The Material Culture of Wills Project
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materialwills.bsky.social
The Material Culture of Wills Project
@materialwills.bsky.social
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The Material Culture of Wills, England 1540-1790: a Leverhulme Trust project using digital tech & volunteers to transcribe 25,000 wills.

Visit our website: https://sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcultureofwills/
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materialwills.bsky.social
📢NOVEMBER WILL OF THE MONTH📢

This month's featured testator is a widowed clergyman from Pembrokeshire who made his will in 1786.

Reverend William Thomas asked to be buried 'as remote from every other grave as conveniently may be'. 🪦✝️💀

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A monotone painting of Haverfordwest Castle - a romantic looking building set in rolling hills with some houses clustered around it's foot.
November 18, 2025 at 8:49 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
Our Zooniverse volunteers reached this fantastic milestone while the project team were in Exeter, and meeting to discuss next steps for the transcriptions and the database.

We were delighted to reach this milestone, and discussed how valuable all the Zooniverse contributions have been.

🧵3/4
A photograph of the Wills project team meeting in a room at the University of Exeter. There are six people in the photograph, sitting around a table with laptops in front of them, looking at a screen on the wall which contains a colourful graph. The carpet is grey and the walls are white. There are glass doors in the wall at the back of the room which overlook grass.
November 3, 2025 at 7:43 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 In Case You Missed It 📢

October's 'Will of the Month' post is now live on our blog 📜

When Margery Gadyng died in childbirth in 1540, she made a nuncupative or 'oral' will, leaving ribbons to the women who witnessed her declare her final wishes.

Read more here👇 sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A photograph of a brown embroidered ribbon on a black background. The ribbon is curled on the right hand side, and decorated with embroidery, including green plants and white and yellow flowers. Ribbon, embroidered, ca. 1600, English https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O10418/ribbon-unknown/ ©Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2025
October 30, 2025 at 9:57 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 NEW Will of the Month Post 📢

October's will is an unusual & poignant example of a married woman who made a will

Margery Gadyng died in childbirth in 1540 - she declared her will to the midwife & women attending her, leaving them bequests of ribbons & rosaries

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A photograph of a rosary - a loop of string threaded with brown beads, some with symbols painted on them. Rosary of 30 unglazed earthenware beads of red and black clay, British Museum 2009,8038.1.a-b https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_2009-8038-1-a-b?selectedImageId=1310905001 © The Trustees of the British Museum
October 28, 2025 at 8:13 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
One of our PhD students Jane Tozer recently visited @nationaltrust.org.uk Ham House during their 'Open Cabinets' event while researching 'japanning' - furniture finishes that imitated East Asian lacquerwork.

The cabinets are opened only twice a year - Jane captured this beautiful photograph:
A photograph of a black and gold cabinet, taken at the National Trust property Ham House. The black cabinet has several patterned drawers, and its doors are open. It stands on an ornate gold table, next to a wooden chair and a patterned screen, on a wooden floor, and in front of patterned walls. Description: a lacquer cabinet made from imported incised Coromandel lacquer panels with japanned interiors and mounted on a European gilded wood stand. 
October 23, 2025 at 3:05 PM
materialwills.bsky.social
Project Research Fellows Harry Smith and Emily Vine are looking forward to speaking as part of the Warwick History 'Post-Doc' Club series, next Wed 22 October @ 17.00.

They'll be discussing 'Digitization & Citizen Science'📜💻

Follow this link for Zoom details:
warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/his...
A poster with a white background and black text, with a blue border at the top of the poster, and photographs of manuscripts. The title of the poster reads Warwick History ‘POST-DOC’ CLUB METHODOLOGIES SERIES. Online Meeting: Weds 22 October at 5pm DIGITIZATION & CITIZEN SCIENCE: Inviting collaborative research to transcribe handwriting. With Harry Smith and Emily Vine of the Material Culture of Wills, 1540-1790 project at the University of Exeter.
October 14, 2025 at 11:06 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
3. Catch up on our latest 'Will of the Month' blog post!

