Today is the day that my ‘interview’ with Geneabloggers appears. This may mean that some of you are experiencing my particularly quirky brand of historical ramblings for the first time. This is a bit of a responsibility as I feel duty bound to be witty and inciteful. One can have too much of witty and inciteful though, so you may be disappointed. My whole life is somewhat akin to a protracted April Fool’s joke so this is an appropriate day for me. I mustn’t miss an advertising opportunity – so buy the book why don’t you! Actually sales of Coffers and Clysters, Comfrey and Coifs: the lives of our seventeenth century ancestors are going well, so much so that those under one side of the spare bed are now gone. I therefore need to sell those on the other side to stop said spare bed being on a slope.

Childhood memories sparked yesterday with my birthday and a convestaion with my ‘elderly relative’. I am of course fast becoming the elderly relative and am aware that I should be making more effort to record family stories. The boat race was bound up with this as inevitably, when I was small, it fell on the day of my birthday party. I can remember watching during these parties – well I suppose it made a good accompaniment to pass the parcel. Party games – another topic to record. This year’s race lacked the major incidents of last but one of the remarks by the commentator should go down in the annuals of stating the obvious. ‘Cambridge will be back to try again next year’. – What sort of race would it be if they weren’t? I was always an Oxford adherent, primarily on the strength of preferring dark to pale blue. Now I have a daughter in Cambridge and a Cambridge graduate for a son-in-law maybe I should change my allegiance but habits of a lifetime die hard. No birthday snow though. I think I can remember two snowy birthdays.

Putting the finishing touches to my talks for Cleveland Family History Society‘s open day. This is a ‘two for the price of one’ job. At the moment one session is too long and the other too short – maybe I can negotiate some redjustment of the timings. In the course of preparing the talk about the census I came across a table on the Find My Past website, you know in the explanation bits that sadly noone bothers to read (their ‘knowledge base’ contains some good stuff). The figures, taken from Peter Chrstian’s The Genealogists’ Internet, say that, in 2009, 43% of the surnames in the 1891 census indexes on Ancestry were incorrectly transcribed. Hopefully many of these will have been corrected by now but no wonder some of our ancestors go missing.

Buckland Brewer burials from 1783 are now ready to go online. I just need to check on copyright issues – always a nightmare. The earlier ones will follow post checking.

Now to await the local press photographer, who is coming to take pictures of me pointing at ancient Clovelly documents. Fortunately I do have some in my possession following our recent exhibition, so a map annotated with tenant’s names, a lease from the 1740s and a rent book of the 1890s may feature. First the local community Big Breakfast. Not that I actually plan on consuming any breakfast. It starts at 8.30, which as far as I’m concerned is almost lunch time. No way could I wait until 8.30am for breakfast and still be vertical. It is always good to be involved in the community goings on though. This year, I did pass on the Easter Sunday sunrise service, which is always awe inspiring, taking place as it does on the cliffs above Hartland.  Getting up at what (allowing for our clock change) would have been 4.30am was not the problem – more the standing outside, bonfire notwithstanding, in temperatures of minus 5 without the aid of my Levi thermal boiler suit. Finally, on the community front, our village has been infested with Naughty Gnomes – really not an April Fool. I wonder if our ancestors had time for fun and April Fool’s jokes?

Ok, so I didn’t actually work with animals but they do come into my recent adventures. Palm Sunday and we attend church at Clovelly. This is a wonderful service when the village’s historic reliance on the donkey is celebrated. The donkey is blessed and we process down the cobbles following the donkey, waving what this year were rather recession hit palms. This was followed by a couple of hymns near the Methodist Church and St Peter’s Chapel in Clovelly (also near the New Inn!). This year, in temperatures that rivalled Lapland, we were accompanied by an accordionist. What possessed me to volunteer to hold the music? The wind meant that this was a two handed job. Bit difficult, I found, to get through seven verses in a cold wind without the ability to wipe ones nose.

From the historical viewpoint of course donkey transport was vital in Devon. The state of our roads (some would say nothing’s changed) made wheeled transport a rarity until the late C18th, so it was donkeys and panniers, sledges or horse (or donkey) drawn contraptions, a little like American Indian travois.

3849 Buckland Brewer burials now indexed. Some checking to do before these are unleashed on an unsuspecting public. Not sure the team can face going straight from this to baptisms or marriages so we are considering working on the IR58s. Regular readers will know that these 1910 Valuation documents are a great favourite of mine. The 1828 list of Clovelly poor is now indexed and more documents are being distributed  – volunteers welcome.

