On this day in Tudor history, 6th January 1538, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria, was born at Eythrope in Buckinghamshire.

Jane was a favourite of Queen Mary I, and was the one Mary trusted on her deathbed to deliver her jewels to her successor and half-sister, Elizabeth I. She married Gómez Suarez de Figueroa, Count of Feria, later Duke of Feria, in December 1558.

On this day in Tudor history, Sunday 5th January 1511, the lavish christening of Henry, Duke of Cornwall, took place in the Chapel of Observant Friars at Richmond, in Surrey.

The little duke had been born on New Year’s Day at Richmond Palace on New Year’s Day. He was the son of King Henry VIII by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and news of the prince’s birth had been met with bonfires, wine being given out to the citizens of London, and processions.

On this day in Tudor history, 4th January 1569 author, scholar and royal tutor Roger Ascham was buried in St Stephen’s Chapel at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, London.

Ascham, who had served as a tutor to Queen Elizabeth I in her youth, had died on 30th December 1568.

You can find out more about Ascham in the video I did on the anniversary of his death…

On this day in Tudor history, 3rd January 1541, in the reign of King Henry VIII, John Clerk, Bishop of Bath and Wells, died.

Before becoming Bishop of Bath and Wells, Clerk had served as a chaplain to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and had been Archdeacon of Colchester, Dean of Windsor and Master of the Rolls.

On this day in Tudor history, 31st December 1559, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Bishop Owen Oglethorpe died while under house arrest in London. The Bishop of Carlisle was buried at St Dunstan-in-the-West on 6th January 1560.

Oglethorpe officiated at Elizabeth I’s coronation in 1559 but had angered the queen at Christmas 1558 by disobeying her instructions at Mass.

What did Oglethorpe do and why did he end his days under house arrest?

On this day in Tudor history, 30th December 1568, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Roger Ascham died. He was laid to rest in the St Stephen’s chapel of St Sepulchre without Newgate, London.

Ascham was a scholar and royal tutor. He taught Elizabeth I in her youth, and he was responsible for the idea that Lady Jane Grey’s parents treated her harshly.

Find out more about Roger Ascham, his life and career…

On this day in history, 29th (or 30th) December 1605, in the reign of King James I, 55-year-old John Davis died near Bintang, off the coast of Borneo, after being attacked by Japanese pirates.

Davis (also spelt Davys) was an Elizabethan navigator and explorer. He is known for his voyages, for being the first Englishman to document a sighting of the Falkland Islands, for his 1594 “The Seaman’s Secrets” and 1595 “The World’s Hydrographical Description”, and for his invention, the Davis Quadrant, or the backstaff.

Find out more about him, his final voyage and death…

On this day in Tudor history, 28th December 1510, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Sir Nicholas Bacon, was born.

Bacon was a lawyer, administrator and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and also the father of the famous philosopher, statesman, scientist and author, Sir Francis Bacon

Bacon was also very concerned with the education of the young, and did much to support it.

Find out all about Sir Nicholas Bacon, his life and career, and how he was banished from court at one point…

On this day in Tudor history, 27th December 1583, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Katherine Killigrew died after giving birth to a stillborn child.

scholar and Puritan Katherine Killigrew was the daughter of renowned humanist and scholar Sir Anthony Cooke.

Katherine was a very accomplished woman, being known for her ability at writing poetry and her knowledge of languages, including Hebrew, Latin and Greek.

Find out more about Katherine, and hear the epitaphs that were written in her honour…

On this day in Tudor history, 26th December 1526, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Rose Lok was born.

Rose was a fascinating lady. She was the daughter of mercer William Lok, who not only supplied the royal family with fabric but who also supplied Anne Boleyn with religious books. Rose was also a Protestant exile and a businesswoman in her own right. She even had a ship named after her! She lived into her 80s.

Find out all about Rose Lok…

On this day in Tudor history, 25th December 1587, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Brian Darcy died.

Darcy was a magistrate, Sheriff of Essex, witch-hunter and contributor to the 1582 “A true and just recorde of the information, examination and confession of all the witches, taken at S Oses [St Osyth]”.

