Ricardian

Bulletin Magazine of the Richard III Society

ISSN 0308 4337 September 2010

Ricardian

Bulletin September 2010 Contents 2 From the Chairman 3 Society News and Notices 12 News and Reviews, including 12 Compline at Fotheringhay 14 The Leeds Medieval Congress 15 The American Visit 2010 16 Great Battles of the Wars of the Roses: Mansion House, York, by David Johnson 18 Book Review: The Battle of Wakefield, by Helen Cox, reviewed by Lynda Pidgeon 19 A New Home for Jeremy’s Boar 21 ‘Re-enactment’ at Stony Stratford, by Iris Day 22 Blood and Roses at Christ Church, Oxford, 2011 23 Stop Press: new Society Papers Librarian wanted 24 Media Retrospective 29 The Man Himself. The Other Yorkshire Homes of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, by R.J.A. Bunnett 32 Anne Mowbray, Duchess of York: her place in history, by Bruce Watson 34 Not the royal wedding of 1486: a medallic misidentification, by Frederick Hepburn 36 Tips from our beauty consultant: the Duke of Buckingham, by Tig Lang 38 The Asthall Hoard, by Peggy Martin 43 All Saints, Aldwincle, Northants, by Lynda Pidgeon 44 The Coventry Pageants, by Peter Lee 45 Correspondence 47 The Barton Library 48 Reports on Society Events 57 Future Society Events 58 Branches and Groups: contact details 60 Branches and Groups: reports 63 New Members and Recently Deceased Members 64 Calendar

Contributions Contributions are welcomed from all members. All contributions should be sent to Lesley Boatwright. Bulletin Press Dates 15 January for March issue; 15 April for June issue; 15 July for September issue; 15 October for December issue. Articles should be sent well in advance. Bulletin & Ricardian Back Numbers Back issues of The Ricardian and the Bulletin are available from Judith Ridley. If you are interested in obtaining any back numbers, please contact Mrs Ridley to establish whether she holds the issue(s) in which you are interested. For contact details see back inside cover of the Bulletin

The Ricardian Bulletin is produced by the Bulletin Editorial Committee, Printed by Micropress Printers Ltd. © Richard III Society, 2010

From the Chairman

ere, in the United Kingdom, we have a new government and, of course, it is very scornful H of the record of the previous one. In this context, one newly-elected MP, the historian Tristram Hunt, notes that, ‘Ever since the scribes of the Renaissance branded the Middle Ages as “the Dark Ages”, propagandists have deployed history to codify the future. You rubbish the past as a lost opportunity of waste, indecision and stupidity and you celebrate the present as a blessed release from such hopelessness.’ How appropriate this is for the post-August 1485 scenario too. In other words, plus ça change ... It never ceases to amaze me how, every three months, the Bulletin editorial team comes up with a fresh range of articles and reviews. This issue is no exception. We have reviews of Society outings and our important presence at the Leeds Medieval Congress, reports from our active and busy branches and the always interesting Media Retrospective. The article on beauty tips from the duke of Buckingham is a must! There is a distinctly Yorkshire zest to this issue and, since this year the Yorkshire Branch celebrates its fiftieth birthday, why not? On behalf of us all, I congratulate the Branch on this great achievement. As well as a short history of the founding of the branch, there is a review of a new Wars of the Roses exhibition in Micklegate Bar, and we devote The Man Himself to God’s own county with an article written many years ago by a doyen of the branch, R. J. A. Bunnett, who became a Society vice-president and died at the age of ninety-six. Mention of Mr Bunnett’s age reminds that one of our current vice-presidents, Kitty Bristow, will be ninety on 18 September this year. Congratulations, Kitty, we wish you many more happy returns for the day. I must take this opportunity to thank John Ashdown-Hill and everyone involved with arranging the annual Requiem Mass for King Richard and Queen Anne Neville. Much commitment and hard work goes into organising such events and many members have appreciated the opportunity of attending them over the years. Sadly, John and his team have decided to relinquish the task, but we hope someone else will take up the mantle – or is that the cope? – so that the Mass can continue in future years (see p.49). I write this hot foot from a visit to Fotheringhay, where the Wakefield Historical Society and ourselves hosted the final event in a commemoration of the transfer from Wakefield to Fotheringhay of the bodies of the father and brother of Edward IV and Richard III. Since Richard of Gloucester led the cortege as it headed south it was fitting that the present Duke of Gloucester, our patron, was in the procession into the church and later gave a short address during the service. Afterwards, he met members of both Societies. We thank him for his continued support and interest in our work. (For more about this event, see pp. 12-13) As this Bulletin goes to press, the sad news has come from the American Branch of the death of Carole Rike, a stalwart member of the Branch who did much for the Society in the States, including being editor and distributor of their magazine, The Register. We send our sympathy to Carole’s family and friends. There will be a full appreciation of her in the December Bulletin. We will be in Leicester on 2 October, the anniversary of King Richard’s birth, for this year’s AGM. As well as the business side of things, there will be many other interesting and exciting things to do and, most importantly, there is the opportunity to meet and talk to other Ricardians. I do hope that as many of you as possible will support the AGM. It is particularly important that we do so when they are held outside London. I look forward to seeing you there.

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Society News and Notices

Subscriptions Due Subscriptions for the forthcoming membership year fall due on 2 October 2010. See renewal form in the centrefold and Membership Matters below.

Richard III Society Members’ Day and Annual General Meeting Saturday 2 October 2010

As is the established practice, Saturday 2 October is both the AGM and a day for members to meet each other and get involved and, although using a new (to us) venue, the event will follow a similar pattern to those recently held in London and York. At the time of writing this article, mid July, only one motion has been proposed by the Executive Committee – referred to elsewhere in this edition of the Bulletin - and no individual motions have been received by the Chairman or the Joint Secretaries. All members are reminded that motions and resolutions for the AGM agenda, proposed and seconded by Society members and signed, should be sent to the Joint Secretaries, in hard copy, by no later than Friday 17 September 2010. Similarly, nominations by Society members for membership of the Executive Committee, proposed, seconded and accepted by the nominee and duly signed by all, should also be sent to the Joint Secretaries by the same date. Forms for this purpose may be obtained from the Joint Secretaries – by electronic or hard copy means or downloaded from the Society’s website. The Annual Report is to be found in the central section of this Bulletin. It contains much of the material formerly reported by officers at the AGM. This means that officers’ reports will provide attendees with any relevant updates which will enable the focus of the meeting to be on the future and members’ issues. As with other years, there will be an Open Forum/Question Time to enable members to raise questions and issues. These can be submitted by email or in writing to the Joint Secretaries (contact details on the inside cover of the Bulletin). If you wish to submit a question in advance, it would be helpful if it is received by Thursday 30 September. You will also be able to put questions on the day and ‘post-it’ notes will be available for you to place on a board within the hall. Queries and questions may be submitted anonymously, but, if they cannot be answered on the day, questioners may be asked to give their contact details to a Society officer to enable an answer to be provided at a later date. Please remember that this is your day. Please try to attend and take the opportunity to raise any question that you have, to meet old friends and to make new ones.

Further to the official notification in the June Bulletin, set out below is the proposed programme for the day:

Programme: 10.30 Doors open; members arrive, time to visit stalls etc. 12.00 Lecture – Susan Ronald: (further details below). 13.15 Lunch and short tours of ‘Historic Leicester’. 14.45 Annual General Meeting and Open Forum/Question Time followed by raffle. 16.15 (estimated) Conclusion of Members’ Day and dispersal

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Details of the venue and how to get there are given below:

Venue: Leicester Adult Education College in Wellington Street, Leicester LE1 6HL. Public Transport: Nearest station is Leicester (National Rail) and the College is within easy walking distance (15 minutes – about 700 metres) from the station. Bus routes include: 47, 47B, 73, 84, 84A, 85, 86, 87, 88, 88A and X40. Parking: There is limited on-street parking in Wellington Street and this is short -stay only. The nearest public car park (less than 10 minutes walk) is located in Newarke Street: this is a pay and display site. Reception: The venue will be open from 10.30 a.m. Members will be asked to sign in at the reception table which will be staffed by members of the East Midlands Group. We would like to record our appreciation of their assistance in providing this service. Refreshments: Tea, coffee and biscuits will be on sale in the hall during the morning from 10.30 to mid-day. Lunch: Own arrangements. Details of local facilities will be available on reception. Historic Leicester: There will be opportunities to take a short walking tour of the historic City during the lunch period. This will include Newarke House Museum, Castle Gardens and the church of St Mary de Castro. Details will be available on the day.

Other attractions: Major Craft Sale: The thirty-first Major Craft Sale will be held around the AGM/ Members’ Day. The sale will start at 10.30 am and run until 12.00 noon and then will continue in the lunch interval. The proceeds will be devoted to the Ricardian Churches Restoration Fund. On sale there will be books, Ricardian embroidery, cakes and sweets (for home consumption only), paperweights, RCRF Christmas cards, knitted items and baby clothes, soft toys, collages, etc., and Ricardian and other bric-a-brac. We would warmly welcome offers of items for sale. We do appeal to members to try to provide some item(s) for sale, so please try to look out some items of jumble or bric-a-brac. We would of course also warmly welcome all items of any sort of craft-work. If you wish to give or send items in advance, please contact Elizabeth Nokes, 4, Oakley Street, Chelsea, London SW3 5NN, Tel. 01689-823569, email [email protected], to check that the items are suitable. If you wish to bring items along on the day, it would be most helpful if you could mark them with an indication of the price(s) at which you think they should be sold.

Ricardian Sales Stall: There will be a range of Society and Trust publications and Society artefacts. Website: Beth Stone, the Web Content Manager, will be present. Treasurer’s Table: Paul Foss will be available to receive payment of subscriptions on the day and will have a table for this purpose. Bookseller: As last year, Starkmann Limited will be in attendance with a range of publications and associated sales items.

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Barton Library: The librarians will be selling off duplicate library stock at bargain prices and a selection of the Society’s books and artefacts. They will also be showcasing the diverse services that the Library can offer to members. Branches & Groups: This is an opportunity to showcase their publications and activities. Yorkshire Branch: The branch will again be represented and be selling some Ricardian publications and items with specific local focus. Visits Committee: This table will be hosted by members of the Visits Committee and will display information on past visits and details of future visits: suggestions for the latter would be very welcome. Ladies of Soper Lane: We have arranged for two representatives from this organisation to be present. Soper Lane demonstrate the work and life of medieval and early Tudor silk-women and they will include examples of fingerloop braiding and tablet weaving, as well as samples of the various types of items that the silk-women produced. Battlefields Trust and Both these organisations have indicated that they would like to have a Bosworth Battlefields display at the AGM. No further details were available at the time of Visitors’ Centre going to press.

Annual Grand Raffle: As usual we shall be having a raffle in aid of the Ricardian Churches Restoration Fund. The tickets will be 25p. each or five tickets for £1.00, and will be on sale at the meeting. The prizes include:  a set of six white rose glasses  M&S toiletries bag  ‘Richard III’ portrait ceramic pot  ‘Moroccan Rose’ forty-hour candle  BBC ‘This Sceptr’d Isle: The Dynasties’ audio CD collection: the story of ambitious families who helped shape the history of the British Isles  ‘Past Times’ Art Deco perfume bottle  Medieval People by Eileen Powers (Folio Society), colour illustrations, illuminated cover  The Book of Margery Kempe: a woman’s life in the Middle Ages (Folio Society), illustrated

Prizes are not ranked in any order. The first ticket drawn will have first choice, and so on. We thank all those who contributed prizes.

Lecture: We are delighted to welcome the author Susan Ronald, who will be speaking on: ‘Who will rid me of this bad historian – Shakespeare?’

Reminder to Branches and Groups If your branch/group wishes to make a report at the AGM, please let the Joint Secretaries know by Friday 17 September so that it can be included on the agenda. Reports can be made in person by a branch/group representative or, for overseas branches/groups, a printed report can be supplied to be read at the AGM. Reports should not exceed three minutes and should consist of new material not previously reported verbally or in print.

If you have any queries about any matters relating to the Members’ Day or AGM, please get in touch with the Joint Secretaries – contact details on the back page of the Bulletin.

