Women of Colchester through History
Historically, women have been underrepresented in history. This is partly because of restrictions on women being able to write and share their own stories in different time period. This was also because a lot of history that was preserved was done so by men, who prioritised their own stories.
In Colchester, we know of some important women who have spent time in the town, such as Boudica or Margaret Cavendish. However, archaeology can give us an insight into the lives of some of the other women who might have spent their time here.
From Roman graffiti to medieval wall paintings, here are just some of the highlights of the women from Colchester Museums’ collection.
Sabina
The Romans loved graffiti. One of the most well-known facts about famous Roman sites, like Pompeii and Herculaneum, is that the walls were covered in engravings and artwork. The same was true in Britain, that was a province of the Roman empire from 43-410 CE.
It is not just on the walls of buildings that you find graffiti in the Roman world, but it was quite common for people to scratch their name, or sometimes other words and phrases, into their crockery.
This is a fragment from a Roman greyware dish, probably used for serving or eating food. On the outside, someone has carved the name of a Roman woman – Sabina. We know this is a woman, because the Romans had a general rule that names ending in -us were men and names ending in -a were women.
From the way it is carved, we know this was done after the dish was fired in a kiln. This suggests it was not made especially for Sabina, but rather the person who engraved it decided to mark the dish once they had bought it.
Whether this was done by Sabina herself or someone else, perhaps intending to give it to her as a gift, we can never know. However, it is a very rare instance of the recording of a woman’s name from this time, almost 2000 years ago.
A woman of international style
The Fenwick Treasure, discovered in 2017, contains the possessions of what is believed to be a man and a woman (and possibly a child) buried in the town during Boudicca’s attack. The people who owned these incredible objects were clearly unable to return and recover them, so likely died during Boudica’s sacking of Colchester.
Amongst the objects were a fascinating pair of spherical earrings made of gold. They are hollow, so relatively light on the ears, with a curved wire at the back which would have hooked around the ear giving the earrings extra support.
Earrings like this have been found across Europe and beyond, dating to roughly the same time period. Almost identical earrings were uncovered in Herculaneum, lost during the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. Several more examples have been found across the Greek islands. A portrait of a woman wearing such earrings has also been uncovered in Egypt, all dating to the middle of the 1st century, roughly 40-70 CE.
It is clear from this distribution of similar earrings, as well as the quality and style of them, that the owner of the pair found in Colchester was clearly someone deeply tied into the most popular fashion trends. Able to afford high-end products from across the Roman Empire.
The Green Lady of St Osyth
Not only is it rare to get writing about women (let alone from women) throughout much of history, it is just as rare to find depictions of women. Of all the public sculptures in the country around 20% are of women, only half of those are named women and around a third of those are Queen Victoria. This shows, artistically, there has always been a focus on women in power…and nameless nudes.
Although unnamed, the Green Lady of St Osyth is possibly a real person who lived in the area around 600 years ago. Her bright green dress, red veil with golden padded roll and jewellery suggest she was a woman of wealth and power in Medieval Essex.
The vast majority of women depicted on wall paintings are saints, with some having suggested this is an image of St Osyth herself, who the village and priory were named after. However, most saints at the time, as today, were depicted with a halo, a circle of light around their head, showing their holiness. This figure does not appear to have any of the markings of a Christian saint.
What is most likely is that this is a woman who lived in the area at the time and contributed funds to the maintenance or possibly even building of the priory. Sadly, and once again due to the lack of writings about women at this time, we know little of the women who were connected to the priory when it was in use from 1120-1537 CE.
A woman of business
The Mason family were particularly important, both in the history of Colchester as well as for the museums. Bernard Mason is perhaps most well known as the man who collected all the clocks and watches that once filled Tymperley’s museum, which was once his home. After the museum shut, the clocks were housed in Hollytrees Museum and the museum stores. Conrad Mason, his brother, recorded the horrifying experiences of life on the frontline in the First World War, sadly being killed in combat in 1917.
However, it was their mother Bertha Betsey Mason, whose story until recently was much less known, who had a prominent role across Colchester in the early 1900s. She ran the company E.N. Mason & Sons, named after her husband, which specialised in printing. It was one of the first businesses to develop an early photocopier, under the broader Arclight Works brand.
She was clearly an important person about town as invites to many of the social events she was invited to are kept in the museum stores. She would regularly be invited to unveilings and openings, as well as the Oyster Feast of 1932. She was especially praised for her contributions to the town as a Colchester businesswoman, being one of the major employers throughout the early 1900s.
