Now the Welsh discovered America….

We were always taught that Columbus discovered America in 1492. Then the Vikings (see here) and Irish (see here) were said to have beaten him to it, and maybe the Templars too (see here). But now it seems the Welsh have thrown their hat into the ring as well. In this article it is declared… Continue reading Now the Welsh discovered America….

The other talents of Sir Clements Markham

To historians, Ricardians in particular, Clements Markham is best known as the writer who built on the earlier research of Horace Walpole and others to rehabilitate the last Plantagenet during the Edwardian era. In this capacity, his rivalry with James Gairdner is legendary and he wrote a biography of Edward VI, however Markham was a… Continue reading The other talents of Sir Clements Markham

Today Flinders; who might it be tomorrow….?

Who else might be waiting to be discovered? Which great figures from the past, thought to be lost forever, are just lying there impatiently, wondering when we’ll get around to them? How many tombs, destroyed by Henry VIII’s love life, might yet be retrieved…? Oh, we hardly dare wish! Richard III was found, and just… Continue reading Today Flinders; who might it be tomorrow….?

The Champernownes of Devon

The Champernownes (above), a Norman line whose alternative spellings include Chapman and Chamberlain, are surely Devon’s second family after the Courtenays of Powderham Castle, who hold the Earldom. From 1162, their (Domesday Book-cited) home was at Chambercombe Manor near Ilfracombe (middle right) but, by the early sixteenth century, this had passed to Henry Grey, Duke of… Continue reading The Champernownes of Devon

Henry Tudor Sailed the Oceans Blue?

In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Henry Tudor Sailed the Oceans Blue?  No, no, we all know that’s NOT the way the rhyme goes…however, apparently, some publishers do not know the difference between the English king and the explorer Christopher Columbus. A picture of Henry VII, labelled as Columbus, recently appeared in a child’s history textbook… Continue reading Henry Tudor Sailed the Oceans Blue?

The Worst Name in the Ricardian World?

I recently found out that the famous explorer, Stanley (he of “Dr Livingstone, I presume” fame) had chosen his name as a tribute to the man who unofficially adopted him, which is fair enough.  It was just a shame that his adopted father’s surname was STANLEY. But it gets worse, his choices for his christian… Continue reading The Worst Name in the Ricardian World?