The Tudor Society
  • 8 August 1588 – Elizabeth I visits Tilbury

    Even though the remaining ships of the Spanish Armada were homeward bound following the defeat of the fleet at the Battle of Gravelines and their subsequent scattering by strong winds, England was still expecting to be threatened by the troops of the Duke of Parma who could come across the English Channel as soon as the wind was favourable.

    On 8th August 1588, Queen Elizabeth I decided to accept Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester’s invitation and visit the troops he had gathered near Tilbury Fort. Leicester had written a letter of invitation to the Queen on the 27th July in an attempt to stop her recklessly riding to the south coast to meet Parma’s troops. He wrote of how she could visit Tilbury and bring comfort to the troops. Against the advice of her Council, who wanted her to remain in the safety of London, Elizabeth travelled from St James’s Palace to Tilbury by state barge on the 8th August.

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  • This week in history 8 – 14 August

    On this day in history events in the Tudor period for the week 8-14 August.

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  • 7 August 1485 – Henry Tudor lands at Mill Bay

    On this day in history, 7th August 1485, Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII, dropped anchor at Mill Bay, near Milford Haven, Wales. When he reached the beach, it is said that he prayed “Judge me, O Lord, and favour my cause.”

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  • The Spanish Armada Quiz 2

    I hope you enjoyed the first part of our Spanish Armada quiz last week. Here’s the second part. Good luck!

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  • The Battle of Clyst Heath

    On this day in history, 6th August 1549, the Battle of Clyst Heath took place between the West Country rebels of the Prayer Book Rebellion and King Edward VI’s forces.

    Upon hearing of the news of the massacre of around 900 rebels the previous day, two thousand rebels made their way to Clyst Heath where the Lords Russell and Grey were camped, and opened fire. The battle lasted all day, but the rebels were defeated in the end.

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  • Claire Needs Your Help!

    In today’s Claire Chats video, Claire explains what she does on a daily basis and also asks for your help and feedback.

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  • Battle of Clyst St Mary

    The Battle of Clyst St Mary, which was a battle fought during the Prayer Book Rebellion, took place on 5th August 1549 at the village of Clyst St Mary, 3 miles east of Exeter in Devon.

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  • The Tudors’ Journey to Bosworth: Part 4 – Henry Tudor at Forteresse de Largoët by Tony Riches

    Earlier in this series, I traced the journey of Jasper Tudor and his young nephew Henry’s escape from West Wales and their arrival in Brittany. The Tudors were welcomed to Vannes as guests of the powerful Duke Francis of Brittany before moving to the more remote Château de Suscinio for their own safety. The increased threat of abduction by York’s agents finally convinced Duke Francis to reduce the risk by moving them to separate locations inland.

    Fourteen-year-old Henry was relocated to the Forteresse de Largoët, deep in the forest outside of the sleepy town of Elven. His custodian, Marshall of Brittany, Jean IV, Lord of Rieux and Rochefort, had two sons of a similar age to Henry, and it is thought they continued their education together. Henry was however prevented from communicating with his mother in England or his uncle Jasper Tudor, who now resided in a château elsewhere in Brittany.

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  • Battle of Woodbury Common

    Drawing of John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, by Hans Holbein the Younger

    The Battle of Woodbury Common, part of the Prayer Book Rebellion, took place on 4th August 1549 on Woodbury Common, near the village of Woodbury in East Devon. The battle took place at 4am and happened when the rebels, who had been defending Clyst St Mary, marched to Woodbury Mill where Lord Russell and his troops had camped for the night. The rebels were defeated.

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  • The Tudors’ Journey to Bosworth: Part 3 – Exiled at Château de Suscinio, Brittany, by Tony Riches

    In the first two parts of this series, I followed Jasper Tudor and his fourteen-year-old nephew Henry’s escape from Tenby in Wales and their arrival in Brittany. The Tudors are recorded as spending a year in Vannes as guests of Duke Francis of Brittany but, in October 1472, the duke became concerned they might be abducted by York’s agents. They were moved to his remote ‘hunting lodge’ by the sea, south of Vannes, the Château de Suscinio.

