Olga Hughes, who you will know from her regular column in Tudor Life magazine, has kindly offered to run a live chat on Elizabeth Woodville on the Tudor Society chatroom on Friday 7th October (or Saturday 8th depending on your time zone). This will be an informal chat, like the one we had this month of Henry VII, and will be a chance to get together and discuss this queen consort of Edward IV.
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Today is the anniversary of the death of Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk, who is also known by her married names of Brandon and Bertie.
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MedievalCourses.com has just launched a new course by Gareth Russell, editor of the Tudor Society’s Tudor Life magazine and author of The Emperors: How Europe’s Rulers Were Destroyed by the First World War, A History of the English Monarchy: From Boadicea to Elizabeth I and the forthcoming Young and Damned and Fair: The Life and Tragedy of Catherine Howard at the Court of Henry VIII.
Although I’m biased, being involved in MedievalCourse.com, I can hand-on-heart say that this is an excellent course. Gareth has done a brilliant job in creating and narrating each of the seven units and what I really love about this course is that he doesn’t look at the same old topics regarding these wives, he “uses each wife to explore a different aspect of monarchy in Tudor England” and then finishes with a unit considering why these women remain so popular and how they have “been re-invented and revitalised by the age of Hollywood, television and best-selling novels”. Bravo, Gareth, you’ve done a wonderful job!
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This week’s quiz from Rebecca Larson is a general Tudor history quiz. Good luck and enjoy!
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On this day in history, 18th September 1544, Henry VIII rode triumphantly through the streets of Boulogne after the French surrendered, ending the Siege of Boulogne, which had started on 19th July 1544. The English forces then set about fortifying the town.
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In today’s Claire Chats video I share with you my latest book buy – a transcript of building work that was carried out at Greenwich Palace between September 1532, after Anne Boleyn had become Marquis of Pembroke, and September 1533, after she’d become queen and given birth to her daughter, Elizabeth I, at the palace.
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On this day in history, 14th September 1538, the Shrine of Our Lady of Caversham, near Reading, was destroyed by Dr John London, on the orders of Henry VIII. The shrine had been established in 1106.
London wrote to Thomas Cromwell on 17th September to confirm the shrine’s destruction:
“Has pulled down the image of Our Lady at Caversham, whereunto was great pilgrimage. It is plated over with silver. Has put it in a chest fast locked and nailed up, and will send it by next barge to London. Has pulled down the place she stood in with the lights, shrowds, crutches, images of wax &c. about the chapel, and defaced the same thoroughly. This chapel belonged to Notley Abbey and there was always a canon of that monastery warden of Caversham, who sang in chapel and had the offerings. He was accustomed to show many pretty relics, among others the holy dagger that killed King Henry, and the holy knife that killed St. Edward. All these with the coats of this image, her cap and hair, my servant will bring your Lordship next week. Has sent the canon home to Notley and made fast the doors of the chapel, the lead of which, if desired, he will make sure for the King: otherwise it will be stolen by night,—as happened at the Friars, where they took the clappers of the bells, and but for the aid of Mr. Fachell and the mayor they would have made no little spoil. Reading, 17 Sept.”
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On this day in history, 13th September 1520, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and Elizabeth I’s chief advisor, was born Bourne in Lincolnshire. He was the son of Richard Cecil, former Groom of the Robes, Constable of Warwick Castle and High Sheriff of Rutland, and his wife Jane Heckington. His grandfather, David Cecil, had been one of Henry VIII’s favourites, and was High Sheriff of Nottingham.
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Thank you to Rebecca Larson, our new quiz writer, for this quiz on Thomas Seymour. Test your knowledge of this fascinating Tudor man with this fun quiz.
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On this day in history there were two important Tudor events: the christening of Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn, in 1533 and the Battle of Pinkie between England and Scotland in 1547.
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Between 2nd and 5th September 1666 fire swept through the City of London destroying many buildings, including St Paul’s Cathedral. To mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire an enormous structure representing the 17th century London skyline was set alight on the River Thames in London.
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I know this isn’t Tudor, but it is fascinating nevertheless. According to a BBC news report, DNA testing has confirmed the identity of the bacteria that was behind the Great Plague of London in 1665.
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On this day in history, 9th September 1513, while Henry VIII was away, busy campaigning against the French, James IV and his Scottish troops crossed the border and challenged the English force, which was headed by Thomas Howard, the Earl of Surrey, at Flodden in Northumberland.
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Many of the Tudor Society members will be at MadeGlobal’s “An Evening with the Authors” event on 24 September in central London, and it would be so lovely to see you there.
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Instead of doing a Claire Chats video this Friday I am going to be running and moderating a live chat on the Tudor Society chatroom. I know that some of you find it hard to come to the expert live chats due to time zone issues, so I’m scheduling this one for a later time.
