Oxburgh Hall's Roof Project

We had previously discovered tiny pieces of a book called the King’s Psalms in one of the old rats’ nests at Oxburgh. Just when we thought we’d come to the end of possible hiding places for finds, today the builders discovered the entire book in a void in the attics! Dating to 1568, the book itself is in amazing condition and most of the text is almost perfectly preserved, with extremely high-quality gilded leather binding. The only other copy known to exist is in the British Library. The Kynges Psalmes was originally written by John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, in the 1st half of the 16th century and first published in England c.1544. Fisher was executed by Henry VIII for refusing to accept him as the supreme head of the Church of England and is honoured as a martyr and a saint by the Catholic church. Interestingly, this edition was translated into English from Fisher’s Latin by none other than Katherine Parr, who tweaked the emphasis of some of the text (perhaps in collaboration with her husband) in order to emphasise Henry VIII’s religious authority, obedience to God, and military prowess. The English version of The King’s Psalms, which we have at Oxburgh, was therefore highly regarded by Protestants. What does this mean in the context of Oxburgh? More work is needed to try and find out!

Great strides have been taken to cover Oxburgh almost entirely in scaffolding and sheeting. This material will act as a temporary roof and protect the building from the elements as we remove roof tiles, exposing the attics for the first time in hundreds of years. The sheeting stretches across the gatehouse, and the north, east and west ranges.

Contained within a large rats’ nest are hundreds of pieces of textile fragments. On closer inspection, the pieces look to be high-status silks, satins, velvets, linens, decorative embroidery, ribbon and leather, all dating to the late 16th and early 17th centuries. We think the fragments were offcuts from larger pieces of material, or possibly remnants from repairs, suggesting that this part of the house may once have been used by a seamstress. One of the largest pieces is browny-gold slashed silk, with each of the slashes revealing gold thread. Slashing was very popular for men’s clothing during the 16th century and was used for doublets, jackets and sleeves. It was placed over a textile of a contrasting colour which would be revealed through the slashes. We have the rats to thank for the remarkable condition of these textiles; begin kept below the floorboards for hundreds of years has prevented them from decaying and has allowed us to find out so much more about life at Oxburgh Hall.