Norwich

“Becoming Elizabeth”

Jan 22, 2024

anniversaries, genealogy, law, religion, television reviews

Admiral Thomas Seymour, Alicia von Rittburg, Amy Robsart, Anglo-Scottish Wars, beards, Catherine Parr, Channel Four, David Starkey, Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, executions, Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk, Henry VIII, heresy, Jane, John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, Kett Rebellion, Lord Guildford Dudley, Lord Protector of the Realm, Mary I, Mary Stuart, Norwich, Oliver Zetterstrom, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, Scotland

This drama series, from Starz but now broadcast on Channel Four, follows the momentous but unheralded reign of Edward VI through the eyes of the future Elizabeth I. It features the literally fratricidal feud between the Seymour brothers as the elder, the Duke of Somerset, becomes Lord Protector but also the King’s governor, powers that…
Walking “Tudor” England

Aug 10, 2021

battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion, television reviews, travel

“Bloody Mary”, “Tudors”, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, Arthur “Tudor”, Ashdown Forest, attainder, Austin Friars, bear-baiting, Bishops of London, Bridewell Palace, brothels, Cambridge, cannon, Channel Five, Christopher Hatton, Clifford’s Tower, conspiracies, dancing, de heretico comburendo, Dutch refugees, East Midlands, Edmund Bonner, Edward of Buckingham, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, excommunication, executions, exile, fire, Framlingham Castle, Fulham Palace, Greenwich Palace, Grey-Dudley rebellion, Gunpowder Plot, Guy Fawkes, Hampton Court, Henry Earl of Huntingdon, Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk, Henry VIII, Hever Castle, James VI/I, Jane, John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, John Foxe, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, Katherine Howard, Kenilworth Castle, Kenninghall, Kett Rebellion, Leicester, London, Lord Chancellor, Lord Guildford Dudley, Margaret Clitherow, Mary Stuart, Mass, Michelham Priory, naval power, Nicholas Ridley, Northern Earls’ Rebellion, Norwich, Penshurst Place, Pilgrimage of Grace, Pontefract, Portsmouth, recusants, Ripon Cathedral, Robert Aske, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, royal barges, royal hunting estates, Rushton Triangular Lodge, severed heads, Sir Henry Dudley, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Thomas Tresham, Sir Walter Raleigh, Southwark, St. Mary’s Abbey, Stamford, Suzannah Lipscomb, The Globe, Thomas Howard 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Stafford, tobacco, torture, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Will Kemp, William Cecil, William Shakespeare, Wyatt Rebellion, Yorkshire Museum

Suzannah Lipscomb has just completed another series on Channel Five, this time visiting the sites related to the “Tudors”. In the first episode, she concentrated on Henry VIII and the naval power he inherited from John Howard, Duke of Norfolk. The second was principally about the penultimate “Tudor”, Mary I, as well as Edward VI…
The mystery of William of Norwich….

Mar 26, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, religion

apprentices. murder, chapels, Mousehold Heath, Norwich, Norwich Cathedral, saints, St. Catherine, St. William of Norwich, Thorpe Wood

England and Wales abound with saints who have never figured very highly—or even at all—in the estimation of Rome. British saints rarely seem to reach the hallowed list, unless they were of the calibre of Becket. But in their local area these saints were much revered and of considerable importance. One of them is…
Britain’s Lost Battlefields (with Rob Bell)

May 29, 2020

archaeology, battles, television reviews

“Tudor” era, 5Select., arquebus, Bannockburn, Battle of Hastings, battlefields, Boudicca, Channel Five, Charles I, Colchester Castle, Edward II, English Civil War, handguns, Harold II, Iceni, Kett Rebellion, Maurice, Mousehold Heath, muskets, Naseby, Nero, Norwich, Oliver Cromwell, Parliamentary army, Rob Bell, Robert I, Robert Kett, Roman Empire, Rupert, Sir thomas Fairfax, Watling Street, William I, Wymondham

Channel Five’s reputation for history programmes has risen greatly over the past few years. At the heart of this, first in a Great Fire of London series with Suzannah Lipscomb and the ubiquitous Dan Jones, has been the “engineering historian” Rob Bell, who has toured bridges, ships, buildings and lost railways in his own amiable,…
Secret Marriages – Edward IV & his Two Wives, the Novel

Jun 30, 2019

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, heraldry, law, religion

Anne Beauchamp, Anne Mowbray, Anne Neville, Barnet, bigamy, Burton Dassett, Carmelite Priory, Christ’s College, coronations, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, fiction, Henry VII, Isabel Neville, Janet Reedman, John Crowne, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lady Elizabeth Talbot, Norwich, Poor Clare’s convent, Richard of Warwick, royal marriages, St. Erasmus Chapel, Talbot hound, Westminster Abbey, Whitefriars Monastery

Over the years there has been lots of fiction written about Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville and of course Richard III. However, there is one one figure in their story who often gets a mention, but is rarely portrayed as a living person, with the events long after her death in 1468 taking the forefront instead. …
Discovered in Norwich