September's post was written by Dylan Cox, a 3rd year Exeter History student 📜

You can catch up on all of our 'Will of the Month' posts - over 20! - on our website 💻

@uoearchhist.bsky.social #history
sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

🧵3/3
A 1720 drawing of Bridewell Prison, seen from above, from “The Prospect of Bridewell” from John Strype‘s An Accurate Edition of Stow’s “A Survey of London“ (1720) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridewell_Palace#/media/File:Prospect_of_Bridewell.jpg
October 1, 2025 at 8:49 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
2. Read our Autumn Newsletter! 📰

We've recently circulated our latest project update - with details of what we've been up to over the last 6 months! 📜🎨🎵

Download the pdf or plain version from our news page:
sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

@uniofexeterhass.bsky.social #skystorians
🧵2/3
A newsletter - mainly consisting of text, with some photos of a workshop in the bottom corner. A newsletter - mainly consisting of text, with some photos of a print workshop and some images of the prints that were made.
October 1, 2025 at 8:49 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 📢

September's 'Will of the Month' post is live on our blog 📜

Written by Dylan Cox, a 3rd year Exeter History student, it explores the will of a C17th London gentleman, and his charitable bequests & mourning rings 💍

#skystorians #history

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A photograph of a gold mourning ring and a small gold crucifix. Catalogues caption: an Example of a ‘Enamelled gold mourning ring, The hoop with a skull reserved in black enamel inscribed Non hic Sr. N. S. obt 30 June 86, England, date 1686’. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2025 https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O125929/mourning-ring-unknown
September 29, 2025 at 8:22 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 NEW WILL OF THE MONTH POST 📢

We're delighted to share this very special post by Dylan Cox, a 3rd year History student at Exeter. 📜

Dylan has transcribed & researched the will of a London gentleman who made several bequests, including to Bridewell prison 🧵1/2

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A 1720 drawing of Bridewell Prison, seen from above, from “The Prospect of Bridewell” from John Strype‘s An Accurate Edition of Stow’s “A Survey of London“ (1720) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridewell_Palace#/media/File:Prospect_of_Bridewell.jpg
September 25, 2025 at 7:58 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
In the next few days we'll be circulating our Autumn 2025 project newsletter! 🍂✉️

To receive a copy and find out what we've been up to over the last few months, make sure you're signed up to our mailing list: forms.office.com/e/JbUEq4Za1u

@leverhulme.ac.uk @uoearchhist.bsky.social #history
A screenshot of the banner for The Material Culture of Wills Autumn 2025 newsletter.
September 16, 2025 at 11:20 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 ICYMI: in our new blog post Laura Sangha talks about her collaboration with a musician to explore wills, history and creative approaches 👇

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

#EarlyModern 🗃️
A photo montage showing Laura Sangha and Chris Hoban talking to people, looking at wills, visiting a museum. There are also images of people creating linocuts at a workshop, and of a will.
September 12, 2025 at 7:04 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢NEW WILLS PROJECT POST!📢

In the post our project Co-Investigator Laura Sangha recounts what happened when she collaborated with musician Chris Hoban in order to explore the wills in our sample.

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

#EarlyModern 🗃️
A photo montage showing Laura Sangha and Chris Hoban talking to people, looking at wills, visiting a museum. There are also images of people creating linocuts at a workshop, and of a will.
September 10, 2025 at 7:44 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 In Case You Missed It 📢

Our August 'Will of the Month' post is now live on our blog! 📜

It explores the will of a Huguenot 'Master Weaver', who lived in Stepney and made a bequest of 'all the Loomes and Harnesses belonging to a Weavers’ Trade' 🧶 #skystorians 👇

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A book showing colourful flowery designs for woven silk. The book is opened and set against a black background. Design for woven silk from the ‘Leman Album’, pencil, pen and ink, watercolour and bodycolour on laid paper, possibly by James Leman, 1734. James Leman was a second-generation Huguenot refugee, and silk weaver and designer who was living and working in Spitalfields at the same time as our featured testator. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O65210/design-leman-james/ © Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2025
August 28, 2025 at 8:00 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 NEW Will of the Month post! 📢

