buildings
-
Recently, John Halle’s house in Salisbury, a 15th century building and home to the Odeon Cinema, went up for auction. John Halle was a local merchant and a rather fractious fellow–he upset Edward IV and ended up cooling his heels in the Tower for a while, after having a major dispute with Richard Beauchamp, Bishop…
-
We all know the story of Richard III apparently spending a night at the White Boar Inn in Leicester, on his way to his fate at Bosworth. We know of his bed, with its supposed hidden treasure, and that the inn prudently decided to rename itself the Blue Boar, to avoid Tudor wrath (of which…
-
At first glance you’d think this article by Peter Hitchens of the Mail Online is going to be in praise of Tony Blair, especially when you also see the above photograph. But the former Prime Minister only comes into it to illustrate how at least one modern myth sprang up. The article goes on the…
-
Christ Stapleton (the Deputy News Editor who identifies as He/Him) has written an article about “the run-up to Roses [2023]”. You can read about Roses 2023 here. Unfortunately, the first mention of Richard III describes him as “infamous”. Then we get: “….Richard schemed to have his brother’s two children proved illegitimate, which would allow him…
-
Is it just me? Or does this house in Pirton, Worcestershire, which dates back to the Domesday Book and is described as Elizabethan, actually look merely Victorian/Edwardian? Ignore the black-and-white exterior, because even with the original more natural colours the house just does not look 16th/17th century, even though it is. To me it appears…
-
… another Aldi site. This one is in Olney, Buckinghamshire, near Milton Keynes and was discovered by Oxford Archaeology. it is believed to be the remains of a villa and bath house.
-
Was it really spring 2014 when the crown that John Ashdown-Hill had made for Richard III’s reinterment was put on display at Tewkesbury Abbey? All of nine years ago! Like many others I went to see it and happened to enter the abbey at a time when there was a lull in the arrivals. I…
-
The Battle of Largs
Alexander II, Alexander III, Alexander of Dundonald, Battle of Largs, Chronicle of Melrose, Clan McDonald, Dal Riata, dowries, Duke of Rothesay, England, Eric II, Gaelic kingdoms, Haakon IV, Hakonar saga Hakonarsona, Hebrides, Henry III, High Steward, House of Dunkeld, Iceland, Ireland, James III, Kirkwall, Lords of the Isles, Malcolm III, McWilliams, North Sea, Norway, Orkneys, Richard III, Scotland, Scottish campaign 1482, Shetlands, siege of Berwick, Sigrid the Haughty, StewartsDuring the first quarter of the second millennium, Scotland did not have a clear northern or western border. There was the North Sea to the east and England to the south, where the exact line varied on occasion, but the status of the west coast was far more nebulous. There was a Gaelic kingdom of…
-
My ignorance was revealed when I read this article because I didn’t know how old Pevensey Castle was. This ancient fortress in East Sussex dates back to the Romans in the 3rd Century, and so was about 775 years old when the Conqueror marched into it. What a pity it didn’t collapse over the Bastard!…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 