William Brereton (or Bryerton) was the sixth son of a leading, landowning Cheshire family. He was born between 1487 and 1490; his father was Sir Randolph Brereton of Malpas, chamberlain of the county palatine of Cheshire. Randolph became a knight of the body in 1513. William’s mother was Eleanor Dutton, daughter of Piers Dutton of Halton. Brereton, like three of his brothers, entered royal service and by 1524 (perhaps even 1521) he had become a groom of the privy chamber.
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In today’s “on this day in Tudor history” video, I take you to Spain and back to 1516. I hope you enjoy the video and the photos of the Capilla Real.
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In today’s “on this day in Tudor history” video, I take you back to 1552 and the execution of Edward Seymour, Lord Protector.
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We’re just coming to the end of a 3-day fiesta here in our village to celebrate our village’s saints’days and I just had to share this video with you for a bit of fun as it made me think of Henry VIII and his fellow knights.
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In today’s “on this day in Tudor history” video, I talk about the Act of Attainder which was used against Catherine and her lady, Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, in 1542.
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th January 1557, Queen Mary I’s pensioners “did muster in bright harness” before her at Greenwich Park, but who were they and what happened? Let me explain…
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I thought it would be fun to test your knowledge of the events and people I’ve talked about so far in my “on this day in Tudor history” videos, so here goes. Good luck!
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In today’s “on this day in Tudor history” video, we go back in time to 19th January 1547 and Henry Howard’s end on the scaffold.
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In this week’s Friday video, our roving reporter, Philippa Lacey Brewell, visits Southsea and the Mary Rose Museum, allowing you to enjoy these places from the comfort of your favourite armchair.
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Today’s “on this day in Tudor history” is a happy episode from early in Henry VIII’s reign, when he was happy in his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
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Sir Henry Norris was born sometime in the late 1490s and was the son of Richard Norris and grandson of Sir William Norris of Yattendon and his wife, Jane de Vere, daughter of John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford. Norris’s family had a long history of serving the monarch – his great-grandfather, Sir John Norris, had been Keeper of the Great Wardrobe to Henry VI and his grandfather, Sir William Norris, had been Knight of the Body to Edward IV. Sir William Norris had been attainted after being involved in the Duke of Buckingham’s rebellion against Richard III and had been forced to flee to Brittany, where he joined the forces of Henry Tudor and may even have fought at the Battle of Bosworth. Sir William had a command in June 1487 at Stoke and went on to become the Lieutenant of Windsor Castle.
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A rather tall tale from Elizabethan England today!
“Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Leicestershire woman gives birth to cat!!
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Thomas Seymour was accused of attempting to kidnap his nephew, King Edward VI, on this day in 1549, but what exactly happened? In this video, I recount the story, as told by two contemporary sources.
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On this day in Tudor history, 15th January 1559, Queen Elizabeth I was crowned queen by Owen Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle, at Westminster Abbey. Let me tell you all about it in today’s video.
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The Mary Rose Museum has just let me know about the half-term activities its running at its museum in Portsmouth from 16-24 February 2019.
Here are the details:
Location: The Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth, UK
Dates: 16th – 24th February 2019
Time: 11:30-15:30
£2 to take part in Tudors in Love
In today’s “on this day in Tudor history video”, I talk about Queen Elizabeth I’s coronation procession from the Tower of London to Westminster, an event that took place on this day in 1559.
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This time last year, Anne Clinard Barnhill, author of “At the Mercy of the Queen”, “Queen Elizabeth’s Daughter” and several other books, was our expert speaker. She gave us a demonstration of Tudor clothing, actually dressing herself, and talking to us about Tudor clothing and socio-economic status, culture and symbolism. It was a wonderful talk given by a lady who was passionate about the subject.
Sadly, Anne passed away yesterday. I’d never met her but I’d known her in a ‘virtual’ sense since the first days of the Anne Boleyn Files. She was a beautiful person through and through, a wonderful novelist, and a huge support and encouragement to me personally and to many others in the online Tudor history world. Anne will be truly missed.
