C is for

CECIL.

During the Elizabethan era, William Cecil, became the most important courtier of his age. He was born at Bourne in Lincolnshire, his grandfather’s house, on September 18^th 1520. His family background gave no indication of the heights to which William would attain. His grandfather had been of yeomen stock and his father, Richard, only reached the low position of Yeoman of the wardrobe in Henry VIII’s household after twenty years. During the turbulent years of Henry’s reign, Richard Cecil avoided all of the many pitfalls and moved steadily upwards. He contrived to line his pockets as he went and, like his father before him, became custodian of many of the royal manors around Stamford. In 1539, he became a justice of the peace for Stamford and in the same year, Sheriff of Rutland. Thus when William was born, he had the means to give him a good education.

William was a precocious scholar, entering Cambridge at fifteen and studied until he was twenty-one. For reasons that were never discovered, he left Cambridge, without taking his degree, to enter Gray’s Inn to study law. A chance encounter with the king, led him to enter the service of Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, who shortly after Henry VIII’s death, became Lord Protector of the young King Edward. It was when he was employed by the Duke of Northumberland to administer the lands of Princess Elizabeth at Hatfield, that

he became Elizabeth’s adviser and helped to steer her through the fraught years of Mary Tudor’s reign, when it seemed impossible she could survive.

When Elizabeth became Queen, Cecil was appointed Secretary of State. Elizabeth, who had a penchant for giving nicknames to her advisers and members of the court, called Burghley, ‘my Spirit’ and relied on his wise council in all matters. He was a devout Protestant, but not a zealot. His tight control over the nations finances, his leadership of the Privy Council, his backing for the reform of the Navy by Admiral Sir John Hawkins and his creation of a highly effective intelligence service under Sir Francis Walsingham, marked him out as the most important minister throughout the majority of the Elizabethan era. A most astute and honest councillor, he was never afraid to make the hard decisions that Elizabeth shrank from taking, even at the risk of his own position. When Elizabeth hesitated to send the signed warrant ordering the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, Cecil organised the Privy Council to ensure the warrant was delivered and the execution went ahead without the Queen’s knowledge. This nearly cost his head, but in the end, Elizabeth realised that he was acting in the best interests of the state.

After his death, in 1598, his son, Robert Cecil, succeeded him as Secretary of State and went on to serve Elizabeth’s successor James I with great distinction, building Burghley House.

K is for:

KISSING

The Elizabethans had a more robust approach to kissing as a greeting. Perhaps the best viewpoint on kissing comes from the recorded observations of various foreign(alien) visitors. On visiting a citizen’s house for a social visit, or even on business, any man would be welcomed by the master’s lady or daughter and it was the custom of the country to ‘take them by the arm to kiss them, with a hearty kiss on the lips.’ Not to do this was considered as ill-breeding. Most of the observers felt that to do this on first acquaintance was very strange. Rather like the general situation today where an air-kiss near the cheek is more often then not the rule, even with family.

Dancing too was another opportunity for the Elizabethans to kiss the ladies. During a dance, when the players struck up a lively galliard or the even faster version, a lavolta (the Volt).  This was a particular favourite of Queen Elizabeth, especially when dancing with the Earl of Leicester, a celebrated dancer.  The young men took off their rapiers and cloaks and danced in their doublets, leaping, running and lifting their partners in the air. One reformer described it as ‘the horrible vice of pestiferous dancing … what kissing and bussing (more kissing)’.

Amongst the working class, things were very much less formal than in a merchant, or an aristocratic household. Leisure time was very restricted, since working hours were long, thus, every opportunity must be utilised to the full. One startled young Venetian visitor observed the following … ‘many of the young women gather outside Moorgate and play with the young lads, even though they do not know them. Often, during these games, the women are thrown to the ground by the young men, who only allow them to get up after they have kissed them.’

As they all remarked … ‘they kiss each other a lot!’

Glass in the 18th century

The discovery of lead crystal galvanised the glass industry into a flurry of creativity as never before. This century, possibly more than any other, saw a bewildering proliferation of new styles, new techniques and above all decorative design of the highest order. 

The brilliance of lead crystal is due to a higher refractive indexPeter Cooke Author caused by the lead content. Ordinary glass has a refractive index of n = 1.5, addition of lead produces a range up to 1.7. The heightened refractive index results in increased dispersion (the degree to which a medium separates light into its component spectra), as in a prism. Crystal cutting techniques create a brilliant, sparkling effect as each cut facet reflects and transmits light through the object.

 These enhance properties, necessitated changes in style. The boss or knob of glass on the stem of a glass, is known as a KNOP. If the knop has a curved form, slender above and bulging out below, it is known as a ‘true baluster’. When used upside down, it’s designated as an ‘inverted baluster’. For for the next 35 years, the BALUSTER STEMS dominated the market, using designs cut into the bowl to enhance the brilliance.