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Motion for AGM 2010 It is proposed to raise the annual subscription to be implemented immediately for new members and from October 2011 for existing members according to the figures detailed below. It is further proposed to introduce pro rata changes as required to cover the cost of additional overseas charges as necessary.

Proposal to increase subscriptions The Executive Committee has concluded, with regret, that it is necessary to increase subscriptions by £2.00 per annum for all categories of membership. This is the first such increase for three years. In the interim period, the Society, like so many others, has been faced with increasing costs. We need to ensure that a sound financial footing is maintained. If agreed at the 2010 AGM, the proposed new rates will apply to new members with effect from October 2010 and for existing members, from October 2011. The proposals are as follows:

Full membership rate to increase from £24 p.a. to £26 p.a. Family membership (all living at the same address) from £30 p.a. to £32 p.a. Senior citizen member (over the age of 60) from £18 p.a. to £20 p.a. Senior citizen family membership from £24 p.a. to £26 p.a. Junior member (joining before 18th birthday) from £18 p.a. to £20 p.a. Student member (over 18 in full-time education) from £18 p.a. to £20 p.a. Full Academic membership from £24 to £26 p.a. Academic membership (The Ricardian only) from £10 to £12 p.a.

Increase in Overseas Postage Supplement Because of the ever-increasing postal charges, the Committee has reviewed the cost of sending publications to overseas members and, reluctantly, the supplement (which is currently £7.50) last set in October 2008 will be increased by £1.50 for all countries with effect from 2 October 2010. Overseas members renewing their subscriptions are asked to ensure that they include the new rate. Overseas branches with separate postal arrangements will be contacted individually about their revised rates. Executive Committee Membership Matters Subscriptions will become due on 2 October this year. There is a subscription reminder form in the centre pages of this Bulletin for those of you who prefer to pay by cheque, and you also have the option of using PayPal (see datails on p.7 of the Autumn 2008 Bulletin or, for new members, the sheet in your joining pack). Please let us know if your circumstances have changed in a way which necessitates a change of membership category. This can be done by ticking your new category on the subscription reminder form and ticking the box at the bottom of the page; this helps considerably with our administration. Please note that our system does not automatically change your category if, for example, you move from full membership to senior citizen, having reached the age of 60 by 2 October, as we do not hold birthdates for all our members. If you pay by standing order and you have amended it to pay a different rate, please do tick the relevant boxes and return the renewal form to the membership department. If by any change you will not be renewing your membership, we would be grateful if you could let us know. To facilitate this there is a space on the reminder form. This will save us the expense of sending out reminder letters and helps to ensure that the Society’s membership 6

database is up-to-date. This in turn helps us to determine the correct print-runs for our journals, and thus avoids any unnecessary expense. Of course, we do hope you consider the Society good value for money and will continue to enjoy your membership for many years to come. The Society needs a strong membership base in order to carry out its work, and we value all our members. Finally, for non-branch overseas members, please note the new postage supplement announced on the preceding page. Brian and Wendy Moorhen

Credit Cards and Overseas Cheques: Important News Credit Cards Our bankers have advised that they will not be accepting paper credit card payment documents from the beginning of September this year. We have investigated the possible use of remote chip- and-pin machines as an alternative, but the cost of operating this facility is not cost-effective relative to the likely number of transactions. As a consequence, we are no longer able to accept direct credit card payments, but you can make a credit card payment online through PayPal. To do this, just go to www.paypal.co.uk and set up an account by following the payment procedure. It is quite straightforward.. Your payment is to [email protected] Don’t forget to add on the fee of 5%. For full details see p.7 of the Autumn 2007 Bulletin or, for newer members, the sheet in your welcome pack. As we go to press, we are investigating the possibility of setting up direct credit card payments via PayPal, which would not involve going on line. If this proves a viable option we shall publish full details in the next issue of the Bulletin and on the website immediately they are to hand.

Overseas Cheques Payment by cheque should be in pounds sterling whenever possible. However, if it is necessary to send non-sterling cheques, then the equivalent of £15.00 should be added to cover bank charges. We have had to increase this surcharge to cover the ever-rising costs being incurred by the Society when processing non-sterling cheques. Paul Foss, Treasurer

New Pewter Boar Badges for Sale

We are delighted to advise members of a new item that has been added to the sales stock. This is a pewter boar badge, a replica of the white boar badge of King Richard III. It is based on a silver gilt boar found in Sussex which is now in the British Museum and is very similar to another example found recently on the revised site of the Battle of Bosworth. The badges are made from lead-free pewter and each is sized just over 1¼ inches long by just under ¾ inch high and is individually packaged in a blue padded box, with an explanatory card insert. The sale price is £6.00. P&P for individual badge sales will be: UK and Europe £2.00, rest of the world £2.50.

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Dinner in Leicester after the AGM At last year’s AGM, London Branch member Elisabeth Sjǿberg asked if a Society dinner could be organised after the 2010 meeting in Leicester. It was subsequently explained that it would not be possible for the Society officially to organise such an event since most members will only be travelling to Leicester for the day and would be returning home immediately after the meeting. However the Society would have no objection if Elizabeth wished to organise on her own initiative a meal for members staying overnight in Leicester. She is happy to do this and has provided the invitation below. She proposes to hold the dinner at the San Carlo restaurant in the city. To find out more about the restaurant, its menus and prices, visit: http://www.sancarlo.co.uk/ leicester Elisabeth requests that those interested in joining her for the dinner contact her by 18 September; if there is sufficient interest she will go ahead and book a table. If the dinner does go ahead we hope that everyone will have an enjoyable time. Bon Appetite.

Loyaulté me lie

GRAND DINNER to celebrate the 558th anniversary of the birth of King Richard III at 7 p.m. on Saturday 2 October after the AGM at the San Carlo Restaurant, Leicester. 15th- or 21st-century evening finery to be worn. Please book your place at table with The Mistress of Ceremonies, Elisabeth of Greenwich, at the latest by 18 September. email: [email protected]

The Society’s Bursary for 2010 tenable at York This bursary (a scholarship of £500 tenable for one year) has been awarded to Mark Williamson. The title of his dissertation is ‘Physiognomy, Emotion and Spectatorship in early Netherlandish Martyrdom and Judicial Scenes of the Fifteenth Century’. Mark is a long-term York resident who is self-funded and has been a committed student who has so far achieved two clear distinction-level marks in his course essays. He is concerned with the ways in which painted scenes of martyrdom and justice engage the viewer, particularly in relation to the guilt or innocence of the victims. Although his principal focus is on Netherlandish works of art, since these are the most numerous and best preserved images from the period, he makes the point that Netherlandish artists were patronised by English patrons, and portable Netherlandish works of art circulated in this country, and were very influential on locally-produced works of art. His study should help to elucidate the ways in which such works of art were perceived and understood in fifteenth-century England. Analysis of the way in which viewers reacted to images of those who were condemned and guilty compared to those who were condemned but innocent could be particularly illuminating in the context of the debates surrounding Richard III. Thus Mark’s study will further our knowledge of the period, considering what Richard and his contempoaries might have seen. We wish Mark well in his studies, and look forward to hearing about them in due course.

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The Future of the Society’s Website

Wendy Moorhen comments: I noted with interest, and some delight, that the Society’s website had received an award. Whilst acknowledging the excellent current work on the site by Beth Stone and Jane Weaver, the article also recognised the work of Neil Trump and myself, and indeed we were responsible for the design, initial content and project management of the new site. However, a website to be attractive and interesting has also to be visually exciting and to this end, apart from the overall design, requires images. Neil and I acquired everything we legitimately could but at the end of the day the site was enhanced by the artwork of two artists, Geoffrey Wheeler and Graham Turner. Graham graciously allowed us to reproduce his paintings and Geoffrey created some new artwork, the logos for some of the sub-home pages and drew the numerous coats-of-arms for the protagonists in the Wars of the Roses section. The role of Helen Cox should also not be forgotten. With her background in archaeology, Helen created an entire new section, Ricardian Archaeology, for the website, adding a further aspect to the Society’s interests. Another key player during the frenetic run-up to the launch of the new site at the end of January 2006 was Lesley Boatwright who proofed, literally, hundreds of pages of content. No mean feat in the timescale the Website Committee had set itself to upload the new site. I believe it is necessary to reiterate the role of Geoff, Graham, Helen, Lesley and all the other people who contributed to the site. It was truly a co-operative effort. I noticed also from the front cover of the Bulletin that the Website Committee is not listed any more. Does this mean that it no longer exists? I would express great concern if this were the case; from my own experience I know only too well how important it is to have a dedicated team responsible for and overseeing the on-going development of the website. Beth’s eagle eye for detail and tenacity in obtaining updates and contributions to the site from other officers and members together with Jane’s technical knowledge are crucial but there is another dimension, creativity, which can emerge from a such a team. I would very much like to know what arrangements are now in place to support Beth and Jane if indeed there is no web committee? It is important to allocate sufficient resources to the management of our website and to have a forward looking strategy to ensure that it grows and develops. With my membership hat on I know just how important the site is for recruiting new members, indeed it is our greatest source. Websites are organic and do have to be constantly updated and at appropriate intervals redesigned, retaining what is still relevant and useful and adding what is new and needed. Our website is increasingly the Society’s window on the world. I think therefore that it would be very helpful and reassuring to members if the points I have raised could be addressed.

Beth Stone replies: The June Bulletin, in announcing the website award received, paid tribute to Neil Trump and Wendy Moorhen who were directly responsible for the development of the site. Wendy’s letter rightly identifies other members and partners who provided their support to make this amazing project happen. Words cannot thank Neil, Wendy and all the others enough for the hard work which provided the foundation and core of the current site. When Jane Weaver was appointed as webmaster, a working party, consisting of the Chairman, Joint Secretaries, Web Content Manager, and Webmaster, was established. As this is a working party, not a formal committee, its members have not been identified in the Bulletin. It regularly liaises with the Executive Committee and submits reports summarising web activities and seeks guidance or action when required. The website is a permanent agenda item for the Executive Committee, who maintain a close watching brief on developments. The Research Committee also have an obvious and keen interest and they are currently engaged in a review and updating of the site’s historical content.

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One of the ongoing tasks of the working party is systematically to review and update the website as necessary, while still keeping the work within budget. Once the review has been completed, a formal website committee will be re-convened and its members identified in the Bulletin. Its primary task will be to provide the ‘creative’ engine to ensure the site remains relevant and dynamic. I hope that this gives Wendy the assurance that she is seeking; members can be confident that the Society attaches the highest importance to the website and its future development.

Advance Notice: the 2011 Study Weekend The 2011 study weekend will take place from 8 to 10 April, and will be based at the Elmbank Hotel in York, where we held our very successful 2010 study weekend earlier this year. Our theme for 2011 will be the de la Poles, tracing the history of this fascinating family from their obscure and humble origins in Hull in the early fourteenth century to their prominence in Lancastrian and Yorkist England, and their equally dramatic decline under the Tudors. Few late medieval families have risen so far and so fast and fallen so quickly. Marriage brought connections to the Chaucer family, epitomised by the doughty Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk, and her son John’s marriage to Richard III’s sister Elizabeth Plantagenet brought them into the royal family and into the line of succession. After 1485 they were at the forefront of Yorkist opposition to the Tudors under both Henry VII and Henry VIII. The weekend will begin with a talk on Friday night by Rosemary Horrox, a leading expert on the family’s early history. Full details and a booking form will be in December’s Bulletin, but in the meantime note the dates in your diary.

