On this day in history, 12th October 1537, the eve of the feast of St Edward, Jane Seymour gave birth to the future King Edward VI. The third wife of Henry VIII had suffered a long and tiring 30-hour labour, but she had given the king what he’d wanted for so long: a legitimate son and heir.
Henry VIII died on 28th January 1547, making Edward King Edward VI of England at the age of just nine.
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Lady Alice More was born the daughter of Sir Richard Harpur and his wife, Elizabeth Ardern. Little is known of Alice’s early life, including her year of birth, but historian Retha Warnicke has dated it to in or after 1474. Alice’s first husband was John Middleton; however, the date of their wedding ceremony is unknown. Warnicke has put forward the argument that Alice was likely already married to John by the year 1492, as her father had failed to mention her in his will of the same year. This is a convincing argument; it was not particularly unusual for a fifteenth-century father to exclude his daughter from his will if she was an established member of another household. Alice’s marriage to John represented the customary ambitions of the late medieval gentry: securing wealth, status and property. The Middleton and Ardern families were related by kinship, with John being Alice’s cousin; with both parties owning a significant number of properties in Yorkshire. Additionally, Alice’s husband was a wealthy silk merchant and a member of the Mercers’ Company (a successful trade association) and the Staple of Calais (a mercantile corporation). The couple had three children: a son and two daughters, Alice and Helen, but only Alice survived infancy.
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On 10th October 1562, twenty-nine-year-old Queen Elizabeth I was taken ill at Hampton Court Palace. It was thought that the queen had caught a bad cold but when she developed a violent fever it became clear that it was something more serious; Elizabeth had smallpox.
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8th October:
1515 – Birth of Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox. Margaret was the daughter of Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland and sister of Henry VIII, and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus.
1536 – The commons, i.e. the people, approved the petition of grievances drawn up by the rebels of Horncastle, Lincolnshire.
1549 – Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector, was proclaimed a traitor by the King’s Privy Council.
1561 – Baptism of Edward Wright, mathematician and cartographer, at Garveston in Norfolk. Wright is known for his treatise “Certaine Errors in Navigation” (1599), his work on Mercator’s map projection and his translation of John Napier’s 1614 Mirifici logarithmorum canonis descriptio into English.
1594 – Death of Ellis Price (Prys), scholar and administrator. Price served Henry VIII as a Monastic Visitor in Wales 1535, Commissary-General and Chancellor of the diocese of St Asaph, and as an administrator in Wales after the “Acts of Union”. He also later served as Sheriff of Merioneth, Anglesey, Caernarfon, and Denbigh, and a member of the council in the Marches of Wales.
This week’s Sunday puzzle is a crossword testing your knowledge of the tools and implements used in the medieval and Tudor periods. Print out the crossword by clicking on the image or link below, grab your favourite snack, beverage and pen, make yourself comfortable, and get started. Good luck!
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Today’s Claire Chats video was inspired by my recent visit to Stratford-upon-Avon with the Discover the Tudors tour. We visited Shakespeare’s birthplace, New Place, Hall’s Croft, Guild Hall and Shakespeare’s Schoolroom, and Holy Trinity Church, and although I grew up in the area and studied Shakespeare and his works at school and university I learned so much about the man from our guide and speakers. I wanted to share some of that with you today.
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Just to let you know the details of this month’s live chats. Our informal chat on the topic of Tudor life will take place on Saturday 13th October and our expert live chat with historian and author Lauren Mackay will take place on Friday 26th October.
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The S Franses gallery in London have just let me know about a loan exhibition they have on at the moment, which runs until the 19th October 2018.
Their website explains:
“This small but remarkable loan exhibition includes rare and previously unseen, as well as rediscovered, tapestries from the tapestry collection of the king. The rediscovered monumental “Burning of the Books” tapestry commissioned by Henry and deliver to Hampton Court Palace in 1538. The “Lord Russell Order of the Garter” tapestry. “Romulus and Remus” a tapestry from Greenwich Palace.”
