The Material Culture of Wills Project
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materialwills.bsky.social
The Material Culture of Wills Project
@materialwills.bsky.social
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The Material Culture of Wills, England 1540-1790: a Leverhulme Trust funded project using digital tech & volunteers to transcribe 30,000 wills.

Visit our website: https://sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcultureofwills/
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materialwills.bsky.social
The Material Culture of Wills Project @materialwills.bsky.social · 7d
📢AUTUMN NEWSLETTER OUT TODAY📢

This edition includes an important update on some changes to the team that impact the project's future.

Those on our mailing list should have a copy in their inbox, for others see below, or DM your address to receive a pdf. #EarlyModern 🗃️ #DigitalHumanities #HTR
Page 1 of the autumn 2026 wills project newsletter. Two headlines can be see: project leader professor Jane Whittle elected to the British Academy's Fellowship'. 'Key Update: Project's legacy is secure'. Page 2 of the wills project autumn 2026 newsletter. the head lines are: national recognition for Chris and Laura's collaboration, and 'The Landmark Trust Bath Retreat'.
materialwills.bsky.social
📢AUTUMN NEWSLETTER OUT TODAY📢

This edition includes an important update on some changes to the team that impact the project's future.

Those on our mailing list should have a copy in their inbox, for others see below, or DM your address to receive a pdf. #EarlyModern 🗃️ #DigitalHumanities #HTR
Page 1 of the autumn 2026 wills project newsletter. Two headlines can be see: project leader professor Jane Whittle elected to the British Academy's Fellowship'. 'Key Update: Project's legacy is secure'. Page 2 of the wills project autumn 2026 newsletter. the head lines are: national recognition for Chris and Laura's collaboration, and 'The Landmark Trust Bath Retreat'.
September 14, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
justincolson.bsky.social
The Exeter Material Culture of Wills team have done an AMAZING job with their Transkribus transcriptions of 25,000 wills. I've been playing with the marked-up raw files kindly provided by @bhamhistory.bsky.social
screenshot of annotated sixteenth century will
August 12, 2026 at 4:45 PM
materialwills.bsky.social
Thank you Sam! We always strive to treat our contributors as research associates, since our project just wouldn't be possible if they were not a part of it. So it's very affirming that you say this 🙏😊
snblickhan.bsky.social sam blickhan @snblickhan.bsky.social · Aug 5
It's really hard to see this news about the MCW team facing redundancy risk from Exeter. They've set an incredibly high bar for participatory research & engagement with their contributors. I regularly use MCW as an exemplar for teams who want to use @zooniverse.bsky.social. Solidarity with the team.
materialwills.bsky.social The Material Culture of Wills Project @materialwills.bsky.social · Aug 5
📢PROJECT UPDATE📢

You may have seen the news that the University of Exeter, home of the wills project, has placed 500 academics at risk of redundancy.

The project leader Prof. Jane Whittle & project co-investigator Dr Laura Sangha are both at risk, alongside almost all of the History department. 1/
August 5, 2026 at 4:51 PM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢PROJECT UPDATE📢

You may have seen the news that the University of Exeter, home of the wills project, has placed 500 academics at risk of redundancy.

The project leader Prof. Jane Whittle & project co-investigator Dr Laura Sangha are both at risk, alongside almost all of the History department. 1/
August 5, 2026 at 7:58 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 In Case You Missed It 📢

📜 There's a new 'Will of the Month' post up on our blog!

⛪ Read all about a Tudor clergyman from Cumberland who had a tumultuous life, but regained considerable material wealth at his death 🪙🪙🪙

#history #SkyStorians #EarlyModern

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A photograph of the front title page of an early modern book. The print is black on a pale parchment coloured page. The text is in the centre of the front page, surrounded by a printed border with small human figures. This is an image of the frontispiece of The Institution of a Christen Man (1537), known as the Bishops’ Book, which Adeson owned a copy of. Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/institutionofchr00chur/page/n5/mode/2up
July 3, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
lsangha.bsky.social
📢NEW WILL OF THE MONTH📢

The will of a curate mixed up in the case of Elizabeth Barton, the ‘Holy Maid of Kent’.

#EarlyModern 🗃️ @leverhulme.ac.uk

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
Will of the Month: A curate of Cumberland who lost all his goods
Emily Vine This month’s post explores the will of John Adeson, a curate of Caldbeck in Cumbria, who died in 1540. Adeson was directly involved in the turmoil of the Henrician Reformation, and known pr...
sites.exeter.ac.uk
July 1, 2026 at 8:16 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 NEW WILL OF THE MONTH POST 📢

June's post explores the will of a Tudor clergyman who forfeited much of his property in the turmoil of the Henrician Reformation📜

His fortunes improved: his will reveals material comfort & ownership of many fine & decorative items

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A photography of an ornate sixteenth century tapestry. It is primarily green, with plants and flowers depicted in blue, cream, and orange hues, as well as birds, and a pale unicorn in the centre. The image is: Tapestry fragment woven in wool and silk, depicting a unicorn, Flanders, ca.1500, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2026 https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O84543/tapestry-unknown/
July 1, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
lsangha.bsky.social
'my swanne marke with vj nyckes'. 🦢🦢🦢🦢🦢🦢🦢

Alice Skipwithe's 16th-century will shows how she claimed ownership of these birds - with 6 notches carved into their beaks.

