Greig Parker | University College London (original) (raw)

Books by Greig Parker

Probate inventories provide an unparalleled and intimate glimpse into the lives of the inhabitant... more Probate inventories provide an unparalleled and intimate glimpse into the lives of the inhabitants of early modern England. After death, the items within the deceased’s home would frequently be itemised and valued room-by-room.

As well as providing invaluable information about the rich diversity and value of domestic material culture, the inventories also offer insights into the different tastes, domestic arrangements and range of activities that took place within the early modern home. Inventories also enable scholars to reconstruct the informal social and business networks that are crucial for understanding this period, but which might otherwise remain hidden. By offering a critical introduction to the use of probate inventories for historical research, and by providing transcriptions of inventories from French immigrants to early modern London, this book provides a new and important resource for students and researchers interested in the early modern household, material culture studies, and the domestic lives of the Huguenot refugees.

The book begins with a detailed introduction that provides historical background on the French immigrant community in London. This is followed by an original analysis of the key differences that existed between French and English domestic interiors during this period, along with a discussion of how these trends are visible within the included inventories. The book subsequently provides a critical discussion of the issues and challenges involved in studying probate inventories and the difficulties in their interpretation. Following a description of the methodology used for the current study and the general characteristics of the sample included, the volume provides transcriptions of ninety-two probate inventories from members of London’s Huguenot community. In addition, the book contains a fully referenced historical glossary of the items of early modern material culture listed within the inventories. Taken together, the book has much to offer anyone with an interest in early modern material culture, the domestic interior, or the social and cultural life of early modern London.

Papers by Greig Parker

The Huguenot refugees were a group of French Protestants who were forced into exile by religious ... more The Huguenot refugees were a group of French Protestants who were forced into exile by religious persecution during the 16 th to 18 th centuries. Tens of thousands of Huguenot refugees came to England and established communities within several towns, including London. Their existence is well documented in historical texts and they have often been portrayed in literary fiction and the visual arts. The migration of the Huguenots has been credited with having had a profound social and economic impact on English society. However, despite contemporary portrayals of the communities as having being distinct in terms of dress, language, lifestyle, occupation, and geographical location, attempts to identify Huguenot occupation sites in London using standard archaeological methods have been largely unsuccessful. This paper discusses the characteristics of Huguenot identity and the problems faced by archaeologists in trying to identify Huguenot material culture. In addition, this paper discuss...

Society for Historical Archaeology, 2013

"French immigrant refugees were a large and recognisable segment of the population of Early ... more "French immigrant refugees were a large and recognisable segment of the population of Early Modern London. Contemporary accounts indicate that they possessed a distinct and recognisable language, style of dress, and religion. In addition, they were seen to have been employed in specific occupations and of having lived in particular areas. Yet, the excavated and documentary evidence for their ownership of domestic material culture shows, for the most part, few differences between French immigrants and their English counterparts. This challenges the idea that the private, domestic space is a place in which traditional identities and practices are maintained within immigrant settings. Careful analysis, however, reveals the presence of isolated expressions of group identity, and subtle differences in average rates of adoption and retention of particular artefact types. This suggests considerable diversity in how the immigrant experience transformed refugee identity, and holds implications for our understanding identity in the past. Keywords: Identity, Probate Inventories, Huguenot"

The Paleontological Society Special Publications

Post-Medieval Archaeology, 2016

The archaeology of modern cities has grown enormously over the past half-century, driven in large... more The archaeology of modern cities has grown enormously over the past half-century, driven in large part by developer-funded urban renewal. This activity has utilized a diverse array of methodological approaches, research paradigms and scales of analysis — a diversity increasingly reflected in the pages of Post-Medieval Archaeology. In this paper, we review the development of urban archaeology, with a particular focus on material remains from the past two or three centuries. We emphasize the role played by commercial archaeology and the growing importance of community engagement, along with changing theoretical models and the emergence of new analytical technologies.

Mortality, Jul 22, 2013

The reported absence of distinguishing features upon British Gypsy-Traveller memorials has been u... more The reported absence of distinguishing features upon British Gypsy-Traveller memorials has been used to support the widely accepted, and influential, argument that the dead are not the focus of social continuity within Gypsy-Traveller society. However, based upon cemetery surveys and interviews with members of the Gypsy-Traveller community in Sheffield, England, this paper demonstrates that explicit displays of ethnicity are now common upon memorials, and describes their characteristics. The reasons behind this apparent shift in mortuary practices are discussed in relation to wider socio-political factors. Based upon these findings, we argue for a reconsideration of the relationship between the living and the dead within British Gypsy-Traveller society, and a recognition of the importance of commemoration in the negotiation of identity and social reproduction within these communities.

