Pontefract

The murdered Lancastrian countess and the disappearing Yorkist ghost rider….

Mar 22, 2024

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, law, religion, sources

Blanche of Lancaster, british History Online, drowning, Edward II, Edward IV, executions, ghosts, Gloucestershire, Henry III, Henry of Grosmont, illegitimacy, Kempsford Castle, Lords Ordainers, Margaret of Anjou, Maud Chaworth, Owlpen Manor, Pontefract, possible canonisation, Prestbury, River Thames, Tewkesbury, Thomas Earl of Lancaster

Gloucestershire doesn’t lack ghostly stories, not least about the Wars of the Roses with, for example, Margaret of Anjou prowling the rooms of Owlpen Manor and the phantom messenger, on his way through Prestbury to Edward IV at Tewkesbury in May 1471 when he was killed by an arrow. He still gallops through the village…
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 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…
Was the younger Despenser buried in two places at the same time….?

Feb 9, 2020

anniversaries, buildings, law, religion

“Copped Hat”, annulments, burial mystery, Chertsey, Despenser tomb, Earl of Arundel, Edmund of Rutland, Edward II, Edward III, Edward IV, Eleanor of Lancaster, executions, Havering atte Bower, Henry VI, Hereford, Hugh Earl of Winchester, Hugh le Despenser, Hulton Abbey, Isabel le Despenser, Leicester Greyfriars, Piers Gaveston, Pontefract, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Soar, St. george’s Chapel, Staffordshire, Tewkesbury Abbey, Wakefield

We Ricardians know all about the problems, if not to say mysteries, that can arise from the final resting places of famous figures from the past. It doesn’t help that in the medieval period especially a person’s remains could be moved from place to place. Edward IV had his father and brother moved from Pontefract…
If things had been different, might Richard and George have been buried at Fotheringhay….?

Jan 2, 2020

Alternative History, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

Anne Neville, Battle of Bosworth, Chertsey, Edmund of Rutland, Edward II, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Elizabeth Wydeville, Fotheringhay, George Duke of Clarence, Gloucester Cathedral, Henry VI, Henry VII, Isabel Neville, John, Leicester cathedral, Pontefract, Richard Duke of York, St. george’s Chapel, Tewkesbury Abbey, Wakefield, Westminster Abbey, Worcester Cathedral, York Minster

It occurs to me to wonder if Richard intended to be lain to rest at Fotheringhay with his father, the 3rd Duke of York, and brother, Edmund of Rutland. Wouldn’t he think he belonged with them – no matter how fond he was of his beloved Yorkshire? Of course, things changed radically when he became…
Did Richard III prefer to travel his realm by land, river or around the coast. . .?

Mar 7, 2019

anniversaries, buildings, travel

Bristol, Bristol Castle. Dartmouth, Cog Thomas, Devon, Edward III, Henry IV, Ian Mortimer, Ireland, John Holland, London, Nottingham, Pontefract, Richard II, Richard III, sea travel, ships, The Fears of Henry IV, Wales

Here is a question that has bugged me for some time now. If, during medieval centuries, a journey could be made around the English coast, rather than across country, was the sea option likely to be chosen? I will take a particular example. It’s from the 14th century, but could be from the 13th or…
Talbot Country

Feb 8, 2019

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, heraldry, law, sources

“Lambert Simnel”, Alton Towers, Battle of Bosworth, Bess of Hardwick, bigamy, Bridgnorth, Castillon, destruction of records, Duchess of Norfolk, Earls of Shrewsbury, Edward Grey Lord Lisle, Edward IV, Edward V, Elizabeth I, Elizabeth Wydeville, evidence, executions, Fotheringhay, France, funicular railways, George Duke of Clarence, George Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury, Henry VI, Henry VII, heraldic symbols, Hex, house arrest, House of York, Hundred Years War, illegitimacy, Jeanne d’Arc, John Earl of Shrewsbury, John Mowbray Duke of Norfolk, Lady Elizabeth Talbot, London, Lord Protector of the Realm, Margaret d’Anjou, Mary Stuart, memorials, Pontefract, pre-contract, pubs, Ralph Shaa, Richard III, Robert Stillington, secret marriage, Shropshire, Simon Stallworth, Sir Gilbert Talbot, Staffordshire, Talbot hound, Talbot Monument, Talbots, The Shrewsbury Book, Titulus Regius, Tutbury castle, Wingfield Manor

There is a pub in Bridgnorth, near where I live. Well, let’s be honest, there’s about a hundred. If you have ever been to Bridgnorth, aside from the Severn Valley Railway, the funicular railway from Low Town to High Town and the remains of the slighted castle, which lean at a greater angle than the…
Richard III, Henry VII and the City of York….

Jul 31, 2018

buildings, sources, The play’s the thing

“Lambert Simnel”, Anne Neville, Archbishop Scrope, Berwick Castle, british History Online, Christmas, Corpus Christi Guild, Council of the North, Creed Play, Earl of Northumberland, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Wydeville, entertainment, Fishergate Bar, fishgarths, Henry VII, James IV, John Brackenbury, John Vavasour, Lammas, Lord Clifford, Lord Scrope of Bolton, Margaret “Tudor”, Micklegate Bar, Miles Metcalf, Nicholas Lancaster, Ouse, Paston Letters, Paul Murray Kendall, Percies, Pontefract, Princes of Wales, Richard Green, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, riots, Scarborough Castle, Scotland, Shakespeare, Sheriff Hutton, Sir John Egremont, The Ainsty, Thomas Earl of Surrey, Thomas Wrangwissh, Three Estates, Walmgate Bar, York, York Castle, York Guildhall

This is not my work, but has been lifted entirely from British History Online. My contribution is the illustrations. It is a sensible assessment of the relationship of both Richard and Henry Tudor with the great city of York. :- York, Richard of Gloucester, and Henry VII There was much that was new in…
Was a chapel for the House of York planned at Westminster Abbey in 1483…?

Apr 18, 2018

anniversaries, buildings, religion, sources

Canterbury Cathedral, Chertsey, Dean Stanley, Edmund of Rutland, Edward IV, Elizabeth of York, Fotheringhay, foundation stones, George Duke of Clarence, Henry VI, Henry VII, John Steane, Lady Chapel, pilgrims, Pontefract, reburials, Richard III, royal tombs, St. george’s Chapel, St. Thomas, Tewkesbury Abbey, Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle

A short while ago, I came upon a reference to the foundation stone of Henry VII’s chapel in Westminster Abbey (visible in this illustration of the abbey as it may have been in the Tudor period) have been laid first in April 1483. It was from here, as follows:- “. . .Elizabeth [of York] was given…
Yes, that Thomas of Lancaster

Mar 22, 2017

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, Science

auctions, Bauge, Boroughbridge, Colchester, Dukes of Beaufort, Edward II, executions, Henry V, House of York, John Ashdown-Hill, Kathryn Warner, Pontefract, Thomas Earl of Lancaster, Thomas of Clarence, Y-chromosome

He lost his head at Pontefract so what was he doing on sale in Colchester? This Kathryn Warner post gives a lot of detail about Thomas Earl of Lancaster’s life, rebellion and execution six days after the Battle of Boroughbridge. Here we explained the circumstances in which John Ashdown-Hill is seeking his remains, to solve…