RICHARD WHITTINGTON c.1350-1423. MERCER, MAYOR AND A MOST BENEVOLENT CITIZEN OF LONDON

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri @sparkypus.com A delightful artist’s impression of ‘Richard Whittington dispensing his charities’.  Artist Henrietta Ray before 1905 oil on canvas.  Royal exchange. Even the most disinterested in history children would recognise the name Dick/Richard Whittington and also his best, and only friend,  his cat,  most of them being familiar with the rather delightful folk…

Henry VII was handsome and had an almost divine nature….

  “….Polydore Vergil was one of the first to record the appearance of the king [Henry VII]: “His body was slender but strong and solid, a little above average in height. His appearance was handsome, particularly when his expression was happy in conversation. He had blue eyes, few teeth, and sparse hair. His intellect was great and clever, and…

THE ANCIENT GATES OF OLD LONDON

REBLOGGED FROM A MEDIEVAL POTPOURRI THE ANCIENT GATES OF LONDON Old London Map c1572.  Franz Hogenberg And so Dear Reader, we are going to take a break from murderous queens, scheming duchesses,  bad kings, good kings, missing royal children and silly bishops.  We are going to take a look at London’s Old Gates.  Where were…

THE TRIAL OF RICHARD III – PART TWO

REBLOGGED FROM A MEDIEVAL POTPOURRI SPARKYPUS.COM The two QCs prepare to do battleFollowing on from my earlier post.  The day had dawned – the trial commenced.  Because of the length of the trial I only give snippets here which stand out and which I think are the most pertinent/funny/excruciating. The judge addressed the jury as to…

THE TRIAL OF RICHARD III, PART 1

REBLOGGED FROM A MEDIEVAL POTPOURRI SPARKYPUS.COM The statue of Justice, Old Bailey, London. Way back in  1980 the late Jeremy Potter,  Chairman of the Richard III Society,  and producer Richard Drewitt discussed King Richard III at length and an idea was born.    That was to put Richard  on trial for a heinous murder he had…

Cheyneygates, Westminster Abbey, Elizabeth Woodville’s Pied-à-terre

  Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Cheyneygates, Westminster Abbey, Elizabeth Woodville’s Pied-à-terre A tantalising glimpse of  an ancient passage leading to Abbot’s Court and the steps leading up to Jericho Parlour.  Cheyneygates was situated to the right of the steps.  Photo Dr John Crook Country Life Picture Library. This updated post was written with…

OLD LONDON BRIDGE – A MEDIEVAL WONDER!

REBLOGGED FROM sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri  London from Southwark, c.1630. Old London Bridge is in the right foreground and Old St Paul’s Cathedral on the skyline to the left.  Old London Bridge Antiquated, in a run down state, and at 600 years old, the old bridge had reached its self by date and was demolished in…

EDWARD OF MIDDLEHAM ‘SON TO KYNG RICHARD’ & THE MYSTERIOUS SHERIFF HUTTON MONUMENT

Reblogged from sparkypus.com Edward of Middleham from the Beauchamp Pageant.  Described  as ‘Edward Plantagenet, son to Kyng Richard’ Its often been written that,  along  with so many children of the times he lived in, even those of the nobility, not a lot is known about Richard III and Anne Neville’s small son Edward.  There is…

A highlight from the quincentenary …

… of Richard’s accession was Channel Four’s 1984 “The Trial Of King Richard The Third”, presided over by Lord Elwyn-Jones. A YouTube poster has sliced it into 22 segments so enjoy the show, particularly part ten, in which a young Starkey implodes. Pollard and Lady Wedgwood (Pamela Tudor-Craig) also feature, as do Anne Sutton and…

Edward IV – A King of Bling – His Wardrobe Accounts

Reblogged from Edward IV – A King of Bling’s Wardrobe Accounts   The Privy Purse Expenses of Elizabeth of York and The Wardrobe Accounts of Edward the Fourth Edited by Nicolas Harris Nicolas Esq As demonstrated by my earlier posts on the subject I enjoy nothing more than a delve around privy purse/wardrobe expenses.  This…