River Severn

Wick Court, a forgotten mansion in the depths of Gloucestershire….

Jun 20, 2024

buildings, sources

“Tudors”, Elizabeth I, Gloucestershire, Lords Berkeley, Michael Morpurgo, oak trees, River Severn, Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, wick court, Wick House, William I

According to this site Visiting Wick Court – Farms For City Children “….Wick Court is an Elizabethan moated manor house once used as a hunting lodge by the Lords of Berkeley and rumoured to have been visited by Elizabeth I Although grand in its history, this intimate house stands on a site looking out across…
The city of Gloucester and its links to Richard III….

Jul 29, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, heraldry, religion

Berkeley Castle, Charters, city of York, Edward II tomb, Gloucester, Gloucester Cathedral, Henry of Buckingham, Leicester, Margaret d’Anjou, Richard II, River Severn, royal tombs, Tewkesbury

My home city of Gloucester (and its cathedral) doesn’t turn up enough online, but here’s a link that’s all about Gloucester. And it gives Richard III a fair deal, although it doesn’t mention that on 29 July 1483*, during his royal progress, he granted Gloucester its charter. Nor that in 1471 Gloucester closed its gates…
A Worcestershire castle for £500,000….?

Dec 2, 2022

battles, buildings

Arthur Plantagenet, Country Life, Earls of Salisbury, Earls of Warwick, Lisle Greys, Mortimers of Wigmore, Nibley Green, property sales, Ribbesford House, River Severn, Thomas Howard 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Vikings, Worcestershire

I love delving into the glossy pages of Country Life magazine, because something of interest always turns up. This time I’ve happened upon the story of Ribbesford House on the banks of the River Severn in Worcestershire. Not only was this vast property once on sale for the ridiculously low price of £500,000, but Ribbesford…
First, take your royal sturgeon….

Dec 7, 2021

buildings, culture, religion

cookery, Edward II, Edward III, fish, mediaeval food, mediaeval life, Ouverture de Cuisine, pies, River Severn, St Albans Abbey, sturgeon

It’s always rewarding to find a site that is helpful with medieval research. By this I mean everyday research, not the highly specialised work of historians. This site was stumbled upon because I needed to find out how sturgeon would have been served in the medieval period. Yes, it had been a royal fish…
Gloucester’s contribution to the Battle of Tewkesbury….

Aug 31, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, Events

Alney Island, Andrew Armstrong, charter, drowning, Edward of Lancaster, executions, George Duke of Clarence, Gloucester, Henry VI, Henry VII, Lancastrians, Lord Protector of the Realm, Malmsey, Margaret of Anjou, processions, Richard Duke of York, Richard’s Wood, River Severn, Tewkesbury

This year is the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Tewkesbury, and—justifiably—Gloucester wants a piece of the celebratory action. After all, Gloucester did contribute a lot to the outcome, by ensuring Margaret and her forces were obliged to take a stand in a place they wouldn’t have chosen. The queen wanted to pass through the…
Richard III’s woodland in Gloucester….

Aug 1, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, law

1483 charter, Alney Island, Gloucester, Gloucester Cathedral, Richard III, Richard’s Wood, River Severn

My home city of Gloucester has always appreciated Richard III, and in 1983, to celebrate it being 500 years since he’d granted Gloucester its charter, a new wood was planted to honour him. It’s on Alney Island, which is land between two channels of the River Severn on the western outskirts of the city. From…
Medieval spies….

May 4, 2021

anniversaries, battles, buildings, religion

Bristol, Church of England, Churchdown, Edward IV, Gloucester, Ian Arthurson, Margaret of Anjou, River Severn, Robinswood Hill, spies, Tewkesbury

Thanks to a post on the Richard III Society Forum, I was steered to the following interesting Ian Arthurson article about medieval spying. We know that the Tudors excelled in this dangerous world, but it’s not so well known that it was quite rife during the Wars of the Roses as well. Royalty—and the Church—always…
Was it a spring tide in 1607? Was it a storm? No, it was a tsunami! Or was it….?

Jan 20, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, Science

books, Bristol Channel, calendars, Cardigan, Devon, floods, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Gwent, Lord Herbert, parish registers, River Severn, Rose Hewlett, Somerset, tsunamis

“….But the yeere 1606, the fourth of King James, the ryver of Severn rose upon a sodeyn Tuesday mornyng the 20 of January beyng the full pryme day and hyghest tyde after the change of the moone by reason of a myghty strong western wynde….” John Paul, Vicar of Almondsbury In ‘A True Report of…
Gloucester on 28th October, 1378, 1483 and 1967….

Oct 28, 2020

anniversaries, buildings, religion, travel

Brecon, Buckingham rebellion, coronations, Edward II tomb, Finchampstead, Gloucester, Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester Mourning Sword, Gloucestershire archives, Gnosall, Henry of Buckingham, John Morton, John Russell, Old West Gate, Parliament, Ralph Bannaster, Richard II, Richard III, River Severn, Royal Progress, royal visits, Saracen’s Head, Tewkesbury, Tewkesbury Abbey, Wales

28th October is a notable day for me because of three events in Gloucester’s history:- (1) It was the day my second favourite king, Richard II was in Gloucester and Tewkesbury—well, he was from 20th October 1378 until mid-November, so had to be in one or the other on the 28th. (2) It was also…
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…