Who we are
At the dawn of modern British life the late Elizabethan period is one of the most colourful and enigmatic in our history. This is our passion, we love researching, experimenting and rediscovering the ordinary facets of daily living for men, women and children in…
Elizabethan Food and Dining
There’s more to food than you might think. Have a look at this photo gallery of an event we have staged on several occasions for Haddon Hall in Derbyshire. Everybody is interested in food and it’s an accessible way to bring the past to life….
Painters Workshop
Focusing on a single trade, we provide a detailed exploration of Elizabethan art and it’s craft practices. Painters were skilled craftsmen whose work touched almost every corner of Elizabethan life, from cutting edge scientific discovery, and religious devotions to Inn signs in remote villages….
A Married Persons Guide to Sex
Sex outside marriage is prohibited both by the church and by law. However within marriage sex is to be encouraged, the church maintains that sex within marriage is best reserved for the procreation of children but all sensible people acknowledge that sufficient sex is…
Issues with Inventories
The minutae of detail sometimes present in Probate inventories makes them a useful tool for helping to understand ordinary life. However the interpretation of such information is often imaginative and without due consideration of any limtations of that evidence. In this article I hope…
The Practice of Witchcraft
Witchcraft is an important theme in Elizabethan England, legal accounts of witchcraft are abundant, the church saw it as a major problem and devoted a fair bit of energy towards it and both popular and more intellectual writings and plays deal with it repeatedly….