The New Murrey and Blue blog

genealogy

News to come about that urn….?

Apr 6, 2017

buildings, genealogy, Science

“Princes”, Brentwood, DNA evidence, John Ashdown-Hill, Joy Ibsen, Richard III, Westminster Abbey

“A breakthrough in the search for Richard III’s remains was the fact that Dr Ashdown-Hill, who is a genealogist as well as historian, had used DNA science to trace a descendant of the king – Mrs Joy Ibsen who lived in Canada. “He is now using that DNA sequencing to dispel the centuries-old myths surrounding…
LOOKING FOR A KINGMAKER

Apr 4, 2017

buildings, genealogy

Anne Neville, Barnet, Edward IV, Edward of Lancaster, Elizabeth Wydeville, George Duke of Clarence, Henry VI, Isabel Neville, Lady Margaret Neville, Richard of Warwick, Sir Richard Huddleston, the Neville family, tombs, Warwick the Kingmaker

Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick is one of the most colourful and interesting figures of the 15th c. He put Edward IV on the throne, then fell out with him over his “marriage” with Elizabeth Woodville (and Edward’s increased chumminess with the Woodville family to the exclusion of Warwick) He married his elder daughter…
Empress Matilda-Should She Be Listed as an English Monarch?

Mar 29, 2017

genealogy, law

Anglo-Saxons, archaeology, Edward V, Edward VIII, Eustace, Faversham Abbey, France, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Henry I, House of Wessex, Jane, Malcolm III, Margaret of Wessex, Matilda, Northampton, Plantagenets, Reading Abbey, Robert of Gloucester, Salic Law, Siege of Wallingford, Stephen

One of the most fascinating (and bloody) periods of English history is The Anarchy, when Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I (he who might well be found sometime soon in the ruins of Reading Abbey) fought her cousin Stephen of Blois (thought to be in Faversham Abbey) for the English throne. Battles raged across the…
Those accident-prone Stewarts

Mar 27, 2017

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy

accidents, assassination, battles, cannon, executions, exile, Flodden, James I, James II, James III, James IV, James V, Joan “Beaufort”, Margaret “Tudor”, Mary Stuart, Perth, rebellion, Richard III, Roxburgh, Sauchieburn, Scotland, Solway Moss, Stewarts

As this excellent article reminds us, there were eight pre-union Stewart monarchs, or nine if you exclude James VI, who had already reigned in Scotland for nearly forty years before inheriting the English throne. Of these, excepting the two Roberts, only two turned up for a pitched battle with against an English army and only…
Yes, that Thomas of Lancaster

Mar 22, 2017

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, Science

auctions, Bauge, Boroughbridge, Colchester, Dukes of Beaufort, Edward II, executions, Henry V, House of York, John Ashdown-Hill, Kathryn Warner, Pontefract, Thomas Earl of Lancaster, Thomas of Clarence, Y-chromosome

He lost his head at Pontefract so what was he doing on sale in Colchester? This Kathryn Warner post gives a lot of detail about Thomas Earl of Lancaster’s life, rebellion and execution six days after the Battle of Boroughbridge. Here we explained the circumstances in which John Ashdown-Hill is seeking his remains, to solve…
Was Richard of Conisburgh illegitimate?

Mar 19, 2017

genealogy, Science

Constance of York, DNA evidence, Earls of March, Edmund Duke of York, Edward of Norwich, executions, Henry V, Isabel of Castile, Lord Scrope of Bolton, Mortimers, Richard Duke of York, Richard Earl of Cambridge, Sir Thomas Grey, Southampton plot, T.B. Pugh, Thomas Holland, Y-chromosome

Was Richard of Conisburgh Illegitimate?
A Tale of Three Mistresses – Mangled by More

Feb 5, 2017

genealogy, law, sources

“Tudors”, Annette Carson, Armstrong, Arthur, bigamy, Blaybourne, Cecily Duchess of York, David Grummitt, dispensations, Edward IV, Elizabeth Lucy, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Woodville, George Buck, Henry VII, illegitimacy, John Earl, Kincaid, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Louis XI, Mancini, Margaret FitzLewis, Margaret Lucy, Marie Barnfield, mediaeval canon law, mistresses, Ricardian, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Sir Lewis John, Sir Thomas Lumley, Sir William Lucy, Stephen Lark, Thomas More, usurpation, Waytes of Southampton, William Shore

(from http://www.annettecarson.co.uk) Our primary source of gossip about Edward IV’s mistresses is attributable to the pen of Thomas More (1478–1535), knight and latterly saint. While writing about Richard III, More found space for a lengthy diversion into the career of ‘Mistress Shore’, perhaps Edward’s most notorious extra-marital concubine, about whose present and past conditions the…
Careless talk really does cost lives

Feb 4, 2017

anniversaries, battles, genealogy

Catherine de Valois, Edmund “Tudor”, executions, Hereford, Hereford Greyfriars, Jasper “Tudor”, John Ashdown-Hill, Lancastrian propaganda, Owen Tudor, Richard Duke of York, Richard of Salisbury, Richard of Warwick, Royal Marriage Secrets, rumours

Today in 1461, at Hereford marketplace, Owain Tudor was executed and buried in the local Greyfriars. It appears that, although he had commanded Lancastrian troops at Mortimer’s Cross and been captured, he was not expecting this fate. He may well have foreseen himself being ransomed instead until he saw the block. Perhaps he was executed…
May the future be good for The Mortimers of Wigmore…

Feb 3, 2017

battles, genealogy

blogs, Mortimers

For anyone who, like me, is interested in the Mortimer Earls of March (who so nearly ascended to the throne after Richard II), there is a newish blog that is very informative. Instead we had the first of the Lancastrian kings. Yet again I find myself thinking, “If only…” Anyway, here are links. https://themortimersblog.wordpress.com/ and also on…
Descriptions of two important Ricardian books….

Jan 27, 2017

Book Reviews, genealogy, Science

A Small Guide to the Great Debate, Annette Carson, books, Canada, DNA evidence, Greyfriars, John Ashdown-Hill, Kent County Council, Leicester, reign, reputation, Richard III, The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA

Here’s how Kent County Council describes the two important Ricardian books. https://erl.overdrive.com/media/1389033 Richard III:A Small Guide to the Great Debate by Annette Carson “Ever since the discovery of his lost grave in Leicester, the eyes of the world have been drawn to the twists and turns surrounding England’s King Richard III… Annette Carson, acclaimed author…