Did Huguenots change their names in places other than England in order to assimilate?
Brian Wood researched a list of names altered by Huguenots who settled in South Africa, for example, Le Clercq became De Klerk and Jourdan became Jordaan.
We Were Told
…that Hugh Riviere’s painting Garden of Eden is on display at the Guildhall Art Gallery in the City of London. His father, Briton Riviere, was also a painter.
…that Huguenot artists travelled to Sweden to paint wallpaper for Drottlingholme Palace. Leila Tuuli, Curator of The Royal Collection, Stockholm, confirmed that Huguenots worked in the building of many of the Royal Palaces. Personalities included Simon de la Vallée, architect, and his son, Jean de la Vallée, André Mollet worked in the palace gardens, Antoine de Beaulieu was a dancing teacher, Sébastien Bourdon and Nicolas Vallari were painters, Doctor Grégoire Du Rietz, the miniature and enamel painter Pierre Signac, jeweller Valentin Toutin, silk trader Charles Boit and tailor André Lefebure – were all connected in one way or another to Queen Christina’s Court (reigned 1632-1654).
…Belgian conductor Paul van Neval has released a CD The Ear of the Huguenots by the Huelgas Ensemble.
…The Common Lot recently staged a historical pastiche highlighting the history of the Norwich incomers Come Yew In! A Proud History of the Strangers of Norwich including the Huguenots.
…in 1626 Nicholas Lanier was appointed the first Master of the King’s Musick to the Court of Charles I. He was a lutenist, singer and viol player. Since then there have been 20 further Masters, who hold the title for ten years, with Judith Weir the first woman to hold this position.
…Portarlington in Ireland (88 km west of Dublin) stages a French Festival each year in July. During the 17thC Portarlington was home to a number of French Huguenot refugees and the French themed festival centres around the houses and landmarks that still exist today.
…Catherine Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, is descended from Elizabeth Martineau, who was part of a hugely influential Huguenot family in Norwich. Elizabeth was the elder sister of Harriet Martineau, the first female sociologist.
...Brighton isn’t the obvious place you would expect to find Huguenot traces but once the French Protestant church there had over 2,000 people in its congregation. For more details, visit: The French Protestant Church of Brighton
...of three interesting website links:
Virtual Museum of Protestantism (Musee virtuel du Protestantisme)
Reformed Church of France (Elise Reformee de France)
Society of Studies and Research on Protestantism (le site de la Société Montalbanaise d’Étude et de Recherche sur le protestantisme (SMERP)
French Hospital
Are you a Friend of La Providence? If not, do contact Vanessa Weddell fundraising@frenchhospital.org.uk and gain access to their very creative programme of events. Membership starts at just £25 per person a year.
You will be invited to the Friends’ Day at the London Cloth Company Mill in Epping on Monday 2 October. This is a working mill specialising in quality woven cloth, produced on their carefully restored shuttle looms dating from the 1870s. After the tour, Jonathan Ouvry, a Director of The French Hospital and member of the Worshipful Company of Weavers will speak about the history of weaving and his own fascinating family connections to this industry. Unmissable! Tickets are £25 per person, including tea and cake on arrival. Limited places - Booking deadline is 11th September.
No Turning Back: Seven Migration Moments that Changed Britain
A free exhibition looking at key British ‘migration moments’, including the arrival of Huguenots opens on 20th September. Featuring contemporary art and a range of media the exhibition encourages visitors to engage with the past and make connections with their lives and the present.
The exhibition is at Migration Museum at The Workshop, 26 Lambeth High Street, SE1 7AG
Wed-Sun 11am-5pm
Thank You
To Julius Walters, descendant of the founder of the silk weaving firm Stephen Walters, for inviting us to visit the Silk Mills and to see their talented staff at work producing the most amazingly beautiful fabric. We all felt hugely privileged and want to thank Julius for his graciousness and generosity in allowing us to indulge our passion for textiles. To hear Julius Walters’ insight into contemporary silk manufacturing was revelatory.
To Brenda Allenby for her help in researching the Huguenot Towns; Martin Clarke for his research work in Norwich; the Spitalfields Trust for help with the Journeymen Weavers’ houses project; and Dr. Robin Gwynn for generously providing historical details of Greenwich. |