Wakefield

The complete, utterly biased dissing of the House of York….

Apr 28, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, heraldry, law, religion, television reviews, The play’s the thing

Anne Neville, armour, Barnet, bastardy, bigamy, boar, Brittany, Burgundy, Cecily Neville, cleanliness, destiny, Edgecote, Edmund “Tudor”, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Edmund of Rutland, Edward III, Edward IV, Edward V, executions, exile, facial hair, family tree, First Battle of St. Albans, fog, G.L.Harriss, gambling, George Duke of Clarence, Hastings, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VII, Ireland, Jasper “Tudor”, John Ashdown-Hill, John Duke of Somerset, John of Gaunt, John Welles, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Lancastrians, Lionel of Antwerp, Lord High Constable, Lord Protector of the Realm, Louis XI, Margaret of Anjou, Mortimer’s Croft, obscenity, Old St. Paul’s, philip glenister, pre-contract, Privy Council, propaganda, re-legitimisation, Readeption, Richard Duke of York, Richard Earl of Arundel, Richard II, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, Richard of Warwick, Royal Bastards: Rise of the Tudors, Scotland, Sky History, Southampton, Titulus Regius, Wakefield, Welsh people, William Herbert, William Shakespeare, Wydevilles, Yorkist claim, Yorkists

When I recorded the first episode of the Sky series Royal Bastards: Rise of the Tudors, I watched it on 23rd November, which is the anniversary of the day in 1450 when Richard 3rd Duke of York returned to London [and Parliament] with his sword unsheathed to claim his right. The docudrama series kicks…
The White Lion of Mortimer….

Dec 30, 2021

anniversaries, art, battles, heraldry

coins, Mortimers, Queen’s Beasts, Richard Duke of York, Wakefield, white lion

It isn’t often that I like a new coin, but the addition of the White Lion of Mortimer to the Queen’s Beasts series is an exception. It’s beautiful. To read about it go here.
The Kingmaker’s Anger

Nov 22, 2021

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, sources

Alexander Neville Archbishop of York, anarchy, Anne Beauchamp, Anne Neville, Barons Latimer, Calais, Captain of Calais, Cardiff Castle, Catherine Parr, Catherine Woodville, Countess of Shrewsbury, Countesses of Arundel, daughters, de Veres, Duchess of Somerset, Duchess of Warwick, Dukes of Buckingham, Dukes of Norfolk, Earls of Arundel, Earls of Kent, Earls of Northumberland, Edmund Duke of Somerset, George Duke of Clarence, George Neville, George Neville Duke of Bedford, Henry Fitzhugh, Henry II, Henry IV, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VI, Henry VIII, Isabel Neville, Joan “Beaufort”, John Mowbray Duke of Norfolk, Losecoat Field, marriages, Matthew Lewis, Monthemer family, Nevilles, Percies, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, rebellions, Richard Duke of York, Richard Earl Rivers, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Rous Roll, sibling double marriages, Sir John Woodville, summary executions, the Beauforts., Thomas Lord Stanley, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, William de Longespee, William Lord Hastings

I’m working on a biography of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick – the man best introduced as The Kingmaker. I have written on the Wars of the Roses, on Richard, Duke of York, and Richard III. Warwick has been a constant presence throughout. I spent some time in an earlier dispute over the throne of…
The Betrayal of Richard III by V B Lamb – a book review

Oct 15, 2021

anniversaries, battles, Book Reviews, law, sources

“Perkin”, Anne Neville, bigamy, Bosworth, Cecily Neville, Edward IV, Edward of Lancaster, Edward of Middleham, Elizabeth Wydeville, executions, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VI, illegitimacy, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Margaret of Salisbury, Peter Hammond, pre-contract, research, Richard III, Richard III Society, Richard of Shrewsbury, Sir Francis Bacon, Sir James Tyrrell, Stanleys, The Betrayal of Richard III, V.B. Lamb, Wakefield, Wydevilles

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Artist Emma Vieceli This book is a little gem. Written by the late Vivien Beatrix Lamb and first published in 1959 it’s no surprise that it’s still in print and a new edition available from The Richard III Society online shop with an introduction and notes by Peter Hammond. …
‘The Road Not Travelled’ – New Anthology

Jul 4, 2021

Alternative History, battles

1066 Upside Down, Anne Neville, anthologies, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VII, Margaret of Anjou, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Riikka Nikko, Scoliosis Association UK, The Road Not Travelled, Wakefield

I recently read a brilliant short story anthology called ‘1066 Turned Upside Down’ which explored different ways in which the momentous year of 1066 might have turned out differently if something was changed. This made me think that a similar anthology for the Wars of the Roses would also be a great idea. There are…
New Wars of the Roses postage stamps showing Graham Turner’s magnificent paintings….!

