The “awkward mediaeval cities” (3) : St. Alban’s

Unlike Northampton and Oxford, St. Alban’s (City) is on the Thameslink network and also has a branch line to Watford Junction. Accommodation can be expensive but the less historic Luton is surprisingly convenient as a base, being about fourteen minutes away on the same line and costing about five pounds for a day return. Turning right…

On the wall of a pub …

… was discovered this painting of people including William Cecil, Baron Burghley, senior adviser to Elizabeth I and father of Robert. The pub in question is the Star, a Wetherspoon in Hoddesdon formerly known as the Salisbury Arms (left, after Robert’s earldom), which was undergoing some internal restoration work.

There’s a dentist in … Hertfordshire

{with apologies to the Barron Knights} Back in August of last year I drove over to a dental practice in St Albans for my annual check-up. Yes, it is a long way from where I live in Yoxford but the dentist and I go back a long way. I have actually been his patient since…

Does Richard II lie in an obscure grave in Stirling….?

“There was nothing at Westminster Abbey yesterday to alert visitors to the renewed speculation that one of its most revered sites may not be what it seems. To the unwary, King Richard II still lies in the south aisle of the Lady Chapel just where he has for nearly six centuries. A sign points out…

Now the search is on for Harold Godwinson….!

Another exciting search for a very important king in the annals of our land, this time at Bishop’s Stortford in Hertfordshire. Harold Godwinson reigned for even less time than Richard III, i.e. nine months and eight days, and his sovereignty too ended in a vital battle that let “the enemy and its foreign army” in. In his case,…

Arthur Capell, Baron Hadham – the accidental traitor

Introduction The middle of the seventeenth century was a turbulent time and it would be very surprising were not some remnants of the House of York involved. Indeed, Ashby de la Zouch Castle, property of Ferdinando, Earl of Huntingdon, was slighted during this time as a result of his participation. Another Royalist partisan was Arthur…