Joan of Acre
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While visiting Evesham for last year’s medieval re-enactment, I happened on the village of Cropthorne, with its large medieval church. I do a fair bit of church-crawling, and this was a fine specimen, built near the sites of a Saxon hunting lodge and containing a 9th century Saxon cross. It also had some interesting 17thc monuments to…
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Hanley Castle
Azincourt, Bannockburn, Brian Wainwright, Bruces, Canterbury, churches, Constance of York, de Clares, Edmund of Langley, Edward Despenser, Edward Duke of York, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III, Eleanor de Clare, Elizabeth Burghersh, Epiphany Rising, George Duke of Clarence, Glamorgan, Hanley Castle, Henry Duke of Warwick, Henry III, Henry V, Huchon Despenser, Hugh Despencer the Younger, Isabel le Despenser, Joan of Acre, John, Kathryn Warner, Malvern Chase, massacre of Jews, novels, Richard II, Richard of Warwick, ruins, Tewkesbury, Thomas Despenser, unofficial executions, William la Zouche, Worcestershire, Worcestershire Historical SocietyHanley Castle is located in the south-western part of Worcestershire, only a short distance from the Gloucestershire border. Today it is a small, agreeable village, notable for a school, an excellent pub, The Three Kings and an interesting church, consecrated in 1325. As the place name implies, there was once a castle here, although all…
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Edward II’s nieces: The Clare Sisters
Anne Neville, Bannockburn, burials, Caerphilly Castle, Clare Castle, Clare Priory, Edward I, Edward II, Edward IV, Eleanor de Clare, Elizabeth de Clare, Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, George Duke of Clarence, Gilbert de Clare, Gilbert Earl of Gloucester, Hugh Despencer the Younger, Ireland, Isobel Neville, Joan of Acre, Kathryn Warner, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Margaret de Clare, Richard III, Suffolk, unofficial executions, Wales… and so to the dark green volume in Kathryn Warner‘s series about Edward II, his family, his associates and his era. This one details the lives of three sisters with seven husbands between them and a lot of interesting descendants, including Richard III (and siblings), his wife and his sisters-in-law. The eldest, Eleanor de…
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Wars of the Roses Delights in Suffolk
Battle of Bosworth, blue boar, Bury St. Edmunds, castles, Catherine Stafford, Cecily Neville, Clare, Clare Castle, Clare Priory, de la Pole family, de Vere star, Dunwich, Earls of Oxford, Edward I, Elizabeth of Suffolk, executions, Greyfriars, Hammes, Henry VII, Joan of Acre, John Ashdown-Hill, John Duke of Suffolk, John Earl of Lincoln, Knights Templar, Lavenham, Leicester cathedral, Lionel of Antwerp, Michael Earl of Suffolk, pubs, rosary, Sir john Wingfield, St. Andrew’s Wingfield, Stoke Field, Suffolk, tomb effigies, Violante Visconti, Wingfield, YorkistsAfter over a year, I have finally been able to go on another holiday in which to indulge in my passion of church and castle crawling. I haven’t spent much time in Suffolk before–it’s just a little too far–but there were some places I really wanted to visit, so off we went, braving a crazed…
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The Daughters of Edward I
Amesbury Abbey, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, Burgos, Clare Priory, deposition, Edward I, Edward II, Edward IV, Eleanor Crosses, Eleanor of Castile, Elizabeth Countess of Hereford, Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, Hardingstone, Israel, Joan of Acre, John Ashdown-Hill, Kathryn Warner, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Laura Culme-Seymour, Lucy Walter, Maria Smythe, Mary I, North Wales, Northampton, nuns, Royal Marriage Secrets, royal marriages, SpainKathryn Warner‘s latest tome has arrived and soon raised memories of Ashdown-Hill’s Eleanor, as two of the daughters in question – Joan of Acre (twice) and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan – are among the ancestors of Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lucy Walter, “Mrs. Fitzherbert” (Maria Smythe) and Laura Culme-Seymour, as shown in Royal Marriage Secrets and replicated here.…
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THE STRANGE LEGEND OF USK CASTLE
Azincourt, Bannockburn, birthplaces, Cecily Duchess of York, Dafydd Gam, Edmund Mortimer, Edward I, Edward IV, Fotheringhay, Gilbert de Clare, Gwent, Henry IV, Iorweth ap Owain, Iron Age, isotope analysis, Joan of Acre, Leicester dig, Ludlow Castle, Mortimers, Owain Glyn Dwr, Pwll Melyn, Richard de Clare, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Rouen, Stone of Revenge, teeth, Tristram FitzRolf, Usk Castle, Wales, William Herbert, William I, William MarshallIn a tiny town in Wales, a ruined castle stands on rising ground amidst a haze of dark trees. An atmospheric round tower, cracked by time; shattered walls, the remains of hall and chapel. Privately owned, a garden drops down the hillside before it, to an old house which appears to contain much castle stonework.…
