Telling Stories

Dave, telling a story at our first ever History Club gathering

For our last meeting before Christmas we have storyteller and historian Dave Tonge, The Yarnsmith of Norwich, returning once again to the Club to tell some tales. He was the speaker at our first ever gathering and it seems a right and proper to have him return in our last meeting before Christmas. Really looking forward to it!

In his own words, here's an overview of what he'll be doing:

"Some tales from the Court of King Arthur and his father, Uther Pendragon; of generous knights, ugly women and a great green man!"

I hope that whets your appetite!

~ Colin ~ 

Imperial War Museum Programmes

As part of the forthcoming First World War centenary commemoration, the Imperial War Museum has developed a series of fascinating audio programmes examining different aspects of the war experience. These can be found here (I've also added the link to the sidebar of the blog):

First World War Centenary Podcasts

Free Paston Lunchtime Lectures

Please click on image in order to enlarge

The Paston letters, written by members of a wealthy Norfolk family, offer a picture of life between 1422 and 1509. This unique archive is the oldest surviving private correspondence in England. As part of the Paston exhibition currently running at the Norfolk Record Office, there will be a series of free lunchtime lectures (click on flyer, above, for details). 

Pop Up Museum at Magdalen Street Festival

For the latest news about this weekend's Magdalen Street Festival history-related happening, click on the following link to Roxanne Matthew's wonderful LivingNorwich blog...

Magdalen Street Celebrations 

Being Curious...

A semi-calcified spider, preserved in the medieval undercroft
beneath the Norwich Assembly House

How we understand the past is always a matter of perspective

Within Walls: Norwich Castle fighting galleries 

Landscape History of Halvergate Marshes - Tues 8th Oct 2013

Last Tuesday's History Club session featured an excellent presentation by club member, Jacky. Her talk was entitled, 'A Perambulation of Halvergate Marshes', and used a landscape history approach to interpret the historic environment. Speaking as someone who does a lot of presentations myself, I felt that Jacky's delivery was clear, relaxed and authoritative. The content was absolutely fascinating and I know that I'm not alone in thinking that. 

Thanks Jacky!

Playful Heritage

I'd like to share another of my Heritage Open Day articles with you here. As the title suggests, 'Playful Heritage' is an exploration of the way(s) in which people can get creative by allowing themselves to be inspired by heritage sites. I feel that there is a tendency for us to approach the past in a tone of earnest hushed whispers. In the Norwich Community History Club, we don't go along with that at all. Although we are rightly respectful of the past, we do have a laugh together in the here and now. Click on the following link in order to read my article:

Playful Heritage

~ Colin Howey, Chair, NCHC ~

Black History Month in Norfolk

It's Black History Month and, as ever, there is a really interesting and diverse range of activities across Norfolk. In order to learn more about this excellent and important event, please click HERE

Easy to Reach Heritage

My name is Colin Howey and I am the Chair of the Norwich Community History Club. I am also a writer for the national Heritage Open Day blog. Here, I am going to share with you some of the articles I have written for this publication. The piece I am going to share with you here is entitled, "Easy to Reach Heritage." It is about accessibility and the benefits this may bring to heritage providers. 

Please click on the following link:
Easy to Reach Heritage

Notice to Members - Communication

Contemporary image of the 1874 Thorpe Train Disaster

I have received some feedback that some people are a bit frustrated that we don't always post information about our coming meetings on this blog or the club's Facebook page. As I explained at our last gathering of members, due to the great demands upon my time there will often be times when I simply don't have the capacity to do this. Rest assured though: no matter where we are going or what we are doing, we will ALWAYS meet at Marzano's Cafe every Tuesday morning, 10:30-11:00. If this is cancelled for any reason, I will be sure to post it here and on the Facebook page in advance. 

However, having thought about it a bit deeper, I'm not actually sure I'd want to anyway. Why? 

Firstly, part of the club's unique purpose is to be a place to meet, mix and socialise. With that in mind, I hope members would want to attend regardless of the subject. 

