Westminster Abbey
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These days, the London Stone (also called the Brutus Stone) is set into the wall of the Bank of China on the south side of Cannon Street, EC4. Well, part of it is. Just the tip. The entire Stone stood originally in Candlewick Street (Cannon Street) on the south side near the gutter, facing the door of…
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It is perhaps not a well-known fact that during World War II, many priceless historical treasures were crated up and shipped out of London for safe storage. At least, I wasn’t particularly aware of something that now makes perfect sense. I found out about this whilst visiting Gloucester Cathedral and touring the amazing crypt beneath…
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The following article is based on books by Chris Barber and David Pykitt, so I do not claim anything as my own work. The books are The Legacy of King Arthur and Journey to Avalon. It is also based on a third book by Chris Barber called King Arthur: The Mystery Unravelled, which contains more…
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Tucked away off the north ambulatory of Westminster Abbey, so small it doesn’t seem possible it’s anything more than an entrance to the adjacent Chapel of St John the Baptist (which is also known as the Chapel of St Erasmus) is the Chapel of Our Lady of the Pew. The original entrance to the St John…
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UPDATED POST AT sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri https://sparkypus.com/2020/05/26/the-coronation-chair-and-stone-of-scone/ As we reminded you yesterday, Richard and Anne were crowned on the 6th July 1483, a crucial part of the ceremony being when Richard was crowned with St Edward’s crown and invested with the royal regalia while sitting on the Coronation chair also known as St Edward’s chair,…
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Elizabeth of York and the cult of Edward of Lancaster….
“Perkin”, “Princes”, “Tudor” propaganda, Anne Neville, Battle of Bosworth, Edward IV, Edward of Buckingham, Edward of Lancaster, Edward of Middleham, Edward V, Elizabeth of York, George Duke of Clarence, Henry VI, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Isabel Neville, Margaret of Anjou, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, Tewkesbury, Westminster AbbeyEdward, Prince of Wales, the eighteen-year-old son of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, was killed in the Battle of Tewkesbury, 4th May 1471. He became the subject of an exclusive posthumous cult. The chronicle of Tewkesbury Abbey tells of the Prince’s death in battle and of his burial ‘in the mydste of the covent…
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UPDATED POST @ sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri https://sparkypus.com/2020/05/14/recent-investigations-regarding-the-fate-of-the-princes-in-the-tower-by-l-e-tanner-and-william-wright-1933-2/ Interior view of the Henry Vll Chapel by Giovanni Canaletto. Henry’s tomb can be seen in the distance with the chapel housing the urn to the left. Lawrence E Tanner Keeper of the Muniments (1926-66) Librarian, Westminster Abbey Who could blame anyone, after reading Tanner and Wright’s…
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Here is an excellent account of That Urn at Westminster Abbey. It demolishes all the “Tudor” flimflam, and entertains as it does so. Read, enjoy and digest, in connection with this.
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UPDATED POST AT sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri https://sparkypus.com/2020/07/19/was-henry-vii-mean-his-funeral-and-other-expenses/ Effigies of Henry Vll and Elizabeth of York by Torrigiano Henry died on 21 April 1509. Henry has come down through history as something of a miser, a tightwad. Whether this is undeserved or otherwise , I do not know, although his Privy Purse Expenses make very…
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Squaring the Circle
“Perkin”, Arthur “Tudor”, Arthur Plantagenet, books, Catherine of Aragon, David Baldwin, Dr. John Clement, Edward IV, Edward of Warwick, Edward V, Elizabeth Wydeville, Ferdinand of Aragon, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Isabel of Castile, Jack Leslau, James “VIII/III”, James VII/II, Lady Catherine Gordon, Margaret of Salisbury, Matthew Lewis, Reginald Cardinal Pole, Richard III, Richard of Eastwell, Richard of Shrewsbury, sanctuary, The Survival of the Princes in the Tower, Thomas More, Westminster AbbeyWriting The Survival of the Princes in the Tower was an enormously enjoyable project. The book, due out in Autumn 2017, considers the evidence that one, or both, of the sons of Edward IV survived well beyond 1483, when they are traditionally considered to have been murdered by their uncle Richard III. My problem with…