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Join Jane and Ninya as they undertake a forensic analysis of the bodies of evidence for the typical Tudors in the historic Shire Hall of Nottingham for the official launch of The Typical Tudor, which focuses on the dress of ordinary men and women. Follow their progress as they search for the missing persons lost to history for so long. Be part of an exciting courtroom drama at the National Justice Museum and witness the evidence as these elusive missing persons go on public trial.
Sources for typical people’s appearance 500 years ago offer meagre clues compared to the wealth of material recording the elite. The Tudor Tailor’s investigations uncover what is available to help paint a picture of their clothes. Key questions in this hunt for clues are: How representative is what remains? Is any of it typical of the lower and middling sort who lived in the Early Modern era? And how does it help reconstruct their looks and lives?
Experts in pictorial, archaeological and documentary material will plead their cases and undergo cross-examination to test their reliability as witnesses to the past appearance of people for whom only remnants and rags remain. The contradictions and confusions presented by these three main sources must be approached with caution. How can this patchy evidence provide a picture of what was usual in the Tudor era? What was the range of options for everyday and best dress? All averages are based on a broad sweep of data which includes outliers as well as those firmly in the mainstream. Some extant evidence is extraordinary and therefore atypical but still relevant. The vast majority of what once existed in the wardrobes of ordinary people is long gone and only indirect indications remain. Can all these fragments fit together?
Even the most robust interrogation of the best evidence provides only a shadowy glimpse of who these people were and what they wore. Help the team put the puzzle together!
Visit our Facebook page for updates and check in here for regular announcements about the speakers, programme and venues. Put the date in your diary and plan your trip to Nottingham – home of Robin Hood (allegedly) – a Champion of the Ordinary Man and Woman!
Registration for Missing Persons: Who were the typical Tudors? costs £299 (US$357/€350), including VAT*. There are limited tickets available, so don't delay! Included in the price is morning and afternoon tea, coffee, refreshments and lunch on Sunday, gala evening on Sunday and programme of activities on Monday.
For those unable to come for the whole event there are now day seats available for the Sunday. ‘Groundling & Gala’ at £150, ‘Groundling’ (for the courtroom drama during the day) at £85, and Gala (evening event) at £65.
Please let us know if you have special needs of any kind when you book. The Tudor Tailor aims to make appropriate provisions provided the details are noted 30 days before the event.
Please note that accommodation is not provided but Nottingham has plenty of hotels located in and around the city centre to suit a range of budgets.
More details about the speakers and other activities plus some exclusive add-on events will be provided as the programme is confirmed. Please subscribe to The Tudor Tailor’s newsletter to receive updates directly to your inbox.
Please register during one (not both) of the registration sessions or register at the National Justice Museum at 9.30 on Sunday.
Sign in at the Society of Artists Gallery, where there is an opportunity to see The Typical Tudor exhibition with garments from the new book on display.
The exhibition The Typical Tudor is at the Society of Artists from Sat 15 October to Sat 29 October (St Luke's House, 71-73 Friar Lane, Nottingham, NG1 6DH): https://nottinghamartists.org.uk/nsa-main/
Presided over by retired circuit judge Andrew Hamilton with counsels for the defence and prosecution Ninya Mikhaila and Jane Malcolm-Davies. The courtroom drama is at the historic courtroom at the National Justice Museum (High Pavement, Nottingham, NG1 1HN): https://www.nationaljusticemuseum.org.uk/museum/
Confirmed expert witnesses include:
Tarnya Cooper, curatorial and Collections Director, National Trust and author of Citizen Portrait: Portrait Painting and the Urban Elite of Tudor and Jacobean England and Wales
Hilary Davidson, dress historian and chair of the masters in Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice, at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, and former curator of fashion and decorative arts at the Museum of London
Kathy Davies, visiting Fellow at Kellogg College, Oxford and author of Artisan art: vernacular wall painting in the Welsh marches 1550-1650
Alex Hildred, Head of Research and Curator of Ordnance and Human Remains at the Mary Rose Trust, where she is currently celebrating 40 years in the archaeology team. She is author of Weapons of warre: the ordnance of the Mary Rose and a forthcoming book about the ship’s crew
Maria Hayward, Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Southampton and author of Dress at the court of Henry VIII
Susan North, curator of Fashion at the V&A Museum, London and author of Sweet and clean? Bodies and clothes in early modern England
Pat Poppy, independent scholar and early modern clothing blogger
Robert Brackenbury, 13th generation owner of Holme Pierrepont Hall welcomes guests to the Long Gallery overlooking the magnificent courtyard garden for drinks and dinner. Members of the Tudor Tailor team will be dressed as Typical Tudors for photo opportunities and Amber Butchart, presenter of BBC TV’s A Stitch in Time, will speak on a little known aspect of her fashion history career.
Dress code
Guests are invited to dress up as much as they wish (including Tudor costume) but are encouraged to wear whatever feels comfortable for celebrating!
Visit Roger Watson Laces and meet Ashley Watson, expert and proprietor of one of the last Nottingham lace workshops still in operation in the city’s famous Lace Market. See a selection of historic designs together with items from the company’s archives and try your hand at scalloping lace. There will also be lace on sale at this behind-the-scenes event, which is exclusive to friends of The Tudor Tailor.
Explore part of the hidden maze of 500 underground caves which lie beneath the city of Nottingham. This guided tour under the streets and back in time reveals the only medieval underground tannery in the country.
Join award-winning tour guide and storyteller Ezekial Bone as he provides an insight into the textile traditions of Nottingham through the ages. The private tour for conference delegates takes in the historic sites of the famous Lace Market in the city centre.
The Tudor Tailor has teamed up with Perry Miniatures to offer an exclusive visit to Michael Perry’s war games room in Wollaton, Nottingham on Monday as an extra treat in the conference programme. Michael, whose drawings of reconstructed 16th century garments are a signature part of The Tudor Tailor’s publications, will show his work in progress on new military figures, host a tour of his games room, which houses an impressive collection of miniatures, buildings and terrain. Tickets for this visit are £15 with refreshments provided and transport by minibus from the Society of Artists’ Gallery - leaving at 3.30pm and returning at 5.30pm. There are 13 places available, which may be booked by conference ticket holders for their accompanying “Plus Ones”. Sign up at the event posting on the conference Facebook page to secure a place for this exclusive visit.
Nottingham also offers a host of historic and original retail outlets and eateries including Joe’s Store (aka The Tin-Tin Shop), Inspired and Chocolate Utopia.
There will be a special visit to the Framework Knitters Museum at Ruddington, Nottingham. There will be a small additional charge of £10 for this bonus conference event and places will be limited. Book yours via the Missing Persons Facebook page (available to conference ticket holders only).
The visit will include demonstrations of the knitting frames and machines, a tour of the knitters’ cottages and the textile collection. The visit will be hosted by Julia Holm from Uppsala University’s Textile Studies department, who works with 19th and 20th century archival sources and preserved garments to recreate machine knitted clothing for Skansen open air museum in Stockholm, focusing on women's coats, waistcoats, and jackets circa 1904.