The New Murrey and Blue blog

law

King Richard and the Duke of Gloucester….

Jan 6, 2023

anniversaries, genealogy, law, religion, sources

British Library, Dukes of Gloucester, Edmund Duke of York, Epiphany, Froissart, Harley 4380, John of Gaunt, Lord Protector of the Realm, Regency, Richard II, Richard III, Sir John Lackingay, Thomas of woodstock, tyranny

There are two instances (of which I know) involving a Duke of Gloucester and a king called Richard. The one that is best known to Ricardians is Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who became Richard III. But there was another instance in the previous century, when Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, made the life of…
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…
Richard III’s many daughters….

Jan 4, 2023

art, battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion

Anne Boleyn, Anne Neville, Anne Norris, Bosworth, Captain of Calais, Cardiff Castle, disinformation, Edward IV, Elizabeth of York, executions, fake news, Francis Viscount Lovell, Frideswide Lovell, Henry Norris, Henry VII, Henry VIII, illegitimate children, Joanna, John of Gloucester, Katherine Countess of Pembroke, Manuel Duke of Beja, missing feet, Portuguese marriage plans, Richard III, scoliosis

Fake news. Ah yes. We regard this as a modern curse, but, of course, it goes back through the centuries. Probably ever since the humans in one cave fell out with the humans in another. Lies…erm, fake news…soon circulated. And if there was one King of England about whom there is fake news in…
Some minor problems with Thomas More’s account.

Dec 31, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law, religion, sources

“Princes”, “withered arm”, Anne Beauchamp, Anthony Wydville, Beaulieu Abbey, bigamy, discrepancies, Edward IV, executions, Henry VI, Henry VII, illegitimacy, Jane Shore, Lady Elizabeth Lucy, Lord Chancellor, marriage ceremony, mediaeval canon law, More, Pontefract Castle, pre-contract, Ralph Shaa, Richard III, secret marriage, Sheriff of Glamorgan, Sir James Tyrrell, Sir Richard Grey, Sir Richard Ratcliffe, Sir Robert Brackenbury, Sir Thomas Vaughan, Tewkesbury, Thomas Dighton, Tower of London, Vice-Constable, Westminster, William Catesby, witchcraft

King Edward, of that name the fourth, after that he had lived fifty and three years, seven months, and six days, and thereof reigned two and twenty years, one month, and eight days, died at Westminster the ninth day of April. King Edward was born 28 April 1442 and died 9 April 1483. He was…
Walking Among Lions

Dec 23, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy, law

Brian Wainwright, Constance of York, Edmund of Langley, Hanley Castle, historical fiction, House of York, Order of the Garter, trilogies, Walking Among Lions

Those of you who enjoy historical fiction featuring members of the House of York may like to know that Brian Wainwright is writing a trilogy of novels about Constance of York, Edmund of Langley‘s daughter. The first book in the series, Walking Among Lions, is already available from Amazon. It can be had in paperback,…
Newport and the lucky/unlucky Staffords….

Dec 20, 2022

battles, buildings, genealogy, law

Battle of Shrewsbury, Buckingham rebellion, Earls of Stafford, executions, Gwent, Henry of Buckingham, Hugh Earl of Stafford, John Holland, murder, Newport Castle, pilgrimage, Ralph Stafford, Richard II, Richard III, Scottish campaign 1385, Staffords, William Howard Viscount Stafford

It seems to me, looking at the list in this article about Newport Castle, that a few members of the Stafford family came to sticky ends, some deserved, some apparently not. They may have been unlucky, but the family was wealthy and titled, so perhaps not that hard done by. In 1377 Hugh, Earl of…
Rebellion in the Middle Ages

