York Minster

Did Archbishop Scrope’s ghost walk with his spectral coffin….?

Jul 15, 2024

buildings, genealogy, law, religion

Archbishop Arundell, Archbishop Scrope, Bishopsthorpe, executions, haunting, Henry IV, John Morton, revolts, Richard II, Scropes, Thomas Mowbray Earl of Nottingham, tombs, York Minster

When Archbishop of York Richard Scrope was beheaded on 8 June 1405 he gained the distinction of being the first prelate of such high rank to be executed for treason. I can think of at least two more who should have suffered a similar fate, Thomas Arundel (Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury (1353-1414) (luminarium.org)) and…
HOLY HENRY VI

Oct 21, 2023

buildings, religion

“Tudor” propaganda, “Tudors”, canonisation, Chertsey, cults, Edward IV, Hampshire, Henry VI, Henry VII, popes, St. george’s Chapel, St. Lawrence’s Church, York Minster

St Lawrence’s church in Hampshire is, from the outside, a rather unassuming parish church with an unsightly stucco exterior. Inside, however, it has several very interesting historical features that make it well worth a visit. The church is Norman, with later additions from the 13th and 15th c. It contains an even earlier Saxon font,…
The art that made us

Nov 8, 2022

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings, culture, humour, religion, Science, television reviews

Aphra Benn, Armada, Arts and Crafts, Barbara Hepworth, Battle of Hastings, Bayeux Tapestry, BBC2, Beowulf, Black Death, Bloomsbury Group, British Empire, Burns, Charles I, Colonel Blimp, Cool Britannia, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, David Threlfall, Death and the Gallant, Elizabeth Gaskell, Elizabeth I, embroidery, English Civil War, Festival of Britain, First World War, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Geoffrey Chaucer, Great Fire of London, Hanif Kureishi, Harry Potter, Hogarth, Industrial Revolution, Jane Austen, Jarrow march, John Foxe, John Milton, Jonathan Swift, Joshua Reynolds, Julian of Norwich, kitchen sink drama, Llancarfon, Margery Kempe, Mary Stuart, murals, Norman conquest, Oliver Cromwell, Phillip Larkin, Piers Plowman, poetry, pre-Raphaelites, Reformation, Restoration, Richard II, Roman Britain, Rubens, satire, Second World War, Sir Christopher Wren, Sir William Orpen, St. Cadoc’s church, St. Paul’s, stained glass, Stuarts, The art that made us, The Fighting Temeraire, The unknown soldier, Tracey Emin, Trainspotting, Turner, urbanisation, van Dyck, Walter Sickert, Welsh Bible, William Cobbett, William Morgan, William Shakespeare, Wilton Diptych, York Minster

This is another fascinating BBC2 series, illustrating English and British history through the evolution of our art. The eight one-hour episodes, narrated by David Threlfall (Men of the World), feature:The Roman and pre-Roman periods, Beowulf, the Norman conquest and the Bayeux Tapestry; The Black Death, Wilton Diptych, Piers Plowman, Chaucer, Julian of Norwich,…
The problem of getting the facts wrong….

Feb 6, 2022

archaeology, battles, buildings, religion

Bosworth, car parks, Dukes of Lancaster, EEA, Exhumation, GDPR, Henry VII, inaccuracy, Leicester Greyfriars, North Star Monthly, Richard III, Wars of the Roses, York Minster

I recently complained that this article , which apparently contained references to Richard III, was hidden from my British eyes because of something to do with the European Economic Area (EEA). Then a good friend from the Netherlands was kind enough to send me the complete content. The hidden article concerned the wartime reminiscences of…
ANOTHER MISSING QUEEN: JOAN OF SCOTLAND

Jul 22, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, religion

Alexander II, Bishop of Salisbury, burial mystery, Cistercians, Dorset, Eleanor of Provence, Ermengarde, Henry III, Hugh X of Lusignan, Isabella of Angouleme, Joan of Scotland, John, pilgrimage, Reformation, Richard of Cornwall, Richard Poore, royal marriages, Scotland, Tarrant Crawford Abbey, York Minster

