buildings
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Well, how about staying in a castle – in the style to which we just know we should be accustomed? Here is the introduction. “Modern life, eh? It’s so full of stress. Whether its our phones bleeping with work emails through the night or the chaos of city life, sometimes escaping can be very tempting…
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I came upon this interesting little medieval doodle the other day, taken from the St Alban’s Register. It shows a crude, cartoonish drawing of the head of the executed William Hastings, looking, to my mind, rather like a malevolent elf or goblin. Someone who viewed the picture said, ‘He has pig’s ears’ and this or…
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Here is a portrait of Anne Neville that isn’t seen very often. It’s not contemporary, of course, but shows her looking fresh and healthy, with no sign at all of the wilting Anne who is so often referred to. It also shows her with a fringe, which I’m certain she would not have. She lived…
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A Peterborough mystery
All Souls’ College Oxford, Bishops, Catherine of Aragon, Cheshire, Coventry and Lichfield, David Pole, exile, Geoffrey Pole I, Italy, John Chambers, Mary I, Mary Stuart, Matthew Parker, Nene Valley Railway, North Wales, ODNB, Peterborough, Peterborough Abbey, Peterborough Cathedral, pluralism, Princes of Powys, Queensgate Centre, Reginald Cardinal Pole, Thomas Wolsey, Westminster AbbeyPeterborough is a well-planned city. The walk from station to Cathedral passes through two short subways, with an optional detour to start of the Nene Valley Railway heritage line, to a semi-pedestrianised street with the Cathedral ahead, with a range of shops, restaurants and even a parish church on the approach. The Queensgate Centre includes…
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Bishop Stillington’s Lost Chapel
“Lambert Simnel”, “Tudor” propaganda, Battle of Bosworth, Battle of Sedgemoor, bigamy, Camery Gardens, Edward IV, Edward VI, George Duke of Clarence, Henry VII, imprisonment, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Lady Chapel, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lord Chancellor, Monmouth Rebellion, pre-contract, Richard III, Robert Stillington, Saxon churches, Sir John Gates, Stoke Field, Taunton, Titulus Regius, Wells Cathedral, Yorkist symbolsThe beautiful Cathedral of Wells is a medieval visual delight. It was, of course, the See of Bishop Robert Stillington who sought out Richard Duke of Gloucester and announced that King Edward IV had been secretly married to Eleanor Talbot, daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury, prior to wedding Elizabeth Woodville in a second secret…
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Here’s Legends an interesting book of Leicestershire folk tales for children. It includes the intriguing story of the griffin of Griffydam. Oh, and it also relates the “legends” about King Richard III !!
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In 2020 there are planned commemorations of the martyrdom of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. King Henry II blew his top, shouted words to the effects of ‘Who will rid me of this turbulent priest? and four knights clunked off towards Canterbury, thinking the King would reward them well if they disposed of Thomas. The…
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I can’t say that this article is all that informative, or, indeed, erudite, but it is about Bestwood Park, which as we all know was a favourite hunting park for many of our monarchs. Including Richard, of course, and he does get a mention. If nothing else, the wintry illustrations show what it may have been…
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So tomorrow’s royal wedding will involve a fleet of carriages – should be great to see, and I really hope the weather comes up trumps for the occasion. In this article, I noticed the following passage:- “….The original Mews was built at Charing Cross to house King Richard II’s hawks in 1377, and was named…
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