Celebrating 50 Years of the Yorkshire Branch This year the Yorkshire Branch celebrates its fiftieth birthday, so we thought that this milestone should be celebrated in the Bulletin too. After all, Yorkshire are the first and oldest branch in the United Kingdom, and because they are Yorkshire that makes them rather special, to Ricardians at least. However, before the branch was formed there were many individual Ricardians active in the county, chief amongst them R.J.A. Bunnett, who had been carrying out sterling work to promote Richard through his papers, lectures and letters to various newspapers. He was in fact one of the early members of the Fellowship of the White Boar and had been in contact with our founder Saxon Barton since the 1920s. R.J.A. Bunnett will be the next subject in my series on Ricardian Heroes, which will appear in December’s issue of the Bulletin. The founding of the Yorkshire Branch followed the successful unveiling of the Society’s memorial to Queen Anne Neville in Westminster Abbey on 1 October 1960. The event generated much publicity both nationally and regionally. The Yorkshire Post had reported the event and this was followed by an exchange in the letters page. A Yorkshireman, living in exile, as he put it, in Hampstead, wrote to ask why there was no memorial to Richard III in York, and asked, ‘Is there no Yorkshireman to fight for this maligned King?’. Yorkshiremen responded, and a few days later another letter was published from a Mr Halliday of Otley who noted ‘that a Yorkshire branch [of the Richard III Society] would be most desirable’. Later in December an In Memoriam notice appeared in the Bradford Telegraph and Echo in respect of Richard, Duke of York, who had been killed at the battle of Wakefield five hundred years previously. The newspaper followed this up and published a long article about the Richard III Society, noting that one of its most enthusiastic members in the county was David Murgatroyd, who had been working hard to establish a Yorkshire Branch of the Society for a number of months. His name will be very familiar to some of the longer serving Yorkshire members.

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Yorkshire Branch members and visiting Ricardians outside St Alkelda’s church Middleham after the dedication of the altar frontal, a gift from the Society, 9 June 1963. Top left: David Murgatroyd; front row, left to right: Joyce Melhuish, Olivia Wigram, Isolde Wigram, Patrick Bacon. If anyone can identify the others, please let us know.

Events moved swiftly. The Society’s membership newsletter for January 1961 noted that Mr David Murgatroyd was making ‘determined efforts … to weld the very scattered Yorkshire members into real branch’. And so it came to pass that the Yorkshire Branch was established on a formal basis, although it had existed on an informal basis since the previous October. By May the branch was already coming up with ideas for the London Committee to consider, such as a Society tie and scarf, which were eventually introduced and remain with us to this day. Yorkshire also persuaded the Society to change the AGM date to the nearest Saturday to 2 October rather than the actual birthday itself, which would allow members from outside the Home Counties more easily to make the event. So the Yorkshire Branch hit the ground running and in June 1961 Isolde Wigram noted with pleasure that ‘it is most encouraging to know that the Yorkshire Branch is now a growing concern’. David Murgatroyd became the first chairman of the branch and R.J.A. Bunnett, then in his eighties, its first secretary. Murgatroyd remained in post for much of the decade and from then on until very recently the branch has been in the stalwart hands of great Ricardians such as John Audsley, Mary O’Regan, Moira Habberjam and the much missed Arthur Cockerill amongst others. Now a new generation has come to the fore to ensure that Yorkshire remains in safe and sure hands. Over the years the branch has been vigorous in its defence and promotion of King Richard in his home county and has made a constant and valuable contribution to the work of the Society as a whole. In that spirit it has also not been afraid at times to remind the Society that there is life beyond the Watford Gap. As a branch it has achieved much, most significantly its magazine Blanc Sanglier, which is published three times a year, its involvement with the preservation of Lead Chapel, its medieval banquets, the publications of the Rosalba Press, and its annual lecture. As we celebrate the first fifty years of the Yorkshire Branch we wish the branch well for their next fifty years. John Saunders

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News and Reviews

Compline at Fotheringhay

n Thursday 29 July, just after 6.30 pm, a service of Compline began in the church at O Fotheringhay to mark the end of ‘Pontefract to Fotheringhay’, a nine-day reconstruction of the removal of the bodies of the duke of York and the earl of Rutland from their ‘temporary’ resting places in Wakefield to their permanent places in the choir of Fotheringhay church, give or take the intervention in the sixteenth century of Elizabeth I. Led by a small but excellent choir, our patron, HRH the Duke of Gloucester, representing his namesake who had been chief mourner as the cortège made its way south, processed into the church with the Rev. George Nairn-Briggs, former Dean of Wakefield and deputy Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, bearing the banner of Richard of York, together with the Rev. Brian Rogers, vicar of Fotheringhay, and Bishop John Flack, assistant bishop of Peterborough, who took the service. Among those already in their places in the church were the Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire, Lady Juliet Townsend; the Lord High Sheriff of Northamptonshire; Mrs Pam Judkins of the Wakefield Historical Society who had organised much of the event, and a good many members of that society and the Richard III Society. Members of the public swelled the numbers, making the church pleasantly full. Rather than Vespers, the service of Compline had been chosen as one more suited to the occasion – the completion of the day and the completion of the commemoration – and very well it sounded, especially as much of it was in Latin. The choir had been put together from local singers for the occasion and they were splendid. Early in the service, Angela Moreton and Pauline Pogmore, of the Yorkshire Branch, placed an arrangement of flowers, including white roses, of course, in front of the tomb of the duke of York and Cicely Neville, his duchess. The address was given by HRH the Duke of Gloucester, who talked about war and the spoils of war, including the way winners are so able to damage the reputation of the losers. Once again referring to the fragility of reputation, His Royal Highness made much of the Society’s aims of promoting research and seeking to know the truth behind historical events, telling the assembled congregation that was why he was so Angela Moreton and Pauline Pogmore of the Yorkshire Branch place pleased to be patron of

flowers in Fotheringhay church the Richard III Society.

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After the service, there was a small reception, hosted by the two societies. Members of each were gathered together and introduced to the Duke in turn. Thanks to a request from the Duke’s security men, we were split into two groups and, by chance, we split along society lines. After Pam Judkins had introduced members of the WHS and the choir, and Dean Nairn- Briggs had presented Brian Rogers with a plaque to commemorate the occasion, I took the Duke over to the other side, but not before he and I, the Dean, Brian and Lady Juliet had all been outside to see the spot where the Chairman Phil Stone with HRH the Duke of Gloucester actual tomb of the duke of York probably stood. Much conversation took place and yet again it was fascinating to listen to the Duke on matters of history. Back inside, he met with members of the Society and as ever, our patron was good company to be with and had a kind and interested word for everyone he met. When it came time for him to leave, on behalf of the Society, I gave the Duke one of the boars that we have recently added to our sales list. He seemed very pleased with it, making one of his notoriously bad puns – ‘Oh what a bore’ – followed by his admitting that he did often demonstrate a very childish sense of humour. Some may ask why we didn’t organise a coach for members to attend the event? Although we had advertised it in the Bulletin and on the website, for a while, we were never quite sure that it was going to happen. Also, despite us issuing the Duke’s invitation, since he is our patron, and although we shared the costs, including a donation to the church, we had only a little say in what was going to happen. Another reason was the practical one. It was a weekday. How many members are free to come to Fotheringhay in the week? It would have been costly. Coaches don’t come cheap and members would not have returned to London until after 11 pm and then they had either to get home or to stay in a hotel, all for an event lasting a little less than two hours. However, it was good to see those members who were there and I thank them for making the effort. Phil Stone

Fotheringhay church: Yorkshire Branch Committee members and others

From left to right: Peter Hammond, Angela Moreton, Beth Stone, Pauline Pogmore, Sue Wells, Hannah Moreton and Marjorie Hodgkinson

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The Leeds Medieval Congress 12-15 July 2010

he Leeds International Medieval Congress is a huge gathering which is held every year. T Over a thousand medievalists gather to give and hear talks and to buy books. Each year it has a theme, this year’s being ‘Travel and Exploration’, although this is not restrictive. Of the 400 sessions available, 180 were directly related to this theme. Subjects cover every aspect of medieval history that you can think of, and many you hadn’t even considered. As well as papers, there are trips and workshops and musical evenings, not to mention a number of sponsored wine receptions in the evenings. Timing and planning is crucial to make the most of the Congress, and mini buses shuttle all day until midnight between the three sites, conveying delegates to sessions, meals or bed. As reported last year, in 2009 the Society sponsored a session of three talks based on Logge, and had a stall at the one day Historical & Archaeological Societies Fair. This year it was decided that we would try a bookstall to be open all week instead. The book fair is an important and very busy part of the Congress. Book publishers present include Boydell and Brewer, most of the University Presses and many European publishers including Brepols. The choice is huge and the lure of conference prices irresistible, and by the end of the week it proves costly. Our book stall was a joint venture between the Society and the Richard III and Yorkist History Trust. Being there for a week required a car load of books to be carried to Leeds and a number of volunteers to man the stall over the four days. Ken Hillier and Heather Falvey attended on Tuesday and proved to be our best sales people, although I think we contributed equally to the takings of the other booksellers. Ken only discovered there was a second room of books as he was leaving, which was probably just as well, the temptation is simply too great. Carolyn and Peter Hammond took over on Wednesday and Thursday and made steady sales. By the end of the week we had sold about half of our stock. As well as selling our books, the aim was to publicise the Society and so our new ‘murrey’ tote bags were given away to help people carry their purchases. Several were later spotted around the congress displaying their new bags, which apparently elicited some comments, not all favourable. At least it showed we were getting noticed even if they didn’t approve of Richard III. As one owner of a bag replied when challenged, there was a question mark ‘Good King Richard?’ It remains to be seen if anyone will join the Society, but we made friends with the Yorkshire Archaeological Society who had a table next to us and we spoke to a lot of people. Also our bags are now Ken Hillier and Heather Falvey man our book stall hopefully on display

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around the world and some of our books were destined for university libraries. It may be a small beginning but we may now have a wider presence. My thanks to Heather, Ken, Peter and Carolyn for manning the stall, to Lesley Boatwright who helped set it up on Sunday and came along during breaks in the lecture sessions, and also to Cris Reay Connor, who volunteered to help but owing to a last minute hospital appointment couldn’t make it. Lynda Pidgeon

The American Visit 2010 e used to think that Joyce Melhuish’s trips were action packed, with as many sites as W possible being packed into any one day, but I think Linda Treybig could have taught Joyce a thing or two. Just reading through the itinerary for the visit with her group of American members was exhausting. Still, if you are travelling 3,000 to 5,000 miles in order to begin the trip, you want to see as many places as possible. For instance, on Tuesday, 29 June, the itinerary began with travel from their overnight hotel near Stansted to their first stop at St George’s Church in Gravesend to admire the statue of Pocahontas, the Indian princess who is buried somewhere in the churchyard. From there, they went to Rochester to visit the castle. Some even packed in a very quick visit to the cathedral. After lunch, they took off for Canterbury for the cathedral and some shopping and finally, they would travel back to their overnight stop outside Maidstone – phew! It was at the Crown in Rochester that the party had lunch and where Beth and I met up with them. One lady was from Canada but the rest – another eight ladies, including Linda, and one man – came from all over the States. Chatting with them, we got the impression that they were really enjoying their visit and various places were mentioned as having been particularly special. They were all looking forward to their last few days in London, too. During that time, they were hoping to fit in a visit to Lambeth Palace – strangely, when Linda had been planning the trip, there had been no mention in the States of the exhibition, so our pointing out that Richard’s Book of Hours was on display came as welcome news. Once lunch was over, all too soon it was time for them to board their coach and be on their way. If they were to have as long as possible in Canterbury, they needed to get out of Rochester quickly – not easy with roadworks on just about every major route in and out of the city. As Beth and I waved them off, I reflected yet again on one of the more pleasurable aspects of being chairman of our great Society – sociable gatherings and meeting up with members. Phil Stone

