history

Herald in the Summer: Summer Solstice & Midsummer

How do you herald in the summer? What traditions mark the changing of the seasons? For thousands of years, the…

3 months ago

Drinking with the Trees: The Tradition of Wassailing

At the heart of English tradition lies wassailing, an ancient and joyful custom that marks the New Year with blessings,…

8 months ago

Plough Monday: Welcoming in the Agricultural Year

Marking the beginning of the agricultural year, Plough Monday - celebrated on the first Monday after Epiphany - is a…

8 months ago

Twelfth Night: The Festive Finale of Christmastide

Twelfth Night has been celebrated for centuries as the joyous conclusion to the Twelve Days of Christmas. Rooted in medieval…

8 months ago

Celebrating New Year’s: Games, Gifts, and Royal Favour

What are your plans for New Year’s? Watching the fireworks? Counting down the year with a glass of champagne in…

8 months ago

Feasts, Parties and Celebrations: The Twelve Days of Christmas

How do you celebrate Christmas? Most, if not all, families will have their Christmas traditions; the food they eat, the…

9 months ago

Winter Warming: Ritual Year Traditions in the First Season

In the Ritual Year, the year is divided into the four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn. This roughly maps onto…

9 months ago

The Peace before the Party: Advent Traditions

As December dawns, our eyes will naturally turn to Christmas, if they haven't already. We will be looking forward to…

9 months ago

The Heart of the Home: A History of the Hearth

What does the household revolve around? What is the centrepiece of the home? For millennia, it has been the hearth.…

10 months ago

Blod-Monath: Winter Survival & Celebration

November, the month of Guy Fawkes, bonfires and autumn leaves, went by a different moniker during the Early Medieval period.…

10 months ago

Welcome to our Museum Director

Tilly Blyth steps into Director role to lead an exciting new chapter at the Weald & Downland Living Museum  …

11 months ago

Keeping a Good Table: Food in the 16th Century

When you think of food from the 1500s, you probably head straight for the images of whole-roasted swans, pigs with…

11 months ago

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