A universal truth: Richard III was a very respectable man….

Here is an amusing read in the Horrible Histories vein…well, its title tells that much. Richard III gets a mention. It seems Jane Austen questioned “…’whether Richard III really did kill his nephews, writing: he was a York [and] I am inclined to suppose him a very respectable man’…” But yes, it’s a send-up. Heaven…

Warwick’s Warblington–and it can be yours!

Another handsome property with a Wars of the Roses connection has come on the market–Warblington Castle in Hampshire. Being a private home, it is little known outside the local area but it has strong connections with Richard Neville-Warwick the Kingmaker and his family. Although it had been a manor from at least Norman times, Warblington…

Three of Richard’s ships taken over by Henry….?

Yet again, while searching for one thing I came upon another. A book called The Hamble River by H.W. Trinder, from which the above map is taken, seemed likely to contain the information I was seeking, i.e. Southampton and its immediate environs in the 14th century. Then, I  read the following:- “….Receyved [probably to lay…

Boris and the haunted village: no not THAT Boris, I mean Boris Karloff….!

In my internet exertions trying to trace the origin of and more details about a certain Joan Bramshott, daughter of Sir Roger Bramshott and widow of Sir John Shardelowe of Fulbourn in Cambridge, I learned her family originated from Bramshott in Hampshire. This site popped up. The most haunted village? Well, I won’t argue, becuse…

The truth about Sir John Arundel? Or more Walsingham malice….?

Well now, are we to believe the horrific tale related at Medievalists.net? Or should we regard it as yet another malicious work of imagination from Thomas Walsingham. Let’s face it, Walsingham was venomous and untruthful to a fault. The nastiest type of tale-teller. Which leaves me disinclined to believe that Sir John Arundel was guilty…

A WEDDING AT TITCHFIELD ABBEY

On April 9 of 1445, a determined fifteen-year-old French girl arrived at Southampton. She had been ill before her departure and seasickness from the crossing added to her discomfort. Nonetheless, she ploughed on further inland with her entourage toward  the house of the Premonstratensians at Titchfield in Hampshire. Whether she looked forward to the journey…

Romsey Abbey and the “dark, disturbing” painting….

Well, I’m afraid I find the above picture outlandish. She looks as if her neck has been twisted and then pulled! Why do religious houses think such things are desirable and respectful? To me they are anything but. I know, I know, it’s a matter of taste, and beauty is in the eye of the…

The nun and the abbey chaplain lived happily ever after….or did they?

  The following is an extract from https://www.britainexpress.com/attraction-articles.htm?article=20 and concerns the fate of the nuns of Romsey Abbey after the reformation:- “. . .What happened to the nuns after the abbey was dissolved? We don’t know, with one notable exception. One of the nuns was Jane Wadham, a cousin of Jane Seymour, Henry’s third queen.…

Warblington Castle and its connection with Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury….

Warblington Castle, east of Havant   Now here’s an excellent reason for buying a lottery ticket? What a wonderful place to live. In 1513 it was given to Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury by Henry VIII…who was to have her executed! Margaret was the daughter of George, Duke of Clarence. Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury…

INSIDE THE MEDIEVAL MIND: THE WALL PAINTINGS OF NETHER WALLOP

In the small quaint Hampshire village of Nether Wallop, filming location for the BBC’s MISS MARPLE, stands St Andrew’s church, a medieval establishment built on Saxon foundations. From the exterior it looks rather ordinary (save for the strange funerary pyramid in its grounds!) but inside is a glory of wall-paintings dating from the Saxon era…