religion

Stokesay Castle, its history….and its spook….

Jul 30, 2023

battles, buildings, religion, sources

Bishop of Hereford, Civil War, de Say family, Domesday Book, English Heritage, ghosts, Shropshire, Stokesay Castle, wood carvings

We all know Stokesay Castle. It’s simply outstanding, both dramatically and aesthetically. The half-timbered upper storey perched on top of the north tower is particularly beautiful. I remember once, many moons ago, my husband and I drove past on a road that looked down at the castle. It was alluring….but not open at that…
The city of Gloucester and its links to Richard III….

Jul 29, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, heraldry, religion

Berkeley Castle, Charters, city of York, Edward II tomb, Gloucester, Gloucester Cathedral, Henry of Buckingham, Leicester, Margaret d’Anjou, Richard II, River Severn, royal tombs, Tewkesbury

My home city of Gloucester (and its cathedral) doesn’t turn up enough online, but here’s a link that’s all about Gloucester. And it gives Richard III a fair deal, although it doesn’t mention that on 29 July 1483*, during his royal progress, he granted Gloucester its charter. Nor that in 1471 Gloucester closed its gates…
Thomas Cromwell’s Book of Hours recognised….!

Jul 28, 2023

anniversaries, art, buildings, Events, law, religion

Anne Boleyn, Book of Hours, Catherine of Aragon, executions, exhibitions, Hans Holbein, Hever Castle, Kent, technology, Thomas Cromwell, Trinity College, Wren Digital Library

The news has broken that the Book of Hours belonging to Thomas Cromwell is here which appears in the Holbein portrait above, has been recognised (by Hever Castle curator, Alison Palmer) as the Hardouyn Hours, held today at Trinity College, Cambridge. You can view the Hardouyn Hours page by page at the Wren Digital…
Give the Carys a Blue Plaque….!

Jul 23, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

attainder, blue plaque, Cary family, Cockington, executions, exile, Henry IV, Henry V, Ireland, judges, Richard II, Sir Edward Seymour, Sir George Cary, Sir John Cary, Spanish Armada, Spanish Barn, Tewkesbury, Torbay Civic Society, Torquay, Torre Abbey

The above image is of the Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey, Torquay where George Cary and Sir Edward Seymour: “…..jointly took 400 prisoners during the Spanish Armada and some residents today know the men were imprisoned in what we still call ‘The Spanish Barn’. Torre Abbey estates were then purchased by the Cary family in…
London created champagne before the French….!

Jul 19, 2023

buildings, culture, religion

abbeys, Anglo-Saxons, Bermondsey, Bishops of Ely, champagne, Christopher Hatton, Christopher Merrett, churches, Duchy of Cornwall, Elizabeth I, Farringdon Road, France, Gloucestershire, Hatton Garden, Henry VI, Holborn Viaduct, Kennington, Kent, London, methode champenoise, Piccadilly, Rocque’s Map, Romans, Saffron Hill, Samuel Pepys, secondary fermentation, Smithfield, Southwark, St. Andrew Holborn, St. Augustine’s Abbey, The Oval, Vindolanda, Vineyard Walk, vineyards, Wales, Westminster

Yes indeed, it seems that Londoners invented champagne. It’s a claim that won’t go down well across La Manche, and I found it at this site, which is also where I found the illustration from Rocque’s Map below. “…If you could time travel back to medieval London you would [find it] awash with vineyards at…
How Edward IV’s bigamy should have been resolved

Jul 17, 2023

Alternative History, anniversaries, battles, genealogy, law, religion

Affinity, banns, bigamy, canon law, Castillon, Catherine de Roet, Catholicism, Church of England, consanguinity, Council of Trent, dispensations, Elizabeth Wydeville, family law, Henry VIII, illegitimacy, infertility, John Earl of Shrewsbury, John of Gaunt, lack of consent, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lumley-Conyers marriage, Moynihan barony, non-consummation, Papal Legate, pre-contract, R.H. Helmholz, Ralph Butler Baron Sudeley, Reformation, Sixtus IV, Statute of Merton, widows, witchcraft

Canon law, as practiced in most of Europe to the late mediaeval period, is noticeably different to the laws of the United Kingdom today, although it is somewhat looser today in several ways. Consequently, secret marriages were banned eventually, only first cousins now require dispensations and relationships do not beget affinity, although previous manages still…
Maria de Padilla

Jul 16, 2023

anniversaries, law, religion

bath houses, Constance of Castile, Edmund of Langley, Edward IV, Isabel of Castile, John of Gaunt, Maria de Padilla, novels, Pedro I, pogroms, secret marriage

This link leads to an interesting article on Maria de Padilla. (The novel referred to is only available in the United States, it appears.) Maria de Padilla was, of course, the ancestress of the House of York, mother of Isabel of Castile who married Edmund of Langley. She was said to be the most beautiful…
Brawling Bishop Boniface beats ‘em up at St Bartholomew’s….

Jul 14, 2023

anniversaries, genealogy, religion

Amadeus IV of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury, Boniface of Savoy, Eleanor of Provence, Friar Rahere, Henry III, Louis IX, Matthew Parris, miracles, Odo Bishop of Bayeux, St. Bartholomew’s, St. Thomas Becket, violence, visions, West Smithfield Priory

Becket wasn’t the only troublesome priest in medieval England, because in 1244 came another, Boniface of Savoy (see here and here) who became Archbishop of Canterbury. Boniface was the younger brother of Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy, and one of their nieces was Henry III’s queen, while another was married to King Louis IX of…
The story of The Chertsey Curfew….

Jul 13, 2023

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

Albert Smith, Blanche Heriot, Chertsey, churches, Edward IV, mythology, Nicholas Audley, planned executions, plays, statues, Surrey, The Chertsey Curfew, The Surrey Theatre

We all love a heroine…even if her exerts are in favour of her Lancastrian lover! 😲 The story of Blanche Heriot of Chertsey in Surrey is set in 1471, just after Edward IV has won back his throne. The lover in question, one Nicholas Audley, fought on the wrong side, was captured and sentenced…
Miniature mediaeval monarchs – and their consorts

Jul 12, 2023

anniversaries, art, law, religion, travel

Angelique Miniatures, Anne Neville, Catherine of Aragon, Elizabeth of York, Exeter, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Honiton, miniatures, Plymouth, Princess of Aragon, Richard III, The Legendary Ten Seconds, You Tube

A few months ago, I listened to a very interesting talk that was given by a lady who makes porcelain miniature dolls. I was particularly interested to see that she had brought along her miniatures of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York and later discovered that the picture on the back of her business card…