The New Murrey and Blue blog

travel

Break out the walking boots, we’re going to Bosworth….

Oct 27, 2021

battles, travel

Battle of Bosworth, Battlefields and Borderlands Way, Leicester Mercury, Leicestershire, rambling, walks

It’s always good to walk around the British countryside, and for Ricardians the prospect of including the site of Bosworth Field in our rambling has to be a carrot par excellence. Such a walk is newly available, called the Battlefields and Borderlands Way , and takes in a number of important sites in south-west Leicestershire, some…
And the Bishop of Ely breakfasted at Kamelot….

Oct 24, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, religion, sources, travel

Archbishop Arundell, biographies, Bishops of Ely, breakfast, eating, Hatfield, Holborn, Kamelot, Morte d’Arthur, Public Record Office, Thomas Malory, William Caxton, Wynkyn de Worde

On Sunday, 25th October 1383, Thomas Arundel, Bishop of Ely (soon to be Archbishop of York and then Archbishop of Canterbury), breakfasted at Kamelot. Oh yes, indeed. I learned of this on page 199 of Thomas Arundel, the biography by Margaret Aston, which I quote: “….This letter, like another of 24th October concerning an exchange,…
Richard II’s visit to Edward II’s tomb, 1390.

Oct 17, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy, religion, sources, travel

Archbishop of Canterbury, Berkeley Castle, Bishop of Lincoln, deposition, Edward II, Edward III, Gloucester Cathedral, Henry IV, Italy, Kathryn Warner, popes, proposed canonisation, Richard II, royal tombs, schism, Thomas of woodstock, Westminster Chronicle

Edward II‘s “tomb” is, as is well-known, to be found in Gloucester Cathedral. What is less well-known is that Richard II wanted it become a shrine, and for his great-grandfather to become St. Edward of Caernarfon. Interestingly, we cannot even be entirely sure that Edward II’s remains lie in the tomb. Kathryn Warner has produced…
The Mysterious Affair at Stony Stratford

Aug 30, 2021

anniversaries, Book Reviews, law, religion, sources, travel

Agatha Christie, ambush, Angelo Cato, Annette Carson, Crowland Chronicle, Crowland Continuator, Domenico Mancini, Dr. John Argentine, Edward IV, Edward V, fishing, Grafton Regis, Great North Road, Henry of Buckingham, James Gairdner, John Speed, Lord High Constable, Lord Protector of the Realm, Louis XI, maps, Marie Barnfield, market days, Mid-Anglia Group, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Richard III, Richard III Society, Sir Anthony Wydeville, Sir Richard Grey, Sir Thomas Vaughan, Stony Stratford, The Maligned King, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Watling Street, Weedon Bec, will of Edward IV, William Lord Hastings, Wydevilles

This excellent blog post by Annette Carson, based on a presentation given to the Society’s Mid-Anglia Group, summarises the events of 29th-30th April 1483, as Edward V and Anthony Woodville (Earl Rivers), together with Sir Richard Grey and others, met the Dukes of Gloucester and Buckingham as the Great North Road and Watling Street converged.…
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…
Gone Medieval Podcast

Aug 5, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, genealogy, Science, travel

Africa, Apple podcasts, barfleur, building, Cat Jarman, Charles Earl Spencer, diving, Gone Mediaeval, Henry I, History Hit, Indian Ocean, John of Gaunt, Lindisfarne, Matilda, Matthew Lewis, Normandy, Plantagenets, podcasts, The Anarchy, The White Ship, trade, Vikings, William Adelin, wreckage

I’ve Gone Mediaeval. That may not be a surprise to most, but now you can come with me. I am co-hosting a new podcast from History Hit called Gone Mediaeval. I present an episode every Saturday, mostly covering the high and late medieval period. The other host is Dr Cat Jarman, a bioarchaeologist, who specialises…
Mysterious Minster Lovell in the mist….

Jun 16, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, Science, travel

“Lambert Simnel”, “Tudor” rebellions, Francis Viscount Lovell, James IV, Minster Lovell, mysteries, River Windrush, safe conduct, Scotland, Stoke Field

It doesn’t seem possible now that it was 30th April 2014 when my late husband and I paid an early-morning visit to Minster Lovell. There was a mist and we were virtually alone. The River Windrush, surely one of the loveliest little rivers in England, whispered past the old ruins of Sir Francis Lovell‘s…
The Medieval River Ferry

Jun 6, 2021

anniversaries, travel

drowning, ferries, fords, mediaeval life, Mersey, Northenden, Pilkingtons, Sir William Harrington

A few days ago I had a need to describe a medieval ferry in my work-in-progress, albeit as a background, scenic item. I realised I had no idea how they were propelled, or even what they looked like. The answer seems to be rather like this one at Evesham. The vessel itself is rather like…
It’s 1773, and Richard III is King of Great Britain….!

Jun 4, 2021

anniversaries, law, sources, travel

France, George III, Hanover, Ireland, legal documents, Richard III, Scotland, Wales, Westmorland

Could someone tell me how a document from 1773 could be signed by “King Richard III of Great Britain”? I rather think it’s a goof for George III. Richard didn’t know about Great Britain (George III had England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales—oh, and Hanover, Richard didn’t have Scotland or Hanover, but claimed France), So…
Please Melton, don’t invite Henry VII….

Jun 2, 2021

buildings, Events, religion, travel

2022, Anne of Cleves, Bank Holidays, celebrities, Elizabeth of Austria, Food, George IV, Great North Road, Henry VII, hunting, Leicestershire, Lord Cardigan, Maharani of Jaipur, Melton Mowbray, Platinum Jubilee, pork pie, Priories, Reformation, Richard I, roads, Stilton, Thomas Cromwell, William the Lion

Oh dear, the whole idea was excellent until I read the dreaded name Henry VII. Will someone please advise them not to bother with that piece of Tudor crud? He’s a party-pooper and will rain on their parade for sure. Go to site this site to read about the event at Melton.