Sleeping Well

In the last instalment of our winter blog mini-series, Anna looks at various early modern recipes which included the spices we now associate with Christmas and which have known sleep benefits. She also details some of the teas we have been creating with visitors. Our...

In the second instalment of our winter blog mini-series, Anna details our experiments at Ordsall Hall with sugar and roses, both sleepy ingredients. Sugar was important at this time of year – in autumn and winter – as it allowed other sleepy ingredients to be...

At the start of September adult visitors to Ordsall Hall took part in a preserving workshop as part of our ongoing Sleeping Well project. Led by project officer, Dr Anna Fielding, groups of participants helped process produce from the Ordsall garden and orchard....

By Leah Astbury. Amidst the swirling panic about a surge in bedbug infestations in France and the UK, and the various articles instructing worried travellers on how to prevent or get rid of the insects, have you ever wondered how people dealt with these pesty critters...

By Holly Fletcher.  Light is one of the most important external factors to affect sleep. It is known to regulate the body’s circadian rhythm, the internal clock which tells us when to be alert and when to rest, and to affect the production of the sleep-promoting...

In March 2023, Leah Astbury, Holly Fletcher and Lucy Elliott travelled to the USA for the project. While there they visited a range of archives and museums, hunting down materials relating to sleep. They also attended two major conferences, The Renaissance Society of...

Since my last blog post, I have been working hard at Ordsall Hall on a series of workshops aimed at general visitors, adult learners, and school children. These all explore the connections between sleep practices, health, climate, and landscape in the past and today....

In celebration of World Sleep Day, we’re reflecting on the progress of our research project Sleeping Well in the Early Modern World, and some of the exciting sleep-based activities happening with our partner Ordsall Hall. We are also excited to announce the launch of...

Every January, Ordsall Hall celebrates Twelfth Night with the blessing of the apple trees in the orchard. This date would have been 5th January before the English calendar changed in 1752. At Christmas it was traditional to celebrate festivities with wassail, a spiced...

On Monday 31st October the Sleeping Well in the Early Modern World team from the University of Manchester met visitors in the bedchamber at Ordsall Hall to discuss the history of Halloween and how night-time fears affected sleep at this scary time of year. Visitors of...