Another bequest of swans is discussed in @emilymayvine.bsky.social's post here:

#EarlyModern 🗃️
materialwills.bsky.social The Material Culture of Wills Project @materialwills.bsky.social · Feb 24
📢 NEW Will of the Month Post! 📢

This is for everyone who followed our 'Eyrie of Swans' discussion last week, and with particular thanks to @hnewsome-chandler.bsky.social , @lostplayhouse.bsky.social and @tracelarkhall.bsky.social who helped us identify it! 🦢 1/3🧵

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A photograph of an ornamental carved wooden swan, white with an orange beak, which is on a green ornamental wall bracket. The wall bracket is attached to the sandy coloured wall of a historic building, and flanked by two sash windows. The swan faces away from the wall, looking out towards the street. Image Credit: A Grade II Listed sixteenth-century swan. A carved wooden swan on an ornamental cast-iron bracket, 11 Sadler Street, Wells, Somerset. Image credit: Tony Cooper / Art UK, (CC BY-NC) https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/swan-281128
June 14, 2026 at 10:05 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 In Case You Missed It! 📢

📜 Our latest 'Will of the Month' post is live on our blog: sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

It explores the will of an C18th widow of Greenwich who bequeathed land, property, and bonds in the East India Company, but left only 1 shilling to her 'undutifull son' 🪙
An eighteenth century oil painting of Greenwich and the river Thames. It shows the river in the foreground, with sailboats, and buildings, including a church and the royal naval college. Trees and hills can be seen behind he buildings, and the sky is blue. This painting is: Samuel Scott, The Thames at Greenwich; The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/the-thames-at-greenwich-142722
June 2, 2026 at 9:39 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 NEW WILL OF THE MONTH POST 📢

May's post explores a Greenwich widow's will which exhibits some clear favouritism📜

One son received the bulk of her estate, the other 'one Shilling and no more because of his undutifull behaviour' 🪙

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult... #skystorians #EarlyModern
A photograph of a silver coin with the profile of a man's head with long curly hair. The coin features Latin writing around the outside: this is a shilling featuring William III, dated 1696.
May 27, 2026 at 7:40 AM
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
emilymayvine.bsky.social
📜 A recent blog post from the @materialwills.bsky.social blog, reflecting on the project team's recent 'Landmark Trust Futures' research retreat at Elton House in Bath 👇

@uniofexeterhass.bsky.social @uoearchhist.bsky.social @cemsexeter.bsky.social #history #skystorians #EarlyModern #Georgians
materialwills.bsky.social The Material Culture of Wills Project @materialwills.bsky.social · May 18
📢 In Case You Missed It 📢

📜There's a new post over on our project blog!

Our Principal Investigator, Jane Whittle, discusses different ways of approaching 30,000 will transcriptions, and reflects on our recent research retreat, funded by the wonderful Landmark Trust Futures scheme 👇#skystorians
May 18, 2026 at 1:12 PM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 In Case You Missed It 📢

📜There's a new post over on our project blog!

Our Principal Investigator, Jane Whittle, discusses different ways of approaching 30,000 will transcriptions, and reflects on our recent research retreat, funded by the wonderful Landmark Trust Futures scheme 👇#skystorians
A photograph of the wills project team working as part of their 'Landmark Trust Futures' research retreat at Elton House in Bath. Five people sit around an old wooden table, with laptops, notebooks, cups of tea. The room is an eighteenth-century room with antique portraits on the walls and large windows.
May 18, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
churchmonuments.bsky.social
Fascinating account of burial choices and removal
materialwills.bsky.social The Material Culture of Wills Project @materialwills.bsky.social · Apr 30
📢 APRIL WILL OF THE MONTH 📢

📜 Our new 'Will of the Month' post is now live on our blog!

It explores the will of Sir Francis Cottington, who died & was initially buried in Valladolid in 1652.

26 years later, his body was removed & reburied in Westminster Abbey.
sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A seventeenth-century portrait of a man wearing black with a white lace collar. He has a grey pointed beard and moustache, appears to have dark hair or a dark hat, and is posed against a dark background. This is a portrait of Sir Francis Cottington (c.1579-1652).
May 15, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
emilymayvine.bsky.social
📜 In Case You Missed It 📜

April's 'Will of the Month' post is now live over on the @materialwills.bsky.social blog! 👇

#history #EarlyModern #Skystorians
materialwills.bsky.social The Material Culture of Wills Project @materialwills.bsky.social · Apr 30
📢 APRIL WILL OF THE MONTH 📢

📜 Our new 'Will of the Month' post is now live on our blog!