Secondly, we will never have a detailed schedule mapped out in advance - in part because we want the capacity/flexibility to have a programme of activities that responds to members interests as they develop. For instance, if it becomes apparent that the group want a speaker to talk about, say, Norfolk in the First World War and our programme is booked a year in advance we won't be able to meet that interest in reasonable time. 

Thirdly, there is a really strong case for the 'suck it and see' approach. In other words, if you see a subject advertised you may think you won't be interested, when, in fact, you would get a pleasant surprise if you had turned up. A case in point was our Vice Chair, Nick Bowen's recent excellent presentation about the 1874 Thorpe Train Disaster. Several members who attended said that prior to the talk they wondered if a talk about trains was for them, but due to Nick's hard work, passion and skill it turned out to be one of the most popular talks we've ever had. Stumble and see!

Great Yarmouth: Silver from the Sea

My name is Colin Howey and I am the Chair of the Norwich Community History Club. I am also a writer for the national Heritage Open Day blog. Here, I am going to share with you some of the articles I have written for this publication. The first one I am going to share with you here is entitled, "Great Yarmouth: Silver from the Sea." In this piece I seek to challenge stereotypes about Great Yarmouth and, indeed, about what we value as heritage. I hope you find it interesting...

Please click on the following link:

Great Yarmouth: Silver from the Sea

Iron Age Archaeology in Norfolk

Tomorrow, members of the Norwich Community History Club will be listening to Norwich Castle Museum's chief curator, Dr John Davis, talking about the county's fascinating Iron Age archaeology. These are exciting times in this particular field of study, so I'm sure our members will find it very interesting indeed. Unfortunately, I won't be there myself, so I hope everyone has an excellent time. 

Cheers,

Colin

Historic River Walk

Next Tuesday, club members we gather (as ever!) at Marzanos Cafe in the Forum, before going on a river walk between Fye Bridge and Bishop Bridge. This won't be a formal 'tour' - more of an opportunity for club members to share our knowledge and thoughts as we go. It should also prove excellent for our wellbeing. Looking forward to it!

Cheers,
Colin

'Saints & Sherlock: Decoding a Medieval Church'

For tomorrow's History Club session Dr Carole Hill and I will be doing a presentation entitled, 'Saints & Sherlock: Decoding a Medieval Church'. Hope to see you there!

~ Colin Howey ~

A Unique Performance

Random Image: a huge key to the medieval door of a tower
staircase in a church in central Norfolk

On many occasions I have been heard to state that the Norwich Community History Club is unique. Until last Tuesday, that 'uniqueness' referred to the fact that we're the only group I know of who formally combine learning about history and archaeology with the aim of improving/maintaining wellbeing. However, following a PowerPoint related hitch, me and Nick (the Vice Chair) gave another meaning to 'unique' as we desperately improvised in front of club members. 

Our 'ramble' took in - among other things - medieval graffiti, historical periodisation, the saints' emblems and, towards the end, wandered off to the extraordinary history of Nick's various injuries and accidents. I can only imagine how strange it must have been to witness this. However, our members are a generous bunch and took it all with good heart. Whatever their reaction, I am confident that they will not have experienced anything quite like it before!

Next week, we will endeavour to return a semblance of order and make sure that all bases are covered so that Nick can deliver his first ever public historical presentation. He will be talking about his grandfather's fascinating life. Part of our ethos and approach is that we carry valid history in our heads. Thus, it will be really interesting to learn about an 'ordinary' person's life who lived and died in Norwic

Next Week's Meeting... Tuesday 21st June

At next week's meeting in the library, we will be returning to an activity that proved to be a resounding success last time we did it. Can members please bring along an historical item along. with them? It could be a photograph, a book etc - or something relating to your family history (no 'live' grenades though please!). We will then break up into groups and talk about the story behind the object. This is a great way for us to share our interests and enthusiasms and to learn about each other too. 

Looking forward to it!

Tuesday 4th June Meeting - the River Wensum

At next week's meeting, club member, Mike Hudson, will be screening a film about Norwich and the river Wensum, entitled, 'Beside Still Waters'. Having had a preview myself, I think we're really going to enjoy this one! I will be adding some additional thoughts about the history and archaeology of the river in the form of a short presentation. I'm sure members will have plenty to add as well.

