Christmastide in the Age of Austen - Second Chance for tickets!

As Mrs. Leach's Academy is like other lady tutors of this age in her home, she requires a day or two to transform her common parlour into a venue suitable for the reception of her respected patrons, fore knowledge of numbers an imperative. The tickets she thus issues for entry are made available up until this preparation time.

Not assured of the attendance of sufficient numbers prior to preparations for today's meeting (which might otherwise allow the entertainments planned for the gathering to proceed), it must sadly be cancelled.

However, since having to take this regretful decision, she has received enquires expressing interest in attending the event, and has consequently rescheduled the talk for the evening (7-8.3 pm) of Wednesday 20 December, 2017. 

This provides time to reinstate the materials dismantled and returned to those kind enough to loan artefacts of interest, once cancellation was deemed necessary.

Tickets are available from the same box office as previously, here. To keep abreast with information on this talk, see the Facebook page, or follow her Tweets.

She hopes that this new date and time suits interested parties, who she looks forward to seeing next week.

Mrs. Leach Christmastide in the ‘Age of Austen’ Regency Revels, Georgian Gambols & Festive Fare

*PLEASE NOTE EDIT: the next event is planned to take place on 20 Dec. 2017, 7 - 8.30 pm, at Mrs. Leach's establishment in Derby. 

As my most-loved time in all the year, I am exceedingly pleased to be able to provide an event that revels in the beliefs of customs Christmases past: 'Christmastide in the ‘Age of Austen’ Regency Revels, Georgian Gambols & Festive Fare'.

I hope that this seasonal offering will become an annual tradition in itself; this year's December talk  - which forms part of the series of events that I intend to hold until summer 2018, concentrating on the time in which Britain's favourite female author lived and died, as part of the Bicentenary commemorations - will focus on the 'Age of Austen'

Centring on the 1770s - 1810s, the Christmastide talk considers celebrations before those of the Victorian period, with which many today are more familiar. In order to explore continuities (some of which have evolved into modern-day practices) and change (resulting in the loss of once popular customs), I will also include information about the two decade's between Jane Austen's death, and the start of Queen Victoria's reign, thus examining the late Georgian & Regency eras more fully, and including an array of attractive and intriguing material. 

I shall approach the topic through a number of themes to over-view attitudes, beliefs, and customs of the time surrounding Christmas past and present, using Jane Austen's work, and early biographies; a range of written and audio sources and images, including diaries and letters, newspapers & magazines, literature, poetry, and music; prints & art; and - of course, from an archaeological perspective - various aspects of material culture. This array of sources will pay particular attention to Derby, Derbyshire, and the East Midlands. 

The themes begin with 'Ancient Origins & Antiquarian 'Inventions'. This will touch upon pre-Roman, Classical, Medieval and Early Modern traditions, by considering Antiquarian interest in and '(re-)envisioning' of Christmas customs in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It will explore concerns of the 'Austen Age' that Christmas and other ancient English customs were under threat, considering how this related to war, urbanisation, and industrialisation, and  measures taken to preserve 'olde' ways. (This will integrate my own ongoing research into the effects of Antiquarianism upon ritual and belief in the past).

The second theme, 'Festive Families and Community Care', will explore Christmas trade and travel, briefly considering commerce, holidays, and transportation - notably that popular seasonal motif: coach travel; and the most significant factor of the Victorian (and subsequent) Christmas: the family. It will also touch upon faith and belief; and explore charity and gift-giving at Christmas time.

The final theme - 'Festive Food, Fun, and Games' - will look at seasonal amusements & pastimes, including the theatre, community entertainments, and domestic traditions, such as card-playing and party games. No exploration of Christmas would be complete without a foray into food and drink, which will conclude the talk, considering recipes of the day, and how food and drink was integrated with the Christmas calendar, and customs.

The event will be held in the 'common parlour' of the 'Academy', which (though limiting the number of available places)[1] enables the creation of a cosy 'atmosphere', through colour and candlelight, fabrics and furniture (& possibly firelight!),[2] and material culture and costume. I will as usual (in the guise of Mrs. Leach) be clothed in period dress - and 'Academy pupils' garbed in their own Regency- and late Georgian-style attire will be welcome!

Tickets cost £3.50 pp (purchases online accruing an additional Eventbrite fees of 87p), and may be obtained online by clicking this link; the 'Buy Tickets' button bellow; the 'Register' buttons at the top right of the webpage, or by using the form at the end of this post.

