anniversaries
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“Historians and archaeologists have tentatively identified the location of one of medieval England’s greatest ships. “Detailed archival and aerial photographic research carried out by British maritime historian, Ian Friel, has pinpointed a 30 metre stretch of the River Hamble near Southampton as the final resting place of one of Henry V’s largest warships – the…
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The excerpt below is from http://www.themcs.org/garter.htm, a list by the Medieval Combat Society of all the Knights of the Garter. George of Clarence comes in at number 185:- “185 (app c.1461) George (Plantagenet), Duke of Clarence. Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Rebelled against his brother Edward IV, with his father-in-law, Richard, Earl of Warwick, the “King-maker.” Returned…
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In his unpublished semi-satirical volume, More has the Lord Protector and Defender of the Realm, Richard Duke of Gloucester who was also Lord High Constable of England for life, call for some strawberries before the Constable’s Court could pronounce sentence on William Lord Hastings. Many historians have struggled to understand the significance of the strawberries…
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On this date, St Luke’s Day, 18th October, in 1483, apparently egged on by that notorious Lancastrian plotter, John Morton, Bishop of Ely, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham unfurled his banners in rebellion against his cousin, King Richard III. Morton was supposedly Buckingham’s prisoner, handed over to him by Richard for safe keeping. Safe…
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Wingfield
Azincourt, Beccles, Charles Brandon, de la Pole family, Edward IV, Edward the Black Prince, Elizabeth de la Pole, executions, Harfleur, Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk, Henry V, Jane, John Duke of Suffolk, Marguerite de la Pole, Michael de la Pole, Nicolas of the Tower, Pakefield, Pavia, Richard II, Richard III, Robert Leman, Sir John Leman, Sir john Wingfield, Sir William de la Pole, Stoke Field, William Brandon, William Duke of Suffolk, WingfieldWingfield is a village in the middle of North Suffolk, just a few miles off the A140. There is a “castle”, but this is privately occupied and the owner is a little secretive. The village also features a small “college” and wedding venue, also known as Wingfield Barns, but its main features are St. Andrew’s…
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William the B … er, Conqueror
Anglo-Saxons, Battle, Battle Abbey, Battle of Hastings, Bayeux Tapestry, Canterbury, castles, Chepstow, chivalry, churches, Colchester Castle, Coronation, death, Domesday Book, executions, famine, Harold II, height, Henry I, Marc Morris, Matilda of Flanders, mediaeval buildings, Normans, Scotland, slavery, St. David’s, Tayside, Tower of London, usurpation, Wales, Waltheof, William I, William IIThis piece, by Marc Morris in History Extra, describes the events that followed the previous usurpation from France. A lot more violent, indeed, than the early reign of the first “Tudor”, although his son and grandchildren changed that …
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Another exciting search for a very important king in the annals of our land, this time at Bishop’s Stortford in Hertfordshire. Harold Godwinson reigned for even less time than Richard III, i.e. nine months and eight days, and his sovereignty too ended in a vital battle that let “the enemy and its foreign army” in. In his case,…
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Father of a Queen: Thomas Boleyn
Anne Boleyn, arms, Battle of Bosworth, Cambridge University, Edenbridge, Elizabeth Howard, Elizabeth Tilney, Geoffrey Boleyn, George Viscount Rochford, Gonville Hall, Hever Castle, James IV, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, Kent, Lord Privy Seal, Margaret Cheyne, Mary “Tudor”, Mary Boleyn, pubs, Richard III, Sheriff, Thomas Boleyn Earl of Wiltshire, Thomas Earl of Surrey, tombs, William BoleynTwo miles from Edenbridge in Kent lies the small but attractive castle of Hever. Originally built in 1270, it was taken over 1462 by Geoffrey Bullen (or Boleyn) younger brother of Thomas Boleyn , Master of Gonville Hall, a constituent college of Cambridge. Geoffrey had a son called William and he in turn fathered Thomas…
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This link takes you to an interesting article about the fates of two great opposites, Sir Thomas More and William Tyndale. And, once again, Henry VIII’s lust for Anne Boleyn was at the heart of it.
