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Month YEAR Newsletter - Issue 7 |
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Huguenot Summer is almost here .........and it is packed with events, day trips, walks, talks, guided tours, expert speakers and visits to places where the Huguenots settled: Spitalfields, Soho, Wandsworth, Greenwich, Taunton, Norwich, Bristol, Sudbury, Faversham, Exeter, Plymouth, Colchester, Winchester and other places. Many events are free, or cost £5 to £10, with the fund-raising events up to £30. We are raising monies to support an educational programme to allow the charity to continue its work. For full details and information on how to book visit our website. Here are a few of the highlights:
Day Visits
Come and see the Chart Gunpowder Mills in Faversham (the oldest of their kind in the world); be treated to a private tour of the Old Naval College in Greenwich by curator, Will Palin; a rare chance to see silk being made at Stephen Walters Silk Manufacturers; attend a silk printing workshop and walk the historic streets of Sudbury; meet the archivist, Kate Wigley, and see the superb fabric collection at Warner Textile Archive; learn about the Courtauld family in Braintree and much more. |
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If you are in the area, visitors are always welcome at the Thorney Heritage Museum where you can explore the lives of the Huguenot refugees who were invited to settle in this town, but wherever you journey you are assured of a great day out. |
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Fund raising Walks
Please support the charity by joining one of the Huguenot Footsteps walks in Spitalfields, Soho, Wandsworth, City of London, Clerkenwell and Greenwich. Cathy Terry and Rod Spokes have also arranged a walk in Norwich on 5th July at 2pm, highlighting the history of the Huguenots in the City.
Talks
In Exeter, men of Plymouth took to their boats to help the Huguenots back into Plymouth where several families settled and prospered. On 6th May Dr Jameson Tucker will speak about the Huguenots both in France and Devon at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) in Exeter and on 9th June will tell the story of the Huguenots of Devon at Plymouth City Museum. Two events in our Festival have been organised by Parliament in the Making, to highlight the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta - which confirmed the right of freedom to practice your faith. |
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One event will take place in M Shed in Bristol on the 23rd June with Dr Charles Littleton |
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and a second, in London, on the 22nd July, at Temple Church with the Master as host. Beatrice Behlen, Senior Curator at the Museum of London, who has captivated audiences at previous festivals will be giving a talk at Dr Johnson’s House (off Fleet Street) on how silk was woven, styled and fashioned and explain how people went about obtaining clothes in eighteenth century London.
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 Beatrice Behlen |
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Did you know that Nicholas Culpeper, the herbalist, physician, botanist and astrologer, was a Spitalfields resident? With the support of The Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life, a People’s Plaque now marks the spot in Commercial Street. Come and listen to Margaret Willes talk about Culpeper’s Herbal Remedies at the Geffrye Museum on 6th June. Each year we fill the lecture theatre at the Victoria & Albert Museum and we are delighted that Mary Schoeser, of The Textile Society, has agreed to talk here on 10th June about Spitalfields Silk and the Huguenots.
Spitalfields has welcomed immigrants since the Huguenots first sought refuge. Professor Anne Kershen’s talk on the 22nd June at Hanbury Hall, a former Huguenot chapel, has the intriguing title - There was a Priest, a Rabbi and an Imam...
The only military theme in the Festival will be by Professor Edward Vallance, of Roehampton University, who will explore Invasion, revolution or coup? Violence, war and the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688 - this event has been organised by the National Army Museum and will take place at the Army & Navy Club, Pall Mall, on 25th June.
Tours |
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Have you visited the Garrick Club? It is named after the legendary actor-manager and Huguenot descendant David Garrick. Join Frances Hughes on 1st July for a cup of tea and see the Club’s remarkable painting collection, including the much talked about Zoffanys. |
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If you haven’t yet seen the sensational display of silver at the Courtauld Institute, come to a gallery talk by Dr Alexander Gerstein, an authority on Courtauld Silver, on 15th June. There is a superb display, which is particularly fascinating to see how the styles developed over the generations of Courtauld silversmiths.
Join us in Prayer
On June 21st, Minister Joost Röselaers will welcome us to Austin Friars, the Dutch Church in the City of London. It was here on this site that Edward VI, first gave a Royal Charter to the French Huguenots and Dutch Protestants to establish a church. |
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On July 5th we will be warmly welcomed by Revd. Carla Maurer at the Swiss Church, Endell Street, London and on 19th July Pastor Stephane Demarais at the French Church in Soho is arranging to visit the Library after the service (which is in French). |
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 French Church, Soho |
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Revd. Andy Rider will close the Huguenot Summer Festival on 27th September at Christ Church Spitalfields.