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Our expert speaker for the month is Lauren Mackay who is speaking about Thomas Boleyn, father of Anne Boleyn, and George Boleyn, Anne’s brother. Lauren’s talk covers the lives, careers and downfall of both men – it’s a great talk and we learned lots!
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1st October:
1500 – Death of John Alcock, Bishop of Ely, scholar and Royal Tutor, at Wisbech Castle. He was buried at Ely Cathedral, in the chantry chapel he had designed. Alcock had acted as tutor to Prince Edward, son of Edward IV, and had also been president of the Prince’s Council at Ludlow. He was also Henry VII’s first Chancellor and opened his first Parliament.
1505 – Death of Sir Henry Colet, merchant and Lord Mayor of London, at Stepney. He was buried there.
1526 – Birth of Dorothy Stafford, Lady Stafford, daughter of Henry Stafford, 10th Baron Stafford, and his wife, Ursula (née Pole). Dorothy married Sir William Stafford, widower of Mary Boleyn, in 1545. She served Elizabeth I as a gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber.
1553 – Mary I was crowned Queen at Westminster Abbey by Stephen Gardiner, the Bishop of Winchester.
This week’s quiz is on that famous Tudor courtier, soldier and statesman, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. Just how much do you know about the man who was the uncle of Queens Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard? Find out with this Sunday’s quiz.
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On this day in history, 29th September 1564, Robert Dudley was made Earl of Leicester, an earldom which had been planned earlier in the year to make him more acceptable as a bridegroom to Mary, Queen of Scots. This earldom was an important one, having previously been held by royal princes like John of Gaunt and Henry of Bolingbroke (Henry IV). Although Dudley behaved impeccably at the ceremony, the queen did not. As she put the chain of earldom around Dudley’s neck, she “could not refrain from putting her hand in his neck to kittle him smilingly.” A loving gesture and perhaps one that was meant to reassure Dudley that he was still hers.
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In this month’s Tudor Life magazine is perfect for the month of October as it’s all about the Supernatural and the Tudors. Packed with fascinating articles about the spookier side of history.
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The National Maritime Museum, in Greenwich, London, has just let us know about their brand new gallery, ‘Tudor & Stuart Seafarers’. The museum says of the gallery:
“It includes sections covering a range of different subjects, from the voyages of John Cabot to the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and features many fascinating Tudor & Stuart objects, from early maps of the Americas to the coconut cup given to Sir Francis Drake by Elizabeth I. The gallery also has numerous audio-visual and interactive features, including a dockyard model brought to life by the Pepper’s Ghost technique. It is a permanent gallery and so is free to visit.”
It is open 10am-5pm daily.
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Here is a transcript of our live chat with historian Julian Humphrys. Julian spoke to us on Tudor Cambridge but seeing as he works with the Battlefields Trust it was also an ideal opportunity to get an update on the Bosworth Battlefield situation. It was an excellent live chat.
Remember that all full members are welcome to our live chat events and we try to time them so that they are at a reasonable hour, wherever you live in the world!
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In this week’s Claire Chats video, I share some of the highlights of the Discover the Tudors tour. There were so many highlights and even these aren’t all of them!
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Lady Anne Russell was born the eldest of three daughters of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford, and his first wife, Margaret St John. Anne’s father was an English nobleman and soldier who had a successful career at both the Henrician and Elizabethan courts. However, he came to significant attention during the reign of Elizabeth I; a monarch renowned for her taste in dashing, exciting and reliable men. Through this relationship with the queen, Francis was able to rise in status to the office of privy councillor. He also carried out diplomatic missions on the continent. Very little is known of Anne’s childhood, as much of the Russell family papers, for the sixteenth-century, are lost. When compared to other families, such as the Cecils, there is substantially more information on the education of William Cecil’s daughters than the Russell children. Any information regarding the Russell daughters’ education, including Anne’s sister Margaret, is practically unknown.
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24th September:
1486 – Arthur, Prince of Wales and son of Henry VII, was christened at a lavish ceremony at Winchester Cathedral.
