EDWARD V - HIS LIFE PRIOR TO JUNE 1483

‘He had such dignity in his whole person and in his countenance such charm that, however much they might feast their eyes he never sated the gaze of observers’.  Domenico Mancini Edward V from the window at Coldridge Church, Devon.  Despite the late historian Professor Helen Maud Cam opining rather harshly “I just do not understand how people can become so upset over the fate of a couple of…

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THE GELDERLAND DOCUMENT - 'PROOF OF LIFE OF RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK'* ALIAS PERKIN WARBECK

*This is the title of a chapter from The Princes in the Tower by Philippa Langley.  Without the aid of this invaluable book I would never have been able to write this post… The Gelderland Document is a unique, tantalising and quite astonishing document that was discovered back in the 1950s in the Gelderland Archives situated in the Netherlands.   It was sent by  Mr P J Mey, The Master of the…

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SIR ROBERT BRACKENBURY ‘...gentle Brakenbery...'*

The last charge of King Richard III.   It is possible that it was during this charge that Sir Robert Brackenbury fell, alongside his king. Painting by  artist Graham Turner   ********** ‘Of all Richard III’s Northern Lieutenants few were more closely associated with the defence of his crown and his realm than was Robert Brakenbury. None rose from more modest beginnings — and none has come down to…

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THE ELEANOR CROSSES - TWELVE OR FIFTEEN?

‘The Passing of Eleanor’ –  artist’s impression of the funeral cortège of Eleanor of Castile watched over by her grieving husband, Edward I.  Artist Frank Salisbury, 1910 (1). ‘Pray for our consort, who in life, we loved dearly, and, dead, we do not cease to love….’ Edward Ist in a letter to the Abbot of Cluny, France,  4 January 1291…. Queen Eleanor (birth name Leonor de Castilla) died on…

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REVEALING RICHARD - AN APPRAISAL BY PHILIPPA LANGLEY MBE

The two princes as shown on the jacket of Philippa Langley’s book ‘The Princes in the Tower’. Here is a link to Philippa Langley’s blog – Revealing Richard III –    with an up to date appraisal of the investigations so far led by Philippa aided and abetted by her team of researchers.  Bravo!  Many of you reading this will no doubt have heard the podcast, followed by the documentary and hopefully…

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PLANTAGENET FAMILY LIKENESSES: RICHARD OF YORK AND HIS GRANDSON EDWARD V or DID THE APPLE NOT FALL FAR FROM THE TREE?

Richard duke of York. Wigmore Abbey Chronicle and Brut Chronicle.  Special Collections Research Centre, University of Chicago Library.  As an ardent and unwavering follower of the ‘Coldridge Theory’  – see my earlier posts here and  here  – I was absolutely delighted to come across this article by historian Dr J L Laynesmith published on the Richard III Society Research blog.    Dr Laynesmith has…

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THE RISE AND FALL OF WILLIAM, LORD HASTINGS AND HIS CASTLE OF KIRKBY MUXLOE

Kirby Muxloe Castle at sunset.  Unfinished – the builders laid their tools down on hearing about the execution of William, Lord Hastings.   Photo with thanks to crazyaboutcastles.com Kirby Muxloe Castle lies in a ruinous state in the Leicestershire countryside, the unfinished project of William, Lord Hastings.  Hastings was the epitome of a successful and powerful  15th century lord but as with…

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THOMAS GREY MARQUESS OF DORSET - MEDIOCRE AND SHIFTY OR GOOD AND PRUDENT MAN?

Arms of Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset (c.1455-1501). Wikipdia. Well, well, well.  What can I say about Thomas Grey Marquess of Dorset (c. 1455–1501)?  A member of the voracious Wydeville/Woodville family he lived through the tumult of the Wars of the Roses, at one time ending up in a bit of a pickle after managing to irk a  suspicious Henry VII and for which he spent some time in Tower of…

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ANNE ST LEGER, BARONESS de ROS - NIECE TO EDWARD IV AND RICHARD III

Tomb of Anne St Leger and George Manners, 11th Baron de Ros of Helmsley.  Note the brass plaque in the background dedicated to her parents, Anne of York and Sir Thomas St Leger.  Photo with thanks to humphreysfamilytree.com ‘Here lyethe buryede George Maners knyght lord roos who decesede/ the xxiii daye of October In the yere of our lorde god Mi Vc xiii and ladye Anne his wyfe dawghter of anne…

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ANNE OF YORK - DUCHESS OF EXETER - SISTER OF KINGS

Wythin thys Chappell lyethe beryed Anne Duchess of Exetur suster unto the noble kyng Edward the forte. And also the body of syr Thomas Sellynger knyght her husband which hathe funde within thys College a Chauntre with too prestys sy’gyng for eu’more. On whose soule god haue mercy. The wych Anne duchess dyed in the yere of oure lorde M Thowsande CCCCl xxv.  Anne Duchess of Exeter and Sir Thomas St…

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The Links That Bind - Reappraisals - Richard III, Edward V, the Herald’s Memoir, Coldridge/John Evans, Sir Henry Bodrugan, Thomas Grey and Gleaston Castle.

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CECILIA BONVILLE, MARCHIONESS OF DORSET - AN INTERESTING LIFE

The ruins of Astley Castle, Warwickshire. Think fortified manor house more than rugged castle.  One of the homes of Cecilia Bonville and her husband Thomas Grey.   The house came to the Grey family via marriage to a member of the Astley family c.1415. They both lie buried in the nearby church of St Mary the Virgin, Astley.  The church was built in 1343 by by Sir Thomas Astley. photo William Small…

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THE CRYSTAL SCEPTRE - A GIFT FROM HENRY V TO THE CITY OF LONDON

The Crystal Sceptre.  Given by a grateful King Henry V to the City of London in recognition of the financial aid given towards the Battle of Agincourt. Photo The Lord Mayor of London @Twitter. Some of the eagle eyed amongst you who recently watched the coronation of Charles III may have spotted a very special piece of regalia that was being carried not by the king but by the Lord Mayor of London.…

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Marriage in Medieval London And Extricating Oneself Only You Couldn't...

Artist’s impression of a medieval wedding being solemnised. ‘Frieze of a Medieval Wedding’.  Artist Thomas Stothard (1755-1835) Yale Centre for British Art. I have,  in my most recent meanderings,  meandered quite a bit.  Of late I’ve meandered from the Plague Pits of London 1665 to  Gleaston Castle, rendezvous point for the 1487 Yorkist Rebels,  to Medieval Doggies and from there to Love and…

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GLEASTON CASTLE - RENDEZVOUS FOR THE YORKIST REBELS IN 1487?

Gleaston Castle today.  Entrance to south west tower.  Photo Chloe Grainger @castlestudiestrust.org Some of you reading this may be familiar with other posts I have written concerning what I call the Coldridge theory.   For those of you who are not familiar with the theory here is a brief résumé.  A number of clues in Coldridge church, Devon have led to a theory that Edward V was sent to…

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THE GREAT PLAGUE AND PLAGUE PITS OF LONDON 1665

‘THE GREAT PLAGUE – SCENES FROM THE STREETS OF LONDON’.  FROM CASSELL’S HISTORY OF ENGLAND VOL.III (1905) ‘May 29th 1666.  Spent on the City Marshall at ye shutting up of a visited house . . Is.0d.’ Plague had always stalked England throughout the centuries with regular outbreaks such as the one known as the Black Death in the 14th century which brought death on such a scale that whole villages…

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