Post-Medieval Archaeology

The French immigrants of early modern London are recorded as having been a clearly recognizable c... more The French immigrants of early modern London are recorded as having been a clearly recognizable community with similarities in language, religion, occupation and material culture. However, analysis of the excavated and documentary evidence of their domestic artefacts reveals few differences when compared with their English counterparts. Although isolated artefacts may reasonably be linked to an immigrant identity, the majority of refugees do not appear to have commonly expressed their group identity through their domestic material culture in historically identifiable ways. This may indicate that the nature of French immigrant identity was more complex and varied than contemporary accounts imply.

Objects were subjects of discourse within the debate over how the refugees should be received. The poverty of the refugees was frequently described in terms of their loss of material possessions, whilst the increased quality and availability of luxury goods was presented as a key benefit due to immigrant manufacturing knowledge and expertise. The beneficial or deleterious effects of luxury objects were contested, however, by groups such as English manufacturers, religious authorities and social commentators.

These debates can be seen to be linked to the multivalency of objects, and highlight the way in which artefacts can be important nodes in the association and transposition of meanings and ideas between social fields. The involvement of the Huguenot refugees in the manufacture of luxury goods, such as scientific instruments, for example, associated them with the ideas of Enlightenment thought and the rationalism of the Protestant worldview. Supporters of the refugees drew upon these meanings in their construction of the Huguenot public image, yet were also forced to deny or rationalise those that raised potentially contradictory issues. This paper, therefore, argues that in order for us to gain a fuller understanding of the ways in which publics were constructed, greater consideration needs to be given to the role of material culture.

Hintermaier, J.M. 2000. The First Modern Refugees? Charity, Entitlement, and Persuasion in the Huguenot Immigration of the 1680s. Albion 32(3): 429-49.

This paper examines the extent to which the religious beliefs of the Huguenot refugees of Early M... more This paper examines the extent to which the religious beliefs of the Huguenot refugees of Early Modern London were visible in the landscape. It argues that the temporal and spatial patterning of Huguenot church establishment and duration in the western suburbs cannot be used as evidence of either the community’s theological preferences (cf. Gwynn 1971-6, 567; 2001, 130; 2006, 35), or that conformism was associated with assimilation (cf. Gwynn 1998, 17; 2001, 209-10). In addition, it discusses the significance of intra-denominational variation in religious practices and their potential archaeological correlates.

"During the mid-sixteenth to the early-eighteenth centuries, several hundred thousand Protestant ... more "During the mid-sixteenth to the early-eighteenth centuries, several hundred thousand Protestant refugees fled religious persecution in France and the Low Countries. The refugees migrated primarily to neighbouring Protestant territories where they established their own churches and communities. These churches subsequently provided a vital support network for the second wave of Protestant refugees who arrived in the late-seventeenth century following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. This Edict effectively banned Protestant worship in France. Despite the risk of imprisonment and extreme hardships, hundreds of thousands of Protestants chose to leave France rather than abjure their faith. Many of the refugees were destitute upon their arrival and relied upon the charity and support of both the French churches and the host community. The refugees were composed primarily of artisans, professionals and the nobility. They brought with them skills, techniques, and fashions that have been credited with having played an important role in the economic and cultural development of their host countries.
This paper discusses how an analysis of Huguenot material culture can help us understand their beliefs and social practices. In particular, it examines how, in their popularisation and dissemination of French culture, the Huguenot refugees contributed towards to the erosion of the very values that they were trying to uphold. Huguenot artisans involved in the production of luxury items popularised the extravagant and ornate designs created by the court of the Catholic king Louis XIV. They increased the availability and affordability of fine cloths, ornate furniture and personal adornments. In so doing, they promoted and spread the ownership of styles of material culture that were disapproved of by their faith. This can be seen to have been a cause of friction within congregations, and to have also led to disputes between different Reformed Churches. In addition, these changes in the fashions and standards of decency of the wider society resulted in the modification of understandings of decency within the refugee communities themselves. This can, perhaps, be seen as a contributory factor in explaining the relatively rapid assimilation of the refugees into their host society. In exploring these issues, this paper aims to examine the recursive nature of the inter-relationships between material culture, social practice, and identity."

