The Tudor Society

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  • 21 December – St Thomas, pies, charity and India

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    21st December in Tudor times was the Feast of St Thomas the Apostle, or Didymus or Doubting Thomas. The apostle who wouldn’t believe Christ had been resurrected until Christ appeared in front of him and he’d felt the nail wounds and the wound in his side.

    Thomas was known for his generosity, and in Tudor times, those in need would go “a-Thomasing”, collecting alms. But there are also other traditions associated with the feast day, such as pie-making. And did you know that Thomas also has links to India?

    Find out more about St Thomas, his story, his feast day and the traditions associated with him, in today’s talk.

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  • 20 December – Edward Arden, “victim of a grave iniquity” or conspirator?

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 20th December 1583, the day after his son-in-law, John Somerville, had been found dead in his cell, Warwickshire gentleman Edward Arden was hanged, drawn and quartered at Smithfield.

    Arden, who was related to William Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Arden, and married to a member of the Throckmorton family, had been found guilty of treason, after being implicated in Somerville’s plot to kill the queen.

    But was Arden actually guilty? Why didn’t others involved end up being executed too?

    Find out more about Edward Arden and what happened in 1583, in today’s talk.

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  • 18 December – Nicholas Harpsfield, the sorest and of least compassion

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 18th December 1575,in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, fifty-six-year-old historian, Catholic apologist, priest and former Archdeacon of Canterbury, Nicholas Harpsfield, died in London.

    Harpsfield and his brother, John, had been imprisoned since the early 1560s for refusing to swear the Oath of Supremacy, but had been released in 1574 on the grounds of ill-health.

    In Mary I’s reign, he had been involved in the persecutions of Protestants, and martyrologist John Foxe described him as “the sorest and of leaste compassion” of all the archdeacons involved.

    Find out more about his life, career and rise, his works, and his end, in today’s talk.

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  • John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester (1469-1535)

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    John Fisher was born in the town of Beverley in North Yorkshire and was the son of Robert Fisher who was a mercer of Beverley and his wife, Agnes. Although not a lot is known about the childhood of John Fisher, we do know that when John was eight years old, his father died and his mother married a man named William White. During his mother’s marriage to William White, she had five more children, and John appeared to maintain a close relationship with all of his siblings. It is believed that John was educated in the school attached to the church in Beverley, but we do not know for certain.

    Regardless of where he spent his early education, we know that in the 1480s Fisher went to the University of Cambridge where he graduated from his BA in 1488 and his MA in 1491. Fisher also became a fellow of Michaelhouse during his time at Cambridge and was ordained as a priest in 1491 in York, receiving papal dispensation for this as he was under the canonical age at the time. (Fisher also became the Vicar of Northallerton in North Yorkshire.

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  • 17 December – A promise made to Anne Boleyn

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 17th December 1559, fifty-five-year-old Matthew Parker was consecrated as Queen Elizabeth I’s Archbishop of Canterbury. It was an office which Parker did not want and would not have accepted if “he had not been so much bound to the mother”.

    What did he mean by that?

    Well, when he was Anne Boleyn’s chaplain in 1536, the queen had met with him just six days before her arrest and he made her a promise.

    Find out more about Matthew Parker, his life and that meeting with Anne Boleyn, in today’s talk:

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  • 16 December – A Grey man with Woodville links

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 16th (or possibly the 18th) December 1503, George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent, died at Ampthill, Bedfordshire.

    Grey served as a soldier under Henry VII, was on the king’s council, and served him as Constable of Northampton Castle and as a judge at the trial of Edward, Earl of Warwick in 1499.
    He was also married to a sister of Elizabeth Woodville.

    Grey also 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 in today’s talk.

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  • 15 December – Elizabeth I’s loyal servant dies of “sheer grief”

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 15th December, 1560, Comptroller of the Household to Elizabeth I and Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, Thomas Parry died. The Spanish ambassador claimed that Parry had died of “sheer grief”. He was buried at Westminster Abbey.

