Hi and Welcome to Hidden Within These Walls! I’m Ruth Karan, the writer and historian behind this newsletter or research journal, an independent historian, and avid explorer of artefacts. Not only is this research about recovering historical objects, it is also about recovering stories from our past, from people and the clothing they held dear, but also their emotional, spiritual, and physical realities.
I am based in the UK, studying deliberately concealed garments that have been found in historical buildings through a historical perspective that utilises both the history of emotions and dress history. But…
What are Deliberately Concealed Garments?
These are pieces of clothing – anything from a hat to a shoe, a bodice to a pocket – that have been found deliberately concealed within the walls, floors, or fireplaces of a historical building. The practice of concealing objects in the foundations and walls of houses has been around for a long time, and so with every object that has been discovered, there comes along with it a rich emotional history of the possession and its possessor, the house they both inhabited, and the greater world of spirits and demons beyond that threatened both life and harmony. Not only have deliberately concealed garments been used as an example of folklore and ritual, but also of supernatural beliefs, magic, and the boundaries of belief in popular religion. But these garments can also be used as evidence for emotional lives, ones that concealed these objects for safekeeping and in memoriam, that interacted with the body physically and spiritually, within this life and the next. There is a wealth of knowledge and understanding to be uncovered just from the fold of a fabric and a well-intentioned stitch; knowledge that abounds between realms of the body and the spirit. And there are people too, their stories and emotional experiences of the world both in life and in death.
So, What is Hidden Within These Walls?
It is a newsletter documenting my research into deliberately concealed garments. Think of it as my own personal research journal or diary that you, as a subscriber, have access to and can follow along in its progress. And this is very much a journey! A journey that will take us all through history, to the real physical places where these garments have been found (and are currently being held), and it will be a journey in writing exploring my own experiences and interactions with this more unheard-of corner of history.
Here you will find essays, travel entries, object biographies providing a deep dive into the history of each object, resources and links for you to follow along my journey as well, reviews, and much more. The world of deliberately concealed garments is a minefield of subjects following folklore, magic, and ritual; the history of dress and the body; emotions and emotional objects; as well as physical spaces and architecture. Follow along to reveal a bit more of what has been hidden in our history’s past…and perhaps these walls too.
How does Subscribing work?
To start, there will be plenty of content for you to read and peruse for free, including detailed introductions to the topic I’m researching and a glossary of terms and definitions for quick, easy reading. You can subscribe to my newsletter for weekly or fortnightly updates of my research so far! For now, this is free, and then at some point in the future this will include a subscription fee.
Paying a subscription fee, from as little as £5 a month, you can have access to all the content I post in real time, including the journey’s I take to museums and resource centres where these objects are held, and the houses they were discovered in, my essays, and tips I offer for writing and researching. There will also be Q&As and future podcast episodes discussing various topics that I discuss in my posts, detailed lists of publications and resources for further reading, and subscribers will even be able to read through my MA Dissertation that begun this whole research journey!
How this will work:
Free content is what I’m offering right now! As this newsletter expands, you will be able to access more through a paid subscription.
Paid subscribers can either pay £5 a month or a £50 annual fee for access to all past, present, and future content.
There is also the option to pay more in support of my research and this newsletter! If that’s the case, then you will receive some welcome gifts and your questions and discussion points will be featured in my podcast episodes and Q&As.
Want to know more about the face behind the name?
Hi everyone! I’m Ruth Karan, the independent historian behind the keyboard, writing this research journal and the other creative projects that fill my time. I have always considered myself a writer since I was a child, and at times this title of writer has taken many different coats. I graduated with an MA in Art History: Dress and Textile Histories from the University of Glasgow and I’ve been conducting my own research ever since. Writing is my game though and the ability to tell stories for other people to read has always been at the heart of my research. What else would be better then for people to come along for the ride? Of course, this research will one day add up to a book – non-fiction of course – that will focus on the stories behind these objects and the people who may have once possessed them.
Whilst I love writing academically, I also love writing creatively, from poems to stories and even fairy tales. Writing is just in my blood and I have found that reading is one of our first experiences of the world beyond our home and family as we grow. There is lots for us to learn out there about ourselves and the universe, and so I hope that what you read here will show you just a little more of the world and its ever intriguing past for you to learn from.
To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.
