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August 2 – Thornbury Castle

1 year ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 2nd August 1514, Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, was granted a licence to found a college at Thornbury in Gloucestershire.

There had been a manor there since the 10th century, but it was Buckingham who built Thornbury Castle. He obtained a licence to crenelate his manor in 1510 and building work began in 1511. Thornbury was built to the medieval quadrangular layout, with a large outer courtyard. The entrance front with its central gatehouse and octagonal corner towers is still standing, as are two of the side ranges. The surrounding curtain wall is intact on three sides.

Buckingham never saw it completed. He was executed in 1521. The manor was seized by Henry VIII, who stayed there with Anne Boleyn in 1535.
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July 26 – George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 26th July 1538, in the reign of King Henry VIII, George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury and 4th Earl of Waterford, died at South Wingfield Manor, Derbyshire. He was buried at St Peter’s Church, Sheffield.

Here are a few facts about him…
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July 19 – Mary Boleyn

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th July 1543, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Mary Boleyn died. It is not known where she was laid to rest.

Mary was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond, and his wife, Elizabeth Howard. She was the granddaughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and sister of Queen Anne Boleyn and George Boleyn, Lord Rochford. At some point, she had been King Henry VIII’s mistress, but nothing is known of their relationship.
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July 17 – The burning of Lady Glamis

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in history, 17th July 1537, Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis, was burnt to death for treason on the castle hill at Edinburgh.

Janet had been charged with plotting to poison King James V, nephew of King Henry VIII, and assisting and corresponding with her brothers, Sir George Douglas and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus.
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July 16 – Frances Brandon

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th July 1517, the feast of St Francis, Frances Brandon was born at Hatfield. She was the eldest daughter of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and Mary Tudor, widow of King Louis XII of France and sister of Henry VIII.

Frances married Henry Grey, Marquis of Dorset (later Duke of Suffolk). They had three children: Jane, Katherine, and Mary.
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July 14 – Christopher Bainbridge, a poisoned cardinal

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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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 of alleged poisoning. He was about 51 years old.

Bainbridge started his church career in Henry VII’s reign and became Archbishop of York in 1508. He was chosen as an executor of the king’s will.
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July 10 – Elizabeth I visits the Tower of London mint

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th July 1561, Queen Elizabeth I visited the Tower of London mint to check on the progress of her new coins.

Debasement of coins had happened between 1544 and 1551, in the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, when the government was looking to fund foreign wars. The ratio of precious metal to alloy was reduced, so more coinage could be produced more cheaply, with the government pocketing the profit.
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July 7 – Mary receives news of Edward VI’s death

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th July 1553, the day after the death of King Edward VI, his half-sister, Mary, received news of his death.

Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, had left Hunsdon on 3rd July after hearing that Edward was dying and that there was a plot against her. She set off for her estates in East Anglia, where she had support.
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Monday Martyr – Anthony Brookby

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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This week’s Monday Martyr is Franciscan friar Anthony Brookby (Brockby), who was executed on 19th July 1537, in the reign of King Henry VIII.

In her 19th century book “Faithful unto Death”, J M Stone explains that Father Anthony Brookby was a Latin, Greek and Hebrew scholar who was Professor of Divinity at Magdalen College, Oxford, and “celebrated for his eloquence as a scholar”. He got into trouble when, during a sermon at the Church of St Lawrence, Brookby “spoke of Henry’s new marriage, as the cause of the dreadful evils which threatened to overwhelm the country”. He went on to denounce England’s break with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries.
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July 1 – The 1536 Act of Succession

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 1st July 1536, Parliament gave the Second Act of Succession its first reading.

This act superseded the 1534 Act of Succession, which had made Mary, Henry VIII’s daughter by Catherine of Aragon, illegitimate and had appointed Elizabeth, his daughter by Anne Boleyn, as heir to the throne.

The new act declared the illegitimacy of both of Henry’s daughters. Both girls were now barred from the line of succession and, Elizabeth, like Mary, now lost her title of “princess”.
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June 29 – The Globe burns down

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in history, 29th June 1613, in the reign of King James I, the Elizabethan playhouse, the Globe Theatre burned to the ground.

The Globe, which had been built on Bankside in London in 1599 by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, William Shakespeare’s playing company, sadly perished due to a cannon misfiring and setting fire to the wooden beams and thatching during a performance of Shakespeare’s “Henry VIII”.
It was rebuilt in 1614 but closed in 1642 and was demolished in 1644/5.

