80% of Aubrey’s intro was cut in the 1847 ed. of👇Why? He said man and environment were indelibly connected. The earth had been shaped by catastrophic natural events. Petrified remains of sea creatures could be seen in landlocked places & not all still existed. So some was controversial 160 yrs on.

80% of Aubrey’s intro was cut in the 1847 ed. of👇Why? He said man and environment were indelibly connected. The earth had been shaped by catastrophic natural events. Petrified remains of sea creatures could be seen in landlocked places & not all still existed. So some was controversial 160 yrs on.

Amazing carvings at the Talbot Inn in Ledbury. Having a lovely time doing @vch-home.bsky.social research. Obviously had to stop and sample the food etc too. 😁

In Ledbury for @vch-home.bsky.social Herefordshire. Can’t wait to write about this town!!

It is John Aubrey’s 400th anniversary this year! My next book publishes his Natural History in full for the 1st time. It is not the quaint collection of random anecdotes suggested by the heavily edited 1847 version, but cutting edge c17 science all penned with Aubrey’s characteristic brilliance.

I wish this ensuing Yeare to be auspicious to you; with a succession of many others during your life. Aubrey to Wood, 1 Jan 1680. Wood F 39, f. 335r.

This morning’s walk.

This morning’s walk.

View from my bathroom window in the Cotswolds this morning.

In 2026 Chippenham is celebrating its history with a year-long festival of exhibitions, talks, and creative workshops marking the publication of @wiltshistory.bsky.social volume 20 and John Aubrey's 400th birthday. It’s going to be AMAZING!! www.wiltshirehistory.org/news/chippen...

How do we feel about licensing our databases so FMP/Ancestry can paywall them? I did a lot of work for FreeBMD before I ever went pro…

We @wiltshistory.bsky.social are marking the publication of our forthcoming volume on #Chippenham with a year-long celebration of the town’s history! The creative writing workshops start in January 2026! www.wiltshirehistory.org/news/chippen...

What connects a 1970s children's TV show, a Victorian ginger beer maker, a sleepless night & @cathamclarke.bsky? All is revealed in this blog by my @wiltshistory.bsky.social collaborator John Chandler. It is very good! www.wiltshirehistory.org/news/ginger-...

To cure jaundice #JohnAubrey advised taking a tench, slitting it in half & applying it to the soles of the patient's feet or stomach for 12 hours, and then using a fresh one. This was to be repeated 5 times. He admitted a fish strapped to your feet or stomach would 'stink', but it was a good cure.

What connects a 1970s children's TV show, a Victorian ginger beer maker, a sleepless night & @cathamclarke.bsky? All is revealed in this blog by my @wiltshistory.bsky.social collaborator John Chandler. It is very good! www.wiltshirehistory.org/news/ginger-...

We @wiltshistory.bsky.social are marking the publication of our forthcoming volume on #Chippenham with a year-long celebration of the town’s history! The creative writing workshops start in January 2026! www.wiltshirehistory.org/news/chippen...

Last morning in #Whitstable, Kent. 😔

Sat outside the Old Neptune in Whitstable with this view..

Each door of the History & Heritage Yorkshire Advent Calendar reveals a festive nugget of history, folklore and traditions, curious snippets and the events that shaped the region. Please enlarge the image to read. #AdventCalendar #Heritage #Yorkshire #foodanddrink #ChristmasDinner

It is Small Business Saturday! So why not support a small publisher that specialises in producing history books, including this one from me? Based on @wiltshistory.bsky.social research and made possible with support of the PC. www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/lang...

✨ The York Magic and Witchcraft Conference is back for 2026! ✨ Join us in historic York from 24–26 June as we explore the mysteries of Nature and the Supernatural. 🪄🌿 Submit your abstracts by 14 March 2026 to [email protected] ☺️

As an experiment, a goose was once (allegedly) put into a medieval tunnel under #BradenstokePriory. It emerged several miles away, featherless. One of several items of c17 weirdness I discovered while @gladlib.bsky.social & will feature in my next book 📕 www.louiserylandepton.co.uk/blog/the-fea...

As an experiment, a goose was once (allegedly) put into a medieval tunnel under #BradenstokePriory. It emerged several miles away, featherless. One of several items of c17 weirdness I discovered while @gladlib.bsky.social & will feature in my next book 📕 www.louiserylandepton.co.uk/blog/the-fea...

🔥 Save big in our Black Friday sale! With 60% off selected hardbacks, now is the time to shop. Use BF25 at the checkout to save. Ends tomorrow! Shop now 👉 buff.ly/zKBsGUs

My last night at @gladlib.bsky.social 😖

While I was working in the reading rooms @gladlib.bsky.social the Xmas decorations came out. I hope #Gladstone approves.

