Jill Evans
@jillrevans.bsky.social
I research and write about the history of crime and punishment in Gloucestershire, England. Easily distracted by strange/funny stories in old newspapers. https://gloscrimehistory.wordpress.com
Must have taken ages for the postie to read all that!
The sender of this postcard definitely wanted to get their money's worth out of the US postal system. It was sent to Amelia Roth in Elwood, Indiana. The church is in Meadville, Pennsylvania.
#PostedInThePast
#PostedInThePast
November 13, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Must have taken ages for the postie to read all that!
Reposted by Jill Evans
Surely it's a little bit early to be hitting the booze!
Two drinkers on a 14thC misericord at St Mary's, Fairford.
#Woodensday
Two drinkers on a 14thC misericord at St Mary's, Fairford.
#Woodensday
November 12, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Surely it's a little bit early to be hitting the booze!
Two drinkers on a 14thC misericord at St Mary's, Fairford.
#Woodensday
Two drinkers on a 14thC misericord at St Mary's, Fairford.
#Woodensday
Spell-checking my upcoming book on Gloucestershire executions in the 18th century = finding out how many times I misspelt 'gibbet' and 'gibbeted'.
November 11, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Spell-checking my upcoming book on Gloucestershire executions in the 18th century = finding out how many times I misspelt 'gibbet' and 'gibbeted'.
As it's Halloween, here's an old post on my blog about a prisoner hanged at Gloucester whose skull was sold at an auction in 2014. Creepy or what?
gloscrimehistory.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/j...
gloscrimehistory.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/j...
John Parker: hanged 1813; skull sold 2014
In May 2014, it was reported in the media that the skull of convict John Parker, who was hanged at Gloucester in 1813, was sold at an auction house in Billingshurst, West Sussex, for £2,000. As Joh…
gloscrimehistory.wordpress.com
October 31, 2025 at 9:44 AM
As it's Halloween, here's an old post on my blog about a prisoner hanged at Gloucester whose skull was sold at an auction in 2014. Creepy or what?
gloscrimehistory.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/j...
gloscrimehistory.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/j...
October 1942, two Dutch seamen become drunk and disorderly in Gloucester (UK) after drinking 'Black Velvet'. Gloucester Citizen, 5 Oct 1942 (Image from British Newspaper Archive).
October 7, 2025 at 9:01 AM
October 1942, two Dutch seamen become drunk and disorderly in Gloucester (UK) after drinking 'Black Velvet'. Gloucester Citizen, 5 Oct 1942 (Image from British Newspaper Archive).
I voted but don't hold up much hope - atm the vote is 92% saying Farage's policy is not racist!
Let’s balance up this poll…
POLL: Is Reform's migrant visa plan racist?
www.express.co.uk/news/politic...
POLL: Is Reform's migrant visa plan racist?
www.express.co.uk/news/politic...
POLL: Is Reform's migrant visa plan racist? | Politics | News | Express.co.uk
Sir Keir Starmer branded Reform's policy requiring those granted indefinite leave to remain to reapply under far tougher criteria as 'racist'.
www.express.co.uk
September 29, 2025 at 8:36 AM
I voted but don't hold up much hope - atm the vote is 92% saying Farage's policy is not racist!
An excommunication recorded in the parish registers of Owlpen, Gloucestershire, in 1784.
(Image from Ancestry.co.uk, Gloucestershire Christenings, Marriages and Burials.)
(Image from Ancestry.co.uk, Gloucestershire Christenings, Marriages and Burials.)
September 28, 2025 at 9:09 AM
An excommunication recorded in the parish registers of Owlpen, Gloucestershire, in 1784.
(Image from Ancestry.co.uk, Gloucestershire Christenings, Marriages and Burials.)
(Image from Ancestry.co.uk, Gloucestershire Christenings, Marriages and Burials.)
Reposted by Jill Evans
The head of Neptune or a river god from Roman Cirencester (Corinium). Now part of the collections at Corinium Museum in Cirencester. 📸 My own. #StoneworkSunday #RomanBritain #CoriniumMuseum
September 28, 2025 at 6:53 AM
The head of Neptune or a river god from Roman Cirencester (Corinium). Now part of the collections at Corinium Museum in Cirencester. 📸 My own. #StoneworkSunday #RomanBritain #CoriniumMuseum
Reposted by Jill Evans
Discover the Folk of Gloucester
The Folk of Gloucester is a significant cultural site in Gloucester, blending Tudor architecture, Civil War history, and local heritage
westenglandbylines.co.uk/region/glouc...
The Folk of Gloucester is a significant cultural site in Gloucester, blending Tudor architecture, Civil War history, and local heritage
westenglandbylines.co.uk/region/glouc...
