Go to any mediaeval building in the land and there will be interesting, exciting and romantic stories presented to the visitor. These stories include those of spiral staircases in castles giving advantage to right-handed defenders, grooves left in church porches by archers sharpening their arrows and secret passages leading from the manor houses to nunneries. Ship timbers are often cited as being used in terrestrial buildings. Burn marks on those timbers are said to be the result of unattended candles. Blocked doors in churches are thought to keep the Devil out. Delightful as these tales are, they can be a tad misleading in some cases and absolute myths in others.
The spiral staircase myth was invented in 1902 by an art critic obsessed with spirals, left-handedness, and fencing – it is intricately bound up with Victorian ideals of militarism. Grooves left in churches reflect long lost ritualised medical potions to ward off fevers. Tunnel tales are invariably connected to the Reformation and an emerging cultural identity. Ship timber yarns can be linked to a seafaring nation. Burn marks can be demonstrated to be the result of deliberate protective rituals. The blocked doors in churches are connected to forgotten processions on church feast days. Understanding the truths behind the myths is just one part of this book – it will also seek to understand how those tales came to be.
This book links folklore, history, art, architecture, archaeology, sociology, and psychology to delve into the myths surrounding many mysterious features in mediaeval buildings. We can learn so much of value about a society through what it builds. By explaining the development of myths and the underlying truth behind them, a broader and deeper understanding of historic buildings can bring us that little bit closer to their former occupants. Sometimes the realities hiding behind the stories are even more interesting, romantic and exciting than the myth itself…
Triskele Heritage are now offering one day building surveys for the owners of historic buildings.
This service is carried out by award-winning buildings archaeologist James Wright – who has over 20 years of professional experience in the field. It includes a full day on site to assess the physical structure, take high quality photographs and analyse the form, function, materials and phasing of the building.
The day then concludes with a tour of the building to outline the archaeological findings, point out interesting features and offer comment on the date and phasing of the property.
Our one day surveys are a quick and relatively inexpensive option which can enable landowners to find out more about the history and archaeology of their properties.
The survey could also form the basis for the production of an optional report on the structure.
To find out more about our one day surveys, please do get in contact…
Please do have a look at our testimonials page to see what our clients have made of our services…
As part of a conservation project to bring, eighteenth century, Kibworth Harcourt Windmill (Leicestershire) back into working order the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings commissioned Triskele Heritage to record the historic graffiti within the building. Fieldwork took place in May 2021 and yielded numerous inscriptions which included names and dates made by millwrights, visitors and craftspeople alongside apotropaic graffiti which related to folk traditions concerned with the aversion of bad luck from the structure.
Alongside our archaeological report, outputs from the project will include press articles with the BBC and Leicester Mercury, an appearance on Radio Leicester (interview begins @ 2:24:50)a public lecture in September 2021 and a short documentary which can be watched here:
The escalation of covid-19 cases means that it is highly unlikely that in-person meetings for groups will be able to resume for many months. This is on top of the cancellation of most programmes throughout 2020. Our local societies are the lifeblood of heritage research and outreach throughout the region and, without them operating, we risk losing interest, membership and community cohesion.
A large number of societies have already shown great innovation in moving programmes of talks online. Other groups, understandably, do not have as much confidence in using platforms such as Zoom to virtually host speakers for their members.
Triskele Heritage are now offering support packages to help local heritage societies to get online. The project will host a simple five step programme including the following elements:
An initial consultation via telephone, email or videocall.
An information pack giving very clear instructions, using non-technical language and illustrations, outlining the process of hosting online meetings.
A practical online training session.
Access for society members to a free online talk on an aspect of the county’s history.
Follow-up support.
We hope that we can help Nottinghamshire’s heritage societies to get online. Groups are invited to contact James Wright on james@triskeleheritage.com to discuss joining the enterprise.
Training will take place during February, March and April 2021.
The Buildings of England series has been an indispensable aid to both architectural historians and the general public in understanding historic buildings across the country since Nikolaus Pevsner‘s books were first published in the mid-twentieth century.
The new Nottinghamshire volume is published by Yale Books and has been edited by Clare Hartwell. We met with Clare in the spring of 2019 to discuss the detail of a number of entries including Kings Clipstone, Strelley and Kelham. It is a real privilege to finally see that research work included within what is such an important resource.
Our great thanks go to both Clare and to her publishers.
Our remit is to provide an assessment on how community heritage projects can be made sustainable into a future made uncertain by the global pandemic. By taking our previously successful input into the Kelham Revealed project as a control, we want to find out what does and (crucially) doesn’t work whilst trying a similar piece of work at Collingham during the restrictions on access and gatherings.
