More Royal ancestry

Who do you think you are? has now completed eighteen series as British television’s predominant genealogy programmes. In that time, with an average of eight episodes per series, they have uncovered many celebrities with interesting lineage and some unexpected royal descendants, including Alexander Armstrong, Clare Balding, Danny Dyer, Frank Gardner and Sir Matthew Pinsent. Now…

THE ORANGE AND LEMON CHURCHES OF OLD LONDON

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Old London – City of Churches.   Bow Church can be seen to the left.  Part of the The Visscher Panorama of London, 1616. Image Peter Harrington Rare Books.   Orange and lemons say the bells of Saint Clement’s You owe me five farthings say the bells of St Martin’s…

Colchester’s Dutch Quarter

Like other towns near the east coast, Colchester was partially settled by Hugenot refugees from the Low Countries in the sixteenth century. The Dutch Quarter is defined as being to the immediate north of the middle of High Street, as West Stockwell Street turns off at the Town Hall. This Victorian structure has six historic…

The French Wars of Religion – another angle

On this day in 1567, Pierre de Brenieu was among those killed at the battle of St. Denis, where Catholic forces under (the very definitely male) Anne de Montmorency overcame the Hugenot rebels under Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Conde’, although Montmorency was mortally wounded. de Brenieu’s brother, Claude, was a casualty at Ivry on…