churches

The church of St Martin-cum-Gregory

Jun 18, 2020

buildings, religion

churches, Great Plague, Micklegate Bar, St. Martin-cum-Gregory, stained glass, York

If you go to York and enter Micklegate Bar heading towards the City Centre, you will see a wonderful medieval gem on your right, the church of St Martin-cum-Gregory, of which Richard III was patron (below left). Its name is due to the fact that the present church is the result of two different churches’…
The Mysterious Stone Masons of Herefordshire

Jun 7, 2020

buildings, religion

Annunciation, Blanche Mortimer, churches, Edward II, Exeter, Great Seal, Grymbold Pauncefoot, Herefordshire, John Grandison Bishop of Exeter, Ledbury, Mortimer Castle, Much Marcle, Peter Grandison, Roger Mortimer, tombs

Recently I had the chance to visit two of the most attractive female medieval tomb effigies I have yet encountered, both lying in their respective churches within ten miles or so of each other. Although one tomb effigy is in much better condition than the other, they are so stylistically close that it is likely…
Lovell’s Hospital in Brackley

Dec 5, 2019

buildings, religion

Brackley, churches, Francis Viscount Lovell, hospitals, John Lovell VII, Magdalene College, Maude Holland, Richard III, Robert le Bassu, William Lord Lovell, William Waynflete

Recently I attended a family gathering in the little old town of Brackley. I was intrigued by the medieval chapel and adjacent buildings in the centre of town, which are now part of Magdalen School (unfortunately all private; you can’t explore them). By their appearance, I guessed they might have once been monastic buildings and…
AUSTIN FRIARS: LAST RESTING PLACE OF PERKIN WARBECK

Nov 23, 2019

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, genealogy, religion, Science

“A survey of London”, “Perkin”, “Princes”, Austin Friars, Blitz, burials, churches, Drapers Hall, Dutch Church, Earls of Hereford, Earls of Oxford, Edward of Buckingham, Erasmus, Eustace Chapuys, executions, friaries, Great Fire of London, Humphrey de Bohun, John Stow, Marquis of Winchester, mtDNA evidence, Old Broad Street, Sir Thomas Cook, St. Augustine, tenements, Thomas Cromwell, WE Hampton, William Collingbourne

UPDATED POST ON sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri https://sparkypus.com/2020/05/14/austin-friars-last-resting-place-of-perkin-warbeck-2/ Austin Friars today. This section of road covers part of the perimeter of the Friary. With thanks to Eric, Londonist. Austin Friars in London, was founded about 1260 by Humphrey de Bohun 2nd Earl of Hereford and Constable of England d.1275. It was rebuilt in…
Barnard Castle’s historic church with Richard III connections….

Nov 8, 2019

buildings, religion

Barnard Castle, churches, Richard III

A 900-YEAR-OLD church has been designated as one the country’s most significant. Here is the opening paragraph of the link below:- “….The grade I-listed St Mary’s Parish Church, in Barnard Castle, is one of 350 out of 16,0000 to be classified as being a ‘major parish church’ by the Church Buildings Council. Vicar…
The mysterious stained glass of Giggleswick

Sep 5, 2019

anniversaries, buildings, religion

churches, Giggleswick, glaziers, Middleham, Norse, Reformation, Richard Whiteley, Russell Harty, St. Alkelda, St. Mary of the Holy Well, stained glass, Thomas Braynshaw, York Minster

Very few people know that there is a mystery surrounding the church of St Alkelda in Giggleswick. The whole matter started with a parish fair. People from the two churches dedicated to St Alkelda, one in Middleham {pingback to March 28} and one in Giggleswick, were looking for items to sell at the fair in…
A drive to save Barnard Castle church windows paid for by Richard III….

Jul 12, 2019

buildings, religion

Barnard Castle, churches, St. Mary’s, Yorkshire

Local people in Barnard Castle are getting together to help with restoration at St Mary’s parish church. Such a thing would always be of interest to us, of course, more especially if you read the article below and get to: “Work is also needed to replace stonework around some of the windows that Richard III…
The bones of 2,500 people under a Northamptonshire church….

Jul 10, 2019

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, religion

bones, burials, churches, Leicester Greyfriars, Northamptonshire, Richard III, Rothwell

“….The Holy Trinity Church in the small town of Rothwell [Northamptonshire] houses the corpses of 2,500 ancient men, women and children in a mysterious “hall of bones….” I, um, hate the thought of being in a church with all those bones under it, but it is a mystery, all the same. Nothing would persuade me…
THE PALACE OF COLLYWESTON–NEW EXCAVATIONS

Jul 5, 2019

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, Science

“Beauforts”, churches, Collyweston, First Battle of St. Albans, France, gargoyles, Henry V, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Langport, Northamptonshire, Ralph Lord Cromwell, royal palaces, South Wingfield

Collyweston is a small village in Northamptonshire, approximately three miles from the town of Stamford. It was not always so unassuming, however. In the 15th century there was a large fortified manor house that dominated Collyweston, of which today no trace remains above ground. The manor, sometimes known as ‘The Palace’ was first purchased by…
Wonderful wall paintings under the whitewash. . .

Jun 29, 2019

buildings, religion

apostles, Cambridgeshire, churches, Fitzwilliams, Longthorpe, Seven Ages of Man, Society of Antiquaries, Wentworth Woodhouse

Caption for the above illustration: The north wall, displaying a Nativity framed by the Seven Ages of Man. At lower left is a cradled infant, helpfully labelled ‘INFANS’; next, we have Boyhood (see him spinning a top with his whip), then, mostly lost, Adolescence, followed by Youth (with a hawk on his wrist). Manhood follows…