The Regency Then and Today

Candice Hern's site is one of my favorites to learn about the Regency period. Click on this link to view Regency London then and now in fabulous pictures placed against Horwood's Map of London.

The Albany, Bachelor Apartments

Shopping in London during Jane Austen's Time

High Change in Bond Street, 1796, Gilray

In 1800 there were 150 shops in Oxford Street alone, and Jane always made time to treat herself in the city shops and to make purchases on behalf of friends and relatives in the country. She mentions buying muslin and trimmings at Grafton's the drapers, as well as purchases of gloves, stockings, caps, bonnets, china from Wedgwood's shop and tea from Twinings. In Gray's the jewelers on Sackville Street Mr. John Dashwood, encountering his half-sister, excuses himself for not calling on her, as 'one always has so much to do on first coming to town. I am come here to bespeak Fanny a seal.' Also in the shop is a boorish dandy choosing a toothpick case adorned with ivory, gold and pearls. In Emma, Mr Elton takes Harriet's picture to London to be framed in Bond Street, and Frank Churchill goes there to have his hair cut -- though this is only an excuse contrived to conceal his true purpose, which is to purchase a piano for the woman he loves.

Jane Austen's Town and Country Style, Susan Watkins, p 172

For further reading about shopping during the Regency era, check these links:

Let's Go Shopping!

Regency Shopping: Shopping Malls

London's Historic Shopping Arcades

Other posts about shopping on this site: Shopping in Regency England

Burlington Arcade, North Entrance, 1819

Almack's Assembly Rooms

The patronesses of Almack's Assembly Rooms on King Street near St. James's Park could make or break one socially, although the food they served left something to be desired.

The Great Metropolis was written in 1837 by James Grant, a member of Almack's. In a chapter in his book, he discusses Almack's origin and impact on Society.

Find another description of Almack's here.

And more information on Wikipedia.

Find a detailed, if dry, description of Almack's on King Street on this British History Online site.

Finally, want to have some fun? Find a detailed, erudite description of the history of Almack's on Almack's Online Gaming Club. You can even join the club and play bridge or backgammon! There are privileged rates for hereditary peers. (You must live in an area where gaming is allowed.)