Leicester

Dan Jones hits the road …

Dec 17, 2020

archaeology, battles, buildings, humour, law, religion

5Select., Bath, bath houses, Dan Jones, David Starkey, Dere Street, Ermine Street, Exeter, Hadrian’s Wall, Leicester, Leicester cathedral, Lincoln, London, Richard III, Roman culture, Roman invasion, tattoos, Walking Britain’s Roman Roads, Watling Street, York

… Walking Britain’s Roman Roads, in fact. It is quite a good series, in which Jones explores some of the most important of these, together with some aspects of Romano-British Society. The first episode takes him the length of Watling Street, the first part of which is now he M2, during which he visits the…
An Irishman abroad but not for much longer?

Sep 10, 2020

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, genealogy, religion, Science

biographies, builders, Chapel of Marvels, Chieftains of Tyrconnell, Christopher Columbus, Curlew Pass, Darren McGettigan, Donegal, Earls of Tyrone, Franciscans, Hugh O’Neill, Ireland, Irish News, Kinsale, Leicester, love songs, missing feet, music, Nine Years’ War, October birthdays, parallels, Phillip III, rebellion, Red Hugh O’Donnell, Richard III, Richard Tyrrel, Simancas, Spain, Ulster, Valladolid, Yellow Ford

“Red” Hugh O’Donnell (1572-1602) was an Irish chieftain who fought a series of battles against English armies between 1595 and the beginning of 1602 (during the Nine Years’ War which actually ran from 1593 to 1603), one of his less successful opponents being the Earl of Essex. O’Donnell ruled Tir Chonaill in the extreme north-west…
The Royal Progress of Richard III

Aug 29, 2020

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law, religion, sources, travel

“Arrivall of Edward IV”, “Princes”, Annales, Anne Neville, Anne Sutton, Black Death, Brecon, Bristol, Buckingham rebellion, Cambridge, Canterbury Cathedral, Catherine de Medici, Charles IX, Chief Justice, Compton Reeves, Cora Schofield, Coventry, Crowland Chronicle, Earl of Kildare, Edmund of Rutland, Edward II, Edward III, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Edward the Black Prince, Eucharist, execution, Fotheringhay, Francis Viscount Lovell, Gainsborough, George Duke of Clarence, George Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury, Gloucester, Gloucester Cathedral, Grantham, Great Chronicle, Great Seal, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VI, Henry VII, investiture, Isabel Neville, Jamestown, John Fortescue, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, John Kendall, John Morton, John of Gloucester, John Russell, Katherine Hastings, Latin, Leicester, Lincoln, Lionel Woodville, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Louis XI, Ludlow, Margaret d’Anjou, Micklegate Bar, Middleham Castle, Minster Lovell, mystery plays, Nottingham, Oxford, Pamela Tudor-Craig, Peter Hammond, Pilgrims’ Way, Pontefract, Reading, reburials, Rhoda Edwards, Richard Duke of York, Richard Earl Rivers, Richard III, Richard of Salisbury, River Ouse, River Severn, River Witham, Rosemary Horrox, Royal Progress, Sandwich, Sir Baldwin Fulford, Sir John Woodville, St. George, Tadcaster, Tewkesbury, Tewkesbury Abbey, Thomas of woodstock, Thomas Rotherham, Thornbury, Titulus Regius, Wakefield, Wales, Warwick, William I, William Lord Hastings, William Waynflete, Windsor Castle, Woodstock, Worcester, York

Following his coronation, Richard III – like all medieval monarchs – went on his “royal progress” through the realm. Along with an entourage in excess of 200 household men, ecclesiastics, supporters, and administrative officials, he visited towns and cities as far west as the River Severn, as far north as the River Ouse, and as…
Richard III versus James I of Scotland….?

