The Material Culture of Wills Project
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materialwills.bsky.social
The Material Culture of Wills Project
@materialwills.bsky.social
The Material Culture of Wills, England 1540-1790: a Leverhulme Trust project using digital tech & volunteers to transcribe 25,000 wills.

Volunteer for us: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/hjsmith/the-material-culture-of-wills-england-1540-1790
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
This is the first recording of any of Chris Hoban's wills inspired music!

For lucky people in Devon, Chris will be performing ALL the wills songs at Topsham Folk Club on 18 January, with support from Miranda Sykes.

Grab your ticket now 👇

#Exeter #Devon 🗃️ #Events

wegottickets.com/event/680386
Chris Hoban
A master songwriter -- inventive and inspiring Show of Hands favourite - has crafted a unique evening with classical and folk musicians, retelling in song the moving, joyful and absorbing stories of ...
wegottickets.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Reposted by The Material Culture of Wills Project
Alice Walter's will might be familiar if you read our project blog, as it was our Will of the Month in October 2024.

Read @emilymayvine.bsky.social's post, and see a transcription of the whole will here:

#EarlyModern 🗃️

sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
Will of the Month: Alice Walter and Her ‘Deaths Head’ Ring
The end of October and the beginning of November marks ‘Allhallowtide’ – the time of the year when Western Christians, including in early modern England, have traditionally turned their thoughts to th...
sites.exeter.ac.uk
November 5, 2025 at 8:20 AM
And we continue to share full transcriptions and blog posts about interesting wills! 📜

In case you missed it, last week we published our latest 'Will of the Month' post 👇

#skystorians #history #EarlyModern
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bsky.app/profile/mate...
📢 In Case You Missed It 📢

October's 'Will of the Month' post is now live on our blog 📜

When Margery Gadyng died in childbirth in 1540, she made a nuncupative or 'oral' will, leaving ribbons to the women who witnessed her declare her final wishes.

Read more here👇 sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...
November 3, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Our Zooniverse volunteers reached this fantastic milestone while the project team were in Exeter, and meeting to discuss next steps for the transcriptions and the database.

We were delighted to reach this milestone, and discussed how valuable all the Zooniverse contributions have been.

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November 3, 2025 at 7:43 AM
You can find out more on our Zooniverse 'Talkboards' - which we'll continue to monitor.

We hope to be able to share preliminary results in the near future, and BlueSky will be one of the first places we'll update - so watch this space! 📜

www.zooniverse.org/projects/hjs...

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November 3, 2025 at 7:43 AM
And thank you, Philippa, for everything you've done to contribute to the project!
November 3, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Thank you Austen, yes it really is moving - and as you'll know from reading many wills, we still get surprised by how poignant / personal some of them are.
October 31, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Thank you Nicola! We on the team also wish we'd seen it sooner, for various projects!
October 28, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Thanks for sharing, Dave.
October 28, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Thanks Cordelia - we were amazed to find this one.
October 28, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Many thanks for sharing, Austen!
October 13, 2025 at 8:22 AM