Category: Picture of the Week

The grave of Catherine of Aragon at Peterborough Cathedral. Photo May 2016.

Rounding out Peterborough Cathedral month of the Picture of the Week, is, of course, the grave of Catherine of Aragon. When I visited in May of last year it was the cap of a 17-year journey of visiting all of the graves of the wives of Henry VIII. Friday marks the 480th anniversary of her burial at the Cathedral (which was actually an abbey at the time) and as you can see in the photos, people routinely leave pomegranates and other mementos at the gravesite.

South Aisle of Peterborough Cathedral. Photo May 2015.

Peterborough is probably best known among Tudor history fans as the burial place of Catherine of Aragon, but it was also the original burial place of Mary Queen of Scots after her execution at nearby Fotheringhay Castle. Mary’s body was later moved to Westminster Abbey after her son inherited the English throne as James I. The Scottish flags in the photo above are across the aisle from the area that is now marked as Mary’s former burial spot.

Looking from the choir through to the nave of Peterborough Cathedral. Photo May 2015.

West front of Peterborough Cathedral. Photo May 2015.

I’m planning to do a monthly theme with the Pictures of the Week this year and since Catherine of Aragon was buried in Peterborough in January that’s going to be the first theme for 2016.

Blickling Hall and Gardens. Photo May 2015.

The Nutcracker Christmas Shop, Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo May 2015.

I was trying to think of something seasonally-appropriate to post today and then I remembered the Christmas store I saw in Stratford! (The photo above was taken out of the window of the Shakespeare Birthplace.)

Banners above the grave of Catherine of Aragon in Peterborough Cathedral. Photo May 2015.

The foreground banner is the Royal Arms and the background banner are Catherine’s arms showing the symbols of her parents’ combined kingdoms.

The Tudor front of Hampton Court Palace. Photo May 2015.

Robert Dudley’s marble fireplace in Leicester’s Gatehouse at Kenilworth Castle. Photo May 2015.

Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon – burial place of William Shakespeare and family. Photo May 2015.

Junction of the Tudor/Elizabethan section (left) of Hampton Court Palace with the William and Mary section (right). Photo May 2015.

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Shottery (near Stratford-upon-Avon). Photo May 2015.

17 years after making a quick stop at the cottage and promising myself to come back and fully visit someday, I did!

Astronomical Clock at Hampton Court Palace. Photo May 2015.

The colors on the clock looked a bit brighter than the last time I had seen them in person (June 2000) since it had a refurbishment in those 15 years!

The Norman Keep of Kenilworth Castle, viewed from the gardens next to Leicester’s Gatehouse. Photo May 2015.

Crossing of Peterborough Cathedral. Photo May 2015.

The combined arms of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour outside the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. Photo May 2015.

King Edward VI School, Stratford upon Avon. Photo May 2015.

Entrance to Framlingham Castle. Photo May 2015.

Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk. Photo May 2015.

Oxburgh has many (most?) of the needlework pieces done by Mary Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick and they allowed photographs, so look for those sometime down the line!

St. Mary’s Church, Bury St. Edmunds, burial place of Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk. Photo May 2015.