    The Tudors’ new home had been fortified in the fourteenth century by Breton knight Bertrand du Guesclin, nicknamed ‘The Eagle of Brittany’, a military commander during the Hundred Years’ War. As well as building the seigniorial residence block and a corner tower known as the Tour Neuve, the moat was deepened and a raising drawbridge added, together with casemates to house artillery. By the time the Tudors arrived, the original thirteenth century château resembled a castle of generous proportions.

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  • The Tudors’ Journey to Bosworth: Part 2 – Exiled at Château de l’Hermine, Brittany, by Tony Riches

    In the first part of this series, I followed Jasper Tudor and his young nephew Henry’s escape from Tenby in West Wales. There are tales of storms and of them being forced to shelter in the lee of the island of Jersey before they were able to make landfall at the Breton fishing port of Le Conquet in September 1471.

    Jasper and Henry sought sanctuary from Duke Francis of Brittany and became his guests at the ducal palace, the Château de l’Hermine in Vannes. Duke Francis was a skilled politician, so would have appreciated the political value of the exiled Tudors to King Edward IV of England, as well as to his rival King Louis of France, to whom they were related through the Valois family of Jasper’s mother, Henry’s grandmother, Queen Catherine.

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  • The Tudors’ Journey to Bosworth: Part 1 by Tony Riches

    Henry Tudor’s return from exile to victory at Bosworth has to be one of the greatest moments in the history of the Tudor dynasty. So why is the Bosworth story so often told from the perspective of Richard III, with Henry depicted as lucky to have won?

    I was born within sight of Pembroke Castle and have always been intrigued by the small room where the thirteen-year-old Lady Margaret Beaufort gave birth to the future king, Henry Tudor. I’ve also stood on the remote beach at Mill Bay near Milford Haven imagining how Henry would have felt as he approached with his uncle Jasper and his mercenary army.

    All I knew about Jasper’s father, Henry’s grandfather, Owen Tudor, was that he’d been a Welsh servant who somehow married the young widow of King Henry V, Queen Catherine of Valois. Inspired to write a historical fiction trilogy about them, I wanted to research their stories in as much detail as possible and to sort out the many myths from the facts.

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  • Battle of Cornwall

    On 2nd August 1595, as part of the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585-1604, four galleys containing somewhere between 200 and 400 Spanish soldiers landed at Mount’s Bay on the coast of western Cornwall. The fleet was commanded by Captain Carlos de Amésquita and it had left Port Louis, Brittany, France, on 26th July to raid the south-west of England.

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  • The representation of queenship in funeral and burial traditions

    We can learn a lot about history from the way people were buried. Lauren Browne examines the representation of queenship in funeral and burial traditions in this brand new exclusive Tudor Society expert talk.

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  • 2 August 1588 – The Spanish Armada is homeward bound

    By the first week of August 1588, the battered, defeated and demoralised Spanish Armada had started the first part of its long journey back home to Spain.

    The Battle of Gravelines had seen England victorious, and between that and the awful weather Spain had lost five of its main ships and had suffered major damage to many others. Ammunition was pretty much non-existent and food rations were low. All the Spanish commander, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, could do was to try and salvage what was left of his fleet and men and get them home to safety. The English fleet, led by Lord Howard, pursued the Spanish ships as far north as the mouth of the Tyne but gave up on the 2nd August and turned back, dropping anchor at ports such as Harwich and Margate.

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  • This week in history 1 – 7 August

    Archbishop Matthew Parker by an unknown artist
  • The Spanish Armada Quiz 1

    As it’s the anniversary of the Spanish Armada at the moment, I thought it was time to test your knowledge on this famous Tudor event. How much do you know about it? Test yourself with this fun quiz. Good luck!

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  • Transcript of our live chat with Philip Roberts

    The Mary Rose as depicted in the Anthony Roll.

    hanks to those who came into the chatroom on Friday for our live chat session with Philip Roberts. There were lots of questions about the Mary Rose and it was a very productive discussion.

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  • 30 July 1588 – The wind scatters the Armada

    On 30th July 1588, the day after the Battle of Gravelines and the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the wind changed and the remaining ships of the Spanish Armada were forced northwards and scattered. It really did seem that the elements, particularly the wind, were on England’s side. Sir Francis Drake wrote to Sir Francis Walsingham on 30th July 1588, saying “There was never anything pleased me better than seeing the enemy flying with a southerly wind northward. We have the Spaniards before us, and the mind, with the grace of God, to wrestle a pull with them.”

