If these three things—old, historic and Richard III—are to your liking, and if you are prepared to add higgledy-piggledy to your list, then Blagraves in Castle Barnard is surely for you. Go here  https://inigo.com/sales-list/blagraves (from which my illustrations are taken) to see the details of this amazing property, which is the second oldest in Castle…

This Sunday, 13 October 2024, on the Blaze TV channel you can watch a repeat of the Medieval Murder Mysteries series of one-hour documentaries. Episode 1 of Season 1 is called “Christopher Marlowe, Death in Deptford”, and the list at the end of this post tells of the other deaths being investigated. Watch out for…

Not medieval news, unless you count its famous appearance in the Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. And I’m afraid I’m a few months late with this post, but it’s encouraging news about a lost, much-mourned landmark. We were all appalled and upset when, on the night of 27/28 September 2023, morons cut…

The following article – https://castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2024/09/29/penrith-castle-by-foot-a-new-reconstruction/ informs us of a new virtual reconstruction of Penrith Castle (see above). It shows part of the castle with a cutaway revealing some of the interior as it was when Richard, Duke of Gloucester had made improvements, turning it into his “luxury residence”. In 1471 the young Richard, then Duke…

When I read this article https://fcpp.org/2024/10/02/how-the-1327-coup-against-edward-ii-contributed-to-english-constitutional-development/ by Gerry Bowler, it was clear the author’s purpose was to explain how the advent of the Lords Ordainer and dethroning of Edward II affected the constitution of England. Not just in the 14th century, but right to the present day, when we’ve long been the United Kingdom. The…

In 2019 I wrote about the hopes for these new windows (see here https://murreyandblue.org/2019/07/12/a-drive-to-save-barnard-castle-church-windows-paid-for-by-richard-iii/ and here https://murreyandblue.org/2019/11/08/barnard-castles-historic-church-with-richard-iii-connections/). Now the windows have come to fruition, as I discovered when I came upon this link https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/24603934.dr-fiona-hill-unveil-new-windows-barnard-castle-church/. In it I read: “….New windows designed by an award-winning artist are set to be installed above the porch doors of…

What if, what if….those words are surely the motto of every fiction writer that ever was. As such a writer myself, I’m quite accustomed to seeking plausible but hopefully exciting and entertaining answers to known puzzles. By this I mean answers that could explain “what really happened”. Complete impossibilities have to be thrown out. For…

It would seem that the county of Oxfordshire isn’t content with having the 16th-century ghosts of wicked Lord and Lady Tanfield (see The evil spirits of Lord and Lady Tanfield… – murreyandblue) hurtling around in the skies above Burford in their coach and horses. Oh no, if you go to this link, A Wilcote Haunting…

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri @sparkypus.com Unfortunately no reliable image has survived of Eleanor Butler/Boteler née Talbot but the above image of her younger sister, Elizabeth,  duchess of Norfolk, may give us some idea of her appearance.  15th century stained glass. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Suffolk.  Dear Reader –  since I begun the writing of…

Oh dear, I do wish Helen Castor’s book The Eagle and the Hart (to be published today, 3 October 2024) was being touted as fiction, because excellent as it clearly is, its whole concept takes a stance that grates on me. The title ought to be The Hart and the Eagle, because Richard was the…