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Category: Architecture News

Sunday Short Takes

Short round-up this week. I’m sure there was stuff I missed during my crazy busy week!

* Peterborough Cathedral’s Spanish queen – The connection between Peterborough Cathedral and Henry VIII’s Spanish queen is little known outside the city.

* Cranmer’s Ambiguous Legacy – Archive article from History Today posted for the anniversary of Cranmer’s execution last week

* Tudor England beckons debut author – Nice profile of Nancy Bilyeau and her first book The Crown (which I read and thoroughly enjoyed and will eventually write a review of… hopefully before the sequel comes out!)

And finally, a video guide to Kenilworth Castle by Dan Snow. Somehow I missed this when it was posted back in September!

Sunday Short Takes

A few stories from the always-fascinating wreck of the Mary Rose:

* Mary Rose skeletons studied by Swansea sports scientists

* Acid damage is latest battle for the warship Mary Rose

And the latest History Extra podcast from BBC History Magazine features Suzannah Lipscomb talking about Tudor courtiers and Kate Hay talking about the Great Bed of Ware. Be sure to check out the related slide shows:

* The Vyne, Hampshire

* The Great Bed of Ware

Eastbury Manor House

A while back I received an email from Eastbury Manor House about their upcoming events and looked into the property some more since I wasn’t familiar with it. Eastbury was built during the reign of Elizabeth I and is owned by the National Trust and managed by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, where it is located.

This summer they will have a special Tudor tie-in event to the Olympics:

Saturday 7 July Tudor Olympics!
Indulge in some Tudor games. Meet Amy barn Owl, Tink the hawk and have your picture taken for a pound with birds of prey. There will be the opportunity to stroke these birds and find out more but there will not be a flying display. Get ready for some action and meet two Tudor archers in camp. Have a go at archery all day, suitable for 5+ with demonstrations at 11.30 and 1.30 if you are brave enough. There will be Children craft activities.

You can find more information about the property at: National Trust: Eastbury Manor House and London Borough of Barking and Dagenham – Eastbury Manor House: A magnificent Tudor survival

Sunday Short Takes

Not a lot of news this week (although I’m sure some got past me while I was in my headcold-induced fog).

A neat video about the conservation of the White Tower of the Tower of London by Historic Royal Palaces:

And a short video about Henry VIII’s defense of Catholicism from BBC Radio 4’s The Art of Monarchy series. Check out the round-up of the series at the Lady Jane Grey Reference Guide blog

Sunday Short Takes

* The BBC Radio 4 program Woman’s Hour talked about Margaret Tudor in the past week’s episode. You can listen to it here.

* All Singing, All Dancing – “Sexually explicit jigs were a major part of the attraction of the Elizabethan, Jacobean and Restoration stage, as Lucie Skeaping explains.”

* Nonsuch Palace Gallery to open its doors – This is the gallery that has the model of Nonsuch Palace that I posted about previously

* The February issue of the BBC History magazine has an article on Foxe’s Book of Martyrs that sounds interesting.

In a follow-up to this round-up from two years ago, Greenwich has now been officially made a Royal Borough.

* Greenwich celebrates royal borough honour

* What makes Greenwich a ‘royal’ borough?

Sunday Short Takes

* BBC1 to screen War of the Roses epic – I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I’m happy to see some more historical drama on TV (especially that period) but on the other, we’ll have to deal with more distortions, misconceptions, and mistakes that need to be set straight.

* Bloody Tales of the Tower – Presented by Suzannah Lipscomb and Joe Crowley for National Geographic. Now *this* one I am unreservedly looking forward to!

* US publication of sequel to Mantel

Sunday Short Takes

* Ludlow Castle seeks new keyholder – Want to be the custodian of the castle where Arthur Tudor died?

* Revealed, Henry VIII’s lost pleasure palace: Amazing scale model recreates Nonsuch Palace more than 300 years after it was destroyed – More photos of the recreation of Nonsuch Palace that I posted about in a previous Sunday Short Takes

* Scottish football ‘more than 500 years old’ – Way back when this blog used to be a static “News and Events” page I had a post about the ball mentioned in this article, but it must not have made it through the transition. This new documentary evidence sheds some interesting light on the history of sport in the 16th century.