In 1987, American director and actor, Sam Wanamaker, built a replica of the theatre, using records from 1599 and 1614, as a memorial to the original globe. Visitors today can enjoy its exhibition, which brings bring the Elizabethan world of Shakespeare to life, or watch a play there.

Here’s a video from our archives with some photos I took when I visited The Globe a few years ago:
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June 26 – Sir Edmund Carew

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 26th June 1513, in the reign of King Henry VIII, landowner, administrator and soldier Sir Edmund Carew was buried in the church of St Nicholas in Calais.

Carew, who was about 49, was killed while serving as master of the ordnance in Henry VIII’s 1513 French campaign. The English force had pitched their tents a mile outside the town of Therouanne and chronicler Edward Hall records what happened next…
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June 22 – The execution of John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On 22nd June 1535, John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, was beheaded on Tower Hill.

Fisher, who had served Henry VIII’s grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was executed for treason for refusing to accept Henry VIII as the supreme head of the church.
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June 18 – Catherine of Aragon appears at the Legatine Court

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th June 1529, Catherine of Aragon made her first appearance at the special legatine court which had opened at Blackfriars on 31st May to hear Henry VIII’s case for an annulment of their marriage.

The couple had been summoned to appear on 18th, but only Catherine appeared, Henry sent proxies.
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June 17 – Sir George Blage

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th June 1551, in the reign of King Edward VI, Sir George Blage (Blagge), courtier, diplomat, poet and good friend of Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, died at Stanmore in Middlesex. He is known for the Blage Manuscript, in which he collected the poetry of friends such as Wyatt.

In Henry VIII’s reign, Blage carried out diplomatic missions, was a member of the king’s privy chamber and fought in the king’s 1543-45 French campaign. He also served as Chief Steward and Bailiff of Maidstone, and Comptroller of the Petty Custom of London, and as a member of Parliament.

Blage was of the reformed faith and was arrested in July 1546 after he was heard denouncing the mass. Blage was condemned to death but, fortunately, was pardoned by Henry VIII.
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June 14 – William Peto becomes a cardinal and papal legate

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 14th June 1557, William Peto was made cardinal and papal legate, replacing Reginald Pole.

During Henry VIII’s Great Matter, Friar Peto served Catherine of Aragon and Princess Mary as confessor. On Easter Sunday 1531, he angered King Henry VIII when he preached a sermon comparing Henry VIII to King Ahab and Anne Boleyn to Jezebel. He warned the king to act to avoid Ahab’s unhappy end and to avoid the dogs licking up his blood as they had Ahab’s.

In 1547, while Henry VIII’s coffin was resting at Syon, it was said that liquid dripped out of it and that dogs did indeed lick it up.
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June 11- Sir Anthony Cooke of Gidea Hall

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 11th June 1576, seventy-year-old humanist and educator Sir Anthony Cooke of Gidea Hall in Essex died.

Cooke, who served in Henry VIII’s bodyguard and privy chamber, is more known for his role in education. He educated his daughters, who included Mildred Cecil, Anne Bacon, Catherine Killigrew and Elizabeth Hoby, to a high standard, teaching them Latin and Greek, and probably also modern languages and Hebrew. They were all noted for their scholarship.

Although Anthony Cooke doesn’t appear in the records as a formal royal tutor, it does appear that he was involved in the young king’s education, possibly in an advisory or guiding role.
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June 10 – Two Carthusian monks are starved to death

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th June 1537, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Blessed Thomas Green and Blessed Walter Pierson, two Carthusian monks from London Charterhouse, died in Newgate Prison from starvation. They were two out of nine monks who were purposely starved to death for refusing to accept the royal supremacy.

A total of eighteen Carthusian monks were killed between May 1535 and August 1540. Some were hanged, drawn and quartered, some were hanged in chains and some were starved to death. They were all punished for refusing to accept Henry VIII as supreme head of the Church. All eighteen have been recognised by the Catholic Church as martyrs.
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June 9 – William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 9th June 1511, in the reign of Henry VIII, William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, died of pleurisy at Greenwich. He was buried at Blackfriars, London, with the honours due an earl, even though he hadn’t been officially invested yet.

Courtenay was Henry VIII’s uncle, having married Katherine of York, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, and sister of Henry’s mother, Elizabeth of York.
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June 2 – The executions of Sir Francis Bigod, George Lumley and Sir Thomas Percy

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 2nd June 1537, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Sir Francis Bigod, George Lumley and Sir Thomas Percy were executed at Tyburn for their part in Bigod’s Rebellion which followed the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion.

