Busby Chair

I've always been a bit of an Anglophile. Because my family are British? No. My ancestors can be traced to the Mayflower? The American Revolution? Hardly. I don't even think they were aware of America at the time. There were animals to tend to and cheese to make for God's sake! Maybe a long lost English true love? Nope, I married my true love (I'm a lucky duck, I know).

So there's no real reason for me to be attracted to England. But I love it. I went to London when I was 18 and had a great time. The highlights of which were seeing the Rosetta Stone and going to a real rave in an abandoned tube station complete with famous DJs, fog lights and ecstasy (give me a break - I was 18!)

My desires to visit England now are a bit more conservative, but just as interesting in my book. If anyone is the least bit interested in the following, well, let's plan a trip!

In no particular order:


1) The Cheapside hoard. 'Nuf said.

2) Busby chair - This is on display at the Thirsk Museum. Made in the 18th century, the chair is old but not unusual looking. What is unusual is the chair's history. Thomas Busby, a condemned murderer asked to have a pint in his favorite pub before going to the gallows. After finishing his drink, he cursed the chair and anyone who sat in it afterwards dies shortly after his/her pub crawl. There was a military base near Thirsk during WW II and the soldiers were very enthusiastic about the chair and it's creepy curse. It became apparent that "Those who sat, didn't come back". In 1967, a pair of Royal Air Force soldiers did sit in the chair after many pints and a dare. They hit a tree on their way home. Maybe a DUI coincidence? In any case, I'm glad it's out of the pub and in a museum where I won't accidentally rest my rump. There were other reports of perfectly sober people resting awhile and regretting it.

3)John Snow Pub



Photo from UCLA website.

John Snow is considered the father of public health. An obstetric anesthesiologist by trade, he wondered why all his neighbors were getting cholera. He traced the outbreak to a certain pump where everyone was getting their drinking water and pulled off the pump's handle. This ended the outbreak and John Snow was a hero worthy of his own pub.

4) The Roman Baths at Bath

Oh, how I would love to go to Bath. D and I love natural hot springs and this is the grand-daddy of them all. Used since Roman times, it's attracted tourists for centuries. (Picture is from Wikipedia.)

The Cheapside Hoard

In 1912, workmen in a tenement in London hacked through floor boards and uncovered the largest selection on 16th century jewelry ever found. Experts speculate it was the property of a jeweler or goldsmith to the middle classes. Most pieces were inexpensive and made for the merchant class, but the stones and metals were of high quality.








Why the hoard was hidden and who exactly owned it remains a mystery.

You can read more about it here.

All photos and more great pieces to drool over can be found at the Museum of London website

The collection is scattered through several London museums which makes me want to plan a field trip to England to try and see the whole hoard.

Anyone game?