Rug Tales in Helston

The History 51 Roadshow, organised by the Hypatia Trust, is going to Helston Folk Museum on Saturday 12 October.Download the Rug Tales poster and share it with your friends (PDF, 1.4 MB)

Rug Tales will be a FREE, practical, fun-filled workshop led by Diane Cox of the Mesdames Myrtles rug hooking group (and well-known We Are Not Doormats). Mesdames Myrtles have been creating seven rugs inspired by the History 51 project representing different historical Cornish women. This workshop, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, will demonstrate how biographies of women in Cornwall needn’t just be written but they can also be made. Mesdames Myrtles have been creating stories of seven women as part of History 51.

So if you want to have a go at rug hooking and find out more about it, this is the event for you.

Rug hooking is an ancient art, largely passed down through the generations by women. It is a wonderful way to make beautiful new things from old remnants and clothes, and to have fun choosing the colours you love. You don't have to be arty, already skilled or able to draw!

Date: Saturday 12 October 2013

Time: 10am-4pm

Venue: Helston Folk Museum (Old Butter Market, Market Place, Helston, TR13 8TH. Tel: 01326 564027)

Cost: FREE

Booking: Email: curator@hypatia-trust.org.uk or telephone (if leaving a message please leave your name, a return phone number or email address) on 01736 366597).

You don't have to be arty, already skilled or able to draw!

photo (2)

What's going on?

• Learn the ancient technique of rug hooking -- a skill for life
• Hear Diane Cox talk about this important part of women's heritage
• All materials provided and a chance to buy your own beautifully crafted rug hook at the end so you can carry on at home (£15 on the day)
• Bring your own sharp scissors if you  have a pair
• Bring any old cloth fabrics whose colours you love, e.g. old T-shirts
• Be inspired by the stunning collections of Helston Museum
• Tea, coffee and refreshments provided
• Bring your own lunch or break and have lunch in the ancient Cornish town of Helston

Places limited, book now!

Email: curator@hypatia-trust.org.uk or telephone (if leaving a message please leave your name, a return phone number or email address) on 01736 366597).

Olly Pickford's Cornish Land Girl rug in the making (credit: Olly Pickford)

Sea Women in Fowey on 7 September

Who said women stayed at home while men went to sea?

Join us in Fowey to hear expert historians talk about the women that shaped our seas and coasts and come on a free tour of historic Fowey and its harbour.

The next History 51 Roadshow FREE event will be in Fowey on Saturday, 7 September 2013.

Booking essential. Sea Women in Fowey poster(download PDF, 641KB)

Book now! Email or call Jo Schofield: Email: jschofield54@aol.com Phone: 01326 231146.

Event details

A free community history event organised by the Hypatia Trust in association with Fowey Harbour Heritage Society.

Places are limited and booking is essential.

When? Saturday 7 September, 10.30am-4pm

Where?Fowey Library (Meeting Room)

What?

In the morning from 10.30 at Fowey Library meeting room:

• Dr Helen Doe on enterprising maritime women
• Dr Leonie Hicks on women in the Viking world
• Celebrate Lady Elizabeth Treffry
• Digital display of old documents and images
• Free tea and refreshments

Lunch from 12.30: DIY or bring your own.

In the afternoon from 2pm, for about 1.5hrs.

• Town and harbour walking tour
• Wear sensible shoes and keep an eye on the weather forecast

Bookings

Places are limited so please book your place with Jo Schofield by email or telephone.

You will be asked whether you want to book for the morning and afternoon tour or just the morning. NOTE: You will not be able to book only for the afternoon tour.

Email: jschofield54@aol.com Phone: 01326 231146

Location and travel

See location on map

Fowey Library and One Stop Shop Caffa Mill House 2 Passage Lane FoweyPL23 1JS

Parking

There are 20 spaces next to Fowey library.

Other town carparks. The Fowey Town Bus operates from the Main carpark at the top of town.

Public transport

Western Greyhound buses nos. 524 and 525 from St Austell and Par railway stations.

Other public transport options.

Ferry and taxi information.

26 May: Wise Women at KernowFest, Heartlands

What did we all do before the NHS and professional medical practice? We turned to the women in our communities to help us, cure us and treat us.

Download Wise Women poster (PDF, 102KB)

When? Sunday 26 May (bank holiday weekend), 12-4.30pm. Where? Chi an Bobel (upstairs), Heartlands, Pool (between Camborne and Redruth). How to find us. What?

