In Case You Missed It: Last week we circulated our Autumn 2025 Newsletter 🍂✉️ Want to catch up on what we've been up to recently? You can now read it over on our website 👇 #history #EarlyModern #skystorians

We'll be sending out our Autumn 2025 Newsletter tomorrow 🍂✉️ Sign up to our mailing list before then to receive a copy in your inbox! 👇

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

Who would have thought that early modern wills could create such a burst of creativity! 👏 This post reminded me of the fascinating artsy and sensory ways to engage with history. There is still so much to explore...

📢 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 🗃️

📢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 🗃️

Japanner, Horse Boiler or Oatmeal Man - which is leading the 'best testator occupation' race for you? 🪑🐴🥣

Jukes listed his occupation as a 'Japanner' ('japanning' is a European imitation of East Asian lacquerwork), which is interesting, but not as interesting as Thomas Dugdale of Dirty Lane, Southwark, who described himself as ... 'Horse Boiler'. 🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

When John Jukes wrote his will in 1784 he said he didn't mind where his grave was so long as it wasn't damp.📜🪦💧 'i will and desire to be buried in a decent manner, if in the country to be buried at jedgly, if in london where you please, but let it be a dry ground and a good stone over'.

We post regularly over on our blog - this includes our 'Will of the Month' series, as well as other discussions of research and project updates 📜✍️📚 We've now been writing blog posts for 18 months: you can search and filter all of them to find what you're looking for 👇 #skystorians #history

📢 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...

Loughborough 1678 and an unusual request in a will - That my Body be buried in my Garden (and it may have been, as there's no burial in the parish registers)

Super post about an important benefactor of the then newly founded French Hospital as well as the church in Threadneedle Street. Of interest to @huguenotsociety.bsky.social. More on this period of Huguenot history in London in the forthcoming Huguenot Society Journal.

A reminder that every @materialwills.bsky.social will of the month post includes a full transcription of the featured will. We now have a collection of 20 wills, from across the 16th-18th centuries 👇 #EarlyModern 🗃️ sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

📢AUGUST WILL OF THE MONTH📢 Emily Vine's top new post explores the 1726 testament of a Frenchman who fled to England to escape religious persecution. #EarlyModern 🗃️ @leverhulme.ac.uk @uoearchhist.bsky.social @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

August's 'Will of the Month' post is live over on the @materialwills.bsky.social blog 📜 We've been thinking about community & craftsmanship in the will of a French Protestant refugee, and the 'Huguenot' trades of silk-weaving, silversmithing, and watchmaking ⌚ #history #earlymodern #skystorians 👇

📢 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...

In 1585 Katherine Doylye [!] had a dedicated 'cheese chamber' in her home stocked with a full complement of cheese making equipment and 80 cheeses worth £2 13s 4d. 📜🧀 Inventories in Oxfordshire, 1965, p. 193. @cheeseandpeople.bsky.social

We never imagined that one of our wills would end up on the main stage at the legendary Sidmouth Folk Festival! Thanks so much to Chris Hoban for making it happen 👏📜🎺🗃️

The DH lab is thrilled to have had a hand in facilitating this event for such a fascinating project! So great to hear that it was a resounding success! #DHLab #DH #Digital #Humanities #DigitalHumanities #DigitalHumanitiesLab #Exeter #ExeterUniversity #ExeterUni #MaterialCultureofWills #HASS #HUMS

📢 In Case You Missed It! 📢 It's been a busy few days on the wills project 📜✍️ Last week we held our hybrid transcribathon - joined by around 80 people in Exeter and around the world 🌍 @kmbarton.bsky.social did a great job of live posting - you can catch up here 👇 bsky.app/profile/mate... 1/3🧵

Tying up some loose ends from the Transcribathon last week - thanks again to everyone who took part! In person we a lovely range of folks: 2 just finished Exeter College A level students; 2 just finished undergrads; members of the History department & Centre for Early Modern Studies #EarlyModern 🗃️

📢Great new will of the month from @emilymayvine.bsky.social just out📢 Emily explores the will of a more humble testator, a servant whose will is one of the only records of her life left behind. What can it tell us? sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult... #EarlyModern 🗃️ @uoearchhist.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

If you'd like to see what we got up to, one of our postgraduates [ @kmbarton.bsky.social ] did an absolutely amazing job of live posting on this thread 👇 #EarlyModern 🗃️ #transcribaton #crowdsourcing #DigitalHums @leverhulme.ac.uk @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social sky.social @uoearchhist.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!

If you haven't been able to join the @materialwills.bsky.social transcribathon today - you can catch up with what we've been up to in this thread 👇 We're about halfway through our 3 hour transcription session! 📜✍️ #history #earlymodern #skystorians @zooniverse.bsky.social @leverhulme.ac.uk

Setting up for our #earlymodernwills #transcribathon today. 📜 Tea, coffee, and biscuits in place, zoom meeting loading - bring on the wills! It all kicks off at 1pm, see you there! You can follow us on our @zooniverse.bsky.social talkboards, or on this thread for updates all afternoon 🧵⬇️

This is happening this afternoon - we'll be posting throughout the session, including details of talks being given by members of the research team 📜✍️ You can follow along with the hashtag #transcribathon

📢OUR TRANSCRIBATHON IS TODAY!📢 Online registration has now closed, but if you missed out then DM me and I can provide a workaround ... we wouldn't want anyone to miss the chance to read some lovely wills! #EarlyModern 🗃️ @leverhulme.ac.uk @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social @uoearchhist.bsky.social

