On this day in Tudor history, 6th August 1549, in the reign of King Edward VI, the Crown’s forces met the rebels of the Prayer Book Rebellion in another battle, the Battle of Clyst Heath.
I share an account of the battle of which Lord Grey said “he never, in all the wars that he had been, knew the like”. I also explain what happened next in the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549.
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Edward VI never ruled in his own right and so is often neglected. His reign was relatively short, but it was one of huge religious change, and rebellion too!
Back in 2016, we had an issue of Tudor Life Magazine focused on the Tudor boy-king, so I thought I’d dig it out of the archives for you to enjoy now.
Enjoy this 68-page treat!
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On this day in Tudor history, 5th August 1600, John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, and his brother, Alexander Ruthven, Master of Ruthven, were killed in mysterious circumstances at Gowrie House near Perth in Scotland.
They were killed as they allegedly tried to kidnap, King James VI of Scotland, who, in 1603, inherited the English throne from Queen Elizabeth I and became King James I.
But what happened? Did these men really try to kidnap the king or was there more to the story?
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On this day in Tudor history, 4th August 1598, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, died. He’d been Elizabeth’s chief advisor and a man she called her spirit.
Hear a few more William Cecil facts in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 3rd August 1549, in the reign of King Edward VI, Lord Russell marched his troops from Honiton to Woodbury.
They were off to put down the Prayer Book Rebellion.
Find out more in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 2nd August 1581, Richard Atkins, an English Protestant, was burnt to death for heresy in Rome.
What had led this Englishman to his end in Rome? What had he done? And why was he tortured on his way to his execution?
Find out...
On this day in history, 1st August 1555, Sir Edward Kelley, apothecary, alchemist and medium, was born in Worcester.
Kelley was a fascinating man. He worked with Dr John Dee and the men believed that they communicated with angels. Kelley also claimed that he was an alchemist and he wrote a treatise on the Philosopher’s Stone.
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How much do you know about July’s “on this day” people and events from the Tudor period?
Test your knowledge with this fun wordsearch from our Tudor Society archives.
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On this day in Tudor history, 31st July 1553, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was “discharged out of the Tower by the Earle of Arundell and had the Quenes pardon.”
Suffolk had been imprisoned after Mary I had overthrown his daughter, Queen Jane, or Lady Jane Grey, and been proclaimed queen on 19th July 1553. Suffolk’s release was down to his wife, Frances, interceding with her cousin the queen and begging for mercy.
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On this day in Tudor history, 30th July 1553, eleven days after her half-sister, Mary, had been proclaimed queen, Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, left her new home, Somerset House, to ride to Wanstead and greet Mary.
Somerset House was Elizabeth’s new London residence and you can find out more about how Elizabeth acquired it and who built it originally in this video:
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As it’s the 434th anniversary of England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada at the Battle of Gravelines on 29th July 1588, I thought I’d share with you these two Spanish Armada Quizzes from our archives.
Have fun and good luck!
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On this day in Tudor history, Sunday 29th July 1565, twenty-three-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, queen regnant of Scotland, married her second husband, nineteen-year-old Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, at Holyrood Palace.
I give details of their wedding and how the couple’s marital bliss was rather short-lived…
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On this day Tudor history, 28th July 1540, in the reign of King Henry VIII, on the same day that Thomas Cromwell was executed, a client of his also ended his life on the scaffold.
He was accused of magic and “detestable vice and sin”. What did this refer to?
Find out more about him in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 27th July 1588, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, wrote to Queen Elizabeth I with an invitation. He was intent on keeping the queen, the woman he loved, out of harm’s way.
What was his invitation?
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On this day in Tudor history, 26th July 1588, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, troops prepared for the expected Spanish invasion.
4,000 men assembled at Tilbury Fort on the north bank of the River Thames in an effort to prevent the Spanish Armada from travelling up the river and attacking London.
Let me explain what had led up to this day…
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On this day in Tudor history, 25 July 1554, on the Feast of St James, Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII by Catherine of Aragon, got married at Winchester Cathedral in a ceremony officiated by Lord Chancellor Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester.
