Sudeley Castle & Coughton Court

Day 5 Sudeley Castle, Stratford on Avon and Coughton Court.
Today the weather has cooled down a bit so walking around is very pleasant. Sudeley Castle was first today, the home of Catherine Parr, the last wife of Henry VIII. She died here a week after childbirth when she was married to Thomas Seymour and she is laid to rest in the church next to the castle in a splendid tomb quiet befitting of a Queen of England.

The Castle was destroyed by Cromwell’s troops during the Civil War and stayed a ruin until it was rescued by the present owner’s descendents in the early 1800’s. Presently there are costumes from David Starkey’s six wives of Henry VIII TV series. There’s also a new exhibition made for children that shows the visit of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

Sudeley has beautiful grounds and an amazing collection of peacocks from all round the world. It was here, somewhere in the grounds, that Thomas Seymour took advantage of a young Princess Elizabeth when she was about 14 years old, it was in fact child abuse and Catherine finally sent Elizabeth away.

On to Stratford-on-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, just so see the houses where he was born and died. All in the group said that there were too many tourists n the town so we only really viewed the house where he died. There is an archaeological dig going on to excavate and find out more about the house. The artefacts they have found are on display in the house.

On to Coughton Court ( pronounced coat-en) the home of the Throckmorton family for 600 years. The house is simply a magnificent example of what can be preserved when one family owns the same property for generations. The Throckmorton’s are a catholic family and were involved in many intrigues during the Tudor period culminating in the Gunpowder plot and there are many priest holes about the place.
Bess Throckmorton got married to Sir Walter Raleigh, much to Queen Elizabeth’s displeasure and was banished here form court. After Raleigh was executed in the Tower Bess was said to have carried his head around for the next 25 years of her life. In the yellow drawing room they have a head in a canvass bag under the table just to scare the visitors.

The real heart of the place is the chemise worn by Mary Queen of Scots when she was executed, the gown has been carbon dated and is of the correct date and if you catch the light correctly there are stains visible. Right next to this is the Bishops gown actually made by Catherine of Aragon and her ladies. Again the gown has been authenticated. It is a magnificent piece of work and was found in one of the priest holes by pure chance when some renovation work was being carried out. It gives me a quick heartbeat just to look at this work held by a beloved Queen of England.

We stayed the night in an old coaching inn, Milsoms Hotel in Old Kenilworth built in 1538 around an Oak tree. We had dinner right across the street in even an older pub called the Famous Virgins and castle.