It explores the will of a Huguenot refugee & 'Master Weaver of Stepney' whose will is a insight into community & craftsmanship 📜

He leaves money to the French church & mentions the Huguenot trades of silversmithing & watchmaking ⌚

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A photograph of a row of eighteenth-century townhouses in Spitalfields, East London, with blue sky and some cars parked on the street. Master Weavers would have lived in large townhouses like the ones in Fournier Street in Spitalfields. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:25_to_41_Fournier_Street,_Spitalfields_(01).jpg
August 26, 2025 at 7:31 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
Although we know little about the testator, we can build up a picture by focusing on the small details in her will, and by bringing in context relating to female servants' lives in the eighteenth century.

Read on to find out more about Mary Carlton:
sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult... 🧵2/2
A wooden coffer with a lock, Coffer, Mexico (Villa Alta), 1700-1750, https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O118973/coffer-unknown/
July 29, 2025 at 7:52 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 New Will of the Month post 📢

How do we write about those who left little behind, both in terms of possessions, & evidence in the historical record? 📜

This month's post explores the life of a servant woman, Mary Carlton, who had few objects to bequeath other than her 'box' 🧵1/2

#skystorians
A greyscale eighteenth -century print of a servant woman being turned out of a house and on to the streets. The woman exits a door and down some steps in the centre of the painting, two other women stand in the doorway behind her, the streets are filled with destitute looking people. Thomas Gaugain: Diligence and Dissipation: The Wanton turn’d out of Doors for Misconduct (Plate 5) (1797) Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:20235
July 29, 2025 at 7:52 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📜 Thanks so much to all our volunteers who showed up for the #transcribathon today!

3494 classifications completed and one very happy project team!
July 24, 2025 at 3:26 PM
materialwills.bsky.social
16/ 🧵

Also, a look at all of the planned publications coming out of the project - including two PhDs, a series of articles in academic journals, and an edited collection.

Looking at a range of themes including: global trade, gender, textiles, death and commemoration, and the maritime.
July 24, 2025 at 2:53 PM
materialwills.bsky.social
15/ 🧵 AND TO FINISH

Our final talk of the afternoon, by project lead @jwhittle.bsky.social about where the project is going next - including making our transcriptions publicly available as a free download from our project website (over 50 volumes of wills containing up to 2000 pages of text!)
July 24, 2025 at 2:50 PM
materialwills.bsky.social
14/ 🧵

Bonus appearance from musician and composer Chris Hoban himself, who turned up just at the perfect moment and was put on the spot!
Chris Hoban speaking in front a projector screen.
July 24, 2025 at 2:42 PM
materialwills.bsky.social
13/🧵

As well as about the amazing work of the project's creative fellow Devon based musician and composer Chris Hoban, who wrote a brilliant series of songs inspired by wills from the collection, and the creative workshops we were able to hold in conversation with those works! 🎼
July 24, 2025 at 2:36 PM
materialwills.bsky.social
12/🧵 FOLLOWING ON

@lsangha.bsky.social now talking about some of the blog posts written by our wonderful volunteers for our website!

If your interest is tickled you can read them here: sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
July 24, 2025 at 2:29 PM
materialwills.bsky.social
11/ 🧵

Next up, project PhD student Kit Barton @kmbarton.bsky.social talking about 'Single women and their wills in early modern England'
A photograph of Kit Barton presenting, standing in front of a large projector screen, in a classroom. Kit is standing at a lecturn on the left hand side of the photograph.
July 24, 2025 at 2:22 PM
materialwills.bsky.social
9/🧵 RETURNING WITH

@bhamhistory.bsky.social, this time as himself, talking about the first systematic quantitative look at the data from the transcribed wills, and how complicated creating databases even for simple bequests can be.
July 24, 2025 at 1:53 PM