The desire to cheapen the glass to please the less wealthy led to a decline in the quality of the metal used and the flamboyant styles gave way to glasses with smaller bowls and longer stems. This period of the BALUSTROID STEMS AND LIGHT BALUSTERS was to last from 1725-1765. The light balusters, better known as ‘Newcastle’ glasses, with their tall, slender, knopped stems had a far greater appeal than the earlier Balustroid stems. This style was pre-eminent from 1735-1765, when beautifully engraved glasses by Frans Greenwood, Jacob Snag and later David Wolff were in favour. The leading enamelers were William and Mary Beilby of Newcastle and last December a new world auction record was set for glass produced by an 18th-Century Tyneside craftsman. London auctioneers Bonhams sold a Prince William V of Orange goblet made by William Beilby for £117,000.

The largest group of remaining 18^th century drinking glasses are the PLAIN STRAIGHT STEMS(1740-1770). The style was easy and cheap to turn out and was made in a variety of bowl shapes. During this period, AIR-TWIST STEMS were also produced for the quality market. There were also COMPOSITE STEMS.

 Overlapping this period from 1750 – 1780 were the OPAQUE WHITE TWIST STEMS often with engraved bowls and from 1755 – 1775 the MIXED AND COLOURED TWIST STEMS.

JACOBITE AND WILLIAMITE GLASS was produced in profusion during the mid-18^th century to support the causes. Jacobite emblems were usually the rose with usually six petals and one or two buds. One very special type was the so-called AMEN glasses

 In 1777 and again in 1780 changes in the Excise Act resulted in the doubling of duty in England, but Ireland was granted free trade. Although there was already a large industry in Ireland, many English firms set up there and prospered. This period of grace lasted until 1845 when the Excise acts were repealed.

1760-1800 FACETED STEMS – diamond or hexagonal-shaped facets were the favourites, but vertical fluting and scale cutting were also used.

 Inevitably there was some run over in styles from different manufacturers and faceted stems were still produced into the new century.

Peter Cooke Author

Glass

What is it?

The Principal ingredient  is SILICA, which- occurs naturally in great abundance.  The main varieties of silica are SAND, FLINT AND QUARTZ. When heated to a high enough temperature, they melt to form glass.   When the first atomic bomb was exploded in the desert at the White Sands proving ground, New Mexico, the heat wave from the bomb turned the surface of the desert to glass.  In the crater, the desert sand, which is largely made of silica melted and became a mildly, radioactive, light green glass, which was named Trinitite.The crater was filled in soon after the test.  Also, a dark natural substance known as OBSIDIAN, is often formed by volcanic eruptions, when silica is present.

Early glassmaking.

The temperature required to melt silica (about 1800°C) is higher than could be obtained in the primitive wood-burning furnaces used by the earl glassmakers. Man-made glass only became possible when it was discovered that the addition of soda ash or potash (obtained from burnt vegetable material) caused the silica to melt at 900-1100 °C. There is a story that this was discovered accidentally, by nomads lighting fires on sand.  The ash from the burned vegetation, combined with the sand to make glass.

The Mediterranean area favoured soda ash and Europe potash. Natural tints were removed by the addition of nitre, manganese or arsenic. This was not a precise thing because the additions produced tints of their own, explaining why there was a wide range of colours in early samples. Modern pure additives mean that a consistently clear and colourless product can be produced.

The molten silica is usually referred to as the METAL. Additions of COPPER, COBALT, IRON, TIN and other materials produce BLUE, RED, GREEN, AMBER, WHITE OR PURPLE colours.

Methods of manufacture.

Early glassmakers used MOULDING techniques. This lasted from about the 15^th Century BC – 1^St Century BC. Blowing was discovered during the 1^st Century BC and by the 1^st Century AD virtually every technique of manipulating and decorating glass had been discovered – moulding, free blowing, blowing into a mould, cutting, engraving, enameling, gilding, overlaying with coloured layers, enclosing the decoration between layers, millefiori and glass made to look like natural stone. All these were practiced 2000 years ago and have reappeared at various times down to the present day.

Tools.

The tools used in glassmaking have remained unchanged for many centuries, mainly because they are so simple that they allow for little improvement.

The main tools are as follows:

BLOWPIPE – a long hollow tube made of steel on which molten blob is gathered on the end and by blowing down the pipe a shape is produced.

PONTIL IRON – a solid metal rod. The end is heated and applied to the base of the vessel being blown, to support it when the blowing pipe is cut away.(when the pontil is removed, it produces a characteristic mark known as the PONTIL MARK on the base)

MARVER – a flat iron plate on which the vessel is rolled during the blowing process to smooth and shape it.

PUCELLAS – metal tongs with a curved surface on the outside and a cutting edge on the inside.-, used to shape anf trim the molten glass bowl of a drinking glass. 

CLAPPERS – a pair of wooden paddles used to shape the foot of a drinking glass.

CHAIR – the glass-blowers workplace – a bench with flat arms along which the blowpipe can be rolled to shape the vessel. Confusingly, in a glass-works making hand-blown glass, it also refers to a team of three or four men. Thus the size of the factory is reckoned by the number of chairs working in it.

If you have found this interesting, look out for the next part of the series, looking at the history of glassmaking.

