Dissolution of the Monasteries

An Abbey in Dublin Unearthed

Dec 4, 2023

archaeology, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

Archbishop of Dublin, bigamy, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Dublin, Earls of Ormond, Earls of Ulster, Earls of Wiltshire, Edward Bruce, Edward IV, executions, Henry VIII, Ireland, James Butler, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Mael Sechnaill mac Maele Ruanaid, pre-contract, Richard Talbot, Robert de Nottingham, St. Mary’s Abbey, Towton, Walter Champfleur

Excavations in Dublin city centre have uncovered the remains of what was once one of Ireland’s most important medieval monasteries. St Mary’s was a House of Benedictines, followed by Savignac monks and then Cistercians, and it was exceedingly wealthy, with the added bonus of being permitted to claim goods from shipwrecks. At times, it was…
“Romantic and storied” St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall….

Jun 11, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, religion

castles, Cornwall, Country Life, Dissolution of the Monasteries, France, legends, Mont St. Michel, novels, St. Aubyn family, St. michael’s Mount, Syon Abbey

Once again the excellent Country Life magazine has come up with an interesting item, this time about St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall Unfortunately, considering this is a Country Life article, there aren’t many photographs, and none at all of the castle interior. But if you go here you’ll find some very exciting views of the approach…
Finding Richard (from across the Atlantic Ocean)

Apr 28, 2023

Alternative History, archaeology, battles, buildings, religion, The play’s the thing

American Civil War, Catholicism, Charles I, Commonwealth, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Henry VIII, Leicester Greyfriars, Nazis, Reformation, Richard III discovery, USA, William Shakespeare

I had never been much interested in medieval history. I thought of them as backwards and a little too obsessed w the afterlife. However, the “what ifs” of history always intrigued me. What if the Nazis won WWII? What if the north had been defeated in the American Civil War? And so forth. I’d always…
Torquay and Torre Abbey

Jan 12, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, law, religion, travel

abbeys, Agatha Christie, Agatha Christie Mile, Babbacombe murder, Barons Hunsdon, Careys, Carys, crime, Dissolution of the Monasteries, First World War, Jacobites, museums, poisons garden, Premonstratensian order, priests, recusants, Royal Navy, the Green Ginger, The Legendary Ten Seconds, Torquay, Torquay Crime Museum, Torre Abbey, Viscounts Falkland

Thanks to our friends at the Legendary Ten Seconds, I had heard of Torre Abbey but didn’t realise that it was open to visit, as convenient or spectacular as it is. Half of the original building remains, on three floors including an art exhibition, whilst the other half (including the church) is a ruin, complete…
Edmund of Rutland – a life cut short – his burial at Fotheringhay.

Dec 30, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

Battle of Bosworth, Cecily Neville, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Edmund of Rutland, Edward IV, Edward VI, executions, First Battle of St. Albans, Fotheringhay, George Duke of Clarence, Lady Chapel, Lord Clifford, Ludlow Castle, Micklegate Bar, Pontefract Castle, Priory of St. John the Evangelist, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Richard of Salisbury, Rouen, royal burials, Sandal Castle, Sir Richard Croft, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, York, Yorkist tombs

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Fotheringhay Church and Yorkist Mausoleum 1804. Watercolour by unknown artist. Described by Simon Jenkins as ‘the church that seems to float on its hill above the River Nene, a galleon of Perpendicular on a sea of corn…’ Edmund, son of Richard Duke of York and Cicely Neville was born…
The house owned by Sir Thomas Wyatt, the man accused of being Anne Boleyn’s lover….

Oct 11, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, law, religion

adultery, Anne Boleyn, Country Life, Court Lodge, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Hasted, Henry VIII, High Sheriffs, Hunton Court, Kent, poets, property sales, Sir Thomas Wyatt, Tower of London

Here is another fine old house for sale, although way out of my price bracket. I’ve learned of it courtesy of Country Life magazine. Hunton Court, formerly Court Lodge, is tucked away near Maidstone in Kent and you can read about it here. There is a link to the estate agent’s details of the property,…
Athelstan–Our Greatest Monarch?

Jul 17, 2022

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion

“The last Kingdom”, Alfred, Anglo-Saxons, Athelstan, Bernard Cornwell, books, Brunaburh, Cheshire, Constantine II, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Eadgyth, Edward the Elder, Elizabeth I, Germany, House of Wessex, illegitimacy rumours, legal reforms, Malmesbury Abbey, novels, piety, royal burials, Scotland, St. Aldhelm, St. Cuthbert, Tom Holland, Venerable Bede, Vikings, York

A recent poll searching for Britain’s ‘Greatest Monarch’, came up with the surprise winner of… drum roll, King Athelstan. Not that the Anglo-Saxon king wasn’t so great, but the winner is a little surprising since most people seem to have believed the ‘crown’ would go to Elizabeth I. (Yawn!) I hope the voters actually remembered…
The Augustinian Priory of St Mary Merton and its Destruction.

Jun 10, 2022

anniversaries, archaeology, art, buildings, religion, Science

A24, Bishop of Winchester, British Library, British Museum, burials, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Gilbert le Norman, Henry I, Henry III, Henry V, Henry VI, John, Magna Carta, Mary I, Matthew Parris, Merantun Way, Merton Priory, River Wandle, Runnymede, Society of Antiquaries, St. Thomas Becket, Stane Street, Surrey, Walter de Merton, Westminster Abbey, windows

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com One of Merton Priory’s gates. Possibly entrance to the guest accommodation or hospitium thought to have been located to the west of the priory. Rebuilt and resited in 1935 outside St Mary’s Church, Merton. Photo thanks to Mr Joel’s Photography. Merton Abbey, Colliers Wood, London, SW19 does not exactly…
Who chose King Arthur’s final resting place? The monks of Glastonbury or Henry II….?

Apr 19, 2022

anniversaries, archaeology, culture, religion

Arthur, Canterbury Cathedral, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Edward I, Eleanor of Castile, Glastonbury Abbey, Guinevere, Henry II, Isle of Avalon, royal burials, St. Thomas Becket

I’ve known for a long time that King Arthur wasn’t buried at Glastonbury, but thanks to an incredible example of “seizing the moment”, the monks of the abbey ensured a huge income from pilgrims and tourists who believed their story. Or maybe it wasn’t only the monks, maybe Henry II had something to do…
Borman on Thomas Cromwell

Apr 18, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, religion, television reviews

5Select., Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, attainder, Austin Friars, Battle of Bosworth, brewing, Cromwell Square, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Earl of Essex, executions, Henry VIII, Ipswich, Pickwicks, Putney, Reformation, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Wolsey, Tower of London, Tracy Borman

This two part series was originally shown on 5Select during December 2021, presented by Tracy Borman from the Tower of London. It went beyond the cliched story of: the brewery in Putney, service to Wolsey, surviving him, the Dissolution, outmanoeuvring Anne Boleyn, setting up the Cleves “marriage” and being sent to the block to encounter…