Meandering Through Time
  • Home
  • My Family Stories
    • Bustaine of Braunton: Introduction
    • Hunt of Barnstaple Introduction >
      • Christopher Hunt >
        • Edward Hunt >
          • Richard Hunt >
            • Richard Hunt
            • Mary Hunt
    • Lakeman of Mevagissey >
      • Peter Lakeman c1698-1740
    • Meavy Introduction >
      • 6th to 9th Century Meavy >
        • Meavy Pre Conquest >
          • 1066 and Life in Domesday England >
            • Domesday and 13th Century Charters >
              • The Anarchy >
                • Walter, Wido and William Meavy >
                  • The Beginnings of a New Era
    • Mitchell of Crantock: An Introduction >
      • William Mitchell of Crantock >
        • Samuel Mitchell of Crantock >
          • Edith Mitchell >
            • Epilogue: Lescliston Farm
    • Mohun of Dunster: Introduction >
      • William Mohun c1050 - c1111 >
        • William Mohun c1100 - c1143 >
          • William Mohun - 1176 >
            • William - 1193 >
              • Reynold Mohun c1183 - 1213
              • Reynold Mohun c1210 -1257 >
                • Alice Mohun
    • Purches of Hampshire and Cornwall >
      • Samuel Purches 1733 - 1804 >
        • Samuel Purches 1766 - >
          • William Samuel Purches 1803 - 1861 >
            • Henry James Purches
    • Scoboryo of St Columb Major >
      • James and Joan Scoboryo 1640 - 1686
    • Thomas Vaughan: An Introduction >
      • Chapter One: Monmouthshire, Wales.
      • Chapter Two: The Beaufort Patronage
      • ​Chapter Three: Out With the Old
      • Chapter Four: Kentish Connections and Opportunities >
        • Chapter Five: Getting Personal
        • Chapter Six: ​The Children of Thomas Vaughan
        • Chapter Seven: Moving on
        • ​Chapter Eight: At Ludlow
        • Chapter Nine: The Arrest
        • Chapter Ten: Three Castles
        • Chapter Eleven: The Beginning of the End
        • Chapter Twelve: A Death Deserved ?
    • Smith of Barkby Introduction >
      • Susanna Smith
    • Taylor Introduction >
      • Joseph Taylor >
        • John Henry Taylor
    • Tosny of Normandy >
      • Godehute de Tosny
    • Toon of Leicestershire: Introduction >
      • John Toon 1799 -
      • Thomas Toon 1827 - 1874
    • Underwood of Coleorton Introduction
  • Other Families
  • History Blog
  • Wars of the Roses Blog
  • The Ancestors
  • A to E
  • F to J
  • K to O
  • P to T
  • U to Z
  • Hendley of Coursehorne Kent
    • 5th to 12th Century Hendleys >
      • Gervais Hendley 1302 - c1344 >
        • Thomas Hendley >
          • Grevais Hendley c 1471 - 1534 >
            • Walter Hendley >
              • Elizabeth Hendley >
                • Ellen Hendley 1521- 1560 >
                  • Anne Hendley 1523 - >
                    • Other Hendleys
  • Pigott Family of Whaddon Buckinghamshire
  • Links
  • Contact

King Richard III After Bosworth

22/8/2017

0 Comments

 
As Henry Tudor arrived at Crown Hill in the village of Stoke Golding he left the bodies of the dead and dying of both sides on the battle field of Bosworth but not Richard's. The mortal remains of the last monarch to be killed in battle was brought back to city of Leicester, crossing Bow Bridge as he had on his journey the day before. The kings naked and mutilated body was taken through Newark Gateway into the precinct of the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary where it lay for two days to prove to the country that he was dead.

A description of this states

         “they browght kynge Richard thethar that nyght, as naked as evar he was borne, and in the New Warke was he layd,                                                                                      that many a man might see”.

Historians tell us that this was not an act of vindictiveness by Henry Tudor, it was an attempt to quash all rumours that the crowned monarch could still be alive somewhere and might return to claim his throne.

The Church of the Annunciation contained the tombs of some of Tudor´s ancestors, therefore it would be inappropriate the Richards body lay there too. On Henry orders Richard's body was removed by the Franciscan friars of Leicester and given a simple Christian burial in the choir of their church where he lay until September 2012.

King Richard III's story, within the context of Leicester, came to an end in March of 2015 when he was finally be laid to rest in the city's Cathedral.

