The New Murrey and Blue blog

buildings

The Wanderings of King Henry VI

Aug 12, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, art, battles, buildings

Alfred Wainwright, artefacts, Bolton Hall, Bolton-by-Bowland, Bracewell Barn, Clitheroe Castle, Henry VI, Hexham, Lake District, Luck of Muncaster, Muncaster Castle, Ravenglass, Readeption, Richard of Warwick, royal burials, Sir James Harrington, Sir Ralph Pudsey, Sir Thomas Talbot, Tower of London, Waddington Hall, Wasdale Head Inn

After the Battle of Hexham (15 May 1464) Henry VI very wisely made himself scarce. His first recorded place of refuge was Muncaster Castle in what is now Cumbria. The distance involved is roughly 90 miles, but anyone who has read Wainwright’s Guides to the Lakeland Fells will appreciate that this would include many…
A VINTAGE CARTOON OF EDWARD IV

Aug 11, 2021

anniversaries, art, buildings, humour

barrel, cartoons, Edward IV, executions, George Duke of Clarence, Margaret of Salisbury, Richard III, symbolism, Tower of London

I seem to collect pictures of Edward IV. He’s quite searchable online and has many various portraits come up, ranging from small illuminations in manuscripts to copies of copies of copies. They range from the sublime to ridiculous, as they rather do with Richard, but there are a lot more of them, as one might…
Walking “Tudor” England

Aug 10, 2021

battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion, television reviews, travel

“Bloody Mary”, “Tudors”, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, Arthur “Tudor”, Ashdown Forest, attainder, Austin Friars, bear-baiting, Bishops of London, Bridewell Palace, brothels, Cambridge, cannon, Channel Five, Christopher Hatton, Clifford’s Tower, conspiracies, dancing, de heretico comburendo, Dutch refugees, East Midlands, Edmund Bonner, Edward of Buckingham, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, excommunication, executions, exile, fire, Framlingham Castle, Fulham Palace, Greenwich Palace, Grey-Dudley rebellion, Gunpowder Plot, Guy Fawkes, Hampton Court, Henry Earl of Huntingdon, Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk, Henry VIII, Hever Castle, James VI/I, Jane, John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, John Foxe, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, Katherine Howard, Kenilworth Castle, Kenninghall, Kett Rebellion, Leicester, London, Lord Chancellor, Lord Guildford Dudley, Margaret Clitherow, Mary Stuart, Mass, Michelham Priory, naval power, Nicholas Ridley, Northern Earls’ Rebellion, Norwich, Penshurst Place, Pilgrimage of Grace, Pontefract, Portsmouth, recusants, Ripon Cathedral, Robert Aske, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, royal barges, royal hunting estates, Rushton Triangular Lodge, severed heads, Sir Henry Dudley, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Thomas Tresham, Sir Walter Raleigh, Southwark, St. Mary’s Abbey, Stamford, Suzannah Lipscomb, The Globe, Thomas Howard 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Stafford, tobacco, torture, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Will Kemp, William Cecil, William Shakespeare, Wyatt Rebellion, Yorkshire Museum

Suzannah Lipscomb has just completed another series on Channel Five, this time visiting the sites related to the “Tudors”. In the first episode, she concentrated on Henry VIII and the naval power he inherited from John Howard, Duke of Norfolk. The second was principally about the penultimate “Tudor”, Mary I, as well as Edward VI…
A new documentary about Shakespeare….

Aug 9, 2021

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

Alice Loxton, Dan Snow, secret marriage, Stratford, William Shakespeare

Dan Snow (who married in secret, although nobody has ever done that) and Alice Loxton have been filming in Stratford-upon-Avon for a new documentary about Shakespeare, to be released in September. I do hope it’s sensible!
The story of Queen Margaret’s Gate, York….

Aug 8, 2021

anniversaries, buildings

“Tudors”, Bootham Bar, Henry VII, James IV, King’s Manor, Queen Margaret’s Gate, royal marriages, royal visits, Scotland, York

“….[Queen Margaret’s Gate, Bootham Bar] was supposedly intended as a short-cut for King Henry VII (the man who had defeated Richard III) when he was visiting York and stayed at the Abbot’s Lodging, now King’s Manor. The short cut would have made it quicker for him to get from the abbey to the Minster….”…
An excellent site dealing with the history of Chester….

Aug 4, 2021

anniversaries, battles, buildings

Battle of Evesham, Cheshire, Chester, Chester Castle, Chester Cathedral, Chester city walls, Earls of Chester, Grosvenor Museum, Minerva Shrine, Old Dee Bridge, Simon de Montfort, The Rows

When roaming around the internet it’s always satisfying to come upon a site that is well worth recommending. The history of Chester has been dealt with thoroughly at this website. So if you want to know about that city (and its county) please pay an e-visit!
The lost city …

Aug 3, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings

Berwick, Borders towns, David I, Floors Castle, James II, Lancastrians, Richard III, River Teviot, River Tweed, Roxburgh, Scotland, Scottish campaign 1482, siege of Roxburgh, Time team

… of Roxburgh, one of David I’s auxiliary capitals, in Border country, was visited by Time Team in 2004. Now we can all have a better vision of the scene of the 1460 siege and understand how Richard’s 1482 invasion of Scotland hastened its end.
Henry I is probably under a nursery school, and might be best left there….!

Aug 2, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, religion, Science

bastardy, Henry I, Historia Anglorum, Kingfinder General, Matilda, murder, New Forest, nursery schools, Reading Abbey, Robert Curthose, royal burials, Walter Tirel, White Ship Disaster, William II

There are kings…and there are admirable kings. I’m afraid that from what I’ve heard about Henry I, he’s best left where he is! My friend hoodedman has written: “….It’s funny how Henry is not regarded as a controversial king despite maybe being implicated in his brother’s death in the New Forest, kept another brother…
Richard III’s woodland in Gloucester….

Aug 1, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, law

1483 charter, Alney Island, Gloucester, Gloucester Cathedral, Richard III, Richard’s Wood, River Severn

My home city of Gloucester has always appreciated Richard III, and in 1983, to celebrate it being 500 years since he’d granted Gloucester its charter, a new wood was planted to honour him. It’s on Alney Island, which is land between two channels of the River Severn on the western outskirts of the city. From…
The Bacon family and the Quaplode boar….

Jul 30, 2021

buildings, genealogy, heraldry, humour, religion

Bacon family, boars, Coddenham, Crowland Abbey, Lincolnshire, Lowestoft, Quaplode family, Shrubland Hall, Sir Francis Bacon, Sir Nicholas Bacon, Whaplode, Whaplode Riots

As is natural, Ricardians are always interested in heraldry depicting boars. And one might expect a family named Bacon to sport a member of the family Suidae on its escutcheon. However, it seems the connection between Bacon and boars is not at the root of it:- “….You may think that the boar is a pun…