Michael Pearce

This sounds lovely, it must be great to work in the historical fiction fulfilment sector

Buying artist’s paints in 1590s Edinburgh John Workman or Warkman was a prominent artist in Edinburgh. He painted scenes for the Royal Entry of Anna of Denmark in May 1590 and decorated her coach in 1603 when she left for England. He died …

New research on artist's paints in 1590s Edinburgh

vanishedcomforts.org/2026/01/26/b...

And a double M monogram seal with two $, used by Mary Mildmay Fane, Countess of Westmorland

CFP: Conference, 'Clio Reframed: Women Writing History, 1500-1750', University of Oxford, 18-19 June 2026

Deadline: 28 February 2026

Paper proposals are invited for this conference on the overlooked role of early modern women as writers of history. See clioreframed.hcommons.org.

Locked in the pantry at Apethorpe Mary Mildmay Fane, Countess of Westmorland, wrote to her daughter Grace Fane, Countess of Home, at Dunglass Castle in Scotland, with court news, medical advice, and occasional cheerful recollection…

Locked into the pantry at Apethorpe with sack and claret: vanishedcomforts.org/2026/01/25/l...

We are dealing with a Western Christian supremacist movement willing to see millions die in the name of racial purity. This is William Wolfe. A year ago he was invited with fourteen other faith leaders to the WH. Today he is praising ICE for killing peaceful observers. This is Christian fascism.

Paper plan of Hertford Castle, 16th Century

Paper plan of Hertford Castle, 16th Century, showing the location of Common Pleas, Requests, and King's Bench

Paper plan of Hertford Castle, 16th Century, showing the Court of Wards and where the records of Wards were kept.

Paper plan of Hertford Castle, 16th Century, showing where the Exchequer was based

Law courts on tour! In times of plague, the central law courts could move from Westminster Hall. This lovely 16th Cent plan of Hertford Castle shows where the Courts of Requests, Wards, Common Pleas, King's Bench, and Exchequer were based when there. TNA MPF 1/161

The Work of Mending The Work of Mending is a series of research-led, hands-on workshops exploring what hands do and what they mean across histories of making, repairing and caring.

@victorianhand.bsky.social is running a series of workshops exploring our hands as agents of making & mending in collaboration with the Quilters' Guild & @collegeofsurgeons.bsky.social. You can sign up for the QG workshops here with dates for the RCS to follow:
www.eventbrite.com/cc/the-work-...

Photo of a beautiful scrimshaw pie crisper made of aged ivory in the shape of a sea horse. Caption reads: Whaler made scrimshawed whale ivory Sea horse pie crimper, circa 1850. @tonyhawktruther replies "string of words your grandpa lets out when he stubs his toe"

Whitekirk and the Great Michael One Latin household books survives from the reign of James IV, (National Records of Scotland, E32/1). It covers dates from 1511 to 1512, giving daily expenses of food for the households of James IV…

Margaret Tudor's 1511 pilgrimage to Whitekirk, somewhat revised, vanishedcomforts.org/2026/01/21/w...

To mak iumboules: Tak a quarter of a pound of fine flouer tua ounces of fyn sugger tua eggs a spoonfull of seck a spoonfull of creame and mak past of it and mold it of leters and knottes and so baik it

The Countess of Moray's Jumbles: a spoonfull of seck, a spoonfull of creame, and mak past of it, and mold it of leters and knottes, and so baik it

YouTube video by Lincoln College, Oxford University Hidden Spaces: The Painted Rooms

So lovely to see my friend Louise Durning talking about the little known wall paintings in @lincoln.ox.ac.uk . Do take a look.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPay...

Surprised to find that disputed bills from Elizabeth Brydges' embroiderer in 1590s were printed in The Academy (5 February 1876), p. 125: archive.org/details/sim_...

🚨Call for Papers🚨

We are thrilled to issue a call for papers for our annual conference on 28th March 2026

We'd love to hear about the amazing sources you are using and can't wait to spend the day talking all things Scottish History 💙

Submit a proposal:
scottishhistorysociety.com/call-for-pap...

I did not know that!

Yes, his second ref is to the notes page for the page.

Many thanks, I see some of that is in Feuillerat

Mark Milliner - Wikipedia

Tudor hats with Mark Milliner: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Mi...

Klimt Eastwood

So excited to share my first article! With huge thanks to @aidannorrie.bsky.social and @kitfrench1348.bsky.social

Whitekirk and the Great Michael One Latin household books survives from the reign of James IV, (National Records of Scotland, E32/1). It covers dates from 1511 to 1512, giving daily expenses of food for the households of James IV…

Whitekirk and the Great Michael: Ship building and pilgrimage in East Lothian: vanishedcomforts.org/2026/01/21/w...

In 1694, the Dowager Marquise of Deynse, Marie-Alberte de Gand, founded a lace-making school at the Grand Beguinage of Mechelen. She outlined that the teacher of the school should choose "the most capable and virtuous girls" for admission.

Seems the John of the will was the master of your William, and in John's will there are debts from the Keith family, Benholm-way. Uncle/cousin maybe. Margaret H. B. Sanderson mentions that tailors' wills often have a regional slant.

When James, 3rd Earl of Home, died in London (February 1633) his mother shipped the body to Dunbar for burial at Dunglass, and sent four men and blacksmith to Dunglass Castle in April to lock up the best furniture in a chamber.

Who Lives in Scotland? - Series 1: 1. On the Move Martin Geissler explores the profound impact on Scotland of the movement of people, both within the nation and of its new arrivals.

The BBC made an excellent documentary, 'Who lives in Scotland?'. I was one of the experts interviewed.

It was re-run at the weekend, so it will be available on iPlayer for a month. If you're interested in how our population is changing, you'll enjoy it!

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001dlbm

There's an interesting will for a John Elder (died 1617) who travelled around on his broun naig tailoring till he died in Caithness, presumably his wife kept the tavern they rented from the laird of Craigcrook, 3 daughters. Another tailor, Walter Elder owed him £20. CC8/8/49 p. 658.

Keelmen’s Hospital. eighteenth century almshouse Buildings Keelmen’s Hospital was built in 1701, not as a hospital in the modern sense but as an almshouse. Almshouses provided food and shelter for the town’s poor. Keelmen’s Hospital was set up…

Excited that this iconic listed building in the centre of Newcastle will be renovated to create affordable housing after standing derelict for twenty years: www.twbpt.org.uk/building/kee...

Sorry, I can't recall its TNA ref at the moment though!

This may be a similar example for comparison; women weeders attending four weeks in July in a knot garden for Henry VIII