The loss of Turkey’s past AND present….

The dreadful earthquake in Turkey and nearby countries has destroyed a lot of their present, including a tragic loss of life. To us in the UK it’s hard to imagine what such an event could possibly be like. But much of Turkey’s past has also been destroyed, including Gaziantep Castle, which was first built as…

The Treacherous ‘King of Carew’

  Recently I went on a little jaunt to visit some fine Welsh Castles. One of those happened to be Carew in Pembrokshire, an impressive limestone fortress overlong Carew inlet, which is part of the Milford Haven Waterway. Built by the Norman Gerald of Windsor, the site stands on the lands of his wife, the…

Bosworth and the builder of Bury Castle….

James Daly is the Member of Parliament for Bury North, but we can forgive him for that. Being a Member of Parliament, I hasten to say, certainly not Bury North! He is concerned about this historic site in Bury that is in danger of disappearing. In 1469 Sir Thomas Pilkington acquired a licence to crenellate,…

Digging for Treasure

There are several interesting archaeology series on television and Channel Five has now joined in with an ensemble programme, headed by two familiar personalities (Dan Walker and Michaela Strachan) and a similarly ubiquitous chief archaeologist (Raksha Dave), but with more of an emphasis on metal detecting for the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme, including Roman…

‘Great magician, damned Glendower'(Part 2.)

Owain‘s training as a lawyer certainly did not stop him from pursuing a military career. in 1384 he is found undertaking garrison duty at Berwick in the retinue of the Flintshire knight Sir Gregory Sais. Sais was a renowned knight, with extensive combat experience in France, particularly Gascony. (He is also a good example of…

Thirty ingenious inventions for medieval castles….

Hmmm…some of the entries in this article are definitely applicable solely to castles, but some are either not universal (e.g. staircases twisting one way only spiral staircases) or were definitely not first thought of when castles came into being (e.g. surrounding your stronghold with water). But it’s an interesting list for all that.

Richard of Gloucester attacks Dumfries in 1482….

  “….540 years ago on 22nd May 1482, the English led by Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the future Richard III) led a large raiding party across the Solway Firth. The raid was a reprisal to punish the Scots for the devastation they had caused in Cumberland during the previous winter….” The above is an extract…

Marc Morris on mediaeval television programmes and films …

… programmes and films about the Middle Ages, not actually made during them – which would require an even greater advance that the Viking discovery of America before Columbus … Here he discusses: The Game of Thrones (2013), Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves (1991), Ironclad (2013), The Last Kingdom (2015), Vikings (2013), Braveheart (1995)

The Great British Dig – History in Your Garden (2)

Hugh Dennis and his small team of archaeologists are back on Channel Four and this time they have gone back a full two thousand years and beyond. The series starts in Falkirk with a fort and a piece of the Antonine Wall, apparently buried under several gardens and a bowls club. After some digging, the…

James I: Scotland’s Lancastrian King

Here is an excellent Gordon McKelvie article from History Extra about the king who was prisoner, hostage and then guest of the three Lancastrian kings, before marrying Henry V‘s cousin in Southwark Cathedral and going home to reign in person, heavily influenced in style by his former hosts, as the Stewarts of Albany and “Paul…