Greensleeves Conference and Exhibition

An access code for discounted member tickets was emailed on 4 September, 2025.

The Greensleeves Project is an interdisciplinary collaboration headed by Tamsin Lewis FSA. Tamsin was given a grant by the Society of Antiquaries to reconstruct the clothes described in the famous Elizabethan ballad. The earliest surviving text of Greensleeves dates from 1584 and contains eighteen verses, written in a somewhat stalker-like fashion, by a man who showers his would-be beloved with gifts, including many clothes. Put together, these gifts provide us with a rich resource of information on clothing, fabrics, embroidery, and other aspects of material culture. The reconstructed items of dress were made by a team of team of established historians and practitioners including Ninya Mikhaila, Sally Pointer, Constance McKenzie and Sarah Thursfield, each taking responsibility for one or two items.

The conference will be held on 22 November 2025 at Athelhampton House, a beautiful 16th century manor house in Dorset which was also the location for filming of the project. Papers will be presented by Tamsin and many of the makers and the reconstructed garments will be displayed in an exhibition. The presentations and exhibition will be professionally filmed and made available to ticketholders following the event via a private YouTube link.

Full schedule and link for in-person tickets available here: https://www.medats.org.uk/events/greensleeves/

A full refund will be given if a cancellation is made 30 days or more before the event. Refunds for cancellations made at shorter notice will be given on a discretionary basis dependent on whether the ticket can be resold or not. The final decision will be made by the treasurer.

Image © Bernadette Banner