How many English pubs are named after monarchs….?

  Well, obviously a lot of our pubs bear the names of kings and queens, with Queen Victoria heading the list above. I’m surprised to find Kings George III, George IV and William IV galloping up behind her, while all the rest are far more thinly spread. Why are these four monarchs, who all reigned…

Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York

Richard Shrewsbury Duke of York was the second son of King Edward IV. We don’t know a lot about him because he was not the heir to the throne but notwithstanding this, he is one of the most investigated historical characters being him one of the well known “Princes” in the Tower. We have not…

Shrewsbury refused entry to Henry Tudor….in 1985….

Here’s a little smile—well, smirk, actually—at Henry Tudor’s expense. It’s a snip from a new book by local (to Shrewsbury) historian, David Trumper, and released in November 2018, called ‘Now That’s What I Call Shrewsbury’. “. . .One of the photos recalls a brutal snub given by Shrewsbury to Henry Tudor – or rather, volunteers…

Dyer or Dire?

Many of you will remember the episode of “Who do you think you are” in which Danny Dyer was revealed as a descendant of Edward III. In this new two part series, he “meets” a few prominent ancestors, some even more distant. The first episode began with Rollo, ancestor of the Dukes of Normandy, which…

An army of blue-blooded gannets….?

One hears about the dreadful expense occurred by the nobles who played host to various monarchs. But grand houses weren’t the only destinations for our perambulating kings and queens. For instance, in January 1398, on his way to Parliament in Shrewsbury, Richard II travelled with his young French wife, five dukes, four earls, three bishops,…

The Shrewsbury house “graced” by Henry Tudor on his way to Bosworth….

  According to this source, this old house in Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury, with its… “…blackened timbers and pretty traceried window adorned by coats of arms, has an added interest from the fact that it is ‘ Ye auncient house in which King Henry the VII loged, when he went to Bosworth Field, Augst 1485.’ So…

Another myth about men “not breaking oaths to Richard”. . . .

Well, I’ve heard the tale of Sir Rhys ap Thomas hiding under a bridge for Henry to march over him on the way to Bosworth, thus not breaking Sir Rhys’s oath of loyalty to Richard, but this is a new one on me! Now we have this new variation, from  http://tudortimes.co.uk/military-warfare/1485-battle-of-bosworth/henrys-march :- “. . .when…

Just WHY did Buckingham think he could cross the flooded Severn….?

On this date, St Luke’s Day, 18th October, in 1483, apparently egged on by that notorious Lancastrian plotter, John Morton, Bishop of Ely, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham unfurled his banners in rebellion against his cousin, King Richard III. Morton was supposedly Buckingham’s prisoner, handed over to him by Richard for safe keeping. Safe…