On this day in Tudor history, 18th August 1587, the first child born to English settlers in the New World was born in the Roanoke Colony.
Her name was Virginia Dare and the colony has gone down in history as the Lost Colony due to all of its 115 colonists disappearing.
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th August 1517, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Italian humanist scholar, cleric and poet Andreas Ammonius died in London. He was laid to rest at St Stephen’s, Westminster.
Ammonius, who had also served Henry VIII as his Latin secretary and was a great friend of the famous humanist scholar, Erasmus, died of sweating sickness.
Find out more about Ammonius and the sweating sickness epidemic which caused his death…
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th August 1599, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Thomas Norris, soldier and Lord President of Munster in Ireland, died at his home, Mallow Castle, in Cork.
Norris died as a result of an injury he’d sustained in a skirmish with Irish troops on 30th May 1599. His brother, Henry, died just five days later.
Thomas and Henry’s brothers, John, William and Maximilian, who were also soldiers, died in 1597, 1579 and 1593 respectively.
Queen Elizabeth I recognised the sacrifice of the Norris family and wrote a letter of condolence to her friends, Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norris, and his wife, Margery Williams.
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Thank you to all those who bought and read “On This Day in Tudor History” and made it a bestseller, I very much appreciate it. I have had so many people ask me over the last few years whether I was going to do a second “on this day” book and I’ve finally had time this year to put it together. I do hope you enjoy it as much as the first.
The kindle version is available to pre-order right now and the paperback is coming soon. Both versions will be released on 7th September 2022, so not long to wait.
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On his day in Tudor history, 15th August 1588, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Robert Wilcox, Edward Campion, Christopher Buxton and Robert Widmerpool were examined while imprisoned in the Marshalsea prison in Southwark, London.
These Catholic men ended up being executed, three of them for being Catholic priests and one for giving aid to priests. All four died with courage. They were beatified in 1929.
Who were these men and how did they come to be executed?
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As today is the anniversary of the birth of Margaret Pole on 14th August 1473, I thought I’d test your knowledge of this fascinating Tudor lady.
Grab your favourite beverage and snack, and get those little grey cells working with this fun crossword puzzle on Margaret Pole.
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On this day in Tudor history, 14th August 1513, in the reign of King Henry VIII, William Parr, Marquess of Northampton and brother of Queen Catherine Parr, was born.
William Parr is a fascinating man. He had a wonderful court career, his first wife eloped and left him, his divorce was granted and then rescinded, he was imprisoned in the Tower but then released, his marital happiness was rather shortlived… but he died a natural death!
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On this day in Tudor history, 13th August 1579, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Roman Catholics Friar Conn (Connatius) O’Rourke and Patrick O’Healy, Bishop of Mayo, were hanged just outside Kilmallock, co. Limerick.
So desperate was Sir William Drury, Lord President of Munster, to get rid of these two Catholics, that he used martial law to find them guilty of treason, rather than giving them a trial.
What did Drury do to poor Bishop O’Healey, and what happened to the remains of these religious men afterwards?
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As today is the anniversary of physician and paediatrician Thomas Phaer making his will on 12th August 1560, and he was known for some rather interesting remedies – find out about him here – I thought I’d share the July 2019 edition of Tudor Life magazine which focused on Tudor Medicine and Health…
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th August 1560, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, translator, lawyer, physician and paediatrician Thomas Phaer (Fair) made his will after suffering an accident.
Phaer has become known as the “Father of English Paediatrics” for his works, which include “The Book of Children”.
Find out more about this man and hear about some of his rather interesting remedies for caring for children.
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On this day in Tudor history, 11th August 1581, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Maurice Berkeley died.
You may not have heard of Sir Maurice Berkeley, but he had a wonderful court career. He served Henry as a gentleman usher of Henry VIII’s Privy Chamber, and also served Edward VI and Elizabeth I. He proved his loyalty to Mary I by arresting rebel leader, Thomas Wyatt the Younger.
Find out more about this lesser-known Tudor man…
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th August 1553, the same day that the new monarch, Queen Mary I, held requiem mass for the soul of her late half-brother, her predecessor King Edward VI, seven men died at London Bridge. They died of drowning.
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On this day in Tudor history, 9th August 1561, while on a visit to Ipswich, in Suffolk, Queen Elizabeth I issued a royal mandate which caused quite a stir. She was forbidding women to reside in cathedrals and colleges.
