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 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!  

Christmas and the Antiquarians: Customs, Continuity, and Change

 

Nostalgia for Christmas in ‘Merrie England’ (from Robert Seymour’s 1836 Book of Christmas)[i]

As I partly let slip when twittering in the market place the other day, I am planning several Christmastide educational and creative endeavours for next year's celebrations. To this aim, around preparations for the Academy opening I persevere with antiquarian investigations – and what better employment at this time of year! I shall primarily incorporate my discoveries within talks, walks, and workshops; in academic publications and presentations; and I hope in more publically accessible texts, such as the pamphlet Old Christmas on which I now work (as mentioned previously). But for now, perhaps my reader might be interested in occasional tid-bits from my findings, and work-in-progress.

In my current writing I consider the widely held beliefs and assertions surrounding continuity from the Roman and Medieval eras, and explore the influence of early modern and industrial period antiquarians upon our understanding of ‘Old Christmas’ in Britain.[ii] One article pays particular attention to the almost universal assertion within popular works that the origin of the ‘modern’ Christmas lies in the pagan Roman festival of Saturnalia. This primarily agricultural feast (typically involving over indulgence), merriment (usually including pranks and role-reversal), and present giving, was initially observed on December 17^th and 18^th, and later celebrated over five days. The festival is of interest to antiquarians of my time – including the redoubtable Edward Gibbon Esq.[iii] Some consider another Roman cult (with somewhat similar celebrations) as a more likely candidate – that of sol invicta (the ‘unconquered sun’), whose ‘birth’ was marked by the winter solstice, Brumalia, on the 25th December. It is usually claimed that with ‘Christianisation’ of the empire in the 4^th century, the church chose to adopt this date for celebrating the birth of Jesus,[iv] providing direct continuity of British Christmas festivities from this time, to this day.

However, while my 18^th century antiquarian self might allow such a conclusion (though may start to see alternative viewpoints emerge in the following decades), from the perspective of my 21^st century archaeologist self, I cannot escape the contention that many claims of continuity are largely based upon assumptions. [v] I will elaborate within future publications, but for now shall very briefly highlight several important issues with regard to notions of continuity. This forms part of  the well-attested argument that, by considering the work of antiquarians over several centuries, it is clear that interest in (and thus expansion of knowledge about) the past was (and is) largely intertwined with the various social and political circumstances and concerns of the day.[vi] Over time customs are selectively appropriated, modified, and discarded when no longer relevant, giving rise to new traditions that are most ‘meaningful’ at particular times, in particular places.

The first point is that such arguments rely upon homogenous ‘Roman’ culture – which any study conducted at various scales of analysis (the household, community, region, and – where appropriate, state or nation) reveals was clearly not the case.[vii] It also assumes that the rites described within written sources relating particular parts of the empire, at particular times, may readily apply to the British isles – which again is not necessarily (or often) the case.

Secondly (but following the same line of reasoning), until relatively recently, while the church provided an (inter-)national calendar of festivals – of course including Christmas, the actual form of associated rituals often varied significantly in different places, at different times, with much revelry taking place outside the sphere of the church. Such diversity might be expected without the mass media of recent centuries to aid the sense of shared culture across a wide area:[viii] for many centuries after the ‘fall’ of Roman, learning and the written word was concentrated within religious establishments, and primarily confined to ecclesiastical concerns.[ix]

Thirdly (though still connected with the previous issues), these assumptions seem to largely ignore that extensive changes that took place during and after the Middle Ages. Clerics had long been interested in the past (notably the work of Gildas in the 6^th century, Bede in the 8^th, and Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12^th);[x] but with the Renaissance, interest in classical culture and origins grew. Antiquarianism flourished during the early modern period, with greater attention paid to the medieval era. In breaking from the Church of Rome, the Tudor monarchy looked to the Germanic settlers for political and religious foundations,[xi] while defense against invaders from the Continent, and colonial expansion, were significant in forming England (and later, Britain) as a nation.[xii] By bringing together, and committing to paper, various local customs, ‘national’ traditions were born. (I have considered similar issues here, with regard to ‘Halloween’ traditions).

With increasing urbanisation and industrialisation in the 18^th and early 19^th centuries, conflict after conflict, social change (with the development of a ‘middle class’), and economic strife, many Christmas traditions are out of place, and fall into disuse. The sense that declining ‘ancient’ traditions will soon be lost – the dying embers of which are seen as sustained by ‘simple’ people, in rural regions, and preserved for posterity within antiquarian collections – provokes nostalgia for the supposedly static and ‘uncorrupted’ traditions of a semi-fictional past: ‘Merrie England’ (spanning the 15^th to 17^th centuries). Antiquarians continue attempts to ‘save’ ‘ancient’ rituals at risk of extinction, but those devoid of meaning to the society of the day go ‘out of practice’.[xiii] During the Victorian era, some traditions are adapted; others forgotten; and others still (famously including the Christmas tree, card, and cracker) are added to the corpus of popular customs.

