How our Medieval ancestors got freaked out by natural events, Englefield and Great Malvern Priory...
Hello fellow history lovers! How are you doing? Here’s your monthly update on all things history…
Writing
I’m a third of the way through writing my book on Medieval women and I’m so looking forward to sharing it all with you. There will be women you’ll have heard of, along with others who I’m discovering in the sources for the first time (first time for me, anyway). I nearly started an email with ‘right trusty and well-beloved I greet you well’ so that will give you an idea of how much fifteenth century text I’m reading right now.
There are a few new posts up on the blog too - this one, about six times natural phenomena freaked out our Medieval ancestors, and a write up of my visit to Great Malvern Priory, a beautiful religious house that escaped the drastic renovations of the Victorians and other centuries. The sixteenth century locals clubbed together and even paid off Henry VIII to save it from the Dissolution. There’s also a lot of gorgeous Medieval stained glass there.
Reading
Apart from the usual fifteenth century texts, which I’m loving by the way, I read The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys which came out last month. It’s a murder mystery historical fiction loosely based on Pepys’ diary. Here’s the write up of it here. I was also part of the book tour for Roman Britain’s Pirate King by Simon Elliott. Murder, plots and backstabbing (literally) it’ll take you to a little-known period of Roman British history.
I’m going to be taking part in another book tour this month, and I’ll keep you posted with any new reviews or finds here for next month.
What have you been reading this month? Leave a comment or drop me an email here - I’m always looking for great books to add to my list.
Early one Sunday I jumped on my bike and rode to Englefield, a historic estate that was once home to Sir Francis Englefield, a rebellious knight during the time of Elizabeth I. I decided to take my sketchbook with me and did a painting of the church. A lady saw me (she was unlocking the church to change the flowers) and invited me in for a look. The church is small on the inside but full of character, and she showed me some of the Englefield family monuments.
I’ll be setting up an exhibition at Reading’s Royal Berkshire Hospital this weekend - I have a wall near the X-Ray department to fill with my drawings. I’ll be sharing sketches of the local area with some of my fellow art friends so if you’re there do come and find us. A portion of the proceeds of any pieces sold goes back into helping raise funds for the hospital.
There’s also another exhibition in Reading that I’ve been asked to prepare for, so I’ll be sure to update you all with that once it’s finalised. Social media has been a bit quiet because at the moment writing is taking up most of my time but if you’d like to see when new pieces are finished (you never know when the inspiration might come) do come and find me @sketcherjoey on Instagram.
Have a great September! Stay safe and well and see you in October.
Keep in touch in the meantime on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.