    Parry had served Elizabeth since 1547 and was a loyal servant and friend. So why did he die of grief?

    Find out more about Thomas Parry, his background, life, and why he was upset in 1560, in today’s talk.

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  • 14 December – Mary, Queen of Scots is queen!

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 14th December 1542, six-day-old Mary, daughter of King James V and his second wife, Marie de Guise, became Queen of Scotland – Mary, Queen of Scots.

    King James V, who had ruled since 1513, was just 30 at his death.

    Find out what happened to James V, and how Mary became queen at such a young age, in today’s talk.

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  • 9 December – A scary time for Queen Catherine Howard’s stepgrandmother

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 9th December 1541, sixty-four-year-old Agnes Tilney, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk and step-grandmother of Queen Catherine Howard, who was being detained at the Lord Chancellor’s home, was questioned regarding the location of her money and jewels.

    Why? What was all this about?

    Find out about this, why the dowager duchess ended up in the Tower, and what happened when she was indicted for misprision of treason, in today’s talk.

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  • 8 December – Anne Boleyn’s Master of the Horse

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 8th December 1538, courtier and Master of the Horse to Queens Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour, Sir William Coffin, died at Standon in Hertfordshire.

    It is thought that he died of the plague because his wife Margaret wrote to Thomas Cromwell saying that Coffin had “died of the great sickness, full of God’s marks all over his body”.

    Who was Sir William Coffin and what did the Master of the Horse do?

    Find out in today’s talk.

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  • 5 December – Mary Queen of Scots’ husband dies of an ear infection

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 5th December 1560, King Francis II of France, died at the age of just 15. Francis was King Consort of Scotland, as the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and his father had also proclaimed him and Mary as King and Queen of England back in 1558!

    He was taken ill in mid-November with what appears to have been an ear infection, and it led to him dying on this day in history. His death led to Mary, Queen of Scots, returning to her homeland of Scotland, a country she hadn’t seen for 13 years.

    Find out more about Francis II of France, his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, his death and what happened next, in today’s talk.

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  • 4 December – Murder made to look like suicide!

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 4th December 1514, merchant tailor and leading member of the Lollard community in London, Richard Hunne died while imprisoned in the Lollard’s Tower at St Paul’s.

    Hunne, who had been arrested for heresy in October 1514, was discovered hanging from the ceiling of his cell. The Bishop of London and his chancellor claimed that Hunne had used his own silk girdle to commit suicide, but a coroner’s inquest ruled that the hanging was faked and that Hunne was murdered.

    But why was Richard Hunne murdered? And why had this merchant tailor been arrested in the first place? Was it just for heresy, or was there more to it?

    Find out all about Hunne, his arrest, the charges against him, his death and what happened next, in today’s talk.

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  • 3 December – Roger North, a man close to Robert Dudley and Queen Elizabeth I

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 3rd December 1600, sixty-nine-year-old peer and politician Roger North, 2nd Baron North, died at his London home.

    North was a good friend of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, accompanying him on trips, witnessing his secret marriage and serving with him in the Netherlands. It was even said that he’d converted Leicester to Puritanism! North also served Elizabeth I as Privy Councillor and Treasurer of the Household and was close to the queen.

    Find out more about Leicester’s good friend Roger North, his life and career, in today’s talk.

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  • 2 December – Elizabeth I relents and agrees to execute Mary, Queen of Scots

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 2nd December 1586, following a joint petition from the Houses of Lords and Commons, Elizabeth I finally agreed to a public proclamation of sentence against Mary, Queen of Scots: death.

    Mary had been found guilty of high treason back in October 1586, but Elizabeth had not wanted to contemplate regicide. However, Parliament believed that if Mary, Queen of Scots, was not executed, that she’d continue to plot against Elizabeth and would utterly “ruinate and overthrow the happy State and Common Weal of this most Noble Realm”. She was too much of a danger and needed dealing with once and for all.

    Find out what Parliament said and what happened next in today’s talk.

