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Ask the Past
Agecroft's Blog
Libby Howlett
Nov 263 min read
Legal Languages
The museum's collection has over a hundred deeds relating to the history of Agecroft Hall, both the land and the people associated with...
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Libby Howlett
Oct 303 min read
Food for Thought
Savory tongue pie, trout pasties, scotch collops, and quaking pudding; sound yummy? These are examples of dishes made during the Tudor...
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Libby Howlett
Sep 283 min read
Tokens to Treasure
Love tokens were small, personal gifts given to a loved one: be it from a man to his betrothed, a husband to his wife or a wife to her...
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Libby Howlett
Aug 103 min read
Book Nooks Worth Looks
Who doesn’t love a good beach read? Something quick and entertaining, be it a romance, comedy, mystery, or thriller, as long as it is not...
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Lauren Hatfield
May 304 min read
Toys & Games of Tudor England
From Barbies to basketball, jump ropes to Jenga, children of today have a seemingly endless variety of toys and games with which to play....
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Libby Howlett
Mar 302 min read
Tales of Train Travel
Thomas C. Williams, Jr., was a man of varied interests, both business and personal, as evidenced by where he left his money after he...
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Libby Howlett
Feb 293 min read
Williams' Wishes
T.C. Williams, Jr. was inspired to create the Windsor Farms neighborhood in the image of an idyllic English village. In the center of his...
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Libby Howlett
Jan 302 min read
Distinctive Dining Decor
The dining parlor at Agecroft Hall has obviously changed throughout its centuries in existence. While we are not sure when a dining...
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Libby Howlett
Dec 19, 20231 min read
Season's Greetings from Agecroft Hall
These greeting cards are a few of those held in our collection. They are from the 1880s through 1949. We extend our sincerest wishes for...
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Lauren Hatfield
Nov 30, 20233 min read
A Roaring 20's Afternoon Tea
During the holiday season, Agecroft Hall is dressed to impress. While wreaths and garlands abound, a special piece of our collection can...
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Education Department
Oct 13, 20232 min read
The Pendle Witches of Lancashire
“...These are they who by the permission of God disturb the elements, who drive to distraction the minds of men, such as have lost their...
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Libby Howlett
Sep 26, 20233 min read
Dear Diary - A View of 19th Century World Travel
In the March Ask the Past post, we introduced a Williams’s family letter collection from the family’s voyage around the world--a trip...
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AgecroftHall
Aug 18, 20233 min read
Long Lasting Lord of the Manor
When the Dauntesey family moved out of Agecroft in the early 20th century, they took all of their belongings with them. As a result, the...
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Libby Howlett
Jul 10, 20233 min read
Fashionable Franklin Street
T.C. Williams, Jr.’s name is inextricably linked to Agecroft, but he only lived in the house for a little over a year before his death at...
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Libby Howlett
May 5, 20234 min read
King Charles I
In honor of this month’s coronation of Charles III, King of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth Realms, we are going to discuss...
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Libby Howlett
Apr 8, 20231 min read
A Springtime Walk Through Agecroft's Gardens
Enjoy these photos from our beautiful outdoors!
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Libby Howlett
Mar 31, 20232 min read
Adventure of a Lifetime?
Most museums have grappled with identity in the past few years as they started looking inwards and exploring more of their own history...
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Libby Howlett
Feb 24, 20233 min read
Night Narratives
Sleeping habits in the early modern era were a bit different from ours now. We are all led to believe that we need a solid seven to eight...
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Libby Howlett
Jan 31, 20233 min read
A Long Winter's Nap
Winter is long. Naps are great. On average, humans spend about 33 years in bed so those who can afford it often devote a great deal of...
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Libby Howlett
Nov 23, 20223 min read
Lighting the Night: Light Devices at Agecroft Hall
With the time change occurring in early November, it seems to get dark at 5m. Darkness is easy enough for modern people to combat...
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Libby Howlett
Oct 31, 20222 min read
Portraits of the Past
We have been the lucky recipients of generous donations here at Agecroft Hall & Gardens. While we, as with most museums, have strict...
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Libby Howlett
Aug 31, 20223 min read
Documents of Yore
As a continuation of last month’s post, let us briefly discuss the other large collection of documents housed at Agecroft Hall. These...
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Libby Howlett
Jun 30, 20222 min read
The Receipts
Deep in Agecroft’s archives lies a treasure trove of information that expands upon our current understanding of the house, its people,...
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Libby Howlett
May 31, 20225 min read
Married to the Facts
We all think we know certain “facts” from Tudor history: people were so much shorter thanks to poor nutrition, no one lived past the age...
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AgecroftHall
May 2, 20221 min read
April's Abundance at Agecroft
Enjoy this collection of flower photographs from one of our favorite times of year!
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Libby Howlett
Mar 31, 20223 min read
All In The Details
Sometimes, life is in the details. In the museum world, sometimes an object’s smallest detail can provide vast amounts of information....
