buildings

Where to dig and investigate next….?

May 31, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, religion, Science

castles, Collyweston, Druminmor, Joan of Navarre, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Leeds Castle, witchcraft

It’s always interesting to know where archaeologists hope to thrust their trusty trowels next, and this article lists some sites in England. The heading Category England seems clear enough to me. Um, not so, because Scotland, Ireland and the Welsh Marches are well represented. So, incidentally are Lancashire and Yorkshire, but then they are in…
Thomas of Woodstock was an unpleasant, supposedly pious bully….

May 30, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion, The play’s the thing

Duke of Sussex, Edmund of Langley, Edward III, Edward of Woodstock, Eleanor de Bohun, Henry IV, John of Gaunt, Lionel of Antwerp, Lords Apellant, Mary de Bohun, Peasants’ Revolt, Pontefract Castle, Radcot Bridge, rats, Richard II, succession, Thomas of woodstock, William Shakespeare

This article Thomas of Woodstock and Shakespeare’s Twisted History | Ancient Origins (ancient-origins.net) begins as follows:- “….William Shakespeare wrote ten history plays. Of these, one of the most famous is Richard II . The play Richard II , written around 1595, is based on the rule of King Richard II (reign 1377-1399), but one of the main characters in…
GLEASTON CASTLE – RENDEZVOUS FOR THE YORKIST REBELS IN 1487?

May 25, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, Science

“Lambert Simnel”, Battle of Bosworth, Cecily Bonville, Coldridge, coronations, Cumbria, David Baldwin, Dublin, Edward V, Elizabeth Wydeville, executions, Gleaston Castle, Harringtons, Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk, John Beaumont, Michael Bennett, Richard III, Robert Markenfield, sanctuary, Sir Henry Bodrugan, Sir John Evans, Sir Richard Edgecumbe, St. Matthew’s, Stoke Field, Thomas Grey Marquess of Dorset, Westminster Abbey

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri @ sparkypus.com Gleaston Castle today. Entrance to south west tower. Photo Chloe Grainger @castlestudiestrust.org Some of you reading this may be familiar with other posts I have written concerning what I call the Coldridge theory. For those of you who are not familiar with the theory here is a brief…
Another Richard III musical?

May 23, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, Music Reviews, The play’s the thing

Anthony Newley, Exhumation, Joan Collins, Leicester, Leicester cathedral, Leicester Greyfriars, Mail on Sunday, musicals, reburial, Richard III, Tara Newley

This one (Digging up Dick) was being written by the late Anthony Newley and is being resumed by Tara, his daughter with Joan Collins. As you will have observed, a lot has happened since Newley’s death in 1999, not least finding Richard’s real grave and reburying him.
The Epping hunting lodge of Queen Elizabeth I….

May 18, 2023

anniversaries, buildings

Chingford Plain, Elizabeth I, Epping Forest, Henry II, Henry VIII, hunting lodges, listed buildings

If, like me, you’re puzzled by this unusual, rather stark old building (which doesn’t look real or even English!) then this article explains: “….Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge is a Grade II* listed building that has been saved as a museum. This old timber-framed and plastered building is a unique example of a Tudor ‘grand stand’.…
Visit Skipton Castle, home of the slayer of Edmund of Rutland….?

May 16, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy

Cliffords, Edmund of Rutland, Ferrybridge, John Baron Clifford, Skipton Castle, Wakefield

“….Over 900 years old, Skipton Castle is one of the most complete and best preserved medieval castles in England and is well worth a visit at any season of the year. “….Visitors can explore every corner of this impressive history-rich castle….” So begins this interesting article Skipton Castle, Superbly Preserved Medieval Castle, Yorkshire about…
JOHN DE LA POLE EARL OF LINCOLN AND ELSTON CHAPEL – A POSSIBLE BURIAL PLACE?

May 14, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, religion

Anne Curry, Barnet, Battle of Bosworth, Battle of Stoke, Bernard Andre, Bisham Abbey, city of York, David Baldwin, Elizabeth of Suffolk, Elston Chapel, Francis Viscount Lovell, Glenn Foard, Henry VII, Heralds Account, John Duke of Suffolk, John Earl of Lincoln, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, John Neville Marquis of Montagu, Leicester Greyfriars, Margaret Fitzalan, Martin Schwarz, Michael Bennett, Polydore Vergil, revenants, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, St. Oswald’s, Willow Rundle, Wingfield Church

Reblogged from a Medieval Potpourri @ sparkypus.com The Last Stand of Martin Schwartz and his German Mercenaries at the Battle of Stoke Field 16th June 1487. Unknown artist Cassell’s Century Edition History of England c.1901. The battle of Stoke Field fought on the 16th June 1487 has been discussed elsewhere extensively so there is no need for…
Buckden Bishop’s Palace

May 13, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy, religion

“Princess Dowager”, Anne Neville, Bishops of Lincoln, Buckden Towers, Cambridgeshire, Catherine of Aragon, Cecily Neville, coaching villages, ghosts, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VIII, John Russell, Kimbolton Castle, knot garden, railways, Richard III, Staffords, Thomas Rotherham, towers

A few years back I wrote about Buckden Towers in Cambridgeshire, the old palace of the Bishops of Lincoln. Finally, with the pandemic receding, I was able to visit the site in its small village (once a thriving place in coaching times and earlier but much diminished with the advent of the railways.) Here Richard…
An armillary sphere to fit a medieval finger….

May 12, 2023

art, buildings, Science

armilliary sphere, astronomy, gardens, Hever Castle, jewellery, Merriam-Webster, rings, Whipple Museum

I didn’t know what an armillary sphere was until I saw this page and was prompted to look it up at Merriam Webster, where the definition is:- “ar·mil·la·ry sphere: an old astronomical instrument composed of rings showing the positions of important circles of the celestial sphere”. Then I realised that such spheres are often seen in…
Richard II had an ostrich….

May 11, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, heraldry, sources

Anne of Bohemia, Calendar of Patent Rolls, Charles IV, Henry IV, John of Gaunt, JSTOR, ostriches, parrots, polar bears, Richard II, Royal Menagerie, Tower of London

Here’s an oddity. Well, perhaps not, given that the kings of England had a royal menagerie at the Tower, in which a variety of exotic (to England) animals were kept. While looking at the Calendar of Patent Rolls for 1385 I came upon the following entry:- The entry doesn’t say the ostrich was kept in…