The Cultural Heritage of the Huguenots
Morning Lecture
15 May 2024
An English Family atTea, by Joseph van Aken c. 1730
The Huguenots (French-speaking Calvinists) came to England in huge numbers in the late 17th century, escaping persecution in Catholic France. They were welcome, as Protestants, but also because they brought with them a wide range of skills in many fields - as silk weavers, silversmiths, clock and watch makers, opticians, bankers, gilders, ironworkers, horticulturalists, etc. Names such as de Lamerie, Courtauld, Tijou, Dolland, Jourdain and Bosanquet spring to mind. In virtually all areas, the Huguenots were innovators and way ahead of the English.
Their influence was profound and English craftsmen and merchants were forced to adopt new practices and improve their own skills or go out of business.
Although the majority of Huguenots settled in London, others found their way to East Anglia, Devon, Canterbury and Scotland.
This talk examines the influence and lasting impact that this extraordinary group of immigrants had on this country's technical skills, design, the sciences, horticulture, banking and even on social display and ceremony.
Originally in academic art and design publishing (Phaidon and Yale University Press), Sue Jackson is a History graduate with a background in both history and art history. She lectures for The Arts Society and the National Trust, among others. She is a Fellow of the Huguenot Society of Great Britain, a Freeman of the City of London and a tutor at the City Literary Institute. She has published work on the lost world of the River Fleet.
Also a qualified Blue Badge Guide, Sue gives guided walks on various themes and in particular specialises in guided walks around Spitalfields - about the Huguenot silk weavers, but also as a focus of immigrant settlers - the Jews, Irish and Bangladeshi. She also leads tours of London's most important museums and art galleries, such as The National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, both Tate Britain and Tate Modern, the Courtauld Institute, the Wallace Collection and Dulwich Picture Gallery.
Sue Jackson