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  • Ooops another book!

    You can never have enough books, can you? Well, that’s what I keep telling myself anyway! In today’s Claire Chats video I share with you my most recent book purchase, the two volume Tudor and Jacobean Portraits by Roy Strong (1969), which I’ve had my eye on for ages. I know I will be dipping into these volumes on a regular basis, so I’m very pleased with my purchase, plus they’re beautiful books.

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  • The Annes of Cleves: Part I, 1435 to 1540 by Heather R. Darsie

    The name “Anne of Cleves” conjures up thoughts of Henry VIII’s allegedly unattractive, unfashionable fourth wife. However, over the span of almost 200 years, there were five women known as “Anne of Cleves”. First, we will meet Anne of Burgundy, who by marriage became an Anne of Cleves. For purposes of this article, we will refer to her as “van Kleef.” Next, we will meet the daughter of Johann II of Cleves, aunt to the famous Henry VIII’s fourth wife. We will call her “von Cleve” throughout this article. Finally, we will quickly look into the early life of Anne of Cleves, the most well-known to the English-speaking world.

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  • Elizabeth I Armada Portrait Saved!

    The Art fund has just announced that its public appeal, along with a £7.4 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, has enabled Royal Museums Greenwich to buy the Elizabeth I Armada portrait, thus saving it from disappearing into a private collection or moving abroad. Yay! I’m so pleased by this and thank you to all those who donated to the appeal.

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  • Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley

    On 29th July 1565, Mary, Queen of Scots, married Henry Stuart (Stewart), Lord Darnley, at Holyrood Palace (the Palace of Holyroodhouse), Edinburgh.

    You can find out all about Mary, Queen of Scots, at our Mary, Queen of Scots Bio page, but who was the bridegroom? Here are a few facts about him:

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  • 29 July 1588 – The Battle of Gravelines between England and Spain

    In 1588, the day after the English had wrecked the crescent formation of the Spanish Armada and caused havoc, they attacked the Spanish fleet. This battle is known as the Battle of Gravelines because it took place just off the port of Gravelines, a Spanish stronghold in Flanders.

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  • 28 July 1588 – The hell-burners

    At midnight on 28th July 1588, five hell-burners were ordered to be sent amongst the galleons of the Spanish Armada at Calais. Hell-burners were fire-ships, ships that were packed with wood and pitch and set alight. The high winds at Calais caused an inferno which resulted in complete chaos and the Armada’s crescent formation was wrecked as galleons scattered in panic.

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  • 27 July 1588 – Leicester invites Elizabeth I to Tilbury

    On this day in history, the 27th July 1588, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester and the Lieutenant and Captain General of the Queen’s Armies and Companies, invited Elizabeth I to visit Tilbury, where he was busy assembling troops. If you read my post from yesterday, you will know that 4,000 men had been assembled at Tilbury Fort on 26th July 1588 to guard the eastern approach to London from the expected invasion by the Spanish Armada.

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  • 26 July 1588 – 4,000 men assemble at Tilbury Fort

    On this day in history, the 26th July 1588, 4,000 men assembled at Tilbury Fort, the fort built on the Thames estuary in Essex by Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, to guard the eastern approach to London from the expected invasion by the Spanish Armada.

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  • August 2016 Tudor Life Magazine

    This month we travel a little further back in the Tudor period to look at the early Tudors… We have an article by Leanda de Lisle on Owen Tudor, and a day-by-day build-up to the Battle of Bosworth by Debra Bayani, along with other excellent articles by a whole host of historians and authors.

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  • This week in history 25 – 31 July

    On this day in history events for week 25th July to 31st July.

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  • 24 July 1567 – Mary, Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate

    On 24th July 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots, who was imprisoned at Lochleven Castle and who had recently suffered a miscarriage, was forced to abdicate. The Scottish crown was passed on to her one-year-old son, James, who became James VI of Scotland, with his uncle, Mary’s illegitimate half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, acting as regent.

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