Discover the Folk of Gloucester
The Folk of Gloucester is a significant cultural site in Gloucester, blending Tudor architecture, Civil War history, and local heritage
westenglandbylines.co.uk
September 28, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Discover the Folk of Gloucester
The Folk of Gloucester is a significant cultural site in Gloucester, blending Tudor architecture, Civil War history, and local heritage
westenglandbylines.co.uk/region/glouc...
The Folk of Gloucester is a significant cultural site in Gloucester, blending Tudor architecture, Civil War history, and local heritage
westenglandbylines.co.uk/region/glouc...
Reposted by Jill Evans
It is with profound sadness that The Yorkshire County Cricket Club announces the passing of Harold Dennis “Dickie” Bird MBE OBE, one of cricket’s most beloved figures, who died peacefully at home at the age of 92.
Read more: yorkshireccc.com/news/harold-...
Read more: yorkshireccc.com/news/harold-...
September 23, 2025 at 11:05 AM
It is with profound sadness that The Yorkshire County Cricket Club announces the passing of Harold Dennis “Dickie” Bird MBE OBE, one of cricket’s most beloved figures, who died peacefully at home at the age of 92.
Read more: yorkshireccc.com/news/harold-...
Read more: yorkshireccc.com/news/harold-...
Reposted by Jill Evans
The central part of the 4th century AD ‘Hare Mosaic’ from Roman Cirencester (Corinium). The mosaic was discovered during 1971 at Beeches Road in Cirencester, and is now on display in the fabulous Corinium Museum. 📸 My own. #MosaicMonday #RomanBritain #CoriniumMuseum
September 22, 2025 at 6:18 AM
The central part of the 4th century AD ‘Hare Mosaic’ from Roman Cirencester (Corinium). The mosaic was discovered during 1971 at Beeches Road in Cirencester, and is now on display in the fabulous Corinium Museum. 📸 My own. #MosaicMonday #RomanBritain #CoriniumMuseum
No Blue Peter badge though...loser.
A reminder from Myanmar that there's probably an inverse correlation between the number of medals worn by those who run a country and its democratic credentials. (Source www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...)
September 21, 2025 at 8:54 AM
No Blue Peter badge though...loser.
Reposted by Jill Evans
1981 French cartoon depicting French President Francois Mitterand guillotining the guillotine, as France abolished death penalty in that year www.reddit.com/r/Propaganda...
September 21, 2025 at 7:10 AM
1981 French cartoon depicting French President Francois Mitterand guillotining the guillotine, as France abolished death penalty in that year www.reddit.com/r/Propaganda...
Reposted by Jill Evans
Blackfriars Priory,
Gloucester, dating to 1239.
Was a Dominican House. Dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539. Scriptorium a particularly rare survival. Restored 1960 & now an events space. Today, I was there for Gloucester History Festival #blackfriars #blackfriarsgloucester #dissolutionofthemonasteries
Gloucester, dating to 1239.
Was a Dominican House. Dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539. Scriptorium a particularly rare survival. Restored 1960 & now an events space. Today, I was there for Gloucester History Festival #blackfriars #blackfriarsgloucester #dissolutionofthemonasteries
September 19, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Blackfriars Priory,
Gloucester, dating to 1239.
Was a Dominican House. Dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539. Scriptorium a particularly rare survival. Restored 1960 & now an events space. Today, I was there for Gloucester History Festival #blackfriars #blackfriarsgloucester #dissolutionofthemonasteries
Gloucester, dating to 1239.
Was a Dominican House. Dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539. Scriptorium a particularly rare survival. Restored 1960 & now an events space. Today, I was there for Gloucester History Festival #blackfriars #blackfriarsgloucester #dissolutionofthemonasteries
Reposted by Jill Evans
THAT. WAS. Newent Celebrates! We're still reeling from a cracking end to our 2025 season – our limbs have happy aches, our homes smell of wet wool & wood smoke, our memories full. Come make memories with us – sign up now for 2026 & be part of something completely different! earlofmanchesters.co.uk
September 16, 2025 at 7:58 AM
THAT. WAS. Newent Celebrates! We're still reeling from a cracking end to our 2025 season – our limbs have happy aches, our homes smell of wet wool & wood smoke, our memories full. Come make memories with us – sign up now for 2026 & be part of something completely different! earlofmanchesters.co.uk
Reposted by Jill Evans
🌿☕Good morning☕🌿
Planting trees in Cheltenham goes back to the 18th century
Captain Henry Skillicorne, the founding father of Cheltenham spa, began planting forest trees within the town. In winter 1739 he planted elm & lime, creating avenues that still exist today
That tradition continues❤️🌿
Planting trees in Cheltenham goes back to the 18th century
Captain Henry Skillicorne, the founding father of Cheltenham spa, began planting forest trees within the town. In winter 1739 he planted elm & lime, creating avenues that still exist today
That tradition continues❤️🌿
September 15, 2025 at 7:08 AM
🌿☕Good morning☕🌿
Planting trees in Cheltenham goes back to the 18th century
Captain Henry Skillicorne, the founding father of Cheltenham spa, began planting forest trees within the town. In winter 1739 he planted elm & lime, creating avenues that still exist today
That tradition continues❤️🌿
Planting trees in Cheltenham goes back to the 18th century
Captain Henry Skillicorne, the founding father of Cheltenham spa, began planting forest trees within the town. In winter 1739 he planted elm & lime, creating avenues that still exist today
That tradition continues❤️🌿
I useful thread to read if, like me, you find a session on here sends your anxiety into overdrive.