The Huguenot refugees were a group of French Protestants who were forced into exile by religious ... more The Huguenot refugees were a group of French Protestants who were forced into exile by religious persecution during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Tens of thousands of Huguenot refugees came to England and established communities within several towns, including London. Their existence is well documented in historical texts and they have often been portrayed in literary fiction and the visual arts. The migration of the Huguenots has been credited with having had a profound social and economic impact on English society. However, despite contemporary portrayals of the communities as having being distinct in terms of dress, language, lifestyle, occupation, and geographical location, attempts to identify Huguenot occupation sites in London using standard archaeological methods have been largely unsuccessful. This paper discusses the characteristics of Huguenot identity and the problems faced by archaeologists in trying to identify Huguenot material culture. In addition, this paper discusses the wider implications for how archaeologists approach the subject of identity and suggests ideas for how these issues may be addressed.

Talks by Greig Parker

The cemetery memorials of British Gypsy-Travellers have been portrayed by the majority of academi... more The cemetery memorials of British Gypsy-Travellers have been portrayed by the majority of academic researchers as lacking in distinguishing characteristics, reflecting the widely held view that the dead are not the focus of social continuity within these communities. Our research demonstrates that explicit expressions of ethnicity are now common on British Gypsy-Traveller memorials, and frequently emphasise similarity and difference in reference to the grave markers of non-Gypsy-Travellers. This paper discusses the ways in which the form, decoration and position of memorials are used to negotiate different dimensions of identity within these communities, and considers the extent to which they can be seen to relate to lived experience or to imagined, idealised conceptions of the past. We suggest that academic understandings of the relationship between the living and the dead within British Gypsy-Traveller society need to be reconsidered as the commemoration of the dead can now be seen to play an important role in social reproduction within these communities.

Memorials have become an important medium for the expression of Gypsy-Traveller identity in conte... more Memorials have become an important medium for the expression of Gypsy-Traveller identity in contemporary society due, in part, to legislative changes that have restricted traditional practices such as travelling. The form, decoration, and position of these memorials are often used to negotiate understandings of ethnicity, gender, and kinship within Gypsy-Traveller communities, and frequently emphasise similarity and difference in reference to the grave markers of non-Gypsy-Travellers. This paper explores the extent to which such memorials and their placement within the cemetery can be seen to relate to the lived experience of the deceased or the bereaved, and whether they might be better understood as expressions of an imagined, or idealised conception of the past. In addition, we consider the ways in which the intended meanings of these memorials may be understood by non-Gypsy-Travellers visiting the cemetery.

French immigrant refugees were a large and recognisable segment of the population of Early Modern... more French immigrant refugees were a large and recognisable segment of the population of Early Modern London. Contemporary accounts indicate that they possessed a distinct and recognisable language, style of dress, and religion. In addition, they were seen to have been employed in specific occupations and of having lived in particular areas. Yet, the excavated and documentary evidence for their ownership of domestic material culture shows, for the most part, few differences between French immigrants and their English counterparts. This challenges the idea that the private, domestic space is a place in which traditional identities and practices are maintained within immigrant settings. Careful analysis, however, reveals the presence of isolated expressions of group identity, and subtle differences in average rates of adoption and retention of particular artefact types. This suggests considerable diversity in how the immigrant experience transformed refugee identity, and holds implications for our understanding identity in the past.

Keywords: Identity, Probate Inventories, Huguenot

Huguenot refugee domestic interiors are often imagined as having possessed a distinctively French... more Huguenot refugee domestic interiors are often imagined as having possessed a distinctively French feel and appearance in comparison to those of the English. However, recent archaeological excavations of Huguenot domestic sites have questioned this popular image, by being unable to identify any clear differences in the ownership of domestic artefacts. In order to better understand the range and types of material culture owned by the refugees, this paper discusses evidence obtained from French immigrant probate inventories. Inventories were used to list a person’s moveable property upon death. They reveal the existence of considerable variation in the artefacts owned by the Huguenots, and raise questions as to the degree to which many refugees possessed the means, or the desire, to reconstruct their former domestic interiors. The results of this research leave us with a richer, and more complex, picture of domestic life amongst Westminster’s French immigrant community.

