A new feature in the garden this year was our rope hops walls. These large structures were created to support 12 new hops plants, which in the future will be Read More
country life
Peaches and peppers and squash… oh my!
“The gardiner is brisk at work. The Peach-Trees are much broken down with the weight of Fruit this Year.” William Penn’s steward James Harrison reported this good news in October Read More
The Country Life: It’s Harvest Time… Right?
When many people think of the harvest, they think of autumn. But another important time for gathering crops, not to be forgotten, takes place in the heat of the summer! Read More
The Country Life: Growing our Clothes
As the summer heat drags on, we turn our focus to an important crop we’ve been growing in the Kitchen Garden: flax. This reed-like plant has been used for thousands Read More
William’s World: We’re So Cheesy
We’ve recently been discussing just how important dairying was, first as a career for the idyllic milkmaids and as a country business that was transported into towns (resulting in a more convenient, but poorer Read More
William’s World: Hi-Ho the Dairy-O!
“My cow is a commonwealth to me… for she allows myself, my wife and son for to banquet ourselves withal.” ~ Food in Early Modern England A while back, we posted Read More
Confessions of a Costumier: Dressing the Laborers
About a month has passed since our 17th-Century Fashion Show, and we had such an amazing time! A HUGE thank-you goes out to our lovely volunteer models (L-R) Mike Thomforde, Read More
The Country Life: Beating the Winter Cold
Although the Penn family did not reside at Pennsbury in the dead of winter, the estate was certainly not dead; the staff worked to ensure the smooth running of Penn’s Read More
William’s World: Ode to the Springtime Milkmaid!
The Milkmaid, Jan Vermeer, 1657-8 I really don’t like to milk cows. I can’t stand to churn butter. I know this is a shocking admission from a so-called history Read More