On this day in Tudor history, 23rd September 1571, after being taken ill while preaching a sermon in Lacock, Wiltshire, forty-nine-year-old John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury, died at Monkton Farleigh Manor. He was laid to rest in Salisbury Cathedral.

Not many people have heard of John Jewel, but he had an interesting life which spanned the reigns of King Henry VIII, Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey, Mary I and Elizabeth I – time of religious change. He was a clergyman, a Protestant exile, a theologian and bishop, and someone who spoke up for what he believed.

Find out more about John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury in Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, in today’s talk.

On this day in Tudor history, 19th September 1555, in the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary I, Protestants Robert Glover and Cornelius Bungey, were burned at the stake for heresy at a site in Little Park Street, Coventry. They were two of twelve martyrs burned in the city between 1511 and 1555.

Find out more about them and Glover’s experience as he was taken to the site of execution in today’s talk from Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society.

On this day in Tudor history, 17th September 1563, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, courtier and soldier Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, died during an outbreak of the plague, which was rife in London that year and killed about 24% of London’s citizens.

Manners served King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I, so had a long and interesting career, which also saw him imprisoned at one point.

On this day in Tudor history, 15th September 1500, in the reign of King Henry VII, John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury, cardinal and Henry’s Lord Chancellor, died at Knole in Kent.

John Morton was not a very popular man with the English people due to his role in Henry VII’s financial policies, although at least he died of plague rather than being executed like his colleagues, Empson and Dudley.

One tax rationale he’s associated with is Morton’s Fork, but was it really down to him?

Find out the answer and find out more about this Tudor taxman in today’s talk.

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.