MEDIEVAL POSY RINGS – GIVEN WITH LOVE…

Reblogged from MEDIEVAL POSY RINGS – GIVEN WITH LOVE… ‘Is this a prologue, or the posy of a ring?’ ‘Tis brief, my lord’ * This beauty is reputed to have been given by John of Gaunt (1340-1399) to his mistress and subsequent third wife, Katheryn Swinford (1350-1403).  The inscription reads ‘alas for fayte’ which was probably…

Beautiful Collyweston….

The ten best villages in England are listed here and Collyweston in Northamptonshire makes the grade. I can only say that it does so entirely on its own merit and in spite of having once been the lair of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII.

“The Buildings that fought Hitler” (Yesterday)

Once you have reached beyond the bizarre title, which sounds rather like a Dr. Who episode, this is actually a very good series. Rob Bell, the engineer who is becoming quite ubiquitous, demonstrates how the UK was ready to use ther natural and built environments, together with science, to repel and then restrict a German…

ANOTHER MISSING QUEEN: JOAN OF SCOTLAND

The village of Tarrant Crawford really isn’t a village anymore. If you type the address into your Satnav, it will vanish from the screen while driving down the nearby main road–there are no signposts and the only other road visible is a simple farm track fringed by thick trees. However, here at one time was…

Pucklechurch and the death of a king….

According to The Folklore of Gloucestershire by Roy Palmer, there was a traditional dish in the south of the county known as whitepot, and it was served at Whit Sunday “revels”. The ingredients of whitepot were: “….four quarts of milk, a pound of flour, a pound of golden syrup, eight eggs, two ounces of butter,…

A Rare Edward V Coin Found in Dorset!

A rare coin minted in the brief reign of Edward V has turned up in a field in Tolpuddle in Dorset. The finder, Brian Biddle, thought at first it was just an old bottle top! The gold coin has been estimated to have a value of around £15,000. Bournemouth’s Daily Echo follows the story but…

A gem of a property, dating from the late 15th century, hidden away in Dorset….

Well, Athelhampton House may by officially Tudor, but I think ‘late 15th century’ might be House of York as well. Not because of Richard, alas, but Henry VII did marry Elizabeth of York, so the Plantagenets were still there, annoying Henry. I’m thinking of John, Earl of Lincoln, of course, and Perkin Warbeck. Oh, if…

On the trail of the golden dragon of Wessex….

The Golden Dragon of Burford in Oxfordshire isn’t a takeaway! It’s the pagan banner of the Anglo-Saxon King of Mercia, Aethelbert, who was defeated at the Battle of Burford in AD 752 by Cuthbert, King of the West Saxons. Aethelbert’s golden–dragon banner was taken, and for centuries the outcome of this battle was celebrated in…

A very busy presenter

Rob Bell seems to be on television a lot at the moment. Although he is an engineer and not quite a historian, many of his programmes go back in time as structures were built. Walking Britain’s Lost Railways, for instance, goes back under two centuries because of the subject matter, but Great British Ships (both Channel…

A Tale of Two Medieval Rings

  The two gold rings, thought to be about 600 years old An interesting article about two beautiful gold medieval rings caught my eye.  The article explains how the rings, thought to be about 600 years old were found in a field in Dorset.  The larger one would have been worn over a glove while…