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Great Battles of the Wars of the Roses: Mansion House, York

n Monday 31 May 2010 York Archaeological Trust hosted a special event at the Mansion O House in York celebrating the launch of a new Wars of the Roses exhibition at the city’s Micklegate Bar museum. Great Battles of the Wars of the Roses featured talks on the battle of Wakefield by historian/ re-enactor Helen Cox, the battle of Bosworth by our own Peter Hammond, and the battle of Towton by archaeologist Tim Sutherland. The event was of particular interest to Ricardians as the talks focused on the battles that bookend the Yorkist kings: Wakefield and Towton bringing Edward IV to the throne, and Bosworth, of course, marking the end of Richard III’s tragically brief reign. The afternoon was made all the more fascinating and informative by the intent of each speaker to bring the audience right up to date with the latest thinking on each of their respective battles. Remarkably, perhaps, our understanding of these crucial engagements is constantly evolving, and the unofficial theme of all three talks was most definitely what’s new. Helen Cox was first up with a Helen Cox with the Lord Mayor of York at the highly entertaining yet deeply Micklegate Bar Museum penetrating reassessment of the battle of Wakefield. Helen, resplendent in medieval costume, began by demolishing a whole series of myths and traditions frequently associated with the battle, including the supposed conduct of Richard, Duke of York. Instead of the time-honoured assertions of the duke’s martial incompetence, impetuously coming to the rescue of Yorkist foragers under attack from the Lancastrian army, Helen proposed a much more convincing explanation for the duke’s defeat and death. It was, she argued, nothing less than a cold-blooded case of premeditated treachery. John, Lord Neville, had arrived at Sandal castle with an army of reinforcements to bolster the duke’s heavily outnumbered forces, but when battle was joined Lord Neville traitorously turned his men against the unsuspecting Yorkists. The duke of York was defeated not by military ineptitude or a lack of tactical nous, but by a traitor, the dishonourable John Lord Neville. Helen outlines in absorbing detail the full story of her research and reassessment in her new book, The Battle of Wakefield Revisited, published to coincide with the launch of the new Micklegate Bar exhibition. For anyone remotely interested in the duke of York and the Yorkist cause in general this book is an absolute must. Unexpectedly, owing to technical problems, there was a change in the batting order, and Peter Hammond replaced Tim Sutherland as the afternoon’s second speaker. Peter began by reminding us of the very exciting discoveries unearthed by Glenn Foard and his team of archaeologists

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during the final hectic weeks of the Bosworth battlefield project in 2009. The finds have the potential to revolutionise our understanding of the importance of battlefield artillery (as opposed to siege artillery) in late-fifteenth- century warfare, including the use of hand-held guns. But, more importantly for Ricardians perhaps, the new archaeology has once again shifted the location of the battlefield. Just when we thought Peter Foss had once and for all identified the correct site of the fighting, these new discoveries move the battle westward in the direction of, but not as far as, the area controversially suggested by Mike Jones in Bosworth 1485: Psychology of a Battle. Peter Hammond, while conceding that future archaeological discoveries might well modify or even invalidate what he had to say, nevertheless made a valiant attempt to reconcile what is currently known of the fighting with the new battlefield location. As with Helen Cox and the battle of Wakefield, Peter explains his theories in much greater detail in a forthcoming book on Bosworth to be published shortly by Pen and Sword. Tim Sutherland, the third of our speakers, Medieval lord and modern lady explained that his talk on the battle of Towton would not, owing to earlier technical problems, be accompanied by a presentation of photographs and illustrations. Instead he treated his audience to a riveting, technology-free description of the continuing story of Towton and its fascinating archaeology. Tim, as many Ricardians will remember, featured in Blood Red Roses, the television programme (and book) that first brought the discovery of Towton’s mass graves to public attention. But, rather than simply remind us of those momentous discoveries, Tim regaled the audience with the latest Towton developments, including exciting new evidence to show how medieval armies mass-produced arrowheads. Remarkably we now know that huge quantities could be manufactured simply and quickly, without the need for skilled blacksmiths, explaining how Wars-of-the-Roses archers were able to fire thousands of arrows during a single battle. As Tim pointed out, this represents an important insight into medieval weapons production. And as for the future, Tim revealed that the five mass graves cleared in 1484 for the construction of Richard III’s Towton chapel are to be reinvestigated. Apparently only large bones were removed in 1484, meaning that even more archaeology is waiting to be discovered and analysed. Interestingly, and significantly, the position of the five mass graves coincides with a line of arrowheads uncovered by metal detectorist Simon Richardson. All in all this was a very informative and highly enjoyable afternoon. Each speaker demonstrated that there is so much more to be discovered about each of these pivotal battles and how our ideas about them are constantly changing and evolving. These talks left me wondering whether it would be possible to bring Helen, Peter and Tim together again at some point in the future. And if it were possible to invite more speakers to talk about other battles, the military/ archaeological history of the Wars of the Roses might make a suitable subject for a study weekend. David Johnson

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Book Review

The Battle of Wakefield: A Fresh Perspective on Richard of York’s Final Battle, December 1460 by Helen Cox, Herstory Writing and Interpretation/York Publishing Services, 2010. Hardback, £12 + pp Available from www.YPD-books.com; email: [email protected]; tel. 01904 431213.

Some of you may remember Helen from a study weekend held in York in April 2007. Along with her husband, Mick Doggett, she gave us a tour of Towton battlefield on a day with equally perverse weather as in 1461, except it was unseasonably hot rather than blinding snow. During the weekend Helen also talked about the battle of Wakefield. Since that weekend Helen has undertaken further research on Wakefield. The result is this superb book which she has published herself. The first two chapters succinctly and clearly set out the events which led to Wakefield. Not an easy task, but one which Helen has achieved, so that someone with little knowledge of the Wars of the Roses will have a good idea of what was happening during this complicated period of family feuds and the struggle for power. Having set the scene in the earlier chapters, chapter three gets to the point: what did happen on that fateful day in December? Typically, as for many battles of the period, information is rather thin. Helen takes us through the surviving evidence, some of it contradictory reports by chroniclers and historians, some of whom were writing much later. The chapter called ‘Dispelling the Myths’ takes the many assumptions that have been made from the sparse information and looks at each of them critically, ‘the Vanquished Vanguard’, ‘York’s Rashness’, ‘Provocation’, ‘the Ant-hill Throne’, ‘Hapless Young Rutland’. This last is particularly interesting; I think we have all been blinded by the somewhat romanticised view of Victorian history painters. Here we are given a salutary

reminder that Rutland was not a child ‘… it was the execution of an equivalently armed and armoured enemy on the battlefield …’ Chapter four is Helen’s interpretation of the battle from the records. What exactly did the chroniclers say and how should this information be interpreted? The date of the battle and the size of the armies are examined first. There are eight chronicles and four proposed dates. The majority give 30 December, perhaps the most compelling evidence being that the Act of Attainder states the duke of York was killed ‘Tywesday XXX day Decembr’. As to the size of the respective armies, as is usual, each chronicler gives a different figure. By looking at the figures for casualties a further clue may be given. In the end it still comes down to the best guess but Helen takes us through her reasoning and her theory is more plausible than some. As with Bosworth, a number of archaeo- Helen Cox at the Micklegate Bar Museum logical finds have been made over the years, many of which are now lost, so that they

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cannot be dated with any accuracy. Without the objects or the context of the finds they cannot be taken as evidence for the site of the battlefield. Some of the items are known only from descriptions and may not even be fifteenth-century. The only intensive archaeological investigation made on the site was at the castle itself which shows that despite being small, it was rather grand. Finds include painted window glass and decorative masonry, some of it showing York’s heraldic falcon. Just as the castle was relatively small, so is the site of the battle. The castle is only a mile from Wakefield and nine miles from Pontefract. This is important for understanding the battle; however rather like not giving the ending away in a novel, I would suggest you buy the book to see what conclusions Helen draws regarding ‘The Real Battle of Wakefield’. Helen uses archaeology, maps, place names and local tradition to give a much fuller picture of Wakefield. If this sounds familiar it is because this is the process applied to the search for Bosworth Battlefield. Once again the importance of looking at maps is demonstrated, as is the use of place names. These are techniques that have perhaps not been fully utilised in the past by historians who tend to rely on the written word alone. This book shows the benefit of a multi- disciplinary approach and Helen’s previous experience in archaeology is an obvious advantage. This is not only a good book on the interpretation of the battle but is a very useful example of how to explore the past in a less one-dimensional way. I can do no better than to quote from the blurb on the back of the book, as Peter Hammond says, ‘This thoughtful, perceptive account discusses various “myths” surrounding the Battle of Wakefield, including the alleged incompetence of the Duke of York, and convincingly disposes of them. An excellent book based on a thorough study of the sources’. Helen also has her own web site www.helencox-herstorywriting.co.uk Lynda Pidgeon

A New Home for Jeremy’s Boar Carolyn and Peter Hammond begin the story: When Jeremy Potter retired in 1989 as Chairman of the Society after a record 18 years in post, the members of the Committee had to consider how to mark the occasion. This was not easy since he never missed a committee meeting and so the then members had to contact each other in clandestine ways. It was decided that we would present Jeremy with a boar carved by Richard Epsom, who had carved the massive sculpture of Richard’s coat of arms which the Society had presented to Crosby Hall (now on the barn at the Battlefield Centre on Ambien Hill). We put a flyer in the September 1989 Bulletin (except in Jeremy‘s copy) asking for donations and also asking members not to mention this to Jeremy, both of which they faithfully carried out. Carolyn and Peter had always dealt with Richard and so they went to see him in his studio and commissioned the carving. Time was necessarily short and the boar was not ready until the day before the AGM. Carolyn had to rush to the studio when we were told that we could collect it and bring it back to our London house by taxi – it is large and heavy. Jeremy was duly presented with the carving after chairing his last AGM and most of us assumed that would be the last we saw of it. When Jeremy died, alas, all too soon after we had made him President, we lost touch with his family as his widow, Margaret, died not long after her husband. It was with some surprise, therefore, that we learnt of the reappearance of the boar in somewhat unexpected circumstances.

At this point Peggy Martin takes up the story: Last January, while looking around a local auction house in Oxfordshire, my husband pointed out a striking carved wooden figure of a boar. I glanced down at it and noticed a plaque with an inscription at its base. On closer inspection I read that it had been presented to Jeremy Potter on 19

his retirement as Chairman of the Richard III Society. I had not been a member at the time of the presentation but I knew about Jeremy Potter so when I recovered from my surprise I considered what I should do. The boar was in a lot with two old trunks, neither of which I wanted, in spite of the low estimate. We could not stay for the sale which was shortly due to start. Should I leave a bid for the lot with the boar? I had no contact numbers for the Society with me to seek advice. In the end I left a bid, after promising my husband that if successful we would leave the trunks for the next sale. We left the sale but as soon as we arrived home I rang Peter Hammond. Only Carolyn was at home and, as time was short, we decided to up the bid and hoped the committee would approve. I quickly rang the auction house and increased the bid. Alas, it was too late, I was the under bidder by £5. However, all was not lost. With Peter’s approval, I spoke to the auctioneer and explained that some friends of ours Boar by Richard Epsom, presented to Jeremy collected models of boars and would be Potter on his retirement as Chairman in 1989 interested in the boar, if the purchaser would be happy to sell it as surplus to requirements. I thought there was a good chance that the lot was bought for the trunks because it would not be easy to sell the boar with the inscription. After a couple of days’ suspense, I had a phone call from the purchaser. After a bit of canny bargaining on my part he agreed to part with it at a very reasonable price. He was a small dealer who lived locally. We agreed to meet in the car park of a village I had to pass through, on my way to Waitrose and in best Del Boy fashion the boar and the money changed hands to everyone’s satisfaction. The boar was secure and no trunks to dispose of. Now the problem was how to deliver the boar to Peter and Carolyn. Eventually as we were all going to the Bosworth Battlefield Conference in Leicester we agreed to hand it over there. After a brief sojourn in the car park at a Premier Inn in the boot of Lynda Pidgeon’s car, the boar continued its journey to spend some time with the Chairman in Gillingham. If the boar could speak it might well tell a more interesting tale of how it arrived at an Abingdon auction house, to return to its natural home at the Richard III Society.

Phil Stone finishes the story: As Peter and Carolyn do not drive, several drivers have been required in this saga, and I think that boar must now be one of the most travelled pigs in the kingdom. It seems to have a liking for car parks. At the last exchange, it was given over to me at the meeting in Leicester in February and, at the time of writing, it is in our dining room, looking very handsome. In due course the boar will be taken over to Peter and Carolyn’s flat. I will be sorry to see this handsome beast go, but it is quite big and shelf space will be useful. When the finding of the boar was discussed by the Executive Committee, it was agreed that as President Peter should be made its custodian and, in future, when he retires, it should be given over to whoever is next made President of the Society.

