'And my desire and will is that my said Sister shall have the entire government of educating and bringing up and placing out of my said Nephew ... and that William Reynolds the Father of my said Nephew shall in no wise intermeddle or concern himself therewith'. Mary Marner, London widow, 1725.

Wish I had come across this when teaching

Our blog has an undertaker's bill charging 10s 6d for 'A lead plate of inscription', 3 gns for 'A large engraved plate of inscription with the arms fine lackered' and £1. 7s for '18 fine impressions from ditto' churchmonumentssociety.org/2026/01/23/a...

I must confess 'stoolball' was a new one on me. About June 1604 Agnes Grove of Biddlesden died; she had recently been widowed when her husband died 'with a surfet at stoolebale'; he headed off after she had given birth, 'played at Stoolebale & strayned & dyed'. #earlymodern

A very different type of #SearchroomSurprise: a happy face peaking out of this file of church minutes 😄 Just a shame it was a sticky post-it note, which are not archival friendly and can cause a lot of problems during cataloguing!

It was great to welcome Year 6 from Tonysguboriau Primary to the Archives this morning to discover more about the impact of the Second World War on their locality. Thanks for visiting!

Have a go (answer in thread)

#StAgathaDay Robert Percy Pulleine. 1897-1916 Returned battlefield cross (uncommon) Sculptured plaque Memorial St Agatha Church Easby #WW1

Os oes diddordeb gennych mewn ymchwilio i hanesion LGBTQ+ yng Nghymru, yna un adnodd ardderchog yw llinellau amser LGBTQ+ Sirol Cymru – sy'n archwilio hanesion LGBTQ+ ym mhob un o'r 22 sir yng Nghymru.

Using our collection for your research? Join one of our open days for a deep dive into the collection areas most relevant to your research and the opportunity to pick the brains of our experts. Find out what areas we’re exploring this spring and book your place. link.bl.uk/DoctoralOpenDays

This year's H.M. Chadwick Lecture is being given by Prof. Barry Lewis on 19th March with the title 'The flourishing of vernacular literature in the Wales of Llywelyn the Great'. #Skystorians #HanesCymru The Zoom registration link is here:

"In nomine Domini nostri Iesu Christi. Incipit liber sacramentorum..." BnF MS Latin 12048; Sacramentarium gelasianum: 8th c. (last quarter, c. 780 CE-800 CE; France (diocese of Meaux or Cambrai?); f.1v @gallicabnf.bsky.social

An honest to goodness Hey Nonny Nonny in a 1680s King's Bench case. Lovely stuff [TNA KB 33/5/5]

On 16 February, I'll be chatting to @tudorstuartseminar.bsky.social about how the new online catalogue descriptions for Elizabethan litigation in Star Chamber, Requests, and more have opened up the research potential of these vast collections. www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

The archive volunteering award 2026 (UK & Ireland) is now accepting nominations - read more here www.archives.org.uk/news/the-ara...

We’ve published a new collection of case studies showcasing the value and impact of charity archives: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sec... Includes contributions from practitioners and organisations working across the archive and voluntary sectors! (1/2) 📷British Red Cross Museum and Archive

Line dancing ox BnF Latin 12048; Sacramentarium gelasianum; 8th century; France (diocese of Meaux or Cambrai?); f.42v @gallicabnf.bsky.social

This month’s highlight takes the saying "take a pew" to a whole new level. Discover the story behind a 17th century pew dispute case in Warfield, and why it still matters today, here: bit.ly/4ayYtdN

'Item to a man in France callit Nicolas ?Langlois for the defuncts sones buird fourtie franks extending in Scottis money to xxx li', will of John Hunter, merchant in Flemish goods and French canvas, 1581, CC8/8/9 p. 176.

A devastating blow to academics everywhere (me) winbuzzer.com/2026/01/28/g...

Very excited to have the first of our online meetings with some of the co-editors of the Kirkwall Tailors Project tonight! We'll start working our way through, word-by-word, glyph-by-glyph, checking the transcription with as many eyes as possible. [London Museum c.1780 'Interior of a Tailor's Shop']

New blog by our MA student Issy Marston on Lady Margaret Verney née Hay-Williams (1844-1930), researched as part of our ‘Reinterpreting the Country House’ module @bangorhistory.bsky.social www.bangor.ac.uk/iswe/news/la...

Big lion, baby lion BnF Latin 12048; Sacramentarium gelasianum; 8th century; France (diocese of Meaux or Cambrai?); f.92v @gallicabnf.bsky.social

My February newsletter, about love letters, books, and a less than romantic marriage proposal from a Cambridge don in 1924.