Update: Early Bird offer has now expired, but there's a discount of £1 for those who attend in Regency costume! Enter the promo code Costume_Concession

Tickets may also be obtained on request by email: antiquarianacademy@gmail.com, or text: 07903 237953 (Paypal); or by post: Lymehurst, 1 West Park Rd., Derby, DE22 1GG (cheque & SAE).

For more information, see the Eventbrite page; Facebook event page; Twitter: @LadyAntiquary; or by text, email, or post.

It would be great to know if readers are interested in this event - even if unable to attend (so that I might better plan this and future events), using website comments, Twitter, Facebook; or email. 

I hope to see some readers at the event! 

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Notes

[1] A minimum number of places need to be filled for the event to proceed.

[2] Should conditions be suitable.

True Tales from the Grave: Death & Burial in the 'Age of Austen' Halloween Talk

Mrs. Leach is pleased to announce her next educational event - for Halloween: True Tales from the Grave: Death & Burial in the 'Age of Austen'. This was initially intended as a tour of graveyards in Derby's Cathedral Quarter, although bureaucratic delays (as explained in a previous post) have necessitated alternative arrangements. 

The event will now be held at Mrs. Leach's establishment on 2nd November (All Soul's Night) 2017, 7-8.30 pm. It will take the form of a light-hearted (though at times dark) talk, which integrates evidence from and discussion of the graveyards hitherto intended as sites of interest that the tour party would visit, alongside other material. As now to be held indoors, there is opportunity to incorporate a wider range of sources - including more lovely Georgian prints, and a guest appearance from Mrs. Leach's bony inanimate friend, Morty Skelton.

As part of a series of events that commemorate the bicentenary of Jane Austen's death, True Tales will explore how people dealt with death in the time of Britain's favourite female author. Mrs. Leach will draw upon her antiquarian studies of funerary and mortuary customs and beliefs in Derby and beyond, to follow the fates of  those whose earthly endeavours came to an end in the late 1700s and early 1800s. 

Using local and wider archaeological and other historical evidence, she will meander through miasmas and medicine, to touch upon causes of death and experiences of dying, and – in this age of elegance – investigate how industrialisation and urbanisation gave rise to grisly graveyards. 

Contemplating corpses and crypts unearthed and evacuated in constructing new edifices for the living, and analysing an array of documents and illustrations exhumed from the archives - as well as a multitude of monuments that survive in the graveyards still present day, she will consider what bereavement, bodies and burials may tell us of beliefs in the Regency era, making occasional forays into superstitions and supernatural realms.

Through remnants of remembrance, and commemorative collections, Mrs. Leach will muse on mourning, mementos, and memorials. She will follow such sad sentiments by mulling over means of medical discovery, investigating how the search for scientific knowledge lead to gruesome treatment of human remains.  

As might be anticipated, a strong constitution might be required! The talk is therefore unsuitable for children, although on parental / guardian guidance, young persons over the age of 15 may attend if accompanied by a responsible adult (usual ticket prices apply).

Entry is by ticket purchased in advance. Only a small number of places are available for this select soiree - so if interested, it is advisable to purchase a ticket ASAP. The event may be cancelled if insufficient numbers of tickets are sold; in such a case, ticket sales will be refunded. 

Tickets are available online through the Eventbrite - on the Eventbrite event page, the form below, or by clicking the orange button to the right of the blog page. Entry costs £4 pp. plus the Eventbrite administrative fee (84 p: total cost = £4.84 - I have lowered the original ticket price to allow for this fee). 

Alternatively, or for more information, please contact me (providing name and contact details) - preferably by email or phone: antiquarianacademy [at] gmail [dot com]; 07903 237953; or by post via at the Academy (1 West Park Road, Derby, DE22 1GG); this blog or the Academy Website; or send a message via Facebook or Twitter. 

*PLEASE NOTE: TICKETS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE*

...But why not come along to the follow-on talk, planned for the close of the Christmas season in early January: Ghosts of Christmas Past: Late Georgian Death, Ritual and Belief?! 

More on this event soon...

'True Tales from the Grave in the Age of Austen' - Mrs. Leach in limbo

Antiquarian Administration & Bureaucracy Behind the Scenes

More than three weeks has passed since the 'Material Worlds of Jane Austen' exhibition, and I had hoped that, by now, I would have been able to provide more information on, advertise, and offer tickets, for my next proposed event - 'True Tales from the Grave in the Age of Austen' (working title), which I intend to hold around Halloween.

The prospective format of this event was / is a guided tour around some of Derby's urban burial sites (specifically in the 'Cathedral Quarter), to explore death and burial in the Regency era, to be held 5-6 pm, Sat. 28th October.

