Just a couple of things this week:
* JFK and a neglected Tudor – Alison Weir discusses Elizabeth of York in the second half of this week’s BBC History Extra podcast
* New inventory of manuscript collection reveals unprecedented level of detail for scholars of British history – From the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin (my university!!). I love that there are letters signed by Elizabeth I just on the other side of campus from my office. 🙂
Imposing entrance to Chirk Castle in Wales, part of Robert Dudley’s holdings granted by Elizabeth I. Photo May 2000.
Just a few stories this week –
* Toys and games that killed in Tudor England – More interesting stuff from Steven Gunn and Tomasz Gromelski’s research into coroner’s reports.
* Great works: Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VI) by Hans Holbein the Younger, circa 1538
* The Lost Palace of Henry The VIII – An interesting look at Otford Palace
And finally…
* The series Tudor Monastery Farm that I mentioned back in August is now airing on BBC Two. You can watch it online if you have access to iPlayer.
Entrance to Leeds Castle. Photo May 2003.
Quite a hodge-podge of things today, including three things that you can help out with!
* Foose noted in the comments a couple of weeks ago that actor Nigel Davenport passed away on October 25th. He was Norfolk in the 1966 “A Man for All Seasons” and Bothwell in the 1971 “Mary Queen of Scots”.
And now on to the things you can help with!
* If you’ve ever downloaded documents from Archive.org please consider sending them a small donation after their scanning facility was damaged by fire last week. The archive has scanned many old books with primary sources and are a valuable resource to Tudor history fans and researchers alike.
* Have an interesting Tudor item you might like to sell? The Channel 4 program Four Rooms wants to hear from you! Click here for more information (PDF).
* The Rediscovering Rycote project that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago is hosting a Wikipedia Editathon on Friday November 15. You don’t need any prior Wikipedia editing experience and you can participate virtually if you aren’t lucky enough to be in Oxford. You can learn more about it here!
Storm clouds gather over the gardens at the Old Palace at Hatfield. Photo May 2000.
Flying buttresses on Westminster Abbey. Photo May 2003.
In honor of the 528th anniversary of the coronation of Henry VII!
Books
Alison Weir’s newest work on Tudor history is about Elizabeth of York and is out on November 7 in the UK and December 3 in the US.
And another prolific writer of Tudor history books, Professor David Loades, has a work coming out on Thomas Cromwell at the end of the month. It is scheduled to be released on November 28 in both the UK and US.
And finally, a new work on The Field of Cloth of Gold by Glenn Richardson is out on November 30 in the UK and January 7, 2014 in the US.
Continuing exhibitions
* Wrapping up this month: The National Museum of Scotland’s exhibition on Mary Queen of Scots closes on November 17.
* Elizabeth I & Her People opened at the National Portrait Gallery in London on October 10, 2013 and runs through January 5, 2014. Be sure to check out their Events Page for lectures, tours, and other activities associated with the exhibition.
Lots of stories this week since I got totally sidetracked on something last weekend and never got around to writing a post!
* Bodleian Libraries’ archives reveal ‘lost’ Rycote mansion – The “lost” history of a Tudor mansion that hosted six English kings and queens, including Henry VIII, has been restored in a new online archive.
You can see the online archive here: Rediscovering Rycote. There are some great resources at the site, including a nice palaeography tutorial. Yes, my quest to get better at reading Tudor handwriting still continues…
* And more from the Elizabeth I and Her People exhibition at the NPG:
Elizabeth I and Her People – Slideshow from BBC History Extra. And the first part of this week’s History Extra podcast includes a discussion of the exhibition with Dr. Tarnya Cooper.
The National Portrait Gallery’s You Tube channel has several videos related to the exhibition. I’ve embedded one below, but be sure to check out the others at the channel.
From atop Raglan Castle. Photo May 2003.
Beaumaris Castle and Town. Photo May 2000.
A couple of interesting articles about the Sir Walter Ralegh portrait on display at the new Elizabeth I & Her People exhibition at the NPG:
* Sir Walter Raleigh’s crescent moon compliment to Elizabeth I revealed
Anne Boleyn wax figure. Photo June 2000.
That’s Henry’s hand on her shoulder, which was out of the frame in last week’s photo.
As I mentioned in the comments last week, when the wax museum closed they sold off the waxworks at auction if I understand correctly. I wonder if someone has this pair somewhere?
