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The Team

Meet some of the nutty folks that make Marvellous History come alive (hover over an image to learn more about someone):

our visitors

Marvellous History visitor Ash Butterworth as a Viking Archer

Ash

Ash is one of our most experienced visitors, specialising in Vikings and Anglo Saxons. He has also just added the Stone Age to his repertoire!

Ash Butterworth

Marvellous History visitor Cathy Murphy as a Medieval woman

Cathy

Cathy has been working in Cambridgeshire schools as a classroom teacher and advisory teacher and trainer since 1994. Over that time she has built a reputation for high quality resources, interesting and engaging teaching and meeting the needs of her audience.

Cathy Murphy

(Gripping History)

Marvellous History visitor Charlotte Hill

Charlotte

Having studied costume design, and having a latent interest in history, running workshops was a natural progression for Charlotte.

Charlotte Hill

Marvellous History visitor Derek Rowell

Des

Des is one of our longest-serving visitors and covers Stone Age, Romans, Vikings and Anglo Saxons in the South of England.

Derek Rowell

Marvellous History visitor Georgia Zervudachi

Georgia

After teaching in Secondary schools for over 5 years, South-West based Georgia decided she would much rather be an Athenian Priestess or a Pirate Captain!

Georgia Zervudachi

Marvellous History visitor Hilary Wood

Hilary

Hilary from Hilary Wood Historical Characters has an exciting range of characters that she brings to life in her workshops!

Hilary Wood

(Hilary Wood Historical Characters)

Marvellous History visitor Jen Klimczak-Hall as an Ancient Greek

Jen

One of our most experienced visitors, Jen is creative, fun and very knowledgeable.

Jen Klimczak-Hall

Marvellous History visitor John Davidson

John

John has been a dark age and early medieval re-enactor since 2017, and has recently joined our team as a visitor.

John Davidson

Marvellous History visitor Kat Fuller

Kat

Kat has been running Victorian and WWI & II workshops with since 2022. Previously she was a teacher in the UK, Spain & New Zealand

Kat Fuller

(Kat Fuller Workshops)

Marvellous History visitor Kate Vigurs

Kate

Kate is the director of History’s Maid, one of our many partner companies. She is currently writing her second book about WW2!

Kate Vigurs

(History’s Maid)

Marvellous History visitor Kate Smith

Kitty

Kitty has always been fascinated by history, and studied History with Archaeology at university. She has worked as a teacher, and has been a costumed interpreter for the National Trust

Kate Smith

(Home Front Kitty)

Marvellous History visitor Liz Wesencraft

Liz

Another of our partner companies, Liz runs Traders, Invaders and Raiders. She has some of the widest range of artefacts to bring to workshops!

Liz Wesencraft

(Traders, Invaders & Raiders)

Marvellous History visitor Nick Coles in a harness of plate armour

Nick

Nicholas Coles BA[Hons}, PGC, CIFA, DHMSA. Was born and brought up in Cardiff and is based in South Wales. Nick has worked in the heritage industry for over 20 years and has a degree in archaeology, with post graduate qualifications in Heritage Management and the History of Medicine.

Nick Coles

(Historia Populi)

Marvellous History visitor Terry Harvey-Chadwick as a Viking

Terry

Terry is often known as The Science Viking

Terry harvey-Chadwick

(The Science Viking)

Back Office

A picture of Marvellous History founder and Managing Director Domini Thorpe

Dom

Owner, founder and Supreme Overlord, Marvellous History is Domini’s baby. Ordinarily known as Dom, she has a passion for history and is driven to inspire others with this love. Dom is very conscious of what history can teach us about the present and believes that a full understanding of what has been can make us better humans.

Domini Thorpe

Managing Director

A picture of Marvellous History Creative Director Julia Kuivenhoven

Jules

Meet Julia, a native of The Netherlands. She moved to the UK in 2013 and has been helping with the company ever since, becoming Creative Director in 2021.

Julia Kuivenhoven

Creative Director

A picture of Marvellous History Business & Finance Coordinator

Sammi

The newbie in the team, Sam’s passion for history led to her studying archaeology, volunteering on a dig and teaching the theory of excavation techniques. When she found out what Marvellous History did, she jumped at the opportunity to be part of the team.