1516 – Birth of Richard Pate, lawyer, member of Parliament and refounder of Cheltenham Grammar School, now known as Pate’s Grammar School.
1526 – Sometime before 24th September 1526, Marmaduke Huby, Abbot of Fountains since 1495, died at around the age of 87. It is thought that he was buried under the floor of the chapter house.
1561 – Birth of Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp, son of Katherine Grey (sister of Lady Jane Grey) and Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, in the Tower of London. He was born in the Tower because his parents had been imprisoned for marrying without the Queen’s permission.
1589 – Executions of William Spenser, Roman Catholic priest and martyr, and layman Robert Hardesty at York. Spenser was executed for being a priest, and Hardesty for sheltering Spenser.
I can’t believe that today was our last full day on the tour and that I will soon be saying goodbye to these lovely lords and ladies. We have gelled so much and I know that we have made friendships that will last a lifetime. It’s wonderful that Tudor history can bring us together like this.
After another delicious breakfast, this time at the Doubletree by Hilton near the Tower of London, we headed out for the day. Although it was raining – well, we did have to give our group the true British experience! – we decided to stop off at the Tower Hill scaffold site to explain its relevance, as many people miss this entirely. So many important Tudor personalities lost their lives there, so it was good to visit and remember them. We then made our way down to the River Thames, at Tower Wharf, right where Anne Boleyn disembarked on 2nd May 1536 when she was taken to the Tower to be imprisoned, to catch the Clipper, the river bus service that would take us to Bankside, where Shakespeare’s Globe is located. It was wonderful seeing lots of London sights from the river and in just a few short minutes we were at Bankside.
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Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, was the cousin of Queens Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, a famous Tudor poet and a man who managed to end up in prison a few times, but how much do you know about this Tudor courtier? Find out with this fun quiz. Good luck!
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After another delicious breakfast at the Arden Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon – French toast and I shared it with Francis I and Elizabeth I, as you can see! – we said our goodbyes to Stratford and set off for London. We arrived in London for lunch and then headed to London Charterhouse.
London Charterhouse has such a fascinating history. The land was used as a burial site for victims of the Black Death in 1348 and then in 1371, the Carthusian monastery was built. You might remember me telling you about that Carthusian Martyrs of Henry VIII’s reign, monks from this very monastery who refused to sign the oath recognising Henry VIII as supreme head of the Church in England and who were brutally executed or starved to death. The monastery was dissolved in the 1530s and it then passed through the hands of Sir Edward North; John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland; North again; Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk; Philip Howard, 13th Earl of Arundel; Elizabeth I; Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk, and Thomas Sutton. Elizabeth I visited it on several occasions.
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After another yummy breakfast the Arden Hotel’s veggie cooked breakfast is delicious, by the way – we headed off to spend the morning at Kenilworth Castle.
Kenilworth Castle dates back to the 12th century, but for us Tudor history lovers it’s the link with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, that gets us excited. Leicester, who was of course Elizabeth I’s good friend and favourite, and, I believe, the love of her life, was granted the castle in 1563. In 1575, the Queen visited Kenilworth Castle for 19 days, the longest visit she made to any courtier, and Leicester made many changes to the castle in anticipation of her visit, including creating a chase, building a gatehouse and bridge over the mere, building a four-storey block of state apartments, and creating a beautiful privy garden. He also commissioned special entertainments for the queen in a last-ditch attempt to woo her.
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I’ve finally managed to go through my photos of the Château de Blois so here is a Claire Chats video on the Château de Blois, along with galleries of my photos. I hope you enjoy browsing through them.
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I grew up near Stratford-upon-Avon so today was a special day for me, seeing my home area through the eyes of others and also seeing places that had been on my doorstep for years but that I’d taken for granted and never visited, or that hadn’t been open when I lived here.
As a huge Shakespeare fan, I had ben waiting for this day of the tour with bated breath and as good luck would have it, it came round quickly. The weather forecast predicted that the day might not be for the faint-hearted, with rain and drizzle forecast, but all’s well that ends well and the day really was such stuff as dreams are made on. Sorry, that’s too much of a good thing and I think I’ll stop the Shakespeare phrases and get on with the diary entry!