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‘Re-enactment’ at Stony Stratford

ust a few days before it happened I discovered that the villagers of nearby Grafton Regis J would be staging a re-enactment at Stony Stratford of the kidnapping of the uncrowned king Edward V by the duke of Gloucester. Apparently this was to advertise the medieval fair to be held at Grafton at the end of the month. As it was such short notice only myself and Marjorie Lewis from the Beds & Bucks Group were able to go, so off we went, armed with cameras and Ricardian badges, ready to do battle if necessary. The first thing we saw, of course, were the two little princes, along with their sister Elizabeth (!) and various servants, all dressed in mourning for Edward IV. There is a local legend in Stony Stratford that both princes were here, but Elizabeth of York was a new one on me. We all marched off to stand in front of the house, formerly the Rose and Crown inn, where Edward was said to have stayed the night, whilst one of the presenters set the scene. He explained that on 30 April 1483 the young Edward V was on his way from Ludlow to London and stopped the night at Stony Stratford. He was being escorted by his mother, Elizabeth Woodville (who had been born at Grafton Regis) and his sister and brother. It was then time for the action. A man appeared (it wasn’t made clear who he was) and asked for the Queen. On being told that she would be along shortly he said that he had a letter for her from the duke of Gloucester which explained that he was to take the boy to London. He gave the letter to the maid and went off with Edward, who didn’t seem to be at all upset. Then everyone began shouting and calling for the Queen. In the distance we could see three figures on horseback, who proved to be Elizabeth Woodville and two attendants. Looking around her she asked, ‘where is my prince?’ and was given the letter. After reading it she shrieked, ‘they have seized my boy’, and everyone began to wail. She then announced that she would fight to get him back and that we must all go along to Grafton Regis on 31 July and 1 August to help her. Whereupon they all rode off and the fun was over. Incidentally, there was no sign of Richard III, so the Beds & Bucks had no-one to cheer. There was quite a good gathering of people, especially as it was so poorly advertised, and Marjorie and I were pleased that our badges were recognised by the organisers, who asked if we belonged to the Society. They said they knew that the murder of the princes was unproven but it was all just a bit of fun. The actors were all people from the tiny village, who had made a great effort and it was difficult to be annoyed with them. Iris Day

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Blood and Roses at Christ Church, Oxford, 2011 ou may have wondered (having of course read the Annual Report on coloured paper in the Y centrefold of this Bulletin) why our Triennial Conference has turned this time round into a quadrennial event. This is because we discovered that there will be a Special Interest (long) Weekend next March at Christ Church, Oxford on ‘Blood and Roses: the Wars of the Roses c.1450-1485’, and we felt that to hold our own conference so close to such a relevant event would mean that most people would feel they could not attend both, and be forced to choose. Christ Church asked if we would like to be associated with their weekend, and we were happy to do so: it is not costing us any money, but is gaining us publicity and a concession in their prices. Another associated organisation is Holts Tours, who are arranging a separate battlefields tour immediately after the weekend, and our friend the artist Graham Turner provided the image of the Battle of Towton used as the front cover of the brochure. The actual dates of the weekend are from Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 March 2011. Participants arrive from 2.00 pm onwards on the Thursday, and the first event will be a paper on ‘The Origins of the Wars of the Roses’ by John Watts, Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Other papers will be given by Diana Dunn (‘The Role of Margaret of Anjou’), James Ross (‘The Rose of Rouen: Edward IV and the establishment of the House of York’), Caroline Barron (‘The View from London’), Magnus Sigurdsson (‘Arms and Armour of the Late Fifteenth Century’), Anne Curry (‘The Army of Richard III’), Tony Pollard (‘Richard III, Reputation and Reality’), Glenn Foard (‘The Battle of Bosworth’), and finally Simon Favell-De Montfort-Broughton, who is a re- enactor running a living history group called Histeria, will speak on ‘Dress Makes the Man’. There will also be a coach excursion to Ewelme, where Rowena Archer will talk to participants in the church on ‘Alice, Duchess of Suffolk, and the Wars of the Roses’, an evening session on ‘Medieval Monarchs at the RSC’, and a Gala Banquet in the Great Hall, which according to the brochure will be a ‘black tie’ occasion. We checked, and this does mean dinner jackets for men and ‘suitable attire’ for ladies. The dinner will include a ‘traditional college dessert which is the social highlight of the week’. The weekend closes after lunch on Sunday, but we are told that Christ Church Picture Gallery will be open that day from 2.00 pm. The weekend costs £525 per person to the general public, for a standard single or twin room – the charge is per person, not per room. As as associated organisation, we are in the happy position of having a substantial reduction, and it will cost us £450 per person. En suite accommodation is available on the payment of a supplement of £75 per person. All rooms have tea- and coffee-making facilities, a telephone, a free internet connection, and a fridge. House wines, included in the price, are served at dinner. Vegetarian meals are available if you tell them in advance. The price also includes ‘the full lecture and activity programme’, including the coach excursion to Ewelme and the Gala Dinner. The application form asks you to give the decade of your age (beginning at 20-29 and ending at 80+) and says this is ‘for accommodation purposes only’: rooms may be on the ground, first, second or third floors, so may it be deduced that there is no lift, and the older you are the more likely you are to be accommodated on the ground floor? A deposit of £100 is required with all bookings, and the balance by 31 January 2011. To secure the special Richard III Society price, your booking form must bear the words Loyaulté me Lie, as a (not so secret) sign that you are a member of the Society. We have in fact typed the words on the booking form in the centrefold, but it would do no harm to circle it in red before you send it off. Additional accommodation is available for Wednesday and Sunday nights. All bookings and any further enquiries should be made to: Special Interest Weekend, The Steward’s Office, Christ Church, Oxford OX1 1DP. Tel. 01865 286848; email: [email protected]. Website: chch.ox.ac.uk See the Booking form in the centre section of this Bulletin, at the end of the Annual Report. 22

STOP PRESS New Society Papers Librarian Wanted

We are sorry to report that Gillian Paxton, the Society’s Papers Librarian, has had to resign for personal reasons, and so we are looking for a new person to join the Library Team. The job involves caring for the Collection, responding to requests from members to borrow items, and keeping a look out for interesting new items to add to the Collection. Professional experience is not necessary, just an interest in the wide range of information on our period to be found in articles, booklets and extracts from books. We will explain all you need to know. There is probably no more than one loan request in a week, so the job is not onerous.

Since the Library operates by post, the new Librarian could be based anywhere in the country, but access to e-mails and the internet would really be necessary. All expenses (mainly postage and photocopying) would be refunded by the Society. The Collection is presently housed in two standard four-drawer filing cabinets and approximately eight shelves of folders and boxes. The filing cabinets will be supplied with their contents.

If you feel you might be interested in joining the Library Team, which we can promise you will find both interesting and rewarding, especially the opportunity for contact with other like-minded members, please do get in touch with me to discuss the possibilities and any questions you may have.

Carolyn Hammond, Library Co-ordinator, Flat 4, 9 Devonhurst Place, Heathfield Terrace, Chiswick, London W4 4JB; telephone: 0208 995 3068; e-mail: [email protected]

Bulletin Advertising Rates

If you wish to advertise goods or services for sale in the Bulletin (for example, secondhand books or medieval-themed memorabilia), please note that the following charges apply:

£10 for small boxed text-only advertisements

£50 for a horizontal quarter-page illustrated display advertisement (dimensions up to a height of 55 mm and a width of 135 mm)

£100 for a half-page illustrated display advertisement (dimensions up to a height of 100 mm and a width of 135 mm)

£150 for a full-page illustrated display advertisement (dimensions up to a height of 200 mm and a width of 135 mm)

Please note that any illustrations can only be reproduced in black-and-white, as with other material in the Bulletin.

For further information contact the Advertising Officer, Howard Choppin. For contact details, see the back cover.

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Media Retrospective

The new site for the Battle of Bosworth has provides a great experience for everyone from continued to generate interest in both the historians to members of the public’. It is national and the local media. illustrated, not by a picture of the boar, but by a picture of Mr Sprason. From Bill Featherstone Leicester and Rutland Life, April 2010 From Richard Van Allen Two-page spread on the recent Bosworth Classic Arms & Militaria (specialist bi- discoveries: ‘Discovering where Richard III monthly magazine) leader page: died and [the] Tudor Age was born’. Bosworth Site Announced.. ... The new site of the great battle between the armies of Richard Bill writes: ‘The article provides a simple and III and Henry Tudor ... has been formally factual account of the debate relating to the announced. ... Leicester County Council site of the battle although reference to “500 [decided] to maintain the current visitor years of speculation over the location of the centre, but to create a new discovery trail to epic battle” seems a bit overblown. It quotes the newly found battlefield. This will make Dr Glenn Foard extensively including something of a wilderness day out for many emphasis on the European importance of the families and enthusiasts, who will be able to artillery shot discoveries. The comment that enjoy a walk through Leicestershire’s fine nearly all the iron shot is on one side and all countryside en route to this new field of Mars. the stone on the other is interesting and one I ... Researchers also believe they have had not seen before. Other finds mentioned identified the medieval marsh where Richard are a silver gilt boar badge, a bullet from a was dragged from his horse and killed, hand cannon, coins of Charles the Bold and a another hotly argued detail. ... Pete Riley, one very high status sword scabbard of a type not of the team which surveyed the site, said, seen by the Royal Armouries before. “The main part of this project was to identify There is a nice little piece about Alf where the battle was, and we have done that. Oliver, the owner of the site, Fenn Lane Now we’ve got to understand the evidence Farm. “I am proud to own a bit of British we’ve picked up.” history,” said Alf, who knew there had once ‘The Richard III Society, possibly the best been a marsh on the land, but didn’t realise it informed scholars of this particular period, was the marsh the historians wanted to find. are very pleased with the new announcement, Alf is said to be in negotiation with the keen in their pursuit to puncture the “Tudor County Council to ensure access and the Myth” as it has grown over the centuries, article concludes by saying the outdoor trail thanks mostly to Shakespeare’s play. With will be changed by the autumn.’ this latest battlefield revelation perhaps the truth behind our most maligned monarch has From Cris Reay Connor been brought just a little closer.’ Leicester Mercury? The piece concludes: ‘the Richard III ‘Silver Boar badge found at Bosworth Society can be found at www.richardiii.net Battlefield. Historians believe that the tiny Richard Van Allen had seen a brief emblem fell from the tunic of a knight whilst mention of the discovery of the new site in a in battle alongside the doomed King.’ previous issue of this publication, and he The piece quotes David Sprason, ‘Leics wrote suggesting that it should be accorded County Council’s cabinet member for adults more space in the journal, and that they and communities’ as saying that Bosworth should send a correspondent to the battlefield Battlefield ‘continues to grow in stature and briefing. The journal did both. 24

From Peter Hammond the foot of a staircase in the Tower, while a The Hinckley Times, 1 April 2010 sinister face peers down at them and a Shock crown find moves battle site to Mead shadow hand holds a shadow dagger. The by Sally Diproof lads look remarkably like Mr C. and Mr C. ‘A dramatic discovery has led experts to believe that the Battle of Bosworth actually About the Dukes of Burgundy took place on Argents Mead in Hinckley. ‘Vintage Burgundy’ is the heading for Professors in Leicestershire archaeology say another piece contributed by Geoff Wheeler. they have found a vital piece of new It is from the Daily Mail, 3 May 2010, in the evidence: a blood-stained gold crown, which Answers to Correspondents compiled by moves the site of the 1485 battle to the Charles Legge. People write in with their council offices ... Lost for over 525 years, a queries, and other people send in answers. borough councillor found the crown, believed The query was, ‘I recently read a novel about to belong to Richard III, under a hedge in the Charles, Duke of Burgundy, Flanders and mead. Fixed to it was a note penned in old Navarre. Was this a genuine title/person? English that read “alas I die, tell Mummy I An answer was sent in by Simon Sparrow love her” ...’ of Edinburgh, who pointed out that there were The article continues in much the same several men named Charles who laid claim to vein, and is illustrated by a splendid photo of these lands. One was Charles the Bold a bejewelled gold crown amid branches (husband of Margaret of York), another was below grass below a bandstand. Charles II (The Bad), King of Navarre 1349- You will all by now have noticed the date 87. The paper illustrated the section with a of the paper which printed this piece. picture entitled ‘Title race: Charles the Bad laid claim to the dukedom of Burgundy’ Still in the field of mockery, Geoff Wheeler BUT, as Geoff points out, the picture is in has sent us this from The Spectator, 5 June fact that of another somewhat Bad King 2010. They held a competition to submit a Charles II: Charles Stuart. news bulletin on the outcome of the general election as delivered by a well-known figure Geoff Wheeler also found the following: from history. A winning entry, submitted by The Independent, 28 May 2010 George Simmers, is delivered by Richard III: Headline: The Duke of Burgundy lives. But for how long? ‘Now is the winter of Brown discontent by Michael McCarthy, Nature Studies. Made multi-coloured springtime by this pair It is about a butterfly, Hamearis lucina, Of well-groomed lovebirds, singing smooth known as ‘the Duke of Burgundy’, which is refrains ... splendid to look at (if you look at it closely) ... Yet in amongst the restive packs they lead, and in danger of extinction. The author is The others wait, the persons of my kidney, reminded of Charles the Bold (calling him The not-fresh-faced, the unappealing ... Charles the Rash), killed at the battle of ... And they can wait and wait and waiting Nancy in 1477, ‘bejewelled magnificence, smile, suddenly snuffed out’. Apparently Hamearis In happy knowledge that their day will come lucina is from a family which produces When mischief finds its chance to thrive pell- splendid butterflies in South America, but mell ... ours is the size of a postage stamp. ‘First Richard Plantagenet, from deepest Hell.’ called “Mr Vernon’s small fritillary” ... why it was raised to the peerage, probably in the The Independent, 29 May 2010 had another early 18th century, is a mystery entirely ... it Ricardian adaptation of a work of art as a is a tiny sparkling lattice of brown and comment on the election results: a cartoon by marmalade-orange’, and it is animated and Dave Brown, ‘after Millais’, shows two fresh- vivacious. It lives on chalk hills in Hamp- faced lads apprehensively holding hands at shire, where its caterpillars feed on cowslips.