Jul 25, 2020

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, religion, Science

Bosworth, James I, Joan “Beaufort”, Leicester, Margaret “Tudor”, Perth, Richard III

The following extract is from this article in the Daily Record :- “….Fortuitously for us, Henry VII killed Richard III (the king in the car park) who was discovered in Leicester. A nice piece of synergy, and the basis for a much bigger story of Scottish royal political dominance in Great Britain….” Well, it might…
More truthful about Richard III than they realise….!

Jul 13, 2020

humour, The play’s the thing

Leicester, Penny Dreadfuls

Well, the Penny Dreadfuls, a comedy group, may only be having fun and poking fun at Shakespeare’s Richard, but they’ve actually come closer to the truth than may be realised. Their version of Richard is more accurate than the Bard’s parody!
The ladies who made linens for Richard III’s 2015 reinterment….

Jul 11, 2020

buildings, Events, religion

Cathedrals, Leicester, linen, Richard III reburial, Saxon churches, St. Nicholas’ Cathedral, USA, vestments

I had to answer a questionnaire to read this, but it wasn’t intrusive – mine was about whether or not I’d had flowers delivered in last six months. Anyway, the article is quite interesting, and concerns the ladies who made linens for Richard’s reinterment. Their company is based in Waterford in the USA, and makes…
Elizabeth Wydeville…Serial Killer?

Jun 8, 2020

anniversaries, buildings, law, religion

“Lambert Simnel”, ambush, Anne Mowbray, Annette Carson, attainder, Bermondsey Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral, Cecily Duchess of York, Charles the Bold, Domenico Mancini, Dominican friaries, Drogheda, Duchess of Norfolk, Earl of Desmond, Earl of Kildare, Edward IV, Edward of Warwick, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Wydeville, George Duke of Clarence, Grafton Regis, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VII, Hicks, Ireland, Isobel Neville, John Ashdown-Hill, John Mowbray Duke of Norfolk, John Tiptoft Earl of Worcester, Kerry, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Leicester, Lord Deputy of Ireland, Lord High Constable, Luton Guildbook, Margaret Duchess of Burgundy, Minories, Parliament, Polydore Vergil, Ricardian, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, Robert Stillington, Rous Roll, The Pink Queen, Thomas Penn, York civic records

UPDATED VERSION AT sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri https://sparkypus.com/2020/06/08/elizabeth-wydeville-serial-killer/ Elizabeth Wydeville The Royal Window Canterbury Cathedral. Yes, this is a serious question. After reading several of the late John Ashdown-Hill’s books, particularly his last one, Elizabeth Widville Lady Grey, I think it’s time to give it some serious thought. Although prima facie it may appear absurd, after…
A piece of Richard’s sarcophagus….

May 20, 2020

archaeology, buildings, Events, religion

Leicester, Leicester cathedral, Market harborough, music, Nevill Holt Opera, Picnic Chapel, Richard III

Here is an interesting little comment: “….in the Picnic Chapel, which contains a small stone that is a remaining part of the stone used to make Richard III’s sarcophagus in Leicester Cathedral….” This stone is at Nevill Holt Opera, near Market Harborough, and the sentence is right at the end of this link. this…
Plans for displaying Leicester’s Roman past….

Apr 13, 2020

archaeology, buildings

Jewry Wall, Leicester, Leicester Mercury, Roman Britain, Vaughan College

Now Leicester is to show off its Roman past. And why not? If you’ve got it, flaunt it! “….The cost of converting Leicester’s Jewry Wall museum into a new tourist attraction telling the story of Roman Leicester has risen to more than £11 million…. “….The museum closed in 2017 to allow the city council to…
Desperately Seeking Wolsey….

Mar 10, 2020

anniversaries, archaeology, genealogy, religion, Science

Abbey Park, Henry VIII, Leicester, Leicester Abbey, Richard III, statues, Thomas Wolsey, virtual reality

The discovery in Leicester of the remains of Richard III was surely one of the greatest such event, and since then there have been increased attempts to locate other great figures from our past. Leicester has at least one other such person just waiting to be found, but as yet he’s proving elusive. The location…