Today being Lady day, I thought it would be appropriate to have a word about some of the six wives of Henry VIII and especially Mrs Parr.
There has been two new books published very recently in 2010, one by Linda Porter titled Katherine the Queen-the remakable life of Katherine Parr and another by Elizabeth Norton titled Catherine Parr- wife, widow, mother, survivor and the last Queen of Henry VIII. (a bit of a long subtitle really.) There is also a book written last year titled Catherine Parr Henry -VIII's last love by Lucey Baldwin Smith
Now the first thing to notice of course that her name has been spelt with a different letter. Spelling in Tudor times was a bit random even the word queen was spelt quene. It wasn't until Dr Johnson published his dictionary that spelling as we know it was made common. I'll leave it to you to read the books and decide which spelling you prefer but I'll keep with Catherine.
She was a remarkable woman and also very wealthy having been married twice before, she married again after Henry to Thomas Seymour. She out lived Henry but died shortly after childbirth of her child with Seymour. What is with Henry and three wives called Catherine? It must have made the scribes life a little easier at least. The title of survivor should really go to Anne or Anna of Cleves, she outlived all of them, she also perhaps should have the title of virgin Queen.
Elizabeth Norton has also written a book on Anne of Cleeves last year and Jane Seymour too.
All the six wives have different reasons for marrying the King and came from different backgrounds and even different countries. He married four times out of love, once out of affection and only once for Duty. Tudor History Tours have two themed tours this year looking for the Six Wives of One King and we have received a goodly number of enquiries.
http://www.tudorhistorytours.com/
Thursday 25 March 2010
Thursday 18 March 2010
The changing faces of Elizabeth I
I went to see a new exhibition yesterday that has opened this week in the Tudor room of the National Portrait Gallery called Concealed and revealed-the Changing faces of Elizabeth I.
A series of four paintings of Elizabeth that have been altered in some way from their original creation are on display and are painted at various times in her life from 1560's until her death in 1603.
An X-ray of one painting shows that Elizabeth was not the original sitter, a clear image of another face, behind and slightly higher can be seen. One painting was retouched in the 18th Century, it shows a very beautiful Elizabeth, younger too.
The highlight is the painting by an unknown artist that has not been seen by the public since 1921. It shows Elizabeth holding a serpent coiled around her right hand. It's a ghostly image as the painting has deteriorated which it was why it was removed from public display. The over painting shows Elizabeth holding a posy of Tudor roses but hidden underneath and before the varnish was applied is the serpent. A reconstruction of the serpent is placed alongside the painting to show what the original would have looked like.
Serpents held many meanings and symbolism in Tudor times. The image of Elizabeth was tightly controlled and the artist was probaly told by the controllers that it was too ambiguous for the population at the time so it was painted over. A case of Tudor spin doctors having their say.
The exhibition will run until September 26, is well worth a visit and admission is free.
http://www.tudorhistorytours.com/
A series of four paintings of Elizabeth that have been altered in some way from their original creation are on display and are painted at various times in her life from 1560's until her death in 1603.
An X-ray of one painting shows that Elizabeth was not the original sitter, a clear image of another face, behind and slightly higher can be seen. One painting was retouched in the 18th Century, it shows a very beautiful Elizabeth, younger too.
The highlight is the painting by an unknown artist that has not been seen by the public since 1921. It shows Elizabeth holding a serpent coiled around her right hand. It's a ghostly image as the painting has deteriorated which it was why it was removed from public display. The over painting shows Elizabeth holding a posy of Tudor roses but hidden underneath and before the varnish was applied is the serpent. A reconstruction of the serpent is placed alongside the painting to show what the original would have looked like.
Serpents held many meanings and symbolism in Tudor times. The image of Elizabeth was tightly controlled and the artist was probaly told by the controllers that it was too ambiguous for the population at the time so it was painted over. A case of Tudor spin doctors having their say.
The exhibition will run until September 26, is well worth a visit and admission is free.
http://www.tudorhistorytours.com/
Tuesday 9 March 2010
Cannons in the Weald
On a clear, crisp and very cold last Sunday morning where the temperature didn't get above 3C/38f, we set off with hats and gloves to find the iron making foundries in the High Weald of East Sussex. The ground was still a little icy in places under the trees and not too muddy in others, the footpaths were clearly marked and only once missed a marker and had to retrace our steps.
It is difficult to believe today that this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty was the industrial heartland of England with many Iron making foundries 500 years ago in the Tudor age. The evidence is there to be discovered with place names like Huggets Furnace farm and Little Forge. The latter operated for over a hundred years from 1560 to 1667.
Making iron in the High Weald was very efficient because all the elements to make iron were there and still are. Walking through the hilly countryside, pausing for a moment when we came across a herd of deer and later on a couple of wild boars in the woods, we found a large number of Hammer ponds flowing into Ghylls. A Ghyll is a steep sided fast flowing stream with exposed sandstone. The sandstone contains the iron ore, we know this because the surface of the stone is rusty. The stone was quarried and only had to be transported a short distance to the foundry.
