Calendar of Close Rolls
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Information about Blanche Bradestone (or Bradstone) is hard to find, despite the fact that she was recognised as ‘the King’s kinswoman’ by Richard II and became a Lady of the Garter in 1399. Her brass is to be found at Winterbourne, Gloucestershire, which appears to have been her principal manor. It is located in the…
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Does anyone know what a “murder penny or pennies” is/was? I have come upon the phrase in the Calendar of Close Rolls, Richard II, 1383, and although I’ve looked around, I can’t find any hint of what these pennies might be. All I get are modern detective novels! Help? Here’s the relevant part of…
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If ever an entry in the Close Rolls of Henry IV was evidence of warfare being at a crossroads between the old and the new, it’s surely this one. Poised between two ages, it concerns arms left by the late Richard II in the great hall of Dublin Castle. Richard had been in Ireland immediately…
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While working my way through the Close Rolls of Richard II, I came upon the following intriguing entry for 11 July 1377, not long after the boy-king’s accession:- “….To the treasurer and the chamberlains. Order of the king’s money to renew the wax about the body of King Edward I buried in the church of…
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Oh dear, just as we start imagining the romantic, colourful side of life in medieval London, we’re obliged to consider the other side of that particular coin. My trawlings through the Close Rolls and Richard II brought me to the following entry for 12 March 1393: “….To the bailiffs of Westminster of the abbot of…
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“….and grant of the said manor and lands to Sir Walter for two years from this date, rendering one primrose a year at the Purification…” You’ll find the above extract at this site. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-close-rolls/ric2/vol3/pp296-298 It records an agreement between Sir Walter de Cokesseye and the more famous Sir Hugh Calveley, who was a famous…
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