Canterbury
-
It would seem that tagging the word “Tudor” to anything is meant as a surefire hook. Nothing is interesting unless it’s Tudor. Well, things ain’t always Tudor by any means, and some things only happened to still be around during that unlamented period. In this case it’s a horse cemetery in Westminster that had been…
-
All too often Kent, the “garden of England” is thought of as the county to come and go through, with not too much stopping on the way. But it’s a very beautiful county with a huge amount of history, and this article is about a week spent there simply exploring. It goes through the days…
-
Hanley Castle
Azincourt, Bannockburn, Brian Wainwright, Bruces, Canterbury, churches, Constance of York, de Clares, Edmund of Langley, Edward Despenser, Edward Duke of York, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III, Eleanor de Clare, Elizabeth Burghersh, Epiphany Rising, George Duke of Clarence, Glamorgan, Hanley Castle, Henry Duke of Warwick, Henry III, Henry V, Huchon Despenser, Hugh Despencer the Younger, Isabel le Despenser, Joan of Acre, John, Kathryn Warner, Malvern Chase, massacre of Jews, novels, Richard II, Richard of Warwick, ruins, Tewkesbury, Thomas Despenser, unofficial executions, William la Zouche, Worcestershire, Worcestershire Historical SocietyHanley Castle is located in the south-western part of Worcestershire, only a short distance from the Gloucestershire border. Today it is a small, agreeable village, notable for a school, an excellent pub, The Three Kings and an interesting church, consecrated in 1325. As the place name implies, there was once a castle here, although all…
-
Finding the Roman roads of England and Wales can be tricky, but now there’s a “London Underground” map that identifies them all. Well, not quite, but mostly. On discovering this site I went immediately to find Stone Street in Kent…but it’s marked as unnamed. Stone Street is definitely a Roman road. It’s still there and…
-
The Wardrobe, the King’s Wardrobes….er, no The Queen’s Wardrobe….?
Agas map, Baynard’s Castle, Besant, Canterbury, Edward III, Great Fire of London, Henry IV, Joan of Kent, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, past maps, Peasants’ Revolt, Phillippa of Hainault, pilgrimage, Richard II, Richard III, Royal Street, Royal wardrobe, Simon of Sudbury, Stow, Tower of London, wine merchantsDuring the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381, when the Tower of London was breached by the rebels and some of those sheltering inside were dragged out and executed, another person of note who was there was widowed Joan of Kent, Princess of Wales, mother of 14-year-old King Richard II. Well, the future Henry IV was…
-
Why is it that a passing thought of adding detail to a minor description leads to one spending hours scouring the internet and book shelves trying to find the information? All I wanted to know is how a medieval bishop would have dressed to travel. Not in a war zone, just on the road from…
-
Oh where, Oh where, has Chaucer’s “Foul Oak” gone….?
A2, Anne of Bohemia, Baginton Oak, Canterbury, Christ Church Greyfriars, Dover, Eltham Palace, executions, Foul Oak Hatcham, Geoffrey Chaucer, highway robbery, Nicholas Brembre, Old Kent Road, Palace of Westminster, Richard II, Smithfield, St. george’s Chapel, St. Paul’s, Tower of London, Warwickshire, Watling Street, Windsor CastleAccording to Project Gutenberg, on 6th September 1390 Geoffrey Chaucer was mugged at a place called the Foul Oak, but not the Baginton Oak. Rather was it on what we now call the Old Kent Road but was originally the Roman Watling Street, leading out of London, on the way to Canterbury and…
-
My inexhaustible interest in the past takes me everywhere…mostly via the internet these days, I confess. Finding buildings that are wonderful jewels from our history is always rewarding, and so here is my latest discovery. The article below begins: “….Charing Palace is the remains of an 11th-century bishop’s palace used by Archbishops of Canterbury as…
-
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…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 