Category Archives: Feminism

Feminism, London, Medicine, Museums, witches

‘The Coming of Age’ Exhibition at the Wellcome Collection in London

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I recently visited the ‘The Coming of Age’ exhibition, currently on at the Wellcome Collection through November 29th 2026. The main takeaway, for me, from this thought-provoking installation is that we need to rethink what aging means in a society that is living and working and thriving well into what were previously considered ‘elder’ and ‘fading’ years.

With people choosing to have fewer children – and those they do have later in life (ahem!) – it means that people who are now considered ‘old’ we will be a greater percentage of our population than ever before. And this percentage is only set to increase as time goes by.

However, if older people are living well and happy and feeling productive, then what is ‘old’ anyway? And older than whom? Youth-centric culture that idolises your 20s and throws women away after you’re 40 makes less and less sense when ‘youth’ are in the minority and the vast majority of our lives is spent in the increasingly inaccurate demographic label of ‘old’.

Do some morning pilates for your joints, pack your reading glasses, and sashay your elderly self down to check it out!

Here are some of my favourite highlights from the exhibition.

Continue reading ‘The Coming of Age’ Exhibition at the Wellcome Collection in London →
Feminism, London, Museums, Romany Reagan, Talk

Live talk at Sutton House in London for Hackney History Festival, Sunday 10th May 2026, 10am: ‘A Quiet Roar: Untold Stories of the Women of Sutton House’

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*** Tickets only £3! Book here!! ***

History is most often recorded as a long list of men and their deeds, with only passing mention of their wives. However, within the history of Sutton House, we have the opportunity to uncover a different story. The house has been a residence for over 500 years; tallying up the records, we find that women held a controlling interest in the property for more than half of its history. This means that the main narrative of Sutton House is actually not the story of men and their wives — it’s the story of women and their goals.

Ursula Machell snuck in the backdoor of her own house to hold it against her husband’s creditors in 1598. Sarah Freedman founded a girls school in 1657, which she ran on her own for 43 years. Eliza Temple founded her girls school in 1837, and later stood up to be counted for women’s suffrage — 62 years before women would finally win the vote. Mehetabel Ball sold and developed the land around Sutton House in 1865 to create the footprint of Hackney that we know today, naming both Mehetabel Road and Isabella Road after her daughters.

Poring through the archives and research notes currently held in the collection, it became clear that there have been many strong women who have called the oldest building in Hackney home, they just haven’t had their time in the spotlight. Until now.

Animal Lore, Feminism, Folklore, Halloween, Nature, Podcast, Romany Reagan, witches

Podcast: ‘Back When’ & ‘Wild Tales’ by National Trust, Halloween Special | Witches’ Familiars

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🎧 Spooky podcast now live! 🎧 I was invited on the @nationaltrust ‘Back When’ history podcast &’Wild Tales’ @wildtalesnt podcast to discuss witches’ familiars and share some of the darker stories of loving pets in the past… 🐈‍⬛🧙🏻‍♀️💜

🕯️🧹 Halloween Special | Witches Familiars 🧹🕯️

Is your cat the devil in disguise? Probably not, although they may act like something possessed sometimes! But once upon a time, friendliness towards cats, rabbits or dogs could lead to accusations of witchcraft, as these animals, known as familiars, were suspected of working for the devil. Learn the history of familiars through the story of Elizabeth Clarke, a poor disabled woman from Essex accused of being seen with these supernatural beings.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/virtual-visit/podcasts/back-when-history-podcast

Feminism, ghosts, London, Romany Reagan, spiritualism, Talk

Live talk at the Bank of England Museum in London, Tuesday 11th November 2025, 12:30pm: ‘A (Séance) Room of One’s Own: The socially subversive origins of British Spiritualism’

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*** This talk is • FREE! • But booking is essential. Reserve your ticket here ***

What comes to mind when you envision a séance? Do you see the atmospheric drama of a Victorian drawing room, hands clasped in the flickering candlelight? Or perhaps giggling teenagers nervously trying out a Ouija board? What probably doesn’t come to mind are UCL professors conducting scientific experiments, or activists fighting for the rights of women and the working class. 

