Huguenots of Spitalfields Strangers' Newsletter - Issue 28

January 2021 Newsletter – Issue 28

Welcome to our first Newsletter of 2021. It’s been wonderful to hear from you during the past months and your encouragement has really helped us during this challenging time.

Spitalfields Through the Ages is the title of the first of our public Zoom talks on the 28th January at 12noon, given by Huguenot lecturer and guide, John Halligan.
It is followed on the 18th February at 12noon with Tim Kidd on the Huguenots of Wandsworth. Both talks will highlight the heritage of these two historic areas and the people who lived and worked there - tickets: £5. 
Spitalfields through the Ages - book here
Huguenots of Wandsworth - book here

We have three themed lecture series to look forward to. The topics ranked highly in our recent Survey. Talking Textiles in April with a talk by Mary Schoeser, a virtual visit to the Whitchurch Silk Mill, Weaving with Ismini Samanidou and Silk Satin Muslin Rags, a walk around Spitalfields with Charlie de Wet. 

Skills of the Huguenots in May with Dr Tessa Murdoch and Jacob Moss, curator of the Fan Museum in Greenwich.  In Refugee Week in June, we can be inspired by the Huguenot Story - a series of lectures including a talk by author Julian Woodford, Dr Paul Carstairs and Dr Dinah Winch of the Huguenot Museum. 
All details will shortly be on the website.

All Huguenot Footsteps walks in Spitalfields now start at 2pm on Sundays outside Christ Church (rather than 12noon as in the past).

Later in the year Dr Dan DeHanas, senior lecturer at Kings College in Political Science and Religion, will give a talk entitled: From the Huguenots to the Holy Ghost: Religion on Stage at the National Theatre, 2009-2019.

More to follow, so check our website for news.

We are recruiting
Are you inspired by Huguenots, have administrative and IT skills, live in London and have a few hours to spare each week to help run the Huguenots of Spitalfields charity? Contact Rachel at team@huguenotsofspitalfields.org with your details and hourly/day rate.

Notecards
Thank you to all those who have bought notecards and postcards, it all helps keep the charity afloat. We have a few more left so do email team@huguenotsofspitalfields.org
to place an order:
10 Postcards - £5 plus £0.66 postage
10 Notecards -  £10 plus £1.53 postage

Postage for Europe, USA and Australia on request. Payment can be by BACS, cheque or
via Virgin Giving.

Don't miss this...
Dr Tessa Murdoch will be talking to the Georgian Society on Huguenot Refugee Art and Culture on the 2nd February at 6:30pm.
First-generation Huguenot refugees included hundreds of trained artists, designers and craftsmen. Although silver and silks are the best-known fields, they also made a significant contribution to architecture, ceramics, design, clock and watchmaking, engraving, furniture, woodwork, sculpture, portraiture and art. 
Price £5 for non-members - click here to book.

Zoom Talks to Groups
“We were fascinated by the history”. “A very professional presentation whilst also being friendly and relaxed.” “I will be adding one of your tours to my list of things to do in London once we are all allowed out again”. Just some of the comments from our recent Zoom Talks to a weaving group in Berkshire.

Themes we cover are: Silk weavers of Spitalfields, Huguenots of Wandsworth, Huguenots in the City, Huguenots in Marylebone and Spitalfields Through the Ages with Charlie de Wet, Tim Kidd and John Halligan.
To arrange a Group Zoom talk for organisations that you may know or belong to, contact Rachel on team@huguenotsofspitalfields.org

Zoom talks are a new development for us and we were surprised at how many US and European attendees joined in. As a result, we have started a Zoom Library area on our website for you to access the talks On Demand - small donation appreciated.

Contact team@huguenotsofspitalfields.org for access.