The village of Tarrant Crawford really isn’t a village anymore. If you type the address into your Satnav, it will vanish from the screen while driving down the nearby main road–there are no signposts and the only other road visible is a simple farm track fringed by thick trees. However, here at one time was…
EDWARD OF MIDDLEHAM ‘SON TO KYNG RICHARD’ & THE MYSTERIOUS SHERIFF HUTTON MONUMENT

Nov 26, 2020

buildings, religion, sources

AJ Pollard, Anne Neville, Anne Sutton, Beaucham Pageant, burial mystery, cenotaphs, costume, Coverham Abbey, Edward of Middleham, hairstyles, Henry V, Jane Crease, Jervaulx Abbey, John Neville, John Rous, Livia Visser-Fuchs, Middleham, monuments, Nottingham Castle, Peter Hammond, Pontefract Castle, pudding basin, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, Ralph Neville, Rhoda Edwards, Ricardian, Richard III, Richard of Salisbury, Robert Glove, Rous Roll, Sheriff Hutton, Society of Antiquaries, Somerset Herald, St. Mary and St. Akelda, The Children of Richard III, York Minster

Reblogged from sparkypus.com Edward of Middleham from the Beauchamp Pageant. Described as ‘Edward Plantagenet, son to Kyng Richard’ Its often been written that, along with so many children of the times he lived in, even those of the nobility, not a lot is known about Richard III and Anne Neville’s small son Edward. There is…
Richard III and the Augustinian Friary in York

Oct 2, 2020

anniversaries, buildings, religion, sources

Augustinian Order, Dorothy Mitchell, Friends of Richard III, Henry III, Lendal, Micklegate Bar, Middleham, museums, Richard III, Richard III Society, visits, Worcestershire Branch, York, York House Books, York Minster, York Records

During a branch visit to York during the 1990s the Worcestershire Branch went on a tour of York led by Dorothy Mitchell. Dorothy was the Chairman of The Friends of Richard III, which was based in York. We met her at the Minster which was our first port of call and then we went on…
The wax votive offerings found at Exeter Cathedral….

Sep 18, 2020

anniversaries, art, buildings, religion

air raids, Bishop Edmund Lacy, Exeter Cathedral, Second World War, St. Peter, St. William of York, votive offerings, wax, York Minster

During the medieval period it was common for hollow beeswax votive offerings to be made in the hope of spiritual assistance in healing or at least minimizing an injury or ailment. In Exeter Cathedral, these were hung above the tomb of Bishop Edmund Lacy (c. 1370-1455), but there were other cathedrals and churches where…
If things had been different, might Richard and George have been buried at Fotheringhay….?

Jan 2, 2020

Alternative History, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

Anne Neville, Battle of Bosworth, Chertsey, Edmund of Rutland, Edward II, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Elizabeth Wydeville, Fotheringhay, George Duke of Clarence, Gloucester Cathedral, Henry VI, Henry VII, Isabel Neville, John, Leicester cathedral, Pontefract, Richard Duke of York, St. george’s Chapel, Tewkesbury Abbey, Wakefield, Westminster Abbey, Worcester Cathedral, York Minster

It occurs to me to wonder if Richard intended to be lain to rest at Fotheringhay with his father, the 3rd Duke of York, and brother, Edmund of Rutland. Wouldn’t he think he belonged with them – no matter how fond he was of his beloved Yorkshire? Of course, things changed radically when he became…
The mysterious stained glass of Giggleswick

Sep 5, 2019

anniversaries, buildings, religion

churches, Giggleswick, glaziers, Middleham, Norse, Reformation, Richard Whiteley, Russell Harty, St. Alkelda, St. Mary of the Holy Well, stained glass, Thomas Braynshaw, York Minster

Very few people know that there is a mystery surrounding the church of St Alkelda in Giggleswick. The whole matter started with a parish fair. People from the two churches dedicated to St Alkelda, one in Middleham {pingback to March 28} and one in Giggleswick, were looking for items to sell at the fair in…