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In 1485 Henry Tudor’s men stopped off at Arthur’s Stone, Gower….

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Arthur’s Stone, Gower: https://grahamloveluckedwards.com/2024/11/08/the-legends-of-king-arthurs-stone-on-gower/

There are always legends and folk tales about ancient monuments, and Arthur’s Stone in Gower is no exception. It’s also known as Maen Ceti, and yes, its anglicised name refers to the King Arthur He is said to have been strolling in Carmarthenshire and felt a stone in his shoe. So he removed it threw it away, only for it to land on Cefn Bryn, the ridge that is known as the backbone of the beautiful Gower Peninsula. Um, St David is also credited with this stone-throwing exploit.

The view from Arthur’s Stone is truly wonderful, stretching for miles in all directions, taking in Lundy Island and the distant North Devon coast. Well worth a visit, as is the entire peninsula, of course. Gower doesn’t lack medieval castles! If you go to this link to Google Maps, you can navigate all around the Stone and see the panoramic views: https://tinyurl.com/2ukefubw

Anyway, after King Arthur and St David, imagine my astonishment when I found the Battle of Bosworth getting a look-in. By then the cromlech was fully established and more or less in its present form, and was apparently widely held in “religious awe”. So much so that when the Tydder’s invading troops landed at Milford Haven, en route for their ill-gotten victory at Bosworth Field, the Breton contingent made an eighty-mile diversion just to pay their respects to the Stone.

Tydder arrives Milford Haven 1485 – The Landing of Henry VII at Milford Haven. Artwork from The Battle of Bosworth by Graham Turner ©Osprey Publishing Ltd. Taken from http://richardiii.net/richard-iii-his-world/the-war-of-the-roses/the-battles/the-battle-of-bosworth/

I’d never heard this tale before, until I was reading Portrait of Gower by Wynford Vaughan Thomas, pp 115/116. This is a cracking book that’s filled with of information All sorts of odds and ends about magnificent Gower appear in its pages…but I certainly wasn’t expecting the Tydder’s appearance! Long Live King Richard!!!!!

You can read more about the Stone and Tydder’s troops’ voluntary re-routing here: https://parc-le-breos.co.uk/walks-for-guests/cefn-bryn-arthurs-stone-broadpool-walk/

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2 responses to “In 1485 Henry Tudor’s men stopped off at Arthur’s Stone, Gower….”

  1. Beth Williams Avatar
    Beth Williams

    Viscountess I know you meant 1485 – in relation to Milford haven and what was Henry’s second invasion. He never even got off the ship in 1483, just left his ‘supporters’ on the shores, in the forests, on the pathways watching that coward sail off for HIS safety. On one hand I could suggest simple cowardice on his part, or, perhaps something else – if Henry Stafford 2nd D of Buckingham was supposed to be taking it to the royal troops, capturing/killing Richard somewhere in the skirmishes across the SE and SW, do we really believe HS2dB wouldn’t have gotten himself crowned? Henry the exiled wannabe was NO ONE – HIS mother may have had a threadbare claim but in October 1483 neither of them had a prayer of setting HS2dB aside for that Henry! As for the whole marriage to one of Edward IV’s daughter, so what, HS2dB had TWO sons, he could just as easily have the younger one betrothed to one of the younger daughters saving his heir for a foreign princess of long established lineage.

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  2. viscountessw Avatar
    viscountessw

    Oops! Well spotted (thank you!) and corrected. But whichever year, 1483 or 1485, the wrong backside was eventually on our throne! Agreed about Buckingham…he didn’t intend to put the crown on Tudor.

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