Northumbria
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Otterburn Castle is in glorious Northumberland, see here, and dates back to the time of William the Bastard….er, Conqueror. All you need is £3 million. My quirky sense of humour had a turn when I read “The days of arrows shot from battlements and boiling oil poured over the walls are long gone, however….”…
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This Union: The Ghost Kingdoms of England
Aethelbald of Mercia, Aethelflaed, Alfred, Alfred Jewel, Alfred the Great, Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxons, Athelney, Athelstan, Cerne Abbas Giant, coins, Colchester, conversion, Ealdfrith, East Anglia, Edward the Elder, Gareth Williams, Guthrum, Ian Hislop, Ipswich, Janina Ramirez, Jarrow, Lindisfarne, Marc Morris, Mercia, monasteries, Northumbria, Offa, Offa’s Dyke, Oswald, Penda, Philip Wise, Picts, Radio 4, Raedwald, Roman Empire, Rule Britannia, Scotland, St. Athelwald, St. Dunstan, St. Eadwald, stained glass, stone, Sutton Hoo, Thomas Arne, Venerable Bede, Viking raids, Wales, Wearmouth, Wessex, Winchester, WuffingsThis is an excellent series on BBC4 about the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that eventually evolved to fill the vacuum left by departure of the Roman legions. In the first episode, Ian Hislop visits East Anglia, particularly Colchester, Ipswich and Sutton Hoo, viewing some coins with Philip Wise and hearing about the Wuffingas, apparently descended from a…
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The Bishop, the MP, the scientist, the historian and the brewer
brewing, chaplains, clerical celibacy, de heretico comburendo, Edward IV, Edward VI, Essex, executions, Henry VIII, Hugh Latimer, illegitimacy, Jasper Ridley, JD Wetherspoon, John Knox, Mary I, Matt Ridley, MPs, Nicholas Ridley, Nicholas Ridley MP, Northumbria, Old St. Paul’s, Oxford, Professor Jane Ridley, Ralph Shaa, sermons, Sir Edwin Lutyens, Tewkesbury, Thomas Cranmer, University of Buckingham, VictoriaThe preacher at St. Paul’s stated that the late King’s surviving issue were illegitimate. On this occasion, it wasn’t Dr. Ralph Shaa on 22nd June 1483 about Edward IV’s sons but Rt. Rev. Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London and Westminster, on 9 July 1553 about Henry VIII’s daughters, at which time Jane was proclaimed. As…
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While browsing around in pursuit of the legend of the pool that bubbled blood in Finchampstead, Berkshire, I came upon these snippets. Does anyone know more? “West Court is a fine 17th century building which, before improvements made in 1835, still had a moat and a drawbridge! It was taken on by Lady Marvyn’s…
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Here is Mercedes Rochelle’s excellent post about Tostig Godwinson, brother of Harold II. He was Earl of Northumbria for ten years before the rebellion in that region in late 1065. He then tried to overthrow Harold from the south in May and from the north in September, with Norwegian support, ending in his defeat and…
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Just how many more ancient coins are waiting for someone to find them? And how many hoards? It never ceases to be exciting. There is a date of 1504 for at least one of these, so I guess we know who hid them! Step forward Henry VII, and admit it’s one of your stashes. If…
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Would you like a few sniggers and outright guffaws? Yes? Then I have just the book for you—Lives of England’s Monarchs by H. E. Lehman. I was searching for something specific, and for some reason Google took me first to page 182… “…Edward [IV] was a large man possessed of great leadership ability and personal…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 