Oct 26, 2018

anniversaries, battles, buildings, The play’s the thing, travel

archery, Azincourt, Harfleur, Harriet Martineau, Henry IV, Henry V, JD Wetherspoon, John of Gaunt, John Sell Cotman, Kett Rebellion, Lancastrians, Norwich, Norwich Cathedral, Norwich School artists, pubs, Shakespeare, Sir Thomas Erpingham, stained glass, Tomblands

Whilst visiting Norwich to see the Whitefriars plaque to Lady Eleanor Talbot, Richard’s sister-in-law, in Tomblands near the Cathedral, I happened to take lunch in a particular hostelry, the Glass House. It is principally named for the city’s stained glass industry and various panels, also commemorate the author Harriet Martineau, the rebel Robert Kett, Cotman…
THE CARMELITE FRIARY OF NORWICH KNOWN AS WHITEFRIARS – BURIAL PLACE OF ELEANOR TALBOT

Jun 30, 2018

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, law, religion

Arminghall Arch, bigamy, Blackfriars, burials, Carmelite Priory, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, friaries, George Plunkett, Henry VI, Henry VII, John Ashdown-Hill, John Earl of Shrewsbury, John Kenninghale, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lady Elizabeth Talbot, Margaret Beauchamp, marriage, Norwich, Norwich Magistrates Court, Philip de Cowgate, pre-contract, Ralph Butler Baron Sudeley, Reformation, Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick, Russell Colman, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Earl of Surrey, Thomas Howard 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Towton

UPDATED POST ON sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri https://sparkypus.com/2020/05/14/the-carmelite-friary-of-norwich-known-as-whitefriars-burial-place-of-eleanor-talbot/ COWGATE NORWICH, DAVID HODGSON c.1860. WHITEFRIARS STOOD ON THE EASTERN SIDE BETWEEN THE CHURCH OF ST JAMES POCKTHORPE (SEEN ABOVE) AND THE RIVER A SHORT DISTANCE AWAY..NORWICH MUSEUM On this day, 30 June, died Eleanor Butler nee Talbot. Eleanor came from an illustrious family. Her father was…
Britain’s most historic towns

May 8, 2018

battles, buildings, religion, television reviews

“Tudors”, Alice Roberts, Battle of Bosworth, Belfast, canary, Channel Four, Cheltenham, Chester, ducking stool, Earl of Oxford, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, executions, fools, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Francis Kett, Henry VII, Henry VIII, heresy, Jasper “Tudor”, justice, Kett Rebellion, Lollards’ Pit, Lord Chamberlain’s Men, Low Countries, Mary I, medieval clothes, Morris dancing, Mousehold Heath, Norwich, Norwich Guildhall, pubs, punishments, Reformation, refugees, Robert Kett, Shakespeare, sumptuary laws, weavers, Wensum, Will Kemp, Winchester, York

This excellent Channel Four series reached part four on 28th April as Dr. Alice Roberts came to Norwich, showing streets, civic buildings and even a pub that I have previously visited, describing it as Britain’s most “Tudor” town. She began by describing Henry VII as “violently seizing” the English throne (or at least watching whilst…
Horrox on the de la Poles

Feb 24, 2018

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy

Azincourt, de la Pole family, DNA, Earls of Suffolk, Edmund Earl of Suffolk, Edward the Black Prince, Harfleur, Hull, John Ashdown-Hill, John Duke of Suffolk, John Earl of Lincoln, John of Gaunt, Katherine Wingfield, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Lord Richard de la Pole, Marguerite de la Pole, Michael de la Pole, Michael K Jones, moneylenders, Nicolas of the Tower, Norwich, Pavia, Richard de la Pole, Richard II, Rosemary Horrox, Sir William de la Pole, Sutton Hoo, William de la Pole, William Duke of Suffolk, Wuffings Education

Two weeks after visiting Wingfield , I attended a “Wuffing Education” Study Day at Sutton Hoo, addressed by Rosemary Horrox on the de la Pole family. This juxtaposition of dates was entirely beneficial as their genealogy and history was fresh in my mind so it was easy to follow Horrox’s train of thought. She covered the…
A familiar name

Dec 27, 2017

genealogy

convent, Earls of Ormond, Edward IV, Ireland, Ladies of Llangollen, Lady Eleanor Butler, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Mail on Sunday, marriage, Nicky Haslam, Norwich, Plas Newydd, pre-contract, Sarah Ponsonby, Sir Thomas Butler, Whitefriars, widowhood

So there was I, just casually scanning the Mail on Sunday’s “You” magazine (22 October,p.23, interview with Nicky Haslam), when a familiar name popped up, a close friend of Haslam’s multiple-great-aunt. Unlike her near namesake: 1) She was a Butler by birth, not by (her first) marriage. 2) She didn’t go on to marry a…