On 27th or 28th July 1553, Sir John Cheke was imprisoned in the Tower of London.
But how had a royal tutor and secretary ended up being thrown in the Tower?
Find out...
On this day in Tudor history, 27th July 1593, Roman Catholic priest and martyr, Blessed William Davies, was hanged, drawn and quartered at Beaumaris Castle on the Island of Anglesey.
You may not have heard of William Davies, but he is believed to have been involved in the printing of “Y Drych Christianogawl”, or The Christian Mirror, an important early Welsh Catholic book and the first book to be printed on Welsh soil, while he was hiding in cave!
Find out more about Davies, how he came to be hiding in a cave in North Wales, and why he was executed...
Also on this day in Tudor history, 27th July 1588, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, wrote to his queen with an invitation. He was intent on keeping the queen, the woman he loved, out of harm's way.
What was this invitation?
Well, you can find out more in this video:
I have been on the trail of Blessed William Dai from Llandudno where there are several schools naned for him and the local Church has a memorial to Beaumaris the site of his martyrdom.
There is Old Penryn Hall, now a b and b and restaurant, where he stayed and here there are two priest holes he hid in and the converted alter he said Mass on. The old heavy back Medieval door led to the tunnel which led up onto the Little Orme and the Cave in which the manuscript was printed and Mass said. Here he was almost captured but the local gentry were not exactly good at their jobs and he escaped. He was free for another three years before he was captured.
He was held in the Castle but in fact transported elsewhere for his trial. He and three others were hanged drawn and quartered in the Castle. IN the Church in Beaumaris there is a memorial to him. There is also information in the museum in Llandudno. I got all the story from the local historians at Penryn Old Hall as well. A biography of him dates from 1973.