In my images from a trip to Leicester we can see the spot where Sir Reynold Bray is thought to have found Richard's crown, Newark Gate, under which Richard III body was brought from Bosworth and the Church of the Annunciation (images five and six) would have been on the left of image five.
0 Comments

Henry  Earl of Leicester and Lancaster

22/9/2016

0 Comments

 
The 22nd of September 1345, saw the death of Henry, Earl of Leicester and Lancaster. Henry was the grandson of Henry III and the son Edmund Crouchback by his second wife Blanche of Artois. 

Henry may have suffered from a condition known as Torticollis, where the muscles of the neck cause the head to twist to  one side leading him to be nick-named Wryneck, the same name as a bird who can turn its head almost 180 degrees. ​
Picture
Seal of Henry of Lancaster from the Barons' Letter 1301,
In 1310, Henry was one of the Lords Ordainers, a body of twenty one men chosen to oppose King Edward II and force him to make changes to both his household and his kingdom. The nobles of the realm had become discontent with Edward and his reliance on favourites such as Piers Gaveston. Henry's brother Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, whose title Henry would later receive, was involved in another rebellion against King Edward in 1321, he was executed at Pontefract Castle in 1322. Henry received, along with the title, his brothers lands.
In 1330, at the age of fifty-nine, Henry became blind and spent the remainder of his life at Leicester Castle. It maybe due to his own medical afflictions and the reliance on his son and others that in 1331 he founded an infirmary for the poor of the City of Leicester. 
The infirmary, known today as Trinity Hospital, was built as an extension of the castle bailey. It was here at Leicester Castle that Henry died in 1345 and where he was buried. 
Picture
Henry's remains were later reinterred by his son, Henry of Grosmont, in his newly built Collegiate Church of the Annunciation 
of Our Lady of the Newarke. ​If you remember, it was in this very church that the body of King Richard III would lay on show before being thrown into his grave at Grey Friars.
0 Comments

Richard III At Leicester Castle

16/4/2016

0 Comments

 

  18th August 1483

Picture
 On the 18th August 1483 and just a few weeks after being crown king of England, Richard III stayed at Leicester Castle, a Norman creation being built just after the conquest of England.

In a letter dated that same day Richard writes: 

“According to the right of the said truces. Upon which matter, in order that my said subjects and merchants be not deceived under the shadow of the same. I pray you that by my servant, this bearer, one of the grooms of my stable, you will let me know by writing your full intention, and at the same time if you desire anything that I can do for you, that I may do it with good will. And farewell, my lord my cousin."

Ending the letter he wrote 

"Written in my castle of Leicester, the 18th day of August 1483”
​
The image above show part of the remains of Leicester Castle wall, along with cannon ball holes from the time of the civil wars taken on a trip to Leicester earlier this year. A seventeenth century building, with its bricked entrance conceals the twelfth century structure that Richard III would have known. The Great Hall, was built three hundred years before and was a large open space with timber aisle posts, sadly nothing of this can be seen. Standing next to the Great Hall is a vaulted cellar known as John of Gaunt´s cellar, seen below, it is believed that Parliament met here in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Apart from a visit from Richard III, the hall had received other royal guests such as Edward I, Edward II and Henry IV.
Picture
0 Comments

Richard III: A Day of Dynasty, Death and Discovery at the Visitors Centre and the clever use of Light.

16/4/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
King Richard III is known to have stayed at Leicester Castle in 1483, he arrived just a few weeks after being crowned King of England. On the 18th of August, Richard III arrived in the City of Leicester and exactly 531 years to the day, I arrived there too.
 
Parking our car on the second level of a multi story car park, we could look down on all the continuing building work and see the spire of the Cathedral Church of St Martin in the distance. Walking through the newly paved streets we found ourselves in the grounds of St Martins, and standing with our backs to the cathedrals arched entrance we could see Richard III's statue, recently taken from Castle Gardens, standing in front of the entrance to the new visitors centre. This is what we had come back to Leicester to see following a day spent at the re enactment of the Battle of Bosworth the day before. We arrived at our pre booked time slot refreshed and eager.