It explores the will of Sir Francis Cottington, who died & was initially buried in Valladolid in 1652.

26 years later, his body was removed & reburied in Westminster Abbey.
sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A seventeenth-century portrait of a man wearing black with a white lace collar. He has a grey pointed beard and moustache, appears to have dark hair or a dark hat, and is posed against a dark background. This is a portrait of Sir Francis Cottington (c.1579-1652).
April 30, 2026 at 8:16 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 NEW PROJECT BLOG POST 📢

Something a bit different from our 'Will of the Month' posts...

📜 Our Principal Investigator, Jane Whittle, explains the different ways we can approach and work with 30,000 will transcriptions 🧵1/3
#EarlyModern @uoearchhist.bsky.social

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
What to do with 30,000 wills? Three Approaches
Jane Whittle, Wills Project Principal Investigator The wills project has now successfully transcribed more than 30,000 early modern wills from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, with at least 5000 f...
sites.exeter.ac.uk
May 12, 2026 at 7:59 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
Co-investigator @lsangha.bsky.social is speaking about the project at the @ihrscb.bsky.social seminar tomorrow!

In person at the @ihr.bsky.social and online on Zoom 🌐

Sign up here: www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

@leverhulme.ac.uk @transkribus.bsky.social @zooniverse.bsky.social #History
lsangha.bsky.social Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · May 6
📢TOMORROW!📢

I'm speaking at the @ihrscb.bsky.social seminar on people's changing relationship with their possessions in the 150 years before the Industrial Revolution.

Join us in person @ihr.bsky.social or on Zoom, register:

www.history.ac.uk/news-events/... #EarlyModern 🗃️@uoearchhist.bsky.social
From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, many English will makers took the trouble to describe in some detail the items they bequeathed to particular relatives and friends in their wills, and sometimes they even explained why they did so. Wills are thus a unique source of evidence for material culture in the past since they show us not only the sorts of things people owned, but also, by choosing particular objects to bequeath and by describing them in distinctive ways, they indicate people’s attitudes towards their possessions, and how they used objects they owned in order to achieve a variety of aims. In this talk Laura Sangha will introduce the ongoing Leverhulme Trust project ‘The Material Culture of Wills: England 1540-1790’, which takes advantage of this ability of wills to lay bare the sentiment, meaning and value attached to objects in the past. Laura, the Co-Investigator on the project, will introduce the research team’s focus and explain how they have transcribed 30,000 English wills to create an unprecedently large data sample. She will also share two sets of preliminary findings, to demonstrate the varied themes that different members of the team are investigating to collectively address the central question: how did people’s relationship with, and attitudes towards possessions change in the 250 years before the industrial revolution?
May 6, 2026 at 8:07 AM
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
lsangha.bsky.social
In tomorrow's paper I explain how we transcribed 30,000 wills and share some preliminary findings: on bequests in wills as a measure of economic change & how wills can be used to trace the interiority of people in the past.

www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

@uniofexeterhass.bsky.social
The Material Culture of Wills, England 1540-1790
Society, Culture & Belief 1500-1800 Seminar
www.history.ac.uk
May 6, 2026 at 8:03 AM
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
lsangha.bsky.social
📢TOMORROW!📢

I'm speaking at the @ihrscb.bsky.social seminar on people's changing relationship with their possessions in the 150 years before the Industrial Revolution.

Join us in person @ihr.bsky.social or on Zoom, register:

www.history.ac.uk/news-events/... #EarlyModern 🗃️@uoearchhist.bsky.social
From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, many English will makers took the trouble to describe in some detail the items they bequeathed to particular relatives and friends in their wills, and sometimes they even explained why they did so. Wills are thus a unique source of evidence for material culture in the past since they show us not only the sorts of things people owned, but also, by choosing particular objects to bequeath and by describing them in distinctive ways, they indicate people’s attitudes towards their possessions, and how they used objects they owned in order to achieve a variety of aims. In this talk Laura Sangha will introduce the ongoing Leverhulme Trust project ‘The Material Culture of Wills: England 1540-1790’, which takes advantage of this ability of wills to lay bare the sentiment, meaning and value attached to objects in the past. Laura, the Co-Investigator on the project, will introduce the research team’s focus and explain how they have transcribed 30,000 English wills to create an unprecedently large data sample. She will also share two sets of preliminary findings, to demonstrate the varied themes that different members of the team are investigating to collectively address the central question: how did people’s relationship with, and attitudes towards possessions change in the 250 years before the industrial revolution?
May 6, 2026 at 7:55 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 APRIL WILL OF THE MONTH 📢

📜 Our new 'Will of the Month' post is now live on our blog!

