[Diary], 1766 May 6-Jul 1.

ArchivalResource

Lawson, John. [Diary], 1766 May 6-Jul 1.

[Diary], 1766 May 6-Jul 1.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/702176495

Manuscript journal kept by Lawson during a journey from Lancaster through Derby and Northamptonshire to London, with a return trip via Bristol, Glocester, Shrewsbury and Chester. Lawson describes travel and roads, meals, inns, churches and market halls, and the economic conditions of the towns and villages through which he passes. Almost half of the text is devoted to the month Lawson spent in London. Subjects include lodgings, Lawson's frequent attendance at several Quaker meetings, and appointments with relatives and acquaintances. He also records his almost-daily sightseeing, describing Guildhall, Parliament House, the Royal Exchange, St. Paul's, Bedlam, the Tower of London, Lloyd's coffeehouse, and Finchley Common. The entries on a night visit to Vauxhall Gardens, a tour of Greenwich Hospital, and a royal military review at Wimbledon on June 28th are particularly detailed. Other topics include a display of a wooden model of the city of Paris; exotic animals and plants, including a zebra and an elephant, which "can lie down, contrary to rumor;" and his purchase of "A Tour thro' Britain which consists of 4 volumes."

1 v. (93 p.) ; 20 x 16 cm.

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library