The Material Culture of Wills Project
The Material Culture of Wills, England 1540-1790: a Leverhulme Trust project using digital tech & volunteers to transcribe 25,000 wills.
Volunteer for us: zooniverse.org/projects/hjsmith/th…
- Some more fantastic recent discoveries in the Tudor wills 📜 on our @zooniverse.bsky.social site: - 'young beastes of her choosing' 🐇 - 'cheese of her own making' 🧀 - A garlic-head cup 🧄 #skystorians #history #EarlyModern You can catch up on some of our other favourite finds in the thread below 👇
- Shout out to our technical expert Mark Bell who just sent the team 'Reasons to Write a Will #427' #EarlyModern 🗃️ #FesteringWounds
- Project co-investigator Laura and Creative Fellow Chris Hoban recently visited the Victoria & Albert Museum to see some #EarlyModern objects They looked at a range of Tudor and Stuart tableware, furniture & rings - as well as a coffin pall and funeral bell 🍴🪑💍⚰️🔔 See what they found here 👇 1/2 🧵
- It's been a busy week on the Wills project 📜 We've been: - Thinking about future publication plans 📚 - Planning for some exciting creative public engagement workshops in the next few weeks 🎵🎨 - Enjoying exploring all the fantastic volunteer finds on our @zooniverse.bsky.social site 👇 1/2🧵
- Splendid #MaterialCulture thread!
- Our Zooniverse users have unearthed some fantastic finds in our Tudor wills recently 📜 Some of our favourites: - A barrel of 57 hats 👒 - An uncastrated horse (grey) 🐎 - Some leather trousers 🩳 - A stone that cures inflammations of the eye 👁️ - Money left for 'an honest moderate dynner' 🍽️ 1/2 🧵
- 📢 In Case You Missed It! 📢 April's 'Will of the Month' blog post is now live 📜 Why did a Wiltshire Gentleman who died in 1664 make such specific burial requests? ⛪ Who did he leave 'the blacke cloath that Covers my body to the grave'? ⚰️ #history #skystorians 👇 sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
- 📢 Our April 'Will of the Month' blog post is now live! 📢 It explores the will of a Wiltshire gentleman & his detailed burial requests 📜 His personal bequests included his 'riding Coat', his wife's wedding ring, & an 'imbrodered purse' 👚💍👛 sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult... #history #skystorians
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- 📢 NEW Will of the Month Post 📢 April's post explores the will of a Wiltshire gentleman who left remarkably detailed burial instructions He wished to be buried under the communion table, named his 6 coffin bearers, & even donated his funeral pall to the parish 1/2 sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
- Some seasonally appropriate reading this morning before the Easter weekend 🌷 Many of our wills mention 'the feaste of Easter' 📜 Testators would often leave money to the parish poor, and specify it should be distributed on feast days, e.g. '5 shillinges at Easter & 5 shillinges at Christmas' 1/2🧵
- Lovely example of royal connections in wills here - we've found similar mentions including 'my Cloath of Gold shoes made of one of King James’s Buskins that was at his Coronation'. 👠👑 You can find out more about this example on our blog: sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult... #history #Skystorians
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- #EarlyModern 🗃️
- On 29th May, we'll be hosting Dr. @emilymayvine.bsky.social for a discussion on using digital repositories. Dr. Vine will speak to the fantastic work of the @materialwills.bsky.social project and how it can be brought into the classroom.
