The author of this article Extours to cover Perkin Warbeck and more in Taunton Ghost Walk | Somerset County Gazette expresses surprise that so few people seem to know who Perkin Warbeck was. Come now, as far as today’s schools are concerned there was no history before WWI! I’d be surprised if many of them even know what the word “mediaeval” means! Oh, meow, but it’s true. The history that made us is often ignored today. You may get some of the Industrial Revolution, but you will get the Great War, aka World War I.
Anyway that’s beside the point, because the article concerns a ghost tour of Taunton, which touches upon Perkin Warbeck who caused rotten Henry VII a lot of sleepless night. So all in all, as far as I’m concerned, Perkin was a good egg! I wish he’d succeeded in elbowing Tudor into oblivion.
If you go here Imposter or Pretender? – Medieval History you’ll find information about, not just Perkin, but a number of other pretenders/claimants who caused considerable agony to reigning monarchs, both here in the British Isles and in Europe. As far as England is concerned, claimants (spurious and otherwise) plagued the lives of several reigning monarchs. First of all Edward III was haunted by the thought that his father, Edward II, who had supposedly died in horrible circumstances at Berkeley Castle, may not have died at all and was roaming free in Europe. Then a supposed Richard II arose to haunt his murderous Lancastrian cousin and usurper, Henry IV. Then, best of all, Henry VII, having stolen the throne and murdered Richard III, was continually hounded by claimants who said they were Yorkist princes come to take back what was rightfully theirs. They made his life an utter misery. Good.
The Taunton ghost-walk was on 14 September 2023, but there are other such walks, of which you can learn more if you go to the Extours site Extours – Ghost Walks, Historical Tours.
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