Fotheringhay
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As you may know, Richard III’s Book of Hours is housed in the Library of Lambeth Palace, the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, which is located just across the Thames from the Houses of Parliament. It was put on display for a limited period in the spring and I managed to find time to…
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Shrewsbury Battlefield and the memorial church of St Mary Magdelene
Alex Marchant, archers, Battle of Shrewsbury, book signing, Cheshire, Church of St. Mary Magdalene, College of Priests, Earl of Stafford, Flintshire, Fotheringhay, Henry IV, Hotspur, Manchester Picadilly, Milford Haven, Owain Glyn Dwr, Percies, re-enactment, rebellion, Tewkesbury Festival, trains, videosI have long wanted to attend the re-enactment of the Battle of Shrewsbury and also visit the church of St Mary Magdelene. In 2022 I finally managed it. It was touch and go, although I had booked my train ticket some weeks back. These days such an excursion demands a lot of effort and I…
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Tudor propaganda in regards to the appearance of members of the York family was not confined, it seems, to Richard III, but was also applied to Edward of Norwich, Duke of York, his grandfather’s older brother, who was slain at Agincourt, the only major English casualty of that famous battle. In the account written closest…
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The “awkward mediaeval cities” (2) : Northampton
artillery, Battle of Bosworth, Battle of Northampton, Bletchley, coaches, delapre Abbey, Dissolution of the Monasteries, DNA, Edward I, Eleanor of Castile, Fotheringhay, Francis Crick, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Northampton Castle, Oxford, Peterborough, rail journeys, Richard III, siege of Roxburgh, St. Albans, St. Thomas Becket, Stony Stratford, trials, Weston FavellAnother such is Northampton. Like Oxford, most (all in fact) of the trains run to or from London, although the latter will reconnect to Cambridge in a few years, with Milton Keynes and Northampton joining the line via Bletchley. Northampton is only currently accessible from East Anglia via London, Birmingham, or switching to a coach…
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In 1376 King Edward III granted the manors of Vastern and Wootton to his son Edmund, Earl of Cambridge. The manors adjoin, with Wootton know better known as Royal Wootton Basset, Wiltshire. Vastern Manor still exists, although it has been extensively rebuilt. The core of the stucture is, however, said to be fifteenth century. It…
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King James VI of Scotland, James I of England podcast….
“favourites”, Abdication, Agnes Sampson, Anna Whitelock, Anne of Denmark, Arbella Stuart, assassination, Basilikon Doron, BBC, Bible translators, Bye plot, Calvinism, Charles I, Counterblast against tobacco, David Rizzio, Edinburgh Castle, Elizabeth I, Elizabeth Stuart, Esme Stuart, executions, Fotheringhay, Frederick of Bohemia, George Villiers Duke of Buckingham, Greg Jenner, Gunpowder Plot, Henrietta Maria, Henry Lord Darnley, Henry Stuart, James Earl of Morton, James VI/I, Jamestown, King James Bible, Larry Dean, Mary Stuart, New World discoveries, North Berwick trials, Oath of Allegiance, podcasts, Popish Recusants Act, Radio 4, Regency, Roanoke, Robert Carr Earl of Somerset, Robert Catesby, Robert Cecil, Ruthven Raid, Scotland, Sir Walter Raleigh, Spain, Stirling Castle, Stuarts, The wisest fool in Christendom, Thirty Years’ War, tobacco, Union Jack, Union of the Crowns, voyage to Denmark, Wicked Bible, witchcraft, You’re dead to meHere is a link to a BBC podcast about King James VI of Scotland, who, of course, became James I of England and was the first of our Stuart monarchs. I can’t say I’m a Stuart expert, being much more interested in the Plantagenets, but a monarch is a monarch!
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The theft of items of great historical importance aren’t common, thank goodness, but they do come along…and this time—on Friday, 21st May, when a burglar alarm went off at 22:30 BST—it was Arundel Castle that was raided. To read all about it, go to this site. The stolen treasures were worth more than £1 million,…
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Buckingham’s Cousin: the Quiet Stafford
Anne Neville, Blackheath, churches, Constance Greene, Cornish rebellion, coronation procession, Drayton House, Earls of Wiltshire, Edward Earl of Wiltshire, Edward of Buckingham, executions, Fotheringhay, Henry Greene, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Hexham, Humphrey Duke of Buckingham, John Earl of Wiltshire, Knights of the Bath, Lowick, Staffords, tomb effigiesIn the sleepy little village of Lowick in Northamptonshire stands a fine medieval church with a tall octagonal ‘lantern’ tower that bears some similarity to that at Fotheringhay. It is normally kept locked but if you are very, very lucky you can track down the key in the village. There are many fine tomb effigies…