Tag Archives: 1646

An Excellent Oyntment for a Blast or Heat in the Face Braking Out in Pimples

by thehistoryinterpreter

What on earth am I on about this time? Well I am on the way to ticking something off my ‘to do’ list. About four years ago, I became aware that Totnes Museum (well worth a visit incidentally) had a Receit (sic) Book dating from 1680. Before you think receipt as in ‘thank you for paying your bill’, this is what we would now call a recipe book. Not how to cook the dinner but recipes for herbal cures. Just up Mistress Agnes’ street. At the time I thought ‘that would be great to transcribe one day’ but Totnes is just too far from home for this to be easily accomplished.

Finally I managed to do something about this, thanks to Devon Family History Society’s wonderful digitisation equipment and to Totnes Museum too of course. If you have documents that need preserving do get in touch with Devon Family History Society to see how they can help. It is likely that your precious document won’t even need to leave your sight.

Book of Receits 1680b

Oh, you want to know how to cure your pimples – well take ‘Mouse eare and boyle in oyle of creame or May Butter.’ If you were wondering, ‘A Blast is a red fiery swelling for the most part in the face, if it be not killed runnes into scabs all over the face,’ Please don’t go ripping the ears off small rodents – mouse-ear is a plant, a type of chickweed.

I have offered to transcribe the whole book. Actually, I made this offer before asking how long the book was. Fortunately for me, it is not thousands of pages so you may be regaled with further cures in the future.

A particularly rewarding seventeenth century session this week. Our audience were rather younger  than sometimes so I was in best storytelling mode and trying not to sound too much like Joyce Grenfell. Part of my role was to walk through the streets of Torrington on the night of the battle of 1646. The emphasis is on night, logically this means it is quite dark. It is no mean feat to persuade 50 seven and eight year olds to brave our version of the ‘town’, even with the aid of my magic lantern. First I have to persuade them that there aren’t actually going to be shot at. Sometimes they like to hold my hand for reassurance. This is very difficult as I like to wave my hands about when I am storytelling but we managed and every child stayed to the end. Conducting four half hour monologues in succession can be exhausting but oh so exciting to see the young people really engage with the past.

Image with permission of Totnes Museum and Devon Family History Society

In at the Outset – Society for One-Place Studies, Soldiers’ Wills and other matters

by thehistoryinterpreter

Hurrah! After all the hints of the past few months I can confirm that the Society for One-Place Studies is born. I seem to have ended up as Vice Chairman. Do look, do join if you too are researching the history of a place. This is going to be a good way to exchange ideas and encourage each other. Yes, this does mean that I have been instrumental in the launching of two societies in a month – so much for a quiet life.

The Buckland Brewer History Group website is developing nicely and we have had a great deal of interest from near and far.

Spent some time this week searching for the Braund Society journal, which had in theory been delivered to an outbuilding near me. Outbuildings duly searched and no sign. Eventually the parcel was tracked down. The relief delivery driver used his sat nav (always a bad idea if you are trying to find my house) and then dumped the parcel in the nearest shed, which just happened to be that of a neighbour who was on holiday. The regular driver, refreshed from his break, after consultations with his colleague and identifying sheds on Google Earth, retrieved it.

Had a new one in the seventeenth century this week. I had enlisted a willing (well probably not so willing) victim volunteer, to pose as a cavalry officer. I was about to place a Monmouth cap (knitted beany hat affair) on his head, which was somewhat follicly challenged, when he tells me he is allergic to wool! So straight to the helmet then – one has to suffer for one’s art – or at least he did.

Some TV ties ins now. Disappointed to find that Celebrity Masterchef’s ‘Wars of the Roses’ menu included orange carrots. Thanks to Martha for picking that one up – to say nothing of the not very historic plastic stock pots. Impressed though by Nick Hewer’s apparent fluency in reading seventeenth century documents during his episode of Who Do You Think You Are? Was there really a nicely transcribed copy nearby? I rather think there may have been.

Finally I must mention the heavily hyped Soldiers’ Wills site. Great resource but the site leaves a lot to be desired. They need to include a proper explanation of the class of records. It also needs the facility to search a range of dates, currently it is one year at a time. The full date span on the advanced search is 1850-1986. It seems the only dates in use at present are 1914-1921 but if it tells you that, it isn’t anywhere very prominent. Just glad I didn’t search 1850-1986 a year at a time for all the Braunds! This is really only set up for an individual family historian looking for a single will at present. What about us One Place Studiers? I’d also like to have been able to tell them all this but my and several others’, feedback emails bounced! Second attempt at feeding back was more successful and the wills arrived on my computer within two days – shame one was mis-indexed though.