Some time in the C17th too – Great Fire of London with year 1. I’m trying to get over the lack of career choice for C17th women. ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ I ask the girls. No footballers’ wives – you need year 8 for that response but I thought ‘a cooker’ and ‘a princess’ were sweet.

A full day’s history yesterday with more discussions about how heritage can be used to enhance the experience of visitors to Clovelly Methodist Church, which has a high tourist footfall. Still at the brainstorming stage this one – unfortunately one of the brains involved is mine – not sure how much storming it can take. Also some possibilities for celebrating the bicentennial of the founding of the Bible Christian Church. Next a discussion with a journalist about Clovelly Community Archive.

In the evening, a return to the scene of my Who Do You Think You Are? experience at High Bickington Historical Group to talk about the day and the research behind Gregg Wallace’s Bible Christian story. We left early as we had to find the venue and daylight seemed preferable. We were not surprised to find the hall still locked but gradually more and more of my audience arrived and began queuing outside. Someone is sent for a key, by this time it is snowing. No way am I getting out of the car until the door is open. The key arrives, now the problem is using it to open the door. Chris has ‘handling keys’ high up on his CV so I send him to assist and we are in! This is a very impressive new hall for a small community and is part of a much wider housing development. It has been established by a trust on the site of Pincome’s Farm. I give an account of my Who Do You Think You Are? experience and it is well received. I have brought with me brief family trees of the Gill and Leythorne families. Coincidentally the Leythornes lived in a cottage on Pincome’s Farm. As this venue wasn’t completed when I was booked to do this talk and this is one of the first meetings the society has had in their new venue, this is somehow very fitting. Gregg’s great great grandmother has had her story told because she has a famous descendant but we should tell our ancestors’ stories too, not just collect their names and dates. It isn’t their fault their descendants aren’t famous!

I’ve been putting the finishing touches to some forthcoming presentations. Decided that Roast Cow’s Udder should form part of my slot on Seventeenth Century Food and Drink for Cleveland, North Yorkshire & South Durham Family History Society’s Family History Day in April. This really shouldn’t be missed so here it is for the benefit of those who can’t attend:- Take a cow’s udder and first boil it well, then stick it thick all over with cloves. Then when it is cold, spit it and lay it to the fire and apply it very well with basting of sweet butter and when it is sufficiently roasted and brown dredge it and draw if from the fire. Take vinegar and butter and put it on a chafing dish and coals and boil it with white bread crumbs, till it be thick. Then put to it a good store of sugar and cinnamon and putting it in a clean dish lay the cows udder therein. Trim the sides of the dish with sugar and so serve it up. Thanks to Gervase Markham for this. Horse pales into insignificance somewhat doesn’t it?

184 pages of an edited Family Historians Enquire Within are now with the publishers. I shall miss my daily stint with various letters of the alphabet. There will be a talk of the book!

97 excitable year 6 children with us in the seventeenth century, in a space that is better suited to 60. Fortunately it was a day when spring was almost here (sorry you must have missed it as it is winter again today) so we were able to get on with chopping off their limbs, shooting them etc..

I have delegated the research into the Clovelly Methodist Roll of Honour – yes, me, delegating – you did see the airborne porcine vision did you not? Some very interesting discoveries none the less. I have also contributed to Friends of Devon Archives Roll of Honour transcribing project, revealing more Clovelly men to research (Anglicans presumably!).

Exciting news on the Braund front, with additional evidence that two of our existing branches are probably linked and a new branch (also almost certainly connected) created. It is at that frustrating – this is the way these families are related but I just daren’t ink it in – stage. Will we, with missing early parishes registers and no probate material, ever prove this satisfactorily?

A real Clovelly fest this week. Saturday I went to the Methodist Church, with the intention of helping to clean it but actually spent most of the time discussing what can be done to enhance visits to the Church. We plan to investigate the stories of the thirty Clovelly men whose names appear on the First World War Roll of Honour in the Church. A meeting of Clovelly Community Archive Association yesterday, with attendees bringing in some fascinating material. Indexers welcome!

The Proposed Archive Database is Explained

One of the Pictures Brought in to Share – Clovelly Girls’ School

The Buried in Buckland team have now uploaded all the gravestone transcriptions – just those inside the church to do.

And Family Historians’ Enquire Within is complete – still needs proof reading and then it is on to the next project.

