Richard III’s Prehistoric Foremother?

Recently I came across this fascinating blogpost by an archaeologist called Katharina, who was working on a Bronze Age burial site in Austria. The skeletons her team excavated have recently been DNA tested–and one of them carried the maternal haplogroup J1c2, which is part of the group to which Richard belonged. Richard’s Bronze Age foremother?…

THE LOST CITY OF TRELLECH-FOUND

Once upon a time, back in the  Middle Ages, a large, thriving Welsh city existed between Monmouth and the village of Trellech. Its size was astounding for the day—it had 10,000 inhabitants (for comparison London had 40,000.) Another 10,000 souls may have lived in a shanty town along its edges. What makes Trellech’s size particularly…

Richard III and Dr Who together beneath one roof….?

The Belmont Hotel in Leicester has rooms to acknowledge the city’s claims to fame, including a Space Room, because of the National Space Centre and the university’s successful developments in space research since the 1960s. Former Dr Who, Colin Baker, came to advertise the new room. Possibly without the aid of the Tardis, but one…

The Battle of Stamford Bridge?

No, NOT this Stamford Bridge, but two hundred miles further north, somewhere by the River Derwent in the East Riding. So please try to avoid any more football references, except for the violent Norwegian game plan, the travel plans of the teams (sorry, armies) and the fixture congestion being contributory factors to the Anglo-Saxon defeat…

Tales of a Ricardian Traveler — Part Three: Ripon Cathedral and Richmond Castle

Originally posted on RICARDIAN LOONS:
Lady on Horseback, mid-15th c., British Museum I admit I have a special fondness for the “third smallest city in England” – Ripon.  It’s located in North Yorkshire and is a bustling cathedral town, famous for its racetrack and the “Ripon Hornblower”. It’s also well-situated for making day trips to…

Tales of a Ricardian Traveler – Part Two: Rievaulx Abbey and Helmsley Castle

Originally posted on RICARDIAN LOONS:
Lady on Horseback, mid-15th c., British Museum My previous Travel Tales blog talked about the Forest of Bowland and Skipton.  Today, we’re going to two places that sometimes get forgotten by the traveler who is interested in visiting places having some Richard III connections:  Rievaulx Abbey and Helmsley Castle. ?…

Tales of a Ricardian Traveler – Part One: Forest of Bowland and Skipton

Originally posted on RICARDIAN LOONS:
Lady on Horseback, mid-15th c., British Museum I am passionate about history and travel!  As soon as I got my passport, I was determined to go out and see the world with my own eyes, but more importantly, to encounter places associated with Richard III.  In his brief 32 years,…

Travels in enemy territory (2006)

Arlington Court is not a particularly old building but it commemorates a family that can be traced back to the Battle of Hastings, with a twentieth century twist. It dates from 1820, however it is the third or possibly fourth grand house to occupy the same site since the sixteenth century. The grounds are extensive…

Hatfield (2008)

Anniversary watch Having marked the anniversaries of Rowland Taylor’s execution (Hadleigh 1555) and Thomas Stafford’s landing (Scarborough 1557); I took the train to Hatfield yesterday. The estate is immediately opposite the station, on a Cambridge-London line, and the house is ten minutes’ walk from the entrance. It is E-shaped and guided tours explore all except…

A return to the East Riding (2007)

I had visited York twice before, the first time with my primary school thirty years ago, and am thus familiar with the classic medieval and subsequent attractions. On my second visit, my late mother and I went to the same venues, thus I was determined to visit the subsequently built Jorvik centre. In this I…