Meeting Place & Times: 
10:30 in Marzanos Cafe in the Forum
11:00 Training Room in the Millennium Library 

~ Colin Howey ~

What Have We Been Up to & What Next?

The Cathedral of St John the Baptist, at night...

Our thanks go out to Paul Greener who gave a talk based on his MA thesis about the 1945 Norwich Plan to club members. It was not an area I was familiar with and it certainly opened my eyes to lots of issues, clues and 'what ifs' that will inform my thinking about our city's past and present. Anyway, the feedback I have received from members has been very positive, so thanks to Paul.

Next Tuesday (21st May), we'll be meeting as usual in Marzanos cafe before going to the library's Training Room. We have Gary Standley from the BBC Voices project coming to talk to us about the possibility of members making our own films about some of the historic sites we love within Norwich. After that, I would like to quickly run through the Club's aim so that members are all fully aware of what we're about. We can then do a little bit of history together - namely, by examining some old maps and photographs from the Norfolk Heritage Collection as sources of evidence. What do they tell us? Why were they made/taken? Who paid for them? We'll work in small groups to explore this together and then share some of our conclusions. 

FYI: the following week (28th May) we will be visiting the Cathedral of St John the Baptist - the Victorian Catholic cathedral. We will be meeting in Marzanos at the usual time, but if members would prefer to meet at the cathedral, we will be starting the tour there at 11:15 (meeting in the Narthex, welcome centre). The tour will be led by Jo Anderton, the cathedral's Education Officer, and there will be a small charge of £1.50 per person. 

PS Here's a piece I did about visiting St John's at night, a couple of years back - 

Museums at Night Twilight Tower Tours

~ Colin Howey, NCHC Chair ~

Tues 30th April - Professor Tom Williamson will be talking about Landscape History

On Tuesday we have the amazing Tom Williamson, Professor of Landscape History at UEA, coming to talk to us about a landscape historian's approach to understanding the historic environment of Norfolk. I was lucky enough to spend a day with Tom at St Benet's Abbey today (see pic) and I can HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you attend this one. He is a fabulous communicator, brimming with energy, enthusiasm and ideas - and he's funny too! 

I am also really looking forward to catching up with Club members having missed the last two sessions, following visits to Birmingham and London, respectively. 

~ Colin ~

Free Heritage Training Opportunities

NORCA (Norwich & Norfolk Community Arts) are offering some great training opportunities for adults in all things heritage and carnival! Whether you have been a volunteer with the Carnival Archive project or not you can take part in the training! No experience is necessary – only enthusiasm, an open mind and an aptitude for fun is needed!

An Introduction to Oral History Training with Rib Davis, a British Library/Oral History Soc. -accredited trainer, Saturday 23^rd March, 10am – 4.30pm

An informal and practical introduction to oral history interviewing with an opportunity to handle recording equipment and discuss some of the issues around oral history, life stories and memory.

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Creative Interpretation with Art of the Ordinary, Thursday 4^th April 10am – 3pm

Using the images and inspiration from the Carnival Archive, Art of the Ordinary will show you how to make beautiful art work to take away with you.

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Lives in Focus: Recording oral history interviews on video with Roger Kitchen, a British Library/Oral History Soc. -accredited trainer, Monday 8th April, 10 – 4.30pm

An introduction to the principles and techniques of recording, editing and distributing oral history on video. It is aimed at those with little or no experience and it will take participants through the advantages and disadvantages of video over audio recordings, give practical advice on recording techniques, and offer guidance on suitable equipment.

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Transcript to Script: Turning oral history into plays for stage and radio with Rib Davis, a British Library/Oral History Soc. -accredited trainer, Thursday 18^th April, 10am – 4.30pm

This will cover a brief history of the genre and an overview of the various forms which oral history can take. It will look at the creation of a set of fictional characters using dialogue, the use of oral history as research material for scripting, and improvisation around memory without transcript.

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Documenting an Event Training with Insight Media, Friday 19^th April, 10am – 3pm.

An introduction to capturing and archiving events in film, pictures and sound, from setting up on site, to interviewing techniques, and from how to frame photographs to dealing with the unexpected! Theory and practical hands on experience.