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  • 1 December – A Catholic priest is tortured then executed

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 1st December 1581, twenty-five-year-old Roman Catholic priest Alexander Briant was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, along with Ralph Sherwin and Edmund Campion.

    Briant had been imprisoned, starved, racked and tortured in other awful ways, but he claimed that he felt no pain due to God’s help. He refused to give his interrogators the information he wanted, and he was tried for treason and suffered a full traitor’s death.

    In today’s talk, I share Alexander Briant’s story, what led to his arrest, his account of what happened when he was tortured and his fellow prisoner’s account of what was done to him.

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  • 30 November – Elizabeth I’s Golden Speech brings men to tears

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 30th November 1601, sixty-eight-year-old Queen Elizabeth I delivered her famous Golden Speech to the House of Commons.

    In this final speech to Parliament, Elizabeth spoke of her position as Queen and her love and respect for her realm, her people, and for her members of Parliament. It was a speech that brought many of those listening to tears. It was obviously a very heartfelt speech by a queen who truly loved her people.

    In today’s talk, I share Elizabeth I’s Golden Speech, along with some beautiful portraits of the queen.

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  • 28 November – A drowned agent carrying gold for Mary, Queen of Scots

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 28th November 1565, member of Parliament and political agent Francis Yaxley set sail for Scotland from Antwerp. Sadly, Yaxley’s ship was wrecked in a storm and he never reached Scotland, and neither did the gold he was carrying to Mary, Queen of Scots.

    But why was he carrying gold and who was it from? What happened to the gold? Find out all about Yaxley, how he came to be travelling from Antwerp to Scotland, and what happened to him and the gold, in today’s talk.

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  • 27 November – Former monk burnt at stake for importing books

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 27th November 1531, former Benedictine monk and reformist, Richard Bayfield, was burnt at the stake at Smithfield for heresy after Sir Thomas More had caught him importing heretical books into England.

    It wasn’t Bayfield’s first brush with the authorities. He’d been in trouble for heresy previously so was now deemed a “relapsed heretic”. This time, penance wasn’t enough, he was condemned to death.

    Find out more about Richard Bayfield, how he went from being a monk to a reformer, and how he ended up at the stake as a Protestant martyr. I also share John Foxe’s account of Bayfield’s burning.

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  • 26 November – The first men executed under Elizabeth I’s new law

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 26th November 1585, Catholic priest Hugh Taylor and his friend Marmaduke Bowes were hanged at York.

    They were the first men executed under Elizabeth I’s 1585 statute which made it treason to be a Jesuit or seminary priest in England or to harbour such a priest.

    These two Catholics were beatified in 1987 by Pope John Paul II as two of the 85 Martyrs of England, Scotland and Wales.

    Find out more about these men and what this 1585 legislation was all about in today’s talk.

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  • 22 November – Explorer Sir Martin Frobisher dies of gangrene

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 22nd November 1594, naval commander, privateer and explorer, Sir Martin Frobisher, died at Plymouth. He died of gangrene after having been shot in the thigh during hand-to-hand combat during a siege.

    Frobisher is best known for his three voyages in search of the Northwest Passage and his naval service during the 1588 Spanish Armada, for which he was knighted.

    Find out all about the life and career of this Tudor explorer in today’s talk.

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  • November 21 – John Bale, a churchman and playwright who courted controversy

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 21st November 1495, churchman, Protestant playwright, historian and Bishop of Ossory, John Bale was born in Suffolk.

    Bale wrote twenty-four plays, and a book on famous British writers, which is his most well-known work. His work on Protestant martyrs was also used by the famous martyrologist John Foxe.

    John Bale also courted controversy with his attacks on Catholics, and he spent a fair amount of time in exile.

    Find out all about this accomplished Tudor man in today’s talk.

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  • 20 November – Elizabeth I’s godson and his flush toilet

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in history, 20th November 1612, in the reign of King James I, courtier and author Sir John Harington died.

    Why am I talking about a man who died in the Stuart period?

    Well, because he was Queen Elizabeth I’s godson and because during her reign he invented the Ajax, or “jakes”, England’s first flush toilet.

