buildings

The city of Gloucester and its links to Richard III….

Jul 29, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, heraldry, religion

Berkeley Castle, Charters, city of York, Edward II tomb, Gloucester, Gloucester Cathedral, Henry of Buckingham, Leicester, Margaret d’Anjou, Richard II, River Severn, royal tombs, Tewkesbury

My home city of Gloucester (and its cathedral) doesn’t turn up enough online, but here’s a link that’s all about Gloucester. And it gives Richard III a fair deal, although it doesn’t mention that on 29 July 1483*, during his royal progress, he granted Gloucester its charter. Nor that in 1471 Gloucester closed its gates…
Thomas Cromwell’s Book of Hours recognised….!

Jul 28, 2023

anniversaries, art, buildings, Events, law, religion

Anne Boleyn, Book of Hours, Catherine of Aragon, executions, exhibitions, Hans Holbein, Hever Castle, Kent, technology, Thomas Cromwell, Trinity College, Wren Digital Library

The news has broken that the Book of Hours belonging to Thomas Cromwell is here which appears in the Holbein portrait above, has been recognised (by Hever Castle curator, Alison Palmer) as the Hardouyn Hours, held today at Trinity College, Cambridge. You can view the Hardouyn Hours page by page at the Wren Digital…
Half a dozen dramatic events in the life of King John….

Jul 27, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law

Arthur of Brittany, Battle of Bouvines, hunting lodges, John, Magna Carta, Richard I, Robin Hood, Sheriff of Nottingham

King John’s very existence appears to have been one long drama, but when it comes to him there are usually two things that spring to mind instantly. (1) Magna Carta, and (2) he was vile. There are other things, of course, but these are the two that spring to my mind. Oh, and that as…
Wot, no Richard III….?

Jul 25, 2023

archaeology, buildings, films, Science

Highcross Shopping Centre, Leicester Greyfriars, Leicester University, Richard III, The Lost King

Well, once again the archaeologists of Leicester University are busy with their gleaming trowels. This time they’re scratching and scraping the ground beneath the Highcross Shopping Centre in search of Leicester’s Roman and medieval past. See here. I wish them well, truly, but can’t help noticing that complete omission of any mention of the finding…
I hope this book is more accurate than the blurb

Jul 24, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, Book Reviews, buildings, Science, The play’s the thing

“Tudors”, Bamburgh Castle, children, Edgecote, First Battle of St. Albans, Fotheringhay, Henry VII, Leicester Greyfriars, Micklegate Bar, mtDNA evidence, Pen and Sword, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, satire, Shakespeare, skeletons, teeth, Tewkesbury, The Children of Richard III, Tower of London, Towton, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, York

Perhaps this is just a matter of ambiguity rather than inaccuracy and that the book itself is clearer, however the jacket information really isn’t promising. Bamburg (sic), being by the east coast, had nothing to do with Tudors, real or imagined, until after Henry VII‘s accession, so it definitely wasn’t a “stronghold” of theirs during…
Give the Carys a Blue Plaque….!

Jul 23, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

attainder, blue plaque, Cary family, Cockington, executions, exile, Henry IV, Henry V, Ireland, judges, Richard II, Sir Edward Seymour, Sir George Cary, Sir John Cary, Spanish Armada, Spanish Barn, Tewkesbury, Torbay Civic Society, Torquay, Torre Abbey

The above image is of the Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey, Torquay where George Cary and Sir Edward Seymour: “…..jointly took 400 prisoners during the Spanish Armada and some residents today know the men were imprisoned in what we still call ‘The Spanish Barn’. Torre Abbey estates were then purchased by the Cary family in…
Henry IV and the Welsh March

Jul 21, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, sources

“Tudors”, Academia, Battle of Shrewsbury, Conwy Castle, Douglas Biggs, executions, Henry IV, high treason, Owain Glyn Dwr, patronage, rebellions, usurpation, Wales, Welsh Marches

This excellent article by Douglas Biggs suggests that many of the Welsh gentlemen who rose with Glyndwr, or at around the same time, did so, not because of perceived national sentiment but because of patronage, or the lack of it. The usurpation of Henry IV has the side effect of disturbing ‘normal’ patterns of patronage.…
London created champagne before the French….!

Jul 19, 2023

buildings, culture, religion

abbeys, Anglo-Saxons, Bermondsey, Bishops of Ely, champagne, Christopher Hatton, Christopher Merrett, churches, Duchy of Cornwall, Elizabeth I, Farringdon Road, France, Gloucestershire, Hatton Garden, Henry VI, Holborn Viaduct, Kennington, Kent, London, methode champenoise, Piccadilly, Rocque’s Map, Romans, Saffron Hill, Samuel Pepys, secondary fermentation, Smithfield, Southwark, St. Andrew Holborn, St. Augustine’s Abbey, The Oval, Vindolanda, Vineyard Walk, vineyards, Wales, Westminster

Yes indeed, it seems that Londoners invented champagne. It’s a claim that won’t go down well across La Manche, and I found it at this site, which is also where I found the illustration from Rocque’s Map below. “…If you could time travel back to medieval London you would [find it] awash with vineyards at…
Secrets of the Royal Palaces (series 3)

Jul 15, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, law, television reviews

beheadings, Bloody Tales of the Tower, botched executions, burnings, Channel Five, Crown Court, drawing hanging and quartering, executions, hangings, high treason, Jack Ketch, James of Monmouth, murder, robbery, Secrets of the Royal Palaces, witchcraft

This enthralling programme has returned, but made a dubious claim in the third epsode. Apparently, Jack Ketch was so hopeless at swinging an axe in a straight line, you would be better off as a commoner if facing execution, because almost anyone could be reasonably competent at short drop hanging, where breaking the subject’s neck…
The story of The Chertsey Curfew….

Jul 13, 2023

buildings, culture, law, religion, The play’s the thing

Albert Smith, Blanche Heriot, Chertsey, churches, Edward IV, mythology, Nicholas Audley, planned executions, plays, statues, Surrey, The Chertsey Curfew, The Surrey Theatre

We all love a heroine…even if her exerts are in favour of her Lancastrian lover! 😲 The story of Blanche Heriot of Chertsey in Surrey is set in 1471, just after Edward IV has won back his throne. The lover in question, one Nicholas Audley, fought on the wrong side, was captured and sentenced…