Showing posts with label United Kingdom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United Kingdom. Show all posts

June 16 - Universities Open to All!

   Posted on June 16, 2022     


This is an update of my post published on June 16, 2011:



Above and below: Oxford


When they were founded, the famous and prestigious British universities of Oxford and Cambridge were open only to Anglicans (also known as adherents of the Church of England).

Catholics, Quakers, other non-conforming Christians, and Jews (let alone Muslims, avowed atheists, and folks who practiced other faiths) were not welcome.


Oxford Museum of Natural History

Actually, it is not so simple. Apparently the law required students to sign “39 Articles” of agreement with particular Anglican dogma; those who were unwilling to sign were not awarded diplomas. Also, the universities had rules about non-adherents being employed as professors or university officers, or being awarded fellowships, and students and staff were required to attend Anglican religious services.

Even some people who belonged to the Church of England weren't able to earn diplomas in the school because they didn't agree with all 39 statements and wouldn't “sell out” their beliefs by pretending they did. The artist William Morris is in this category.


William Morris is considered by some to be "the Father
of the Arts and Crafts Movement."

On this date in 1871, Parliament passed the Universities Test Act, thereby opening the universities to all who were academically qualified, regardless of religion or lack of religion. The act also abolished the rule of mandatory worship for students and staff.

Many see this act as a great advancement in freedom of religion.


Above and below: Cambridge





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June 9 - Alexandra Palace Burns Down!

   Posted on June 9, 2022     


This is an update of my post published on June 9, 2011:



In Victorian England, the southern portion of London already had a recreation center called the Crystal Palace, which had been originally built to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. Northern Londoners wanted their own recreation center, and after a few financing hiccups, the center and a railway line that connected it to Highgate Station were complete, and Alexandra Palace and Park were officially opened to the public.

On that opening day, 102,000 people came to hear a performance at the palace.

On this day in 1873 – just 16 days after the palace opened – the whole place burned to the ground! A priceless collection of pottery and porcelain was lost. Only the outer walls survived.

Tragically, three people died in the fire.

The palace was quickly rebuilt and reopened on May 1, 1875. There was a concert hall, art galleries, a museum, a lecture hall, a library, a banquet hall, and a theater. In the adjoining park were a swimming pool, a racecourse with grandstand, a Japanese village, a “switchback ride,” a boating lake, and a pitch-and-putt golf course. Cricket and football were played in the center of the racecourse, and an organ was installed in the arena as well.

Alexandra Palace still exists today, although the pool is closed and grown over. These days the building is used as an exhibition center, music venue, and conference center, and there is also an ice-skating rink and “Palm Court,” which are open to the public. In 1936 the palace became the headquarters of the world's first regular public “high definition” television service, operated by the BBC, and the TV station and radio tower were located on site. The original Victorian theater, complete with old-fashioned stage machinery, still survives but is “at risk.” I assume that means that it isn't being used, nor is it being kept up properly. It would take money to keep it up, but far less than to later have to completely rebuild or restore it if it falls into further ruin.

People have fought off at least two attempts to sell the park and palace and build something new there. For now the historical building is safe...













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April 4 - Francis Drake Becomes *Sir* Francis Drake!

 Posted on April 4, 2022

This is an update of my post published on April 4, 2011:




On this date in 1581, Francis Drake was knighted on board his ship, the Golden Hind, by Queen Elizabeth I. He was then called "Sir Francis Drake."


A year earlier, he was just "Francis Drake," an English sea captain who had become the first expedition leader to travel all the way around the world. (Ferdinand Magellan is famous for being the first to circle the globe, in 1522, but although some of the ships and men in his expedition did succeed in the task, he died in the Philippines.)



Seven years after being knighted, Sir Francis Drake helped save the British navy from the Spanish Armada.


Sir Francis Drake was a hero—that is, to the English people he was a hero. He can also be described as a ruthless, thieving pirate and a slave trader. He was such an enemy of Spain that King Philip II offered the equivalent of six and a half MILLION (U.S.) dollars as a reward for his capture or death.

Explore some more here. Remember, the view is likely to be slanted pro-Drake if it is written from a British point of view!

See a photo gallery of Drake's replicated ship the Golden Hind here.


 
Did you know...?

We know that, during Drake's trip around the world, he landed somewhere in Northern California—probably in what we now call Drake's Bay, near Point Reyes. In 1936, a brass plate claiming “this kingdome” for “Herr Maiesty Qveen Elizabeth of England” came to the attention of the world. Historians immediately doubted whether this plate was real—the wording, spelling, and manufacture of the plate seemed doubtful to experts. However, when one study concluded it was real, many people assumed that it was a genuine sixteenth century artifact. This conclusion was believed for about forty years.



However, in the 1970s the plate was looked at again. Scientists ran tests and concluded that it was a modern creation—and therefore a hoax—and historians came up with a theory as to who made the fake plate, and why: It was apparently created for a prank that several Californian historians meant to play on a member of their historian society—meant to be kept private, meant to be revealed as a prank almost immediately. A series of unfortunate events conspired to spin the prank out of the pranksters' control!

I spotted this fun amateur video about two kids searching for the Drake's Plate. Check it out! 




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