News from Athelhampton House & Gardens.

Giving birth was one of the most dangerous things a woman could do in Medieval and Renaissance England: it was the leading cause of death for women, with as many as 1 in 40 women dying in childbirth. So what might a woman living in this Dorset Tudor Manor of Athelhampton do to try to stay safe at this time? Preparations for giving birth started early, with the lying-in period beginning up to six weeks before the prospective mother gave birth. The Marriage Chamber at Athelhamp

Visit Athelhampton this autumn, and you’ll see pears ripening in the gardens, and glowing too in the stained glass of the Great Hall. The pears appear in the arms of Elizabeth Kelway, who around 1530 married Robert Martyn of Athelhampton. Her family’s coat of arms shows four golden pears and a pair of grozing irons, the delicate tools once used by glaziers to shape stained glass. It bears a very strong resemblance to that of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of

One of Dorset’s most beautiful Tudor manor houses, Athelhampton has stood in its peaceful valley for over five centuries. Its walls hold many secrets, from grand feasts in the Great Hall to family squabbles, all observed quietly by the servants who kept the household running. The names of the servants rarely survive: only those of a few trusted male servants show up in wills and court cases, but it's possible to piece together a little of what their lives might have looked li

This weekend only from the Amazon Kindle store you can enjoy a free eBook copy of Thomas Hardy 10 Lovers 50 Poems. Giles Keating tells the story of Hardy’s relationships with 10 women, and includes 50 poems that Hardy wrote about the highs and lows of his relationships. The book gives access to our short films dramatising and discussing each poem. This offer is available on Amazon.co.uk until 8am Monday morning or Amazon.com until midnight on Sunday. If you would prefer a pri