Dec 19, 2022

anniversaries, battles, Book Reviews, buildings, law, religion

Archbishop of Canterbury, Arthur of Brittany, Azincourt, Bannockburn, Barons’ War, Battle of Evesham, Battle of Hastings, Battle of Lewes, Battle of Shrewsbury, Black Death, Blackheath, Boroughbridge, Canterbury Cathedral, Crusades, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Edward I, Edward II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, executions, First Battle of St. Albans, France, Geoffrey of Brittany, Henry Cardinal Beaufort, Henry II, Henry III, Henry IV, Henry the Young King, Henry V, Henry VI, Hereward the Wake, House of Lancaster, Hugh Despencer, Hugh Despencer the Younger, Humphrey of Gloucester, insanity, Isabelle de France, Isle of Ely, Jack Cade, John, John Ashdown-Hill, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Protector of the Realm, Lords Ordainers, Magna Carta, Matilda, Matt Lewis, murder, Parliament, Peasants’ Revolt, Peterborough Abbey, Piers Gaveston, rebellions, Richard Duke of York, Richard I, Richard II, Robert of Gloucester, Roger Mortimer, Royal Marriage Secrets, Scarborough Castle, secret marriage, Southampton plot, St. Thomas Becket, Stephen, The Anarchy, Thomas of Lancaster, Tower of London, usurpation, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, William Duke of Suffolk, William I, William Marshall

This is the latest of Matthew Lewis’ books and covers a longer period than any of the others, from Hereward the Wake’s emergence after Hastings to the beginning of the Wars of the Roses, almost as long a period as this book. Lewis is already an expert on “The Anarchy” (chapter 2) and the Roses…
The Wandering Butler: John, 6th Earl of Ormond

Dec 14, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion, sources

“Perkin”, Act of Resumption, Anne Boleyn, Anne Welles, Archbishop Talbot, attainders, bastardy, Battle of Bosworth, Battle of Northampton, Burgundy, Butlers, Butlers of Desmond, Captain of Calais, Charles the Bold, Chief Butler of Ireland, Cockermouth Castle, consanguinity, County Kilkenny, Earls of Desmond, Earls of Ormond, Edmund MacRichard Butler, Edward of Lancaster, Edward V, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Elizabeth of York, Ellice Barry, entail mail, First Battle of St. Albans, Guisnes, Henry of Buckingham, Ireland, Jerusalem, Joan Beauchamp, Joan Chaworth, justiciar of Ireland, Kilkenny Castle, Killone Abbey, languages, law studies, Lincoln’s Inn, Lord Grey of Codnor, Louis XI, Ludford Bridge, Margaret of Burgundy, marriages, Munster. Avice Stafford, naval fleet, nuns, ODNB, Peerage of Ireland, Piers Butler, Piltown, Portugal, Pronothary of Bourbon, Raghnailt, Readeption, Richard III, Rome, royal pensions, Sandwich, Scotland, Sir Edmund Mortimer, Sixtus IV, Statute of Kilkenny, Stephen Ellis, Tadhg King of Thomond, Thomas Earl of Desmond, Tipperary, Wars of the Roses, Waterford, Wydevilles

FAMILY BACKGROUND The Lancastrian leader who faced – or failed to face – Thomas, Earl of Desmond, at the Battle of Piltown in 1462 was the fourth of the five children born to James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond (otherwise known as the White Earl), and his countess Joan Beauchamp, daughter of William Beauchamp, Lord…
THE HAUNTING OF RICHARD III- A NEW MUSICAL

Dec 13, 2022

anniversaries, battles, law, Music Reviews, religion, The play’s the thing

“Princes”, Anne Neville, Battle of Bosworth, bigamy, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Elizabeth Wydeville, Francis Viscount Lovell, Frome, ghosts, Henry of Buckingham, illegitimacy, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Kairos Theatre Company, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lady Margaret Beaufort, limp, Merlin Theatre, musicals, northern accent, pre-contract, prostitution, Shakespeare, shoulder, Somerset, The haunting of Richard III, Thomas Baron Stanley, war heroes, William Catesby, William Lord Hastings

When I saw that a new musical called THE HAUNTING OF RICHARD III was on at the Merlin Theatre in Frome, a mere 40 minutes away, how could I resist? I realise musical theatre is a bit of a ‘marmite’ subject for many, but in my own misspent youth, yes, I confess I tread the…
Murder at Pencoed Castle….

Dec 7, 2022

battles, buildings, law, Science

“Tudors”, Battle of Bosworth, Llanmartin, Monmouthshire, murder, Norman castles, Pencoed Castle, ruins, Sir Thomas Morgan

Last night I watched a documentary about the 2016 murder of call girl Georgina Symonds by her lover, millionaire Peter Morgan. The story of the murder is intriguing enough, but I found myself being more concerned about the scene of the crime, the picturesque ruins of Pencoed Castle in Monmouthshire. It’s situated at Llanmartin, near…