Discover the Huguenots of Spitalfields during October 2018

October is Huguenot Month and we’re delighted to promote this with Huguenots of Spitalfields who are holding a month of events to celebrate Huguenot history and enable people to discover more about these unique and talented people.

Huguenots were French Protestant refugees who fled persecution during the 16th to 18th centuries, many of whom settled in London. They contributed their skills to many fields, including silk weaving, furniture design,  spinning and dyeing, silversmithing, clock making and jewellery.

Highlights include:

A Georgian-style ‘Back in time for Dinner’. This talk will take a tour of a Georgian kitchen and dining table to describe the food on the table and explore the complex network of trade, commerce and cultural influences behind it.

Visit a rare and beautiful 18th Century silk weaver’s house.

Explore a Georgian home  ‘from garret to kitchen’; learn about those who lived and worked in the kitchen, parlour, bedchamber and garret.

Take a step back in time to the 1700s. Visit the unique and atmospheric ‘still-life drama’ of  Dennis Severs’ House at 18 Folgate Street.

A talk about Queen Anne’s dazzling candlelit birthday ball at St James’s Palace, when the Queen’s Maids of Honour danced with courtiers in the fashionable dances imported from France. This talk looks at what they wore and how they learned the dances – many of which have survived from the 18th century to today.

Listen to Georgian organ music in the stunningly beautiful Christ Church Spitalfields, designed by Hawksmoor.

Hear Dan Cruickshank talk about Queen Mary II’s cultural patronage of the arts.

Huguenots of Spitalfields is a registered charity promoting public understanding of the Huguenot heritage and culture in Spitalfields, the City of London and beyond.

We arrange tours, talks, events and schools programmes to raise the Huguenot profile in Spitalfields.