Roman Invasions, Spooky Things and Sketching at a Saxon Church...
The sky is a cool shade of grey, I’m wearing a stripy jumper and one of my garden chairs is being blown across the garden as I type. So I guess it’s October! Lots in the newsletter this month, from the Romans in Britain to spooky things at Hampton Court…
Writing
One of the things I found out was an actual thing this month is Forest Bathing. Have you heard of it? It’s where you turn off your phone and enjoy some natural surroundings for a few hours. I did a rundown of some of the UK’s most popular forest bathing sites with a bit of history here. I also had a mini Tudor theme on the blog, tracking down Tudor sites in Plymouth, Devon and what Tudor people in Tilehurst in Berkshire got up to, for a bit of local history.
There were a couple of book reviews: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know by Karl Shaw and Roman Conquests: Britain, by Simon Elliott. I learned a few things from these books, including that the European aristocracy were not as well behaved as their posed, aloof portraits would lead us to believe and also that the Romans actually had quite the struggle in their attempts to successfully invade Britain.
It is October, and surely you’re ready for some spooky posts now that the shops are kitted out with witches’ hats, rubbery false vampire teeth and spindly broomsticks. Here’s a post I wrote about some real-life ‘witches’ from Reading and a spooky thing that happened to me on a trip to Hampton Court’s Haunted Gallery. Yes, I was asking for trouble walking along there on my own but there you go. If it’s the haunting peal of lost church bells ringing underwater then you’ll love this post, about submerged Atlantis-style Medieval villages. The Princes in the Tower? Pirates? A history of death? To be fair, these all seem like cheery reading compared to these Health Tips from the 1600s which are fairly scary in their own right. You can always console yourself afterwards with a couple of seventeenth-century Soul Cakes. Don’t say I don’t look after you.
Have a subject you’d like to see me tackle on the blog? Email me.
Reading
I spent the beginning of the month recovering from some surgery so I had a bit of a book-fest. Apart from Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know and Roman Conquests: Britain, I listened to the audiobook of Alison Weir’s Mary Boleyn: ‘The Great and Infamous Whore’. There will be a proper review of that one up on the blog soon.
I’ve also managed to get a copy of The Last Witches of England by John Callow and I’ll be starting that later today. It explores the story of the last women in England to be executed as witches, in 1682. I’ll post up my review when I’m finished, but I’m really excited to start.
Sketching
Before the weather turned blustery I managed a morning out sketching in the dappled shade of St Mary’s Church in Purley-on-Thames. I’d never been before, but found out it has a really interesting history. The site has Saxon origins, and is thought to have been a place for worship for around 1,000 years. Saxon burials were found in the churchyard in the 1980s. An early church was also supposed to have been burned down by Matilda’s forces during the Anarchy and then rebuilt in the late 1100s. There’s a red-bricked tower, with the date 1626 on it - and the current main church was rebuilt by the Victorians.
I was also excited to see my work exhibited at Reading’s Junction Arch Heritage Day, along with that of other artists. My sketch was a marker pen drawing of one of the angel statues in the cemetery that I drew, cross-legged on the path in front of it, earlier in the summer.
I also drew a timber-framed building with incredible herringbone bricks on Rother Street in Stratford-Upon-Avon, a piratey pub on Southside Street in Plymouth, Reading Gaol, The Victoria pub in Tilehurst and Hampton Court Palace, as well as an imaginary Tudor tree house that I had a lot of fun with. I also worked on a commissioned house portrait which I loved working on, too. If you’d like to commission me for a house portrait or other drawing, you can find all the details here. All my drawings are on my Instagram @sketcherjoey.
History News
I’m going to be at Reading’s Town Hall on 20th October at this business and wellness event, exhibiting some of my historical artwork. If you’re going along, come and say hi!
Stay in this 800-year old home once owned by Henry VIII! Or just click on the link like I did and have a nosy peek at what it’s like inside.
Gresham College have been offering free public lectures since 1597 - although back then it wasn’t broadcast over the internet like it is now, obviously. I’ve booked myself on a few of their upcoming lectures including Black history in Britain, Shakespeare and Richard III. Check out what’s on here.
Dust off those wigs and puff up your cravats because apparently Regency Weddings are expected to be big next year, following the success of Bridgerton.
And finally, these haunted Scottish castles that you can spend the night in, if you’re brave enough…
Thanks for reading! Stay in touch with me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and I’ll see you again in November. Stay well!