Here's a (draft) summary, that (subject to editing) will accompany some of the promotional material:

To mark the bicentenary of Jane Austen’s death, join Georgian lady antiquarian Mrs. Leach on her tour of the Derby’s Cathedral Quarter, to find out how people dealt with death in the Regency era.
While visiting the sites of several ‘lost’ burial grounds, and ancient churchyards still in existence today, she will explore death, disposal, and remembrance in the late 1700s and early 1800s, through local and wider archaeological evidence, and other historical sources.

Discover how industrialisation and urbanisation; limited medical knowledge – and attempts to improve understanding; and even political circumstances, gave rise to grisly graveyards, and gruesome treatment of human remains – far removed from the elegant environs and sentimental society now commonly associated with the time. But we will also consider the care and affection shown by previous generations to the dying and deceased, in such trying conditions.

Generally, on publicly accessible land, permission is not required for the sort educational events that I (& other educators) lead, and the activities that groups might undertake (i.e. taking a few people to look at features on historical sites), though the leader of such expeditions might, by way of courtesy, notify the landowner of their intentions. So I contacted the administrator of the only site I intend to visit that I know not to be public land, and they very kindly, warmly, and quickly granted permission.

Regarding public land - with regard to my event, pavements, verges, and another piece of open urban land administered by local authorities: over the years that I've taught in Adult Education (since 2000), I've never heard of educators seeking permission from governing bodies, nor of other tour-leaders that I have known taking the trouble to do so.

But I have vague recollections - when previously looking into the prospect of holding a Christmas walk & talk on a local park (last year? a few years ago?) - of encountering online information provided by DCC that those wishing to carry out community activities on a council-managed park should first contact the council, suggesting they do so 4 weeks before the event (though the links I bookmarked are broken, and I can no longer find this information).

In searching for this information while recently preparing the Halloween event, I came across information provided by community groups, mentioning that some LA's required notification by organisers intending to conduct group / community activities on public land (though this was principally with regard to 'licensable' activities, such as selling alcohol).

Conducting tours as a freelance educator for the first time (& so without the weight of the WEA or a University employer behind me), I though I'd better err on the side of caution, & contacted the Local Authority a few days after the exhibition, to enquire whether permission is required for me to take (a) small group(s) on Council-owned land (initially in the town centre).

I await a response (though I have since made further contact by phone, to be assured that my enquiry is being, or will soon be, considered). The delay is understandable for what I expect are understaffed & overworked offices - and I am informed that 'Derby Fest' kept everyone pretty busy over the last few weeks.

In the meantime, I'm holding off advertisement & ticket sales, just in case, for some reason, I'm not granted permission; if conditions are imposed that further delay permission; or if administrative or other charges are imposed - which would make tours untenable, due to the small number of 'tourists' I might most safely and effectively guide, and the low ticket prices. So I feel a little in limbo at present (a topical state that I'll briefly discuss when considering ritual and belief during the talk / tour!).

Due to the potential for such an outcome, and bearing in mind that time is pressing on, I'm looking into putting on an alternative (but similar) event at the 'Academy', either as an 'armchair' tour of the sites I intended to cover, or a more general talk on Regency death and burial in Derby (and beyond) that incorporates at least some of the material I would have included on the guided tour.

Those attending events at the 'Academy' have opportunities to handle original and reproduction 18th and 19th century artefacts, and see fabulous caricatures and illustrations from the period, as well as hearing about some of the, at times, grisly, at others, tender, experiences, surrounding death and burial in the late Georgian period. Costume can be more interesting, and I may be able to get together some suitably spectacular material culture!

While most of the Cathedral Quarter tour requires daylight (albeit, I plan, to conclude at dusk) - and so must be held at the weekend (and consequently not coinciding with a day in the Halloween season), the alternative can be held 'after dark' (making atmospheric use of candle-light!)- 7-8 pm seeming most suitable, and on a day in the Halloween festival. 'All Soul's Day' (November 2nd) seems appropriate.

If I do run an 'Academy' event instead of a tour, unfortunately numbers will be further limited (as those who attended the exhibition might anticipate) - so the soiree would be particularly select! And I shall hopefully be able to offer a guided tour next year (probably considering a slightly wider time-frame), when the bureaucracy has been surmounted.

I shall provide more information ASAP (via the mailing list; on this blog, & the Academy website; via Twitter & the Facebook Page, and posters etc.; those on the mailing list will be first to receive the news, and have first refusal on tickets - to join, email antiquarianacademy [at] gmail [dot] com), and I hope to see readers at the event, whether housebound, or on Derby's streets!