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Richard III on the stage not professional historians. The interested laity likes a good conspiracy theory.’ He From Geoff Wheeler points to ‘Shakespeare’s colourful renovation Shakespeare’s Richard III at Melbourne, of the ever-popular Machiavellian schemer 24 April to 12 June 2010 that goes back to the Lucifer character of the Programme notes by Simon Phillips, Director liturgical drama. Lucifer, of course, didn’t ‘Each time you re-read Shakespeare you have a hump and a withered arm; but then ought to prepare yourself for a few fresh neither did the historical Richard.’ surprises. Going through Richard III again The programme notes have a boxed quote last year I was pulled up by a marvellous little from Machiavelli, The Prince, to stress this soliloquy ... a humble scrivener who tells the aspect of the production: ‘War should be the audience how he has worked for eleven hours only study of a prince. He should consider writing up an indictment for treason. The peace only as a breathing-time, which gives thing that troubles him is that Hastings him leisure to contrive, and furnishes an supposedly committed his treason only five ability to execute, military plans.’ Geoff tells hours ago. As he ruefully remarks, ‘Who is so us that the poster advertising this production gross, that cannot see this palpable device?’ features Richard III behind a bevy of micro- For the scrivener, this trumped-up charge was phones with a chainsaw ... a sign of the times, but, the surprise is, it’s a Ewen Leslie plays Richard, Meredith Pen- sign of ours too. Choose your own blatant man Lady Anne and the messenger, Bert political swindle from recent times: Stalin’s LaBonté Richmond and a Murderer (nice show trials ... Mugabe’s faux election, or that doubling there). Roger Oakley is Bracken- skulduggery in Florida in 2000. Everyone saw bury and Hastings and Tyrell. through these palpable devices, yet they still got away with it ... From Philippa Langley and others, and ‘The political manoeuvring in Richard III found on Facebook strikes me as shockingly up to the minute ... I Richard III as a musical decided on a contemporary setting. In Shake- ‘Orkrater presents a Shakespeare production speare’s day power came dressed in ermine with music by Tom Waits in co-production and purple, topped by a crown; now it wears a with the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg. Gijs well-cut, single-breasted suit, but the dyna- Scholten van Aschat plays and sings Richard mism is the same. ... I was intrigued by the III. parallels between the atmosphere in the court ‘Richard III is Shakespeare’s moving por- of Richard III and the belligerent craftiness trait of a career man, oozing charm and with a that marked the recent Bush administration ... lust for power. The play describes his un- what remains of those early thoughts ... is a likely rise and fall. ... the impossible is for certain swagger ... a Masters of the Universe him precisely the greatest challenge. mentality ... This Richard isn’t Bush, this Intriguing, flirting, smiling, threatening and Buckingham isn’t Carl Rove, and not even on occasion killing, he makes his way to the Shakespeare had the imagination to create a highest position ... [and then] he is confronted Rumsfeld ...’ with the painful question: And now what? Is Phillips edited the text to simplify this all? complex relationships between historical Music is by Tom Waits and Kathleen characters, removed many ‘arcane’ references Brennan. ‘Just like Shakespeare did, Waits to the Wars of the Roses, and renamed the incorporates poetry, provocation, seduction odd character to avoid confusion, but his cuts, and irony in his numbers.’ he says, are ‘nowhere near as radical’ as those The band is led by Vincent van Warmer- in the Olivier or Ian McKellan film versions. dam, ‘complemented by The Sadists, a young ‘The revisionist concept of Good King group of three actors/musicians and a troupe Richard is so widespread as to be the ortho- of mainly young actors. Over and against this doxy nowadays, at least among us who are youthful ‘posse’ of Richard’s there is a gener-

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ation of strong women who offer more done at Kenilworth and Dover. It really is opposition than all the men put together. breaking an intellectual logjam in the heritage These characters are portrayed by powerful, business and I cannot see what’s wrong in experienced actresses.’ presenting a building so that ordinary people can understand it.’ Phil Stone reminds us that Tom Waits was One of the illustrations to this article is of the composer of ‘The piano has been Middleham Castle looking at its most ruinous, drinking’ and ‘Small change got rained on by and the accompanying caption says, ‘Middle- his own .38’. (Eh?) ham Castle in Yorkshire is one of the great There is a trailer to watch on Youtube if you castles of England but today it is a difficult-to really want to: -read ruin. How big a challenge would it be http://www.youtube.com/watch? for English Heritage to rebuild it as it was in v=2OA8F4RjNw0&feature=player_ its heyday as Richard III’s northern bastion, a embedded kind of English Carcassonne, a building that and if you get lost in trying to type all that really does convey what history is about, into your browser, ask yourself if it was worth what a big castle was like, and how it was the effort. We hope that someone who lives in run?’ Amsterdam will manage to see the production and review it for us in a future issue of the Would you like to see Middleham Castle Bulletin. rebuilt? Do you agree that it is a difficult- to-read ruin? More from Geoff Wheeler: (2) Should historians write fiction? (1) Re-building Middleham Castle? BBC History Magazine, August 2010 English Heritage Conservation Bulletin issue Opinion, by Ian Mortimer. 64, Summer 2010: article ‘Popularising the Ian Mortimer has just written a historical Past’. novel, Sacred Treason, under his middle Question by the Conservation Bulletin to names of James Forrester, and believes that Simon Jenkins: ‘When he was Chairman of ‘historical novelists should not be ashamed of English Heritage, Sir Neil Cossons talked telling lies’. about keeping historic properties in a “heri- A number of historians have turned to tage zoo”. Is that how you see them, rare sur- writing historical fiction. What, he asks, are vivors kept in captivity for what they can tell the implications of historians making things us about the past?’ up, putting thoughts into the minds of long- Answer by Jenkins: ‘Today I think we are dead people, and even inventing speeches for more sophisticated than that. Because we see them? The main character of his novel is one the environment as a continuum, historic William Harley, Clarenceux King of Arms in buildings don’t just have a past but a present 1563 but, as Ian says, ‘I have made Harley do and future. They were intended to be used and and say things that Harley never did or said’. need to be kept alive. Five of his six main characters have entries in ‘On the other hand, a ruin really is an en- the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, dangered species. It has lost its purpose and and he even wrote one of the articles himself, has become just a work of art or piece of on Henry Machyn, an early-sixteenth-century archaeology. I think we’ve got our approach chronicler. So they were real enough. But to the presentation of ruins completely wrong Mortimer says he wanted to write about a in this country. I’m a Victorian and I would world ‘in which religious doubts and dis- like to do more of the kind of restoration that loyalty to the throne were mixed together in William Burgess did at Cardiff Castle or one sense of betrayal’, about ‘a man’s Castel Coch. I’d love the National Trust to relationship with the state and God, unencum- rebuild Corfe Castle in Dorset and I hugely bered by the modern reader’s expectations admire the work that English Heritage has about daily life in the modern world’. He

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wanted to explore the sense of fear and con- noted. Further north, for example, is the fusion Catholics must have felt under a Gateshead car park which starred so vividly Protestant queen. ‘The lies may be seen to in Get Carter, Michael Caine’s best film. If have a greater purpose’ and to draw out truths you want to visit, hurry, it’s being knocked that we find difficult to define in our modern down. As a result of rather earlier demolitions lives. during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, He points out that we like scientists Richard III is probably buried under the writing science fiction: their novels benefit Shires car park in Leicester, while Henry I is from their inside knowledge. Is it different supposed to be under one in Reading. Do not, when historians write historical fiction? though, get too excited should you encounter ‘There are many forms of truth besides King Arthur’s car park in Tintagel, as this factual accuracy.’ relates to the nearby pub.’

We have often debated the value of historical Stirling Castle Excavations fiction in the Bulletin, but what about From Marilyn Garabet historical fiction when written by someone The Times, 18 May 2010: ‘Mystery knight’s who, wearing another hat, is a real historian? skeleton shows he’d have been just the man to tend a nightclub door’, by Charlene (3) Richard Armitage would like to Sweeney. play Richard III This article concerns an episode of the Reader’s Digest, May 2010. Article, ‘Tough BBC2 History Cold Case series, scheduled Act’, by E. Jane Dicks, on ‘what Richard for 20 May. The remains of ten skeletons Armitage did next’. were found in 1997 during excavations at Armitage’s first professional engagement Stirling Castle, under a building known as the was with a circus in Budapest ... ‘he did, Governor’s Kitchen, thought to have been the however, have a strong sense of destiny. His site of a royal chapel. The one selected for father, an engineer, had a passionate interest study in the programme was a robust male, in Richard III, and Armitage grew up with a about 5 ft 7 in. tall, who died in his mid twen- sense of mystic kinship to the enigmatic king. ties. His bone structure showed he spent a lot “I was called Richard and I was born on of time on horseback, and had been trained in August 22, the day Richard III was killed so the use of heavy weapons. He had been hit on yes, I guess the connection’s always been the head by a sharp instrument such as an axe there. I’d love to play him, though not or sword, but the bone had re-grown, so this necessarily the Shakespeare role, which is was not the cause of death. He also had an mostly myth. There’s a darkness and mystery arrowhead in the chest but perhaps survived to Richard. I like the idea of someone who that too, and he had lost a number of teeth, isn’t ambitious, but gets put on a fast track to but died from a sword-blow on nose and jaw. the crown and almost finds himself there At first Historic Scotland suggested that against his instincts. I feel that, in a way, I the body might be that of an English knight have a similar temperament. I might be just a named Robert Morley, who died during a bit too old to play him, it’s the big 4-0 for me tournament at the castle in 1388, but another next year, but I do have a need to explore that suggestion, made in the TV programme, is story.” that he might be Sir John Strickley, who died in the siege of Stirling Castle after the battle (4) Burials in car parks of Bannockburn in 1314. There appears to be The Independent, 15 July 2010, Charles some caution about this, for no amount of Nevin in the Viewspaper section. Googling reveals this name, though fairly ‘Unease that the churchyard in Scarborough thorough accounts of the programme may be where Anne Brontë lies buried is being used found. as a car park reminds me that this facility’s The skeletons found are to be compared to role in our culture has been insufficiently those recovered from the Battle of Towton.

