battles
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During lockdown, I found myself walking around local villages, some that I had only passed through before. An interesting one was Orcheston, a tiny, sleepy place which has not one, but TWO medieval churches, St George’s and St Mary’s, one set at either end of the village. Both were interesting to visit but what was…
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On 21st February 2021 the Darlington & Stockton Times published at article about the puzzling inclusion of a Streetlam Castle in an 1803 map. See this article. No one knew anything about a castle at Streetlam, and it was believed the inclusion in the map was a cartographer’s trick, to expose others who might copy…
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Here is an article about the “most haunted Cotswolds village’ everyone forgets about”. Well, Ricardians certainly don’t forget Minster Lovell…and what we all want to know is—if Francis Lovell still haunts his old home, is there any chance of seeing him? Maybe even speaking to him? We wish.
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Gawain and the Green Knight has been given “the Hollywood treatment”! See this article. You can also read about the film here and here It’s directed by David Lowery and stars Dev Patel and Alicia Vikander. Well, having now seen it, I fear that if the anonymous author had too, he’d be taking serious steps…
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Well, we’ve all heard versions of the true meaning of Humpty-Dumpty, including that it was a reference to a 17th-century cannon used in the Siege of Colchester. Oh and Humpty may also have been a drink of brandy boiled with ale. All nursery rhymes had beginnings somewhere, and also have some wild notions about their…
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It isn’t often that I like a new coin, but the addition of the White Lion of Mortimer to the Queen’s Beasts series is an exception. It’s beautiful. To read about it go here.
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Yet again, while searching for one thing I came upon another. A book called The Hamble River by H.W. Trinder, from which the above map is taken, seemed likely to contain the information I was seeking, i.e. Southampton and its immediate environs in the 14th century. Then, I read the following:- “….Receyved [probably to lay…
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Well, I wasn’t looking for observations on when the Renaissance commenced, rather was I trying to find information on the wedding of Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland, Marquess of Dublin, and 9th Earl of Oxford KG. The wording of my Google search brought up a site in which I found the following: “….During…