ORCHESTON & THE DUKES OF BUCKINGHAM

During lockdown, I found myself walking around local villages, some that I had only passed through before. An interesting one was Orcheston, a tiny, sleepy place which has not one, but TWO medieval churches, St George’s and St Mary’s, one set at either end of the village. Both were interesting to visit but what was…

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…

Buckingham’s Cousin: the Quiet Stafford

In the sleepy little village of Lowick in Northamptonshire stands a fine medieval church with a tall octagonal ‘lantern’ tower that bears some similarity to that at Fotheringhay. It is normally kept locked but if you are very, very lucky you can track down the key in the village. There are many fine tomb effigies…

The sad story of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Somerset….

I came upon the  following article in the course of trundling around on Google for royal mourning in the medieval period. It’s a very sad little story, no matter what our opinion of Henry VII. The specific fact that took me to it was that Henry wore “blue mourning robes” as he waited at Westminster…

Anne Boleyn’s grandfather? Or John Howard’s son….!

I prefer to think of the 2nd (Howard) Duke of Norfolk as the great John Howard’s son…Anne Boleyn, fascinating as she was, is not of such great interest to devotees of the House of York, and Richard III in particular. John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, was, of course, killed at Bosworth, and Thomas Howard…

AUSTIN FRIARS: LAST RESTING PLACE OF PERKIN WARBECK

UPDATED POST ON sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri https://sparkypus.com/2020/05/14/austin-friars-last-resting-place-of-perkin-warbeck-2/ Austin Friars today.  This section of road covers part of  the perimeter of the Friary.    With thanks to Eric, Londonist.  Austin Friars in London, was founded about 1260 by Humphrey de Bohun 2nd Earl of Hereford and Constable of England d.1275.   It was rebuilt in…

Richard Plantagenet, Duke of Buckingham

When Ricardians come across the title Duke of Buckingham, they immediately link it to Henry Stafford who was the second Duke of the first creation of this Dukedom and the prime suspect in the disappearance of Edward V and Richard of York, better known as the “Princes” in the Tower. The Dukedom of Buckingham has…

SIR THOMAS MORE , A MAN FOR ALL REASONS: SAINT OR SINNER?

‘Not exactly the horse’s mouth’ In Josephine Tey’s spellbinding novel ‘The Daughter of Time’, Detective Inspector Alan Grant has a reputation for being able to spot a villain on sight. Whilst in hospital with a broken leg, Grant is idly flipping through some old postcard portraits to while away the time. He turns over a…

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…

A cursed title?

This very informative BBC documentary, presented by Dr. Bendor Grosvenor, showed how a portrait, presently on display in Glasgow, was proved to be an original Rubens.  George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, was a courtier and soldier, serving under both James VI/I and Charles I as well as being a possible partner of the former.…