The news has broken that the Book of Hours belonging to Thomas Cromwell is here which appears in the Holbein portrait above, has been recognised (by Hever Castle curator, Alison Palmer) as the Hardouyn Hours, held today at Trinity College, Cambridge. You can view the Hardouyn Hours page by page at the Wren Digital… Continue reading Thomas Cromwell’s Book of Hours recognised….!
Tag: Hever Castle
An armillary sphere to fit a medieval finger….
I didn’t know what an armillary sphere was until I saw this page and was prompted to look it up at Merriam Webster, where the definition is:- “ar·mil·la·ry sphere: an old astronomical instrument composed of rings showing the positions of important circles of the celestial sphere”. Then I realised that such spheres are often seen in… Continue reading An armillary sphere to fit a medieval finger….
The portrait at Hever Castle is more like Henry VI than Richard III….
I’ve seen this (awful!) portrait of Richard before. It just doesn’t look like him, more one of the invented Tudor versions of him, i.e. monstrous and evil, or weak and terrified of all things Tudor. This one fits the ‘weak and terrified’ mould, and if it were listed as a portrait of Henry VI, I’d… Continue reading The portrait at Hever Castle is more like Henry VI than Richard III….
Walking “Tudor” England
Suzannah Lipscomb has just completed another series on Channel Five, this time visiting the sites related to the “Tudors”. In the first episode, she concentrated on Henry VIII and the naval power he inherited from John Howard, Duke of Norfolk. The second was principally about the penultimate “Tudor”, Mary I, as well as Edward VI… Continue reading Walking “Tudor” England
Hever Castle’s ‘New’ Richard III Painting (and Starkey’s Same-Old)
A ‘new’ late 16th century portrait of Richard III has recently emerged and gone on display at Hever Castle, home of the Boleyn family–and with it appeared the not-so-cuddly figure of the perennially grumpy and bombastic Tudor historian, David Starkey. Since he is not an art expert, the reason why he was commenting is slightly… Continue reading Hever Castle’s ‘New’ Richard III Painting (and Starkey’s Same-Old)
Fancy a stay in a castle? Here are 17 to choose from….!
Well, how about staying in a castle – in the style to which we just know we should be accustomed? Here is the introduction. “Modern life, eh? It’s so full of stress. Whether its our phones bleeping with work emails through the night or the chaos of city life, sometimes escaping can be very tempting… Continue reading Fancy a stay in a castle? Here are 17 to choose from….!
Father of a Queen: Thomas Boleyn
Two miles from Edenbridge in Kent lies the small but attractive castle of Hever. Originally built in 1270, it was taken over 1462 by Geoffrey Bullen (or Boleyn) younger brother of Thomas Boleyn , Master of Gonville Hall, a constituent college of Cambridge. Geoffrey had a son called William and he in turn fathered Thomas… Continue reading Father of a Queen: Thomas Boleyn
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