Working alongside the local volunteer group we will to try and better understand the extent, nature and phasing of the built environment in the village. New methods will be trialed including socially-distanced meetings, outdoor sessions, video training events and online Q & A among several other techniques.
The project reporting will be two-fold: a standard buildings archaeology document outlining the results and conclusions of the research and an assessment of how heritage outreach projects can be made sustainable for the future in these uncertain times.
At Triskele Heritage we are continually re-assessing adaptations to our work given the uncertain world of the covid-19 pandemic. There is clearly still a large sector of society who wish to engage with their heritage. We want to be able to help them to do this whilst taking into consideration the necessary restrictions on access and gatherings.
The value of heritage to well-being is long-established and we see an important part of our offer to society to be able to help support communities through such odd times.
Talks
As a matter of course we are now offering our extensive portfolio of lectures to groups via online platforms. Given that it is hard to foresee when gatherings will be safe for groups indoors, we feel that it is vital to try and maintain the social and educational aspects of heritage societies. The lynch-pin of groups is their programme of talks, which have always been an invaluable outreach for people who may be feeling isolated – even in ‘normal’ times. During these uncertain days, trying to find a way to maintain these events is essential.
We now offer the facility to handle all administration in setting up online events as part of the local history calendar. Groups are welcome to get in contact with a proposed subject, date and time and we will handle the detail. All that your members have to do is click a link, sit back and enjoy the presentation.
The Q&A after a talk for The Folklore Podcast on the myth of ship timbers in historic pubs.
We have begun working with many new groups including The Folklore Podcast, Prospect and Westminster City Libraries as they explore new ways to interact with their audiences. Equally, our existing clients, such as the Richard III Society and Bromley House Library, have been able to maintain their programme and connect with members through the transfer of existing bookings to online platforms.
One major advantage of virtual talks is that we have been able to speak for organisations such as Leintwardine History Society. Tucked away deep in the Herefordshire countryside, we would previously have encountered many logistical barriers in booking a speaker from Nottingham. Using online resources solves those tricky travel and accommodation problems at the click of a mouse.
The feedback from attendees at such sessions has been generally (and embarrassingly) positive:
“Absolutely brilliant! Incredibly knowledgeable, fantastic presentation! More please!”
“It was fascinating, just phenomenal! I’ve been doing loads of courses/ webinars, but certainly this was the best!”
Videos
Not all of our clients favour a live presentation, so we have adapted to be able to provide recordings of our talks which can then be sent on as a link to society members to watch at their own leisure. Two of these have so far been uploaded to Youtube and are freely available for anyone to watch
A commission from the Local History Cafe led to the upload of, what has always been, one of our most popular lectures on the subject of Historic Graffiti…
2. Our long-term collaborators Inspire asked for a contribution towards their online Heritage Open Days 2020 project. Normally this event would involve opening up historic buildings and spaces not normally accessible to the general public. This year we attempted to do that as a virtual tour of a lost mediaeval house in Kelham, Nottinghamshire…
Our remit is to provide an assessment on how community heritage projects can be made sustainable into the uncertain future. By taking our previously successful input into the Kelham Revealed project as a control, we want to find out what does and (crucially) doesn’t work whilst trying a similar piece of work at Collingham during the restrictions of a global pandemic.
Working alongside the local volunteer group we will to try and better understand the extent, nature and phasing of the built environment in the village. New methods will be trialed including socially-distanced meetings, outdoor sessions, video training events and online Q & A among several other techniques.
The project reporting will be two-fold: a standard buildings archaeology document outlining the results and conclusions of the research and an assessment of how heritage outreach projects can be made sustainable for the future in these uncertain times.
If you wish to work with Triskele Heritage on an outreach project in the future then please do get in contact with us.
A fully illustrated talk and Q&A session, presented by buildings archaeologist James Wright.
This talk was originally given live via Zoom on Saturday 15 August, 2020
Everyone has, in their time, undoubtedly visited a historic pub which claims that it is so old that it is constructed from timbers reclaimed from a sunken vessel from the Battle of the Spanish Armada. Or Trafalgar. But are any of these stories true? Just what it the fact and the fiction in pub folklore of this nature? Buildings expert James Wright unpicks the stories and details the evidence.
Triskele Heritage are operating on a strict socially-distanced model with regard to our client projects and public engagement commitments. Talks are still available as online presentations and desk-based archaeological projects are still possible. Site visits, archival searches and public presentations are not possible until lockdown is lifted on the advice on competent scientists and medical practitioners.
We are making contingency plans and working closely with partner organisations to ensure we can respond to a range of scenarios as they unfold. We are following all guidance delivered by the National Health Service.
We will update all public appearances in the light of cancellations and postponements via our Events webpage. All fieldwork and research projects will be discussed, case-by-case, with our clients.