 I was amazed how tasteful this new build is and how the glass and the brass effect complemented the red brick buildings of the Grammar School on its left and the buildings that make up St Martins on its right.  The entrance is large and airy and incorporates the gift shop where you can purchase all the books you will ever need if you wish study the life of king himself. There are a few gift items, and I emphasise the word few, such as mugs, key rings, pencils etc all the things that you usually find in any exhibition and it is nice to see that there is no 'tat' or cheap plastic rubbish aimed at children.
Picture
The exhibition is called Dynasty, Death and Discovery and it truly lives up to its name, anyone who doesn't know anything King Richard will understand the basics by the time they leave. As I am familiar with Richards story I found that I could wander around and enjoy the experience rather than spend too much time reading all the very informative, well presented, exhibits and displays. I will not tell you too much about them and spoil your enjoyment, but they cover Richards life, the archaeological dig, and there is a nice exhibit covering all the actors who have played Richard in film or television.

Although we were two among many I never felt rushed or that I should move along onto the next section. The whole place has a calmness and serene feel to it especially Richard's grave area, which I thought was cleverly lit with natural light, it is sensitively presented. Quite rightly, you cannot stand on or walk over the kings grave, but what you can do is look down and reflect on his death and his life with respect, or sit and chat to others on seating that is a little further back. ​
Picture
For those who have been mean and uttered nasty and uncalled for remarks about this exhibition with statements such as 

               "Absolutely ghastly – words fail me. What a way to treat an anointed King of England" 

they should be ashamed of themselves, especially if they have never visited. 

Look at my two photograph and consider the fact that the people behind this exhibition have had Richard's own words, the words he himself wrote in his Book of Hours carved in stone above his grave. These people should be commended not criticised, 

 "Lord Jesus Christ, deign to free me, your servant King Richard, from every tribulation, sorrow and trouble in which I am placed."  ​
Picture
The Richard III exhibition is not your normal medieval exhibition, there are no old objects from the past, no ripped or faded tapestries, no musty smells of age, it is a modern, highly technical, interactive interpretation of a dynasty, a death and a discovery that I thoroughly enjoyed, especially as I had forgotten all about the reconstruction of Richards skull until it suddenly appeared from behind a clearing opaque glass screen right in front of me!  ​
Picture
I am greatly impressed by the thought that has gone into this build, an old bay window has been replaced with a large glass balcony where you can stand and look out over a garden and the brick wall that once separated the now famous car park from the Grammar School. This wall has now been rebuilt in sandstone which blends in well with the glass walls and ceilings of the building. ​
Picture
I had a enjoyable and relaxed couple of hours topped off with a rather nice cup of tea and a slice of cake in the cafe and would give the exhibition four out of five stars only because there were a couple of things that could be improved.........no not improved, tweaked. The writing on the wall above Richards grave is difficult to read, maybe the letters could be in gold, so they stand out more, the area covering the Battle of Bosworth could be a little bit lighter and some audio exhibits are a bit difficult to hear, but that's about it.

 My money and time was well spent.

Leicester's exhibition The Story of King Richard III: Dynasty, Death and Discovery is of course about looking back, but also has a great emphasis on looking forward and this is cleverly done, and not necessarily though its interpretation of Richards story, but through its modern, airy architectural designed building that places Richard III and his future story in a completely new light
0 Comments

The Battle of Bosworth, Richard III and the Leicester Dig

16/4/2016

0 Comments

 
The Children's Book of Richard III
Picture
Battle of Bosworth
 Prints   http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AlicePovey
Picture

​In 2015 my daughter Alice illustrated a children's book by Leicester author Rosalind Adam entitled 
The Children's Book of Richard III. Alice sells prints from the book, one is of the Battle of Bosworth, one of King Richard himself and another of the Leicester dig, these lovely images are here for you all to see and a link to her shop if any of you are interested in purchasing one of them.
Picture
I am lucky enough to have the original painting of the battle :)
I hope you all enjoy looking at them. 

Alice has a website too, you can see some of her other work and take a peek inside her studio. 
​
Picture
0 Comments

Richard III The Road to Bosworth

15/4/2016

0 Comments

 
​​Richard III The Road to Bosworth 20th August 1485
Picture
It has been said that Richard III spent his last evening in an inn at Leicester known as The Blue Boar, although why the king chose to stay at a local hostelry rather than the cities castle is unknown. As was the norm for medieval royalty, Richard brought his own bed, supposedly stating it was because he “slept ill in strange beds.” The room in which he stayed was described as a “large gloomy chamber.” ​
Picture
The following morning, the 21st of August, Richard set off for Bosworth but after the battle of had gone the way of the Lancastrians the inn keeper of the Blue Boar supposedly had the quickness of mind to rename the inn. What was the White Boar became the Blue Boar for obvious reasons.

