religion
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Digging up Britain’s Past: By George, I think she’s got it
“The King’s Great Matter”, Alex Langlands, annulment, Catherine of Aragon, Channel Five, devalued coinage, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Edward VI, Elsyng Palace, George Bernard Shaw, health, Helen Skelton, Henry VIII, Llantrisant, London, Old Coppernose, Pygmalion, Rievaulx Abbey, Royal Mint, silver platingThis second episode of this Channel Five series, presented by Alex Langlands and Helen Skelton, took us to Elsyng Palace, a North London house built by Henry VIII but with question marks about its precise venue until recently. Very unusually, the presenters clearly stated that the “King’s Great Matter” concerned not a divorce from Catherine…
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There are few more fertile sources for intricate information about the medieval past (and other areas too, of course) than theses that have been published online. A prime website for these is White Rose eTheses on line, of which I have written before. I am mentioning the site again now because of finding a particularly absorbing 2016 thesis by Anna Maria…
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Thetford
2nd Duke of Norfolk, Attleborough, Ayrton Senna, badges, Battle of Bosworth, burials, Dads’ Army, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Flodden, Howards, Iceni, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, Leicester, Lotus, Mowbrays, reburials, St. Edmund, St. Michael’s Church Framlingham, Thetford Priory, Thomas, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas PaineHere are the remains of Thetford’s magnificent Cluniac Priory, built in 1107 and the burial place of the Mowbrays and Howards up to 1540, when they were moved to St. Michael’s, Framlingham. Only about five minutes’ walk from the station, it is best visited on a dry day because Cromwell’s commissioners were ruthless and so,…
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The Castle of Leicester and St Mary De Castro
Alfred the Great, Battle of Bosworth, Blanche of Lancaster, Castle Gardens, Civil War, crime, Geoffrey Chaucer, Great Hall, Green Bicycle Murder, Henry I, Henry IV, Henry VI, Hugh de Grantmesil, John of Gaunt, Leicester, Leicester Castle, Norman conquest, Philippa de Roet, Phillippa of Hainault, Prince Rupert’s Gateway, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Robert de Beaumont, St. Aethelflaeda, St. Mary De CastroLeicester Castle Since 2015 going to Leicester is the equivalent of going to visit the tomb of the last Plantagenet King who died in battle: Richard III. Everything there speaks of him from the Visitor Centre named after him, to The Last Plantagenet Pub not to mention attractions and shops that display his portrait…
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Well, here are two stories from two English villages. Firstly, the present Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, will be at St Mary’s Parish Church at Eaton Bray, Bedfordshire, to mark its 800th anniversary. Unfortunately, the Bray part of the village’s name comes from Reggie Bray, upon whose memory we, er, frown. Reggie, of course, is…
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Well, when we think of the Romans, we now know they came from every corner of Europe and even the Middle East, but do we always think of Crusaders as being so diverse? This is an interesting article, and worth reading. Except….Richard III led the Third Crusade? One lives and learns. I’ll warrant Richard…
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Let’s be honest, the more senior churchmen (bishops and above) have always known how to live well. For centuries they have enjoyed elegant surroundings….and have lacked for nothing. The subject of this article is 15th-century Lyddington Palace, home of the Bishops of Lincoln, such as this one. “By 1600, a lot of the palace had been…
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THE EARLS IN THE TENNIS COURT: A VISIT TO BISHAM ABBEY
arthur pole, autosomal DNA, Bisham Abbey, Burghfield, burials, Earls of Salisbury, Edward II, Edward of Warwick, executions, George Duke of Clarence, John Neville Marquis of Montagu, Knights Templar, Leicester dig, Leicester Greyfriars, Margaret of Salisbury, Marjorie Bruce, mtDNA, Reformation, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Robert I, tennis court, Wakefield, Y-chromosomeBisham Abbey was the burial place of the Earls of Salisbury, and also Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, the ‘Kingmaker’ and his unfortunate grandson Edward of Warwick, executed on a trumped-up charge by Henry VII. The Abbey was destroyed in the Reformation, and on the grounds now stands the National Sports Centre, where many professional…
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Last year, ancient DNA was in the headlines when it was determined the ‘Beaker People’ who arrived in Britain c 4500 years ago, genetically replaced 90% of the previous population. At that time, studies were saying that the ‘Steppe Ancestry’ found in these people was not found in the Beaker population of Spain, long thought…
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We know that both Mr. Rochester and Captain Mainwaring are possibly based, to some extent, on Edward IV’s life and family. What about Hi-de-hi? I ask because one episode of this 1980s comedy featured TED Bovis (Paul Shane) seeking to become engaged to a camper with “my late mother’s ring”, only for Spike Dixon (Jeffrey…