    Find out more about Sir John Harington and his flush toilet invention in today’s talk.

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  • 19 November – Lord John Grey and how he escaped the axeman

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 19th November 1564, Lord John Grey, youngest son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, died.

    He’s not the Lord John Grey of the wonderful Outlander series, but he is just as interesting.

    In Mary I’s reign, he was involved in a rebellion with his brothers, Lord Thomas Grey and Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, but unlike them was not executed.

    How did Lord John Grey escape execution? And why did he get into trouble again in Elizabeth I’s reign.

    Find out all about this Tudor lord in today’s talk.

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  • 18 November – A bishop ends his days in confinement

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 18th November 1559, Ralph Baynes (Baines), Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, died.

    Baynes had been actively involved in the persecutions of Protestants in Mary I’s reign, examining many well-known martyrs and featuring in John Foxe’s “Book of Martyrs”, but ended his days imprisoned in the home of Edmund Grindal, Bishop of London – why?

    Find out more about Ralph Baynes, his life and career, and how he came to be deprived of his bishopric and die the way he did, in today’s talk.

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  • 13 November – Murder by handgun in London

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 13th November 1536, mercer and member of Parliament Robert Packington (Pakington, Pakyngton) was shot to death by an unknown assailant while he was on his way to mass at St Thomas of Acre Chapel. He was shot with a wheellock pistol.

    Robert Packington has gone down in history as the first person in England to be killed by a handgun, but who killed him and why?

    Find out about Packington, his murder, and the theories regarding who ordered his murder, in today’s talk.

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  • 12 November – Wily Winchester

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 12th November 1555, Mary I’s Lord Chancellor, Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, died. He was laid to rest at Winchester Cathedral in what is now known as the Bishop Gardiner Chantry Chapel.

    In today’s talk, I tell you about the life and career of “Wily Winchester”, a man who went from being a valued advisor to being imprisoned, and then got back into favour, crowned a queen and became Lord Chancellor! He led quite a life!

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  • 11 November – A stressed George Boleyn, Lord Rochford

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 11th November 1534, Philippe de Chabot, Seigneur De Brion and Admiral of France, landed on English soil. The purpose of the diplomatic mission he was leading was to renew Anglo-French relations.

    George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, brother of Queen Anne Boleyn, had been put in charge of meeting the admiral and escorting him on his journey from the south coast to London, but it was no easy task. The admiral did not make things easy at all, and George was rather stressed about the situation.

    Find out what happened, and how and why the ambassador’s visit was bad news all round for the Boleyns, in today’s talk.

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  • 9 November – The Northern Rebellion against Elizabeth I

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    This day in Tudor history, 9th November 1569, is the traditional date given for the start of the only major armed rebellion of Elizabeth I’s reign. It’s known as The Northern Rebellion or Rising of the North or Revolt of the Northern Earls.

    Northern earls Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland and Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland, led this uprising against Elizabeth I, seeking to depose her, replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots, and restore Catholicism.

    But what happened?

    Find out about the 1569 Northern Rebellion and the fate of the Northern Earls in today’s talk.

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  • 7 November – Richard III and his supporters are attainted

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 7th November 1485, Henry VII’s first parliament attainted King Richard III and his supporters.

    As well as Richard, who was referred to as Richard, late Duke of Gloucester, and a usurper, the list of those attainted for their treason in fighting against the king at Bosworth included the late John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, and his son, the Earl of Surrey.

    Find out who else was included and whether Parliament’s actions were unusual, in today’s talk.

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  • 6 November – Catherine of Aragon meets Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 6th November 1501, Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, met her betrothed, Arthur, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King Henry VII, at Dogmersfield in Hampshire.

    The couple were actually already married by proxy, but had never met, and Catherine had only just arrived in England.

    Find out more about the lead-up to Catherine of Aragon and Arthur Tudor’s meeting on 6th November 1501, including Catherine’s journey from Spain to England, how their meeting went and what happened next, in today’s talk.

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