English Heritage

Middleham Festival 5th – 6th July 25

Jun 26, 2025

anniversaries, buildings, culture, Events, history, medieval characters, medieval life, music, Richard III, Uncategorized

English Heritage, festival, Middleham Castle, Richard III

6th July was the date of Richard III and Anne’s coronation. English Heritage is celebrating with the Richard III Festival at Middleham Castle on the weekend of 5th – 6th July. Here is a link with more information: Richard III Festival
Middleham is ninth out of Facebook’s top ten English Heritage castles….

Apr 4, 2025

buildings, history, Richard III

Beeston Castle, Bolsover Castle, Carisbrooke Castle, Dover Castle, Dunstanburgh Castle, English Castles, English Heritage, Kenilworth Castle, Middleham Castle, Portchester Castle, Richard III, Tintagel Castle, Warkworth Castle

The other castles in the Facebook top ten are, in first place, Dover Castle. Then Kenilworth, Tintagel, Bolsover, Portchester, Warkworth, Dunstanburgh, Carisbrooke, Middleham and finally Beeston. See https://shorturl.at/kxkqb for information about all of them. For English Heritage’s website about Middleham Castle, go here: https://shorturl.at/DtGDe. A more in-depth link to the history of Middleham and its…
THE GREAT SIEGE OF KENILWORTH CASTLE

Jun 25, 2024

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, Science

cannonballs, Edmund Crouchback, Edward I, English Heritage, Henry III, Kenilworth Castle, Lancastrians, Second Barons’ War, sieges, Simon de Montfort

Recently English Heritage have been doing some work around the perimeter of Kenilworth Castle, proving accessibility for visitors. While doing so, they stumbled upon eight medieval stone shot, fired from catapults or trebuchets, at the famous Siege of Kenilworth, which took place on June 25, 1266. The stones were of varying sizes and weights, one…
How old is Pevensey Castle….?

Sep 28, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, travel

Battle Abbey, Battle of Hastings, East Sussex, English Heritage, Henry VII, Pevensey Castle, Romans, William I

My ignorance was revealed when I read this article because I didn’t know how old Pevensey Castle was. This ancient fortress in East Sussex dates back to the Romans in the 3rd Century, and so was about 775 years old when the Conqueror marched into it. What a pity it didn’t collapse over the Bastard!…
Stokesay Castle, its history….and its spook….

Jul 30, 2023

battles, buildings, religion, sources

Bishop of Hereford, Civil War, de Say family, Domesday Book, English Heritage, ghosts, Shropshire, Stokesay Castle, wood carvings

We all know Stokesay Castle. It’s simply outstanding, both dramatically and aesthetically. The half-timbered upper storey perched on top of the north tower is particularly beautiful. I remember once, many moons ago, my husband and I drove past on a road that looked down at the castle. It was alluring….but not open at that…
A meat-rich diet was to carry Satan’s price-tag for monks….

Feb 27, 2022

culture, law, religion

abbeys, digestion, English Heritage, Food, Kirkstall Abbey, meat, monks, Muchelney Abbey, papal law, quadrupeds, Somerset, The Guardian, Yorkshire

I’ve written before about the food eaten by medieval monks, and have now come upon another article, this time in The Guardian. It tells of the dire consequences that followed when monks eventually had a meat-rich diet. The Guardian article was prompted by English Heritage research into “the day-to-day lives and digestive troubles of…
Which Baron Hungerford was responsible….?

Feb 20, 2022

Alternative History, anniversaries, art, battles, buildings, law, religion

Barons Hungerford, Edward IV, English Heritage, executions, Farleigh Hungerford, murals, Salisbury Cathedral, Somerset, St. George, Towton, Walter Lord Hungerford

English Heritage has embarked upon the restoration of some wall murals in Farleigh Hungerford in Somerset. The photograph above shows an image of St George as a 15th-century knight, and has suffered over the centuries from damp conditions and misguided previous attempts to save it. You can read about the work here which describes it…
Ashby de la Zouch Castle – Home to William Lord Hastings

Oct 20, 2021

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings, religion, sources

Ashby, attainder, castles, chapels, Charles the Bold, Domenico Mancini, Edward V, English Heritage, engraving, executions, Great Council, Hastings Tower, high treason, illustrations, Jasper “Tudor”, Katherine Hastings, Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, Lord Chamberlain, Louis XI, National Gallery, Richard III, Rosemary Horrox, slighting, The Road to Bosworth Field, Tower of London, Towton, William Lord Hastings, Wydevilles

Reblogged from Ashby de la Zouch Castle – Home to William Lord Hastings An intriguing doorway leads into the Great Chamber where the family would have entertained important guests. A fine 15th century fireplace has survived as well as a 16th century window. Photo from the English Heritage Guidebook book Following on from my earlier post…
Gainsborough Old Hall was built in 1460…therefore it HAS to be Tudor….!

Jul 2, 2021

battles, buildings, genealogy

“Tudor” era, Anglesey, Battle of Bosworth, English Heritage, Gainsborough Hall, half-timbered buildings, Henry VII, Lincolnshire, mediaeval buildings, Plantagenets, renaissance, Richard III, Sir Thomas Burgh, The Guardian

Well, if Richard III was entertained there, Gainsborough Old Hall can’t have always been Tudor! This article even says as much in a heading: “….Lincolnshire house, built in 1460, has been a theatre, preaching house, pub and masonic temple….” Excuse me, but 1460 was Plantagenet, not Tudor. Maybe it’s a Guardian error. (Perish the thought.)…
Richard’s Middleham Castle is in the top 500 outstanding sites in the UK….

Mar 13, 2020

buildings

castles, English Heritage, heritage sites, Middleham, Richard III

Well, Richard makes it to 373 out of UK’s top 500 outstanding sites: “373: Tread in the steps of Richard III at Middleham Castle” To see the article where I found the above listing, go to this ITV article.