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The Man Himself The other Yorkshire homes of Richard, Duke of Gloucester R.J.A. BUNNETT

ince we are shortly to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Yorkshire S Branch we thought it appropriate for the The Man Himself to have a distinctly Yorkshire flavour. So we looked in the archives for something appropriate and found it in the January 1962 issue of The Ricardian: an article about Richard’s other Yorkshire homes apart from Middleham, and even better, it is by one of the founding members of the Yorkshire Branch, R.J.A. Bunnett. As mentioned elsewhere in this issue, we will be covering Mr Bunnett’s contribution to the Ricardian cause in more detail in December’s Bulletin. We shall also in the future be considering some of Richard’s castles in more depth, in a series of articles by Peter Lee. Mr Bunnett’s 1962 article has stood the test of time well, even though it too is almost fifty years old. There are however a couple of points we need to make in light of hindsight. Firstly, in respect of the tomb in Sheriff Hutton church, Mr Bunnett wisely added the caveat ‘though it is not absolutely certain that the boy was buried here’. Jane Crease’s recent articles in the Bulletin (September and December 2009) have conclusively shown that the tomb does not belong to Edward of Middleham. Secondly, in respect of the entry for Richmond, Edmund Tudor was not attainted,.so Henry had the right to call himself earl of Richmond, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was never created earl of Carlisle or Richmond.

lthough Middleham was Richard’s main numerous hospitals. By 1472 the mighty A residence, he often stayed in York, Minster had been completed, wherein on the Pontefract and Sheriff Hutton – the last- death of Edward IV (9 April 1483) his brother named being conveniently close to York – held a solemn funeral service, so it is stated, and elsewhere. In 1475 a grant to him of all whilst the local nobility swore allegiance to the properties of the late earl of Warwick in the late king’s son, Richard himself being the Yorkshire and Cumberland was confirmed by first to take the oath. Act of Parliament. At the feast of Corpus Christi in 1477, Richard and his wife walked in procession York from Holy Trinity Priory to the Minster, in No place outside London had closer which, on his progress through the country connections with Richard than the city of after his coronation, their son Edward was York, capital of the north, then at the height invested as Prince of Wales, at a most of its medieval greatness, and where he impressive ceremony, the ensuing week being enjoyed considerable popularity, being ever distinguished by a round of State occasions. ready to lend a willing ear to the requests of The trio walked from the building, wearing the City Council when in trouble. their crowns, ‘to the great honour, joy and In his day, some 13,000 people were congratulations of the inhabitants, and in lodged within the walls, amid three score show of rejoicing they extolled Richard above churches, with the great Benedictine abbey of the skies’. He is stated to have founded a St Mary’s, four friaries (Richard was wont to chantry in the Minster with 100 chaplains, stay at the Augustinian Friary in Lendal), and and also to have repaired York Castle.

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Sheriff Hutton Bertram de Bulmor, sheriff of Yorkshire, it is said, built the original castle, c.1140. By 1382 it seems to have fallen into decay, when John de Nevill was empowered to build a stronghold there. Today the remains are scanty, consisting mostly of the south-west angle towers. In the castle Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, was imprisoned (1483) and here he made his will, prior to being later removed to Pontefract for execution. The young Earl of Warwick, son of George, Duke of Clarence and Isabella Neville, was a resident in the The scanty remains of Sheriff Hutton Castle castle under the care of his cousin John, Earl of Lincoln, son of Richard’s sister, the enough to deal with the French and Scots. Duchess of Suffolk. To Sheriff Hutton also Next month he was there again, actively the king despatched for safety his niece engaged in rearming and revictualling the Elizabeth when the landing of Henry of ships, and possibly he took command of the Richmond was imminent. In the church of St ensuing naval expedition in which the Scots Helen’s, where Richard built an additional were defeated. chapel, is to be seen the tomb of young On Sandside, near the harbour, are the Edward, Prince of Wales, his son, who died in remains of the fourteenth-century house, with 1484, though it is not absolutely certain that its square bay window, where Richard is said the boy was buried here. to have resided.

Helmsley Barnard Castle The valuable North Riding estates of Sir This is notable for its magnificent setting Thomas Rous, including the castle and manor above a rocky cliff 80 feet high overlooking of Helmsley, were granted to Richard by the River Tees. The great round tower was Edward IV. The oldest part of the existing built about 1300. After Clarence’s death, castle ruins, which occupied a strong Richard obtained the undivided lordship of defensive position, can be ascribed to Robert the place, of which he had hitherto only held de Roos (1186-1227), Lord of Helmsley, and a moiety in right of his wife, and also was was held by his descendants for 17 granted a licence to found a college (though it generations. is questionable if this ever was established) for priests and choristers to perform service Scarborough continually for the good estate of the royal In March 1475 Edward IV, with family. Parliamentary sanction, handed to Richard, Near the castle tower is a fifteenth-century Duke of Gloucester, the castle and lordship of oriel window, part of the great chamber, over Scarborough, and other neighbouring estates, which is a slab carved with a boar, Richard’s in exchange for properties in Derbyshire and badge, enclosed in an incomplete interlacing Herefordshire. The castle, standing in a ornament, which appears to have been commanding position between two bays, was brought from another part of the building. built about 1145 by William le Gros, Earl of More’s story of the alleged murder of the Albemarle. In June 1484 King Richard visited Princes gives a Miles Forest as joint assassin the town, and, by commandeering every with John Dighton. A man of that name available vessel, assembled a fleet powerful appears to have been Keeper of the Wardrobe

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at Barnard Castle: the date of his appointment respectively. At Pontefract on 25 June 1483, is unknown, but he died some time before the conspirators against Richard, Earl Rivers, 1484, as an annuity of 5 marks was then Sir Richard Grey, Sir Thomas Vaughan and granted to his widow. Sir Richard Haute, were executed.

Penrith Castle Richmond This was built, it seems, by Ralph Neville, the The castle, with its remarkable keep over 100 original grantee of Raby House, and in 1441 feet high, occupies a dominating position in the castle (of red stone) and manor were Swaledale. Henry VI made a partial grant of granted for 3 years to Richard, Earl of the castle to Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, at a yearly rent of 1,000 marks. Salisbury, about 1450; but the Honour was in From the Nevilles it passed to John, 9th Lord the possession of Edmund Tudor from 1453 Clifford of Skipton; and when he was slain at to his death three years later. Henry Tudor Ferrybridge (1461) – just before the battle of styled himself Earl of Richmond as his Towton – and was attainted, the castle was father’s heir; though as the latter had been granted to the Duke of Gloucester (he was attainted he had no right to the title. residing there in 1471) who, it is said, erected When Richard, immediately after Edward a tower, a porter’s lodge and other buildings. IV’s coronation, was created duke of With the advent of the Tudors the place Gloucester, he was also made earl of Carlisle appears to have been left to decay. Richard is and Richmond respectively; but he resigned stated to have stayed also in what is now the the fee-farm and castle of the latter to his Gloucester Arms Hotel, dating from 1477, brother Clarence, upon whose death Richard one of the oldest inns in England. received the grant of the castle and lordship of Richmond, but only in exchange for the Pontefract (Pomfret) manors of Sudeley, Farley and Corff. Edward The once magnificent castle was built soon retained most of Clarence’s estates in his own after the Norman invasion by Ilbert de Laci. hands. Today, one can still see the site of the Norman chapel, the King’s and the Queen’s Skipton Tower, the kitchens, and King Richard II’s About 1080 Robert de Romille first built a chamber, where it is alleged he was starved, castle here; but the seven round towers and poisoned or hacked to death; also the Round nine-foot thick curtain walls are the work of Tower and underground chambers. Robert de Clifford in Edward II’s reign. The As chief Seneschal of the Duchy of striking entrance was made in the mid-17th Lancaster north of the Trent, this castle was century by the famous Lady Anne Clifford, the Duke of Gloucester’s official residence. Countess of Pembroke. On his progress after his coronation, Richard John de Clifford, 8th lord of Skipton, seems to have reached Pontefract on 24 spoken of as the Black-faced or Butcher, is August 1483, where he summoned to meet accused by both Hall and Holinshed of having him 70 knights and gentlemen of the north ‘to stabbed to death the young Earl of Rutland at read them the same lecture on administering Wakefield in 1460, and Shakespeare justice which he had delivered to the lords in perpetuated the story. Clifford was killed at London’. Ferrybridge on the eve of the battle of Edward IV made the castle his Towton: he was attainted and his honours and headquarters before Towton, after which the estates were forfeited to the Crown. Edward heads of the Duke of York, the Earls of IV first granted the Skipton lordship to Sir Rutland and Salisbury were removed from William Stanley, but later bestowed it on Micklegate Bar, York, and placed with their Richard, who, it is recorded, repaired the corpses at Pontefract, prior to their gorgeous castle. obsequies at Fotheringhay and Bisham

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Anne Mowbray, Duchess of York: her place in history BRUCE WATSON MUSEUM OF LONDON ARCHAEOLOGY

he life of Anne Mowbray and the inside the coffin; and even the metallurgy of T chance discovery of her remains have her coffin. Study of her hair using electron already been the subject of several articles in activation to determine its metallurgical the Bulletin. Some years ago Wendy Moorhen content, revealed an unusually high level of drew attention to the non-publication of the antimony which might have been ingested as context of Anne’s burial and the fact that medicine. This amount of scientific research most of the analytical work which was carried might seem excessive, but the chance on her remains before her re-interment in discovery of the burial of a named medieval Westminster Abbey in 1965 is also still person is extremely rare, especially one who unpublished. Articles on Anne’s teeth and was a member of the royal family. skeletal remains were published some years ago (see further reading). However, in recent The context of Anne Mowbray’s burial years, as my colleague Bill White explained Anne was initially buried in the Chapel of St in 2009, we have been systematically Erasmus in Westminster Abbey as befitted a researching the burial of Anne Mowbray, so member of the royal family. However, some the context of her grave and the analytical time before 1538 her body was moved to the work on her remains could be published. Now London church of the St Clare Minoresses (or with support from the Society of Antiquaries Minories) (Franciscan nuns), without Ald- the context of her grave and the unpublished gate (established by 1281 and dissolved analytical work are being prepared for 1539). The various archaeological publication as a journal article. This article investigations of this nunnery are discussed in will include the Latin text of the inscription another forthcoming article (see further on her coffin. A short account of this research reading). will be published in the summer 2010 edition It is documented that during the winter of of the London Archaeologist. Copies of the 1502-03, the chapel of St Erasmus and the all the analytical material and many of the adjoining Lady Chapel were being contemporary press reports concerning Anne demolished to make room for Henry VII’s Mowbray are available from the Museum of new mausoleum, so it is assumed that Anne’s London Archaeological Archive and remains were removed from the chapel during Research Centre, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, this period. As Anne’s mother Elizabeth (the London N1 7ED (LAARC file AMS64). Dowager Duchess) was still alive at this time Following the chance discovery of Anne’s she may have requested possession of her remains in December 1964, Dr Francis daughter’s remains and arranged for her Celoria, Archaeological Field Office of the reburial. Whether this move was intended as a London Museum, quickly organised a permanent arrangement is not known. By comprehensive programme of work on 1487-88 Elizabeth was living at the London Anne’s remains including her bones, teeth, house of Minoresses, where she rented the hair, shroud, the botanical and insect remains ‘great mansion’ for £10 per annum. Elizabeth

