Devon

A WHITE BOAR MOUNT DISCOVERED

Jul 29, 2020

art

boar, Devon, metal detecting, mount

A beautiful mount bearing Richard III’s boar has been found by a metal-detectorist in the West Country. Quite a few boar badges have turned up here and there over the years, but this mount, which probably was fastened on a sword-belt, seems rather unique–and is very impressive, still retaining parts of its silvering and painted…
The legend of Fowlescombe Manor….

Feb 28, 2020

buildings

Arthur Conan Doyle, books, Devon, Fowell family, Fowlescombe Manor, Hound of the Baskervilles, hunting, kennels, legends, songs

It is a fact that in this modern age most of us frown upon the ancient practice of hunting with hounds, whether on horseback or not, but in times gone by, such things were commonplace and accepted. I’m not here to promote a debate on the rights and wrongs of hunting, but to mention a…
History Book Part One

Aug 20, 2019

battles, buildings, Music Reviews, religion

Arthurian legend, Battle Abbey, Battle of Hastings, Beaufort Companye, Coldridge, Devon, Edinburgh, Edward V, Harringtons, Richard III, Scotland, Scottish campaign 1482, Senlac Hill, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir William Stanley, Stanleys, The Legendary Ten Seconds, treachery, William I, windows

The Legendary Ten Seconds have a new album out. The tracks go back chronologically to Arthurian times, before including two about the Battle of Hastings – or of Battle to be precise. The last six cover Richard III’s adult life and reign, from the seemingly effortless taking of Edinburgh to the Harrington dispute and the…
More travels in enemy territory (2006)

May 8, 2019

buildings, genealogy, heraldry, travel

Arlington Court, baronets, Chichesters, Devon, Gypsy Moth IV, National Trust, Raleighs, round the world sailors, Shirwell, Sir Francis Chichester

Arlington Court is not a particularly old building but it commemorates a family that can be traced back to the Battle of Hastings, with a twentieth century twist. It dates from 1820, however it is the third or possibly fourth grand house to occupy the same site since the sixteenth century. The grounds are extensive…
Did Richard III prefer to travel his realm by land, river or around the coast. . .?

Mar 7, 2019

anniversaries, buildings, travel

Bristol, Bristol Castle. Dartmouth, Cog Thomas, Devon, Edward III, Henry IV, Ian Mortimer, Ireland, John Holland, London, Nottingham, Pontefract, Richard II, Richard III, sea travel, ships, The Fears of Henry IV, Wales

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…
The Champernownes of Devon

Feb 12, 2019

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy, heraldry

Anne Boleyn, Chambercombe Manor, Champernownes, Courtenays, Crediton, Dartington Hall, Devon, Domesday Book, Dukes of Exeter, earls of devon, Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, executions, Exeter, explorers, ghosts, Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk, Henry Norris, Henry VIII, Ilfracombe, Jane, Normans, Polsoe, Powderham Castle, Redvers Buller, Sir Arthur Champernowne, Sir Edward Seymour, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir Walter Raleigh, Totnes

The Champernownes (above), a Norman line whose alternative spellings include Chapman and Chamberlain, are surely Devon’s second family after the Courtenays of Powderham Castle, who hold the Earldom. From 1162, their (Domesday Book-cited) home was at Chambercombe Manor near Ilfracombe (middle right) but, by the early sixteenth century, this had passed to Henry Grey, Duke of…
The contrasting fates of two properties associated with Sir Francis Drake….

Jan 27, 2019

anniversaries, buildings

Crowndale Park, Devon, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, Lydney, Naval warfare, Shipbuilding, Sir Francis Drake, Tavistock

The recent concern https://www.metro.news/sir-francis-drakes-birthplace-at-risk-of-being-lost-forever/1243118/ gradual disintegration of Sir Francis Drake’s birthplace, the Grade II listed Crowndale Farm, in Tavistock, Devon, where he came into the world in 1540. It is unbelievable that such neglect has been allowed to take place. What is the point of listing a property, and then not providing the owner…
A very busy presenter

Oct 20, 2018

anniversaries, battles, Science, television reviews, travel

Barmouth, Battle of the Solent, Burnham-on-Sea, Dartmoor, Devon, Dorset, engineering, Exeter, France, Henry VIII, HMS Victory, Horatio Nelson, llangollen, Manchester, Mary Rose, Plymouth, railways, Rob Bell, Ruabon, Science, Scotland, Sheffield, Somerset, Trafalgar, Wales

Rob Bell seems to be on television a lot at the moment. Although he is an engineer and not quite a historian, many of his programmes go back in time as structures were built. Walking Britain’s Lost Railways, for instance, goes back under two centuries because of the subject matter, but Great British Ships (both Channel…
A performance in Coldridge – a review

Jul 24, 2018

buildings, Events, Music Reviews

churches, Coldridge, Devon, Edward V, music, performances, Philippa Langley, Richard III, The Legendary Ten Seconds

The Legendary Ten Seconds Concert at Coldridge Nestling deep in the Mid-Devon countryside is the hill-top village of Coldridge where the windswept St Matthews Church is hiding secrets relating to the mystery of The Princes in the Tower. The Church and its links to Richard III and Edward V are currently being investigated by Philippa…
The Legendary Ten Seconds again

Feb 27, 2018

buildings, Events, religion

churches, Coleridge, Devon, Edward V, music, Richard III Society, stained glass, The Legendary Ten Seconds

They will be performing at Coleridge Church on 5th March and for the Devon and Cornwall Branch of the Richard III Society on 26th May. Read more here.