- Delighted that our #EarlyModern research fellow, Dr Emily Vine, will be contributing to this series. Details in next repost! 🗃️
- Teaching the Early Modern: A Webinar Series! CEMS will be hosting three online sessions on teaching practices and strategies. We'll have three sessions through the spring: 23rd April, 29th May, and 19th June. Full details below! kingsearlymodern.co.uk/events/teach... @kingsartshums.bsky.social
- It's been a busy couple of weeks for the wills project! 📜 Here's a summary of our recent activity🧵: 1/ We recently hosted a @zooniverse.bsky.social progress update webinar 💻 To catch up, you can view the recording here 📼: bsky.app/profile/mate... #citizenscience #history #skystorians 🧵1/6
- If you missed yesterday's Webinar, we've now uploaded the recording 📽️ We talked about: Zooniverse progress (no. of lines of text transcribed) 📈 Interesting bequests found 🧀🐄💍 Creative collaborations 🎵 What we'll do with 25,000 will transcriptions📜✍️ #EarlyModern #skystorians youtu.be/XnNF9j1HfKU
- 📢 In Case You Missed It 📢 March's 'Will of the Month' blog post is now live 📜 It explores the will of a 'Widow of Calcutta', tracing her 'moveable property' from India to the South Atlantic island of St Helena 🌊 #history #skystorians #earlymodern @uoearchhist.bsky.social @cemsexeter.bsky.social 👇
- 📢 March's 'Will of the Month' post is now live on our blog 📢 This post explores the will of Elizabeth Thomlinson, the widow of an East India Company chaplain. 📜 They both died in Calcutta in 1720, after many years on the South Atlantic island of St Helena 1/3 🧵 sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
- 📢 March's 'Will of the Month' post is now live on our blog 📢 This post explores the will of Elizabeth Thomlinson, the widow of an East India Company chaplain. 📜 They both died in Calcutta in 1720, after many years on the South Atlantic island of St Helena 1/3 🧵 sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
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- Material Wills 📜 have made the Zooniverse front page! 📰 We're delighted to be one of @zooniverse.bsky.social's featured projects on their main homepage 💻🌍 Find us alongside some other fascinating people-powered research projects 👇 #crowdsourcing #citizenscience #history www.zooniverse.org/projects
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- 📢 NEW WILL OF THE MONTH POST 📢 March's post takes us from the island of St Helena to Calcutta in 1720 It explores the will of the widow of an East India Company chaplain, including shipping 'moveable property' overseas, charity, & ownership of an enslaved woman. sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
- 🐶 Good Boy Klaxon 🐶 This testator bequeathed 'the iron racks in the kitchen, two great spits, a dog wheel, and all that belongs there'. Thanks to the volunteer who shared this dog wheel turnspit from People's Collection Wales - yes, originally powered by a dog running in it 🐕🛞🐕🛞 #EarlyModern 🗃️
- Many thanks to the Zooniverse volunteer who has found what must be the greatest will opening line: 'My Will that by the mercies of the - great Lord of Heaven & Earth I may have nothing to do when I die but die'. Will of Jonas Hanway of Middlesex, 1786 TNA: PROB 11/1145/350 ✍️📜🪦
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- "Musician, lyricist and performer Chris Hoban shares the first of his reflection diaries as he collaborates with Dr Laura Sangha on their Creative Fellowship 'Windows as Will onto Past Lives'." www.artsandcultureexeter.co.uk/.../wills-as... [Images: Steven Haywood] @leverhulme.bsky.social
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- If you missed yesterday's Webinar, we've now uploaded the recording 📽️ We talked about: Zooniverse progress (no. of lines of text transcribed) 📈 Interesting bequests found 🧀🐄💍 Creative collaborations 🎵 What we'll do with 25,000 will transcriptions📜✍️ #EarlyModern #skystorians youtu.be/XnNF9j1HfKU
- 📢 WILLS WEBINAR TODAY 📢 📈Find out about project progress 📜Hear all about some exciting volunteer discoveries Join us @ 14.00 GMT 🕑 - details below 👇 #history #skystorians #earlymodern
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- 📢 WILLS PROJECT WEBINAR TOMORROW 📢 Join member of the project team tomorrow, Wednesday 19 March at 14.00 GMT 🕑 Joining details below 👇 @uoearchhist.bsky.social @uniofexeternews.bsky.social @zooniverse.bsky.social @leverhulme.bsky.social #history #skystorians #earlymodern #citizenscience
- 🔊 WILLS PODCAST! 🔊 @lsangha.bsky.social was interviewed for the latest episode of 'That Shakespeare Life' podcast Laura discusses all things early modern wills 📜, revealing surprising bequests, and insights into Shakespeare's own will ✍️ 🎧 Listen here: www.cassidycash.com/last-will-an... #history
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- We really enjoyed speaking to @transkribus.bsky.social recently, and are delighted to see this write-up of our project. The blog post provides an overview of our project and how we're using Handwritten Text Recognition 📜✍️ @uoearchhist.bsky.social @zooniverse.bsky.social @leverhulme.bsky.social
- What makes us value certain objects? 🧐 The Material Culture of Wills project is transcribing 25,000 early modern wills, to find out how people's relationships with their possessions changed over 250 years. Find out more in this Success Story: bit.ly/3Fk8U8O @materialwills.bsky.social
- 📢 WEBINAR NEXT WEEK! 📢 We're hosting a Zooniverse progress update Webinar on Wednesday 19 March @ 14.00 GMT We'll: Share some exciting volunteer finds 📜 Share updated stats about project progress 📈 Answer questions submitted in advance 🙋 Joining info: sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult... 🧵1/2
- We recently circulated our Spring 2025 Newsletter! 📰✉️ The pdf copy is here - you'll find lots of updates about recent project milestones: sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult... 📜 You can also stay up to date via our 'News' page: sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult... 📢 #skystorians #history #earlymodern
