The New Murrey and Blue blog

buildings

The rediscovered abbot has now been reinterred in his beloved St Albans….

Jan 20, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, religion, sources

abbots, British Library, Henry VI, Humphrey of Gloucester, John of Wheathampstead, reburials, Registra, St. Alban, St. Albans Cathedral, Thomas de la Mere, Thomas Walsingham

In the above illustration I do believe the illustrator has endeavoured to create the real Abbot Wheathampstead (also Whethamstede), baldness and all, if the lack of hair around the ears is anything to do by. My interest in St Albans has hitherto been concerned with the 14th century, specifically the time of Abbot Thomas…
What if Henry Tudor had been a handsome, charismatic challenger….?

Jan 19, 2023

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings, humour, law

“Princes”, Battle of Bosworth, beards, Henry VII, NPG, Richard III, royal portraits, squinting, Stanleys, treachery

As supporters of Richard III, we find it only too easy to dislike Henry VII. Not only did the churl defeat and kill Richard (not even through his own martial endeavours but through treachery!) but his looks mean we wouldn’t trust him an inch. He looks cold, calculating, shifty and downright untrustworthy, nor…
Another one bites the dust….well, starts to….

Jan 17, 2023

buildings, law

Ash Manor, Edward II, Edward III, Henry VI, listed buildings, Manorial Court Rolls, Old Manor Cottage, Richard II, royal residences, Surrey

While pursuing information about the medieval royal residence known as Henley-on-the-Heath in Surrey, I’ve found yet another example of our disappearing past. This one hasn’t quite gone, but it’s certainly being encroached upon. Now known as Ash Manor, this royal residence was purchased in 1324 by Edward II, and remained a royal property until Henry…
Another interesting article from Academia

Jan 15, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy, law

“Lambert Simnel”, abeyance, Academia, allegiance, Anne Neville, Barons Scrope of Bolton, Barons Scrope of Masham, Bolton Abbey, Buckingham rebellion, Cicely Plantagenet, Domenico Mancini, Elizabeth Neville, Elizabeth Scrope, executions, Francis Viscount Lovell, Greystoke, Henry IV, Henry V, indenture, Lord High Constable, Lord Protector of the Realm, Marquess of Montagu, marriages, Northern Rising, pardons, property, Ralph Scrope, Richard III, Scottish campaign 1482, Sir Humphrey Stafford, Southampton plot, Stoke Field, titles, Warden of the West Marches, Yorkshire

This one, by Lorraine C. Attreed, is entitled An Indenture between Richard Duke of Gloucester and the Scrope Family of Masham and Upsall, one of the two noble branches of the Scropes, the other being those of Bolton. The indenture, a copy of which serves as an appendix, dates from mid-January 1476 shortly after the…
Torquay and Torre Abbey

Jan 12, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, law, religion, travel

abbeys, Agatha Christie, Agatha Christie Mile, Babbacombe murder, Barons Hunsdon, Careys, Carys, crime, Dissolution of the Monasteries, First World War, Jacobites, museums, poisons garden, Premonstratensian order, priests, recusants, Royal Navy, the Green Ginger, The Legendary Ten Seconds, Torquay, Torquay Crime Museum, Torre Abbey, Viscounts Falkland

Thanks to our friends at the Legendary Ten Seconds, I had heard of Torre Abbey but didn’t realise that it was open to visit, as convenient or spectacular as it is. Half of the original building remains, on three floors including an art exhibition, whilst the other half (including the church) is a ruin, complete…
See around and maybe help at Coventry’s refurbished Charterhouse….

Jan 11, 2023

buildings, Events, religion

Coventry Charterhouse, Coventry Observer, Heritage Open Days, listed buildings, refurbishment, Richard II

One never knows what treasures lurk in the English countryside, and indeed city and suburban areas. There are so many medieval morsels still lingering to delight the eye and make us proud of our magnificent heritage. The 14th-century Charterhouse at Coventry is no exception. It was founded by King Richard II in 1385. The Grade…
The Mysterious Disappearance of Henry Pole the Younger in the Tower of London

Jan 9, 2023

anniversaries, art, buildings, genealogy, religion, sources

Charles de Marillac, clerical celibacy, Cowdray, Edward Courtenay, Edward IV, executions, Francis I, George Duke of Clarence, Hazel Pierce, Henry Lord Montagu, Henry Pole the Younger, Henry VII, Henry VIII, hypocrisy, Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, Margaret of Salisbury, Mary I, Paul Delaroche, Reginald Cardinal Pole, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, royal apartments, royal tutors, Sir Geoffrey Pole, starvation, Tower of London

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri @sparkypus.com Picture this…a young lad of about thirteen or thereabouts. Royal Plantagenet blood coursing through his veins. His father is dead and no longer able to neither protect nor save him. His mother is also no longer around to help or comfort him. Life has changed for him…
Two tragic kings called Richard….

Jan 8, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings

“Princes”, Battle of Bosworth, Edward of Middleham, France, Henry IV, Isabella de Valois, peace, Pontefract Castle, Richard II, Richard III, royal marriages, usurpation

I know I’ve rabbited about this before, because I’m fascinated by both King Richard III and his predecessor Richard II. Such fascination sparks latter-day loyalties. It certainly has with me. Tragedy struck them both, and as supporters of Richard III we know he was maligned as the killer of his two small nephews, betrayed,…
The Legendary Ten Seconds: Sagas of the South West

Jan 7, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, religion, travel

Arthur “Tudor”, Catherine of Aragon, Devon, Exeter, Exeter Deanery, Honiton, Plymouth, Shaftesbury Abbey, Sherborne, storms

A Princess of Aragon She landed in Plymouth on a Saturday The reception plans in disarray Shaken by a channel storm Her entourage looking all forlorn The English Autumn she would see The leaves falling from every tree A Princess of Aragon Her journey told in this song The Spaniards fell to…
A review of Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors….

Jan 5, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, Events, law, religion, Science, sources, television reviews

“Tudors”, Anne of Bohemia, Anzac Day, Bayeux Tapestry, burials, Channel Five, Charles “III”, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Charles I, Charles II, Cheyneygates, Cicely Plantagenet, coronation chair, coronations, Crown of St. Edward, Dame Judi Dench, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Duke of Norfolk, Easter, Elizabeth II, executions, gardens, Harold II, Hawksmoor Tower, Henry V, Henry VII Lady Chapel, Holy Week, Imperial State Crown, Lady Diana Spencer, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Lent, Liber Regalis, Operation Golden Orb, Order of the Bath, Palm Sunday, Platinum Jubilee Roof, Poets’ Corner, Pyx Chamber, Queen Mother, records, Richard II, Royal Peculiars, Royal regalia, Shrine of St. Edward the Confessor, Sir Derek Jacobi, Sir Ian McKellen, Sir john Gielgud, Sir Ralph Scrope, St. Paul’s, State Opening of Parliament, Stone of Scone, Timothy West, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Tower of London, Viscount Welles, weddings, Westminster Abbey

I have now watched all of the Channel 5 series Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors, which is so packed with information that I hardly know where to begin with this review. Aha, did I hear you say the beginning might be a good idea? You’re right, so here goes with a selection of descriptions from…