 No equipment needed (but please feel free to bring your own cameras if you prefer)

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Creative Interpretation with Dean Parkin, Performance Poet, Wednesday 24^th April, 10am – 1pm

Using the images from the archive, Dean will help you write amazing poems. This training is a must for both those who love poetry and for those who think that poetry isn’t for them! –be pleasantly surprised as Dean coaxes wonderful words from you in a fun and supportive way!

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Documenting an Event Training with Insight Media, Friday 26^th April, 10am – 3pm.

An introduction to capturing and archiving events in film, pictures and sound, from setting up on site, to interviewing techniques, and from how to frame photographs to dealing with the unexpected! Theory and practical hands on experience.

No equipment needed (but please feel free to bring your own cameras if you prefer)

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All training days are free and will take place at the NORCA office, 21, Colegate, Norwich, NR3 1BN.

Please note: places on the training days must be booked in advance.  To book contact Cathie Davies on 01603 760529 or cathie@norcaarts.co.uk

Teas, coffees will be provided, please bring your own lunch. No parking available.  Disabled access available by arrangement (please call us).

Picture Norfolk Talk - The Photography of William Henry Finch & Family

Club members: on Tuesday 19th March, Clare Everitt from Picture Norfolk will be introducing us to the work of nineteenth century Norfolk photographer, William Henry Finch and his family. As many of you will recall, Clare gave us a fascinating introduction to the Picture Norfolk collection earlier in the year (see Sarah's summary HERE). She is back due to popular request!

Please note: due to the popularity of our club we are now starting a waiting list. If you wish to be added to the Norwich Community History Club's waiting list, then please contact me on colin.howey@norfolk.gov.uk 

Free Introduction to Family History - Norfolk Heritage Centre

The dates for the next available free introduction to family history sessions in the Millennium Library are in April (Tuesdays):

Part 1: 23 April 17.30pm-19.30pm

Part 2: 30 April 17.30pm-19.30pm

This mini-course will provide you with the basics of researching your family tree and will focus on the key building blocks of civil registration and census returns. Each session includes an introductory presentation and an Internet workshop, where you will learn how to use the ‘Ancestry’ website for family history research.

For more information and to book a place please contact the Norfolk Heritage Centre on (01603) 774740 or email (norfolk.studies.lib@norfolk.gov.uk). All sessions take place on the Second Floor of the Millennium Library.

We Have A Facebook Page...

Hey, we've got a Facebook group now as well! If you're a Facebook member, click on the following link and join up:

NCHC Facebook Group

Visiting the Norwich Bridewell Museum

Thirty members of the Norwich Community History Club visited the Norwich Bridewell Museum on Tuesday. We were made to feel very welcome and our thanks go to the staff for making this visit possible. Given the size of the group we decided that it was best to leave people to explore the museum for themselves. I made myself available in the 'House of Correction' display area to talk to people who had missed my talk the previous week about this aspect of the site's history.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any proper feedback from the members on the day, but one thing I did pick up was the surprise a number of people felt at just how large the museum is. The phrase, "tardis like" was used more than once. As you can see from the photograph above, a number of the group were attracted to gather around the maps and a long discussion ensued between them about the changing topography of the city. I have to say, I learned something new from this myself. I had no idea that Norwich once had two dog tracks (a shame they've gone - I'd have enjoyed an evening at the dogs!).

Next week we'll be gathering at the usual time and place in Marzanos Cafe, before walking to St Andrews Hall/Blackfriars with the wonderful Roxanne Matthews, who will lead an exploration of this fabulous site. I wish I could be there for this one myself, but I'm booked up to talk to another group that morning. I look forward to hearing all about it from the other members.

Colin

Please note: the club is now so popular that we are now at full capacity. However, if you are interested in becoming a member of the Norwich Community History Club, please contact me (Colin on colin.howey@norfolk.gov.uk) and I will add you to the waiting list. 

And finally...

Time travellers from the Eighteenth century!

