This week’s Monday Martyr is Blessed Hugh Faringdon, born Hugh Cook, Abbot of Reading, who was hanged at the gate of his abbey on 14th November 1539 for treason, for allegedly upholding the supremacy of the pope. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 13th May 1895.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 13th May 1536, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Queen Anne Boleyn’s royal household was broken up and her staff discharged.
The king’s second wife, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time, hadn’t even been tried yet. However, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton, Sir Henry Norris and Mark Smeaton had been found guilty of high treason, for sleeping with her and conspiring to kill the king with her, so she had no chance of being found innocent.
[Read More...]
For today’s “on this day” event, I’m taking you back to the Wars of the Roses. It’s a relevant event because it was a factor in Henry Tudor (Henry VII) becoming the main Lancastrian claimant.
On this day in history, 6th May 1471, Edmund Beaufort, styled 3rd Duke of Somerset, was executed in Tewkesbury marketplace following his army’s defeat at the Battle of Tewkesbury. He was buried at Tewkesbury Abbey
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 6th April 1523, in the reign of King Henry VIII, nobleman and courtier Henry Stafford, Earl of Wiltshire, died at the age of about 44.
Stafford died without issue so his earldom became extinct until 1529 when Thomas Boleyn, father of Anne Boleyn, was made Earl of Wiltshire.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 29th March 1591, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, playwright and Church of England clergyman William Wager was buried at the church where he was rector, St Benet Gracechurch.
I was drawn to him simply because of the titles of two of his plays, “Enough is as Good as a Feast” and “The Longer thou Livest the More Fool thou art”, which have been described as polemical Protestant interludes. I love those titles!
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 23rd March 1596, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, soldier, member of Parliament and diplomat, Sir Henry Unton, or Umpton, died after being taken ill with “a violent, burning fever”.
Unton had been taken ill after accompanying King Henry IV of France to the siege at La Fère. He was about thirty-eight years of age at his death.
Here are a few facts about this Tudor man…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 16th March 1533, in the reign of King Henry VIII, soldier, translator and diplomat, John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners, died at Calais, while serving as Deputy of Calais.
Berners was succeeded as deputy by the king’s uncle, Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 27th February 1583, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, thirty-six-year-old diarist and Church of England clergyman, Richard Madox, died near Espirito Santo harbour, near Vitória, Brazil.
Madox served as chaplain and secretary to Captain Edward Fenton on his 1582 voyage to the Moluccas and China.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 23rd February 1503, Elizabeth of York, Queen Consort of Henry VII and mother of Henry VIII, was laid to rest at Westminster Abbey.
Elizabeth had died on her 37th birthday, on 11th February, at the Tower of London, nine days after giving birth to a daughter, Katherine, who also died.
In “The Last Medieval Queens: English Queenship 1445-1503”, J L Laynesmith writes of how at least £3,000 was spent on Elizabeth’s funeral, compared to the £600 spent on that of Arthur, Prince of Wales, the previous year, and that “the whole process was rich with references to the queen’s coronation”.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 21st February 1568, Katherine Seymour (née Grey), Countess of Hertford, was buried at Yoxford. Her remains were later re-interred, by her grandson, in the Seymour family tomb at Salisbury Cathedral.
Katherine was the second daughter of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, and his wife, Frances Brandon, and the granddaughter of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and Mary Tudor, Queen of France. She was also the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey, or Queen Jane.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 20th February 1552, Anne Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, died at Baynard’s Castle in London.
Anne was the younger sister of Queen Catherine Parr and served Queens Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard.
Let me give you a few facts about this Tudor countess…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 15 February 1503, Henry Deane, administrator and Archbishop of Canterbury, died at Lambeth Palace at around the age of 63. He was laid to rest at Canterbury Cathedral in a lavish funeral.
Deane was the last monk to become Archbishop of Canterbury.
Let me give you a few facts about this archbishop…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 2nd February 1508, in the reign of King Henry VII, physician and Provost of King’s College, Cambridge, John Argentine died at King’s College.
He was about sixty-five years of age at his death. He was laid to rest in the Chantry Chapel at the college.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 28th January 1501, in the reign of King Henry VII, politician and administrator John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham, died at his home at Lambeth. He was buried at the London Greyfriars on 30th January.
Here are a few facts about this Tudor baron…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 25th January 1540, St Edmund Campion, Jesuit and martyr, was born in London.
Campion was hanged, drawn and quartered on 1st December 1581 for treasonable conspiracy. He was beatified in 1886 by Pope Leo XIII and canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 17th January 1587, Bartholomew Newsam (Newsum, Newsham), died. He was buried in the church of St Mary-le-Strand, the parish in which he lived and worked. He was in his fifties at his death.