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Thanks to all who attended our live chat with Lauren Browne last night, it was a great chat with an amazing number of people attending. We had people from the UK, Australia and the United States.
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Catherine Parr's tomb
1548 - Catherine Parr, Queen Dowager, wife of Thomas Seymour and widow of Henry VIII, died aged around 36 at Sudeley Castle. She had given birth to her first child, a daughter Mary, on 30th August, but within a few days of the birth, she had contracted puerperal fever. You can read an article about her burial on the Anne Boleyn Files - click here - and you can read Catherine Parr related articles on the Tudor Society by clicking here.
1558 (5th or 6th September) – Death of Sir Robert Broke, judge, legal writer and Speaker of the House of Commons, at a friend's house in Patshull, Staffordshire. He was buried in Claverley Church, Shropshire. Broke also served as Deputy Chief Steward for the Duchy of Lancaster, Serjeant-at-Law and Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
1569 – Death of Edmund Bonner, Bishop of London and a man nicknamed “Bloody Bonner”, in Marshalsea Prison. He was buried at St George's, Southwark, but it is thought that his remains were later moved to Copford, near Colchester, a manor held by Bonner as Bishop of London. In Mary I's reign, he was in charge of burning reformers in London, hence his nickname “Bloody Bonner”. Bonner was imprisoned in Elizabeth I's reign for refusing to follow the “Book of Common Prayer” in his services, and for refusing to take the “Oath of Supremacy”.
Today we have the second and final part of our Tudor executions quiz. How much do you know about the people executed in the reigns of the Tudor monarchs? Test your knowledge with this fun quiz. Good luck!
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This month’s expert is Kyra Kramer, talking about Anne Boleyn and comparing her to Jezabel… take it away Kyra!
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On this day in history, 31st August 1555, Robert Samuel, former minister of East Bergholt Church in Suffolk, was burned at the stake in Ipswich, probably at the Cornhill. He was one of the Ipswich Martyrs, Protestants who were executed in Ipswich during the reign of the Catholic queen, Mary I.
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For Part II of the Annes of Cleves, we’ll learn a little bit more about Henry VIII’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves; her niece, Anna of Cleves; and Anna, Duchess of Cleves. Throughout the article, I will address them as Anne, Anna of Cleves, and the Duchess, so as to help in understanding who is who.
Anne of Cleves, born in 1515 in Germanic territories of the Holy Roman Empire, married Henry VIII of England in 1540. Her marriage to the King lasted only about six months before he divorced her. Due to Anne’s congeniality, Henry settled a good income and several properties on Anne. She remained in England until her death in 1557, where she enjoyed a relationship with Mary I of England, who was only six months Anne’s junior, and with Elizabeth I of England. Elizabeth and Anne rode together in the chariot just after Mary I’s during Mary’s triumphant ride through London as the new queen. Sadly, Anne passed away just over a year before her other stepdaughter, Elizabeth I, become queen.
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As you will probably know, I’m taking part in MadeGlobal Publishing’s “An Evening with the Authors” event in London on 24th September. It promises to be a great night with nineteen authors and historians taking part. There will be chance to for those attending to chat to the authors, get books signed and ask questions at authors in special panel discussions.
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On 28th August 1588, an ill Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, wrote his final letter to his queen and childhood friend, Elizabeth I. He wrote it from the home of Lady Norreys at Rycote, where he was staying on his way to Buxton, to take the waters there. It read:
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Wales, Scotland and Ireland are often forgotten when you think about the Tudor period, but, as you’ll discover in this month’s Tudor Life magazine, the were very important indeed.
A top quality with 78 pages, this “Dominions” edition of Tudor Life is an amazing focus on the British Isles (and there’s a really great article on grilled cheese by Olga Hughes – Welsh Rarebit!)
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July 1549. The almost twelve-year-old Edward VI had been King of England for two-and-a-half years. Landlords had begun enclosing the common lands, which prevented peasants from being able to have a place for their animals to graze. Several landlords had taken to raising sheep, as the English wool trade was growing quite prosperous. This, in concert with a host of other problems such as inflation and unemployment, led to unrest for the lower classes.
After Edward Seymour, Lord Protector, had issued a proclamation on behalf of Edward VI that made enclosures illegal, several peasants tore down a fence that was raised in the town of Attleborough. On 6 July, the town of Wymondham was observing the illegal feast day for Thomas Beckett. Henry VIII had outlawed any such celebrations or commemorations of Thomas Becket back in 1538. After the festivities, some revellers got together and decided to dismantle some of the enclosures. This was the beginning of the Norfolk uprising and posed a significant threat to the Lord Protector’s government.
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I quite often receive questions about the dolls I have on my bookcase and Margaret asked if I would do a Claire Chats video on them, explaining how/where I got them. So, here you go! My collection is all down to my dear friend Dawn Hatswell – thank you Dawn!
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