By Ruth A Symes This article first appeared in the online periodical Discover Your Ancestors (March, 2026) http://www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk A cottage with perhaps the most well-known of all British house names often given by those who had come to rest after a life of work and travel, ‘Dunroamin,’ Symonds Yat, Herefordshire. Via Wikimedia Commons. In Britain,... Continue Reading →
‘A good, clear fire’: A Frenchman’s View of Victorian Britain (Snippets: 5)
A Victorian home. Via Wikimedia Commons. In a series of visits to Britain between 1862 and 1870, outspoken Frenchman Hippolyte Taine wrote lengthily about his impressions, and his comments-at-a-distance give us a clear and fascinating view of our ancestors in a way that no other source quite achieves. Taine considered the most important feature of... Continue Reading →