Tag: Gloucestershire

Sleep in Henry VIII’s bedroom? But not his bed….!

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….!

ST MARY’S CHURCH, FAIRFORD: ROYAL PORTRAITS

St Mary’s, Fairford, Gloucestershire.  ‘A complete and perfect Perpendicular church’  and famous for it fine collection of medieval glass. Described in Betjeman’s Best British Churches as ‘a complete and perfect Perpendicular’ church(1) this beautiful wool church was rebuilt by John Tame, a wool merchant from Gloucester , in the late 15th Century to replace a… Continue reading ST MARY’S CHURCH, FAIRFORD: ROYAL PORTRAITS

The monstrous toad of Berkeley Castle….

The toad in question is a well-known story of Berkeley Castle, although I had not heard it before. However, the thought of such a creature being connected to the reign of Henry VII is just too irresistible for the Ricardian in me. So here it is, as taken from Berkeley, A Town in the Marshes,… Continue reading The monstrous toad of Berkeley Castle….

Shepperdine, a hamlet on the shore of the Severn Estuary….

Shepperdine is a tiny settlement on the east shore of the Severn Estuary, SW of Berkeley, NW of Thornbury, and was once under the rule of the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, who hunted the now lost Horwood Forest that covered the area all the way to Bristol. This little part of England has not changed… Continue reading Shepperdine, a hamlet on the shore of the Severn Estuary….

The ghostly places of Gloucestershire….!

This link is worth following, if only for the eerie photographs! Gloucestershire certainly has some ghosts…although how Owlpen Manor escaped inclusion I really do not know. http://owlpen.com/history/owlpen-ghosts It has the ghost of Margaret of Anjou. Mind you, that lady seems to have stayed everywhere in the county around the time of the Battle of Tewkesbury! One… Continue reading The ghostly places of Gloucestershire….!

When Shakespeare was in Gloucestershire….

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/19HhdTGyTKSJJcRfgzmvwKM/shakespeare-in-Gloucestershire When happening upon this BBC page, I was reminded of an old friend. I worked with her yonks ago and we have remained friends, if sporadically. Her maiden name was Shakespeare, and she said her family was descended from THE Shakespeares. Now, she is an intelligent woman, and would not have said that unless… Continue reading When Shakespeare was in Gloucestershire….