buildings
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Catherine de Valois wooden funeral effigy on the left and the stone head thought to represent her on the right. Westminster Abbey is the home to a collection of unique and wonderful medieval wooden funeral effigies. These are to go on show once again in June 2018 with the opening the Abbey’s new Jubilee Galleries.…
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Whilst visiting Norwich to see the Whitefriars plaque to Lady Eleanor Talbot, Richard’s sister-in-law, in Tomblands near the Cathedral, I happened to take lunch in a particular hostelry, the Glass House. It is principally named for the city’s stained glass industry and various panels, also commemorate the author Harriet Martineau, the rebel Robert Kett, Cotman…
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One of the greatest of Arthur’s knights was Sir Gawain, hero of (among other legends) the tale of the Green Knight. There is some very interesting information about Gawain here: I always knew that the Welsh tradition has Gawain (Welsh – Gwalchmai) buried as follows:- “The grave of Gwalchmai in Peryddon, as a disgrace to…
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Many of us watched the TV version of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, showing a nicely unsanitised view of the Tudor world. Wolf Hall itself, of course, is the grand manor where Henry met his third wife, Jane Seymour–the one often described as ‘mousy’ but the ‘only one Henry loved’ (because she gave him a living…
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I’m surprised that I have never heard of this hoard before. It was found in 1940, so has been in the public eye for longer than I’ve graced this earth.
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Oxford’s Christ Church Cathedral lies in the precincts of the college of the same name. Originally it was the church of St Frideswide’s priory, and contained a shrine bearing the saint’s relics. This shrine was destroyed in the reformation but has since been pieced together as much as possible. The remains include some rare carvings…
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I’m doing well today when it comes to detailed maps – old maps, specifically .Attention has probably been drawn to this site on various occasions, but here it is again. You can zoom right in on maps that are usually/often hard to make out. I’ve chosen this 1583 Warwick/Leicester map at random. There are a…
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Do not read on if you’re squeamish about blood-sucking parasites. No, I’m not referring to Henry VII, but his equally usurping Lancastrian predecessor, Henry IV. When we think of medieval coronations, and see contemporary illustrations, we see the glamour, colour and solemnity of the occasion, hear the singing, smell the incense, observe the wonderful robes…
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“…an illiterate shepherdess girl who claimed that voices from God were instructing her to take charge of her nation’s army and lead it to victory…Legend states that Joan came to Scotland to be trained in the art of warfare in a remote stretch of Argyll…” The above is taken from this lengthy and informative article…
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Does anyone out there know the answer to a puzzle that has cropped up in my research? Watling Street, the Roman road, was the main route between London and Canterbury, Dover, etc. This made it very important. Watling Street passed through Dartford, crossing over the tidal River Darent. But wait, there wasn’t a bridge there until…
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