On this day in history, 6th September 1615, in the reign of King James I, Tudor physician, clergyman and inventor of modern shorthand, Timothy Bright, was buried at St Mary’s Church, Shrewsbury.

Bright is known for works published in Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, including his 1588 “Characterie: an Arte of Shorte, Swifte, and Secrete Writing by Character” in which he explains his invention, a system of straight lines, circles and half circles as shorthand. Bright’s work has, of course, helped people the world over.

In today’s talk, I share some facts about Timothy Bright, an interesting Tudor man.

On this day in Tudor history, 2nd September 1591, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, naval commander and explorer Sir Richard Grenville died at sea from injuries sustained while commanding his ship, The Revenge, in the Battle of Flores in the Azores.

Unfortunately, Grenville’s death was a result of him disobeying orders and doing his own thing.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, wrote about the battle and the loss of The Revenge in his “The Revenge: A Ballad of the Fleet”, and in today’s talk, Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society, shares excerpts from Tennyson’s poem and explains what exactly happened at the battle.

On this day in Tudor history, 31st August 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, the queen who has gone down in history as “Bloody Mary”, Robert Samuel, a former minister, was burned at the stake in Ipswich, Suffolk.

Robert Samuel was burned as a heretic, a Protestant martyr. He had continued to minister privately, after being deprived of his living, and he had refused to leave his wife. He stayed firm to his Protestant faith and became one of the Ipswich Martyrs as a result.

In today’s talk, I give some details about this Tudor man, his visions, his death, and the women who became connected with him and who also died as a result.

On this day in Tudor history, 24th August 1572, on the Feast of St Bartholomew, an awful massacre too place in Paris, and it was followed by further atrocities in other towns and cities.

Those who suffered were Huguenot men, women and children, French Protestants. But what happened and why?

I explain all in today’s video…

On this day in Tudor history, 23rd August 1535, royal favourite and keen reformer Sir Nicholas Poyntz welcomed King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, to his home Acton Court in Iron Acton, South Gloucestershire, as part of the couple’s royal progress.

It was important for courtiers to impress the king and his consort, and Poyntz built a new wing on his property just for the royal couple!

I tell you all about it in today’s talk.