May 1, 2021

anniversaries, art, battles

Barnet, Battle of Bosworth, Battle of Northampton, David Grummitt, First Battle of St. Albans, Graham Turner, stamps, Tewkesbury, Towton, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses

Wow! These new postage stamps are brilliant. So colourful and truly interesting. Well done whoever chose to do this, and well done even more Graham Turner for his amazing paintings. Among the other battle scenes depicted are Wakefield, Towton, First Battle of St Albans, Tewkesbury and Northampton.
THE SIX SISTERS OF WARWICK THE KINGMAKER

Apr 14, 2021

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion, sources

Alice Montacute, Alice Neville, Anne Fitzhugh, Arundel Castle, Ashby St Ledgers, Barnet, Cecily Neville the Younger, Cicely Bonville, Colne Priory, Despencers, Earl of Desmond, Eleanor Neville, Elizabeth Baynham, executions, Francis Viscount Lovell, George Lord Strange, Henry Duke of Warwick, Henry Fitzhugh, Henry VII, impaling, Joan Neville, John Earl of Oxford, John Neville Marquis of Montagu, John Tiptoft Earl of Worcester, Katherine Neville, Kirby Muxloe, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Lady Margaret Neville, Margaret Wydeville, ODNB, Richard of Salisbury, Richard of Warwick, St. george’s Chapel, St. James Garlickhythe, Tanfield Castle, Tewkesbury Abbey, The Coronation of Richard III: the Extant Documents, Thomas Grey Marquess of Dorset, Thomas Lord Stanley, tomb effigies, Wakefield, William Bonville Lord Harrington, William Fitzalan, William Lord Hastings

REBLOGGED FROM A MEDIEVAL POTPOURRI @ sparkypus.com Joan Neville and her husband William Fitzalan Earl of Arundel lie together to this day in their beautiful tomb in the chapel at Arundel Castle. Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury (d. 1460) and his wife Alice Montacute had 10 children, including two sons, Richard Earl of Warwick and John…
The Wakefield Medieval Portaloo!

Mar 22, 2021

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings, sources

boar, Council of the North, English Civil War, Harleian Manuscript, mediaeval artefacts, Peter Hammond, Richard III, Rosemary Horrox, Sandal Castle, Wakefield

In Wakefield Museum there is a rather unusual artefact–a late medieval chamber pot that was discovered in the ruins of Sandal Castle. This would be an unusual find at the best of times, but what makes this porta-potty even more interesting and special is that is is mounted with the large figure of a boar!…
The Harringtons of Hornby Castle and the Stanleys

Jan 30, 2021

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion

Anne Conyers, Battle of Bosworth, Bishops of Durham, Catherine Parr, Cuthbert Tunstal Bishop of Durham, dispensations, Genealogics, Harringtons, heiresses, Hornby Castle, Lancashire, properties, queens consort, Ricardian, Richard Lord Lumley, Sir Richard Ratcliffe, Stanleys, Wakefield

Most people are aware of the story of the original Hornby Castle. Sir Thomas Harrington and John, his elder son, were killed fighting at Wakefield in the Yorkist cause. John Harrington left two daughters – Anne was five and Elizabeth four at the time – and the Stanleys, assuming them to be their grandfather’s heirs,…
The preservation and rescue of Sandal Castle….

Dec 30, 2020

anniversaries, battles, buildings

Edmund of Rutland, Richard Duke of York, Sandal Castle, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses

560 years ago there was an important battle of the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Wakefield, which was fought before Sandal Castle. The Lancastrians won, and Duke of York and one of his sons, Edmund, Earl of Rutland were killed. A very dark time for the House of York. But it wasn’t…