The picturesque little Gloucestershire town of Thornbury is not in the Cotswolds, but down in the Vale of the River Severn, between Bristol and Gloucester. Caught between the Cotswold escarpment and the Severn estuary, it is an area of rich farmland, with orchards for cider and perry, and pasture for the production of cheese. Everyone… Continue reading Sleep in Henry VIII’s bedroom? But not his bed….!
Tag: Edward of Buckingham
A cursed title?
This very informative BBC documentary, presented by Dr. Bendor Grosvenor, showed how a portrait, presently on display in Glasgow, was proved to be an original Rubens. George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, was a courtier and soldier, serving under both James VI/I and Charles I as well as being a possible partner of the former.… Continue reading A cursed title?
Keeping it in the family
You will have seen him if you have been to Richard III’s final resting place. There are eight small statues on the main entrance (the Vaughan Porch, left) of St. Martin’s Cathedral but only one of them is wearing a doublet and hose, showing him to have lived a century later than the others. This is… Continue reading Keeping it in the family
A MAN WHO WOULD BE KING: THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM AND RICHARD III
The Duke of Buckingham is rather a ‘dark horse’ figure in the history of Richard III. No one knows for sure why he aided Richard to take the throne only to turn upon him in rebellion a few months later. Simplistic ideas such as ‘he repented of his ways after the princes were murdered’ don’t… Continue reading A MAN WHO WOULD BE KING: THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM AND RICHARD III
Elizabeth of York and the cult of Edward of Lancaster….
Edward, 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… Continue reading Elizabeth of York and the cult of Edward of Lancaster….
A Yorkist chronicler under Henry VII’s nose?
“Hearne’s Fragment” is a relatively little-known source on late fifteenth century England. It is mysterious in origin, missing in part and not entirely accurate in detail, perhaps using old-style years? To begin with, it gives Edward IV’s birth year as 1440 and errs in those of his brothers as well, although there is another possible… Continue reading A Yorkist chronicler under Henry VII’s nose?
A Boss from Buckingham & Crowland Connections
Henry Stafford fascinates me in a dark sort of way. I walk past the spot where he was executed almost once a week. I have always felt he is marginalised by historians because no one quite knows what to make of his behaviour, so he gets pushed to the side as just an unsuccessful rebel… Continue reading A Boss from Buckingham & Crowland Connections
The story of a spirited Duchess of Norfolk….
The above illustration is by Hans Holbein the Younger – Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (Royal Collection) This post, about Edward IV’s daughter Catherine, prompted me to post this, about the husband of another of Edward IV’s daughter, Anne, Countess of Surrey. Thomas Howard, eventually 3rd Duke of Norfolk, was the grandson of… Continue reading The story of a spirited Duchess of Norfolk….
HENRY VIII: THE EVEN HANDED PERSECUTOR
Some folks out there have recently been trying to justify the long list of people executed by Henry VIII because ‘at least they had a trial’ or ‘because it was over religion, and there were always beheadings, pressings, burnings over religion.’ Well, surprisingly, I must agree with them on one thing. Henry sure could be… Continue reading HENRY VIII: THE EVEN HANDED PERSECUTOR
The Welsh Rebellion that Henry VII Lost to Richard III
While reading Michael K. Jones’ dry, if detailed, study of the life of Margaret Beaufort[1], I was amazed to learn about a small but significant Welsh rebellion conducted against Henry VII and his hagiographic mummy that I’ve never heard mentioned anywhere else. It appears that Henry and Margaret were thwarted on at least one occasion,… Continue reading The Welsh Rebellion that Henry VII Lost to Richard III
murreyandblue 