1 New Year, new life ... in the past

I've been clearing out my old office and beginning again. Welcome to my Substack, a weekly update on my adventures as a historian-at-large.

Hello! My work as a historian takes me to some old and beautiful places, and into some surprising parts of the past. Subscribing means that you can come along too for the ride!

2025 is a bit of a turning point in my life. After 21 years as Chief Curator at the charity Historic Royal Palaces in London, I’ve finally cleared out my office at Hampton Court (below) to begin new adventures.

Oh, how I regret that lovely office! The best office in the world! It was in a part of the palace originally built as the nursery for the baby Edward VI, Henry VIII long-awaited male heir. Then it burnt down in the nineteenth century and had to be repaired - hence the Victoria and Albert fireplace upon which I stood my dinosaur.*

I’ve now brought home all my special things, and need to find them a new place to live. I’ve been very sad. But as I need to keep telling myself: change is a wonderful opportunity for Personal Growth. (Isn’t it?)

*Dinosaur. What do you mean you don’t have one in your office? Mine was a gift from my brother.

Warming Pan. In my job, I often find myself having to explain that a warming pan is. It’s like a metal hot water bottle, containing hot coals, that you stick between the sheets. Have you heard of the Warming Pan Scandal? When Catholic James II’s wife gave birth to a Catholic male heir, his Protestant enemies said the baby had died, and that a substitute/imposter had been slipped into his wife’s bed in the warming pan. It was a very powerful seventeenth century conspiracy theory. But look at it. Could you actually fit a baby into a warming pan? I think not.

This gnome! He has appeared in the background of every single history documentary I’ve ever made in my office. Watch carefully, and you’ll always be able to spot him.

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So what’s going to be happening that you might like to hear about? I’m going to be writing more books (oh yes). From February we’ll be back int the studio making our LadyKillers podcast, something I love doing, and from April I’ll be out and about making a super-exciting new series for BBC Two.

In my life, every day’s a school day, and the reason I like my job so much is because I’m endlessly learning new things about the past. This is what I want to share with you!

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Whichever way you go: thank you, most sincerely, for reading!

Hampton Court is the best office in the world - but it does have one major drawback. It’s also the coldest office in the world! No central heating. I won’t miss that part. Bye till next time.

Lucy x

What would you like to read about in my second post? Please let me know in the comments…