Huguenots of Spitalfields Strangers' Newsletter - Issue 29

March 2021 Newsletter – Issue 29

Greetings from Spitalfields. We are looking forward to spring with optimism and to meeting you again, either by Zoom or in person. We thank you for your donations and words of encouragement and we hope our modest programme appeals to you.

Zoom Lecture Series
From the Huguenots to the Holy Ghost: Religion on Stage at the National Theatre - 2009-2019
Thursday 15th April at 12-1pm
Join Dan De Hanas, Senior Lecturer at Kings College in Political Science and Religion, for this fascinating talk following the representation of religion at the National Theatre, exploring how the portrayal of issues of race and ethnicity have evolved over the last decade. Dan has participated in many Huguenot Festivals and is on the charity’s advisory board. Artifacts from the Huguenot Museum in Rochester will be featured.
Tickets - £5 (including booking fee). Book here.

Silks from Spitalfields to East Anglia hosted by the Huguenot Museum
Tuesday 20th April at 12-1pm

Many of you will have heard Mary Schoeser speak at the V&A Huguenot lecture and who captivated us with her breadth of knowledge. Mary is a leading authority in the field of textiles and Huguenot silk weaving. Her talk will cover 200 hundred years and will feature designs by James Leman (c.1688-1745) and Anna Maria Garthwaite (1689/90-1763), together with the work of later weavers, among them members of the Vanner, Walters, Warner and Wilson families, who brought silk weaving to East Anglia. Tickets - £8 (including booking fee). Book here.

Virtual Tour of Whitchurch Silk Mill
Thursday 22nd April at 2-3pm
Our visit to the in Hampshire was a COVID casualty of 2020 but now, with the goodwill of the Mill’s team, you can visit virtually from the comfort of your own living room. The Mill is the last example in the country of a silk mill - still producing silk using historic machines and training today’s weavers to use these pieces of living history. It is Britain’s oldest working silk mill, carrying the legacy of the nation’s industrial silk heritage.
Tickets - £8 (including booking fee). Book here.

Huguenot Footsteps Spitalfields In-Person Tour
Silk, Satin, Muslin, Rags - Sunday 25th April at 2-3.30pm
All being well and in-line with government guidance, guide Charlie de Wet will step back a couple of centuries and talk about the life and times of the Huguenot weavers.Tickets - £10 plus booking fee. Book here.

Huguenot Footsteps Greenwich: In-Person Tour
Saturday 22nd May at 11am -12:30pm
Join Kate Boyle to learn about the houses, exploits and characters that once lived in this heritage town. Tickets - £10 plus booking fee. Book here.

We were asked…
In the last issue you featured the door knobs in the shape of female wrists. Where can I find them?
On the front doors at 5 Elder Street, 1, 17 and 20 Princelet Street and 13 and 21 Wilkes Street, Spitalfields.

...If you are making that long-awaited trip to Spitalfields you will come across a herd of 21 elephants in Spitalfields Market- all modelled on real elephants who were endangered and saved by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. It's worth a trip just to see them!

Was John Calvin a Huguenot?
No, he was a Reformer. Read the full answer from Barbara Julien, President of the Huguenot Society.

We Were Told...
...Spitalfields-born Huguenot, Henriette Auber (1773-1862) was the author of the hymn “ Our Blessed Redeemer, ere he breathed”
... Jo Biden has been Huguenot outed! 
...Jessie Boucherett, the daughter of Frederick John Pigou, was an English campaigner for women’s rights. Click here. For more information.
...The fight continues to save the 400 year old Bethnal Green Mulberry Tree. The campaign, backed by Dame Judi Dench, has succeeded in obtaining a Judicial Review at the High Court. Find out more, here.

^{Elephants in Spitalfields Market}

...Seen in Shoreditch: Gastigny House-probably named after Jacques de Gastigny, a French Huguenot who served as Master of the Buckhounds to King William III.

...Massacre of Vassy – when Huguenot worshippers and citizens were murdered by the troops of the Duke of Guise which started the French Wars of Religion.
...Of a Facebook Group called Huguenot Hall of Fame.
...Sadly the Sudbury silk company Vanners is in administration with 32 job losses

...Thomas D’Urfey (1723) , English Dramatist, satirist and songwriter - was responsible for the familiar childhood classic “Old MacDonald had a Farm”
...Correction: The Houblon family purchased the Hallingbury Place Estate, (now known as Hallingbury Park) in 1729. The big house was pulled down in 1922 and the land sold to local farmers. The National Trust owns Hatfield Forest, which once formed part of the Houblon Estate.

Huguenots in Yorkshire
Charles Baker, one of our volunteer researchers, mentioned a Huguenot Arch in Wetherby so we asked him to investigate, click here to find out more.

We are always keen to identify traces of the Huguenots around the country and, with the help of volunteer Meriel, who is researching Surrey and Katie, who has chosen Bristol, the new database gets underway. If you wish to participate into this worthwhile initiative, please email - team@huguenotsofspitalfields.org

Some good websites...
...Meg Andrews of ‘Antique Dress & Textiles - Rare, Unusual and Interesting’ has been in touch to offer some fascinating sources for viewing Spitalfields silk materials from 1740s-1760s.

...Visit the photographer Paul Harley’s website for some gems about the Norwich Weavers.

...Check out Jo Rogers’s Huguenot blog, the latest entry featured Tim Kidd’s Zoom lecture on the Huguenots in Wandsworth.

A good read
Author Jane Marchese Robinson delves into the migration of peoples in “Seeking Sanctuary, a History of Refugees in Britain” beginning with protestant refugees fleeing persecution in the 16C.

Thanks Tim
Following the Zoom lecture on the Huguenots of Wandsworth, we are hoping to plan an in-person tour in the Summer to express interest, email team@huguenotsofspitalfields.org.
Tickets - £10

Shop Spot: Huguenot Museum
The Museum has signed copies of Kate Mosse's The Burning Chambers (paperback) and a special edition of The City of Tears (hardback). Both cost £25.99 plus £4.50 delivery (RRP £28.99). The City of Tears is the second installment in the series and we have signed and numbered limited editions. 

Shop Spot: Museum of London
Not quite as elaborate as Mrs Fanshawe’s Spitalfields silk 2 metres wide dress, woven in 1752/53, that features hops and barley interwoven with flowers spilling from silver cornucopia, alternating with anchors and merchants’ packs in silver, this decoration doll can be bought from the Museum of London shop.

Charity continues...
In gratitude for their efforts in protecting and sheltering Jews during the Second World War, the small French Protestant village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon has been left a large legacy by one of the Jewish people they helped. This story has been adapted into a film called Weapons of the Spirit. You can watch the trailer  or Learn more about the village and their heroics.

Huguenot Traces...
We have received our first donation from Amazon through the AmazonSmile Scheme, so thank you to those who have been shopping on Amazon and adding our name to smile.amazon.co.uk - there is no cost to you.

Thank you for buying Huguenot postcards and notecards. If you would like to purchase a set contact Charlie on 0207 247 0367. Postcards - 10 for £5 plus p&p / Notelets - 8 for £10 plus p&p

Linda, Jane, Charles and Paul continue to research Famous Huguenots, Gordon leapt into action to help with the new website, now we are looking for a volunteer with IT skills to help reformat heritage data. If you have IT skills, please email team@huguenotsofspitalfields.org.

Please support our work by forwarding the Newsletter to friends and check for regular updates on our Twitter Facebook and Instagram.

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/