• FREE
• Create your own charm
• Smell and handle ingredients and implements
• Lady of the Manor and her servants’ ailments
• Medieval housewife and nature's medicine cupboard
• Meet the "Pellar of Pool"
• Bring family recipes and old wives' tales
• Write in the History 51 Cornish Remedy Book

History 51 Roadshow

Women and medicine is the theme of our first History 51 Roadshow FREE event. It will take place at Heartlands on Sunday 26 May 2013 and is part of KernowFest, a massive celebration of all things Cornish, especially food and culture. We obviously come in the culture bit even though some of the medical ingredients on show are edible too.

Wise Women will be a series of continuous demonstrations, digital displays of historical sources, costumed interpretation, and hands-on activities suitable for all ages, including kids, all based on real Cornish sources about the knowledge held by women as healers of their households and communities. We will be dressed up in period costume including a medieval housewife, an aristocratic lady from the 1520s and a Victorian-era white witch or 'pellar' in Cornish.

It is apt this event takes place in Pool, very near to what used to be the West Cornwall Women's Hospital, near Redruth.

History 51 Roadshow is a series of events taking place in 2013 to promote different aspects of women's heritage in local communities in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

History 51 Remedy Book

As part of the event we are inviting people to bring with them their old family cures, treatments and old wives' tales, especially those passed down to them from their mothers, grandmothers and other women in their families and communities.

By collecting these remedies we hope to preserve an important part of our community history which might otherwise be forgotten.

Disclaimer

We will be filming the event for the History 51 archives, some of the footage will be turned into a film about our project.

No prescriptions! Please don’t ask us for cures or treatments for your own ailments as we are not trained medical professionals.

Thanks

Penlee House Gallery and Museum for lending us historical costume for our Pellar character.

Cornwall Record Office for images of Cornish sources.

Heartlands for welcoming us to KernowFest and giving us a free venue.

Steph Haxton for coming up with the idea and helping bring it all together.

What's in Hypatia's handbag?

A handbag?

An Interactive Exhibition celebrating and exploring the ‘mysteries’ and capacities of the handbag, opens on Sunday, 22 July 2012 for one week at Trevelyan House, 16 Chapel Street, Penzance.

Curated by artist and exhibitor Andrea Garrihy for the benefit of the Hypatia Trust’s Elizabeth Treffry Collection on Women in Cornwall and Scilly, the exhibitors invite visitors to discover different aspects of our handbag culture.

Download, share, print and display the posters

Hypatia's Handbag 1 (PDF, 51KB) Hypatia's Handbag 2 (PDF, 42KB)

‘What’s in your handbag?’ will be the big question

Delving into the handbag through art, literature, music, drama, news and fashion can reveal unique insights into our day to day lives and our individual personalities. In addition to Andrea’s handbag sculptures, writers, craftworkers and visual artists are opening their bags to reveal all manner of handbaggery!

Exhibitors include Jess Allen, John Garrihy, Jenny George, Laura Holliday, Susan Hoyle, David Kemp, Andrew Lanyon, Amanda Lorens, and Charlie Roff.

Handbags for sale for women in Cornwall collection

Handmade handbags will be on sale from local makers including Smart Tart, Poppy Treffry, Maurice Pearson and Shabby Cow. Vintage and contemporary handbags donated by supporters and friends will be on sale throughout the exhibition.

Proceeds will benefit the campaign for a publically-accessible home for the Elizabeth Treffry Collection.

So what's in your handbag? Take part!

Artist Mary Fletcher to document Penzance’s handbag culture

Mary will hold drawing sessions on: Monday 23 June (11-1pm) Tuesday (11-1pm) Wednesday 25th July (1-3pm)

Every object tells a story

Visitors can open and investigate the contents from the depths of their own and other handbags. Every object tells a story and the top ten handbag contents will be exhibited, as will some of the more bizarre contents.

Hypatia’s Handbag, A Fable

Local history author, Susan Hoyle, has written an original legend for the exhibition, entitled Hypatia’s Handbag, A Fable, which is being printed and hand-bound in limited edition. Purchasers of bags to the value of £10 or more will receive a free book. Others may purchase copies of the tale.

Opening hours

The exhibition opens on Sunday 22 July from 3pm to 5pm at Trevelyan House, 16 Chapel Street, Penzance.

Opening hours 23-29 July: 11am to 5pm.

The exhibition runs in parallel with the Penzance Literary Festival.

For more information, please call the Hypatia Trust on 01736 366597.