Oh Matt, making a connection between Jane Austen’s Henry Tilney and Hilary Mantel’s mention of Tilney Abbey is absolutely amazingly brilliant. Austen’s Friars! Professors in the US have gotten tenure for less! Thank you SO much for all the hard work that has gone into these posts. I LOVE them. I think our dearest Queen Hilary must be smiling at you too.
Oh cripes... sorry Vanessa... I meant to put a link to the maps at the bottom of the article, as they were very useful in positioning some of the buildings. I'll add it in now.
Tilty is a good theory. If so, it may even be a 'deliberate error' by Mantel, as I believe that a few of the abbey names were mis-transcribed in the records.
This is amazing. Thank you. Now fantasising about a whole afternoon of the Christmas break to pore over these. And Dickens! I did not know… How do you do it?!
Thanks Bridget. Yes, I did see the Norfolk locations while trying to track it down, but hadn't spotted any abbey connection. From that British History page, it sounds like there was a local abbey, albeit going under a different name. I think this has to be the leading contender. Thank you!
Hi Matt, what a great article. I was peeked by your habit of mapping the drama as I tend to do to keep characters and places in context. I have not yet encountered Wolf Hall but now intend to as soon as I'm out of my current jungle of madness.
Thanks Clive! And good to meet a fellow literary mapper.
The books are very special (two of them won the Booker Prize) but they can be a bit of an 'acquired taste' at first as you get used to the style and density. Once there, though, you'll be hooked.
I can't thank you enough. Throughout this year, different readers have drawn out different aspects of the story. Someone was looking at food, another at the role of stitchwork and cloth. I kept count of the ghosts, obviously!
A cartography of Cromwell is such an amazing addition, giving us a whole new way of seeing Cromwell's world.
Thanks for plugging Wolf Crawl. Everyone's welcome to join. Our journey from Putney cobbles to Tower Hill begins 1 Jan. Weekly posts and podcasts, revised and updated with new illustrations, music, documents from the archives ... and now maps!
Thank you so much for all the work and passion you've put into these extraordinary maps. There's something truly emotional, for me at least, in a visual representation of the alleyways, mansions, taverns and churches known to Cromwell especially those that exist still. History is like flaky pastry, the layers fragile and flaking away.
Re family trees; In long novels I'm always thankful if one is included. A 100 years of solitude comes to mind. Ditto Mantel's extraordinary trilogy.
Thanks Cheryl! When I make these maps, I have no idea if others will find them interesting or useful, so it's always lovely to hear that they're valued.
I agree about family trees... though I also love piecing them together myself, so tend to ignore the ones included by the publisher!
Such a fascinating endeavour Matt! And I love how you’ve mapped only the locations mentioned in the books: otherwise it wouldn’t show so clearly the world of Wolf Hall. It’s interesting to me how focused the narrative is on London north of the river, reflecting the world Cromwell lived in. And yet how connected he was - even if he didn’t personally travel - to the wider English & European landscape. Thanks for sharing!
Oh Matt, making a connection between Jane Austen’s Henry Tilney and Hilary Mantel’s mention of Tilney Abbey is absolutely amazingly brilliant. Austen’s Friars! Professors in the US have gotten tenure for less! Thank you SO much for all the hard work that has gone into these posts. I LOVE them. I think our dearest Queen Hilary must be smiling at you too.
Oh that’s such a lovely comment, thank you Linda.
Oh wow! This is amazing! 👏👏👏
Your maps are extraordinary! I love to study them, and always learn so much from them
Thanks Heather!
Great stuff, Matt!
Readers may also like the Map of Tudor London c. 1520: https://www.historictownstrust.uk/maps/tudor-london and also on https://www.layersoflondon.org/map/overlays/tudor-map-1520. It isn’t the London of the novels, but it’s the city Cromwell grew up in, and it underlies the changed and changing London of the 1530s when most of Wolf Hall takes place.
I wonder if Tilney Abbey ought to be Tilty Abbey, in Essex? https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol2/pp134-136
Oh cripes... sorry Vanessa... I meant to put a link to the maps at the bottom of the article, as they were very useful in positioning some of the buildings. I'll add it in now.
Tilty is a good theory. If so, it may even be a 'deliberate error' by Mantel, as I believe that a few of the abbey names were mis-transcribed in the records.
This is great! I might have to do another read just to use your maps. Thanks for sharing!
that is just brilliant. thank you so much!
Matt, echo all of the above. An awesome piece of work. Love the Tilney theory..
So excited for this before my first trip to London in 2025!!!!
Thank you for this. So interesting! Being able to visualise locations relative to each other is so helpful.
Thanks June!
Yes!
This is amazing. Thank you. Now fantasising about a whole afternoon of the Christmas break to pore over these. And Dickens! I did not know… How do you do it?!
Haha, thanks Rachel. Acute insomnia is my superpower.
Wow, 🤩 that’s impressive!! And also, thanks for the link to Simon Haisell’s Stack
Is Tilney Abbey maybe anything to do with Tilney and the Tilney family in this article? 👇
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-hist-norfolk/vol9/pp72-84
(There are also a lot of places names with Tilney in them in Kings Lynn and some around Basildon/Dagenham/Buckhurst Hill)
Thanks Bridget. Yes, I did see the Norfolk locations while trying to track it down, but hadn't spotted any abbey connection. From that British History page, it sounds like there was a local abbey, albeit going under a different name. I think this has to be the leading contender. Thank you!
Hi Matt, what a great article. I was peeked by your habit of mapping the drama as I tend to do to keep characters and places in context. I have not yet encountered Wolf Hall but now intend to as soon as I'm out of my current jungle of madness.
Thanks Clive! And good to meet a fellow literary mapper.
The books are very special (two of them won the Booker Prize) but they can be a bit of an 'acquired taste' at first as you get used to the style and density. Once there, though, you'll be hooked.
What an extraordinary thing you have done, Matt!
I can't thank you enough. Throughout this year, different readers have drawn out different aspects of the story. Someone was looking at food, another at the role of stitchwork and cloth. I kept count of the ghosts, obviously!
A cartography of Cromwell is such an amazing addition, giving us a whole new way of seeing Cromwell's world.
Thanks for plugging Wolf Crawl. Everyone's welcome to join. Our journey from Putney cobbles to Tower Hill begins 1 Jan. Weekly posts and podcasts, revised and updated with new illustrations, music, documents from the archives ... and now maps!
Thanks Simon! Looking forward to reading Wolf Crawl 2025, and helping out with the maps.
This wb my first Wolf Crawl. 🙏🏻 Matt for mapping the relevant places adding to our visual appreciation of Mantel’s work. Very exciting
Thank you so much for all the work and passion you've put into these extraordinary maps. There's something truly emotional, for me at least, in a visual representation of the alleyways, mansions, taverns and churches known to Cromwell especially those that exist still. History is like flaky pastry, the layers fragile and flaking away.
Re family trees; In long novels I'm always thankful if one is included. A 100 years of solitude comes to mind. Ditto Mantel's extraordinary trilogy.
Thanks Cheryl! When I make these maps, I have no idea if others will find them interesting or useful, so it's always lovely to hear that they're valued.
I agree about family trees... though I also love piecing them together myself, so tend to ignore the ones included by the publisher!
Such a fascinating endeavour Matt! And I love how you’ve mapped only the locations mentioned in the books: otherwise it wouldn’t show so clearly the world of Wolf Hall. It’s interesting to me how focused the narrative is on London north of the river, reflecting the world Cromwell lived in. And yet how connected he was - even if he didn’t personally travel - to the wider English & European landscape. Thanks for sharing!