battles

pilltown

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…
Henry IV and the Welsh March

Jul 21, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, sources

“Tudors”, Academia, Battle of Shrewsbury, Conwy Castle, Douglas Biggs, executions, Henry IV, high treason, Owain Glyn Dwr, patronage, rebellions, usurpation, Wales, Welsh Marches

This excellent article by Douglas Biggs suggests that many of the Welsh gentlemen who rose with Glyndwr, or at around the same time, did so, not because of perceived national sentiment but because of patronage, or the lack of it. The usurpation of Henry IV has the side effect of disturbing ‘normal’ patterns of patronage.…
How Edward IV’s bigamy should have been resolved

Jul 17, 2023

Alternative History, anniversaries, battles, genealogy, law, religion

Affinity, banns, bigamy, canon law, Castillon, Catherine de Roet, Catholicism, Church of England, consanguinity, Council of Trent, dispensations, Elizabeth Wydeville, family law, Henry VIII, illegitimacy, infertility, John Earl of Shrewsbury, John of Gaunt, lack of consent, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lumley-Conyers marriage, Moynihan barony, non-consummation, Papal Legate, pre-contract, R.H. Helmholz, Ralph Butler Baron Sudeley, Reformation, Sixtus IV, Statute of Merton, widows, witchcraft

Canon law, as practiced in most of Europe to the late mediaeval period, is noticeably different to the laws of the United Kingdom today, although it is somewhat looser today in several ways. Consequently, secret marriages were banned eventually, only first cousins now require dispensations and relationships do not beget affinity, although previous manages still…
Melrose Abbey, Abbotsford….and Young Lochinvar….

Jul 11, 2023

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings, religion

Abbotsford, Borders towns, Country Life, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Henry VIII, John Knox, Llanthony Secunda, Lochinvar, Melrose Abbey, Richard II, Sir Walter Scott, Tintern Abbey, verse

There are some abbey ruins that are as beautiful for the matchless countryside they are set in as for their own splendour. My personal favourite is Llanthony Priory in the Black Mountains, but Melrose Abbey (where Robert the Bruce’s heart was buried) on the River Tweed is actually my third favourite. My close second…
Sir Ralph Assheton. (The ‘Black Knight of Ashton’) Vice-Constable of England.

Jul 9, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law, religion, sources

Ashton Hall, Battle of Bosworth, Black Knight, Clayton Hall, Coronation, Edward IV, English Civil War, Etihad Stadium, Flodden, funeral brass, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VI, Isabel Kirby, Jane Saville, Knight Marshal, knights banneret, Lieutenant of the Tower, Lord Byron, Margery Barton, Mary Byron, Middleton, Middleton Archers, Middleton Church, mothers, MPs, Ralph Holinshed, Richard III, Sheriff of Yorkshire, siege of Berwick, Sir Ralph Assheton, trams, Vice-Constable

There is some confusion about the parentage of Sir Ralph Assheton. At least, various internet sources give him alternative mothers. His father was Sir John Assheton of Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire. The family’s main residence was Ashton Hall, although this building was sadly destroyed in the 1890s to make way for a coal yard. The medieval parish…
Caernarfon Castle, one of Wales’s great historic sites….

Jul 7, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law, travel

“Tudors”, Afon Seiont, Anglesey, Caernarfon Castle, castles, Charles “III”, Country Life, Edward I, Edward II, Gwynedd, investiture, Menai Strait, Princes of Wales, Roman forts, tourism, Wales, William Prince of Wales

The great fortresses built by Edward I to subdue the rebellious Welsh are all spectacular and have survived the centuries. Now they are considered beautiful examples of medieval workmanship and have become great tourist attractions, which isn’t really what old Longshanks ever intended! One of the finest of these fortresses is Caernarfon which is always…