Continue reading Live talk at the Bank of England Museum in London, Tuesday 11th November 2025, 12:30pm: ‘A (Séance) Room of One’s Own: The socially subversive origins of British Spiritualism’ →
Botany, Feminism, Folk Healers, Folklore, London, Medicine, Museum of the Home, Nature, Romany Reagan, Talk, Women's Weeds ACE Funded Research Project

Live talk at the Museum of the Home in London, Thursday 12th June 2025, 6:30pm: ‘Ancient Herbal Remedies & Fertility Management — The Secrets of Mediaeval & Early Modern Midwives’

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*** Buy tickets here!!! ***

Join Dr Romany Reagan and Kerry Lemon for an exclusive after-hours event at the Museum of the Home, followed by a group walk to Ruup & Form for an intimate viewing of SIMPLING led by the artist. We’ll begin in the herb gardens at the Museum of the Home, where there will be a wine reception and access to explore the Gardens Through Time after hours. Then Romany will give a talk exploring the roots of women-led fertility management through the lens of herbal history. We’ll uncover the often-overlooked practices of mediaeval and early modern healers — women who passed down their knowledge orally, from mother to daughter, from midwife to apprentice. Their methods of community care were rarely recorded in written form, so uncovering these methods of reproductive control are their most secret knowledge of all.

Continue reading Live talk at the Museum of the Home in London, Thursday 12th June 2025, 6:30pm: ‘Ancient Herbal Remedies & Fertility Management — The Secrets of Mediaeval & Early Modern Midwives’ →
Feminism, London, Museums, Romany Reagan, Talk

Live talk at Sutton House in London, Friday March 8th 7pm 2024 for International Women’s Day: ‘A Quiet Roar — Untold stories of the Women of Sutton House’

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*** Buy tickets here!!! ***

Ticket price includes lecture entry, pop-up exhibition, and wine reception.

This International Women’s Day, join us for an evening lecture with resident research fellow Dr Romany Reagan where she’ll share her discoveries of how the women of Sutton House fit into the nation’s history! Times: 6.30pm entry, Talk 7-8pm

History is most often recorded as a long list of men and their deeds, with only passing mention of their wives. However, within the history of Sutton House, we have the opportunity to uncover a different story. The house has been a residence for over 500 years; tallying up the records, we find that women held a controlling interest in the property for more than half of its history. This means that the main narrative of Sutton House is actually not the story of men and their wives — it’s the story of women and their goals.

Continue reading Live talk at Sutton House in London, Friday March 8th 7pm 2024 for International Women’s Day: ‘A Quiet Roar — Untold stories of the Women of Sutton House’ →
Feminism, Folk Healers, London, Museum of the Home, Nature, Romany Reagan, Talk, Women's Weeds ACE Funded Research Project

Live talk at the Museum of the Home in London Sat 30th Sept: Herbal Remedies, Folk Medicine & Kitchen Physick: The Secrets of Mediaeval Women Healers 

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***Buy tickets here!***

Do you have mint tea in your cupboard? Grow rosemary in your garden? Or perhaps eat ginger when you have an upset stomach?

Then your home is a living museum, continuing the traditions that women have practised for hundreds of years for health and healing. This wisdom comes from the time when food was medicine, the kitchen was the apothecary, and healing was women’s domain.

Marking the close of the audio installation Women’s Weeds by Dr. Romany Reagan, you are invited to join us for a talk exploring the role of women in healing during the late mediaeval and early modern eras (15th to 17th centuries).

Herbal Remedies, Folk Medicine & Kitchen Physick: The Secrets of Mediaeval Women Healers will uncover how women shared healing practices in a sisterhood of secret knowledge that was handed down through generations.

This event marks the closure of Women’s Weeds. You can listen now to the audio installation in our gardens, or on Bloomberg Connects.

Feminism, Folk Healers, Museum of the Home, Pandemic, Women's Weeds ACE Funded Research Project

Hidden history of women healers in the eradication of smallpox

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When we think of the eradication of the smallpox disease today, we think of the groundbreaking vaccine developed by Dr Jenner — but where did the original knowledge of smallpox inoculation (the knowledge on which the eventual vaccine was based) come from? We actually owe our thanks to the ancient practices kept alive by women healers in Greece, Turkey, China, India, and Africa. Basically, everywhere in the world *except* Western Europe…

Botany, Feminism, Folk Healers, Medicine, Museum of the Home, Romany Reagan, Video, Women's Weeds ACE Funded Research Project

What does the English Civil War have to do with feminist medicine?

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In this video, I explain how the chaos of the English Civil War led to relaxed print censorship, increased literacy, and a boom time for female-focused medical books — the origin of the printed family herbal book. 

Feminism, Museum of the Home, Video, witches, Women's Weeds ACE Funded Research Project

Why is the stereotypical image we have of a witch always a woman?

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In this short history, I pinpoint the exact year in mediaeval Europe when the idea of the inherent character of the Satanic witch as female began — and also explain how the blame for this misogynist bull really comes down to just a few travelling preachers.