Women’s Work in Shakespeare’s England

Dr. Elizabeth Sharrett, Visiting Assistant Professor at Lynchburg College and PhD. From The Shakespeare Institute (University of Birmingham), Stratford-Upon Avon, UK visits Agecroft Hall & Gardens for a special event! In honor of Women’s History Month, join us to learn more about women during the time of Shakespeare! This talk will examine objects in Agecroft Hall’s collection related to women’s work in the early modern English household, and explore how these items were used to complete everyday tasks. Together we will consider the labours and objects associated with the staples of life, such as bread making, spinning, and beer making, as described in conduct manuals such as Gervase Markham’s The English Housewife (1615). We will also examine objects of a more decorative nature, such as embroidered textiles, which, though seemingly recreational, served a purpose no less important. In doing so, we will discover how surviving examples of objects associated wit…