tombs

Blanche Mortimer – The Grandison Monument

Jun 11, 2017

art, buildings, genealogy

Blanche Mortimer, Edward II, Edward III, heraldry, Herefordshire, Isabella de Valois, lead coffins, Nikolaus Pevsner, Peter Grandison, Roger Mortimer, Simon Jenkins, St. Bartholomew’s, tombs

In the chancel of the church of St Bartholomew, Much Marcle, Herefordshire can be found one of the most beautiful tombs chests in England, that of Blanche Mortimer, Lady Grandison. I happened by chance on this lovely monument some years ago. I stood there entranced, unwilling to leave. Blanche’s tomb has been described by Nikolaus Pevsner…
LOOKING FOR A KINGMAKER

Apr 4, 2017

buildings, genealogy

Anne Neville, Barnet, Edward IV, Edward of Lancaster, Elizabeth Wydeville, George Duke of Clarence, Henry VI, Isabel Neville, Lady Margaret Neville, Richard of Warwick, Sir Richard Huddleston, the Neville family, tombs, Warwick the Kingmaker

Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick is one of the most colourful and interesting figures of the 15th c. He put Edward IV on the throne, then fell out with him over his “marriage” with Elizabeth Woodville (and Edward’s increased chumminess with the Woodville family to the exclusion of Warwick) He married his elder daughter…
Damage done to Richard of Eastwell’s tomb….

Jul 31, 2016

Uncategorized

Richard III, Richard of Eastwell, tombs

There really are some morons around. If they’re caught, I hope they are punished – by being publicly named and then hurt in their bank balance! http://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/tomb-raiders-target-grave-of-99462/
Those le Despensers

Jan 24, 2016

genealogy

Anne Neville, Edward II, Edward of Middleham, Hugh le Despenser, John of Gaunt, Kathryn Warner, Mortimers, Nevilles, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Roger Mortimer, tombs

We all know that the principal protagonists of Edward II’s reign – the King himself and Roger Mortimer, later Earl of March – were among Richard III’s ancestors. However, this table shows that Anne Neville, his Queen Consort, was descended from Hugh le Despenser the Elder (and also from the Younger) through the Beauchamps of…
The Making of Richard III’s Coat of Arms for his Tomb

Oct 29, 2015

Science

arms, Derbyshire, Florence, Leicester cathedral, stone, Thomas Greenaway, tombs

I was quite amazed to find out last week, when visiting Leicester Cathedral, that the small coat of arms that can be seen on the front part of the tomb was made by a skilled craftsman called Thomas Greenaway, who is one of only a handful of people who use the 16th Century craft of…
THE GIFFARD CHANTRY-MEDIEVAL PAINT AND EARLY PLANTAGENETS.

Sep 13, 2015

buildings

Alexander Giffard, Boroughbridge, Edward I, Giffard Chantry, Godfrey Giffard, Lady Margaret Neville, Piers Gaveston, Plantagenets, Pontefract, Seventh Crusade, St. Mary’s, Thomas Plantagenet, tombs, Walter Giffard, Wiltshire, windows

In the quiet village of Boyton in Wiltshire stands the Church of St Mary’s, known locally as ‘Blessed Mary of Boyton.’ Dating from the early 13th century it contains several unusual and startling features, including a medieval oven where priests baked the sacramental bread. It is probably most famous, however, for the chantry of the…
THE TOMB OF THOMAS COCKAYNE, YORKIST

Aug 29, 2015

buildings

collars, Derbyshire, duel, Lancastrians, loyalty, Thomas Cockayne, tombs, Yorkists

In my many travels I once came upon a very fine effigy in Youlgrave Parish church, high in the Derbyshire Peak District. Exquisitely carved from alabaster, with great attention paid to detail, it shows the small figure (only about three or four feet long, crafted in such a manner because Thomas died before his father)…
BUCKINGHAM’S MYSTERIOUS BURIAL

Jun 1, 2015

buildings

“Princes”, Britford, burial mystery, Debenhams, Dissolution, DNA, duel, Edward V, Greyfriars, Henry of Buckingham, Old Sarum, Richard III, Salisbury, Staffords, tombs, William of Eu

Where lies Harry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham? No one can say for sure, his final resting place is as elusive and entwined with myth and legend as Richard III’s once was. Stafford, leader of the October 1483 rebellion against Richard, was turned in by one of his own men while hiding in a cottage, apparently…
Edward IV’s Will of 1475: “Bury Me Low in the Ground, with the Figure of Death”

May 15, 2015

Uncategorized

Edward IV, France, Richard III, tombs, wills, Windsor

In 1475, before embarking for his campaign to (re)conquer French lands for England, Edward IV wrote a will stating that, in the event of his death, he desired to be buried at the Royal Chapel of St. George’s at Windsor Castle. He wanted to be placed under the ground with an effigy of a corpse…