Many thanks for sharing - we're glad you're looking forward to it - as are we! willstranscribathon.eventbrite.com

If you're planning to drop in on our hybrid historic wills transcribathon tomorrow, here's the running order of talks from the research team 📜✍️ Find this and further info on the Eventbrite page at: willstranscribathon.eventbrite.com #skystorians #history #tudors #earlymodern #citizenscience

For those planning to drop in around other things, here's the Transcribathon running order (also available on the Eventbrite page) #EarlyModern 🗃️

📢TRANSCRIBATHON TOMORROW - last chance to join📢 Thurs 24 July, 1-4pm 📅🕐 Join us online or in person to help us transcribe early modern wills 📜✍️ Full details of how it will work & our talks, plus registration here: willstranscribathon.eventbrite.com #EarlyModern 🗃️ @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social

There's still time to sign up for our hybrid Historic Wills Transcribathon, this Thurs 24 July, 1-4pm BST: willstranscribathon.eventbrite.com 📅🕐 Join us online or in person in Exeter & help us transcribe early modern wills 📜✍️ We'll email registered attendees with joining info in the next 2 days 💻

There's still time to sign up for our hybrid Historic Wills Transcribathon - it's happening 1 week from today! 📜✍️ 📅 Thurs 24 July 🕐 1-4pm BST Join us online or in person in Exeter: transcribe on Zooniverse & help transcribe as many wills as possible! Sign up: willstranscribathon.eventbrite.com

📢Still time to register for our Transcribathon (next Thursday)📢 - Join us to transcribe on Zooniverse, discuss interesting findings, hear talks from the research team, ask questions - Attend in person or online, for all or part of the afternoon willstranscribathon.eventbrite.com #EarlyModern 🗃️

Our hybrid Historic Wills Transcribathon is happening in 2 weeks' time! 📜✍️ 📅 Thurs 24 July 🕐 1-4pm BST Join us online or in person in Exeter: transcribe on Zooniverse alongside like-minded volunteers & help transcribe as many wills as possible! Sign up here: willstranscribathon.eventbrite.com

It's been a busy few weeks for the Material Wills project! 📜✍️ We recently announced details of our next event - an online and in person historic wills transcribathon - details below 👇 @leverhulme.ac.uk @zooniverse.bsky.social #history #earlymodern #skystorians 🧵1/3 bsky.app/profile/mate...

Wow - so many people already signed up for our Wills Project Transcribathon later this month! 🙏 If you drop by you can transcribe some lines & help make 25,000 English wills more accessible for all. In person & online, join us here: willstranscribathon.eventbrite.com #EarlyModern 🗃️ #Palaeography

📢 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 📢 Our very special 'Will of the Month' post - co-written by 2 of our @zooniverse.bsky.social volunteers, Will Johnson & Barbara Tearle, is now live! 📜 The testator, Edward Fetiplace, had links to Henry VIII & Anne of Cleves 👑 🧵1/2 sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

Will Johnson and Barbara Tearle have also generously shared their research notes too, so you can browse a spreadsheet summarising Edward's bequests, a biography, tally of objects and glossary too. sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult... #EarlyModern 🗃️

Edward Fetiplace was a gentleman who had links to the Tudor court and his will is full of detailed descriptions of the decorative textiles that adorned his house. They included ‘vj quysshons of tapstre worke with flowers and ij dogges feightynge for a bone’.

📢WILL OF THE MONTH SPECIAL📢 The research and transcription for this new post are the fruits of a collaboration between two of our amazing Zooniverse volunteers! sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult... #EarlyModern 🗃️ @leverhulme.ac.uk @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social @uoearchhist.bsky.social

Paging @materialwills.bsky.social and @emilymayvine.bsky.social! 🚨

📢 NEW Will of the Month Post! 📢 This month's post is a very special collaboration with 2 of our @zooniverse.bsky.social volunteers - Will Johnson & Barbara Tearle They've put a huge amount of work into researching the life of the testator, Edward Fetiplace 🧵1/3 sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

📢 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 📢 Sign up for our hybrid wills Transcribathon: willstranscribathon.eventbrite.com 📅 Thurs 24 July 🕐 1-4pm BST Transcribe on @zooniverse.bsky.social alongside like-minded volunteers & help transcribe as many wills as possible! 📜 @uoearchhist.bsky.social @leverhulme.ac.uk

We're delighted that so many people have already signed up for our @zooniverse.bsky.social historic wills transcribathon on Thursday 24 July! 📜✍️ ⏳ Sign up for your free place at: willstranscribathon.eventbrite.com #Skystorians #history #EarlyModern @uoearchhist.bsky.social @leverhulme.ac.uk

📢WILLS TRANSCRIBATHON KLAXON📢 Join us on Thursday 24 July to transcribe wills and go behind the scenes of the wills project! In person and on Zoom - full details & registration here: willstranscribathon.eventbrite.com #EarlyModern 🗃️ #transcription @leverhulme.ac.uk @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social

📢 A NEW WILLS PROJECT EVENT! 📢 📅 Thursday 24 July 🕐 1-4pm BST Join us online or in person in Exeter for a hybrid wills Transcribathon 📜✍️ Transcribe on Zooniverse alongside like-minded volunteers & help transcribe as many wills as possible! Sign up here: willstranscribathon.eventbrite.com 🧵1/2