Someone in the past can change your life. They might influence what you think about today or may set you on an adventure. Their words, immortalised in print, tug at a string that has ends beyond visibility and pulls you into the past.
This is the magic of the archive.
As a research-led artist I often allow these time-threads to guide me through the labyrinth of books and collections, often starting with a germ of passing thought. On one of these typical occasions, I was looking through records of Henry VIII’s royal wardrobe in pursuit of unusual materials. At this early stage of exploration “unusual” had a definition that was perhaps specific to me. For example, a pearl recorded amongst many other pearls wasn’t really what I was looking for, but a pearl which was worn by a hawk captures my imagination with a bit more lustre.
As I was looking through these records, I began to understand that the material culture of the king wasn’t so far removed from that of high-ranking church officials, and so emerged the affluence of Winchester and the expectation of a lucrative raid of Winchester Cathedral. This expectation was misplaced with this damning report of the raid written from Winchester in 1538:
About three o’clock this Saturday morning, made an end of the shrine here at Winchester. There was no gold, nor ring, nor true stone in it, but all great counterfeits. […] The mayor, with eight or nine of his brethren, the bishop’s chancellor, Dr. Craiford, with others, assisted and praised the King therefor.
I had many questions. Why 3am? What was a counterfeit in 1538? How did they know? Who made them? Did this mean there was a trade in counterfeits? Who was in attendance? Etc. etc. And so began the systematic search for answers…
A luxury of the 21st century is that getting started with such a task can happen with a laptop and an internet connection. The Letters and Papers of Henry VIII are a result of purposeful documentation and transcription over multiple centuries. Today, the easiest was to access them is via British History Online, a not-for-profit digital library based at the Institute of Historical Research. Containing both primary and secondary sources pertaining to British history the records can be searched and browsed online.
The records in Letters and Papers opened up many lines of enquiry, especially when it comes to recording jewels. To get closer to answers about the people involved and the build-up to the national record, a dive into more local sources was necessary. In this case, the local records for Winchester are held by Hampshire Record Office. Initially, searching the catalogue – as with many catalogues of this nature – takes a bit of patience to understand how information is organised. The archivist at Hampshire Record Office (HRO) gave me some pointers in navigating the catalogue, and also some relevant reading material held at the archive to provide more general context relating to the history of Winchester.
Some highlights from HRO for this project include:
The Black Book of Winchester, edited by W.H.B. Bird.
The original ‘Black Book’ belonged to the Corporation of Winchester and contained contemporary copies of all the Acts and Proceedings under several Mayors from Henry IV to Edward VI. In this some very interesting characters emerged as central in civil matters in the 1530s. A family who were connected to jewel trading with Anne Boleyn’s entourage as well as valuation of property and running the town.
The Compotus Rolls of the Obedientiaries of St Swithun’s Priory, transcribed by G.W. Kitchin.
These papers are the records kept by the monks before the Dissolution. These include financial records developed under numerous Bishops of Winchester, many of whom were also Chancellors of the Exchequer. It is interesting to note that the perceived wealth (through objects, reputation etc.) is quite different to the accounted wealth.
The Winchester Studies Series, edited by M. Biddle.
These contain extensive archaeological and historical notes on Winchester, including analysis of the Winton Domesday cross referenced with finds from excavations. As well as drawings of excavated jewellery and their materials, there are also records of trade over time, describing what was made and what was imported.
Of course, beyond the archives I collected books and visited other collections. One of the great things about researching a city like Winchester is that enthusiasm for its history is present on every street. The streets today are not that different to those from the 1500s. Being able to experience the living history, through the sites combined with the archives is a result of an unbroken chain of custodians finding ways to keep the places alive and papers accessible as generations come and go.
Enamoured with all this source (and secondary) evidence and the process of piecing it together, I compiled a short book of the evidence so far regarding the counterfeit jewels found in Winchester…
For updates on this research and to buy the book The Jewel Forger of Winchester: A Composition of Sources visit https://afjw-creations.com/
An exhibition of this research will be on display at Hampshire Record Office from March 2027.
If you would like to hear more about jewellery forgery in 16th century Winchester, join Alison on the 20th May for an online talk. Booking free for Hampshire Archive Trust members: https://hampshirearchivestrust.co.uk/events/faking-jewels-a-tudor-winchester-whodunnit
Author: Alison F. J. Whitaker
Bio: Alison Whitaker is a historical artist/researcher with a particular interest in material and image culture. Inspired by the layers of meaning and the acceptance of paradoxes – notions prevalent in Early Modern thinking – Alison uses keen observation and makes careful choices about her subject to communicate ideas through her work. Working with traditional techniques, her oil paintings revive the practice of visual recipes in the description of a concept. Alison’s background is in data science and the visual representation of information for practical decision making.