Disorderly Lives: Norwich 1570-1620

Please click on image in order to enlarge

The above record is taken from the early 17th century Norwich Mayor Court records. It describes an incident whereby a woman called Margaret Caly insulted a man, "and often tymes clap[p]ed her hand on her backside and badd him kisse there." At last Tuesdays gathering of Norwich Community History Club members I opened my talk by quoting this case, before going on to explore some of the challenges facing Norwich's civic authorities as they sought to maintain order during the fifty years following the Norwich Census of the Poor in 1570. I hope I managed to convey some of the wider context behind local events. In particular, it was my intention to place the Norwich House of Correction (Bridewell) in its place as part of a whole series of initiatives and innovations by the authorities as they sought to maintain 'good' order as they perceived it. I also wanted to provide some background to members for next weeks visit to the wonderful Norwich Bridewell Museum - a former House of Correction. 

HEART Heritage Newsletter

Learn about heritage-related projects and events in the latest issue of the HEART e-newsletter, below:

HEART News

'History Down the Drain' Professor Carole Rawcliffe - 12th February

Professor Rawcliffe

In another well attended session, members of the Norwich Community History Club were delighted to welcome Carole Rawcliffe, professor of medieval history at UEA, to talk to us today. Her presentation was entitled, 'History Down the Drain - A New Look at Public Health in Medieval Norwich'. This 'new look' began with a critical examination of the widespread claims made by nineteenth century writers and historians that, compared to their 'enlightened' contemporary city, medieval Norwich was filthy with no regard for hygiene or public health. 

This viewpoint - still powerful in popular culture to this day (see HERE for instance) - was informed by a particular way of interpreting the past; an historical narrative that portrays one's present as being the culmination of inexorable progress from dirtier, 'darker', less enlightened times. However, challenging this perspective, Professor Rawcliffe made it clear that there is ample evidence from the mid-nineteenth century that public health facilities themselves were wholly inadequate - with the city's water supply being particularly bad:
"bad in quantity, bad in quality and bad in everything that should constitute a water supply" (William Lee, a government health inspector, visiting the city in May 1850). 

Having established that the public health of Victorian Norwich left much to be desired, she then proceeded to challenge and deconstruct the narrative of inexorable progress, using hitherto neglected evidence from the medieval city's archives (supported by archaeological discoveries). For instance, having examined local Norwich court records she was able to point to numerous complaints about dumping waste, leaving rubbish in the streets and the pollution of water sources - interpreting them, not as evidence of environmental neglect, but as transgressions (expressions of widespread concern for public health, held by, both, those lodging the complaints and the authorities who deemed them worthy of a formal hearing). 

Furthermore, there were numerous regulations and sanctions available to the medieval authorities against, for instance, those selling rotten meat. Professor Rawcliffe described how such people might be placed in the pillory in the marketplace and made to inhale the fumes from their spoiled goods (a 'miasma' thought, at the time, to transmit disease). Wryly, she offered a very current reference, suggesting that purveyors of horse meat mis-sold as beef might benefit from such corrective punishment. 

The 'horrible history' stereotype of medieval Norwich is further challenged by evidence that the civic authorities - informed by the work of ancient physicians like Hippocrates and Galen - ordered the relocation of the city's more potentially 'dirty'/polluting trades, such as butchery, to areas outside the city centre. Dating from as early as 1250, this 'zoning' predates that of more heralded examples, such as in Sienna in Italy, by some two hundred years. 

Professor Rawcliffe also argued that many of the medieval public health measures depended on public cooperation, but that this was more prevalent in pre-Reformation England where civic pride in cleanliness conjoined with a religious duty to provide for the benefit of the wider community. Even if this charitable impulse was based, in part, on a spiritual investment in speeding the progress of one's soul through the torments of purgatory, the outcome for the city's public health, she argues, were beneficial. 

Overall, we were presented with a persuasive argument that, although far from perfect, the medieval city was in many ways a healthier place than the later Victorian city. In part, the previous stereotypes persisted in the absence of serious research into this area. As historians begin to critically examine the archives for evidence of medieval urban health measures, the hitherto skewed picture of the past is being re-calibrated. 

Speaking to those present afterwards, there was overwhelming gratitude that Professor Rawcliffe was prepared to take the time to come and share her scholarship with us in such an accessible and entertaining way. 

