Edward II’s nieces: The Clare Sisters

… and so to the dark green volume in Kathryn Warner‘s series about Edward II, his family, his associates and his era. This one details the lives of three sisters with seven husbands between them and a lot of interesting descendants, including Richard III (and siblings), his wife and his sisters-in-law. The eldest, Eleanor de… Continue reading Edward II’s nieces: The Clare Sisters

A mystery at the Swan Inn at Clare, Suffolk….

On reading the February 2021 edition of the Mortimer History Society’s publication, Mortimer Matters, I was intrigued by an article (by Hugh Wood) about a curious piece of carved and painted wood. “….Brightening up the front of the Swan Inn in Clare in Suffolk is this colourful piece of carved wood. Its shape suggests that… Continue reading A mystery at the Swan Inn at Clare, Suffolk….

Wars of the Roses Delights in Suffolk

After over a year, I have finally been able to go on another holiday in which to indulge in my passion of church and castle crawling. I haven’t spent much time in Suffolk before–it’s just a little too far–but there were some places I really wanted to visit, so off we went, braving a crazed… Continue reading Wars of the Roses Delights in Suffolk

The inspiration for Richard III’s rosary….

The following article and extract are from Nerdalicious:   “ ‘In the nineteenth century the Clare Cross was found in the castle ruins. It’s actually a reliquary, containing a fragment of the True Cross, and it was probably made soon after 1450  so probably it belonged to Richard III’s mother. For that reason, when I… Continue reading The inspiration for Richard III’s rosary….

Heraldic “devices” of the House of York

The origins of these devices is set out in Richard III as Duke of Gloucester and King of England by Caroline A. Halsted, volume 1, pages 404-5. The source quoted is Archoelogia vol. xxii, p.226. The main change here is to convert the text into modern English: The dukedom of York – the falcon and… Continue reading Heraldic “devices” of the House of York