Hello, and welcome to Blackthorn & Stone…

I’m Dr Romany Reagan; research fellow, historian, storyteller, audio artist, and creator of alternative pieces of public engagement for museums and heritage sites. Blackthorn & Stone is my website where I keep intriguing tidbits and eclectic findings from my wide-rambling research journey into the folklore, legends, myths, and lost histories of the British Isles.

My fascination with site-based folklore and legends — and particularly strange stories hidden in seemingly common spaces — began with my explorations into the otherworldly aspects of the North London community of Stoke Newington, which I researched for my PhD thesis on the layered heritage of Abney Park cemetery. Alongside the research that I write up into articles for this blog, I also use audio walks as a way to share my research findings with anyone who likes to listen to stories on a ramble. The walks are pieces of easily accessible public engagement created for various festivals, museums, and heritage sites throughout London. Some of these walks are historical, some of them are fanciful sonic immersive experiences. The full collection these walks is available on my Audio Walks page.

The most in-depth audio installation that’s available to the public is my Arts Council England funded project ‘Women’s Weeds: The hidden history of women in medicine’ at the Museum of the Home in London. Women’s Weeds is a series of 26 audio tracks created to be listened to while walking through the museum’s Gardens Through Time. The journey begins in the mediaeval era in the Herb Garden, wending its way through the 16th-century Knot Garden, 17th- and 18th-century Kitchen Garden, and ending with the 19th and early 20th-century Victorian and Edwardian Cottage Garden. Women’s Weeds launched in 2023 and is now in its third year as part of the museum’s permanent collection. If going to London and visiting the museum in person isn’t an option for you, you can also listen to all the tracks online — for free — from anywhere in the world as podcasts. If you have a local park or woodland near you, you can access my Women’s Weeds SoundCloud page on any smart device and listen to the lost stories of women in medicine as you walk through your own favourite nature spot.

My main research passion is uncovering hidden feminist stories, however I have an insatiable curiosity for all lost and hidden histories. This blog is a collection of these other hidden tales that I enjoy uncovering and sharing. I welcome you to join me as we journey into our shared past of oral histories, standing stones, grey ladies, and forgotten rituals…

…in the land of Blackthorn & Stone.