Thank you Carole!

Face to Face With The Past

There is something poignant about looking at a photo of an unknown person. Especially when the photo was taken over 150 years ago. Who was this person? What was their life like? What were they thinking as they stared at the camera and tried to keep still for the sixty seconds it took to fix their image?

On Tuesday 22nd January, members of the Norfolk Community History Club were shown a small sample from Picture Norfolk’s collection of thousands of old photographs, albums and scrapbooks. Clare Everitt, the administrator from Picture Norfolk, had selected some photos taken starting from around 1842, when an enterprising fellow named Thomas Damant Eaton started applying the new technology to scenes around Norwich, as well as his family members. Slightly misty ladies in bonnets and serious gentlemen in stovepipe hats along with views of Norwich, which brought home how many of the old city’s fine Elizabethan and Stuart buildings were still standing in the 19^th century. We tried to work out where the camera was placed and what had changed: the Cathedral front not at all, unsurprisingly, but in some shots of Theatre Street from St Stephens, only the church tower was recognisable.

Then there was the Acle whitesmith called William Henry Finch (who “claimed to be Eugenia Fynch” – a mystery which Clare did not go into further) who took photos around Norfolk between 1860 and 1880. He was able to persuade tradesmen and labourers to stop what they were doing and pose for the photos – quite unusual, Clare explained, to find so many photographs of working people from that date.

As photography became more widespread, it was the fashion to collect ‘Cartes des visites’ – small prints of royalty, celebrities, famous preachers and relatives. The collectible snaps of Queen Victoria, Albert, Princes and Princesses at the front of the heavy mid-Victorian album Clare passed around were not labeled, while later pages had pictures marked in copperplate hand ‘Grandfather’ (splendid fellow with white muttonchop whiskers), ‘Mother’, ‘Aunt Jane’ and so on. I suppose that’s because everyone would recognise the royals without having to be told. Clare explained that the photographic fixing process used albumen from egg whites, and the cards grew so popular that there was a massive boom in poultry farming.

Finally a beautiful scrapbook went the rounds, full of elaborate greetings cards, rebuses and colourful scraps, daintily cut out and looking brand new and very Laura Ashley. They were collected by a Gladys Robinson, who must have had a steady hand, in the first years of the 20^th century.

Most of the 200,000 images in Picture Norfolk archives have been donated by members of the public, Clare explained. Unfortunately, much more is offered than they can house, but anything of real local interest which is not already duplicated in the archives would certainly be considered, and it’s possible to digitize the image and return the original to the owners.

Many thanks to Clare and Colin for such an interesting meeting. 

~ Sarah Walker ~

Please note: 17,000 photograph from the archive are available via the Picture Norfolk website

The Time Travel Challenge - Tuesday Feb 5th

Personally, I'd be tempted to go back to visit Norwich Castle

in, say, 1450 and talk to the prisoners who were carving figures

like this one... but I can't make my mind up!

Imagine you have a time machine and you have one return journey to go and visit Norwich at any point in its history: 

• What period/year would you travel back to?
• Where in the city would you go to?
• Why?

That is what we are going to discuss in groups at the next meeting of the History Club. 

I've 'played' this game before, and it's a really good way:
(a) To make you think about what really matters to you historically
(b) For us to get to know more about each others interests
(c) For us to interact and get to know each other better

It's not a test or a trial. In my experience, folk always end up having a good laugh doing this one. It also helps me plan a programme of activities that satisfies members interests. 

~ Colin Howey ~

Next Meeting, Tuesday 29th January: Understanding a Medieval Church

Late medieval writing within St Peter Mancroft church, Norwich
(please click on image in order to enlarge)

As you may have noticed, there are lots of old churches in Norwich. In fact, there are more medieval churches surviving in Norwich than do so in London, York and Bristol, combined. If we are to understand this city's history, then, we need to explore these wonderful survivors and begin to interpret why they were built, by whom and for what purpose. With this in mind, next Tuesday, we are going to be visiting the grand church of St Peter Mancroft - the very large and impressive church that stands in the heart of the city, next to Norwich market. 