Bartholomew Newsam, who is thought to have come from the York area, was a famous clockmaker, sundial maker and scientific instrument maker. He worked for Queen Elizabeth I, repairing clocks and perhaps even making them for her.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 16th (or possibly the 18th) December 1503, George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent, died at Ampthill, Bedfordshire.
The earl served in Henry VII’s reign as a soldier, a member of the king’s council, the Constable of Northampton Castle, and as a judge at the trial of Edward, Earl of Warwick in 1499.
His first wife was Anne Woodville, sister of Queen Elizabeth Woodville.
Grey managed to retain royal favour on Henry VII’s accession even though he’d been rewarded by Richard III.
Find out more about George Grey…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 23rd November 1499, in the reign of King Henry VII, Perkin Warbeck was hanged at Tyburn.
Warbeck was executed for allegedly plotting to help another claimant, Edward, Earl of Warwick, escape from the Tower of London.
Perkin Warbeck had been imprisoned in 1497 after he had raised a rebellion claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the younger of the Princes in the Tower. He had even been proclaimed King Richard IV, but his rebellion and claim had failed.
Let me tell you about Perkin Warbeck’s background, explain how he ended up trying to claim the throne of England, and tell you what happened.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 15th November 1527, in the reign of King Henry VIII, a woman who called herself “the excellent Princess Katherine, Countess of Devon, daughter, sister and aunt of kings” died at Tiverton Castle in Devon.
She was Katherine of York, Countess of Devon, and she was the daughter of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, and the sister of Queen Elizabeth of York. Katherine was just forty-nine when she died. She had taken a vow of chastity after her husband’s death.
Let me give an overview of King Henry VIII’s aunt’s life and explain why she took her vow of chastity…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 4th November 1538, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu; his brother-in-law, Sir Edward Neville; Henry Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter; Courtenay’s wife, Gertrude Blount, and the couple’s son, Edward Courtenay, were arrested for treason. They were taken to the Tower of London.
Montagu, Neville and Exeter, along with Montagu’s brother, Geoffrey Pole, were accused of plotting with Montagu’s brother, Cardinal Reginald Pole, against King Henry VIII. Montagu’s mother, Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, was also arrested for treason.
Henry VIII had sought Cardinal Pole’s opinion on his marriage and the papacy, so why were members of his family accused of treason for communicating with the cardinal?
Find out what Cardinal Pole had done to upset the king, and what happened to his family and friends…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 1st October 1500, in the reign of King Henry VII, John Alcock, Bishop of Ely, died at Wisbech Castle.
As well as being a clergyman, John Alcock had been a scholar and he’d served as a royal tutor and administrator.
Alcock had been a tutor to Prince Edward, the son of King Edward IV and the future King Edward V, who, of course, has gone down in history as one of the Princes in the Tower. Alcock also christened another prince.
[Read More...]
I was shocked and saddened by the news, yesterday, of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. It seems strange to be shocked when she was 96 years of age and her health had been declining in recent months, but I’m British and she’s the only monarch I’ve known. Her image is known the world over and when I lived in the UK, I saw her image and heraldry everywhere and on a daily basis. I can’t believe she’s gone and that there’s a new monarch, King Charles III.
[Read More...]
On his day in Tudor history, 15th August 1588, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Robert Wilcox, Edward Campion, Christopher Buxton and Robert Widmerpool were examined while imprisoned in the Marshalsea prison in Southwark, London.
These Catholic men ended up being executed, three of them for being Catholic priests and one for giving aid to priests. All four died with courage. They were beatified in 1929.
Who were these men and how did they come to be executed?
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 14th August 1513, in the reign of King Henry VIII, William Parr, Marquess of Northampton and brother of Queen Catherine Parr, was born.
William Parr is a fascinating man. He had a wonderful court career, his first wife eloped and left him, his divorce was granted and then rescinded, he was imprisoned in the Tower but then released, his marital happiness was rather shortlived… but he died a natural death!
[Read More...]
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.
[Read More...]
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…
[Read More...]On this day in Tudor history, 17th May 1521, Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was executed for treason on Tower Hill.
He’d served King Henry VII and King Henry VIII loyally for many years, so what led to this nobleman being condemned for high treason?
[Read More...]
A warm Tudor Society welcome to historian and author Toni Mount and huge congratulations to her on the forthcoming release of her tenth Seb Foxley medieval murder mystery, a series I adore.
Toni is sharing a guest article with us to celebrate the publication of The Colour of Rubies…
In my tenth and latest Seb Foxley medieval murder mystery, The Colour of Rubies, the story requires our hero to go to Westminster Palace in order to discover a dead body – what else! Those familiar with my scribe/artist/sleuth will know that colour means everything to Seb so what better reason could he have for going to the royal palace with his brother, Jude, than to admire the beautiful stained glass in the Chapel of St Stephen?
[Read More...]