Books
Starting out with a number of books that slipped past me in the previous months…
First up is The Tudors in 100 Objects by John Matusiak which was released August 1 in the UK and will be out in hardback in the US at the beginning of November:
And Sean Cunningham’s Prince Arthur: The Tudor King Who Never Was came out in the US earlier than I expected, so it is now available!
One that I missed in August that is out in the UK and will be out October 9 in the US is Henry VII
Passageway at Hall’s Croft, Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo May 2015.
I’m a sucker for all the wooden interiors of these old houses so I’m glad to see a very modern fire extinguisher at the end of the hallway to protect them!
Good grief, I didn’t expect a month to go by before I got a chance to do one of these again… To say that things have been busy lately would be a wild understatement. The good news is that I’ve earned a fair amount of comp time but the bad news is that I have no idea when I will ever be able to use it!
But enough whinging from me – on to the news round-up!
* The Tudor London Tube Map – This one has already been going around social media for a while now, but it was so clever (and useful for planning a Tudor-themed trip to London) that I had to post it.
* Lost in the Great Fire: which London buildings disappeared in the 1666 blaze? – A look at some of the reasons that many Tudor (and earlier) buildings of London aren’t around to see anymore.
* Bosworth: the dawn of the Tudors – From childhood imprisonment in Brittany to the violent execution of Richard III in a Leicestershire field, Henry Tudor
Dining room at Hall’s Croft, Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo May 2015.
It’s been ages since I’ve done a standalone post about an upcoming event after I started doing the monthly round-ups, but I wanted to get this one that takes place at the end of September out there in time for anyone in the area to have a chance to attend. (Updated to add – big thanks to J. Stephan Edwards of Some Grey Matter for the info on this talk!)
TWILIGHT TALK: Tudor Shirts and Blackwork Decoration
29th September 2016 at 6:00pm at the Fashion Museum, Bath
From the website:
Beneath their ornate doublets and richly decorated robes Tudor men and women of fashion chose to wear fine linen shirts, shifts, and smocks, frequently decorated with beautiful blackwork embroidery. Dr Susan North of the Victoria and Albert Museum will explore this hidden area of dress history, drawing on portraits of the time, as well as rare surviving garments from the time of Queen Elizabeth I.
Dr Susan North, Victoria and Albert Museum is senior curator in the Furniture, Fashion and Textiles Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and a leading expert on dress of the 16th century.
Click the link above for information on tickets!
Gardens at Hall’s Croft, Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo May 2015.
If I remember correctly, this part of the gardens is where they grow some of the medicinal herbs that would have been used by Dr. John Hall (Susannah Shakespeare’s husband).
Entrance to Hall’s Croft, Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo May 2015.
This month we’re going back to Stratford and featuring Hall’s Croft, one of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust properties. Since this property is set a little away from the busiest tourist area of the town, it’s a little quieter and for that reason alone worth seeking out! But it’s also a great place to visit, with period furniture throughout and a lovely back garden.
Hall’s Croft was the first home of Shakespeare’s daughter Susannah and her husband Dr. John Hall after they were married, but they later moved to New Place after her father’s death.
New books
One book I missed from last month is Wendy J. Dunn’s Falling Pomegranate Seeds, a novel about Katherine of Aragon:
And out at the end of this month in the UK is Anne Boleyn in London by Lissa Chapman, which will be out early next year in the US:
Events
The BBC History Magazine’s History Weekends return this fall with one in Winchester from October 7th to 9th and another in York from November 18th to 20th.
Exhibitions Ending This Month
Oxford’s Bodleian Library will run Shakespeare’s Dead from April 22 to September 4. This exhibition will examine the theme of Death in Shakespeare’s works. It “provides a unique take on the subject by exploring how Shakespeare used the anticipation of death, the moment of death and mourning the dead as contexts to bring characters to life. … Shakespeare’s Dead also looks at last words spoken, funerals and mourning as well as life after death, including ghosts and characters who come back to life.”
The British Library’s Shakespeare in Ten Acts opened April 15 and will run through September 6. The exhibition is a “Journey through 400 years of history
On the Bosworth Battlefield trail. Photo May 2015.
The Battlefield in 1485. Photo May 2015.
The text on the sign reads:
The Battlefield in 1485
The trees in the modern landscape make the lie of the land quite hard to see. The medieval landscape was more or less devoid of trees as a system of open field farming prevailed. This method was widespread and created a rather barren landscape. From this point in 1485 you would be able to see Dadlington windmill and most of Norfolk’s army throughout the battle. You would also be able to hear the roar of the guns and the screams of the dying.
Big story from a couple of weeks ago!
* Elizabeth I Armada portrait saved with help of 8,000 donors – A portrait of Elizabeth I has become public property, after an appeal helped raise
Display of the ‘Crown in the Hawthorn Bush’ story from the end of the battle, at the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre.
Legend has it that Lord Stanley found the circlet that Richard III had worn into battle in a hawthorn bush and presented it to Henry at the end of the battle.
The Bosworth Boar, on display at the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre. Photo May 2015.
Inscription on the Bosworth Battlefield memorial sundial. Photo May 2015.
On to August and a new theme for this month’s pictures – the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre and Country Park, in honor of the anniversary of the battle on August 22nd.
New Books
One new release this month – Scourge of Henry VIII: The Life of Marie de Guise by Melanie Clegg is out August 30 in the UK and later in the fall in the US. It’s great to see work on Marie de Guise, someone I’ve been intrigued by for a while now.
And a few books already out in the UK that will be out at the end of the month in the US (or possibly mid-September – I have conflicting info, but I decided to go ahead and include them in this month’s round-up)
New Event
Tudor Ambition – Talk and book signing with Lauren Mackay and Elizabeth Norton at Sudeley Castle on September 4 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets available at the link. (Yes, it’s actually in September, but I wanted to get it in earlier to give people a chance to plan.)
New Exhibitions
Will & Jane will open on August 6 and run through November 6 and is the final of three exhibitions they put on, in addition to other events, during their year-long Wonder of Will celebrations.
Continuing Exhibitions
Oxford’s Bodleian Library will run Shakespeare’s Dead from April 22 to September 4. This exhibition will examine the theme of Death in Shakespeare’s works. It “provides a unique take on the subject by exploring how Shakespeare used the anticipation of death, the moment of death and mourning the dead as contexts to bring characters to life. … Shakespeare’s Dead also looks at last words spoken, funerals and mourning as well as life after death, including ghosts and characters who come back to life.”
The British Library’s Shakespeare in Ten Acts opened April 15 and will run through September 6. The exhibition is a “Journey through 400 years of history
Leicester’s Gatehouse at Kenilworth Castle. Photo May 2015.
I’m happy to be the next stop on the blog tour for Sean Cunningham’s Prince Arthur: The Tudor King Who Never Was, released earlier this month in the UK and coming in the next few months in the US.
Over to Sean:
The Tudor Regime Crashes Off Course: The Cause and Consequences of Prince Arthur
The big story of the week was the re-opening of The Mary Rose Museum, which now gives visitors a full view of the dried remains of the ship. Here is a selection of stories about the event:
Leicester’s Building at Kenilworth Castle. Photo 2015.
These buildings were built by Robert Dudley for Elizabeth I’s use on a couple of her visits, including the famous 1575 stay at the castle. The scaffolding that allows visitors to go up into the structure was completed by the time of my visit last year so I was able to take advantage of the new views!
Elizabethan gardens at Kenilworth Castle. Photo May 2015.
Wow, 400 Pictures of the Week! And there are still many, many more to go after last year’s trip.
