On this day in Tudor history, 2nd February 1550, Sir Francis Bryan, died suddenly in Ireland. He was a rather colourful Tudor character, known as much for his drinking, gambling and all-round bad behaviour, as his diplomacy, royal favour and gift for poetry.
Find out more about this one-eyed courtier and his nickname, “the vicar of hell” in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 1st February 1587, Queen Elizabeth I called her secretary, William Davison, to her and asked him to bring her the death warrant of Mary, Queen of Scots. She then signed it. However, she didn’t want it to be sent to Fotheringhay, where Mary was held, until she said so. But it was sent.
Elizabeth wanted someone else to take responsibility for Mary’s death, she even wanted her gaoler to assassinate her!
Find out all about this, and how Mary DID end up being executed in February 1587, in this talk…
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This month our guest expert is Sarah Gristwood and she’s chatting with Claire Ridgway all about the mysteries of the Courtly Love tradition.
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On this day in history, 31st January 1606, Gunpowder Plot conspirators Thomas Winter, Ambrose Rookwood, Robert Keyes, and Guy Fawkes were executed for treason at the Old Palace Yard, Westminster.
Two of them cheated the executioner and crowd by leaping at the gallows, but they still had awful ends.
Hear a contemporary account of their executions, including what they did and said, in this talk…
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On this day in history, 30th January 1606, Gunpowder plotters Everard Digby, Robert Wintour, John Grant and Thomas Bates were executed for treason at St Paul’s Churchyard.
Find out how they came to this end and hear a contemporary account of their executions in this talk…
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There are many Tudor men who had rather colourful reputations, but how much do you know about them?
Get those little grey cells working with this week’s quiz, a crossword puzzle on Tudor Bad Boys.
Simply click on the link or image below.
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On this day in Tudor history, 29th January 1536, the same day that Catherine of Aragon was buried at Peterborough Abbey, Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII suffered a miscarriage.
Contemporary accounts state that she was around 3 1/2 months pregnant and that it was a boy.
In this talk, I share information given by the imperial ambassador on Anne Boleyn’s miscarriage, including the gossip concerning the king and a certain Jane Seymour.
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On this day in Tudor history, 28th January 1598, diplomat Edward Barton died of dysentery on the island of Heybeli Ada, in the Sea of Marmara, off the coast of Istanbul.
Barton and his predecessor, William Harborne, had played key roles in Elizabeth I’s alliance with the Ottoman Empire.
Elizabeth I had a good relationship with the Islamic World and it was something that was very important to her. Find out why Elizabeth reached out to the Ottomans in the 1580s, and just how the relationship worked, in this talk…
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Today we are taking you through the food items and spices that the Tudors used to survive the cold winter months.
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On this day in history, 27th January 1606, in the reign of King James I, the eight surviving conspirators of the November 1605 Gunpowder Plot were tried at Westminster for high treason.
Why is Claire talking about something that happened during the reign of King James I, in the Stuart period? Well, because the Gunpowder Plot actually had its origins in Elizabeth I’s reign.
Find out more in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 26th January 1546, judge of assize and law reporter, Sir John Spelman, died.
Now, you may never have heard of Justice John Spelman, but his reports on the legal cases of people like Queen Anne Boleyn, Sir Thomas More, Bishop John Fisher and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey have been very useful to historians – a wonderful resource.
Find out more about Sir John Spelman and what he had to say about Anne Boleyn’s trial in this video…
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IT’S OUR 90th EDITION! This month’s magazine is themed on the Protestant faith which emerged during the Tudor period. It’s yet another amazing magazine and we know you’ll enjoy it.
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25th January is the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, an important day in Tudor times. It celebrated the conversion of Saul, a man known for his persecution of Christians, on the road to Damascus.
In this talk, I explain the background of the feast day and shares a contemporary account of how St Paul’s Day was celebrated in the reign of Queen Mary I.
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th January 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, a great joust was held at Westminster between English and the Spanish knights.
It was one of the events planned by Philip of Spain, Queen Mary I’s husband, to try and tackle the problems between Englishmen and Spaniards in London.
Tensions had even led to violence and murder.
Find out more about the problems, and how King Philip tried to tackle them, in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 23rd January 1571, after dining with its founder, Sir Thomas Gresham, Queen Elizabeth I opened the Royal Exchange in London.
