Pilgrim Badges – souvenirs of the past (in costume.)
Wendy Shepherd
- Organisation:
- Fordham History Society Essex
- Region:
- Essex
- Notice Period:
- Short (maybe less than one month's notice)
- Type:
- Hobby
- Fee:
- Paid: £50
- Category:
- History
- Updated:
- 26th November 2023
This talk evolved from my involvement in the re-enactment community. With my partner making historic hats for re-enactors, I discovered that many buyers of the hats wanted a pilgrim badge to adorn their purchase; so I decided to sell pilgrim badges, but needed to research my product in detail. Behind the history of pilgrim badges is many a story of why these badges were made. Many have religious significance because of devout pilgrimages, many have stories of saints and miracles hidden in their creation. Other badges are secular and are livery badges. This talk looks at the work of a modern pewterer and how he has made reproductions from original archaeological finds, many of them housed at the Museum of London, from which he was allowed to make moulds. We also find out about the mudlarkers of the the River Thames from the 18th & 19th centuries and how their contribution has helped to the study of the history of London which included significant finds of pilgrim badges.
Views: 861 | Enquiries: 1About Wendy Shepherd
I am a retired Primary School Teacher and Assistant Headteacher. I have lived in Fordham Essex since 2012 and was pleasantly surprised that the small village had a History Society; that I immediately joined. I became chairman and organiser of Fordham History Society back in 2017. I have been a family history researcher since 1986 after my father died and my mother came to live with me. An old battered suitcases of family treasures started my interest in family history, although I have always liked history. In Fordham we are fortunate to have an archaeological dig site. My brother is a professional archaeologist and in the past I have worked with him on digs in Norfolk over a period of 10 years. Fordham History Society has a very good archive of documents and over 2000 photographs. From this archive, books have been written by our members. I have written a book about Fordham and WW1 to commemorate the Centenary of WW1 and with the help of Heritage Lottery money I was able to write the book, organise a week long exhibition, write a Scheme of Work for the village Primary School and having researched all our casualties on our war memorial; had ten more missing names added to the memorial. I am now in the process of writing a book about Fordham and WW2 and I am working on other village projects such as a photographic project of all the gravestones in the village churchyard. I have been giving historical talks to groups for eight years. These talks are varied, they include a range of talks relating to family history, photography and parish records, there are military themed talks covering Waterloo, WW1, WW2, Jutland, Raid on Zeebrugge, Women's Land Army and Conscientious Objection (the village school headteacher was an objector) and two that I do in costume; one as a pilgrim and another as a suffragette.
Other Talks on SpeakerNet by Wendy Shepherd
- Women’s Land Army – ‘The Land Army fights in the fields!’
- Essex in the Napoleonic Wars
- The Raid on Zeebrugge 23rd April 1918; A Twist in the Dragon's Tail.
- Gravestone Photographic Project
- Tracing your Ancestors using photographs
- Women – your country needs you! The Suffragette Movement (In Costume.)
- The Battle of Jutland 1916 - success or failure?
- Smallpox, Triplets and Double Murder - Tales from Parish Records
- Conscientious Objection: A Headteacher's story in WW1
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