You can find out more about Bigod and his rebellion in the video below, but interestingly he was a reformer and so initially opposed the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion. However, he realised he had common ground with the rebels: his opposition to Henry VIII’s involvement in religious matters.
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June 1 – Anne Boleyn’s coronation

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 1st June 1533, Whitsunday, Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey.

You can find out more about Anne Boleyn’s coronation in the video below, but here are a few facts:

Anne was 6 months pregnant.
She wore ermine-trimmed purple velvet coronation robes.
Her train was carried by her step-grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.
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Monday Martyr – Elizabeth Barton, the Holy Maid of Kent

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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This week’s Monday Martyr is Elizabeth Barton, who was hanged for treason at Tyburn on 20th April 1534, along with Father Edward Bocking (a monk and Barton’s spiritual adviser), Richard Masters (her parish priest), Richard Risby (warden of the Observant Friary at Canterbury) and Hugh Rich (warden of the Observant Friary at Richmond).

Elizabeth had visions and prophecies, and one particular prophecy got her into trouble with King Henry VIII.
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Monday Martyr – Lollard Thomas Harding

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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This week’s Monday Martyr is Lollard Thomas Harding.

Harding was in his sixties when he was sent to be burnt at the stake for heresy at Chesham, in Buckinghamshire, on 30th May 1532, in the reign of King Henry VIII. Thankfully, his suffering was cut short when he was killed by a blow to the head when a bystander threw a billet of wood at him.
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From the Archives – Queen Anne Boleyn

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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As today is the anniversary of Queen Anne Boleyn’s execution on 19th May 1536, I thought I’d share with you this talk I did a few years ago on Anne Boleyn’s fall.

In it, I examine the roles of Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII in those bloody events. Did Thomas Cromwell plot all by himself or was he simply his master’s servant? Was Henry VIII ultimately responsible? Why did Anne Boleyn have to die?
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May 19 – Queen Anne Boleyn is executed

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th May 1536, Henry VIII’s second wife, Queen Anne Boleyn, was executed at the Tower of London.

Anne had been found guilty of treason for seducing five courtiers, including her brother, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, and the king’s friend and groom of the stool, Henry Norris, and plotting with them to kill the king. The men were executed on Tower Hill on 17th May 1536.
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May 16 – Sir Thomas More resigns

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th May 1532, Sir Thomas More resigned as King Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor.

More, who had been a real father figure to Henry VIII, had held the office since 25th October 1529, following the fall of his predecessor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. However, More opposed Henry VIII’s quest for an annulment of his first marriage, and the idea of the king being the supreme head of the church. The final straw for More, was the king’s attack on the clergy, on 11th May 1532, when he suggested they were traitors because of their oath to Rome, and the subsequent submission of the clergy to the king’s demands.
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May 13 – A queen’s household is broken up

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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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.
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May 12 – Baron Hussey, is charged with treason

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor England, 12th May 1537, John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford, Chief Butler of England, was charged with treason.

Hussey, who was born 1465/6 had been appointed Chief Butler of England in 1521 and also served as a Member of Parliament, sheriff of Lincolnshire and steward to the Bishop of Lincoln. He served Henry VIII’s eldest daughter, Mary, as her chamberlain and his second wife, Anne, was one of Mary’s ladies. Anne actually ended up in the Tower of London for a short time after referring to Mary as “Princess” rather than “Lady” after Mary had become illegitimate by Act of Parliament.
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May 8 – English troops muster

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th May 1539, in the reign of King Henry VIII, English troops mustered between Whitechapel and Mile End and then marched through the City and Westminster to St James’s, where the king reviewed them.

This muster was in response to the war panic caused by Francis I and Charles V signing the Peace of Toledo.
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May 2 – Queen Anne Boleyn is arrested

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 2nd May 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, received a message informing her that members of the king’s council required her presence in the council chamber of Greenwich Palace. There, Anne was told that she was being accused of having sexual relations with musician Mark Smeaton, groom of the stool Henry Norris and an unnamed man. She was also told that Smeaton and Norris had confessed.

Anne denied the charges but the council ordered her arrest. Later that afternoon, after the tide had turned, she was rowed to the Tower of London. She was imprisoned in the queen’s apartments of the royal palace.

George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, Anne’s brother, was arrested on the same day and also taken to the Tower.
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