Along with all this, several days in the seventeenth century and Mistress Agnes features in the Wellington Weekly. A little concerned when I asked a pupil at another of the schools we visited to read the Lord’s Prayer from a horn book. ‘Do you recognise this?’ I ask. ‘Yes’, says the pupil – ‘it is Shakespeare’.

Last night we transported all the seventeenth century gear back home ready for a school visit. Normally we don’t take pikes on these occassions – bit tricky fitting them in the car. A special request for pike drill meant we gave it a go, with shorter than authentic pikes. A little problematic this – every time we went down hill the pikes threatened to shoot through the windscreen. I now have a halberd in the hall – as you do of course. Good job we weren’t stopped and accused of carrying an offensive weapon. Most of our swords are blunted in the interests of health and safety but this halberd is the real macoy – I’m sure I can put it to good use.

Today my copy of Poxed and Scurvied: the story of sickness and health at sea that I ordered at Who Do You Think You Are? Live arrived – looking forward to reading that.

My work editing Family Historians’ Enquire Within is nearly done. Just struggling with the last few ‘R’s – rather a lot of Royal somethings. A couple of websites caught my eye – a list of royal warrant holders and those who have been awarded medals by the Royal Humane Society. Don’t you just love lists? Not begining with R of course but a good one for those with an interest in Maritime Heritage is Portcities. Finally, a couple of favourites from the English Heritage stable are Pastscape  and Images of England.

I always suspected that commercial television overdid the adverts. I can now reliably state that it is possible to index ten years’ worth of Buckland Brewer burials just using the advert breaks in one episode of Dancing on Ice.

The Neolithic House build is underway – can’t wait for my stint in April. My last attempt at cob was constructing a model medieval village with year 7s. We used PVA glue to hold it together – not exactly authentic!

Excited to hear that I am to interviewed on the Geneabloggers website sometime soon.

The Saturday and Sunday at Who Do You Think You Are? Live passed in a whirl. More chat with folk from the English Civil War Society and The Methodist Heritage stand. The latter could be very exciting. There are many activities planned for the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Bible Chrisitains in 2015. A very interesting and well delivered lecture on Richard III’s DNA test from Dr Turi King.

Then I felt morally obliged to spend money on books – rather a lot of books. These included Kirsty Gray’s new book from Pen and Sword on Tracing West Country Ancestors. From the same stable I purchased a book I should have written about how our ancestors died and I have on order another about illness on board ship.

Just to prove that Chris really does get everywhere, friends from the Guild of One Name Studies appear with a magazine for RBS pensioners. They open it up and lo and behold, there he is, in fishing guise this time. His portrait has been commended in a photographic competition! On the subject of portraits, a young friend of mine has produced wonderful portraits of Master Christopher and myself for her school work.

Tired after a busy weekend Master Christopher and I morph back in to our 21st century selves and prepare to leave the hall ten minutes before the end of day three. With a mind to the mile walk from station to camp site, our belongings are strapped to the trolley – that’s the trolley whose wheel is still secured by a nappy pin. We are stopped by a security man. We cannot leave because we have a trolley and it is not yet ‘break down’ time. We explain that our stall is still fully functioning, that we need to get a train and that the bag contains our clothes. Now an advantage to being ‘memorable’, the security guard remembers seeing Chris in costume. He wants to feel our bag to ensure it contains clothes. This he duly does and we are able to escape. Strangely he has no interest in the box of books under the bag……..

Home again and time to catch up. First absorbing the contents of the Chancery document acquired at the National Archives that so nearly extends one branch of the Braund family tree and links other branches to it. After a day’s work on this I reluctantly decide that there still isn’t quite enough proof.

More Buckland burial indexing and two lovely friends are busy checking  this. A meeting preparing the Devon Family History Society‘s Summer Special, which sadly the job I must not mention will prevent me attending.

Three talks to prepare – busy busy – so much history so little time.

We leave for the mile long walk to the station, complete with a trolley load of Coffers, Clysters, Comfrey and Coifs and our C17^th gear. This is not quite an old lady’s shopping trolley but pretty close. Chris is wearing his C17^th hat. I try to work out whether this is more or less conspicuous than full C17^th rig. Within ten seconds I decide he is not the most incongruous person on Crystal Palace High Street. We have our usual yokels in the big city moment when the aforementioned trolley gets stuck in the automated station entrance thingy – you know, the one where you shove your ticket in (if you are me usually upside down) and it gets swallowed and the spongy bits open – in this case not far enough. We are released by a long suffering staff member. Typically, platform 1 is up and down lots of steps. Chris copes manfully with the trolley. Then, as we get on the train, the wheel falls off said trolley. I attempt, unsuccessfully, not to dissolve in hysterical laughter and Chris gets stuck in the closing train door as he fails to retrieve the wheel’s retaining split pin. Once a girl guide however (that would be me not Chris – he was a lifebouy, or should that be life boy?). I have a handy nappy pin. No one in my household has worn a nappy for 25 years but I have a nappy pin – as one does. A temporary repair is effected. At the first stop, Chris risks life and finger to extract the wheel’s washer from the train’s door runner. We do miss the Olympic ‘transport for London’ spirit and the helpful types pointing the way with their sponge fingers but the rest of the journey is uneventful. The inability to move on the morning rush hour train is another reminder why we live where we do.

