Historical Context in David Copperfield

It was traditional for well-known families to have their own row of seats (a pew) in church services.

Yarmouth is a sea-side town in Norfolk, a county in the East of England.

A city and district in the North and East of England noted for shipbuilding. 

Rolling a hoop along the ground with a stick or some other kind of implement was a sport and a game often played by children. The object was to keep the hoop in motion without its falling over for as long as possible.

Based on the Arabian Nights, a set of stories written by English author James Ridley.

The British Parliament consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It is a tradition in the House of Commons for the members to shout out their support or opposition as they listen to each other speak on political issues. The proceedings can become very boisterous.

Teased, attacked, or tormented. In Elizabethan times, bear baiting was a popular entertainment. A bear was chained and then set upon by a pack of dogs.

First published in 1563 and reprinted in numerous editions, John Foxe's book recorded and depicted with illustrations the persecution and suffering of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, with an emphasis on the suffering inflicted on Protestants in England by the Catholic Church from the fourteenth century through the reign of Mary I. The book was embraced by English Puritans and attacked by Catholics; in Britain, it molded popular opinion about the Catholic Church for centuries.   

Tight-fitting trousers of a brown or khaki color; pantaloons often fastened under the instep of a man's foot. The style was popular in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century.

An Act of Parliament that freed from prison those who could not pay their debts.

Situated on the Thames, the Adelphi consisted of eleven apartment houses built in the neo-classical style of architecture between 1768 and 1772. They were the first structures in London that featured neo-classical design.

Davy paid for water with his dinner. Drinking water was in short supply in the slums of London; there were not enough pumps to supply water to the enormous number of poor people.  

A celebration with a procession that marks the election of the Lord Mayor of an English city; the most famous, observed for centuries, is the celebration in honor of the Lord Mayor of London. 

A town and major ferry port in southeast England at the narrowest part of the English Channel, directly across from France. The White Cliffs of Dover are a famous geological feature of the town.

The Insolvent Debtors Act mentioned in the previous chapter.

A town and major ferry port in northern France, overlooking the Strait of Dover, the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel. 

A lighthouse in St. Margaret's Bay, Dover, County Kent, England.

Canterbury Cathedral. (See annotation for Canterbury above.) Canterbury Cathedral is the church of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England. During the Middle Ages, many Christians made religious pilgrimages to Canterbury to venerate Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170 by knights of King Henry II. The knights murdered Becket believing they were acting in accordance with King Henry's will. In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, a group of religious pilgrims share stories as they make their way from London to Canterbury Cathedral. 

A town in the county of Kent, famous for the Canterbury Cathedral, an ancient Christian cathedral founded in 597 and rebuilt from 1070 to 1077.

A patriotic song about Admiral Lord Nelson, popular in the nineteenth century.

A town in the county of Kent. Dickens lived nearby at Gads Hill Place in the village of Higham. The area is featured in many of Dickens's novels.