If you’re finding it too upsetting to read the news shared online here are some things I do which help me
September 14, 2025 at 10:52 AM
I useful thread to read if, like me, you find a session on here sends your anxiety into overdrive.
An impressive door on the eastern side of Gloucester Cathedral, dated 1614. I don't know who the people (man and woman?) are in the carvings above it.
September 13, 2025 at 8:39 AM
An impressive door on the eastern side of Gloucester Cathedral, dated 1614. I don't know who the people (man and woman?) are in the carvings above it.
Reposted by Jill Evans
How fast can they eat an onion? We're deep in training for the onion-eating contest at Newent Celebrates! this weekend, where we'll be going up against our Royalist foes to see how fast someone can snaffle down an onion! earlofmanchesters.co.uk/newent-celeb...
September 9, 2025 at 9:49 AM
How fast can they eat an onion? We're deep in training for the onion-eating contest at Newent Celebrates! this weekend, where we'll be going up against our Royalist foes to see how fast someone can snaffle down an onion! earlofmanchesters.co.uk/newent-celeb...
Browsing the British Newspaper Archive instead of getting on with book editing, I found this story in the Newcastle Courant, 14 Jan 1716: The report said that the Gloucester Wagon had been robbed when it stopped at the Bell Inn, Henley-on-Thames. The robbers stole a box out of the wagon and [1]
September 7, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Browsing the British Newspaper Archive instead of getting on with book editing, I found this story in the Newcastle Courant, 14 Jan 1716: The report said that the Gloucester Wagon had been robbed when it stopped at the Bell Inn, Henley-on-Thames. The robbers stole a box out of the wagon and [1]
Reposted by Jill Evans
85 years on Sunday since Black Saturday, 7 September 1940. June, a 25yo diarist and volunteer ambulance driver, who is the subject of my book UNDER FIRE, was sunbathing in a garden in Chelsea and saw "hundreds of planes in the sky, no bigger than pinpricks". By 5.30 the docks in East London was.. 🧵
September 3, 2025 at 9:14 AM
85 years on Sunday since Black Saturday, 7 September 1940. June, a 25yo diarist and volunteer ambulance driver, who is the subject of my book UNDER FIRE, was sunbathing in a garden in Chelsea and saw "hundreds of planes in the sky, no bigger than pinpricks". By 5.30 the docks in East London was.. 🧵
Reposted by Jill Evans
#OTD 1752, Britain went to bed like usual. But when they awoke, it was ‘eleven days later’ on Thursday 14 September. Find out why...👇 @georgianlords.bsky.social
‘Time, that great discoverer of truth and falsehood’: the calendar change of 1752 and the dating of Easter - The History of Parliament
As Easter weekend - late this year - approaches, Dr Robin Eagles, Senior Research Fellow in the House of Lords 1660-1832 section, discusses the timing of
ow.ly
September 2, 2025 at 8:15 AM
#OTD 1752, Britain went to bed like usual. But when they awoke, it was ‘eleven days later’ on Thursday 14 September. Find out why...👇 @georgianlords.bsky.social
Know how you feel, mate.
14th century corbel from the Church of St. Mary Redcliffe in Bristol. Originally from the church’s North Porch, the corbel (and several others) is now on display in the church. 📸 My own. #SundayStonework #StMaryRedcliffe #Bristol
August 31, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Know how you feel, mate.
Newent bucking the trend when it comes to flag-flying.
August 30, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Newent bucking the trend when it comes to flag-flying.
Reposted by Jill Evans
Just over 2,000 more signatures needed to get us to 10k. Help us get there. Anyone you know who wants fair coverage, pass them this way to sign. Democracy matters and our broadcasters need to report on ALL parties! They’re currently failing us. Here’s the link. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71...
August 30, 2025 at 4:57 AM
Just over 2,000 more signatures needed to get us to 10k. Help us get there. Anyone you know who wants fair coverage, pass them this way to sign. Democracy matters and our broadcasters need to report on ALL parties! They’re currently failing us. Here’s the link. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71...