Renewing the wax covering Edward I’s body in Westminster Abbey…

While working my way through the Close Rolls of Richard II, I came upon the following intriguing  entry for 11 July 1377, not long after the boy-king’s accession:- “….To the treasurer and the chamberlains. Order of the king’s money to renew the wax about the body of King Edward I buried in the church of…

THE LOST CHAPEL OF THE PRINCE BISHOPS

Once upon a time, in the 13th century, in the grounds of Auckland Castle, there stood a mighty northern chapel that was almost as large as St George’s at Windsor and bigger than St Stephen’s Chapel at Westminster. The Prince-Archbishop Antony Bek was its founder, a man so powerful it was said by some that…

THE MYSTERIOUS BRISTOL CROSS

In the back of the beautiful Stourhead gardens stands a mysterious piece of  old Bristol–the Bristol High Cross. When you first see it, you almost think it might be a modern folly, but it is the ‘real thing’, a medieval cross. In the 1700’s such relics of the past were considered  old-fashioned and valueless; in…

Desperately Seeking Wolsey….

The discovery in Leicester of the remains of Richard III was surely one of the greatest such event, and since then there have been increased attempts to locate other great figures from our past. Leicester has at least one other such person just waiting to be found, but as yet he’s proving elusive. The location…

Maldon

Following an unsuccesful Viking raid in 924, the battle of Maldon took place in August 991 and the result was a victory for the Norse invaders. Byrthnoth, the Essex earldorman who led the Saxons that day, was among those killed and Ethelred II instituted payment of the “Danegeld” to pacify the Vikings. This Byrthnoth statue…

From the Lizard to Deptford Bridge – a guest post

An Gof and the Cornish Rebellion 1497 As the early summer sun seared upon Bodmin Moor, sweeping south westwards to Goonhilly Downs , which straddles a swathe of the Lizard Peninsula , the tortured arid landscapes  weren’t the only features of 1497 Cornwall, threatening to ignite in a blaze of fiery agitation. In  1337 the…

A visit to Winchester

One of our members visited Winchester in September, with his family. Here is a selection of photos, relating to Alfred, the C12 Civil War, the Cathedral and the site of Jane Austen’s death:   Not a Hicksosaurus in sight …    

Keeping it in the family

You will have seen him if you have been to Richard III’s final resting place. There are eight small statues on the main entrance (the Vaughan Porch, left) of St. Martin’s Cathedral but only one of them is wearing a doublet and hose, showing him to have lived a century later than the others. This is…

Don’t believe his latest statue, the real Henry VII was cuddly…!

(Photograph from https://henrytudorsociety.com/2016/01/16/henry-tudor-statue-campaign-marquette-unveiled/) The statue that was eventually decided on for Henry VII at Pembroke was hardly flattering, but then silk purses cannot be fashioned from sows’ ears. Making him sweet and appealing was clearly a task too far. So I have decided to redress the balance, and show you that Henry was sweet and…

Another Leicestershire transport pioneer

Here, we showed how the hansom cab was patented in 1834 by a Hinckley man. Just seven years later, a Market Harborough resident was transporting Temperance Society colleagues the short distance from Leicester (Campbell Street) to Loughborough. Campbell Street station no longer remains but Thomas Cook (left) now stands at the entrance of London Road station, where…