Patterned brick chimneys at Hampton Court Palace. Photo May 2000.
Because a lot of us have cold weather right now, a reminder of how the Tudors kept warm in winter. 🙂
I can’t believe we’re at POTW #52, meaning that I’ve been posting every week for a whole year. And there are still lots of photos out there for me to keep putting up – and hopefully I’ll add to the collection in the next few years.
I’m recycling the image from the past couple of years, but here they are again, our favorite family decked out in holiday cheer:
And here’s Henry 8.0 trying to order Christmas puddings:
Henry in that hat looks kind of like the version in the “family photo” up top. 🙂 And Henry going on about The Stig – love it! (Yes, I’m a Top Gear fan.)
And last but not least, here’s an article about how Henry VIII really celebrated the holidays, from the Mail Online:
Stuffed peacock, fake snow and lashings of dancing girls… Henry VIII had a VERY merry Christmas indeed!
Five hundred years ago this Christmas, there was a new king on the throne of England. He was 18 years old, as handsome as a prince in a fairytale, sporty and over 6ft.
He spoke elegant French and Italian – and Latin, of course, like all educated people – wrote his own songs and sang them himself.
He was credited with a sweet nature and was in love with his wife. So, what would you give the young Henry VIII for Christmas? What was there left for him to want?
Overlooking the entrance to Raglan Castle, Monmouthshire, Wales. Photo May 2003.
Raglan was the home of Henry VII as a boy when he was in the custody of the Herberts in the 1460s. Raglan is under the care of Cadw which oversees many Welsh historical places.
A section of the outer wall and moat of the Tower of London. Photo May 2003.
Photo: Ed Nute
I first blogged about this project back in October 2007 and have been following the progress ever since (now at the Thistle Threads blog after the original project funding ran out). The project recreated an embroidered lady’s jacket from just after the Elizabethan period. You may remember a similar jacket in the Victoria and Albert Museum that I featured as a Picture of the Week back in July.
Scroll back through the last few posts at the Thistle Threads blog for more photos of the jacket from the big reveal. The photos in candlelight are particularly captivating.
This year it is 50% off downloads! Just head on over to the TannerRitchie Publishing website to take advantage of the offer.
They also have a blog, are on Twitter and an RSS feed of new titles, which I just added to my newsreader so I can keep up with things they are adding to their collection. It has been a while since I checked their site and it turns out I missed a lot of new additions!
I’ve blogged about Philip Sheppard‘s wonderful soundtrack to the Starkey series “Henry VIII: Mind of a Tyrant” several times before and now I’m pleased to write that it is available on iTunes!
Here’s the link to the album in the UK iTunes store and here’s the link for the US iTunes store.
The Gatehouse and Henry VII Tower of Pembroke Castle. Photo May 2003.
The traveling exhibit of the British Library’s Henry VIII: Man and Monarch is now on its way to Portsmouth where it will be at the Mary Rose Museum from December 12th to January 17th.
Check out the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard page for more information, including other educational and family events.
I know this is already old news, but I still wanted to post about it.
The new Medieval and Renaissance Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London opened last week. Here’s a video and article from the Guardian.
And here’s a link to the page for the new galleries at the V&A website.
Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle, Scotland. Photo May 2000.
The Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle is dated to the reign of James IV (r. 1488-1513) and still contains the original hammerbeam roof.
From the BBC:
Archaeologists are preparing to excavate the site of Shakespeare’s final home to find out more about the history of the building.
The New Place, in Stratford-upon-Avon, was built in 1483 and is thought to be where the playwright died in 1616.
The building itself was demolished in 1759, but it is thought remains of the old house are still underground.
Archaeologists will start initial tests on the site on Tuesday and a full dig could be carried out next year.
The experts from Birmingham Archaeology will be searching for the foundations of the New Place and will be looking through the original wells and possibly rubbish pits.
New Place showed up here back in June as Picture of the Week #23
From The Guardian:
A unique archive on the theatre of Shakespeare’s times, revealing everything from the price of a ferry ticket across the Thames to the cost of a tumbler’s breeches, becomes available free to the world today when the papers of the theatre owner and entrepreneur Philip Henslowe and his actor son-in-law Edward Alleyn go online.
Henslowe built one of the first theatres in London, the Rose, on the site of a bear-baiting ring and brothel. Shakespeare almost certainly worked as an actor there and some of his plays, including Titus Andronicus, were first performed there.
Shakespeare earned fortunes
What would happen if Henry VIII were to find himself in 21st century suburbia? Possibly a little something like this:
There are already two more videos in the series and a blog post, which you can find here. Stay tuned to the BBC Comedy Blog for more from Henry 8.0 and become a fan on Facebook!
Wax figure of Mary Queen of Scots at Madame Tussauds London. Photo May 1998.
This is the last of the “Madame Tussauds series”, so we’ll be back to buildings, etc. next week!
Yet another interesting property up for sale to add to the list that I’ve blogged about. It’s probably a good thing I don’t have a ton of money, since I’d never be able to decide what place to buy! 🙂
From the BBC:
Henry VIII’s love nest for sale
A property where newlywed Henry VIII stayed with his second wife Anne Boleyn has gone on the market after being rebuilt from a state of near collapse
The gatehouse on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent is all that remains of Shurland Hall, the Tudor palace owned by a courtier of the King, Thomas Cheyney.
It was probably built especially for Henry and Anne’s visit, when the King spent three days hunting.
The Spitalfields Trust has restored it and put it up for sale for
From The Telegraph:
Just 3/4 of an inch high, the stamp-sized pair is expected to fetch up to
Wax figure of Elizabeth I at Madame Tussauds London. Photo May 1998.
I swear I didn’t plan it so that this photo of Elizabeth would come one day after the 451st anniversary of her becoming queen. Happily, It just worked out that way!
Wax figure of Katherine Parr at Madame Tussauds London. Photo May 1998.
I’m only a few days behind on this one! Showtime announced last week that the fourth and final season of The Tudors will premiere in the US on Sunday April 11, 2010.
