Tag Archives: Herbal healers

‘Gyrde thys mesure a bowte hyr wombe’: Magical Midwives & Birth Protection

I went to the Wellcome Collection in London last week to visit a very important exhibition they have on at the moment.

‘Expecting: Birth, Belief and Protection’ is currently on display and will be there for you to see until 19 April 2026.

This new exhibition explores the protective practices and beliefs around pregnancy, childbirth, and infertility that existed in mediaeval times and continue through to today. However, my interest in going was to see the star of the show—an actual surviving mediaeval pregnancy protection scroll.

Continue reading ‘Gyrde thys mesure a bowte hyr wombe’: Magical Midwives & Birth Protection

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’

*** 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’