At the @gladlib.bsky.social library this week working on #JohnAubrey from who I learned today that churches are ‘despicable all over Hampshire’ and a goose was once inserted into a tunnel under Bradenstoke Priory. It emerged several miles away by a well on the Malmesbury Rd minus its feathers.🪿

All shares of this much-appreciated. Sorry if it's boring. Just another instance of me attempting to rehabilitate one of my books after my ex-publisher Unbound failed to pay me a large chunk of earnings from it, went into administration and took it temporarily out of print.

Delighted to be starting work for @vch-home.bsky.social in Herefordshire on #Ledbury with Alastair Ayton. Looking forward to seeing what this gorgeous place has in store for us. 😁

Having written a history of this village for @wiltshistory.bsky.social I am not surprised by this news. What a great idea. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

VISITING FELLOWSHIPS: Applications are now open for 2026-27! The deadline for applications is Friday 28 November 2025. For more information on how to apply: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowships/bodleian-visiting-fellowships

I have such a cool job. This is what I have written today (albeit at great speed so hoping no typos). It will be explored in an exhibition I am doing with @chippenhammuseum.bsky.social part of the @wiltshistory.bsky.social celeb. for their new red book! www.wiltshirehistory.org/news/curious...

A sketch that the artist, Salina Gani, created as I described a story I had researched. Part of a Digital Storytelling Workshop where I am having fun, but not being very productive (due to my own tech issues 😅).

This morning from the site of Bottreaux castle, Cornwall before the rain.

Boscastle this evening walking back from a shanty festival. 😁

The most incredible library in the world, @bodleian.ox.ac.uk opened to OTD 1602, through the energy, money & commitment of Sir Thomas Bodley. It began with 5k books, & now more than 22m, with 2m+reader visits a year, & multi-million online users across the globe. Privilged to be its 25th librarian!

At Boscastle, Cornwall, home of a Witchcraft Museum.

Had an amazing day at the Courtauld Gallery followed by @cathamclarke.bsky.social giving a lecture on ‘radical’ popular history @ihr.bsky.social What a combination!

Happy Halloween! 🎃

It is Halloween 🎃 & here is a ghost story 👻 www.louiserylandepton.co.uk/blog/ghost-r...

Next in my #Halloween 🎃 countdown is very odd - what happened when a cloud entered a church during divine service in 1652 and wreaked havoc 4/6 This story began like others in the unpublished writings of #JohnAubrey. I will be publishing a book in 2026. www.louiserylandepton.co.uk/blog/death-b...

As has rightly been pointed out to me it is, in fact, not yet 2026* Sooo... Gulliver's Travels is 300 *next* year. What do we have planned?! *I blame overwork plus the fact that I first mentally noted this anniversary 12 years ago, which is ages to wait! www.theguardian.com/science/the-...

For no reason other than my obsession with the topic, I have decided to count down to #Halloween 🧙🎃👻 with a suitable daily blog. Stuff I’ve been excited about over the year, sometimes related to #JohnAubrey & his pals. My book on Aubrey is out 2026. 😁 1/6 www.louiserylandepton.co.uk/blog/involun...

"Forgotten hauntings" for #PhantomsFriday by @lrylandepton.bsky.social

We love this book! Discover Compton Chamberlayne's hidden past—centuries of feudal life, family conflicts & rural struggles in Wilts chalk country. Through manor records, wills & court cases, explore how forgotten families shaped this village. #LocalHistory www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/thes...

We have been quiet the last few months, but we have actually been very busy publishing some lovely new books, including this by @lrylandepton.bsky.social www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/lang...

📅 Save the Date! 🎉 To mark 50 years of the Social History Society, we’re hosting a Social History Festival with @ihr.bsky.social! 🗓️ Fri 24 April 2026 📍 Senate House, University of London Panels, a keynote + hands-on activities! 💡 Want to contribute? 👉[email protected] More info coming soon!

C.1671 parson Symonds of Garsdon, Wilts was riding home late when a ghostly spectre leapt up behind him on his horse 🐎 👻 🫣 #ghoststories #17thCentury #JohnAubrey www.louiserylandepton.co.uk/blog/ghost-r...

Cracking (thundering?) early modern spooky stories for the Halloween season.

C.1671 parson Symonds of Garsdon, Wilts was riding home late when a ghostly spectre leapt up behind him on his horse 🐎 👻 🫣 #ghoststories #17thCentury #JohnAubrey www.louiserylandepton.co.uk/blog/ghost-r...