Famous Huguenots...
We hear that actor Timothee Chalamet, director Luc Goddard and Henry Dunant, founder of the Red Cross, all have Huguenot ancestry but disappointingly, two of our Huguenot hopefuls, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and JD Rockerfeller, turned out not to be Huguenots. Our talented team of volunteer researchers and writers (Linda, Jane, Charles and Paul) have added Christopher Baudouin, Al Gore, Henri Massue and Pulitzer prize-winning author, James Rufus Agee to our growing list of famous Huguenots.

^{Luc Goddard}

Click here to visit the Famous Huguenots section on the website.

Please support our efforts by submitting names of other Huguenot worthies who interest you. 

We were told...
…of a new podcast delving into the captivating subject of ancestry by Genealogist, Emma Cox, called Journeys into Genealogy.

...of a fascinating website from the Textile Arts Council in San Francisco - worth a peek.

...and if your interest is in metal work, head over to the Goldsmiths' Centre website to join their upcoming talks, including Treasures from the Vaults. 

…there is a new subject on the Huguenot Society Blog, entitled Karlshafen, a Huguenot Town in Germany (this is going straight on the holiday list).

...a really enjoyable read can be had featuring the Huguenots in St. Helena.

^{Hand-shaped door knocker}

We were asked…
Does anyone know where Etienne Massé lived in Spitalfields?

The Massé family are of particular interest as Jean Batiste Massé (died 1782) was a famous Huguenot  French Court painter who accepted Louis XIV’s offer of safety and stayed in France, despite his religion.

Are the hand-shaped door knockers in Spitalfields a symbol of Huguenot weavers, possibly representing lace embellishment?

This is a new one to us, does anyone have any information?

Battle for Brick Lane 
The historic area of Spitalfields is under threat again. This time there is a new battle for Brick Lane to find a more acceptable solution than the development plans currently put forward.

For details, visit Spitalfields Life.

^{Please note that the exhibition has now closed.}

Can you help?
One of our supporters is looking for help to translate her Huguenot ancestry which she has painstakingly researched back to Jean de Sully in 1600. 

Can anyone help? 

Email team@huguenotsofspitalfields.org 

There is a new community initiative, led by Tower Hamlets, featuring the diverse culture around Petticoat Lane. The Huguenot links with the East India Company are documented but we are reaching out to find out if anyone has information on Huguenots who lived in the area or worked for the EIC or other trades. 

Contact Charlie on 02072470367.

New Books
The second instalment of Kate Mosse’s thrilling historical fiction series, entitled City of Tears, is now available. Hopefully it’s not too late to ask your support for her Zoom lecture with the Huguenot Museum this Saturday at 7-8pm. Book your ticket here.

Yale University Press have released a fascinating new book, Migrant City: A New History of London, which is the first history of London to show how immigrants have built, shaped and made a great success of the capital city.

In January we remembered…
…the death of Catherine de Medici (1589) John Houblon (1712) and in 1779, David Garrick. 

...Catherine, wife of Henry II of France, mother of three sons who later became Kings of France (Frances II, Charles IX and Henry III) and who arranged the marriage of her daughter Marguerite to Henry of Navarre which led to the tragic St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

...John Houblon, one of five sons of James Houblon, whose ancestors fled persecution from Lille in 1560, and who became first Governor of the Bank of England in 1694.  

Click here for details of his remarkable family, who lived at the Hallingbury Place estate, now a National Trust property.

…David Garrick, whose grandfather was David de la Garrique - more can be found on his achievements and legacy on the Garrick Club website.

Thank you again for your ongoing support at this difficult time. Stay safe.

We warmly appreciate all the support and help that you give to the Huguenots of Spitalfields Charity.

The views and opinions expressed in these article are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Huguenots of Spitalfields charity.

Please contact info@huguenotsofspitalfields.org with your comments, views and contributions or requests for previous issues of the Strangers' Newsletter.  The charity is currently led by volunteers so do bear with us if there is a delay in the reply to your message.

Visit the Huguenots of Spitalfields website at http://www.huguenotsofspitalfields.org/