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Libby Howlett
Feb 25, 20223 min read
Playing Favorites
Many times, when people find out what I do for a living, the first question they ask is, “What is your favorite object?” I am always...
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Libby Howlett
Jan 31, 20222 min read
The Great Salt
When reading a recipe, salt is usually included—even in those shockingly sweet baked goods! Salt has a very long history (search online...
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AgecroftHall
Dec 31, 20211 min read
Response to our August “Call for Help!”
We are so lucky to have had a great response to our August Ask the Past (which you can read here) We are fortunate to have a family...
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AgecroftHall
Nov 23, 20213 min read
Priest Hole
In the servants’ quarters on the upper floor of Agecroft Hall, there lies a secret space. What appears to be a solid, built in, shelf...
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Libby Howlett
Oct 29, 20214 min read
A Tale of Two Thomases
William Shakespeare famously asked “What’s in a name?”[1] Try naming a baby, a new pet, or a company—the challenge to pick the perfect...
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AgecroftHall
Sep 30, 20212 min read
New Perspectives on Old Objects
History is constantly evolving—our knowledge grows and, at museums, our exhibits change to reflect that new knowledge. If you’ve visited...
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Libby Howlett
Aug 31, 20211 min read
Can You Help?
Agecroft Hall has a very long history. There’s been some version of the hall standing since approximately 1500. While we know about the...
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Libby Howlett
Jul 31, 20212 min read
Strongboxes in the Agecroft Collection
Earlier this summer, digital money was in the news with dogecoin, a form of cryptocurrency, stock doing extremely well in the market....
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AgecroftHall
Jun 30, 20213 min read
Portrait of Elizabeth Fitzgerald
In our upper hallway, a portrait of a woman hangs. This woman, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Countess of Lincoln, was once thought to be the most...
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Libby Howlett
May 31, 20216 min read
The Fall of Anne Boleyn
Today, high-profile divorces are reported as breaking news. There have been many epic divorces throughout history. Divorces among famous...
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AgecroftHall
Apr 30, 20212 min read
A Peek into our Gardens
For this month’s blog post, I took a moment to speak with Joseph Day, our Head of Horticulture and Maintenance, about our magnificent...
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AgecroftHall
Apr 12, 20212 min read
Agecroft's Tiffany Clock
Mantle Clock AH1967.0044 Late 1800s-early 1900s Brass Ormolu, Marble, Glass One of the many benefits of our self-guided tours is the...
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AgecroftHall
Feb 26, 20214 min read
Others in Early Modern English Society
What was the cultural makeup of Tudor and Stuart England? If one were to judge on readily available sources—portraits from the time...
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AgecroftHall
Jan 29, 20214 min read
Why Rebellion? Wyatt's Rebellion.
Insurrections and rebellions against the ruling government are common throughout history. While we in the United States are used to...
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Libby Howlett
Dec 23, 20202 min read
A Christmas Masque at Agecroft Hall, 1927
Agecroft Hall was rebuilt in Richmond in the late 1920s. In December of 1927, T.C. Williams, Jr. and his wife Bessie moved into the house...
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Libby Howlett
Nov 27, 20204 min read
A Very Brief Compilation of Census Data Relating to Agecroft Hall
The United States conducts a census survey every 10 years. The most recent one—as you probably know, was taken earlier this year in ...
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AgecroftHall
Oct 31, 20203 min read
Apotropaic Mark
Dr. Ian Tyers, a dedrochronologist from England, was here in 2016, inspecting and dating our wood panel paintings. While looking at our...
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AgecroftHall
Sep 30, 20203 min read
Michaelmas
During the 16th and 17th century, Michaelmas (pronounced mich-al-mis) was an important day, not only in the liturgical calendar, but also...
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AgecroftHall
Aug 31, 20203 min read
A Portrait of a Unknown Gentleman by Adrian Thomas Key
Agecroft’s halls are filled with portraits, and they are some of the objects that prompt the most questions from visitors. This blog...
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Libby Howlett
Jul 29, 20203 min read
Who are the John Tradescants?
At the far end of our gardens, past the formal Sunken Garden, sits the Tradescant Garden. Here, our horticulturalists have planted a...
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AgecroftHall
Jun 26, 20203 min read
Gentleman’s Study—Curiosity Cabinets
To understand the phenomenon of Curiosity Cabinets, we must first understand the mindset of European society in the early to mid-17th...
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Libby Howlett
May 21, 20205 min read
Quarantine during the 1600s in England
It is said that history repeats itself, and those who do not learn from it are the ones doomed to repeat it. Well, as 2020 has proven, we...
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Libby Howlett
Apr 29, 20203 min read
Changing Times and English Calendars
I began researching this post with great intentions of writing up a piece about Lady Day and its importance as an English quarter day....
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Libby Howlett
Mar 4, 20203 min read
Icon, Kazan Mother of God
Icon, Kazan Mother of God ca. 1900 AH 1967.0011 A-B Enamel and silver Russian As anyone who has visited Agecroft Hall & Gardens knows,...
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