Special Events
A whole day will be dedicated to entertainment with a weaving theme by the wonderful team at Spitalfields Music: www.spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk and as part of the National Gardens Scheme, you can also visit the gardens of Spitalfields and support cancer research at the same time: www.ngs.org.uk |
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The Stitching Communities Together workshop at SPAB, 37 Spital Square on 13th June is now fully booked.
Join a Study Day on 23rd June at the University of Kent with Dr Glllian Draper and hear about where the Huguenots settled in the towns of south east England including Maidstone, Canterbury and Dover. |
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We are thrilled that on 27th June the distinguished art historian, and former V&A Director, Sir Mark Jones will be talking about Medals of the Sun King at the British Museum. |
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 British Museum |
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Our Norwich friends, Cathy Terry of the Strangers’ Hall and Vicky Manthorpe of the Norwich Society have been wonderfully supportive and created some special events to highlight Huguenot heritage in Norwich. As well as the walk on 12th June there is a workshop on Ice Cream Tortes and Chocolate Port. Dan Cruickshank is the guest of the Norwich Society at the Assembly Rooms on 24th June and will talk about the Huguenots of Spitalfields.
Also in Norwich, The Costume Society has organised an intriguing talk: From Cocoon to Couture at St. Giles’s Rooms (27th June) and later in June you can hear about Norwich textiles at the time of the Huguenots. The last event in Norwich is on 4th September when Dr Alistair Duke will be reading Letters from the Strangers, at Strangers’ Hall.
Children will be captivated by a storytelling and craft session on the remarkable Anna Maria Garthwaite at the Museum of London’s Family Day on 28th June.
The Treasury at Winchester Cathedral holds Huguenot silver; curator Jo Bartholomew will give a personal tour and explain more about the history of church silver. Later in the week Mark Pitchforth of the Winchester Records Office is hosting a talk on Henri Portal and his family. Both these events are in September.
The Cass London Metropolitan University have taken the Huguenots to their hearts and are undertaking a cross faculty project; the architectural and design students have already created street art inspired by the local Huguenot heritage and their work will be featured in the student summer show, which will run from 24th June to 6th July. The Fabric of the City Exhibition, part of this Huguenot project, runs from 10th – 25th July and the one-day Symposium takes place on 14th July. For more information visit The Cass website.
Your story – Huguenot Whispers
Do you have a story about your Spitalfields Huguenot heritage, your family’s trade, where they lived? We would love to capture your story in a short interview (no more than 15 minutes) on Saturday 25th July. First send us a short paragraph, just 50 words, with your story and we will contact you. info@huguenotsofspitalfields.org
Tea & Talks at the Townhouse, Spitalfields |
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A series of four talks over a cup of tea in June and July: Trisha Jean-Marie on Mount Nod, a Wandsworth Cemetery; Peter Duval reminding us of what life was like for the destitute seeking a home at the French Hospital; Giles de la Mare on his grandfather Walter and his family and The Gentle Author on Spitalfields Nippers. There are events in Rochester, Tonbridge, Colchester, Rye and Taunton, which we shall tell you about in our next Newsletter, out in May. |
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Dates for booking events vary - visit the venue’s own website for details (website addresses can be found in the programme).
The Huguenot Summer programme can be found at: www.huguenotsofspitalfields.org or go to the EventBrite site http://huguenotsummer.eventbrite.co.uk for most of the Spitalfields events. Any problems, email bookings@huguenotsofspitalfields.org
Thank you for your support. |
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Can you help?
PhD student Helen Bates is researching the Montagu family and the Boughton estate from 1700 – 1820. She tells us that Duke of Montagu was awarded the islands of St Lucia and St Vincent by George I in 1722. Nearly 500 participants took part in the expedition to colonise the islands and many of these had names which could reflect Huguenot heritage, including a group of 30 weavers. Helen is keen hear from anyone who thinks their ancestor may have participated in the expedition. Further information (including the names) can be found on www.stlucia1722.wordpress.com
Contact Helen at hlb29@leicester.ac.uk
Spitalfields Music Summer Festival
Booking is open for the wonderful Spitalfields Music Festival from 2–16 June, visit: www.spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk We would like to thank you most sincerely for the donations made on our website, via Virgin Money Giving. You are making a huge difference – whether you have donated £5 or £100 – it all supports our heritage and educational endeavours. Thank you. |
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We warmly appreciate all the support and help that you give to the Huguenots of Spitalfields Charity. |
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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 https://www.huguenotsofspitalfields.org/ |
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