We are early for Who Do You Think You Are? Live but are soon busy greeting old friends. I have a ticket for the Gregg Wallace chat. Brilliant as anticipated. I brave it to re-introduce myself at the end. Shame they didn’t show a clip of ‘my’ bit. Staggered to see a huge Coffers, Clysters poster behind the Family History Bookshop stall. I sign a few copies and one purchaser thinks he can get it publicised with the Civil War Society – hurrah! More ‘networking’, gleaning information and trying not to spend money! A quick change and then the tedious journey home through freezing temperatures and flakes of snow.

No time for a lie in and I am greeted by an exciting email from friends in Canada with the news that they had found one of my missing emigrants. Interesting too that she married a fellow North Devon emigrant and that he was one of the Bible Christian Thornes.

Left home in good time, driving through freezing fog as we went through the Somerset Levels. Arrived at Crystal Palace and set up the van. Ventured out on a cold sunny day to relive my childhood. Within five miles of the site, we were able to visit the house where my mother was born and where my grandparents lived for almost all their married life. This was really special for me as I don’t believe I had been past the house since I was seven. Strangely, although I have vivid memories of the inside of the house, I had no recollection of the outside at all. One of the attractions of the garden for both me and my train buff grandfather, was the train line that ran along the bottom. Coincidentally, just as we drew up a train went past just for me!

The trouble with this ancestral house visiting is that it involves a certain amount of skulking about trying to take photographs without being either arrested for stalking or mugged by irate householders. We managed to avoid these eventualities and even the law that says it will be bin day when participating in this type of activity was not in force. All we had to encounter were inconveniently parked cars. We then travelled through my childhood to visit, in chronological order, my three former homes. It struck me that, whilst these are now considered to be in London, forty years ago there is no way I would have considered myself a Londoner. It is important to be aware that cities spread and while we might think of our ancestors being city dwellers, they probably thought they lived in a leafy suburb. The route invoked many memories, sadly now though there is no one who shares these. I really must put ‘write my autobiography’ higher up the to-do list. On the way back we searched for more homes that figure earlier in my ancestry. One road escaped the notice of the sat-nav but I spotted it, rather too late, as we drove past. Following a manoeuvre that showed Chris’ driving is not out of place in the metropolis, we were outside my great grandmother’s house.

The next day and another early start because I was convinced that The National Archives would be full within five minutes of opening time. First stop the book shop to try and persuade them to sell Coffers, Clysters, Comfrey and Coifs. They are ahead of me and I was pathetically excited to see it in a prominent position on the shelf, next to Debbie Kennett’s surnames book. Even managed to sneak a quick out of focus photo!

Our visits to TNA are spaced to ensure that a) our reader’s tickets have just expired and b) everything has been moved and systems have changed since we were here last. We managed to pass the ‘are you fit for a reader’s ticket?’ online test. I don’t know what happens if you get a question wrong – does the computer explode? Having managed to order some documents, we decide that we need to ask questions and approach ‘triage’. Our query is obviously one for the ‘too hard’ basket and we are referred to the ‘red desk’. Is this akin to the naughty step? We are directed  to the microfiche drawers where our documents are stored. Bit of an initiative test to find drawer 2 but we manage it. Then to see if we can remember how to use this style of film reader and more complicated still, the reader copier.

Next a back breaking couple of hours photographing all the IR58s for Clovelly. I just love these under-used records. One entry created for each property with owner, occupier and description, as part of Lloyd George’s Valuation of 1910. Great excitement next with some Admiralty Records relating to applications for boys to attend Greenwich Naval School. The details of these have newly arrived in TNA catalogue. In the course of this, I find yet another one of my extended family who fell off something – in this case a fall from ‘aloft’ on HMS Trafalgar. I’ll add this to the fall from the scaffolding, the fall in the dry dock and the falling off the ship when forgetting to let go of the anchor – there are more!