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th August 1549, in the reign of King Edward VI, the Crown’s forces met the rebels of the Prayer Book Rebellion in another battle, the Battle of Clyst Heath.
I share an account of the battle of which Lord Grey said “he never, in all the wars that he had been, knew the like”. I also explain what happened next in the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549.
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Edward VI never ruled in his own right and so is often neglected. His reign was relatively short, but it was one of huge religious change, and rebellion too!
Back in 2016, we had an issue of Tudor Life Magazine focused on the Tudor boy-king, so I thought I’d dig it out of the archives for you to enjoy now.
Enjoy this 68-page treat!
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On this day in Tudor history, 5th August 1600, John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, and his brother, Alexander Ruthven, Master of Ruthven, were killed in mysterious circumstances at Gowrie House near Perth in Scotland.
They were killed as they allegedly tried to kidnap, King James VI of Scotland, who, in 1603, inherited the English throne from Queen Elizabeth I and became King James I.
But what happened? Did these men really try to kidnap the king or was there more to the story?
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On this day in Tudor history, 4th August 1598, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, died. He’d been Elizabeth’s chief advisor and a man she called her spirit.
Hear a few more William Cecil facts in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 3rd August 1549, in the reign of King Edward VI, Lord Russell marched his troops from Honiton to Woodbury.
They were off to put down the Prayer Book Rebellion.
Find out more in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in history, 1st August 1555, Sir Edward Kelley, apothecary, alchemist and medium, was born in Worcester.
Kelley was a fascinating man. He worked with Dr John Dee and the men believed that they communicated with angels. Kelley also claimed that he was an alchemist and he wrote a treatise on the Philosopher’s Stone.
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How much do you know about July’s “on this day” people and events from the Tudor period?
Test your knowledge with this fun wordsearch from our Tudor Society archives.
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On this day in Tudor history, 31st July 1553, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was “discharged out of the Tower by the Earle of Arundell and had the Quenes pardon.”
Suffolk had been imprisoned after Mary I had overthrown his daughter, Queen Jane, or Lady Jane Grey, and been proclaimed queen on 19th July 1553. Suffolk’s release was down to his wife, Frances, interceding with her cousin the queen and begging for mercy.
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On this day in Tudor history, 30th July 1553, eleven days after her half-sister, Mary, had been proclaimed queen, Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, left her new home, Somerset House, to ride to Wanstead and greet Mary.
Somerset House was Elizabeth’s new London residence and you can find out more about how Elizabeth acquired it and who built it originally in this video:
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As it’s the 434th anniversary of England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada at the Battle of Gravelines on 29th July 1588, I thought I’d share with you these two Spanish Armada Quizzes from our archives.
Have fun and good luck!
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On this day in Tudor history, Sunday 29th July 1565, twenty-three-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, queen regnant of Scotland, married her second husband, nineteen-year-old Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, at Holyrood Palace.
I give details of their wedding and how the couple’s marital bliss was rather short-lived…
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On this day Tudor history, 28th July 1540, in the reign of King Henry VIII, on the same day that Thomas Cromwell was executed, a client of his also ended his life on the scaffold.
He was accused of magic and “detestable vice and sin”. What did this refer to?
Find out more about him in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 27th July 1588, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, wrote to Queen Elizabeth I with an invitation. He was intent on keeping the queen, the woman he loved, out of harm’s way.
What was his invitation?
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On this day in Tudor history, 26th July 1588, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, troops prepared for the expected Spanish invasion.
4,000 men assembled at Tilbury Fort on the north bank of the River Thames in an effort to prevent the Spanish Armada from travelling up the river and attacking London.
Let me explain what had led up to this day…
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On this day in Tudor history, 25 July 1554, on the Feast of St James, Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII by Catherine of Aragon, got married at Winchester Cathedral in a ceremony officiated by Lord Chancellor Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester.
The thirty-eight-year-old Mary married twenty-seven-year-old Philip of Spain, son of her cousin, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
Let me share a contemporary account of Mary and Philip’s wedding ceremony…
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th July 1553, in the reign of Queen Mary I, merchant and conspirator Richard Hesketh was born in Lancashire.
Hesketh is known for the Hesketh Plot of 1593, when he urged Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby, to lead a rebellion to claim the throne of England.
But who was Richard Hesketh and why did he plot against Queen Elizabeth I?
What happened to him and what happened to Ferdinando Stanley?
And why did Stanley take bezoar stone and unicorn horn?
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