On this day in Tudor history, 23rd August 1535, royal favourite and keen reformer Sir Nicholas Poyntz welcomed King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, to his home Acton Court in Iron Acton, South Gloucestershire, as part of the couple’s royal progress.
It was important for courtiers to impress the king and his consort, and Poyntz built a new wing on his property just for the royal couple!
I tell you all about it in today's talk.
Also on this day in history:
- 1524 – Death of Edmund Audley, Bishop of Salisbury, at Ramsbury. He was buried in Salisbury Cathedral, on the north side of the presbytery.
- 1553 – Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, was made Lord Chancellor by Mary I.
- 1568 – Death of Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton, who was rewarded with a barony after his victory at the Battle of Solway Moss in 1542. He died at Healaugh, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and was buried there.
- 1613 – Death of John Harington, 1st Baron Harington of Exton, courtier, from a fever at Worms. His body was sent back to England for burial at Exton. In Elizabeth I's reign, Harington served as a member of Parliament, Justice of the Peace, Sheriff and Deputy Lieutenant of Rutland and Warwickshire.
This was what one might describe as a high point of the short reign of Queen Anne Boleyn, the people they visited their favourite supporters, the King and Queen appear by all accounts to have been close during this progress and Anne was pregnant by the end of it. It was also very much a promotion of the reformation and a sure up of families who were divided on their opinions of the Supremacy. In one documentary which mentioned this progress there was a comment that the visit was also as much of Henry reminding people who might waiver a bit of his authority as it was being received by reformers. As you say in the video, the idea was to rebuild and impress and hope you don’t bankrupt yourself as its a major honour to have the King and Queen and entire Court visit for a few nights.
A few years ago a big reconstruction was done at Acton Court, with the house being fully restored. I am just curious, if the building didn’t have any foundations, how did it not fall down, or did it?