royal burials

The Eleanor Crosses – Twelve or Fifteen

Feb 9, 2024

art, buildings, religion

Charing Cross, Charles Alfred Stothard, Cheapside, Dunstable, Edward I, Eleanor Crosses, Eleanor of Castile, frank salisbury, Geddington, Grantham, Great North Road, harby, Hardingstone, Leicester, royal burials, St. Albans, Stamford, Stony Stratford, Waltham, Woburn

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri @ sparkypus.com ‘The Passing of Eleanor’ – artist’s impression of the funeral cortège of Eleanor of Castile watched over by her grieving husband, Edward I. Artist Frank Salisbury, 1910 (1). ‘Pray for our consort, who in life, we loved dearly, and, dead, we do not cease to love….’ Edward Ist in…
Philippa finds another king under another car park….!

Aug 5, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, genealogy, religion, Science

car parks, Henry I, Kingfinder General, Leicester Greyfriars, Philippa Langley, Reading Abbey, Reading Gaol, Richard III, royal burials, The Lost King

The phenomenal Philippa Langley, finder of lost monarchs, is at it again! If you go here you’ll read that she has now discovered Henry I, and guess what? He too is under a car park. In his case it isn’t Greyfriars but the much grander Reading Abbey….albeit in a part that is now the car…
The royal palace of Plantagenet kings…oh, and of some bloated monstrosity called Henry VIII….

Jun 19, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, genealogy, religion

Alice Perrers, Anne of Bohemia, Edmund of Langley, Edward II, Edward III, Henry III, Henry V, Henry VIII, hunting lodges, King’s Langley, Piers Gaveston, reburial, Richard II, royal burials, Westminster Abbey

Oh dear, my title line is again indicative of my allegiances. Why is it that Henry VIII—aka Fat Henry—is seemingly always mentioned as a promotional point of some sort? He was an awful man, and nothing to brag about. Ask his wives, to three of whom he gifted King’s Langley. Short tenure, I imagine. Be…
Royal burial places

Feb 9, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, genealogy, religion, Science

Balmoral, Charles I, Edward II, Edward V, Elizabeth II, Elizabeth Roberts, France, Germany, Gloucester Cathedral, Harold II, James V, John, John Ashdown-Hill, Leicester cathedral, Matilda, monarchs, mtDNA evidence, Richard III, royal burials, Westminster Abbey, Worcester Cathedral

This post in the Times details the final resting place of every English and then British monarch since 1066, although Harold II (probably Waltham Abbey) is omitted. Note from the interactive map that there are four (plus the Empress Matilda) burials in France and one in Germany. There are none in Scotland, Wales, Ireland or…
Who was first to lie in state in Westminster Hall….?

Jan 27, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, religion

Canterbury, Edward of Woodstock, Edward VII, Elizabeth II, George V, George VI, lying in state, Monumental Effigies, Philip IV, Queen Mary, Queen Mother, Richard II, royal burials, Westminster Hall, William Gladstone, William II, Winston Churchill

One of the things that always springs to mind about Westminster Hall is the amazing hammerbeam roof, for which we have our 14th-century monarch, Richard II, to thank. He didn’t build the hall itself, of course, because that accolade goes as far back as King William II “Rufus” in 1079. And Rufus was disappointed…
Edmund of Rutland – a life cut short – his burial at Fotheringhay.

Dec 30, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

Battle of Bosworth, Cecily Neville, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Edmund of Rutland, Edward IV, Edward VI, executions, First Battle of St. Albans, Fotheringhay, George Duke of Clarence, Lady Chapel, Lord Clifford, Ludlow Castle, Micklegate Bar, Pontefract Castle, Priory of St. John the Evangelist, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Richard of Salisbury, Rouen, royal burials, Sandal Castle, Sir Richard Croft, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, York, Yorkist tombs

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Fotheringhay Church and Yorkist Mausoleum 1804. Watercolour by unknown artist. Described by Simon Jenkins as ‘the church that seems to float on its hill above the River Nene, a galleon of Perpendicular on a sea of corn…’ Edmund, son of Richard Duke of York and Cicely Neville was born…
Which monarch was buried where….?

Oct 19, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, religion

Gloucester Cathedral, Leicester cathedral, royal burials, Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle, Worcester Cathedral

There are some monarchs’ last resting places that always come to mind with ease….especially Richard III at Leicester, of course. Then his usurper, Henry Tudor, in his palatial hymn to himself at Westminster Abbey. Edward IV at Windsor, Edward II (apparently) at Gloucester, John at Worcester at so on. Yes, I do know more…
Buckingham’s Bones–Supposedly

Sep 3, 2022

anniversaries, art, buildings, law, religion, Science, sources

“Princes”, Blue Boar Inn, Buckingham rebellion, Debenhams, engraving, executions, Henry of Buckingham, John Ashdown-Hill, London Chronicle of Greyfriars, royal burials, rumours, Salisbury Greyfriars, Saracen’s Head, The Mythology of the “Princes in the Tower”, Tower Bridge

One of Salisbury‘s claims to fame is that it was the place of execution of Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, infamous rebel and possible killer of one or both ‘princes in the Tower‘ (that’s if they were killed at all.) According to legend he was held at the Blue Boar Inn/Saracen’s Head and executed in…
Athelstan–Our Greatest Monarch?

Jul 17, 2022

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion

“The last Kingdom”, Alfred, Anglo-Saxons, Athelstan, Bernard Cornwell, books, Brunaburh, Cheshire, Constantine II, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Eadgyth, Edward the Elder, Elizabeth I, Germany, House of Wessex, illegitimacy rumours, legal reforms, Malmesbury Abbey, novels, piety, royal burials, Scotland, St. Aldhelm, St. Cuthbert, Tom Holland, Venerable Bede, Vikings, York

A recent poll searching for Britain’s ‘Greatest Monarch’, came up with the surprise winner of… drum roll, King Athelstan. Not that the Anglo-Saxon king wasn’t so great, but the winner is a little surprising since most people seem to have believed the ‘crown’ would go to Elizabeth I. (Yawn!) I hope the voters actually remembered…
Renewing the wax covering Edward I’s body in Westminster Abbey…

Jul 7, 2022

anniversaries, art, buildings, religion, sources

Calendar of Close Rolls, Edward I, Eleanor of Castile, Lincoln Cathedral, re-opened tombs, Richard II, royal burials, Sir Bryan Sandford, Sir Joseph Ayloffe, Society of Antiquaries, statues, waxing, Westminster

While working my way through the Close Rolls of Richard II, I came upon the following intriguing entry for 11 July 1377, not long after the boy-king’s accession:- “….To the treasurer and the chamberlains. Order of the king’s money to renew the wax about the body of King Edward I buried in the church of…