Sam Jollans

Business Co-ordinator

A picture of Marvellous History Norwegian Elkhound Dargo

D’argo

Meet D’Argo! Our enthusiastic Norwegian Elkhound is affectionately known as the fluffy grey mouse. He is quite the contrast to his ancestors, who were known as the fieriest dogs of the Vikings. While Norwegian Elkhounds of old served as warrior companions and hunters, D’Argo is more of a lover than a fighter and he enjoy a cozy bed and some belly rubs.

D’argo

A picture of Marvellous History Norwegian Lundehund Talyn

Talyn

Say hello to Talyn. He is one of just two Norwegian Lundehunds in the UK, and there are less than 2000 in the world, making him a very rare breed indeed. Not only is he rare, but he’s also an authentic Viking breed, with a unique connection to the past.

Talyn

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Terry

The Science Viking provides characters from history that include STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) as a focus for their explanations. What has technology got to do with why the Vikings suddenly exploded out of Scandinavia? Why would many artists and scribes in medieval times also be considered chemists today? Was Alchemy just magic, or was it really proper science? So whether you are a science fair or a historical event, a museum or a school, a workshop with The Science Viking is one of the only places where you can mix science and history and find out how they formed the modern world we live in today.

Find out more about The Science Viking here

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Nick

After working as an archaeologist on excavations from Israel to Northumberland and managing a reconstructed medieval village. Nick moved into the heritage industry and education. He now brings his experience and expertise to educating and entertaining the public through historical interaction and interpretation. Nick has worked for CADW, English Heritage, Royal Armouries, the National Trust, Historic Royal Palaces, Museums and educational organisations across the UK. He provides a variety of services from costumed interpretation, hands on interactive workshops, and lecturing. He cover Roman Britain and the Celts to World War 2 and everything in between!

 

He also specialises in the History of Medicine and is a Fellow of the Faculty of the History and Philosophy of medicine of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries.

 

Keep up to date with Nick here

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Liz

Traders, Invaders and Raiders reflect all eras from Prehistoric Stone Age to second world war and the modern archaeologist. Our presentations are hands-on and interactive, enabling all pupils to get the most from our school visits. You can also choose to have one of our replica ships as a stunning, educational backdrop in your school to enhance your Viking, Saxon, Norman, Medieval, Crusader, or Tudor school visit. Our costumed re-enactors will present an exciting range of topics relevant to your chosen period and in line with the National Curriculum standards for Key Stage 2.

The purpose of the company is to deliver re-enactment services that range from displays at Medieval Fayres to the selling of Replica Artefacts. The mainstay of their company however is their collection of Historic Ship replicas which has been used successfully as a teaching medium in Schools, Museums and Libraries and as a visual back drop in all forms of Media work. They offer these services across a range of time lines from Ancient Greek to Victorians although they specialise in the Dark Age period of the Vikings!. The company was founded in 2000 and has had many complimentary reviews.

Find out more here

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Kitty

Kitty is particularly fascinated by WWI & II and spends a great deal of time soaking up information about this. She loves everything 1940s and her growing collection of artefacts is centered around these passions.

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Kate

Dr Kate Vigurs is a drama graduate and history postgraduate offering twelve years of professional experience in research, live historical interpretation and re-enactment.

She is dedicated to revitalising history for the purposes of entertainment and education, and any client or audience of History’s Maid is guaranteed a well researched, professional and engaging display which will inspire and capture the imagination.

Current and recent clients include:

· Imperial War Museum North
· Jorvik Viking Centre
· English Heritage
· National Museums Scotland
· National Coal Mining museum
· Heights of Abraham
· Terry Deary Ltd
· Epworth Old Rectory
· Kirklees Council
· Destrier Pro Historic Events
· Ripon Workhouse Museum

More information about Kate and her work with History's Maid can be found here

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Kat

Having taught in primary, secondary and special needs education, Kat has a highly innovative and creative approach! Her strengths include curriculum development and design and inquiry learning.

