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wickedwilliam

Welcome to my blog which began life as a platform for my doctoral research into Regency-era celebrity and all-round rotter ‘Wicked William’ Long-Wellesley (1788-1857). As you will find, it has subsequently morphed into a broader examination of British history from 1750-1850. I focus on cultural rather than military matters; social and personal rather than political affairs, and I rely upon contemporary images and news reports to shed light back into our past.

To date I have looked at the practicalities of London stagecoach travel (1819), examined black representation in Regency Britain, the manufacture of the Waterloo Medal, a history of the Epping Hunt, and the invention of tradition at Royal Ascot.

I have traversed the Victorian Monopoly board; witnessed extreme poverty on the banks of the Thames, the arrest of a London vagrant, recounted the death of a Regency Prizefighte;  recalling the Radcliffe Fire (1794) and the tragic sinking of the Seahorse (1816).

Whilst preparing my thesis for final publication, my blog will continue focussing upon William’s scandalous life, that of the Wellesley family (especially William’s uncle the Duke of Wellington), and Wanstead House, the magnificent Palladian mansion that fell victim to William’s  ‘cultural vandalism’.

Please follow me on Twitter for Regency Era ramblings.

To read the full story of Wicked William’s marriage and the fall of Wanstead House I highly recommend Geraldine Roberts’ critically acclaimed book The Angel and the Cad.