Sunday Short Takes

I had a really busy week and lots of interesting stories that should have had dedicated blog posts came along, but unfortunately I just didn’t have the time to write them up. So, you get a massive link dump today instead. 🙂

* Early Journal Content on JSTOR, Free to Anyone in World – The electronic journal database JSTOR has opened up, for free access, content for which the copyright has expired.

* Oxford research ‘recreates’ Henry VIII’s Nonsuch Palace and A king’s ransom for Nonsuch Palace model – Neat reproduction of the lost palace

* Anne Boleyn gave birth to Princess Elizabeth on September 7th, 1533. Susan Walters Schmid provides an interpretation of Anne Boleyn’s life, who, even almost 500 years after her death, remains an intriguing figure. – Published on the History Today website on Elizabeth I’s birthday

* Mary Queen of Scots necklace on display – the necklace will be on display through October 31 at Annet House Museum in Linlithgow, Scotland

* Quadripartite Indenture – Indenture between Henry VII and the monks of Westminster Abbey from 1504 featured on the British Library’s Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts Blog

* McMullen Museum hosts rare treasures of British history – A great chance to see some Tudor and other British history treasures on display in the US. More information from the museum

From the “I really should pick up a lottery ticket department”:

* Homes of the Week: Castle Lodge, Ludlow – Just outside the walls of Ludlow Castle

* Up for sale at

Sunday Short Takes

* Tudor coroners’ records give clue to ‘real Ophelia’ for Shakespeare – I saw a lot of articles going around last week on this discovery by Dr. Steven Gunn, but I liked the discussion in this one of safety in the period in general. I’m particularly intrigued by the fatal maypole accidents…

* Mary Arden’s Farm blog – If you’re interested in Tudor and Elizabethan daily life topics, check out this new blog from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

* English Heritage Free Sites Audio Tours – English Heritage has put up mp3 versions of audio tours for their free sites that you can download. Be sure to check out some of the other goodies in their multimedia library!

* Damon Albarn and the Elizabethan magical mystery man and The Mystical Artefacts Of John Dee At The British Museum – I don’t get a whole lot of hits on my “John Dee” news alert, so it was particularly surprising to get two in one week (even though they are related, prompted by a new opera)

* Gunpowder Plot documents among millions of papers put online by National Archives and Fourth and final part of State Papers Online – I’ve linked to related stories on this topic in the past and it’s nice to see that it is finally complete. Unfortunately there still doesn’t appear to be a way for individuals to access it without an institutional affiliation (which I’m lucky to have through work!).

* And finally, Mullions XP – Operating System For The Tudor Times, a fun video sent to me by Stephanie through twitter. Enjoy!

Midweek news round-up

Since I haven’t gotten around to a Sunday Short Takes for the last couple of weeks, here’s a midweek round-up:

* The new Fit for a King exhibit of 500 years of royal armour opens April 1 at The Tower of London. The exhibit will be on the top floor of the White Tower.

* The Anne Boleyn Files has started a calendar competition for photos of Tudor places they will be producing in 2012. Check out the details here!

* And also at the Anne Boleyn Files, a nice write-up of a lecture by David Starkey on Acton Court, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

Sunday Short Takes

* All the King’s Fools: ‘Disability is deep in comedy’s DNA’ – Heritage entertainment develops historical accuracy at Hampton Court this week, as learning-disabled actors play Tudor jesters

* Milestone for work to save Astley Castle – Restoration work at a 13th century former stately home has reached a significant milestone with work ongoing to secure the building. (article with video) Previous story on the Astley Castle preservation here.

* Architect creates model of monarch

Stirling Castle carvings finished


The Stirling Heads in place with some of the palace painters. Image from the Stirling Castle blog.

I’ve been linking to stories about the restoration of Stirling Castle’s Royal Palace to its 16th century appearance, including the recreation of the Stirling Heads for several years (see here, here and here), and I’m pleased to now link to several stories about the completion of the project!

Renaissance heads of Caesar and Henry VIII to return to Stirling Castle Royal Palace of James V – Culture 24

Kings and queens and classical heroes return to Stirling Castle – The Scotsman

Meticulous work comes to a head – The Edinburgh Evening News

Castle masterpiece work unveiled – The Galloway Gazette