battles
pilltown
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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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After a comment by David, about suns in splendour and white roses in the window glass above (see his comment here ) I decided to investigate more about the window at Merevale Abbey. There is, of course, a boar in the window glass at Merevale. Well, more a pig than a boar, and it’s…
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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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On 8th June 1376, Edward, the Black Prince, died. From then until 29th September his body lay in state in Westminster Hall, and then was taken to Canterbury Cathedral to be buried on 5th October at Canterbury Cathedral. His passing was greatly mourned through the land, and lamented because the elderly monarch, Edward III, was…
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Several years ago I was out at Bosworth to attend an author signing with one of my favourite Ricardian authors, Sharon Penman, who wrote the mighty epic The Sunne in Splendour. We were staying in the Royal Arms at Sutton Cheney, which has a public room filled with armour, memorabilia, paintings of the battle and…
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They are sharp and good for purposes both fair and foul, and might even be handy for some back-stabbing (should one be of that disposition!) What am I talking about? The Stanley Knife. Jokes abound on certain medieval groups about these multi purpose knives being something that should have been invented by the two side-shifting,…
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The ten worst Britons in history?
“Popish Plot”, Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Thomas Arundel, avarice, BUF, censorship, Cnut, Culloden, de heretico comburendo, Eadric Streona, Edmund Ironside, executions, Henry II, History Extra, Hugh le Despenser, Jack the Ripper, Jacobites, John, murder, perjury, Reformation, Sir Oswald Mosley, Sir Richard Rich, Thomas Becket, Titus Oates, torture, treachery, Whitechapel murders, William Duke of CumberlandThis is a very entertaining and well-illustrated 2006 article, choosing one arch-villain for each century from the eleventh to the twentieth. The all-male list includes just one King but two Archbishops of Canterbury. So what do you think?
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It is perhaps not a well-known fact that during World War II, many priceless historical treasures were crated up and shipped out of London for safe storage. At least, I wasn’t particularly aware of something that now makes perfect sense. I found out about this whilst visiting Gloucester Cathedral and touring the amazing crypt beneath…
