On this day in Tudor history, 27th October, Anne Boleyn, Marquess of Pembroke, made a dramatic entrance to the great banquet held by Henry VIII in Calais in honour of Francis I of France; and the extremely talented Mary Herbert (née Sidney), Countess of Pembroke, writer and literary patron, was born at Tickenhall, near Bewdley in Worcestershire…
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On this day in Tudor history, 26th October, Sir Thomas More was sworn in as Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor, replacing the fallen Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1529); and the Pilgrimage of Grace rebels, who outnumbered the Crown’s forces, chose to negotiate rather than fight (1536)…
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On this day in Tudor history, 25th October, Henry VIII returned to Calais following his visit to the French court at Boulogne, taking Francis I with him; and today is the the feast of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, martyrs of the Early Church and the patron saints of cobblers…
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th October, Queen Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife, died at Hampton Court Palace; and John White, governor of the Roanoke Colony, returned to England after failing to find the lost colonists…
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On this day in Tudor history, 23rd October, a prior wrote a rather grovelling letter to Thomas Cromwell regarding the forthcoming dissolution of his monastery; and renowned poet, psalmodist and clergyman John Hopkins was buried at Great Waldingfield…
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd October, an interrogation was carried out regarding an accusation of treasonous words spoken against Henry VIII (1537); and Henry Parker, 11th Baron Morley and Roman Catholic exile, died in Paris (1577)…
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On 2nd November 2024 at 10am – 11.15am ET, historian and author Toni Mount will be giving an online talk based on her book How to Survive in Tudor England for the Ashland Library. It’s free to join, you just need to register
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On this day in Tudor history, 21st October, Henry VIII left Anne Boleyn behind in Calais to spend a few days in Boulogne with Francis I (1532); and during the Pilgrimage of Grace, Lancaster Herald encountered a group of armed peasants near Pontefract Castle…
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th October, Lord Darcy yielded Pontefract Castle to the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace, but all was not how it seemed (1536), and courtier Mary Arundell, a countess twice over, died at Bath Place in London (1557)…
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On this day in history, two people who’d soon become the famous Catholic monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, got married in Valladolid; and Henry VIII gave brutal instructions on how the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace and their supporters should be handled…
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th October, Margaret Tudor, former Queen of Scotland and Henry VII’s eldest daughter, died at Methven Castle; and Elizabeth (future Elizabeth I) finally received permission from her half-sister Mary I to leave court and travel to Hatfield, rather than return to house arrest…
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th October, spy and Protestant martyr Walter Marsh was baptised in London; and famous Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier Sir Philip Sidney died from an injury sustained in battle…
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th October, a meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I was planned (1532); and Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, and Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London, two of the Oxford Martyrs, were burnt at the stake in Oxford (1555)…
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On this day in Tudor history, 15th October, the infant Prince Edward (Edward VI) was christened in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace (1537); and teacher and Welsh language poet Richard Gwyn (White) was hanged, drawn and quartered for his Catholic faith (1584)…
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On this day in Tudor history, 14th October, statesman, diplomat and poet Thomas Chaloner died (1563); and the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots began at Fotheringhay Castle (1586)…
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On this day in Tudor history, 13th October, things did not look good for Edward Seymour as his protectorate was abolished and he was thrown off the king’s council (1549); and Mary I asked imperial ambassador Simon Renard to meet with her secretly (1553)…
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th October, Edward VI, son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, was born (1537); and MP and administrator Lewis Owen was murdered on a Welsh mountain pass as a result of his campaign against outlaws (1555)…
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On this day in Tudor history, 11th October, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn set sail from Dover for Calais for a meeting with Francis I (1532); and there was a solemn procession with prayers for Queen Jane Seymour, who was in labour (1537)…
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th October, Queen Elizabeth I was taken ill with what was thought to be a cold, but was actually smallpox (1562); and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was buried in the Beauchamp Chapel of the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick (1588)…
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On this day in Tudor history, 9th October, Henry VIII’s sister, Mary Tudor, married Louis XII of France at Abbeville; and Miguel de Cervante, author of Don Quixote, was baptised in Alcalá de Henares…
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On this day in Tudor history, Henry VIII’s niece, Lady Margaret Douglas, was born; and Henry VIII forced his daughter, Mary, to write to the pope and to Mary of Hungary, the emperor’s sister…
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th October, Pope Clement VII wrote to Henry VIII telling him that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon would not be annulled; and George Gascoigne, a gifted poet who was involved in Robert Dudley’s last ditch attempt to woo Elizabeth I, died…
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th October, royal physician, scholar and college founder John Caius was born; and reformer and Bible translator William Tyndale, a man whose works had both helped Henry VIII and incurred the king’s wrath, was executed…
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On this day in Tudor history, 5th October, Henry VIII’s daughter, two-year-old Princess Mary, became betrothed to the French dauphin; and Lord Protector Somerset ordered a gathering of men at Hampton Court Palace to protect him and the young King Edward VI…
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Join me as I take a stroll through the beautiful Wepre Park in North Wales, where hidden in the lush woodland lies the mysterious Ewloe Castle. Why was this medieval fortress built in such an unusual location? Was it a statement of power by the Welsh princes, or is there more to its story?
From woodland walks to ancient battlegrounds, this video uncovers the secrets of the castle and its connection to legendary figures like Llywelyn the Great and Owain Gwynedd. There’s history around every corner!
If you’re a fan of castles and medieval history, or just love a good mystery, this one’s for you!
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On this day in Tudor history, rebel leader Sir Francis Bigod was born; and the Lincolnshire Rising, the beginnings of the Pilgrimage of Grace, continued as trouble erupted in Horncastle…
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On this day in Tudor history, 3rd October, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey sang a mass to Henry VIII and the French ambassadors at St Paul’s Cathedral to celebrate a treaty between England and France; and imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys wrote to Charles V informing him that Jane Seymour’s coronation was being postponed…
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On this day in Tudor history, Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII, set sail from Dover to travel to France to marry Louis XII of France; and reformer and Bible translator William Tyndale’s book “The Obedience of a Christian Man” was published, a book which Anne Boleyn shared with Henry VIII…
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On this day in Tudor history, 1st October, scholar, royal tutor and administrator John Alcock, Bishop of Ely, died at Wisbech Castle; and Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey…
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On this day in Tudor history, 30th September, a victorious Henry VIII returned to England after the French surrender of Boulogne; and Mary I’s coronation procession took place in London…
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