North Wales Church with Tudor ancestral connections vandalized

This is just sickening:

A church’s Elizabethan Tudor Rose window has been smashed to bits by thieves just a fortnight after clergymen proudly showed it off to the Prince of Wales.

They climbed in through the remains of the stained glass window at St Gredifael Church in Penymynydd, Anglesey, seized an ancient cannonball and hurled it through another Elizabethan window.

Full article (2 pages)

This is the window that was smashed, which some of you might recognize as the image that used to be on the front page of the website:

Click on the image to go to a page with a little bit more about the window and a link to the full sized picture. I’ve also got a few other pictures of the church itself, which I visited in 2000. (I’m in the process of re-doing all my photos from the negatives, so at some point I’ll have some nicer and bigger versions of the church photos up.)

Looking for the bones of Richard III

From the Leicester Mercury

The mystery has baffled historians for centuries – what became of the remains of Richard III?

Folklore and many history books claim that the king’s bones were dug up and hurled into the River Soar some 50 years after his death in 1485.

Others contend that they remain where they were laid.

Archaeologists may get the chance to find out when they excavate the site of the former Greyfriars Church, in St Martins, Leicester.

Full article

Couple of short news items

Sixteenth Century Falconry tag to be auctioned

A rare silver varvel, or falcon’s tag, that belonged to the powerful and oppressive lawyer, Richard Rich, is to be sold at auction in July.

This silver tag is of shield form with one side engraved “Lord Rich” above a na