Medieval manuscript lost in World War II returns to Poland www.medievalists.net/2026/02/medi... #medievalmanuscripts #Poland

I found a cool thing today. A 1660 list of diocesan jurisdiction, listing the number of parishes each diocese covered. Lincoln, as expected, absolutely dominating with 1255 parishes. TNA IND 1/17125

Beautiful public outreach! Academic research on archival material "transformed into a series of stunning musical arrangements on stage."

Russian diplomatic gifts of fur for Philip & Mary looted from a shipwreck at Pitsligo in December 1556, from Richard Hakluyt, Principall Navigations, p. 325: archive.org/details/cihm...

Roedd hi’n hyfryd croesawi grŵp o Menter Caerdydd ar ymweliad i’r Archifau bore ma. Gobeithio i chi fwynhau’r cip tu ôl i’r llen a’r arddangosfa o ddogfennau o’r casgliad. Diolch am ymweld.

Wait, what? (Bills of mortality, London, 1809)

First London Palaeography Seminar of 2026 coming up! Eyal Poleg, no less, speaking on 'The Science of Erasures' - Tuesday 3rd February, 5:30pm Senate House and online. To learn more and to register: ies.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

This testator would like it to be remembered that 'my intent was to leave a hundred pounds to the use of the poore of the parish of Llanaber had it not been that I was wrongfully taxed by Richard Vaughan of Corsey gedol Esqr. and Griffith Williams and Robert Williams'. is that ... an anti-bequest?

Musicae partes sunt tres St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 855; Grammatica, De rhetorica, Institutiones II, De natura rerum, Miscellaneous; middle of the 9th century; St. Gall; p.305 (www.e-codices.ch/en/list/one/...)

I'm excited to present some findings from my placement at the Norfolk Record Office. You can join remotely, so consider hearing about some sexy gay diaries over lunch!

Palaeography sit com called Bob's Your Uncial

St Matthew the Evangelist and his symbol Schaffhausen, Stadtbibliothek, Ministerialbibliothek, Min. 8; Gospel Book; 10th century; Halberstadt (?); f.17v (www.e-codices.ch/en/list/one/...)

Always great to dig in the collection: small 1588 book by Bonaventure Bertram bound in 11th century gospel of Matthew. 😍😍

In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth we are highlighting Harriet and Lewis Hayden, Boston's courageous Underground Railroad Conductors! Check out the Common Council resolution honoring Lewis Hayden upon his death. Read the Haydens' full story at: ow.ly/UtR350Y3Pxe

A Historian's Round of Applause for Edward Trevor Esquire, who very helpfully began his 1726 will with a who's who of his near relations. 👌📜👏 'between Mary my Wife, Richard Hopson Gentleman my Son in Law, and Elizabeth his Wife my Daughter, and John Trevor Esqr my brother'.

These digitised photos feature Edward and Helen Thomas, and are held by Cardiff University’s Special Collections and Archives. Edward was a poet who didn’t begin writing until he was 36 years old, yet he went onto to be quite prolific.

New Medieval Books: Medieval Love Letters www.medievalists.net/2025/02/new-... #loveletters

Ooh look! @sharonhoward.bsky.social has updated and expanded the visualisations for the #PowerOfPetitioning material that we transcribed and published on @bho.bsky.social a few years ago. 🗃️📜 Very pretty pictures! 👀 the-power-of-petitioning.github.io

Sir John Harte's premable refers to a scripural passage often interpreted during the #EarlyModern period as an instruction to write a will: 'thoughte it good to followe that godly cowncell given by the holy Prophett of god to good kinge Ezechias 'Sett thy Howse in order for thou shalt die'🗃️.

Initial 'O'(mnipotens) depicting the Presentation in the Temple at the beginning of the Collect for the Mass of the Purification of BVM aka Candlemas (2nd February) BnF MS Latin 9428; Sacramentarium of Drogo; 9th century (between 826/837 CE & 855 CE); Metz; f.38r @gallicabnf.bsky.social

This is an entry for licences for premises with explosive material, covering the Alfreton & District area between 1893 and 1897. An unusual entry features a hairdresser on Alfreton High Street. Not sure what they were using and why, but thank goodness it's not used now. At least we hope it isn't!

Researcher Cathy has looked into the tragic, short life of Florence Penn, who died at the Powick Asylum in 1880 from her epilepsy. There is very little can be shared about her life outside the asylum. medicalmuseum.org.uk/outside-the-...

Volunteer Sandra has been working on researching the life of George Hodgetts who was by 1881 a pupil teacher. He was admitted to the asylum with acute mania in 1887. Her write-up is shared here at our website as part of our 'Outside the Asylum' project. medicalmuseum.org.uk/outside-the-...

Volunteer Sandra has been trying to find out more about Ellen Cull, admitted to the asylum in July 1906. This one was tricky, as it was hard to find the right Ellen in the records. Sandra has written it all up for us and it's shared on the usual page: medicalmuseum.org.uk/outside-the-...