Next Club Meeting - 'Walls Speak: Discovering Norfolk's Medieval Graffiti'

Come along and find out why we call this
'Andrew's Horse'

For those of you who have attended the Norwich Community History Club thus far, it will come as no surprise to learn that next Tuesday's sessions will be about one of my passions: medieval 'graffiti' (take note of the inverted commas - they're there for a reason). I'm heavily involved with the community archaeology project, The Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey, and in this presentation I will share with you some of the projects discoveries. 

When & Where...
Tuesday 4th December 
10:30 informal gathering in Marzanos Cafe (in Norwich Forum, ground floor, near piano)
11:00-12:00 presentation, 'Walls Speak: Discovering Norfolk's Medieval Graffiti'. 

Speaker: Colin Howey (Deputy Director of the Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey)

STOP PRESS!
Future speakers who have agreed to come and speak to our Club so far (specifics to be arranged):

• Sophie Cabot, archaeologist and Engagement Manager at HEART (HEritage  And Regeneration Trust)
• Professor Carole Rawcliffe, professor of medieval history at UEA
• Brian Ayers, former Norfolk county archaeologist

We are really grateful for the amazing support and contributions being given to our venture thus far - thanks!

Christmas Heritage Hours at Millennium Library

Please click on image in order to enlarge

Prayer in Stone

In preparation for a presentation I'll be giving later this week about medieval 'graffiti' in Norfolk, I have been re-visiting Norwich Castle earlier today, in search of some decent photographs for my talk. Here is a really interesting little graffito, that can be found on the wall opposite one of the castle's latrines. Looking at the tooling marks on the ashlar (worked limestone), I would imagine this stone to date from sometime in the 1400s - or thereabouts. Lots of background 'noise'; a flurry of lines and 'scribble' - and there, to the right of the stone, a figure. It appears to be Christ on the cross, head bowed slightly to the right - just as it would have been on a pre-Reformation rood (carved figure of Jesus above the screen demarcating nave from chancel in a church - none of which survived the destruction wrought by the English Reformation[s]). Looking, as I did, with my high-resolution magnifier at the lines in the graffito it is clear that this figure has some real age to it. The lines are fully carbonated - a result, no doubt, of accumulations of smoke from prisoners fires burning low-grade charcoal in an attempt to stay warm. The whole 'feel' of this one is medieval. It stands short of five feet (in old money) from the floor level. Assuming this, then, to have been carved at a chest height, the person who conceived it (from brain to wall) was of diminutive stature. 

We will never be able to reconstruct the thoughts of that person. If it were not for this 'whisper' of their presence, they would be just one of a legion of 'invisible' people who have passed through this space during its 900 years of existence. If I am correct, and the stone does indeed date from the fifteenth century, and the graffito is pre-Reformation, then it is most likely carved by someone who was a prisoner in what was, by then, the county gaol. We know that graffiti tends to proliferate during times of social tension - war, famine, plague -, so it seems psychological coherent to conjecture that a prisoner facing possible execution might seek to leave a permanent mark - but not any old mark. Was this perhaps a form of devotion; a prayer in stone? Regardless of any interpretation, it does remind us that others - as alive and 'contemporary' in their day as we are in ours - once stood here. 

Rigorous handling of the evidence is vital if we are to gain a better understanding of the past. However, for me, to stretch one's historical imagination and explore a sense of wonder at the strangely familiar presence of those who have passed before us is important too. History isn't just written on parchment, paper or velum - that's for sure. 

For further information about medieval graffiti in Norfolk, click on the following link:
Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey

~ Colin Howey ~ 

Week2: Maps, Chats, Muddles & Puddles

Dr. Carole Hill, talking to Club members about
Francis Blomefield's county history

Another great turnout for this, the second meeting of our new history club. I want to thank every one who made the effort to join us on what was a wet and windy day. 

From now on we will always meet for the first half an hour or so in Marzanos cafe, in the Norwich Forum. We sat around our respective tables and folk seemed to be chatting away nicely. Not wanting to over-direct things, I left people to just catch up and socialise (meeting and mixing is an important part of this Club). I also took the opportunity to invite people to leave feedback about last weeks presentation by historian and storyteller, Dave Tong. Here are a couple of excerpts from that exercise:

"Dave was rubbish..." Only kidding! Here's the real feedback:

"Dave was brilliant - more than living up to his storyteller reputation. Knowledgable and very interesting."

"Excellent, really enjoyed it. Interesting and funny."

I think we should get Mr. Tong back at some point - in fact, I'm meeting with him tomorrow and will attempt to bribe him to return with the irresistible offer of baked beans on toast at the All Saints Cafe (no expense spared at this Club!). 

Back to today: having supped and socialised, we went up to the library's meeting room, where the Community Librarian, Clare Agate, awaited. As she took small groups into the strong room to view a little of the amazing Norfolk Heritage Collection (see video in previous post), those remaining looked at a large copy of the first map of Norwich (Cuningham's 1558 map); the two Norwich volumes of Francis Blomefield's 'History of Norfolk..." (1805) and a late nineteenth century copy of the Eastern Daily Press (reporting floods in the city). 

Clare had expected me to talk authoritatively about the Cuningham map; however, I started by muddling Chapelfield with Cowholme, whereupon Sophie (from HEART), quite rightfully sensing my 'upside-down-ness' (ie my ineptitude!), stepped in and talked us through some of the salient features, answering questions from the group (I meekly shut up - it's a strength to be aware of one's limitations... that's what I tell myself, anyway).  

