On this day in history, 27th September 1442, in the reign of King Henry VI, John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, was born.

Why am I talking about a duke born in the Plantagenet period?

Well, because he was the first husband of the Tudor matriarch, Lady Margaret Beaufort, and his son was involved in a rebellion against King Henry VII.

On this day in Tudor history, 25th September 1525, in the reign of King Henry VIII, explorer, navigator and naval administrator Stephen Borough (Burrough) was born at Borough House, Northam Burrows, Northam, in Devon.

Borough was an Arctic explorer who learnt his navigational skills from first his uncle and then Spanish pilots in Seville.

Borough discovered Novaya Zemlya and the Viagatz Strait (Kara Strait), which was named the Burrough Strait until the late 1800s.

On this day in Tudor history, 24th September 1589, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Roman Catholic priest, William Spenser, and layman Robert Hardesty were executed at York. Spenser was executed for being a priest, and Hardesty for sheltering him.

In 1987, the two men were beatified as two of the Eighty-five Martyrs of England and Wales.

Find out more about William Spenser and Robert Hardesty, and how they came to their awful ends…

On this day in Tudor history, 23rd September 1571, John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury, died at Monkton Farleigh Manor. He was laid to rest in Salisbury Cathedral.

Forty-nine-year-old Jewel had been taken ill while preaching a sermon in Lacock, Wiltshire.

Jewel’s life and career spanned the reigns of King Henry VIII, Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey, Mary I and Elizabeth I – a time of huge religious change. He was a clergyman, a Protestant exile, a theologian and bishop, and someone who spoke up for what he believed.

On this day in Tudor history, 21st September 1557, in the reign of Queen Mary I, theologian and chaplain Henry Pendleton was buried at St Stephen’s, Walbrook, London.

Pendleton, who was a friend of Bishop Bonner, is known not only for his strong preaching, which led to him being shot at once, but also for his changing religious faith. Pendleton went from staunch Catholic to zealous Protestant back to staunch Catholic. He even took part in disputations with his former friends and saw them imprisoned and burnt.

Find out more about Henry Pendleton, his life, career and changing religious beliefs…

On this day in Tudor history, 19th September 1560, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Thomas Cavendish was baptised at St Martin’s Church, Trimley St Martin in Suffolk.

Explorer, navigator and privateer Thomas Cavendish is known for his imitation of Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the globe, which he undertook in 1586. He is also known for being the first Englishman to explore the island of St Helena, in the mid-Atlantic. Unfortunately, Cavendish also had a reputation as a spendthrift, and his final voyage was a failure.

On this day in Tudor history, 18th September 1556, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, died at Padua in Italy.

Courtenay, who died from a fever, had been sent to the Continent after being implicated in Wyatt’s Rebellion. The 1554 rebellion sought to replace Queen Mary I with her half-sister, Elizabeth, who would marry Courtenay.

Let me tell you more about Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon, and how he was a prospective bridegroom for both of Henry VIII’s daughters…

On this day in Tudor history, 17th September 1563, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, died.

The courtier and soldier died during an outbreak of the plague, which was rife in London that year and killed about 24% of London’s citizens.

Manners had served King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I, so had a long and interesting career, which also saw him imprisoned at one point.

On this day in Tudor history, 15th September 1589, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a battle was fought at Arques in France.

The Battle of Arques was part of the final war of the French Wars of Religion, a series of conflicts in France from 1562-1598 between Catholics and Huguenots. It was a battle between the troops of the new French king, Henry IV, and the troops of the Catholic League led by Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne.

The battle wasn’t looking good for Henry IV, but then everything changed when troops sent by Elizabeth I arrived on the scene.

Find out more about what led to this battle, what happened at the battle, and what happened next…

On this day in Tudor history, 14th September 1540, Sir William Kingston died at his home in Painswick in Gloucestershire.

Sir William Kingston was a Knight of the Garter and comptroller of the king’s household during Henry VIII’s reign. He was also Constable of the Tower of London while Queen Anne Boleyn was imprisoned there in May 1536. His daily letters from the Tower to Thomas Cromwell in May 1536 are a wonderful resource for historians.

Kingston had an impressive career serving Henry VIII and was rewarded for his loyal service.

On this day in Tudor history, 12th September 1573, Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll, died suddenly at Barbreck.

Argyll was a Protestant reformer, and leading politician in the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, and he’d got married just six weeks earlier.

On the night he died, he showed no signs of illness before retiring to bed, so his death was very sudden.

Argyll was the third most important noble in Scotland, the most important highland chief, and a founder of the Lords of the Congregation. He went from opposing Mary, Queen of Scots, to leading her troops in battle.

On this day in Tudor history, Saturday 10th September 1547, the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh took place in Edward VI’s reign.

The battle, also known as the Battle of Pinkie, took place near Musselburgh, in Scotland, on the banks of the River Esk. Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, led the English forces and defeated the Scots, killing between 6,000 and 15,000 of them.

It was a bloody battle, but it had started off well for the Scots.

What happened?

Let me share an eye-witness account of how the battle changed so dramatically…