Bristol
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Finding the original town plans of London, before the Great Fire of 1666, is always intriguing, and very rewarding indeed for those of us who love all things medieval. So, in this respect, I welcome the Tudors. I already have books of London maps, published by the London Topographical Society, of our capital in the…
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Britain’s Most Historic Towns (2)
“Tudors”, Alice Roberts, ATS, Ben Robinson, Black Death, Bristol, Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral, Cardiff, Channel Four, Charles I, chocolate, city walls, coal, defences, Demonology, Dover, dressing up, Dunkirk, Edwardian era, England, English Civil War, Flodden, France, Geoffrey Chaucer, George Villiers Duke of Buckingham, Georgian era, gin, Henry VIII, James III, James IV, James V, James VI/I, Magna Carta, Marquess of Bute, Mary Stuart, New Model Army, Oxford, Peasants’ Revolt, Plantagenet era, real tennis, Rough Wooing, Sauchieburn, Scottish Reformation, Second World War, Siege of Oxford, slavery, Solway Moss, St. Augustine, Stewarts, Stirling, Stirling Castle, Thomas Becket, witchcraftThis excellent Channel Four programme, presented by Professor Alice Roberts, with Dr. Ben Robinson in the helicopter, has returned for a new series. The early venues were Dover (World War Two, visiting the underground base, concentrating on the retreat from Dunkirk and subsequent Channel defence, meeting some survivors, wearing ATS uniform and riding in a…
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Here is a question that has bugged me for some time now. If, during medieval centuries, a journey could be made around the English coast, rather than across country, was the sea option likely to be chosen? I will take a particular example. It’s from the 14th century, but could be from the 13th or…
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The Battle of Tewkesbury in May 1471 was to prove decisive for the reign of our first Yorkist king. The opponents were Margaret of Anjou and the Lancastrians, versus King Edward IV and the Yorkists. Margaret was defeated, and her heart and spirit was broken by the death in battle of her only son, Edward of…
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The Epiphany Plot of 1400
Abbot of Westminster, anniversaries, Bristol, Charles VI, Chris Givern-Wilson, Earl of Wiltshire, Edmund Duke of York, Edward Duke of York, Epiphany Rising, Henry IV, Ian Mortimer, John Duke of Exeter, John Earl of Salisbury, Lancastrians, Lollards, Maidenhead, Marie Louise Bruce, Mortimers, Nigel Saul, Old St. Paul’s, Owain Glyn Dwr, Pleshey Castle, Richard II, Richard Maudelyn, Sir Bernard Brocas, Sir Thomas Blount, summary executions, Thomas Earl of Gloucester, Traison et Mort, Walsingham, William Feriby, Windsor CastleFollowing the deposition of Richard II, his leading supporters among the nobility were put on trial before Henry IV’s first parliament. Well, all apart from the Earl of Wiltshire who had – in plain terms – been murdered at Bristol on Henry’s orders before Henry became king. (As a Lancastrian, Henry was of course allowed…
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In the following article, Sir Ian McKellen talks specifically about his 1930s version of Shakespeare’s “Richard III”. No mention is made of the real Richard, oh, and the horse for his kingdom has become a jeep! There are various reasons why I will not be watching this, but tell me, how can it really be Shakespeare’s…
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