churches
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We all know that ladies of the Victorian era often fainted because their corsets were too tightly laced. A tiny waist was highly desirable. Well, it still is, of course, but not to such a ridiculous extent. This tortuous lacing would have been difficult enough for young women to endure, but Heaven alone knows…
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Buckingham’s Cousin: the Quiet Stafford
Anne Neville, Blackheath, churches, Constance Greene, Cornish rebellion, coronation procession, Drayton House, Earls of Wiltshire, Edward Earl of Wiltshire, Edward of Buckingham, executions, Fotheringhay, Henry Greene, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Hexham, Humphrey Duke of Buckingham, John Earl of Wiltshire, Knights of the Bath, Lowick, Staffords, tomb effigiesIn the sleepy little village of Lowick in Northamptonshire stands a fine medieval church with a tall octagonal ‘lantern’ tower that bears some similarity to that at Fotheringhay. It is normally kept locked but if you are very, very lucky you can track down the key in the village. There are many fine tomb effigies…
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Why are we so fascinated by the thought of lands and cities lost beneath the sea? Such tales are both compelling and a little frightening, but have always been around. No doubt they always will be. I’ve always been particularly intrigued by stories of the land of Lyonesse, but this article is about Dunwich, which…
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Was the 3rd Duke of York like his youngest son in appearance….?
appearance, beards, churches, Cirencester, Edmund of Langley, Edmund of Rutland, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince, hair colour, Holands, Humphrey of Gloucester, Joan of Kent, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Richard Duke of York, Richard Earl of Cambridge, Richard II, Richard III, Sir Anthony Wydeville, stained glass, The Shrewsbury Book, Trinity College, William CaxtonWhen I posted on my Facebook page that it had been suggested to me I write an M&B article about the physical appearance of the 3rd Duke of York, a friend commented: “. . . .According to John Ashdown Hill’s biography of Cecily, he was probably tall because of some poem written about how…
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This article is from 2017, and tells that they may have found the last resting place of Father Christmas. BUT, Father Christmas still comes around every year, right? So he can’t have turned up the toes of his fur-lined boots. Therefore this St Nicholas chap is someone entirely different. Ask any child!
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Here is a link to a very interesting paper on the astonishingly beautiful but now redundant church of Holy Trinity in the small North Yorkshire village of Wensley. I’m posting it because this church was much patronised by the Scropes of Bolton who did, of course, have great connections to our period and to various…
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Katherine Plantagenet, her burial in St James Garlickhithe.
Christian Steer, churches, commission of array, Elizabeth of York, George Lord Strange, Great Fire of London, Henry VII, illegitimate children, John of Gloucester, John Stow, Katherine Plantagenet, Mary Wydeville, Maud Herbert, Raglan Castle, Ricardian, Richard III, Richard Rothing, royal marriages, St. James Garlickhythe, sweating sickness, Thomas Benolt, Tintern Abbey, WE Hampton, widowers, William Herbert Earl of HuntingdonReblogged from here The Great Fire of London. The devastating conflagration that consumed so much of medieval London including St James Garlickhythe. Artist Lieve Verschuier This post will of necessity prove to be short there being a dearth of information on both Katherine and the pre-Fire St James Garlickhythe Church where she was buried. The church…
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I always find heraldic glass both fascinating and beautiful, wherever it is. If you go here you’ll be able to access a paper about the heraldic glass of East Anglia, where Alston Court in Nayland has a wonderful display of Tudor glass. The shields displayed aren’t exclusively Tudor, of course, but apply to ancient families…
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We’re all accustomed to the wonderful gargoyles adorning our churches, abbeys and cathedrals, illuminations on manuscripts and the beautiful carvings on misericords, but sometimes they are truly amusing. On this occasion the apparently comedial figures are pigs playing the bagpipes. Yes, really. And not only in Scotland, I hasten to point out, because bagpipes are…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 