iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

@bhamhistory.bsky.social You see what your database has given spawn to!

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omg why didn't I think of this. 3 of us do at least have the badges we made at the Social History Society festival - combining our death's head linocut / a different project badge making equipment / another group's printing kit.

A photograph featuring a print in the style of an early modern woodcut, of 4 white skulls against a black background. Below the print is the lino stamp that was used to create the print, as well as two badges that were made from the skull print design. The badges are blue and black in colour and also have glitter.

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The other big headline is that about 4500 testators bequeathed mourning rings. This isn't unexpected, but it is a very high proportion! 💍📜💍📜💍📜💍📜💍📜💍📜💍📜💍📜💍📜💍📜

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No! I will now diminish in the West, and remain Sangha

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I would have finished creating my Mega Spreadsheet of Rings in June, but then ... this summer happened. I am now finally making some progress again on what will become my chapter in the wills project essay collection. Co-edited by me & @emilymayvine.bsky.social it will be published OPEN ACCESS!

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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I. Have. Finished. Coding. All. My. Finger. Rings. 🎉💍 HEADLINES: ~ Of the 30,000 wills in our sample, about 8,000 of them mention rings. ~ For reasons, many more rings than that are actually bequeathed within the wills (chiefly because people bequeath many mourning rings at a time) #EarlyModern 🗃️

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I've looked into it and it turns out the Wills Memorial building has absolutely nothing to do with wills.

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Reposted by Dr Laura Sangha

John Sabapathy @jwwsabapathy.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Lovely:

'For there are many many reasons for rich and powerful people to misrepresent evidence of all kinds. The world as it is now has made them rich and powerful, so naturally they want to keep it that way. Scientific data might shows us the dangers of failing to change our world, but that data is useless unless people see it, are convinced by it, and want to act in light of it. Arts, humanities and social sciences can ensure that people have the critical ability to see it, perceive it, and be persuaded by it.'

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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

well, no*body* is watching him...

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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

🎵I always feel like somebody’s watchin’ me And I have no privacy Oh, oh, oh, I always feel like somebody’s watchin’ me Tell me is it just a dream?🎵

A woodcut of a man in seventeenth-century clothes sitting at a table. Peaking over his should there can be seen a grinning skeleton!

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Reposted by Dr Laura Sangha

Nahyan Fancy @fancynahyan.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Why we need more history, social sciences & humanities for critical thinking, analysis of audience & how to weigh evidence. Great piece by @lsangha.bsky.social. This is why consultants (in bed with polluters) are dismantling humanities & social sciences from Exeter to Edinburgh & now Nottingham.

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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

went to dartmoor. there be mushrooms

A bright reddish orange mushroom pokes through dead leaves. It has white spots on it.

Fly agaric mushroom. It has a wide, shallow bowl shaped top which is bright red with white spots.

A brown mushroom, partly eaten away. It has a glossy surface that shines in the sun and looks gold.

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Reposted by Dr Laura Sangha

Callan Davies @callanjd.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Cover reveal 💅 Super job by the people @yalebooks.bsky.social @yalepress.bsky.social Out 27 April 2027. yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...

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Here's the hospital that Susanna bequeathed money to (L) and as it is now - Dean [Alured] Clarke House, converted to luxury flats in 2015.

Black and white photo showing a three story grand brick building with a point frontage and several wings. In front on the road are two horse drawn carriages, indicating that this was late 19th or early 20th century.

Photo showing a three story grand brick building with a pointed frontage and several wings. In front on the road modern petrol cars, showing that this photo is from the early 21st century.

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cornwallhistory.bsky.social @cornwallhistory.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Yes, thanks, that's interesting - confirms that women played a really important role in welfare. This builds on some of the earlier wills I have been looking at where women were benefactors of almshouses - v long history to this.

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Reposted by Dr Laura Sangha

I've been looking at women's philanthropy - and community buildings - in eighteenth century Cornwall. Women were among benefactors to infirmary in Truro opened 1799. Later in Penzance will of Elizabeth Anne Stone d. 1855 £1500 to establish beds PZ dispensary now West Cornwall hospital.

