During November and December 2025, the Page of Plymouth project offered a unique, hands-on chance to delve into the archives at The Box for a glimpse of 16th Century life with two free public workshops that took place in the Cottonian Research Room.
Professional archivist Victoria Northwood introduced participants to the world of archives: what survives and how it’s cared for, whose stories we can find, whose are missing – and why. There were chances to see at close hand some of the oldest documents held at The Box, including the Black Book, and historical records featuring mentions of Katherine of Aragon, the 1549 Western Rising and of course Eulalia Page, the key figure in the Page of Plymouth story.
Here’s a selection of images from the workshops.
Archival Workshop 1
A glimpse of 16th century life through Plymouth’s archives, held at The Box. Professional archivist Victoria Northwood gave us an introduction to archives, outlining some of the challenges of investigating the Elizabethan period, what survives and how it’s cared for, and whose stories what survives and how it’s cared for, whose stories we can find, whose are missing – and why.
This was a chance to get up close to some of the oldest documents in Plymouth, including the Black Book and a charter signed by Mary I.
Archival Workshop 2
Victoria Northwood’s second workshop took us closer to the Page of Plymouth story itself. Looking for traces of the people involved in the real-life events that the lost play Page of Plymouth was based on.
Turning a page of the parish register for St Andrew’s Plymouth, we found the names of murder victim and murderer entred on the same page, one in the column of burials, the other in the column of marriages. It was an extraordinary moment.
Read more about the archive search in Victoria’s blog Eulalia in the Archives.