It explores the will of Sir Francis Cottington, who died & was initially buried in Valladolid in 1652.

26 years later, his body was removed & reburied in Westminster Abbey.
sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A seventeenth-century portrait of a man wearing black with a white lace collar. He has a grey pointed beard and moustache, appears to have dark hair or a dark hat, and is posed against a dark background. This is a portrait of Sir Francis Cottington (c.1579-1652).
April 30, 2026 at 8:15 AM
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
lsangha.bsky.social
Many thanks to the organisers, SHS and the IHR for hosting me, @emilymayvine.bsky.social and @bhamhistory.bsky.social at the Festival last Friday. A really excellent day showcasing so much exciting work.
materialwills.bsky.social The Material Culture of Wills Project @materialwills.bsky.social · Apr 29
Last week we participated in the 'Festival of Social History' - an event organised by @socialhistsoc.bsky.social & @ihr.bsky.social

In the morning, co-investigator @lsangha.bsky.social spoke about the project's use of AI transcription and working with volunteers 🧵1/3

bsky.app/profile/dave...
davehitchcock.bsky.social Dr Dave Hitchcock @davehitchcock.bsky.social · Apr 24
Our first panel kicks off with Laura Sangha and the material culture of wills, combining new automatic transcription and citizen history. Volunteer and citizen historians make social history. #SHSfest
April 29, 2026 at 7:30 AM
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
lsangha.bsky.social
Interdiscplinary action! Combining the wills project, UCL makerspace and the Uni of Essex's project on The Gay Switchboard! 💀
materialwills.bsky.social The Material Culture of Wills Project @materialwills.bsky.social · Apr 29
This led to an even more surprising output - following conversations over lunch & a collaboration with two fantastic nearby stalls, one of our ballad 'woodcut' images from our earlier linocut workshop was transformed into a sparkly badge! 🧵3/3

@uoearchhist.bsky.social @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social
A photograph featuring a print in the style of an early modern woodcut, of 4 white skulls against a black background. Below the print is the lino stamp that was used to create the print, as well as two badges that were made from the skull print design. The badges are blue and black in colour and also have glitter.
April 29, 2026 at 7:33 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
Last week we participated in the 'Festival of Social History' - an event organised by @socialhistsoc.bsky.social & @ihr.bsky.social

In the morning, co-investigator @lsangha.bsky.social spoke about the project's use of AI transcription and working with volunteers 🧵1/3

bsky.app/profile/dave...
davehitchcock.bsky.social Dr Dave Hitchcock @davehitchcock.bsky.social · Apr 24
Our first panel kicks off with Laura Sangha and the material culture of wills, combining new automatic transcription and citizen history. Volunteer and citizen historians make social history. #SHSfest
April 29, 2026 at 7:27 AM
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
leverhulme.ac.uk
Featuring @lsangha.bsky.social and musician Chris Hoban, this video showcases the @materialwills.bsky.social project @uoearchhist.bsky.social that uses cutting edge digital technology to transcribe 25,000 manuscript wills.

🎬 media.leverhulme.ac.uk/video/wills-...
Wills as Windows onto Past Lives
Musician and lyricist, Chris Hoban, collaborates with Dr Laura Sangha, one the researchers currently working on the Leverhulme-funded project ‘The Material Culture of Wills, England 1540-1790’
media.leverhulme.ac.uk
April 28, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
lsangha.bsky.social
📢NEW POST: APRIL WILL OF THE MONTH📢

It's the 1652 (proved 1666) will of Sir Francis Cottingham, ambassador to Spain and a Catholic convert who asked to be buried in the English College.

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

#EarlyModern 🗃️
a portrait of a man wearing black with a white lace collar. He is an older man with an ostentatious grey beard and moustaches, pointed at the ends.
April 28, 2026 at 6:23 AM
materialwills.bsky.social
📢 NEW Will of the Month Post! 📢

📜 April's post explores the will of Sir Francis Cottington (c.1579-1652), ‘Ambassador extraordinary' to the King of Spain.

A Catholic convert, he died in Valladolid, leaving a 'Jewell of Diamonds' to a famous statue of Our Lady 💎

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
A photograph of a golden statue of Mary the Mother of God. The statue is in a golden archway, with a blue backdrop. The gold statue has a halo, and has been mutilated, so it is missing arms, and there is damage to the face. There is green foliage and white flowers in front of the statue, on the left hand side of the photo. This is a photo of the statue that Sit Francis Cottington left the 'Jewell of Diamonds' to. The ‘Virgen Vulnerata’ is a mutilated statue of Our Lady at the English College in Valladolid - Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Virgen_Vulnerata_de_Valladolid_(2024).jpg
April 28, 2026 at 7:51 AM