Category: Picture of the Week

The 12th century keep at Kenilworth Castle. Photo May 1998

Kenilworth is definitely on my “re-visit” list for some future trip back to England. Besides the new Elizabethan gardens, I want to see the the finished work on the gatehouse, which was still undergoing restoration (and consequently covered in scaffolding) when I was there in 1998.

17th century embroidered jacket and painting. Victoria & Albert Museum, May 2003.

If I remember correctly, this is the earliest known example of a textile shown in a painting where both the painting and the textile still exist. It slightly post-dates the Elizabethan period – the jacket was made in 1610 and altered in 1620. The sitter is Margaret Laton and the painting is attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger.

For a better version of this image, here is a link to the page for these items at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Longleat House. May 1998

On my first trip to the UK in 1998, I was driving west from my first stop of the adventure (Stonehenge) towards the next stop (Glastonbury) and saw the sign for Longleat and decided to drive up and take a look. I didn’t have time in my “schedule” to go in to the house, so I just snapped a few photos from the car park and rested a little before getting back on the road. I did something similar the next day in south Wales making a quick stop at Tintern Abbey. Unlike Longleat, I did actually get a second chance to visit Tintern and properly tour it in 2003.

Medal with a portrait of Queen Mary I. British Museum, May 1998.

From the British Museum website page for this item:

Cast and chased gold medal of Mary I, by Jacopo da Trezzo
Brussels or London, about AD 1554-55

This medal depicts Queen Mary I of England (reigned 1553-58), who was married to Philip from 1554 until her death. Having her portrait made by a Milanese medallist was part of the process of presenting herself to the world as a Habsburg bride. At about the same time, the Habsburg court portraitist, Antonis Mor (about 1516-1576), was sent to paint Mary’s portrait. Jacopo may even have gone with him to London; the images by the painter and the medallist are closely related.

The medal survives in many other silver and bronze examples. This example is the unique surviving gold specimen, which may have been commissioned by Philip as a gift to Mary.

Dover Castle. May 2003.

Part of the exhibition in Henry II’s keep at Dover Castle showing the preparations that went in to a visit by Henry VIII.

Harlech Castle, North Wales. May 2000.

This one is only tangentially related to Tudor history, but I wanted to use another picture of a cool Welsh castle. Harlech castle is one of the ring of fortresses around north Wales built in the late 13th century by King Edward I of England. In the 15th century is was a stronghold of the Lancastrian forces during the Wars of the Roses.

North front of Westminster Abbey. May 2003

In honor of the 500th anniversary of the coronation of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, I’m posting a photo of Westminster Abbey, where they were crowned. More on the anniversary in another post!

Edinburgh Castle, Scotland. Photo May 2000.

North of the border this week, for something a little different. The temperature in Edinburgh is about half that of Texas today (in Fahrenheit) which has me dreaming of being in more comfortable climes.

New Place, Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo May 1998.

New Place was the house that William Shakespeare lived in after he retired and moved back to Stratford and is where he died. Unfortunately the building itself no longer exists. The building on the left is Nash’s House, named after Thomas Nash, first husband of Shakespeare’s granddaughter. Both properties are part of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Penshurst Place and Gardens. Photo May 2003

St. Mary’s as seen from the walls of Warwick Castle. May 1998.

The Collegiate Church of St. Mary, Warwick dates to the 12th century and was rebuilt in the 14th century. Ambrose and Robert Dudley (along with Robert’s wife Lettice and their son) are buried in the Beauchamp Chapel of the church.

Ivory plaque with the arms of Henry VIII. British Museum, May 2003.

Here’s the page for this item at the British Museum website.

The Jewel Tower of the remains of the medieval Palace of Westminster. Photo May 1998.

Wooden tankard recovered from the wreck of The Mary Rose. Photo June 2000.

Leeds Castle. May 2003

If ever there was a place I need to go back and visit on a nicer day, it’s Leeds Castle! It’s such a beautiful castle and setting, it’s really a shame it was such so damp and dreary when we were there. Still, a lovely place to visit!

Armor for man and horse of Henry VIII from about 1515, on display at the White Tower in the Tower of London. Photo May 2003.

In celebration of the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession to the throne this week, I went with this picture of armor from early in Henry’s reign. The gold-colored (it’s actually brass) border of the skirt on the human armor are the letters H and K (for Henry and Katherine). This armor is currently part of the Dressed to Kill exhibition at the Tower of London.

King Henry VIII’s astrolabe at the British Museum. May 1998.

From the British Museum website:

This small astrolabe, signed by Bastien Le Seney from Normandy, clockmaker to Henry VIII, is inscribed with the King’s motto and arms but surprisingly the quartering is mixed up and lions in the top left quarter face in the wrong direction.

Dimensions
Diameter: 85.5 millimetres
Thickness: 4.5 millimetres
Length: 124 millimetres (Overall length including suspension loop.)

Curator’s comments
For the reversed quartering (namely England appearing in the first and fourth quarters rather than the second and third) cf. Philip Lankaster, ‘A note on some partizans with the Tudor royal arms in the Royal Armouries’, in: Royal Armouries Yearbook, 7, 2002, pp. 40-45 (Copy on file).

The quality of the markings and the execution of the intrument as well as the lions in the first quarter facing sinister raise serious doubts about its authenticity as an instrument made for Henry himself.

The Queens Garden, one of the many lovely gardens at Sudeley Castle. May 1998.

The Banqueting Hall ruins can be seen to the right.

Newly-discovered portrait by Matt Groening the Elder

[Yes, I know it’s lame to use something that I did a long time ago, but I didn’t have a chance to Photoshop something new for April Fools’ Day!]

Carved sign in Richmond. May 2000.

Since yesterday was the anniversary of the death of Elizabeth I, I chose this image from part of the remaining section of Richmond Palace, where she died in 1603.