Previous research on the religious rituals of French Protestant refugees has focused upon their f... more Previous research on the religious rituals of French Protestant refugees has focused upon their form and context within churches and other non-domestic institutions. This is due, in part, to the availability of the surviving evidence, but also to the perception that there was a separation between the sacred and the profane in Protestant thought. More recent scholarship has challenged this view and new research has provided insights into the domestic lives of the French immigrants through their probate inventories and wills. This paper considers the role of religious rituals within French immigrant domestic settings and the importance of religious objects over and above their formal functions. Perhaps surprisingly for a religious refugee community, only a minority of these households show direct evidence of religious artefacts, and they occur less frequently in refugee inventories than in English households. The reasons for this pattern are unclear but may reflect a methodological problem that has wider implications for our understanding of religiosity in the past.

Hintermaier (2000) argues that English toleration of the Huguenot refugees depended upon a carefu... more Hintermaier (2000) argues that English toleration of the Huguenot refugees depended upon a carefully crafted public image that was created and maintained by a variety of civil and religious interest groups. Despite possessing a range of different motivations, these groups shared a common interest in presenting the French immigrants as worthy of toleration and charity. Hintermaier’s argument, however, relies almost entirely upon evidence from printed texts such as pamphlets, newspapers, and official manuscripts. Absent is a consideration of the role of material culture in the construction of popular conceptions of the refugees.
Objects were subjects of discourse within the debate over how the refugees should be received. The poverty of the refugees was frequently described in terms of their loss of material possessions, whilst the increased quality and availability of luxury goods was presented as a key benefit due to immigrant manufacturing knowledge and expertise. The beneficial or deleterious effects of luxury objects were contested, however, by groups such as English manufacturers, religious authorities and social commentators.
These debates can be seen to be linked to the multivalency of objects, and highlight the way in which artefacts can be important nodes in the association and transposition of meanings and ideas between social fields. The involvement of the Huguenot refugees in the manufacture of luxury goods, such as scientific instruments, for example, associated them with the ideas of Enlightenment thought and the rationalism of the Protestant worldview. Supporters of the refugees drew upon these meanings in their construction of the Huguenot public image, yet were also forced to deny or rationalise those that raised potentially contradictory issues. This paper, therefore, argues that in order for us to gain a fuller understanding of the ways in which publics were constructed, greater consideration needs to be given to the role of material culture.

Between the mid-sixteenth and early eighteenth centuries, tens of thousands of French Calvinist r... more Between the mid-sixteenth and early eighteenth centuries, tens of thousands of French Calvinist refugees settled in London, establishing a non-Conformist church at Threadneedle Street. In 1661 the Huguenot community was split by the establishment of a separate, and Conformist, French church at the Savoy. The new church reflected the desire by English religious authorities to curtail the independence of foreign non-Conformist churches and to standardize Christian worship within the kingdom. French Conformist congregations were required to use a translation of the Anglican liturgy, in addition to other significant changes to their religious practices.

The historical record offers conflicting accounts of the attitudes of members of the community to the Conformist/non-Conformist issue. Some appear to have been relatively unconcerned with the changes, whereas others seem to have been bitterly opposed. It would perhaps be expected that religious refugees would have been extremely resistant to modifications of their religious practices. Yet many members appear to have willingly attended Conformist services on both a regular or intermittent basis (Nishikawa 2001: 360). The reasons for this are unclear, but may reflect the existence of an ‘ethnic’ rather than a religious Huguenot identity, or perhaps indicate those refugees whose primary motivation for migration had been economic rather than religious. Gwynn (1985: 97) has argued that differences between Conformist and non-Conformist religious practices were reflected in material culture and landscape, such as in disputes concerning the use of hats and surplices in services or in the pattern of the establishment of Conformist churches.

This paper examines the degree to which Conformist/non-Conformist religious practices are visible in the material environment using both archaeological and historical evidence. It discusses how and why items of material culture became so highly contentious for some members of the community. In addition, it explores whether differences between the material culture of the Huguenot community can better be seen as reflecting other aspects of social identity such as occupation or status, rather than religious beliefs.