[Read More...]It was risky being close to an increasingly paranoid king and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, paid for it with his life. In today’s video, I talk about Surrey’s trial which took place on this day in 1547.
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How much do you know about Catherine of Aragon, first wife of King Henry VIII? Test yourself with this fun Sunday quiz. Good luck!
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Let me tell you all about King Henry VIII’s first joust as king, which happened at Richmond Park on 12th January 1510.
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On this day in 1569, the first recorded lottery was drawn in England. Find out all about it in today’s video.
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It’s not unusual for my interest to be piqued when I’m going through my list of “on this day” events, and today it was William Carter’s execution, on 11th January 1584, which made me want to dig a bit deeper into his story.
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Michael Bayus is the writer, producer and director/actor of an audio drama about Lady Jane Grey which he describes as “27 plays that are told in sound only”. Michael’s goal in producing his drama “is to remember the Lady Jane Grey as she wanted to be remembered”. He goes on to say:
“In my story, Lady Jane is trapped in the 21st century, but willingly. Because she knows that in order to affect change, and to accomplish her goal, she must act. It’s hard for her, because she knows that if she were to tell people that she really is Lady Jane Grey from 1554, people would think she is crazy. So she plays Miss Jane Dudley, and she oversees an exhibit about herself and dresses up in Tudor costume, and enjoys being herself twice a day, morning and afternoon) for her show….
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Thank you to Clive Taylor of Ellys Manor House for this guest article. Please do consider signing one of the petitions to help Clive and Ellys Manor House.
Ellys Manor House (pronounced Ellis, affectionately referred to as EMH), is without doubt one of the United Kingdom’s most significant historic buildings. Historic notes credit Anthony Ellys, a rich English wool merchant of the Staple of Calais, as builder of the house and the adjacent church tower in the late medieval/early Tudor period.
The architectural language of this unique and magical building fully encapsulates Early Modern European, British and Hanseatic League history, a testament to the Northern Renaissance. Yet today, the building goes unnoticed, even by some scholars.
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Thank you so much to my friend Sara for sharing this news with me on social media, I just love this type of discovery.
The remains of a woman who died between 997 and 1162 and who was buried in a German graveyard were examined by scientists. They found brilliant blue flecks in the tartar of her teeth and analysis showed that these flecks were lapis lazuli, a vivid blue semi-precious stone that was ground up and used as a pigment, ultramarine, by those involved in making illuminated manuscripts. The pigment was expensive, being worth more than gold.
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Our very first informal live chat of 2019 takes place in the Tudor Society chatroom tomorrow, 11th January. The topic is Mary I, one of the Tudor Marys featured in this month’s edition of Tudor Life magazine and also the topic of Samantha Wilcoxson’s expert talk. Samantha’s live chat is taking place on 25th January, so save your questions for her until then, but the informal live chat is an opportunity for us to debate Mary I and her reign. We can discuss her reputation, her background, her life, her reign etc. and we can also share book recommendations, documentary/film recommendations, and just talk Tudor.
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In today’s “on this day in Tudor history” video, I read an excerpt from my book about Margaret of Austria, Governor of the Netherlands, who was born on 10th January 1480.
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Your personal information is extra-safe as we now get an A+ rating from Qualys SSL labs. Great news for you and for us!
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Warning: In today’s “on this day in Tudor history” video, I do describe what being hanged, drawn and quartered involved so feel free to fast forward that bit!
Today’s “on this day” is about the executions of two of the men involved in the alleged Exeter Conspiracy of 1538. I hope you enjoy it.
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Time for another of my “on this day in Tudor history videos”! I do hope you’re enjoying them. I thought they’d be a change from my usual “this week in history” posts. By the way, if you don’t want the audio turned on or you prefer to read, you can switch on CC (closed captions/subtitles) by clicking on the settings ‘cog’ icon. The subtitles aren’t perfect but they’re pretty good.
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