Of the inn today nothing remains, fortunately there are plans still in existence so we know what the inn looked like as it once stood on Leicesters High Street in 1485. The site on which the inn now stands is a modern Travel Lodge, where visitors have been known to ask to spend the night in the room in which the king slept. ​
Picture
Two of the images you see here are of the inn as Richard would have seen it. The first is 'Richards room' taken from the nineteenth century notebook in which the above mentioned plans were found, the second, an 1850 representation of the Blue Boar, and the last standing on the site of the original site is the new hotel.

The architectures gone downhill a bit don't you think?
0 Comments

Battle of Bosworth Sand Sculptures

20/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
The late fourteenth century saw the widespread use of plate armour, this meant that swords changed from a slashing and chopping weapon, to a sword with a sharply pointed blade.

The medieval soldier would have been much practiced at hand to hand combat, he would have known where exactly to place his sword, as seen in the sculpture, for maximum effect. These vulnerable areas were the groin, armpit and the throat, a place uncovered for flexibility
.
The halberd and the poleaxe were also popular, by the fifteenth century the broad axe, a weapon a bit like the Viking axe, were being used too.

All these weapons could be used in a different way against plate armour, to cut through, punch through, or crush the poor medieval soldier.

The lance, as seen here being used by the mounted soldier, were not exactly like the lances used in jousting, they were more like spears, they were long and made to be used with one hand, and of course the ends were sharpened to a point.
Interesting, and I learnt this yesterday, a lance also refers to a unit of soldiers, who would surround a nobleman as he went into battle. The Lance was usually made up of squires, other mounted soldiers and of course the knight himself.

Here's another photograph I took yesterday when we visited the Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester. 

http://www.kriii.com/

Picture
0 Comments

Richard III: The end of 2013 and I am are still waiting.

27/12/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
This time last year I was waiting in eager anticipation for the results of the tests on the human remains found at Grey Friars
in Leicester. A huge shout could be heard in my street when it was announced that the remains were indeed that of King Richard III. A year on I feel as a child does when someone has deliberately burst their balloon. We are still waiting, and why? Because someone has thrown the proverbial spanner in the works and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I am disheartened, saddened and not a little bit angry, for at this point in time we should be looking forward to the summer of
2014 and the re internment of the king remains, instead we are waiting on a government review. 
Sadly, the kings real story
has been lost among discussion and vast amounts of writings on the subject of the unfolding legal case. Some may say
​'What a utter waste of time and tax payers money' and who can blame them when all they hear are words like consultation, defendants and adjournments. 

The end of King Richards story, if we are not careful, will end up just like the final scene from the Truman show with an audience are looking for something else to watch.