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John

John has portrayed both Saxon and Viking personas as well as Norman.  Being part of the Viking Society, he has attended many shows from small one day events to large events such as the Battle of Hastings re-enactment and Vike Fest.

He has a large living history display which represents a Saxon/Viking blacksmith workshop.

Having always had a great interest in history from prehistory up to modern times but with a focus mainly on the Classical Greek period, through the Roman period up to World War 2, he has collected books and replica/original items and artifacts from the periods that he find most fascinating.

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Jen

Jen is a creative genius who makes all her own equipment and replica artefacts! Her first love is Anglo Saxons, but she has spread her knowledge base, and is now well versed in Vikings, Romans, Greeks, and the Medieval Period.

Jen hosts her own YouTube channel called "Lost in Thort" where she gives in depth information about various history-related things!

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Hilary

Hilary Wood is an educator, actor, and historic interpreter. Many schools will already know her from when she was Artistic Director of Rainbow Theatre London East Ltd, a Company she ran for 14 years, providing Primary Schools with plays and workshops relevant to the curriculum.

In 2015 she left Rainbow and set up Hilary Wood Historical Characters Ltd. Starting with just two characters, she has expanded the Company since then, and can now offer many new and varied characters to enhance your history and citizenship curriculums. Her characters include Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria and Florence Nightingale, alongside many others.

You can learn more about her company here

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Des

Covering a variety of historical periods, Des is a fantastic workshop leader. He does leatherwork and has attended Viking festivals in Norway. He is ex-army and has an interest in WW2 and tanks

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Charlotte

Charlotte is an artist and designer-maker with experience running mixed art, craft and fashion workshops in schools and for parties and events. She is new to our team, but has an excellent knowledge of her chosen periods, and outstanding, handmade costumes.

As an artist, she has worked in a wide range of arts and crafts through her professional work and personal projects including painting and drawing, paper and textile crafts, fashion clothing and accessory making, customisation and simple jewellery making. She produces artwork using drawing, painting, new media and photography in a range of styles and has experience with most mediums including pastel and charcoal, watercolour, acrylics and oil paints. her background is in the fashion industry and she also has experience in graphic design. She has strong sewing skills and has designed and made clothing, accessories, hats and headpieces, soft furnishings and decorative textiles such as bunting. She enjoys felt making and using fabric painting, printing, applique, embroidery and other techniques to embellish items. She is also experienced in paper crafts including paper making and hand made cards and enjoys collage, decoupage and scrap-booking.

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Cathy

Cathy from Gripping History is one of our partners. She has been enhancing the teaching of history in the classroom since 1997, with historical visits covering British history topics to the 14th century. She currently delivers over 60 history days, working with thousands of children each year. She has also published a teacher resource covering the Viking period.

Cathy’s interest in history began as a child. She has very happy memories of play battles in Dover castle and meeting ’Queen Elizabeth I’ at the National Portrait Gallery. These ‘off the page’ experiences gave her the motivation to explore history beyond the dates and delve into the wealth of human experience which has made us who we are today.  She found an outlet for this enthusiasm in historical re-enactment and has been an active member of The Vikings, Britain’s oldest and largest Early Medieval re-enactment society, since 1991. She is also a member of Tournee, a Medieval re-enactment group, covering the period 1250-1350AD.

Through this hobby, Cathy is able to meet many people, young and old, at events around the country and share her passion for history. She has also featured in several TV documentaries and factual programmes for children. Cathy gained her degree from Oxford University in 1993 and trained as a teacher at Homerton College, Cambridge. She currently works part time for the Cambridgeshire PSHE Service as Lead Advisor.

Cathy lives near Ely and her two children attend the local primary school, where she is Chair of Governors.

Find out more about Gripping History here

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Ash

As a qualified youth worker Ash is well versed in providing excellent workshops to young people. He has many skills, from fire-lighting through to hunting. He is a jeweler, an archer and a viking sailor. He has also worked in historical and fantasy films.

