some cherries home”. We wonder if he also enjoyed the other delights on offer … 

​
Jamaica House was also close by and noted in Pepys diary after a visit by him and his wife. The pleasure gardens had closed by the end of 19th century, and Jamaica House has been demolished but the cherry trees remained, as did the name of the street, the stairs and pier.




This is where Georgian Dining found themselves on Friday afternoon, via Cherry Garden Pier, on board the latest venture by City Cruises, a boat to be launched mid-September and called ‘Alpha’.  A fine,  modern sightseeing vessel where the passengers do not have to suffer the vagaries of the English weather but can enjoy the views of the banks of the Thames through huge windows! For the brave there is top deck!
 
We are currently involved in developing a culture cruise with City Cruises all about the Georgians and the connections through this period with the river, think maritime, Handel’s Water Music and pleasure gardens. The schedule is slightly haphazard at present and apologies to our keen followers who booked up and then were sadly disappointed.  Please do not give up on this new venture we are participating in but sadly have no control over.  Here are some pictures of us having fun on board after the photo shoot. 

​We look forward to welcoming you on board City Cruises cultural venture very soon.

 Information on Cherry Gardens from:
​http://www.exploringsouthwark.co.uk/cherry-gardens/4587640952


5 Comments

No small achievement ...

7/29/2016

1 Comment

 
Finally we have a web page, it is simple in format, not quite how we envisaged it but we are working on its temperaments as well as are own as we daily get round the maze of potential possibilities to get the character and design we desire.

We have an extraordinary full calendar for the Autumn Season. New ventures and our quarterly supper at Simpson's Tavern.

We are taking to the water for four events on the River Thames, a cultural trip on City Cruises, a special supper at Dr Johnson's House and our supper salon on 1st September.

Miss Kitty and I will be adding to 'a halfpennyworth of news' as and when our full social schedule allows, we also welcome guest contributions.
1 Comment
Forward>>

    Authors

    Miss Kitty and Miss B share their escapades, adventures and travels through words and pictures.

    Archives

    May 2019
    December 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Events
  • Testimonials
  • Patreon
  • Photo Gallery
  • Gazette
  • Calling Card