buildings
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“….The [former Cistercian] Abbey at Coggeshall isn’t your average home — even by the standards of the sort of homes featured in Country Life. It’s a historic former monastic complex of immense character and charm set in 25 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens on the banks of the River Blackwater, less than a mile from the…
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Over a weekend in mid-July 2023 there was an archaeological event at Powis Castle during which visitors could participate in The Festival of Archaeology, “….a national, annual programme of events which runs over two weeks. Events in the series include activities, talks, guided walks, exhibitions, excavations, activities and more. The theme for this year is…
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REBLOGGED FROM A Medieval Potpourri @sparkypus.com The Crystal Sceptre. Given by a grateful King Henry V to the City of London in recognition of the financial aid given towards the Battle of Agincourt. Photo The Lord Mayor of London @Twitter. Some of the eagle eyed amongst you who recently watched the coronation of Charles III…
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So here is the latest of Kathryn Warner‘s series about Edward II’s family. As the title suggests, it is focussed on the lives of Edward III’s eleven grandaughters, nine of whom were paternally descended including four by John of Gaunt. The first, Philippa of Clarence, was born in 1355 and the last to die was…
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An Abbey in Dublin Unearthed
Archbishop of Dublin, bigamy, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Dublin, Earls of Ormond, Earls of Ulster, Earls of Wiltshire, Edward Bruce, Edward IV, executions, Henry VIII, Ireland, James Butler, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Mael Sechnaill mac Maele Ruanaid, pre-contract, Richard Talbot, Robert de Nottingham, St. Mary’s Abbey, Towton, Walter ChampfleurExcavations in Dublin city centre have uncovered the remains of what was once one of Ireland’s most important medieval monasteries. St Mary’s was a House of Benedictines, followed by Savignac monks and then Cistercians, and it was exceedingly wealthy, with the added bonus of being permitted to claim goods from shipwrecks. At times, it was…
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Information about Blanche Bradestone (or Bradstone) is hard to find, despite the fact that she was recognised as ‘the King’s kinswoman’ by Richard II and became a Lady of the Garter in 1399. Her brass is to be found at Winterbourne, Gloucestershire, which appears to have been her principal manor. It is located in the…
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The Lordship of Powys (Part 2)
abeyance, Adam of Usk, Alice Fitzalan, Alionore Holland, Anne Mortimer, Caerleon, Earls of Arundel, Edmund Earl of March, Edward Charlton, Edward I, Edward II, Glyn Dwr rebellion, Hawise Gadarn, Isabelle de Valois, John Charlton, Lady Despencer, Lords of Powys, Marcher Lords, Owain de la Pole, Philippa de Coucy, Richard Earl of Cambridge, Richard II, Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March, Shropshire, Sir John Berkeley, sir john grey of seton, Sir John Oldcastle, Thomas Lord Berkeley, Usk, widowsOwain de la Pole‘s daughter, Hawise (1290-1349), eventually inherited the Lordship, her brother having died. She was known as Hawise Gadarn, which means in English ‘the Hardy’. Hawise married John Charlton (or Cherleton) a knight from a relatively minor Shropshire family who had acquired the favour of Edward I. In 1313 Edward II sent John…
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Oh dear, now we have controversy bubbling about another king under a car park. We know that Philippa Langley is pursuing the possibility that Henry I lies under the car park of the former Reading Gaol (which itself stood on the site of Reading Abbey, where Henry I was buried at the high altar). It’s…
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Powys is an interesting Marcher Lordship in that it was never conquered by the English but descended by inheritance. Of course, the Welsh princes of Powys tended to be quite pro-English. (Perhaps one should really say pro-Anglo-Norman.) This is quite understandable, however shocking it may seem to modern nationalist sentiment. For one thing, Powys was…
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Life wasn’t always a bed of roses for Geoffrey Chaucer. We may laud him today, but in his own time he sometimes got into debt. His works are brilliant, there’s no doubt about that (I rate him above Shakespeare) and he made a fortunate marriage to one Philippa de Roët. Who she? Well, she was…
