Our project is analysing a sample of 25,000 wills, and when writing each âWill of the Monthâ post, it can be difficult to know how to select just one to...
Continue reading...This monthâs post analyses the will of John Huggens or Huggyns, a âCapperâ or cap-maker who died in Gloucester in 1544.[1] Huggensâ will shows how just one type of object,...
Continue reading...The end of October and the beginning of November marks âAllhallowtideâ â the time of the year when Western Christians, including in early modern England, have traditionally turned their thoughts...
Continue reading...Weâve recently announced an exciting new phase of the âMaterial Culture of Willsâ project â the launch of our Zooniverse site, a âcrowdsourcingâ platform that is enabling us to involve hundreds of...
Continue reading...Weâre delighted to announce an exciting new phase of the âMaterial Culture of Willsâ project â the launch of our Zooniverse site. We hope that the Zooniverse âcrowdsourcingâ platform will...
Continue reading...Emily Vine This âWill of the Monthâ post features the will of a man âlocalâ to the University of Exeter: Alderman Thomas Hunte, who died in 1548 in the reign...
Continue reading...Emily Vine Thanks to all participants at our recent workshops at The National Archives and the University of Exeter, where we discussed this will. I have drawn on these discussions...
Continue reading...In this monthâs post, one of our Expert Volunteers shares a fascinating will that he transcribed as part of our project. Austen Hamilton, Project Volunteer This monthâs post explores the...
Continue reading...Generously funded by the University of Exeterâs Public Engagement with Research Fund. Many thanks to the knowledgeable and generous attendees at our two recent workshops (June 2024) at The National...
Continue reading...In this monthâs post, one of our Expert Volunteers shares her research into one of the wills she came across when transcribing pages for our project. Liz Wood, archivist and...
Continue reading...Emily Vine Early modern folk frequently added âconditionsâ to their wills: that a sum of money would not be given until a beneficiary reached the age of twenty-one, got married,...
Continue reading...Emily Vine In this monthâs post we explore the will of John Tylney, a man who had made his living from writing the wills of others. Tylney had lived and...
Continue reading...Laura Sangha Itâs safe to say that the Wills Project wouldnât be possible without drawing on the skills and knowledge of a wide variety of volunteer âcitizensâ â or rather,...
Continue reading...Our third will of the month, that of affluent fashionable lady Helen Spratt (d.1726), is as long and as detailed as that of the Lincolnshire farmer Ralph Wrighte [link], and...
Continue reading...Harry Smith In this blog post, Research Fellow Harry Smith provides an overview of some of the innovative digital methods used by our project. Read on to find out more...
Continue reading...We are currently re-advertising our funded PhD studentship Global Commodities in Early Modern Wills. The focus of the studentship is intended to be broad and elastic so that the successful...
Continue reading...This monthâs featured will is longer and more detailed than previous examples, stretching to three and a half pages. Itâs the will of Ralph Wrighte, a landowner and farmer who...
Continue reading...Hello, and welcome to our first âProject Progressâ blog post. In this blog post you will find an overview of some of the things weâve been up to since the...
Continue reading...Emily Vine Our first blog post introduced the different features of early modern wills, and provided some examples of how we can determine the âmeaningâ ascribed to some of the...
Continue reading...Emily Vine Whatâs in an early modern will? On the one hand the answer to this question is straightforward â according to the legal definition a will is the documentary...
Continue reading...Throughout the life of the project we will be posting about our progress, findings and activities on this blog. You can filter the posts either by choosing a category, or...
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