At the start of the Georgian period , Christmas was something of a private, polite celebration, with none of the rowdiness of the previous century. The upper classes believed in elegant entertaining at the Christmas season. Not that there weren’t traditions like decking the room with rosemary, eating Christmas porridge, or dining on a buttock of beef.

The later Georgian period saw a revival in Christmas fortunes, with a nostalgic interest in how Christmas had been celebrated in Old England, with feasts associated with St Nicholas Day and Twelfth Night.

In this 50 minute Zoom talk, Rob will talk about London at Christmas in the Georgian period – from masked Christmas Balls to pantomime at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. You’ll hear how some were concerned about the cost of Christmas and the highwayman who covered the cost of Christmas his own way.

Christmas was reinvented again during the Victorian period, and you can hear about that in Rob’s other Virtual Tour about Christmas in Victorian England .