‘Yule’ – a festival associated with the early medieval Germanic and Nordic ‘peoples’, who are credited with bringing winter traditions to this land that remain a part of modern Christmas celebrations – provides an interesting case when considering the putative ‘ancient’ origins of ‘British’ Christmas traditions. We see both the selective appropriation of certain customs (perhaps more extensively at the end of the early modern period); and their adaptation and rejection with urbanisation and industrialisation during and after the 19^th century. But we can also more general similarities between these customs, and those of many societies and cultures (Christian and pagan) in Northern and Western Europe over the centuries – including those of the late Roman empire (again both pagan and Christian).[xiv]

The celebration of a mid-winter festival is widespread – past and present, which, though diverse (and not directly related), incorporate a range of broadly comparable rituals. This frequently includes rites surrounding warmth, light, and food; communal festivities, frequently boisterous and indulgent; and although often taking place within a religious calendar, not necessarily involving sustained religious devotion.[xv] The extent and endurance of festivals at this time of year suggests their significant social (and perhaps psychological) value.

The aim of this post has not been to dismiss any notion of continuity with regard to Christmas customs; instead, it has been to show that rather than monolithic and unchanging, ‘traditions’ are living performances that shape, and are shaped by, our understanding of both past and present, and expectations for the future. By joining in, we invest a part of our selves, for succeeding generations.

A Happy Christmas, one and all!

Notes

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[i] Image: Google

[ii] There are some notable exceptions, which I shall elucidate in subsequent work.

[iii] Perhaps some of my readers will be familiar with Gibbon, though his twelve-volume work of the 1770s – 80s, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. In this work (Vol. I, Chapter XV, Part III) he speaks of the festival in discussing the progress of the Christian religion.  

[iv] Returning to Gibbon’s History, in Vol. II he suggests that without knowledge of the true date of Christ’s birth, the Church adopted the date of the pagan festival that celebrated the birth of the sun.

[v] In the final decade of the 20^th century, and first decade of the 21^st century, I specialised in the late Roman and early medieval periods, in particular examining the prospect of cultural continuity and change, especially with regard to tradition and ritual, and local, regional, national, and imperial identities. My doctoral research examined (among other topics) the significance of Christianity and Roman culture in the formation of ‘British’ identity and maintenance of power; the bibliography has references to research on the spread of Christianity in Roman and early medieval Britain. My work on the late pre-Roman period to 5^th century is available here, and reference to my work on the 6^th – 7^th centuries, here.

For the last six years, I have concentrated on post-Medieval culture and society, including consideration of the significance of the past (and the role of antiquarians – hence the ‘Academy’ endeavour!), and the importance of history in the formation of local communities, regions, and nations. This includes research projects that examine domestic life through standing buildings and surface artefact deposits (through Living in the Past Community Archaeology Project); family life and gender (though the Past Sense Project); folk magic (through Malefic Midlands Project); and various independent research as part of my teaching work, as highlighted on this site, and my other freelance website, and blog. References to my academic work are available here.

[vi] For a more detailed discussion of this topic, see e.g. Ronald Hutton (2001) Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (OUP).

[vii] Much work has been done in this field: see the bibliographies of the works cited above.

[viii] See Benedict Anderson (2006) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Verso.

[ix] It may be difficult for modern readers to imagine the investments needed in order to write prior to the development of paper and the printing press, with the production of velum from animal skins being most time-consuming and costly.

[x] Gildas: The Ruin and Conquest of Britain; Bede Ecclesiastical History of the English People; Geoffrey of Monmouth: Histories of the Kings of Britain; Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

[xi] An interesting summary on this topic is Sue Content and Howard Williams (2010) ‘Creating the Pagan English, From the Tudors to the Present Day’, in Martin Carver, Alex Sanmark and Sarah Semple (eds.) Signals of Belief in Early England. Anglo-Saxon Paganism Revisited. Oxbow, pp. 181-200.

[xii] While I have argued elsewhere (see the references provided in note v) that a small body of elites may have held some notion of ‘British-ness’ (as defined in relationship to the Roman empire, and in the formation of post-Roman states in opposition to other ethnic groups), the concept of widespread British identity essentially develops during and after political change in the early modern era. See Linda Colley (2009) Britons: Forging the Nation 1707–1837. Yale University Press.

[xiii] There works of the early 19^th century – both for popular consumption (within magazines and newspapers), and academic interest (in the journals of the numerous antiquarian societies) ­– that seek to record declining traditions are too numerous to mention here. I shall outline various material in future publications.

[xiv] See e.g. Margaret Baker (2007) Discovering Christmas Customs and Folklore: A Guide to Seasonal Rites Throughout the World. Shire.

[xv] See note vi.