Find out more about the official opening, what the Royal Exchange was, why Gresham paid for its building, and what happened to it, in this talk…
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This week, we’re testing your knowledge of dastardly deeds committed in the Tudor period or by Tudor personalities.
How much do you know about Tudor murders and murderers?
Find out with this fun crossword puzzle.
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd January 1554, Thomas Wyatt the Younger met with fellow conspirators at his home of Allington Castle in Kent. The purpose of their meeting was to make final plans for their uprising against Queen Mary I and her decision to marry Philip of Spain.
This rebellion would come to be known as Wyatt’s Rebellion, although the leader at the start appears to have been Sir James Croft.
Find out all about Wyatt’s Rebellion and what happened in this talk…
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On the night of this day in Tudor history, 21st January 1543, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, Thomas Wyatt the Younger and several other youths went on a five-hour rampage in London.
Surrey regretted his actions, calling that night “a madding time”, but the king and the privy council took it seriously.
Find out what happened to Surrey and his fellow vandals in this talk…
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This week we have a book review by Lil of “The Young Elizabeth” by Jeanette and Francis Letton. Lil loved the cover but does she also like what’s inside?
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th January 1569, not long after he’d given the best sermon of his life, Bible translator and Bishop of Exeter, Miles Coverdale, died in London.
Coverdale is known for completing the first English translation of the whole Bible and for his work on “The Great Bible”, which was put in every parish church in England.
Find out more about this accomplished Tudor man in this talk…
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Our apologies to long-term member Ceri as there was a layout error in this month’s magazine for her wonderful article about an experience she went on at Thornbury castle.
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th January 1601, Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, died at Wilton, the family home near Salisbury.
Who was Henry Herbert?
I tell you about this interesting Tudor man in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th January 1486, twenty-nine year-old King Henry VII married twenty year-old Elizabeth of York at Westminster Abbey.
This was over two years after he had vowed to marry her and nearly 5 months after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Why did Henry VII delay in marrying Elizabeth of York?
Find out what delayed the marriage, and more about the bride and groom, in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th January 1541, courtier, diplomat and poet, Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, was arrested and sent to the Tower of London after being accused of corresponding with Cardinal Reginald Pole, and referring to the prospect of Henry VIII’s death.
Wyatt was taken to the Tower and it looked like he’d be executed, but he was saved by Queen Catherine Howard, but at a huge cost.
Find out more about what Wyatt was accused of, how he escaped execution and what he had to agree to, in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th January 1572, Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, eldest son of the late Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, was tried and found guilty of treason at Westminster Hall.
Norfolk had promised Queen Elizabeth I that he would not get involved with Mary, Queen of Scots, ever again, but it was a promise that he just couldn’t keep. Once again, he had become involved in a plot against Elizabeth I and in support of Mary, Queen of Scots. He wouldn’t escape punishment this time.
Find out exactly what happened in this talk…
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This week sees the anniversary of the execution of soldier and courtier, Henry Howard, son of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, and a man viewed as one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry and “Father of the English Sonnet”. To mark the occasion, I thought I’d test your knowledge of this Tudor man.
How much do you know about the life of Henry Howard?
Find out with this fun word search puzzle.
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On this day in Tudor history, 15th January 1569, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Catherine Knollys (née Carey), wife of Sir Francis Knollys, daughter of Mary Boleyn, and cousin of the queen, died at Hampton Court Palace. She was about 45 years old.
Sadly, Queen Elizabeth I had kept Catherine and her beloved husband, Sir Francis Knollys, apart during Catherine’s final day.
Find out more about Catherine’s final days, the queen’s cruelty, Francis’s frustration, and Catherine’s lavish burial, which was paid for by the queen, in this talk…
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Hello! Happy Friday! I was supposed to be recording this as a video, but Covid really knocked Tim and I for six. We’re both recuperating well, but it’s just made me so tired. Thankfully the coughing fits are easing now – phew!
Anyway, I’m doing this as a post instead.
Recently, with the cold, dark nights and being poorly, I’ve got lost in some wonderful historical fiction, and although I know that many of you have “to read” lists that are way too long already, I thought I’d share some recommendations with you. These are the books that have transported me back in time and kept me sane recently…
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On this day in Tudor history, 14th January 1589, physician Francis Kett, was burned for heresy near Norwich Castle.
A local minister described him as “leaping and dancing” in the fire, clapping his hand and praising God right up to the end. A courageous man.
But how did Francis Kett come to this awful end?
Find out more about this doctor, priest and condemned heretic in this talk…
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