buildings

Molyneux? No, here come the Stanleys. Again….!

Mar 17, 2024

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy

“Princes”, bailiffs, Cheshire, Chester Castle, croxteth country park, cuerdale, eagle and child, earls of Sefton, Flint Castle, henry chaderton, Ireland, John of Gaunt, Lancashire, Liverpool, Molineux, Ribble, Richard II, Richard III, richard molyneux, River Thames, Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March, Sir thomas molyneux, Stanleys, Thomas Lord Stanley, Wolverhampton

I have recently been looking into the turbulent life of Sir Thomas Molyneux of Cuerdale, whose hall by the River Ribble has featured in one of my articles. He was not a quiet soul, and had a terrible end at the Battle of Radcot Bridge in 1387 when surrendering to a Mortimer. The latter pulled…
Warwick Castle’s influential ladies….

Mar 16, 2024

anniversaries, buildings, Events, genealogy

Anne Beauchamp, Anne Neville, international women’s day, Warwick Castle

It was International Women’s Day on 8 March 2024, and at Warwick Castle there was a celebration of the ladies who influenced the castle’s history. See this feature. As far as we Ricardians are concerned, Anne Beauchamp and (of course!) her daughter Anne Neville are of prime importance.
What ARE the Ides of March….?

Mar 15, 2024

anniversaries, buildings, films, religion

assassination, full moon, Ides of March, Julian Calendar, Julius Caesar, New Year, RAF, West Germany

My first acquaintance with the term the Ides of March was a school visit at the age of nine, when I was one of hundreds of schoolchildren watching it in an RAF hangar in West Germany. “Beware the Ides of March!” Well, I simply accepted the soundtrack and at that age certainly didn’t stop to…
Further news from Sutton Hoo

Mar 11, 2024

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, genealogy, religion

Basil Brown, National Trust, sir tony robinson, Sutton Hoo, Time team, Wuffings

A few months ago, we wrote about Time Team’s plans for additional excavations at Sutton Hoo. Here is a more up-to-date ITV article. As you can see, the National Trust are hoping that the dig will solve some “anomalies” and may make some new discoveries. The programme will be online in June.
Guy Ritchie’s inheritance blooper on Netflix….

Mar 7, 2024

buildings, genealogy, law, religion

bigamy, Castile, child mortality, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince, entail male, family trusts, guy ritchie, Henry IV, illegitimate children, Isabel of Castile, John of Gaunt, land, Lionel of Antwerp, Mortimers, Moynihan barony, Netflix, primogeniture, Richard II, Sir Brian Stanley-Wainwright, Stephen Lark, The Gentlemen, titles

There’s a new “blockbuster” coming up on Netflix. It’s called The Gentlemen, and is described as follows: “….Army captain Eddie Horniman is working for the UN abroad when he learns his aristocratic dad has died….everyone expects Eddie’s older brother Freddy to become next Duke of Halstead and inherit the estate…but his father has disinherited Freddy…
A circumstantial but viable clue to the eventual death of Edward II….

Mar 6, 2024

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion, Science, sources

Abdication, adam murimuth, Auramala Project, Battle of Sluys, Berkeley Castle, berkeley pill, Canada, Corfe Castle, david tandy, Edmund Earl of Kent, Edward II, Edward III, Edward IV, Edward V, elizabeth comyn, escape, evidence, executions, Fieschi Letter, fundy bay, Glenn Moran, Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucestershire, Hugh Despencer the Younger, Ian Mortimer, Isabelle de France, Joan of Kent, John Ashdown-Hill, John of Gaunt, Kathryn Warner, Lady Eleanor Talbot, mtDNA evidence, richard barber, Richard II, Richard of Shrewsbury, Richard Talbot, Roger Mortimer, Salisbury Cathedral, secret marriage, Severn Estuary, Thomas Lord Berkeley

In a way the mystery of Edward II is not unlike that of the Princes in the Tower (see here). In both cases supposed royal murders have turned out to be untrue and the victims have escaped to the Continent. Also in both cases the murder aspect has been unchallenged until relatively recently, with all the old…
A spare £9.5 million will get you a beautiful historic castle in Cumbria….

Mar 3, 2024

battles, buildings, sources, Uncategorized

appleby castle, british History Online, castles, First Battle of St. Albans, hotels, Lake District, property sales, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, Richard III, thomas baron clifford

Britain fair bulges with castles, especially along borders or simply impose control in troublesome areas. Some of these fortresses are stark, dramatic ruins that still carry the threatening air that was intended when they were built. Others are more beautiful….and still occupied by those fortunate enough to have, say, £9.5 million stashed away for a…
Roman Wales

Mar 1, 2024

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, culture, religion

Anne Neville, British tribes, caerlent, Caerleon, Cardiff Castle, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Christianity, Colchester Castle, conversion, Demetae, Despensers, Gower Peninsula, Kent, Llanelli, Magnus Maximus, Monmouthshire, Normans, Ordovices, Richard III, River Usk, Robert Curthose, Roman Britain, rugby, Silures, Swansea, Time team, Tower of London, tribes, Wales

The first thing to note about Roman rule in Wales is that it started in 48 AD, a few years later than in England, which is a consequence of the Claudian invasion having started in Kent. It is likely to have finished a little earlier too, in about 383, as the general Maximus Magnus sought…
The Red Castle

Feb 28, 2024

buildings, genealogy

audleys, Hawkstone Hall, Heighley Castle, Holy Grail, king arthur, Red Castle, stone

The Red Castle mentioned in The Adventures of Alianore Audley, is a real place, albeit not very much is left of it. It is in Hawkstone Park and was formerly one of the main residences of the Touchet/Audley family. The spelling of ‘Touchet’ varies enormously. Some members of the family used ‘Touchet’ while others used…
The rise and fall of Sir Thomas Molyneux’s Cuerdale Hall in Lancashire….

Feb 27, 2024

anniversaries, battles, buildings, sources

british History Online, Colonel Ralph Assheton, Cuerdale Hoard, John of Gaunt, Lancashire, Radcot Bridge, Ralph Holinshed, Richard II, Robert de Vere Duke of Ireland, Sir thomas molyneux, thomas mortimer

My meanderings in the name of research sometimes turn up things that rather bemuse me. This time I was in hot pursuit of Sir Thomas Molyneux of Cuerdale, who was murdered rather nastily by Thomas Mortimer Thomas Mortimer at the Battle of Radcot Bridge on 19 December 1387. Molyneux had once been John of…