King Edward VII opened the Victoria and Albert Museum on June 26, 1909. That event (occasion) is the subject of today’s Today in London History podcast.
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London Walks here with your daily London fix.
Story time. History time.
It happened. I knew it would. My conscience got the better of me.
In yesterday’s podcast I talked about an ad that ran in The Times on June 25th, 1817. It was an ad placed by the churchwardens and overseers of St Martin in the Fields. The higher-ups who were – to use Bush Jr.’s ghastly word – the deciders about the parish workhouse. They were in charge of the purse strings. Basically they ran the show. One of the things they did was to solicit bids for a year’s worth of provender – there that’s the word, isn’t it – for the workhouse inmates.
In the ad they were fishing for, amongst other foodstuffs, what they called “Good Oxbeef.” And then they got particular. They said, “to consist of clods, stickings and mouse buttocks.” And I didn’t go any further with it. I just said, “yes, you heard right. And don’t ask. I don’t know. And I don’t think I want to know.”
Well, I did want to know, didn’t I? Not least because at first I thought it might be a printer’s error. It wasn’t.
Here you are, London Walkers, time to get up to speed with mouse buttocks, clods and stickings.
Here they are, straight from the Oxford English Dictionary.
A mouse buttock is a fleshy piece cut from a round of beef; the part immediately above the knee-joint in a leg of beef or mutton.
A clod is the coarse part of the neck of an ox, nearest the shoulder.
And a sticking is A cheap cut of beef from the lower part of the neck (where the slaughtering knife has entered). Frequently in plural: cheap coarse pieces of neck beef.
I knew that was coming. And I knew it would make me angry.
Basically the point is the poor got the very worst. Gristle practically.
That’s how it was in 1817. And that’s how it is today. And it ain’t right.
Ok, from clods, stickings and mouse buttocks to endeavours we don’t need to be ashamed of.
It’s June 26, 1909 and King Edward is going to open the Victoria and Albert Museum. It’s a very big deal.
A State occasion to rival the State Opening of Parliament. The Queen is there. As is the extended royal family, some eight princes and princesses. And Dukes and Duchesses and the Master of the Household and the Comptroller of the Household and the Mistress of the Robes and the Master of the Horse and the Lord Steward and the Lord Chamberlain and on down the line it goes. In no particular order, The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London and a Rear Admiral and Equerries and Maids of Honour and Foreign Ambassadors and the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Six Secretaries of State. The Commissioner of Works. The President of the Board of Education. And, oh dear, stunned by all that royalty and majesty and highness and mightiness, I almost forgot, The Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum is there. As is the architect. And the builder.
To name but a few.
When their majesties take their place on the dais the National Anthem will be sung by pupils of the Royal College of Music. There’ll be some speech-making. The King will then declare the building open, the event being announced by a flourish of trumpets. Oh and there’ll be a guard of honour of the Scots Guard, with band, mounted opposite the main entrance and the route to and from Buckingham palace. The V & A itself will be lined by Household Troops. Nothing much to add except the V & A’s gestation was about as long as that royal processional I’ve just run through. It began life as the Museum of Manufactures in the aftermath of the Great Exhibition. Its home in the days of its infancy was Marlborough House. Five years later – it moved to Brompton, to a large building called the South Kensington Museum. Better known as the Brompton Boiler, it was opened by Queen Victoria. Forty-two years later she laid the foundation for the building her son is opening today, the building we know as the V & A. The which was her last public appearance.
And all of this has just been gift wrapping. What’s important is what’s inside the V & A. I’m going to do this alphabetically first. And I’m going to end it by reading the blurb for our Friday morning V & A Tour, which is, needless to say, this podcast’s Today in London recommendation.
Here we go, here are the ABCs of the V & A: Architectural details; Arms and Armour; the Art of the Book; Bronzes; Carpets; Clocks; Costume; Embroidery; Enamels; Engravings; Fabrics; Furniture; Glass; Gold and Silverwork and Ironwork; Ivories; Jewellery; Musical Instruments; Pottery and Porcelains; Tapestry and woodwork.
The V & A is also the National Art Library.
And to cap that run-through – well, let’s put it this way – the V & A has an unrivalled collection of Constable’s work.
And if you want to London Walks the V & A – our tour takes place every Friday morning. Here’s what we say about it.
“It’s not what we see but what we see in it”
Well, yes and no. What you see – the route the guide takes and the selection she makes – is worth the cost of the tour all by itself. You don’t think those matters are important in a museum that covers 11 acres, has 145 galleries, and runs to seven miles of exhibits and five million objects? Dream on. And logistics and savvy are just the basics. The real thrill is what you see in the pieces Simon W. and Molly show you. These are objects that contain their history – that braid together culture and art. That’s why they’re in “the world’s greatest museum of art and design.” To see them – to see into them – the Great Bed of Ware, the Raphael Cartoons (“one of the supreme sights of the world”) the Ardabil carpet, etc…. well, it’s like sunrise on Mount Moses. And if you want to make a day of it, how about lunch in the V & A’s extremely civilised cafe followed by a spot of shopping at nearby Harrods!