Lunch time and an indifferent luke-warm ‘curry’ from what is described as a ‘Genuine menu’. Genuine what? – horse probably. I think ‘Genuine’ is the name of the franchise. We climb back to the second floor for a Chancery document, which document production in the map room, can’t quite seem to locate. Back and forth past the security scanners – the staff are starting to become our new best friends. We use the time before ‘coming back in 15 minutes whilst they search for it’ trying to locate our final document. The computer says they are unable to retrieve this document and to seek help. Seeking help seems to involve me telling the assistant how to use the document ordering system. We try elsewhere and a really helpful staff member says she thinks a member of staff has it can we ‘come back in fifteen minutes’ – you will have noticed a theme developing here.. Back past two sets of security staff AGAIN on the trail of missing document one. They have found this and it is a real gem. A Chancery petition from 1714 and it contains evidence that may bring some separate branches of the Braund family closer together. Something to work on when I get home. Finally, missing document number two. This has also been located and to view it we have to enter an inner sanctum; in order to escape we have to summon help. We also have to wear white gloves. Chris has no chance of finding any to fit his Braund hands so I have to do this alone. A great day and hopefully this will give me some material for a few more Braund journals. An hour to drive the 12 miles home and it isn’t even rush hour. Not that I need any reminding of reasons why I live in the middle of nowhere.

Mistress Agnes was very excited to be included on Gerald the Herald’s blog. In truth she was a little confused as to what a blog was and even more puzzled when she heard that Gerald featured on something called a Kindle. Fortunately Mistress A was prevented from setting fire to said Kindle (she mistakenly thought it was kindling) and was able to read the exciting adventures of Gerald and Roger Knight. Roger lives, as all good Medieval knights do, in suburban Croydon, where Mistress Agnes’ alter ego Janet grew up. A wonderful story for young and old, written by one of my school friends. Read it history friends, friends with children, friends who can read – and revel in the tale of the joust on the local rec, with the defeated knights travelling home on the 119 bus.

On the neolithic front, we have received our briefing and have had to return our ‘in case of death’ forms. Although the project is to be accomplished using period tools ‘elf and safety’ requires us to be equipped with not very authentic ‘safety wellingtons’. Usual shoe dilemma when asked to nominate the required size. Have gone with foot width (5) rather than foot length (3) this time and may live to regret it.

Last night Mistress Agnes marched and drummed not very efficiently, to commemorate the 367th anniversary of the Battle of Torrington and to pay tribute to those who fought for political freedom then and since. This is real hairs standing up on the back of the neck stuff, as we trace the route of the army in to town and lay a wreath on the mass grave of the Royalist prisoners. Lovely to meet with many old friends on a similar journey. ‘We are with you’. Have to say though that The English March gets a little tedious the nth time round. The following day one knows one’s been drumming continuously for an hour. During the course of this, yet another North Devon Journal photographer risked life and camera to capture Master Christopher’s image – so be warned NDJ readers.

Great bit of detective work by one of my fellow Buckland Brewer gravestone transcribers and we have identified a fragment that is now in a private garden and can add it to our Buried in Buckland records.

Just to report that Mistress Agnes and Master Christopher will be in attendance on Devon Family History Society stand at Who Do You Think You Are? Live over the weekend. Plenty of great Devon related goodies. Copies of Coffers, Clysters, Comfrey and Coifs will be available – stop me and buy one. Janet has managed to persuade Mistress A and Master C not to ‘appear’ until after the fair opens – Master Christopher was particularly keen to travel on the train from Crystal Palace but Mistress Agnes on a Friday commuter train is probably more than bears thinking about!

Exciting news today that I have been accepted as a volunteer on English Heritage’s Project to build some neolithic houses. Don’t you just love experimental archeology! Nearest I’ve come to this is building cob cottages with my former history students – have to confess though that these were only three inches high.

Train and entrance tickets for Who Do You Think You Are? Live have arrived. Still wondering why I had to give my debit card a nickname before thetrainline.com would process my order.

Another 20 years of Buckland Brewer burials indexed this morning, about 150 years to go. And finally, after nearly a year, our Heritage Lottery application for the Clovelly Community Archive is in. Now to busy ourselves indexing whilst we wait.

I really can’t sign off without commenting on the tragic news of the death of Fisherman’s Friend Trevor Grills and the band’s tour manager Paul McMullan. Truly awful what can I say? I do hope that the remaining Friends will find the strength to continue to entertain us in their unique style.