]]> http://pmcooke.co.uk/all-you-need-to-know-about-glass-by-peter-cooke/feed 0 http://pmcooke.co.uk/a-to-z-of-elizabethan-times-8 http://pmcooke.co.uk/a-to-z-of-elizabethan-times-8#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:28:26 +0000 Peter http://pmcooke.co.uk/?p=750 Peter Cooke – Author

J is for:

JEWELLERY

Pearls were Queen Elizabeth’s favourite and she literally dripped with pearls. She had six or more long ropes of pearls and one containing twenty-five nutmeg sized ones, as well as many other smaller ropes that were attached to her elaborate gowns and head-ware. None of her subjects could compete with her although that other formidable woman of the time, Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury( Bess of Hardwick), did her best with four large, matched pearl ropes, coming to below her waist. The Duchess of Somerset also had a rope of more than a thousand seed pearls and two, more than two metres in length.

Many of the courtiers, ladies in waiting, noblemen and their wives, spent vast sums of money on clothes and jewellery.  The gulf between the rich and the p[poor, was even greater than today.  In an era when the average wage was five pounds per year, keeping up with the Joneses of the court could run in to thousands of pounds.

While diamonds were worn and prized, they were not the cut and faceted jewels of today. It was not until 1590 that diamond cutters developed the skills to turn the dull medieval gleam into the brilliant coruscating gems we know today. Other gems to be found at court were rubies, sapphires, emeralds, garnets and Jacinthe (red zircon). There were also a few Murano glass bead necklaces, Elizabeth herself had one, but only the wealthy owned them. Elizabeth’s necklace is featured in Blood-Red Goblet and there are details of how the necklaces are made.

INNS

In the 16^th century, Inns were often sited conveniently close to the markets in London. A visitor might want to leave his horse or coach at the Inn, before he made his way through the narrow streets on foot. These Inns were perhaps the equivalent of modern hotels, being substantial establishments with stabling to accommodate a considerable number of horses. To quote a statement of the time, ‘Every man may use his Inn as his own home … our Inns are very well furnished with napery( household linen), bedding and tapestry. Table linen is washed daily and each comer is sure to lie in clean sheets and if his chamber be once appointed(booked in), he may carry the key with him. The host of the Inn was responsible for any loss sustained by the guest whilst on his premises. Unfortunately for the guest, a number of Inn employees colluded with highwaymen and cutpurses and if a robbery took place after he left the Inn, the landlord was not liable.

]]> http://pmcooke.co.uk/a-to-z-of-elizabethan-times-7/feed 0 http://pmcooke.co.uk/rember-remember-the-fifth-of-november http://pmcooke.co.uk/rember-remember-the-fifth-of-november#comments Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:28:42 +0000 Peter http://pmcooke.co.uk/?p=640 Since I was a small boy, this rhyme has always been with me.  However, in these enlightened? days it seems strange that so many bonfires and firework displays are taking place on days other than the 5th.  It seems to me that like Christmas, yes, Christmas, not winter holiday! – commercial interests are now paramount and tradition goes out of the window in the chase for money.  I know that fireworks can be dangerous in family situations and that organised bonfires are favourite, but surely, especially when the fifth is a Saturday, it is not too much to ask that it should be on the fifth!  Or am I a lone voice crying for a bygone age?

From humble beginnings, the Shaw family become caught up in the exciting free-for-all of their own Revolution as the steadfast Obadiah and Mary his wife, lay the foundations of the Shaw dynasty. At the forefront of innovation and change, both in working practices and family life, they build up Amber Mills into a thriving community, despite many problems, including the Luddite bullies who threatened the machines and their lives.

The Industrial Revolution in the cotton spinning industry was in its infancy. Entrepreneurs like Obadiah Shaw and Jedediah Strutt followed the example of Richard Arkwright building mills and houses for the workers. The East Midlands became the cradle of the new factories. It was a time when mechanically minded individuals turned their inventive minds on the task of designing machines that could knit hosiery, weave cloth and spin the ever increasing amounts of cotton yarn needed by the ravenous maws of the new factories. Their vision of a new age changed the face of Britain forever.

However, fortunately we were trapped in a lovely restaurant, with good food and lot’s of booze, so hey ho it could have been a lot worse.  In fact, although I got bitten on the face by some mosquitoes, the trouble didn’t start until a few days after we returned to UK.  On that morning I woke to the sound of my wife saying what have you done to your face?  I had a series of very large itchy lumps where each of the bites had been and one near my right eye that had almost closed it.

Happily, I can report that I am recovered now, but it took a weeks course of anti-histamines and another of antibiotics to sort it out.  The real surprise was that I had any trouble at all.  We were at the same villa last year and I didn’t get a single bite.   Has anyone had a similar experience?

I am planning two books at the moment in the new series.  The first is provisionally titled, Amber Mills Revolution, the story of the founding family, the Shaws.  The second book, has the provisional title of Amber Mills Evolution, telling the story of the interlinked family the Hursts, the Shaws successors.

The books are set in the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire borders at the start of the industrial revolution in the cotton spinning and hosiery industries in the latter part of the 18th century.  This was an era of huge change and turmoil as the entrepreneurs set up the factories with the Luddites striving to prevent them, destroying lives and the machines as they fought to preserve the status quo.  More later