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In 1985 the Wonford hospital was the first major structure in the UK found to have concrete cancer (the alkali–silica reaction). Replacement buildings were built in phases, leaving us with the modern RD&E in Wonford 👇

The front entrance of the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital site in Wonford. It is a brick building with wide space in front for cars and ambulances to stop. The roof extends across the road to provide shelter from the Devon weather.

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In 1948 the hospital became part of the newly formed National Health Service. In 1974 the hospital moved from Southernhay into a new tower-block, built into the grounds of the Wonford House Hospital (formerly an asylum). People complained about the noise of gunfire from the hearby Wyvern Barracks.

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Cosy Club really lean into their history, especially with the operating table style bar, but I've always found the juxtaposition unnerving!

Interior of the Cosy Club in Exeter with anatomical drawings on the wall and medical instruments decorating the bar. The lights are like those you would see in a Victorian operating theatre.

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To alleviate overcrowding a new 'Halford Wing' was started in 1856, from bequests from Mrs Halford - it is now the Cosy Club. More wings, a chapel, & sun balconies were added over time and a visit from the Duke of York in 1899 led to permission to use the 'Royal' title.

Photo of the interior of the 'Cosy Club', a chain restaurant. Tables and chairs with walls with photos of old doctors hung on them.

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The wiki entry confirmed the origins of the RD&E are 18thcentury: Alured Clerke, Dean of Exeter proposed the idea of a hospital and a committee of gents soon found a site. The first building was on Southernhay, it admitted it's first patients in 1743. This was the hospital my testator donated to.

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Reading the 1785 will of Susanna Smith: 'I give to Treasurer of the Devon and Exeter Hospital for the time being for the use of the charitable design of said hospital one hundred pounds.' This got me wondering about the history of the current Royal Devon & Exeter hospital...

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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I have a love hate relationship with it - it can be absolutely stunning, but the sense of decay and decline is ick

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Ah ha! I see andirons in this photo of Cotehele Kitchen in a @emilymayvine.bsky.social blog post. sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

The Cotehele Kitchen showing a huge fireplace and shelves with pewter dishes on the shelves. Spoons, ladles, scummers & strainers hang to the left of the fireplace, with andirons & tall cobirons either side ©National Trust Images/John Bethell.

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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Many thanks Catherine, this is great!

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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Random Q: anyone know of any woodcuts which clearly show andirons / firedogs in use in a fireplace?

Pair of wrought iron and brass firedogs (or andirons), Italy, 16th-century. V&A. They consist of a long piece of black iron piece of iron in a rainbow shape. Horizontal bars of iron stick out from the top of the rainbow shapes with a shorter piece of iron at right angles to it to balance the structure.

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Yes this! The Silk Roads exhibition was dreadful, I spent most of the time stood staring at someone's back as I waited for them to move so that I could get a fleeting glance. Perhaps we could ... make international visitors pay so museums don't have to overbook paid exhibits for much needed £££?

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p.s. I used to regularly canoe/camp along the river Wye but haven't returned since the levels of phosphates that pollute it skyrocketed. Natural England now rates it as “Unfavourable, declining”. savethewye.org/the-state-of...

Photo of the River Wye in early summer, the water is very still and reflects a fairy tale like stately home on the bank in the middle distance.

A canoe pulled onto the riverbank with the river flowing past and green trees on the opposite bank. A person lies dozing in the sun to the right.

Horses walk along the top of the river bank with a blue sky with white summer clouds behind.

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Getting a good soaking was well worth it though. The lamb sat for a bit then took some wobbly steps, so excited to be on dry solid ground it kept tumbling over on it's tired legs as it bounded about. With my hands free I managed to scale the bank to see a field of sheep just beyond. A happy ending.

A lamb covered in gunky stuff and looking bedraggled sitting in the bottom of a canoe. A human reaches out to put a hand on it.

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We paddled a bit further downriver and found a bit of bank that looked like I could scale it. Putting the lamb under one arm I clambered out ... but it was wet and I slowly slid back down the muddy bank. Desperately I thrust the tiny thing up onto safe ground as I slid into the water to the chest.

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