The thirty-eight-year-old Mary married twenty-seven-year-old Philip of Spain, son of her cousin, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
Let me share a contemporary account of Mary and Philip’s wedding ceremony…
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th July 1553, in the reign of Queen Mary I, merchant and conspirator Richard Hesketh was born in Lancashire.
Hesketh is known for the Hesketh Plot of 1593, when he urged Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby, to lead a rebellion to claim the throne of England.
But who was Richard Hesketh and why did he plot against Queen Elizabeth I?
What happened to him and what happened to Ferdinando Stanley?
And why did Stanley take bezoar stone and unicorn horn?
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How much do you know about the family of Mary Boleyn, sister of Queen Anne Boleyn and mistress to King Henry VIII?
Test yourself with this fun quiz.
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On this day in Tudor history, 23rd July 1543, or 24th according to some sources, Marie de Guise and her baby daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, escaped from Linlithgow Palace.
They were helped by Cardinal David Beaton, who took them to Stirling Castle.
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd July 1576, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, playwright and pamphleteer, Edward Sharpham, was baptised at Colehanger, East Allington, in Devon. Sharpham is thought to have written the plays “The Fleire” and “Cupid’s Whirligig”, and fellow playwright Ben Jonson referred to him as a rogue.
Find out more about this lesser-known Tudor man and his comedy Cupid’s Whirligig…
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On this day in Tudor history, 21st July, 1553, two days after Mary I had been proclaimed queen, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland was arrested near Cambridge.
This was just days after Northumberland had left London with an army to apprehend Mary, on behalf of his daughter-in-law, Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey).
But how and why did the man who had ruled England on Edward VI’s behalf, as Lord President of his privy council, come to this?
I explain his role in the accession of Lady Jane Grey in July 1553 and what happened when Mary overthrew Queen Jane…
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th July 1554, Philip of Spain, son of Mary I’s cousin, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, arrived in England.
He had come to prepare for his forthcoming marriage to Mary I.
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th July 1545, in the reign of King Henry VIII, the king’s flagship, the Mary Rose, sank right in front of his eyes.
She sank in the Battle of the Solent between the English and French fleets.
But why did the Mary Rose sink?
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th July 1565, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the queen’s close friend and loyal servant, Kat Ashley, died.
Find out more about Kat (also known as Katherine Ashley, Katherine Astley and Katherine Champernowne) in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th July 1555, Protestant martyrs Christopher Wade (Waid) of Dartford, linen-weaver, and Margaret, or Margery, Polley, a widow from Pepenbury, Tunbridge, were burnt at the stake for heresy.
Let me tell you more about this man and woman, what led them to their awful fates, and what happened on that day in 1555…
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Edward VI’s reign was relatively short but but saw two major rebellions against his government, both in the summer of 1549.
How much do you know about Kett’s Rebellion and the Prayer Book Rebellion?
Find out with this fun crossword puzzle.
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th July 1517, the feast of St Francis, in the reign of King Henry VIII. Frances Brandon was born.
Frances was King Henry VIII’s niece.
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On this day in Tudor history, 15th July 1556, in the reign of Mary I, the trial of Julins Palmer, John Gwyn and Thomas Robyns opened at St Nicholas Church in Newbury. These men, who are now known as the Newbury Martyrs, were accused of sedition and heresy.
But how did Julins Palmer, a formerly staunch Catholic end up being executed for heresy in Mary I’s reign?
Find out more about Palmer, his trial and the executions of the Newbury Martyrs…
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This Friday’s treat from the archives has a food theme – yum! It’s a talk I did on fast food Tudor style.
Fast food is very much part of our world today, with cities worldwide having burger franchises, pizza outlets, fish and chip shops, Indian and Chinese restaurants, and lots more, and it made me wonder about fast food and street food in Tudor times, so I did some digging for this Claire Chats talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 14th July 1514, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge died in Rome.
Who was this cardinal?
And who claimed to have poisoned him and why?
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