English Civil War
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No, I’m not picking a fight with Colchester’s claim to Humpty Dumpty, for they did indeed have a huge Royalist cannon called Humpty Dumpty which was destroyed by the Parliamentarians, see http://www.englishcivilwar.org/2012/04/tracing-siege-of-colchester.html and https://lordgreys.weebly.com/articles-and-features/humpty-dumpty-exploded). However, I definitely find fault with any silly notion about Richard’s horse at Bosworth being called Wall (https://murreyandblue.org/2022/01/02/humpty-dumpty-and-his-wall-were-richard-iii-and-his-horse/ and https://murreyandblue.org/2021/08/22/hey-diddle-dumpty/). That’s…
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Inside Windsor Castle
ATS, birthplaces, central heating, Channel Five, Charles I, Edward III, Edward VII, Edward VIII, electricity, Elizabeth I, Elizabeth II, English Civil War, Food, George III, George IV, George V, George VI, Henry VIII, House of Windsor, imprisonment, J.J. Chalmers, make-up, Prince Albert, Queen’s Lodge, Raksha Dave, Richard III, security, Stuarts, The Crown Jewels, Victoria, Wallis Simpson, William I, Windsor Castle, Xand van TullekenThis is another new Channel Five series, as they have broadcast about royal palaces before. Xand van Tulleken, Raksha Dave and JJ Chalmers explore the subject well, covering the architecture, health and make-up, but quite a few important monarchs are omitted: William I who conceived it, Edward III who was born there, Richard III who…
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This article explains how the site of the C12 castle in Sheffield, where Mary Stuart was held but which has been lost since partial demolition and decay in the 1640s, is being explored by organisations including Keltbray, after previous work by Wessex Archaeology from 2018. The area, now known as Castlegate, includes the confluence of…
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When we think of Cambridge we’re inclined to think of its university, not its castle. But Cambridge did indeed have large castle, of which only the mound remains today. It was first built in 1068, so the Conqueror deemed Cambridge important enough to take care of very quickly after his invasion. As you will read…
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Wythenshawe Hall. (2023, December 3). In Wikipedia By Dave Smethurst, CC BY-SA 2.0, image here The Tatton family had a deer park in Wythenshawe, then Cheshire, as far back as 1297. However, the present Hall dates to about 1540 when Robert Tatton was the head of the family. The Tattons were relatively minor Cheshire gentry.…
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Um, spot the bloopers in this article. These are the two I came upon, and I’m afraid I didn’t read the rest of the article. As far as I recall Charles I had the Royalist/Cavaliers on his side, and the only time Cromwell “ceased” control of the kingdom was when he turned up his toes!
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Pontefract Castle was, in its day, the Windsor of the North. Large and seemingly impregnable , it had two massive tapering towers that rose up to over a hundred feet high, a landmark visible from miles away. It was the scene of many historical events–in 1322 Edward II executed his cousin, Thomas of Lancaster here,…
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The sitter of this portrait is said to be Lucy Hutchinson (born Apsley) who was the wife of Civil War General John Hutchinson, MP. Lucy was a remarkable woman. She wrote what is thought to be the first epic poem produced by an Englishwoman. She was also a translator, and as if that was not…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 