With the opening of the Cheapside Hoard exhibit at the Museum of London, there have been a few articles with more information on the fantastic collection of jewels:
* Mystery of the Cheapside Hoard – Includes a video and slideshow featuring some of the jewels
* A Priceless Treasure (And The Crime Behind It) Finally Exposed
The conservation of The Mary Rose enters its next stage:
* Drying times ahead for Henry VIII’s Mary Rose warship
More Richard III-related archaeological discoveries:
* Richard III’s lost chapel ‘has been found’
And speaking of Richard III…
* The mysteries of the Princes in the Tower – Leanda de Lisle is featured in the first half of the October 3rd History Extra podcast discussing the fate of the Princes
Wax Figure of Henry VIII. Photo June 2000
This was at Brading – The Experience waxworks museum on the Isle of Wight, the same place as the one of Elizabeth I that posted in Picture of the Week #116. I poked around to see what had become of the site since the museum closed and it looks like the newer parts were demolished last year for a housing development and the historic building is being repurposed.
Oh boy are there a bunch of reasons that I wish I was going to England in October (which sadly I am not)!
Books
Leanda de Lisle’s latest work on the Tudors will be out on October 8 in the US. It’s titled Tudor: The Family Story in the UK and Tudor: Passion. Manipulation. Murder. The Story of England’s Most Notorious Royal Family in the US.
Susan Higginbotham has written her first non-fiction book, The Woodvilles: The Wars of the Roses and England’s Most Infamous Family, which is out October 1 in the UK and will be out in January in the US.
Terry Breverton has a new biography of Richard III coming out at the end of October in both the US and UK:
And a couple of things from previous months that I missed:
An academic work entitled Reading and Writing during the Dissolution: Monks, Friars, and Nuns 1530-1558 by Mary Erler that came out in August (which you can learn more about here and here)
And just this week, Claire Ridgway of The Anne Boleyn Files has released The Anne Boleyn Collection II: Anne Boleyn and the Boleyn Family which you can get on Kindle and in paperback (the links go to the paperback edition):
Events
BBC History Magazine’s next History Weekend is on October 25-27 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. There are lots of Tudor-related talks, and plenty of other topics for those of you who branch out from the 16th century! And for those of you who can’t attend (like me – sob), in the past they have put some of the talks up as podcasts, so check out the BBC History Extra podcasts if you haven’t already!
New exhibitions
* Elizabeth I & Her People opens at the National Portrait Gallery in London on October 10, 2013 and runs through January 5, 2014. Be sure to check out their Events Page for lectures, tours, and other activities associated with the exhibition.
* The Museum of London has a new exhibition on the Cheapside Hoard, a collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewels that were found in a cellar in 1912. The exhibition opens October 11, 2013 and runs through April 27, 2014.
Sorry there wasn’t a round-up last week – there weren’t a bunch of articles and I was short on time anyway. So here is a nice assortment of Tudory links for your viewing pleasure!
* Astley Castle restoration project wins Stirling prize – I’ve posted about the efforts to save Astley Castle (which has Tudor history ties) in the past here and here, so it was nice to see it get this recognition.
* Photos: Astley Castle wins Britain’s biggest architecture award – another article about the prize, with a nice photo gallery.
* Lacey Baldwin Smith, a ‘Big Name Historian’, Dies as 90 – Thanks to Nasim for posting this on Twitter a couple of days ago. I was surprised that I hadn’t already heard about it!
* Richard III: Leicester Cathedral reveals burial plans – This was one of the stories that I had in the queue last week and of course the story has stayed in the headlines with the criticism of the design and the continuing battle over where Richard III should be buried.
* ‘Battle of Bosworth relic’ sells at Derbyshire auction – A fragment of a flag believed to have been carried into the Battle of Bosworth has been sold at auction.
* The South West in the Tudor age – Nice photo gallery from History Extra
Close-up of the sign in the stair in the White Tower. Photo May 2003.
As promised last week, here’s a close-up of the sign!
The text reads:
The tradition of the Tower has always pointed out this as the stair under which the bones of Edward the 5th and his brother were found in Charles the 2nds time and from whence they were removed to Westminster Abbey.
Stairway in the White Tower where tradition holds that the bones of two young boys thought to be the “Princes in the Tower” were discovered in the 17th century. Photo May 2003.
I was surprised to discover that I hadn’t used any of my photos of this sign and stairway before now. But with the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower being an even hotter topic than usual right now, it seemed like a good time to finally post one! Stay tuned for a close-up of the sign next week.
Not near as many things to link to as last week!
