buildings
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Rent a castle? Yes please. A nice little New Year Lady-of-the-Manor sojourn would do nicely, thank you very much. My selection from the list at this site has to be Fernhill Castle near Skipton . Don’t ask me why. I simply like it, and it is genuinely old (from 14th century). There are other…
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Here we have another old manor house with a ghostie (a white lady). The house “….is said to have once been owned by Tudor knight Sir Rhys ap Thomas. It is thought that Sir Rhys and Derwydd Mansion provided accommodation for Henry Tudor, as well as 5,000 Welsh soldiers added to Henry’s growing army, as…
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A VISIT TO KING’S LANGLEY
Anne Mortimer, camels, Cecily Neville, Christmas, Clarendon Palace, clocks, Dominican friaries, Edmund of Langley, Edward II, Edward III, Eleanor of Castile, fire, Henry III, Henry IV, Isabel of Castile, Joan of Navarre, John of Wheathampstead, King’s Langley, palaces, Piers Gaveston, Reformation, Richard Earl of Cambridge, Richard II, royal tombsKing’s Langley was once home to a massive Plantagenet palace, built out of the remnants of a hunting lodge of Henry III for Edward I’s Queen, Eleanor of Castile. She furnished it lavishly, with carpets and baths. There were shields decorating the hall and a painted picture of four knights going to a tournament, while…
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The phenomenal Philippa Langley, finder of lost monarchs, is at it again! If you go here you’ll read that she has now discovered Henry I, and guess what? He too is under a car park. In his case it isn’t Greyfriars but the much grander Reading Abbey….albeit in a part that is now the car…
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I’ve always thought that moats were entirely for defence, but it seems no, there are other reasons as well, as you’ll read if you go here: 9 Myths About Medieval Moats and the Truth Behind Them | Ancient Origins (ancient-origins.net) Moats were also for showing off. The deeper and wider the moat, the more influential the…
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When it comes to yew trees (European variety – taxus baccata, picture from the Woodland Trust) the British Isles are very well endowed, not only with thousands of fine specimens, but hundreds of fine ancient specimens. Who hasn’t noticed the yew trees that grow by our parish churches? It’s said they’re a remnant of pagan…
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We all know Stokesay Castle. It’s simply outstanding, both dramatically and aesthetically. The half-timbered upper storey perched on top of the north tower is particularly beautiful. I remember once, many moons ago, my husband and I drove past on a road that looked down at the castle. It was alluring….but not open at that…
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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…
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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…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 