battles

pilltown

Various Goings on in the General Area of Cheshire.

Aug 14, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, heraldry

Battle of Northampton, Battle of Shrewsbury, Blore Heath, Cheshire, Chester Castle, Chirk Castle, Clwyd, Coventry, de Bohun, Dee estuary, Duke of Norfolk, Edward IV, Edward of Lancaster, executions, fee-farm, Henry Duke of Somerset, Hexham, Holt, Holt Castle, House of Lancaster, Jasper “Tudor”, John Neville, John Paston III, John Southworth, Lancashire, Margaret of Anjou, Mold Fair, Nantwich, Redbank, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, Sir William Stanley, Skipton Castle, swan, Thomas Lord Stanley, Thomas Neville

Although Cheshire was fiercely loyal to Richard II, after the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403) that loyalty gradually transferred itself to the House of Lancaster. Cheshire was a royal earldom and palatinate, with the King (or the Prince of Wales when there was one) as its immediate lord. As in next-door Lancashire, there was no resident…
Banns – putting the cart before the horse

Aug 12, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law, religion

banns, baptism, bigamy, church, denialists, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, Kenilworth, Losecoat Field, Richard Woodville, sacraments, Sir John Woodville, summary executions

I am somewhat puzzled by a recent suggestion (by “Historical Discussions” here) that Banns were published for Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville on 24th May 1465, over a year after their secret ceremony. Banns were normally read prior to the solemnisation of a canonical wedding and on three separate occasions. It is true that from…
It’s up in Nanny’s room behind the wallpaper….

Aug 11, 2023

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings

English Civil War, Micklegate, murals, sayings, siege of Sheffield, wallpaper, York

I imagine that quite a few of those reading this will remember the old saying quoted in the title above. It was what I was always told when I’d mislaid something and asked if my mother, father, grandmother etc. knew where it was. Needless to say, finding something exciting behind the wallpaper has never been…
Tutankhamun found – what about Cleopatra?

Aug 10, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, films, humour, Science

Actium, Alexandria, Amanda Barrie, Ancient Egypt, asps, BBC Newsround, Carry On Cleo, Cleopatra, gold coins, Howard Carter, Kathleen Martinez, Leicester Greyfriars, lost monarchs, Marc Antony, naval battles, Pharoahs, Richard III, secret tunnels, Smithsonian, suicide, Taposiris Magna Temple, Tutankhamun, Valley of the Kings

It is just over a hundred years since Howard Carter discovered the young Pharoah Tutankhamun in an unexpected part of the Valley of the Kings – shades of Richard III, perhaps? Some thirteen centuries later, Cleopatra VII died by her own hand in Alexandria, after her lover Marcus Antonius’ defeat at Actium, but her tomb seems…
The white lady should have disposed of Rhys ap Thomas and the Weasel when she had the chance….!

Aug 7, 2023

battles, buildings

Battle of Bosworth, Derwydd Mansion, French mercenaries, ghosts, Henry VII, property sales, render, Rhys ap Thomas, Richard III, Sir William Stanley, Thomas Stanley, Wales, Wales Online

Here we have another old manor house with a ghostie (a white lady). The house “….is said to have once been owned by Tudor knight Sir Rhys ap Thomas. It is thought that Sir Rhys and Derwydd Mansion provided accommodation for Henry Tudor, as well as 5,000 Welsh soldiers added to Henry’s growing army, as…
Stokesay Castle, its history….and its spook….

Jul 30, 2023

battles, buildings, religion, sources

Bishop of Hereford, Civil War, de Say family, Domesday Book, English Heritage, ghosts, Shropshire, Stokesay Castle, wood carvings

We all know Stokesay Castle. It’s simply outstanding, both dramatically and aesthetically. The half-timbered upper storey perched on top of the north tower is particularly beautiful. I remember once, many moons ago, my husband and I drove past on a road that looked down at the castle. It was alluring….but not open at that…
The city of Gloucester and its links to Richard III….

Jul 29, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, heraldry, religion

Berkeley Castle, Charters, city of York, Edward II tomb, Gloucester, Gloucester Cathedral, Henry of Buckingham, Leicester, Margaret d’Anjou, Richard II, River Severn, royal tombs, Tewkesbury

My home city of Gloucester (and its cathedral) doesn’t turn up enough online, but here’s a link that’s all about Gloucester. And it gives Richard III a fair deal, although it doesn’t mention that on 29 July 1483*, during his royal progress, he granted Gloucester its charter. Nor that in 1471 Gloucester closed its gates…
Half a dozen dramatic events in the life of King John….

Jul 27, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law

Arthur of Brittany, Battle of Bouvines, hunting lodges, John, Magna Carta, Richard I, Robin Hood, Sheriff of Nottingham

King John’s very existence appears to have been one long drama, but when it comes to him there are usually two things that spring to mind instantly. (1) Magna Carta, and (2) he was vile. There are other things, of course, but these are the two that spring to my mind. Oh, and that as…
I hope this book is more accurate than the blurb

Jul 24, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, Book Reviews, buildings, Science, The play’s the thing

“Tudors”, Bamburgh Castle, children, Edgecote, First Battle of St. Albans, Fotheringhay, Henry VII, Leicester Greyfriars, Micklegate Bar, mtDNA evidence, Pen and Sword, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, satire, Shakespeare, skeletons, teeth, Tewkesbury, The Children of Richard III, Tower of London, Towton, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, York

Perhaps this is just a matter of ambiguity rather than inaccuracy and that the book itself is clearer, however the jacket information really isn’t promising. Bamburg (sic), being by the east coast, had nothing to do with Tudors, real or imagined, until after Henry VII‘s accession, so it definitely wasn’t a “stronghold” of theirs during…
Give the Carys a Blue Plaque….!

Jul 23, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

attainder, blue plaque, Cary family, Cockington, executions, exile, Henry IV, Henry V, Ireland, judges, Richard II, Sir Edward Seymour, Sir George Cary, Sir John Cary, Spanish Armada, Spanish Barn, Tewkesbury, Torbay Civic Society, Torquay, Torre Abbey

The above image is of the Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey, Torquay where George Cary and Sir Edward Seymour: “…..jointly took 400 prisoners during the Spanish Armada and some residents today know the men were imprisoned in what we still call ‘The Spanish Barn’. Torre Abbey estates were then purchased by the Cary family in…