Somerset
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Well, now the General Election is over and done with, and regardless of the result, something about the whole business caught my attention. Muchelney Abbey in Somerset was a polling station! Can you imagine it? Not your usual school or village hall, but an exquisite medieval abbey said to have been founded by King Athelstan!…
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Life wasn’t always a bed of roses for Geoffrey Chaucer. We may laud him today, but in his own time he sometimes got into debt. His works are brilliant, there’s no doubt about that (I rate him above Shakespeare) and he made a fortunate marriage to one Philippa de Roët. Who she? Well, she was…
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The Country House Rescue series (all of them) are hit and miss for those who love all things medieval. But Season 4 Episode 2 is about Chapel Cleeve Manor, near Minehead in Somerset. It is a great 15th-century house with much history and is now in grave need of rescuing. The unbelievably stoic efforts of…
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RICHARD WHITTINGTON c.1350-1423. MERCER, MAYOR AND A MOST BENEVOLENT CITIZEN OF LONDON
Alice Fitzwaryn, Anne Sutton, Blitz, cats, charitable donations, City of London, College Hill, Edward VI, estates, Gloucestershire, Henry IV, Henry V, John Earl of Somerset, John of Gaunt, John Stow, la Riole, legends, Lord Mayors of London, Mary I, medicine, mercers, moneylenders, pantomimes, Pauntley Court Manor, Richard II, Sir Ivo Fitzwaryn, Sir Richard Whittington, Sir Simon Burley, Somerset, Staffords, Thomas of woodstock, Westminster Abbey, WiltshireReblogged from A Medieval Potpourri @sparkypus.com A delightful artist’s impression of ‘Richard Whittington dispensing his charities’. Artist Henrietta Ray before 1905 oil on canvas. Royal exchange. Even the most disinterested in history children would recognise the name Dick/Richard Whittington and also his best, and only friend, his cat, most of them being familiar with the rather delightful folk…
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I’ve written before about the food eaten by medieval monks, and have now come upon another article, this time in The Guardian. It tells of the dire consequences that followed when monks eventually had a meat-rich diet. The Guardian article was prompted by English Heritage research into “the day-to-day lives and digestive troubles of…
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Sir Humphrey Audley
Blore Heath, Dunster Church, Edward IV, Eleanor de Holland, Elizabeth Courtenay, executions, James Lord Audley, John Duke of Somerset, John Lord Audley, John Mowbray Duke of Norfolk, John Paston III, Lord High Constable, Mortimer’s Cross, Muriel Brews, Powderham Castle, Richard of Warwick, Sir Humphrey Audley, Sir Philip Courtenay, Somerset, Swaffham, Tewkesbury, Thomas Mallet, Wars of the RosesSir Humphrey was one of the very numerous children of James Tuchet, Lord Audley, by his second wife Alianore Holland (daughter of Constance of York by Edmund Holland, Earl of Kent.) Their family is so large that it confuses creators of family trees and it is hard to be absolutely certain just how many siblings…
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The magnificent tapestry in the above illustration is the one indicated in my heading. It’s the oldest possessed by the National Trust, and after four years of careful cleaning and attention, it’s going on display at Montacute House in Somerset. It was commissioned by a French knight and created by a weaver in Tournai.…
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