buildings
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“It was a couple of years ago that I first heard about the existence of an old roll of parchment containing the coats of arms of people connected with Ludlow Castle. It was owned by a dealer in the Portobello Road in London who had had it for several years. Heraldic rolls like this are…
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Yorkshire is obviously of great interest to Ricardians, as it is to those who are generally interested in the county. You will all find something to educate and entertain you at the midgleywebpages.com site, which traces the origins of the Yorkshire name Midgley. However there are two pages that I think may be of particular consequence…
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It was a member of the Nanfan family of Birtsmorton Court in Worcestershire (Sir Richard Nanfan, Deputy Lieutenant of Calais) who told tales to Henry VII about Sir James Tyrell giving succour to the fugitive Yorkist de la Pole brothers, Edmund and Richard. Tyrell had done this knowing full well that the elder brother, Edmund,…
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St Columba may have been the founder of Iona, but he (apparently) had some rather odd views, including the need to banish women and cows from the island. He said—”Where there is a cow there is a woman, and where there is a woman there is mischief.” Like far too many men of God, his…
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There are numerous castles in the Welsh Marches. I was going to say countless, but I’m sure someone will have counted to the very last motte. Among the lesser known is Shrawardine (pronounced Shray-den), in Shropshire, not far from Shrewsbury. What remains of it overlooks the River Severn, and as there was another fortification of some sort on…
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Thomas Vaughan ap Rosser was born in 1400, and nicknamed ‘Black’ Vaughan because of his black hair; or perhaps because of his black nature. No one knows which. His main residence was Hergest Court, near Kington in Herefordshire, and his wife was Ellen Gethin of Llanbister, Radnorshire. She was, from all accounts, a formidable…
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ST MARY’S CHURCH, FAIRFORD: ROYAL PORTRAITS
Arthur “Tudor”, Bere Regis, Catherine of Aragon, churches, Edward of Warwick, Edward V, Elizabeth of York, Fairford, Gloucestershire, Henry VI, Henry VII, Henry VIII, John Betjeman, John Morton, John Tame, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Margaret “Tudor”, Mary “Tudor”, Nikolaus Pevsner, Queen of Sheba, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Solomon, Thomas WolseySt Mary’s, Fairford, Gloucestershire. ‘A complete and perfect Perpendicular church’ and famous for it fine collection of medieval glass. Described in Betjeman’s Best British Churches as ‘a complete and perfect Perpendicular’ church(1) this beautiful wool church was rebuilt by John Tame, a wool merchant from Gloucester , in the late 15th Century to replace a…
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In my other article about Richard’s support for the Harringtons of Lancashire against Thomas, Lord Stanley, * I promised to write more about Stanley’s treachery and thirst for revenge on Richard. Other events happened at around the same time as the Harrington/Stanley quarrels, indeed the two are contiguous, and this time Richard was responsible for Thomas…
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A History Walk in Wiltshire
Alton Magna, attainder, Beaufort family., Blanche of Lancaster, Buckingham rebellion, churches, Duchy of Lancaster, Edward de Bohun, Edward II, Edward III, Edward IV, Figheldene, Francis Stourton, Henry IV, Hugh le Despenser, Isabella de Valois, John of Gaunt, Leicester, Lord Chancellor, Maud of Lancaster, Netheravon, Roger Mortimer, Simon de Montfort, Thomas Rotherham, William Berkeley, WiltshireSometimes, in this very old country of ours, even a simple afternoon’s walk out along the river can come up with some rewarding historical data relating to the Middle Ages and the Wars of the Roses period. Recently I went for a walk near the Wiltshire Avon, from Figheldean to Netheravon, taking in two little-known…
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TEN OF THE BEST MEDIEVAL ABBEYS IN BRITAIN.
Anne Neville, Bolton Abbey, Buildwas Abbey, Byland Abbey, Coverham Abbey, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Edinburgh, Edward of Middleham, Fountains Abbey, Henry VIII, Holyrood Abbey, Kirkstall Abbey, lost buildings, Melrose Abbey, Monmouthshire, Richard III, Rievaulx Abbey, Roxburghshire, ruins, Shropshire, Tintern Abbey, Whitby Abbey, YorkshireWe have lost so much over the centuries down to warfare, fire, wanton and quite senseless destruction. Perhaps the most grievous loss has been that of our once magnificent Abbeys , which even in their ruinous states are still capable of moving us by their heartbreaking beauty, captured here in stunning and evocative photography Enjoy…