The Ghyll provided the motive power for the mill wheels that in turn operated the bellows and the hammers in the furnaces. The charcoal to fuel the furnaces was provided by the Chestnut coppices that are on a 7 year harvest cycle and still are. We came across a chap preparing a charcoal burning fire alongside a hammer pond, a skill practiced since Roman times in this area.
The first blast furnace was used in England at Ashdown forest in 1496 and in 1543 the first iron cannon was successfully cast from a clay mould in one piece at Buxted by father and son Ralph and John Hogge. These cannons were much stronger and safer than the previous guns made in sections and held together by bands and therefore Sussex cannons were able to corner the market. There is a small 16th century cannon in Mayfield village High Street that was recovered from the remains of the Mayfield furnace in 1864.
It can be said that all the cannons for Henry VIII's navy were cast in the High Weald and the guns that defeated the Spanish Armada were forged in the heart of Sussex.
Our walk also passed by a number of WWII pill boxes, small squat concrete and brick buildings sited in the woods and fields along the way, these were built to fight any German invasion of Britain in 1940.
After 3 and half hours we got back to the car a little tired and rosy cheeked from the cold but very satisfied to have found so much local history.
http://www.tudorhistorytours.com/
It is difficult to believe today that this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty was the industrial heartland of England with many Iron making foundries 500 years ago in the Tudor age. The evidence is there to be discovered with place names like Huggets Furnace farm and Little Forge. The latter operated for over a hundred years from 1560 to 1667.
Making iron in the High Weald was very efficient because all the elements to make iron were there and still are. Walking through the hilly countryside, pausing for a moment when we came across a herd of deer and later on a couple of wild boars in the woods, we found a large number of Hammer ponds flowing into Ghylls. A Ghyll is a steep sided fast flowing stream with exposed sandstone. The sandstone contains the iron ore, we know this because the surface of the stone is rusty. The stone was quarried and only had to be transported a short distance to the foundry.
The Ghyll provided the motive power for the mill wheels that in turn operated the bellows and the hammers in the furnaces. The charcoal to fuel the furnaces was provided by the Chestnut coppices that are on a 7 year harvest cycle and still are. We came across a chap preparing a charcoal burning fire alongside a hammer pond, a skill practiced since Roman times in this area.
The first blast furnace was used in England at Ashdown forest in 1496 and in 1543 the first iron cannon was successfully cast from a clay mould in one piece at Buxted by father and son Ralph and John Hogge. These cannons were much stronger and safer than the previous guns made in sections and held together by bands and therefore Sussex cannons were able to corner the market. There is a small 16th century cannon in Mayfield village High Street that was recovered from the remains of the Mayfield furnace in 1864.
It can be said that all the cannons for Henry VIII's navy were cast in the High Weald and the guns that defeated the Spanish Armada were forged in the heart of Sussex.
Our walk also passed by a number of WWII pill boxes, small squat concrete and brick buildings sited in the woods and fields along the way, these were built to fight any German invasion of Britain in 1940.
After 3 and half hours we got back to the car a little tired and rosy cheeked from the cold but very satisfied to have found so much local history.
http://www.tudorhistorytours.com/
Thursday 4 March 2010
Syon House
March 3rd 1415 Syon House was founded by Henry V, that glorious year in which he fought and won the battle of Agincourt. Originally an Abbey and the only Brigettine House in the country in th 15th Century. Syon has remained in the Percy family since 1584 and is situated within a beautiful park on the river Thames not 10 miles from the centre of London.
Syon House plays a large part in the Tudor century. It became Crown Property in 1539 after the suppression of the Abbey. Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's 5th wife was incarcerated there on her way to prison and execution at the Tower of London in 1542.
In 1547 the body of King Henry VIII lay for a night in the abbey church on it's way to Windsor for burial and fulfilled a gruesome prophecy from a Franciscan Friar William Peto in 1535. A dog was found licking up certain remains that had leaked from the coffin, yeuk!
The Duke of Northumberland proclaimed Lady Jane Grey as the true monarch at Syon following Henry's death. Nine days later Mary had the throne and Lady Jane Grey was executed at the Tower the following year.
Tudor History Tours visits Syon at the start of the Six wives of One king tour in May and September.
www.tudorhistorytours.com
Syon House plays a large part in the Tudor century. It became Crown Property in 1539 after the suppression of the Abbey. Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's 5th wife was incarcerated there on her way to prison and execution at the Tower of London in 1542.
In 1547 the body of King Henry VIII lay for a night in the abbey church on it's way to Windsor for burial and fulfilled a gruesome prophecy from a Franciscan Friar William Peto in 1535. A dog was found licking up certain remains that had leaked from the coffin, yeuk!
The Duke of Northumberland proclaimed Lady Jane Grey as the true monarch at Syon following Henry's death. Nine days later Mary had the throne and Lady Jane Grey was executed at the Tower the following year.
Tudor History Tours visits Syon at the start of the Six wives of One king tour in May and September.
www.tudorhistorytours.com
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