​
Picture
So to keep Richard III's discovery and his life story alive in our minds until his re internment when we can see and hear it afresh here is a link to and English Heritage event entitled Who was the Real Richard III? ​
0 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    1420
    1450
    1461
    1471
    14th Century
    15th Century
    16th Century
    19th Century
    Acts Statutes And Treaties
    Adam Moleyns
    Alice De La Pole
    Alice Montacute
    Andrew Trollope
    Anjou
    Anne Beauchamp
    Anne Mortimer
    Anne Neville
    Anthony Woodville
    April
    Aristrocracy And Nobility
    Art
    Audley Family
    August
    Baron Sutton
    Battle Of Barnet
    Battle Of Blore Heath
    Battle Of Bosworth
    Battle Of Bramham Moor
    Battle Of Edgecote
    Battle Of Edington
    Battle Of Ferrybridge
    Battle Of Hedgeley Moor
    Battle Of Losecoat Field
    Battle Of Ludford Bridge
    Battle Of Mortimer's Cross
    Battle Of Shewsbury
    Battle Of St Albans 1455
    Battle Of St Albans 1461
    Battle Of Stoke
    Battle Of Tewkesbury
    Battle Of Towton
    Battle Of Wakefield
    Beaumont Family
    Berwick On Tweed
    Boston
    Bosworth Field
    Bredwardine Family
    Burgundian Wars
    Cadaver Tomb
    Calais
    Castles
    Cathedrals And Churches
    Catherine Of Valois
    Cecily Neville
    Charles The Bold
    Christmas
    Crowland Abbey
    Crowland Cronicles
    December
    De La Pole Family
    Despencer Family
    De Vere Family
    Dublin
    Duchess Of Burgundy
    Duchess Of Suffolk
    Duke Of York
    Earl Of Devon
    Earl Of Salisbury
    Edmund Beaufort Duke Of Somerset
    Edmund Earl Of Rutland
    Edmund Tudor
    Edward Earl Of Warwick
    Edward III
    Edward IV
    Edward Of Lancaster
    Edward Of Middleham
    Edward The Black Prince
    Edward V
    Elizabeth
    Elizabeth I
    Elizabeth Of York
    Elizabeth Woodville
    Execution Of Nobles
    February
    Food
    France
    Francis Lovell
    Gainsborough Hall
    Geoffrey Chaucer
    George Duke Of Clarence
    God
    Hampshire
    Henry Earl Of Lancester
    Henry Percy
    Henry Tudor
    Henry V
    Henry VI
    Henry VII
    Henry VIII
    Hereford
    Humphrey Duke Of Gloucester
    Humphrey Stafford
    Isabella Of Burgundy
    Isabel Neville
    Isabel Of Bourbon
    Jack Cade
    James I Of England
    James Tuchet
    January
    Jasper Tudor
    John Beaufort
    John Clifford
    John De La Pole
    John De Vere
    John Duke Of Bedford
    John Fiennes
    John Grey Of Groby
    John Leland
    John Morton
    John Of Gaunt
    John Sutton
    John Tuchet
    July
    June
    Katherine (daug Of Richard III)
    Lambart Simnel
    Lancaster
    Leicester
    Lincolnshire
    Lionel Of Antwerp
    Literature
    Lord Audley
    Louis XI
    Ludlow
    March
    Margaret Beauchamp
    Margaret Beaufort
    Margaret Of Anjou
    Margaret Of York
    Mary Of Guelders
    Mary Of Guise
    May
    Medicine
    Medieval Castles
    Medieval Music
    Medieval Warfare
    Micklegate Bar
    Mohun Family
    Mortimer Cross
    Neville Family
    Normandy
    Northamptonshire
    Nostell Priory
    Nottinghamshire
    November
    October
    On This Day
    Owen Glyndwr
    Owen Tudor
    Parhelion
    Parliament
    Percy Family
    Philippe De Commynes
    Phillippe Pot
    Plantagenet
    Pontifract
    Prince Of Wales
    Princes
    Princes In The Tower
    Princesses
    Propaganda
    Ralph And Edward Shaa
    Ravenspur
    Readeption Of Henry VI
    Rebellion
    Re Enactments
    Revenge
    Rhys Ap Thomas
    Richard Duke Of York
    Richard Herbert
    Richard II
    Richard III
    Richard Neville
    Richard Neville (The King Maker)
    Richard Of Conisbrough
    Richard Of Eastwell
    Richard Of Shrewsbury
    Road To Bosworth: Henry Of Richmond
    Robin Of Redesdale
    Roger Vaughan
    Rowland Lockey
    Rutland
    Sandal Castle
    Sand Sculptures
    Saxton
    Scarborough
    Second Battle Of St Albans
    September
    Shakespeare
    Skirbeck
    Statutes And Treaties
    St Paul's Cross London
    Sufflok
    Tattershall
    Tattershall Collage
    Tewkesbury Abbey
    The Arrivall
    The Beaufort Family
    The Black Death
    The Black Prince
    The Blue Boar Inn
    The Browne Family
    The De La Pole Family
    The Hollow Crown
    The King Maker
    The Legendary Ten Seconds
    The-road-to-bosworth-richard-iii
    The-road-to-bosworth-richard-iii
    The Tudors
    The Wakefield Tower
    The Woodville Family
    Thomas Browne
    Thomas Burgh
    Thomas Clifford
    Thomas Earl Of Lancaster
    Thomas More
    Thomas Percy
    Thomas Stanley
    Thomas Vaughan
    Tilney Family
    Tower Of London
    Towton 25
    Transie Tomb
    Treaties
    Tudor
    Tudors
    Tyrell Family
    Vengeance
    Vulgate
    Wales
    Walter Devereux
    Wars Of The Roses
    Wars Of The Roses In Art
    Weapons
    Welles Family
    Westminster Abbey
    William Aschough
    William Cromer
    William De La Pole
    William Hastings
    William Herbert
    William Hobbes
    William Of Hatfield
    William Of Worcester
    William Oldhall
    William Shakespeare
    Women
    Woodville Family
    York
    Yorkshire

    Archives

    December 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    November 2021
    January 2021
    September 2020
    July 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    December 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.