“A True and Just Recorde” argued for harsher punishments for those found guilty of witchcraft, and Darcy was personally responsible for a number of deaths of people accused of witchcraft.

Find out more about Brian Darcy…

On this day in history, 24th December 1604, in the reign of King James I, Sir Thomas Cornwallis died at about the age of eighty-six.

Cornwallis had been active putting down rebellion in 1549 and during the succession crisis of July 1553 swapped sides at just the right time, recanting his proclamation for Jane as queen and proclaiming for Mary instead. Mary rewarded him by making him her Comptroller of the household of Mary I. He also served as a member of Parliament.

In Elizabeth I’s reign, his friendship with a man close to the queen may have helped him escape trouble.

Find out more about Sir Thomas Cornwallis…

On this day in Tudor history, 23rd December 1558, Elizabeth I moved from Somerset House to Whitehall Palace, which became her principal residence.

Elizabeth had become queen on 17th November 1558. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who had married at Whitehall in January 1533.

Find out more about Whitehall Palace, and also Somerset Place, the property Elizabeth left…

On this day in Tudor history, 19th December 1583, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, John Somerville was found dead in his cell at Newgate Prison.

The twenty-three-year-old Somerville had been found guilty of conspiring to assassinate the queen. His death was said to be suicide, due to his poor mental health, but some Catholics believed that he had been killed.

Did Somerville really intend to kill the queen? Was he mentally ill? Was he manipulated by others?

Find out more about John Somerville…

On this day in Tudor history, 18th December 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, John Philpott (also spelled Philpot) was executed.

The former Archdeacon of Winchester was burnt at the stake for heresy at Smithfield and died courageously.

Philpott had done a lot in his 40 years, including studying in Italy, upsetting Bishop Gardiner, and supporting fellow Protestants from his prison cell.

Let me tell you more about him…

On this day in Tudor history, 17th December 1538, King Henry VIII was excommunicated from the Catholic Church by Pope Paul III.

The papacy had threatened the English king with excommunication several times during the Great Matter, but the final straw was Henry VIII’s desecration of one of the holiest shrines in Europe.

How did Henry VIII go from being “Defender of the Faith” to being excommunicated? Find out…

On this day in Tudor history, 16th (or possibly the 18th) December 1503, George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent, died at Ampthill, Bedfordshire.

The earl served in Henry VII’s reign as a soldier, a member of the king’s council, the Constable of Northampton Castle, and as a judge at the trial of Edward, Earl of Warwick in 1499.

His first wife was Anne Woodville, sister of Queen Elizabeth Woodville.

Grey managed to retain royal favour on Henry VII’s accession even though he’d been rewarded by Richard III.

Find out more about George Grey…

On this day in Tudor history, 15th December 1560, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Thomas Parry died.

Parry served Elizabeth I as Comptroller of the Household and Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire.

The Spanish ambassador claimed that Parry died of “sheer grief”. He was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Parry had served Elizabeth for over 13 years and had been a loyal servant and friend to her. So why did he die of grief?

Find out more about Thomas Parry, his background, life, and why he was so upset in 1560…

On this day in Tudor history, 12th December 1595, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Roger Williams died from a fever with his patron, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, at his side. The Protestant Welsh soldier and author was buried at St Paul’s Cathedral.

As a soldier, Williams served in the Low Countries and France and in 1588 was second in command of the cavalry under the Earl of Essex at Tilbury Fort. William was also an author and wrote the 1590 “A Briefe Discourse of Warre”.

At one point, Williams had to go into hiding because he incurred Queen Elizabeth I’s wrath.

Find out all about Sir Roger Williams’ life, career and works…

On this day in Tudor history, 10th December 1591, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Edmund Gennings and Swithin Wells were executed on a scaffold set up outside Wells’ house at Holborn.

Gennings, a Roman Catholic priest, had been celebrating mass at Wells’ home when the famous Elizabethan priestfinder and torturer, Richard Topcliffe, found them. Topcliffe had Gennings thrown into the Little Ease.

Find out more about St Edmund Gennings and St Swithin Wells, and their sad ends…