Historical Scenes and Events

Victorian illustration to download showing stonemasons at work during the re-building of the Houses of Parliament, 1848. They carve roof bosses for the Central Lobby of the House of Commons.

Victorian illustration to download showing high tide on the River Thames; water reaches the base of the Old Royal Naval College.

Victorian illustration to download showing the start of the construction of London’s sewer system in 1859. Navvies dig a large trench and remove the excavated earth to spoil heaps using…

Engraving by Hogarth showing two apprentice silk weavers in a Spitalfields workshop, the first engraving in his ‘Industry and Idleness’ series of 1747. One apprentice works hard, the other sleeps.

Victorian illustration to download showing Revolution House, Whittington, Derbyshire, so named because a meeting here sparked off the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

Victorian illustration to download showing a stove invented by the chef Alexis Soyer (1810-58) for use by military barracks – it could cater for many people.

Victorian illustration to download showing Bray’s traction engine being demonstrated in the streets of London, 1858.

Victorian illustration to download showing a street decorated for a royal visit in a way typical of the Victorian era: a triumphal arch, garlands and banners.

Victorian illustration to download showing the attack on a police van in Manchester by Irish nationalists in order to free the prisoners, Irish Republican Brotherhood leaders Thomas Kelly and Timothy…