Dr. Carole Hill then very kindly talked about the uses and limitations of Blomefield's seminal 'History', from the perspective of the historian. Although it is important to be aware of Blomefield's biases, errors and omissions, he had access to a lot of records that no longer exist - and that makes his work a very useful resource indeed. Although the 'Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk' (draws breath... gasp!), is now available online (see HERE), you can't beat connecting with the real books, in all their musty authenticity. 

Finally, we looked at some contemporary coverage of the 'great flood' in Norwich, as recorded in the EDP of November 1878. This event happened before the more famous flood of 1912, after which the river Wensum was widened in order to help prevent further inundations. Hundreds of people were made homeless as a result of the rising waters. This is well out of living memory now, but reading the account in the paper made it feel vividly real. 

~ Colin Howey ~

A Norfolk Heritage Treasure Trove!

The early Fifteenth century Wycliffite bible.
Please click on image in order to enlarge

I'm still buzzing from the amazing success of our first meeting, yesterday! Whilst Dave's session was excellent and well received, the two of us - both used to belting out at volume - agreed that Marzanos cafe was a real challenge to a speaker in terms of background noise. Fret not though, anonymous reader, for we have worked out a solution...

The Club will continue to meet at Marzanos at 10:30 on Tuesdays, however, I propose that we meet at there for the first half an hour, and then move on: either, to the Training Room in the Millennium Library (very kindly offered in partnership to us by the Norfolk Library & Information Service!), or to any sites we are visiting. 

Thus, next Tuesday (27th November), we will assemble in the cafe, enjoy a drink and socialise a bit, before going up to the Training Room. Waiting for us there, will be the wonderful Clare Agate (Community Librarian), who is going to show us some of the fascinating historical materials held therein (see, for instance, the illuminated bible, above). We are hoping to be able to take small groups into the 'strong room' where the c500,000 Norfolk-related books, photographs, postcards are kept. In the meantime, I will talk about some of the items which will be out on display in the Training Room. If she is able to make it along, my friend, Dr. Carole Hill (author of, 'Women and Religion in Late Medieval Norwich', published 2010), will also be available to talk about some of the work. Trust me, you won't regret making the effort to see this for yourselves. As a little taster, I will share a video I recently made (as part of a series of short films, called, 'Why We Love Our Library'):



Come along next Tuesday and get in touch with history!

Week 1: A Really Encouraging Start!

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Summary...
As you can see from the photo (above) we had a fantastic turn-out for our first Club meeting yesterday! Massive thanks to everyone who made the effort to make the journey on what was, initially, a grey, drizzly day. 

The gathering (kindly hosted by Marzanos cafe in the Norwich Forum - thanks to all the staff for facilitating this!), began with me introducing myself and outlining my ideas about how the group might develop. It would have been very easy for folk attending to passively listen to me and Dave (our speaker), but as encouraging people to socialise with other 'history nuts' is part of our ethos, people worked in small groups, sharing then writing down their reasons for attending and initial ideas about how the Club might develop (this has been really useful feedback for me, by the way!). 

Dave then gave a fascinating, engaging and often funny presentation about the nature of civic order and disorder in Early Modern (Tudor/Stuart: 1500-1600s: 16th/17th centuries) Norwich. Being a professional storyteller, he also interspersed this with some entertaining short stories, that he set in the context of the times.   

Feedback...
I have received some really positive feedback about the session from those present. Here is an example:
"I was thoroughly entertained, educated and enthused by today" - Simon.

Next...
We're currently working on the content of next Tuesday's session and I'll be posting something here about that very soon. 

Welcome...

Medieval graffiti in St Peter Mancroft church, Norwich.
Please click on image in order to enlarge

We're starting a new club - the Norwich Community History Club - where people can meet together in a friendly, inclusive and informal setting (Marzanos cafe in the Forum) to learn more about history (focusing primarily - but not exclusively! - on local history). This club is open to all, but I will be actively recruiting those who experience barriers, being deemed to be 'hard to reach'/hardly reached (it's always the organisations that fail to do the 'reaching' in my experience!).  

The sort of thing we might end up doing as the group evolves, includes:

• Listening to/learning from guest speakers
• Sharing books/broadcasts we have enjoyed
• Skill sharing - raising and answering questions; sharing 'in-house' knowledge
• Visiting historic buildings in the city (and beyond)
• Initiating our own history projects
• Developing an Info Bank of available historic resources
• Developing a blog (this one!)
• Socialising/meeting new people brought together through common interests
• Encouraging and supporting each other on our learning journey

For our first meeting (Tuesday 20th November, 10:30-12:00 - members/guests will meet every Tuesday at that time/place thereafter) I have invited my friend, and former museum colleague, Dave Tong, to come and talk to us about a subject he has genuine expertise in - namely, folk who lived outside the 'rules' around Norwich market in the Tudor/Stuart period (1500-1600s). He has entitled this one, 'Playing Games and Being Shamed on Norwich Market Place.' Dave is a lively and entertaining speaker (as you would expect from someone who is, both, an historian and a professional story teller). Come along, then, and get a 'flavour' of life on the margins in Tudor/Stuart Norwich. 

Finally, if you have a particular area of expertise that you would be happy to donate to our club, or access to resources that we would benefit from, that would be VERY welcome indeed. If this voluntary organisation is to develop in the way I hope it will, your contributions will be a key part of our growth and I look forward to your support. 

For further information, please contact Colin Howey on:
colin.howey@norfolk.gov.uk