During the mid-sixteenth to the early-eighteenth centuries, several hundred thousand Protestant r... more During the mid-sixteenth to the early-eighteenth centuries, several hundred thousand Protestant refugees fled religious persecution in France and the Low Countries. The refugees migrated primarily to neighbouring Protestant territories where they established their own churches and communities. These churches subsequently provided a vital support network for the second wave of Protestant refugees who arrived in the late-seventeenth century following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. This Edict effectively banned Protestant worship in France. Despite the risk of imprisonment and extreme hardships, hundreds of thousands of Protestants chose to leave France rather than abjure their faith. Many of the refugees were destitute upon their arrival and relied upon the charity and support of both the French churches and the host community. The refugees were composed primarily of artisans, professionals and the nobility. They brought with them skills, techniques, and fashions that have been credited with having played an important role in the economic and cultural development of their host countries.
This paper discusses how an analysis of Huguenot material culture can help us understand their beliefs and social practices. In particular, it examines how, in their popularisation and dissemination of French culture, the Huguenot refugees contributed towards to the erosion of the very values that they were trying to uphold. Huguenot artisans involved in the production of luxury items popularised the extravagant and ornate designs created by the court of the Catholic king Louis XIV. They increased the availability and affordability of fine cloths, ornate furniture and personal adornments. In so doing, they promoted and spread the ownership of styles of material culture that were disapproved of by their faith. This can be seen to have been a cause of friction within congregations, and to have also led to disputes between different Reformed Churches. In addition, these changes in the fashions and standards of decency of the wider society resulted in the modification of understandings of decency within the refugee communities themselves. This can, perhaps, be seen as a contributory factor in explaining the relatively rapid assimilation of the refugees into their host society. In exploring these issues, this paper aims to examine the recursive nature of the inter-relationships between material culture, social practice, and identity.

“You know the kind of archaeologist who is always jumping on the latest theoretical bandwagon and... more “You know the kind of archaeologist who is always jumping on the latest theoretical bandwagon and then wonders why his work sucks? Well that’s me! That’s when I discovered Karma. Suddenly all those theories made sense!” This paper outlines the relationship between Karma, Practice Theory and archaeology. It briefly explores issues ranging from the archaeology of the Practice of Karma to the Karma of the Practice of archaeology. It suggests that the adoption of a “Karmic Archaeology” may (perhaps) offer a resolution to some of the theoretical problems currently faced by archaeologists. In so doing, this paper hopes to illustrate some of the problematic issues that can arise from attempts to incorporate radical new theories into the discipline. In addition, it highlights the difficulties archaeologists may encounter when investigating alternative ideologies using contemporary western modes of thought.

Society for Historical Archaeology, 2013

The Paleontological Society Special Publications

Post-Medieval Archaeology, 2016

Mortality, Jul 22, 2013

Post-Medieval Archaeology

Hintermaier, J.M. 2000. The First Modern Refugees? Charity, Entitlement, and Persuasion in the Huguenot Immigration of the 1680s. Albion 32(3): 429-49.

The Huguenot refugees were a group of French Protestants who were forced into exile by religious ... more The Huguenot refugees were a group of French Protestants who were forced into exile by religious persecution during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Tens of thousands of Huguenot refugees came to England and established communities within several towns, including London. Their existence is well documented in historical texts and they have often been portrayed in literary fiction and the visual arts. The migration of the Huguenots has been credited with having had a profound social and economic impact on English society. However, despite contemporary portrayals of the communities as having being distinct in terms of dress, language, lifestyle, occupation, and geographical location, attempts to identify Huguenot occupation sites in London using standard archaeological methods have been largely unsuccessful. This paper discusses the characteristics of Huguenot identity and the problems faced by archaeologists in trying to identify Huguenot material culture. In addition, this paper discusses the wider implications for how archaeologists approach the subject of identity and suggests ideas for how these issues may be addressed.

Keywords: Identity, Probate Inventories, Huguenot

The Huguenot refugees were a group of French Protestants who were forced into exile by religious ... more The Huguenot refugees were a group of French Protestants who were forced into exile by religious persecution in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Tens of thousands of Huguenot refugees came to England and established communities within several towns, including London. Their existence is well documented in historical texts and they have often been portrayed in literary fiction and the visual arts. The migration of the Huguenots has been credited with having had a profound social and economic impact on English society. However, despite contemporary portrayals of the communities as having had a distinct identity with characteristic styles of dress, language, lifestyle, occupation, and geographical location, attempts to identify the material culture of the community in London using standard archaeological methods have been largely unsuccessful. This paper discusses the characteristics of Huguenot identity and the problems faced by archaeologists in trying to identify Huguenot material culture. In addition, this paper discusses the wider implications for how archaeologists approach the subject of identity and suggests ideas for how these issues may be addressed.