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Talyn

Used as Puffin hunters in the past, they are able to wiggle into the burrows with their super flexible bodies. They can move their legs outwards, much like a human. But the most unique part of a Lundie has to be the 6 toes on each paw. To make climbing those steep cliffs easier!

Talyn has quite the adventurous spirit. In addition to being a remarkable representative of his breed, he has ventured into the world of Viking reenactment shows. He's been a part of multiple Viking reenactment shows.

Currently, Talyn is also working on becoming a school visitor.

Talyn embodies the best qualities of his breed. He's cheerful, alert, inquisitive, watchful, and sometimes a bit stubborn – traits that reflect his Viking lineage.

Talyn comes to the office with us making sure we do our work, because let’s be honest, He’s the brains behind the whole operation.

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Sam

Sam's interests are broad. At university she studied maths - a subject she still finds fascinating and exciting! She also comes from a family of computer programmers and has worked as a decorator.

As well as being the Lesser Admin Gremlin, and all round useful bod, Sam hopes to train as a workshop leader.

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D'argo

Being the puppy of the team, he’s got much to learn - but the support is there from his little big brother Talyn.

Did you know:

In Viking times, these valiant dogs were laid to rest alongside their owners and remains have even been found in the famous Oseberg ship burial in Norway. They were believed to be sent off like warriors to reunite with their masters in Valhalla.

Despite his less fiery temperament, D'Argo, with his ancient breed lineage, holds the promise of becoming an integral part of our workshops, where he can charm everyone with his affable spirit, reminding us that even Viking descendants can have a soft spot.

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Jules

Ancient Egypt captivated Julia’s passion early in life. She was always fascinated by the Norse mythology, but didn't explore this until she joined the company in 2013. History, however, is a secondary passion for Julia - her first love is, was, and always will be, dogs.

In combining her passions, Julia is an advocate for the re-establishment of ancient dog breeds. She is part of the reason for our two Viking dogs! She is a huge advocate for, and loves educating people about these primitive and rare breeds.

Her educational journey has been dynamic. She has explored art history, canine behavior and has a degree in graphic design and photography from Grafisch Lyceum in Rotterdam.

As Creative Director she tries to bring as much creativity to the table as she can, and has lots of future plans for Marvellous History!

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Dom

Dom is a Viking re-enactor who has worked with children for over a decade. Using her experience she designed most of our activities with the aim for them to be memorable and fun as well as educational. Dom is currently working towards Marvellous History becoming an accredited education provider.

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Georgia

With her Greek heritage, coastal upbringing and a degree in History and War Studies from King's College, London, she has harnessed her passion for the past and teaching skills to create engaging, dynamic and research-based workshops to inspire students covering Ancient Greece and Pirates as topics. When she is not conducting Spartan military drills for Year 5s or exploring what actually constitutes pirate treasure with Year 3s, she can be found conducting school trips to The Clifton Suspension Bridge, tutoring and experimenting in the kitchen.

So what does a day with Georgia entail? In short, it can be completely tailored to your requirements. Regardless of the specific topics you wish to cover, artefacts will be bought to be handled and hands-on activities will help embed both prior knowledge and new facts. Georgia specialises in myths and stories covered through drama-based activities, as well as weaponry and military tactics and looking at how every day life differed through looking at artefacts. An example of topics covered in a day could include (but are not limited to):

 

Ancient Greeks:

- The Ancient Greek Timeline

- Greek Gods & their worship

- Democracy

- The Greatest Greeks

- Ancient Greek soldiers & weaponry

- Daily Life & Archeology

- What did the Ancient Greeks eat?

- Mythology and stories from Ancient Greece

- Ancient Greek Theatre

- Write like an Ancient Greek

 

Pirates:

- Who were pirates?

- Roles on board

- Pirate Discipline

- Pirate "democracy"

- What did pirates eat?

- Pirate Weaponry

- What was Pirate Treasure? / Did Pirates bury their Treasure?

- Daily Life  & Archeology

- Famous Pirates

- Flags & Symbols

 

Georgia is looking  forward to working with you to create a unique and memorable day for your students - and truly bringing your Ancient Greek or Pirate topic alive.

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