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You’ve been listening to the Today in London History podcast. Emanating from www.walks.com – home of London Walks, London’s signature walking tour company. London’s local, time-honoured, fiercely independent, family-owned, just the right size walking tour company. And as long as we’re at it, London’s multi-award-winning walking tour company. Indeed, London’s only award-winning walking tour company.
And here’s the secret: London Walks is essentially run as a guides’ cooperative.
That’s the key to everything. It’s the reason we’re able to attract and keep the best guides in London. You can get schlubbers to do this for £20 a walk. But you can’t get world-class guides – let alone accomplished, distinguished professionals.
It’s not rocket science: you get what you pay for. And just as surely, you also get what you don’t pay for.
Back in 1968 when we got started we quickly came to a fork in the road. We had to answer a blockbuster question: Do we want to make the most money? Or do we want to be the best walking tour company in the world? You want to make the most money you go the schlubbers route. You want to be the best walking tour company in the world you do what you have to do to attract and keep elite, all-star guides. Bears repeating: the way we’re structured – a guides’ cooperative – is the key to the whole thing. It’s the reason for all those awards, it’s the reason we’ve got a lively, loyal, discerning following – quality attracts quality – it’s the reason we’re able – uniquely – to front our walks with accomplished professionals:
barristers, doctors, geologists, museum curators, archaeologists, historians, criminal defence lawyers, Royal Shakespeare Company actors, Guide of the Year Award winners… well, you get the idea. As that travel writer famously put it, “if this were a golf tournament, every name on the Leader Board would be a London Walks guide.”
And as we put it: London Walks Guides make the new familiar and the familiar new.
And on that agreeable note…come then, let us go forward together on some great London Walks. Good Londoning one and all. See ya tomorrow.
You’ve been listening to the Today in London History podcast. Emanating from www.walks.com – home of London Walks, London’s signature walking tour company. London’s local, time-honoured, fiercely independent, family-owned, just the right size walking tour company. And as long as we’re at it, London’s multi-award-winning walking tour company. Indeed, London’s only award-winning walking tour company.
And here’s the secret: London Walks is essentially run as a guides’ cooperative.
That’s the key to everything. It’s the reason we’re able to attract and keep the best guides in London. You can get schlubbers to do this for £20 a walk. But you can’t get world-class guides – let alone accomplished professionals.
It’s not rocket science: you get what you pay for. And just as surely, you also get what you don’t pay for.
Back in 1968 when we got started we quickly came to a fork in the road. We had to answer a blockbuster question: Do we want to make the most money? Or do we want to be the best walking tour company in the world? You want to make the most money you go the schlubbers route. You want to be the best walking tour company in the world you do what you have to do to attract and keep elite, all-star guides. Bears repeating: the way we’re structured – a guides’ cooperative – is the key to the whole thing. It’s the reason for all those awards, it’s the reason we’ve got a lively, loyal, discerning following – quality attracts quality – it’s the reason we’re able – uniquely – to front our walks with accomplished professionals:
barristers, doctors, geologists, museum curators, archaeologists, historians, criminal defence lawyers, Royal Shakespeare Company actors, Guide of the Year Award winners… well, you get the idea. As that travel writer famously put it, “if this were a golf tournament, every name on the Leader Board would be a London Walks guide.”
And as we put it: London Walks Guides make the new familiar and the familiar new.
And on that agreeable note…come then, let us go forward together on some great London Walks. Good luck and good Londoning. See ya tomorrow.
You’ve been listening to the Today in London History podcast. Emanating from www.walks.com – home of London Walks, London’s signature walking tour company. London’s local, time-honoured, fiercely independent, family-owned, just the right size walking tour company. And as long as we’re at it, London’s multi-award-winning walking tour company. Indeed, London’s only award-winning walking tour company.
And here’s the secret: London Walks is essentially run as a guides’ cooperative.
That’s the key to everything. It’s the reason we’re able to attract and keep the best guides in London. You can get schlubbers to do this for £20 a walk. But you can’t get world-class guides – let alone accomplished professionals.
It’s not rocket science: you get what you pay for. And just as surely, you also get what you don’t pay for.
Back in 1968 when we got started we quickly came to a fork in the road. We had to answer a blockbuster question: Do we want to make the most money? Or do we want to be the best walking tour company in the world? You want to make the most money you go the schlubbers route. You want to be the best walking tour company in the world you do what you have to do to attract and keep elite, all-star guides. Bears repeating: the way we’re structured – a guides’ cooperative – is the key to the whole thing. It’s the reason for all those awards, it’s the reason we’ve got a lively, loyal, discerning following – quality attracts quality – it’s the reason we’re able – uniquely – to front our walks with accomplished professionals: barristers, doctors, geologists, museum curators, archaeologists, historians, criminal defence lawyers, Royal Shakespeare Company actors, Guide of the Year Award winners… well, you get the idea. As that travel writer famously put it, “if this were a golf tournament, every name on the Leader Board would be a London Walks guide.”
And as we put it: London Walks Guides make the new familiar and the familiar new.
And on that agreeable note…come then, let us go forward together on some great London Walks. Good luck and good Londoning. See ya tomorrow.