Tudor Jewels at Harvington Hall

Specialising in watches, fine jewellery and designer accessories, Fellows is one of the UK’s leading auction houses. Fellows was founded in Birmingham in 1876. A sixth-generation family-run firm of auctioneers, Fellows have been providing specialist valuations for over 140 years. With locations in Birmingham's historic Jewellery Quarter and London’s Mayfair, Fellows also hosts events for its customers and friends, including private viewings, tours and lectures series.

Harvington Hall is a stunning Elizabethan Manor House with history that can be traced back to the 13th-century. The Hall is now only half its original size due to two wings being demolished c1700. Known as The House of Secrets, Harvington has a rich and fascinating history for visitors to discover.

During the Elizabethan period, Catholics were subjected to intense prosecution. From 1585 it was illegal for a Catholic priest to step foot in England. Local justices of the peace formed priest hunts who were able to obtain warrants to search homes for fugitive Catholic priests. Humphrey Pakington, the then owner, equipped Harvington with impressive priest holes. The full story of the construction of these priest holes is not known but some of them are attributed to the master carpenter Nicholas Owen.  Visitors can see these hides and get an idea of what it was like for these priests during the sixteenth century.

In more modern times, the hall was sold to a Catholic lady named Mrs Ellen Ryan Ferris. Ferris purchased the Hall in 1923 and gifted it to the Archdiocese of Birmingham, who still own the hall today.

Dr. Nicola Tallis has a first class BA (Hons) in History from Bath Spa University, and an MA in Public History from Royal Holloway College, University of London. She received her doctorate in 2019 from the University of Winchester.
Nicola has been passionate about English history all of her life, and has worked as a curator, lecturer, and historical researcher. She is the author of three books: Crown of Blood (2016) is the result of five years of research on the Grey family, Elizabeth’s Rival (2017), and Uncrowned Queen (2019), a biography of Lady Margaret Beaufort.

Nicola’s doctorate examined the jewellery collections of the queens of England from 1445-1548.

Soprano Jay Britton created The Tudor Songbook to combine her professional singing career with her knowledge and passion of Tudor History. Jay began her operatic training at the age of 18 being awarded an honours degree at the Royal Academy of Music and masters at the Royal College of Music where she was awarded a scholarship for her second year’s study.

Solo oratorio engagements include Handel Messiah, Handel Samson, Haydn Nelson Mass, The Creation and Little organ Mass. Vivaldi Gloria, Poulenc Gloria, Pergolesi Stabat Mater, Brahms Requiem, Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, Mozart’s Requiem, Mass in C Minor and Solemn Vespers, Orf’s Carmina Burana, Faure Requiem, Durufle Requiem, Rutter Requiem, Dvorak Stabat Mater, Bach Magnificat, St Matthew Passion, St John Passion, B Minor Mass, Dvorak Mass in D, Bach Coffee Cantata, Bach Jauchzet Gott, Mendelssohn Elijah, and many more in prestigious venues at home and overseas including Westminster Abbey, the Royal Albert Hall and Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome and St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York.

Operatic roles include Pamina (Die Zaubeflote) Guildford Opera, Michaela (Carmen) for Brent opera, Ann (The Rake’s Progress) for the RCM, Mrs Grose (The Turn of the Screw) for RAM.