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After breakfast, we said goodbye to the Harte and Garter Hotel and travelled on to Hatfield House in Hertfordshire.
Although the main palace is Jacobean, having been built in 1611, in the reign of James I, it houses many treasures from the time when there was a 15th century palace on the site, the home that Elizabeth knew in her childhood and youth. The only part of that former palace that still survives today is the part of the houses that houses the Banqueting Hall with its wonderful original timber roof.
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Today was our Hampton Court Palace day and although I have been many many times, I always learn something new and I always enjoy my time there. It was a perfect day.
We had a two-hour private guided tour from Siobhan, who focused on the Tudor side of things – the history of the original palace built for Cardinal Wolsey, the Tudor kitchens, the Great Hall, Presence Chamber, Haunted Gallery, the Chapel Royal, the Tudor Garden with Edward VI’s nursery… – and then we had free time to enjoy lunch and to visit other parts of the palace. Philippa and I visited the Young Henry VIII exhibition, the William and Mary State Apartments, the Royal Tennis Court and the Cumberland Art Gallery whose rooms are on the footprint of what was Henry VIII’s apartments (there are still some Tudor doorways, stairs and a tower room). We had a fabulous time.
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After a breakfast spent gazing out of the hotel window at Windsor Castle opposite, our group had a guided tour of Windsor Castle. Our guide, Amanda, gave us a Tudor-focused tour, giving us an overview of the castle’s history and then pointing out the parts built by our very favourite dynasty. She also pointed out parts that we all saw on TV back in May when Prince Harry married Meghan – we walked where George Clooney walked – ha!
We couldn’t have asked for a better day as it was lovely and sunny. I think my favourite part was visiting the chapel and saying hello to Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, as well as Charles Brandon, Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, Henry VI and a few others, and also seeing the stall plates of some of my favourite Tudor Knights of the Garter. It really is a jaw-droppingly beautiful place.
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17th September:
1558 – Death of Walter Devereux, 1st Viscount Hereford, at the Devereux seat at Chartley in Staffordshire. He was buried in Stowe church. Devereux served Henry VIII as joint Constable of Warwick Castle, as a member of the jury at the trial of Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, in 1521, in the government of the Welsh Marches, as Steward in Princess Mary’s household at Ludlow and Chamberlain of the Court of General Surveyors. He also served Edward VI as a Privy Councillor.
1563 – Death of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, courtier and soldier, during an outbreak of the plague. He was buried at Bottesford parish church in Leicestershire. Manners served Edward VI as Warden of the East and Middle Marches on the Scottish borders, joint Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, and Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire. He was imprisoned when Mary I came to the throne for his support of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, but was released into house arrest and then pardoned. He served Mary I as Captain-General of Horsemen and Lieutenant and Captain-General in Calais. During Elizabeth I’s reign, he served as Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire and Rutland, and President of the Council of the North.
1575 – Death of Heinrich (Henry) Bullinger, the Swiss reformer and theologian, in Zurich. Bullinger succeeded Huldrych Zwingli as pastor at Grossmünster and head of the church in Zurich. His main work was “The Decades”, a theological work, but his sermons were also translated and published, and he wrote historical works.
1577 – The Edict of Poitiers ratified the Treaty of Bergerac, which had been signed between Henry III of France and the Huguenot princes.
As promised, here is my diary entry for day 1 of the Discover the Tudors tour..
I didn’t get much sleep last night as I was buzzing. I was so excited about the tour. I took the train to London early so that I had time to do a bit of shopping and get some lunch before meeting Philippa and the group. I met up with Philippa, my co-leader, for a coffee to catch up and then we headed off to meet the tour group.
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This week’s puzzle has as its theme the London prisons of the Tudor period and the people who ended up being imprisoned in them. How much do you know about Tudor prisons and prisoners? Test yourself with this fun crossword puzzle.
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