Picture of the Week #508

Ruins of the Abbey of St. Mary, Kenilworth. Photo May 2015.

St. Mary’s was founded in the 12th century and, not surprisingly, was dissolved in the reign of Henry VIII. The ruins are now part of a park that also houses the parish church and is a short walk from the castle.

Picture of the Week #507

Remains of Castle Acre Caste. Photo May 2015.

The original motte and bailey castle (parts of which you see here) were built in the early medieval period and had fallen into ruins by the late 14th century. In the Tudor period it passed through the hands of several prominent figures such as Thomas Howard, Thomas Gresham, and Thomas Cecil (son of William Cecil and half-brother of Robert Cecil).

Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for August 2018

Books

I knew some things got past me in recent months, so here are a couple of those books:

Imagining Shakespeare’s Wife: The Afterlife of Anne Hathaway by Katherine West Scheil came out in the UK back in late June, but the US version will be released at the end of August:

And the most recent work of the late John Ashdown-Hill, The Mythology of the ‘Princes in the Tower’ was released in July in the UK and will be out in November in the US.

And in other new releases Gender, Family, and Politics: The Howard Women, 1485-1558 by Nicola Clark is coming out on August 9 in the UK and October 9 in the US.

Continuing Exhibitions

Royal Sudeley 1000

Sunday Short Takes

Yes, really, a Sunday Short Takes!! I finally had a confluence of enough stuff to post and time to actually post it.

First up – a couple of competitions are back this year!

* Tudor Ghost Story Competition at On the Tudor Trail

* Tudor Calendar Competition from The Anne Boleyn Files

Next – a few other things!

* Talking Tudors – Natalie at On the Tudor Trail has started a podcast!

* Tudor shipwreck discovered by local group on Kent beach

* Royal Mail will release stamps featuring Hampton Court Palace

And finally…

The first trailer for the Mary Queen of Scots movie starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie has been released:

(Thankfully I’m pretty good at disconnecting my amateur historian brain when watching historical fiction on TV or the big screen.)

Picture of the Week #500

Carvings under the Anne Boleyn Gatehouse at Hampton Court Palace. Photo May 2015.

When I was continuing the long, slow process of editing all of my photos from three years ago, I finished this one and thought it would be a good choice for the milestone of Picture of the Week #500. I knew I had used a similar one from a previous trip and when I looked it up, low and behold, it was the one I used for the earlier milestone of #100! So here is a new version of that previous photo, this time a more centered view and natively digital and not from a scanned photo negative.

Upcoming Books, Events and Exhibitions for June 2018

Books

A couple of books that have already been released in the UK are now out in the US:

First up – Melita Thomas’ The King’s Pearl: Henry VIII and His Daughter Mary came out last fall in the UK and is now out in the US:

And La Reine Blanche: Mary Tudor A Life in Letters by Sarah Bryson is also now out in the US after a release earlier this year in the UK:

And in new releases – Claire Ridgway of The Anne Boleyn Files has teamed up with artist Dmitry Yakhovsky to create The Life of Anne Boleyn Colouring Book! You can order it from both the UK and US Amazon stores now:

Events

Henry – A Tudor Musical will run from June 13 to 16 at the Cecil Hepworth Playhouse in Walton on Thames (just west of Hampton Court Palace). You can learn more about the musical play and books tickets at the website of the Molesey Musical Theatre. And here is a synopsis with more information (PDF).

Exhibitions

Royal Sudeley 1000

Picture of the Week #498

Figure of Bishop John Fisher at Rochester Cathedral.

This is one of eight statues on the 19th century screen between the nave and quire of the cathedral. John Fisher was Bishop of Rochester and confessor to Margaret Beaufort and was later beheaded in the reign of her grandson, Henry VIII.

Picture of the Week #497

Ruins of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds. Photo May 2015.

The abbey was the original burial place of of Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk, but she was moved to the nearby St Mary’s Church during the Dissolution.