“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.” — Song of Solomon 8:7 History is littered with martyrs, but some rise from the ashes not as mournful relics, but as burning questions. Anne Askew — born in 1521 in Lincolnshire, unwilling wife, unyielding believer, and finally unwilling guest at Smithfield’s stake — … Continue reading Ashes of Defiance: Anne Askew and the Fire at Smithfield
Category: history
The Slag Heap of Forgetfulness
In memory of the children of Aberfan, 21st October 1966 Before the Bell Rang There are mornings that never end, only echo. Aberfan was one of them. The rain had fallen through the night — the kind of Welsh rain that softens the hills but sharpens the nerves. By half past nine, the children of … Continue reading The Slag Heap of Forgetfulness
They All Love Jack: The Gospel According to the Gutters
I’ve long suspected that the Ripper mystery isn’t so much about one man’s madness as it’s about a whole empire’s mask slipping. You can smell the hypocrisy before you even open Bruce Robinson’s They All Love Jack. It’s the stench of gaslight and gin, of sanctimonious gentlemen who polished their Masonic jewels while the poor … Continue reading They All Love Jack: The Gospel According to the Gutters
The Archbishopric of Canterbury: From Augustine’s Cloak to Sarah’s Mitre
This piece has been a long time in gestation. Ever since Justin Welby announced his departure, I've found myself jotting notes, revisiting history, and anticipating the inevitable turn the Church of England would take. Today’s announcement is therefore no surprise - only the confirmation of what many of us had already suspected. It seemed fitting, … Continue reading The Archbishopric of Canterbury: From Augustine’s Cloak to Sarah’s Mitre
A Ghost in the Glass: Charlotte Brontë and the Churchyard Photograph
Haworth Churchyard photograph, John Stewart, c.1856–57. © Brontë Society. Sourced via annebronte.org. There’s a photograph - albumen print, sepia-toned, crisp with the shadows of headstones - that has set imaginations aflame for more than a century. It shows Haworth churchyard, with its lichen-bitten tombs and overhanging sky, a place where the dead vastly outnumber the … Continue reading A Ghost in the Glass: Charlotte Brontë and the Churchyard Photograph
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