As ever, we will be meeting in Marzanos cafe (ground floor in the Forum), where we have tables reserved. After refreshment and my, now customary, book 'review', we will be travelling the short distance to the church. This 'exploration' will be a team effort, shared between myself and History Club member, Dr. Carole Hill. 

I will do the introduction, set some context and then talk about the first and last plagues in Norwich, and some evidence we have connecting this to St Peter Mancroft. I will then, briefly, talk about some of the fascinating epitaphs to those who lived and died in this parish. Carole - who is the author of, 'Women and Religion in Late Medieval Norwich' (2010) - will then explain how the church would have appeared before the effects of the Reformation(s) (1530s-mid 1600s), and, in particular, how women would have interacted with the space during this period. 

Finally, our thanks to the staff and volunteers at St Peter Mancroft, who are always welcoming and keen to encourage access to their church. 

~ Colin ~

Medieval Graffiti Training - Saturday 26th January

Graffito, found at Norwich Cathedral.
Please click on image in order to enlarge

As part of the award winning archaeological project, the 'Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey', I am offering training for volunteers interested in joining the survey. This will take place this Saturday (26th January), starting at 11:00am at Norwich Castle museum. We will be meeting at the museum's main entrance. The session will last up to 2 hours. 

I will be demonstrating some simple techniques for identifying the marks left by common folk hundreds of years ago. The survey material, which will include Norwich Cathedral, will be added to the county's Heritage Environment Record for the benefit of future generations. 

There are still are a few places left, but they are filling rapidly. If you wish to attend, please contact me on:
howeychoosetouseit@gmail.com 

Best Wishes,
Colin

Colin Howey

Medieval Graffiti Training - Sat 19th January

Please note: the Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey training at St Peter Mancroft church will be taking place tomorrow (Sat 19th January, 10:30-12:30). Please enter church via the Octagon cafe entrance.

Thanks,
Colin

Visiting Norwich Castle Museum

Club members listening to storyteller, Dave Tong, in Norwich

Castle Museum keep ground floor basement

I must admit, due to the weather conditions, I was a bit worried about the turnout for today's session. However, my worries were soon allayed as, once again, we had a fantastic response, with over twenty people coming along. 

Our visit to Norwich Castle Museum was really enjoyable. We split into two groups: one 'led' by me, the other, by my former museum colleague, and friend, Dave Tong. Knowing all too well that the two of us have voices like foghorns, we started on different levels in the keep and gave very different tours. I can't speak about the content in Dave's sessions, but, obviously, I'm pretty well placed to share a bit of my one. 

One of the things I covered were accounts of prisoners alleged crimes in the early 1300s. Using, as my main source, Barbara Hanawalt's 'Crime in Medieval East Anglia' (Norfolk Record Society, 1976), I shared some of the material from the Norfolk Gaol Delivery Rolls from this period. For instance, Gervaise de Swanton and his wife, Joan, were asleep in bed when a gang of burglars broke into their room. One of them - William of Mileham - was wielding a 'hatchet' (an axe). He went to strike Gervaise as he lay in bed. However, Gervaise must have somehow deflected the blow, for the record described how the hatchet got stuck in the (presumably, wooden) head of the bed. In the meantime, Joan, leapt out of bed and, knife in hand, stabbed William of Mileham in the head. He died instantly. She was subsequently arrested and taken to Norwich Castle Gaol to await trial. I asked the group what they thought the outcome of the trial was, and then shared the outcome with them. That's just one of several cases we examined.

At the end, Dave - being a professional story teller - kindly agreed to share a story with us about an old and wily man who gave some powerful officials in a (fictional) castle good reason to consider carefully what they wish for. He received well deserved applause for his tale. Afterwards, Club members I spoke with said how much they had enjoyed the experience. 

We would like to thank the Norfolk Museums & Archaeological Service (particularly, Colly Mudie from the Education department) for facilitating our visit and for making us feel so welcome. Thank you NMAS for enabling access to our group!

Here is some of the feedback members gave in our comments book as we enjoyed a cuppa afterwards:

"Really enjoyed it! Very interesting and nice for me to keep learning more knowledge"
"Always learning new things and meeting new people"
"Fascinating! Very enjoyable and a I learnt a lot."
"Informative, exciting, different day. Good storytelling from Dave 'Ding Dong' Tong."

Ding Dong Tong! I haven't heard that one before, but his name seems to ring a bell. If anyone else who attended wants to leave any further feedback please feel free to do so - either, via the comments section below (all comments are moderated) or via my email: colin.howey@norfolk.gov.uk)

Thanks!
Colin

Norwich Castle Museum Visit - Tuesday 15th January.

Please click on image in order to enlarge

Next Tuesday, the Norwich Community History Club will be visiting Norwich Castle Museum. If you wish to attend you have two options. Either:

1. Meet, as usual, in Marzanos cafe in the Norwich Forum at 10:30 (we have tables booked, to the right of the cafe counter). We will then walk up to the castle, departing c10:50-10:55am
2. Meet near the Castle Museum entrance at c11:10 and wait for the other club members to arrive

Once inside, we will split into two groups. Historian and professional storyteller, Dave Tong, has very kindly agreed to assist me by leading a group around the castle keep. I will lead the other exploration of the keep, looking at the 'hidden' history of this fascinating building (including medieval graffiti and a selection of medieval prisoners' cases). 

If you are interested in joining us, please do come along. 

Best Wishes,

Colin

A Wycliffite Bible

At our last meeting, as well as discussing Reginald Dack Baker's scrapbooks, we also had a good look at the wonderful hand-written and illuminated bible that once belonged to Anne Boleyn's uncle (dated, early 1400s). I think that Club members felt a sense of privilege to be so close-up to such a rare and ancient survivor. I explained a bit about the background to this, the first English translation of the bible, and some of the consequences this had for the wider late medieval/Early Modern Society.

As a Club, we are certainly very fortunate to have access to such amazing historical material, due to our partnership with the Norfolk Museum & Information Service. In addition to viewing this, Community Librarian, Clare Agate, also took members to view some of the Norfolk Heritage Collection that is held at the Millennium Library.

Overall, once again, the feedback was really positive:

"Very interesting - wonderful to look at the archives and the bible."
"Getting more interesting week by week."

An 'Insane Delusion'

A very pleasing turnout for today's meeting. Thanks to everyone who came along today. It was particularly pleasing to see new members. I hope you enjoyed it! 

Anyway, one of the things we looked at during today's session were the remarkable scrapbooks of Reginald Dack Baker, a man from Norwich who emigrated to Australia before the First World War and, subsequently, signed up to the Royal Australian Field Ambulance, serving in several theatres of war, before being pensioned off with 'neurasthenia' ('shell shock') in 1918. Although the scrapbooks themselves make very little reference to that experience, that is the backdrop against which his books need to be understood I think. 

Post 1918 he returned to his business as a grocer wholesaler in Brisbane, Australia, and then suffered a breakdown which led him to be sectioned and incarcerated in the Goodna Asylum in that city. Upon release, he returned to Norwich. He died in the North Walsham district, aged 84 in the spring of 1972 (*thanks Liz!). 

Basically, the seven scrapbooks known to survive reveal an obsession with the notion that the medical establishment of the time were killing people by the use of death-rays. It is a poignant record of a man's mental illness in the wake of huge trauma, and contains many poignant elements, such as letters from his former sweetheart who he left behind in Australia. 

I acquired six of these volumes about five years ago, buying them from some builders who were restoring an old bookshop in Norwich. I took two volumes in today and members of the club had the opportunity to look at some historic primary material. Initially, I deliberately didn't explain what I knew about these, as I wanted the members to start searching for the clues contained therein. I think that they fully understood the rather confusing task that faced me when I first acquired them, in deciphering their meaning (many elements still remain a mystery). 

Anyway, back in 2009 I created a blog (that I have not updated since) about the volumes that contained my findings up to that point. Here is the link to it:

Inside the Mind of Reginald Dack Baker

Perhaps this material might be something that club members would want to try and do some further work on in the future. 

*Postscript: Archive Specialist, Liz Budd, has very kindly done some additional research about Baker, and has filled in some more 'pieces of the puzzle'. I'll add these to this blog in the near future. Thanks Liz!