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was still residing here at the time of her death marriage of Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of between 6 November 1506 and 10 May 1507. York to Lady Anne Mowbray’, which was She left instructions that she was to be buried exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1821. The in the nuns’ or ‘inner’ choir at the Minories idea of depicting historic events as dramatic and that 100 marks (£66 13s. 4d.) be art was very fashionable during the 1830s in distributed amongst the poor of Hackney and Britain and France. James Northcote and M. Whitechapel. Paul Delaroche were two the leading A pre-Reformation list of the nobility exponents of this genre. Several engravings buried in the Minories includes as item 5; of Northcote’s painting were published ‘Dame Anne Duchess of york daughter to during the early 19th century. Anne’s lord mowbray Duke of Northfolk [Norfolk] wedding was also depicted in the 1939 be buried in the said Quire’. Item 6 was Universal Pictures film The Tower of London ‘Dame Elizabeth Duchess Northfolk directed by Rowland V. Lee, which starred [Norfolk] mother to the said Dame Anne Basil Rathbone as Richard III, five-year-old Duchess of york be buried in the Quire afor Donnie Dunagan played Prince Richard and said’ (Landsdowne MS 205, Volume of six-year old Joan Carroll played Anne Heraldic and Historical Collections formerly Mowbray. belonging to Elias Ashmole, fo.19 ‘The Names of all persons of Noble blood whom ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS be buried in the monastery of the minories’, Thanks to Cath Maloney of the Museum of British Library). These two brief entries London Archaeological Archive and confirm that there were either one or two Research Centre (LAARC); Bob Mclean, tombs or monuments bearing inscriptions Records Manager at the Wellcome Trust; commemorating these individuals; the John Clark of the Early Department of the wording of the entries could imply that there Museum of London (now Curator Emeritus); was actually only one monument, but as they and Professor Roger Warwick for their were not interred in the same vault this may assistance during our research. Thanks to not have been the case. Anne’s Geoffrey Wheeler for providing details anthropomorphic lead coffin was discovered concerning of the images of Anne Mowbray’s on its own in a small subterranean vaulted wedding, and to the Society of Antiquaries of chamber, which was probably built up against London for funding the production of the the south wall of the choir. This is curious as artwork for the final publication. there was room in this vault for another burial, so it suggests that Anne’s mother Further Reading Elizabeth had made some separate provision Moorhen, W., ‘Anne Mowbray: in life and for her own grave. The exact location of death’, Bulletin Spring 2005, pp. 24-6. Anne’s mother’s grave is unknown, but it Rushton, M.A., ‘The teeth of Anne seems likely that mother and daughter were Mowbray’, British Dental Journal 119, No 8, interred close together in the nuns’ choir. (1965) pp. 355-59. Possibly Anne’s mother was interred in the Thomas, C. and Watson, B., forthcoming, smashed empty vault found nearby. ‘The Mendicant Houses of Medieval London: an archaeological review’ in Harlaxton Images of Anne Mowbray Papers for the 2007 conference. There are no surviving contemporary images Warwick, R., ‘Anne Mowbray: skeletal of Anne Mowbray, but some of the events in remains of a medieval child’ London her brief life have inspired reconstructions. Archaeologist 5, No 7, 1986, pp. 176-79. The occasion of Anne’s marriage was White, B., ‘Anne Mowbray: publication at depicted in a splendid ‘history’ painting by last’, Bulletin, September 2009, pp. 14-16. James Northcote R.A. (1820) entitled ‘The

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Not the royal wedding of 1486: a medallic misidentification

FREDERICK HEPBURN

he handsome gold medallion whose Műnz-Belustigung, published in 1734. There T obverse is shown in the accompanying indeed, in an illustration of another medal drawing will be familiar to many Ricardians.* from the same group, the legend has exactly Over the past thirty years or so it has been the same distinctive style of lettering, and the illustrated a number of times in books and supposed medal of Henry and Elizabeth is articles and described as having been made to listed in the sub-category of medals with celebrate the wedding of Henry VII and ‘moral’ (as opposed to ‘historical’) subjects, Elizabeth of York in January 1486. So simply as an unnamed bride and bride- frequent has its groom.² appearance now A closer become that it is time look at the for the truth to be medal (of made more widely which Haw- known. In fact the kins records medal does not two extant represent Henry and examples, one Elizabeth, nor is it in the British connected with the Museum and Tudors in any way. the other in The error is Munich) evidently an old one, reveals fea- though I have not tures which been able to ascertain ought to have quite how old. made histo- Edward Hawkins (or rians suspi- his editors) cious. The catalogued the medal young couple in his Medallic look suitably Illustrations of the idyllic, but History of Great Britain and Ireland of 1885, can we really believe that Henry Tudor would noting that its inclusion there was due ‘solely have been content to be shown wearing a to its having been supposed to commemorate chaplet of roses while his wife wore the the marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of crown? As we know, this was a particularly York, a supposition grounded only upon the sensitive issue and Henry delayed Elizabeth’s introduction of roses into the device and coronation for as long as possible, until legend’.¹ Hawkins went on to identify the November 1487, so that there could be no medal as ‘one of a series of medallions, of doubt in people’s minds that he was king in similar style, supposed to have been made by his own right rather than in right of his wife. some goldsmiths at Prague towards the close And the inscriptions on the medal tell their of the sixteenth century’, and gave a reference own story. Around the couple the legend to volume VI of J.D. Koehler’s Historische reads IUNGIMUS · OPTATAS · SUB · 34

AMICO · FOEDERE · DEXTRAS (‘We join The medal is illustrated in the Plates, in a loving union the right hands we have published separately (London, 1904-11; each wished for’). The words round the edge reprinted 1979), Pl. I, 5. Photographic of the reverse are SICUT · SOL · ORIENS · enlargements of both sides of the medal are DEI : SIC · MULIER · BONA · DOMUS · conveniently reproduced in Neville Williams, EIUS · ORNAMENTUM. As Hawkins The Life and Times of Henry VII (London, observed, the word dei is almost certainly an 1973), pp. 34-5. (The actual diameter is 2.25 error for diei, so that the meaning is ‘As the inches.) rising sun adorns the day, so also is a good ² Johann David Koehler, Historische Műnz- wife the adornment of her house’. In the Belustigung, 24 parts (Nuremberg, 1729-65), centre of the reverse, within a circle of roses, VI, pp. 137-9. I should like to record here my is another inscription: UXOR/ CASTA/ EST · gratitude to Mary Hinton, librarian of the ROSA/ SUAVIS (‘A chaste wife is a sweet Department of Coins and Medals at the rose’). The emphasis on the reverse is British Museum, for enabling me to consult therefore very much on the wifely virtues of the works by Hawkins and Koehler. the woman – and it is interesting that the word casta is made to stand out by the use of The illustration larger and more elaborate lettering. Had this is of a gold medallion showing a bride and been an early Tudor medal, the inscriptions bridegroom. Prague, late sixteenth century. would surely have carried a different, more Facsimile drawing by Geoffrey Wheeler, political message celebrating the union of the reproduced by kind permission. rival royal houses of Lancaster and York. *By the time this article is published, another Notes short piece making the same point will have ¹ Edward Hawkins, Medallic Illustrations of appeared, by arrangement, as an appendix in the History of Great Britain and Ireland to Peter Hammond’s new book, Richard III and the death of George II, ed. by Augustus W. the Bosworth Campaign (Pen and Sword Franks and Herbert A. Grueber, 2 vols Books: Barnsley, 2010). (London, 1885; reprinted 1969), I, pp. 19-20.

Notes and Queries

Fiona Price asks: I don’t know whether anyone would know anything about Richard III and Sir Henry Wyatt, father of Thomas Wyatt, the poet? I have been reading and enjoying, so far, Hilary Mantel’s novel Wolfhall about Thomas Cromwell and the Tudor court. However, I have just come across a sequence when Sir Henry Wyatt is talking with Cromwell, and describes his imprisonment in the Tower under Richard III, and says that he was tortured by the king’s orders. Checking Google, there are various stories about Henry Wyatt’s imprisonment, and some accounts say Richard watched the torture! I imagine Wyatt was involved in the Buckingham rebellion, but is there any evidence in any of the written records about the use of torture in Richard’s reign

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Tips from our beauty consultant: the Duke of Buckingham TIG LANG

ollowing my paper on British Library drie and than cast on it rose water and muske F manuscript Harley 1628 in this year’s and camphore resoluid in the seid rose water Ricardian, I thought members of the Society and lete it drie perfitly and than make of it might like to see the full text of what I cannot litill smale pelettes as grete as a hasill note resist thinking of as the Duke of Bucking- and drie hem perfitly and kepe hem in a close ham’s beauty tips (an image makeover for the glasse. newly powerful in the 1480s, perhaps?). As And in like wise ye may make ceruses of the text is in English, it is more accessible diuerse rotis, as of lilie, wilde vyne, loueache, than most of the manuscript: it is also in sperage, and diuerse othe. And in like wise ye beautifully legible handwriting, which helps. may wasche ceruse of lede to be usid in medicines for the clerifyng of the skynne. BL MS Harley 1628, folio 34v. Monsenior hary dewke de bokyngham [folio 35r] Now folowth the makyng of Here begynnyth the makyng of divers cerusis diuers clarificaciones. and ffyrst of whete flowre and after of divers Take ceruse of lede, wasshe after the maner rotes, that is to say dragance, wilde vyne, aboue writen, ij unces ceruse, of dragance and loueache, affodille, barba aaron, et cetera. To other rotis of eche ij dramys, litargium of make ceruse of whete or of barlie. Thake siluer subtily powderid, borace, bitter whete flowre ij quart put it in fayr clere water almondes blanchid, of eche i drams camphore I galon, rubbe it with your handes and then half i drame. Make all theis subtill with a late it stonde vj or viij owres, and than caste a molire on a marbill stone as ye grynde waye the whater that stondith a boue, and put colowres, and than take sewet of a dere made to hit fresche water a gayne, and rubbe it and with white wyne and rose water ij li, put to hit stere it as ye dede be fower, and than cast a all your medicines subtily powderid and waye the water that stondith a boue as ye medill all to gidr on the fyre and than put it in dede be fore, and so do vij or viij dayes a close boxe of tynne or elles in a glasse, and continually, and than whan ye haue caste a use it at night, and watter the face be fore waye the last water, cast to hit rose water and with the broth of salt befe, and on the morow lett hit stonde till it be drie and so do iij or iiij take the water of strawbery levys, wilde tymes, and than drye hit in the shawdowe in a tansey, bene flowris, and rosis, and warme close place, and whan it is perfitly dried than them and wete a sponge or elles a softe lynne kepe it in a close boxe of tre or in a fayr clothe therin, and wasshe softely the face. glasse suerly stopped. And ye may put in the sayd wateris a litell quantite of wheten branne, and than strayne it Ceruse of rotis is thus made oute, and with the seid water warme wasshe Take the rotis of dragance ij or iij lb brose the face. Also it is good to anoynt at night hem small than cast on hem fayre water and otherwhile the face with the blode of an strayne oute the juce as moche as ye can than henne hoot or of an hare, and lete it be unto latt hit stonde till it haue residewe than cast be mornyng and than wasshe. awey the water that stondith a boue and put to hit fresch newe clere water and so do vij or Commentary viij daies as ye dede i be fore and than at the Woman’s milk, which seems a peculiar last caste on hit womanis milke and late it ingredient to our modern sensibilities, was

36

commonly used in medicines in the Middle Barba Aaron: Arum maculatum, cuckoo- Ages. The blood of a hen ‘hoot’ simply pint means ‘hot’, again something we would Sperage: probably Geranium molle/ probably not choose to plaster all over our Columbinum, dove’s foot cranesbill/long- face today; but, as I mentioned in my stalked cranesbill Ricardian paper, women were still using Wilde Vine: either Bryonia dioica, white blood to whiten the skin at the end of the 17th bryony, or Clematis vitalba, traveller’s joy, century. For reasons which I hope will be or Vitis vinifera, wild vine, or Sonchus obvious, I have not tried to see if this works. oleraceus, sowthistle, or Delphinium (Apart from anything else, I’m fond of my staphisagria, stavesacre. hens). Loueache is probably Levisticum The recipe is unusually detailed for this officinale, lovage. Tony Hunt’s invaluable manuscript, its clear instructions and fine book Plant Names of Medieval England details making it stand out among the other enables the following further identifications recipes, as do its English and its legibility. I to be made: Dragance: either Polygonum find it delightful, much as I shudder at the bistorta, bistort, or Dracunculus vulgaris, effects on the body of litharge of silver and dragon arum, or Sinapis arvensis, charlock, or ceruse of lead. And I wish I knew whether the Raphanus raphanistrum, wild radish. Duke of Buckingham recommended these to Affodille: either Asperula odorata, sweet the owner of the manuscript, and if so, if he woodruff, or Allium ursinum, ramsons. did so from his own personal experience.

Don’t mention the War(s of the Roses)

On 27 April this year, on a website relating to news from the area around Castle Donnington in Derbyshire and somewhat north of Leicester, an article appeared with the mock German headline ‘Eine horse, eine horse, meine Kingdom for eine horse!’ It would seem that a film crew from Germany had arrived unannounced at the Bosworth Battlefield Centre, asking for a re-enactment. They were preparing a programme on past-life regression and wanted scenes of the battle in full costume and body-armour, and with weapons to include swords. They also wanted a damsel in distress able to handle a bow and ride a horse — and, oh yes, they’d like the horse too. Richard Mackinder, Operations Manager at the Centre, who is rarely fazed by anything, said he was somewhat surprised. Although they get many requests for re-enactments, he explained that they’d never had one for a programme on past lives before. Bosworth has numerous re-enactors on its books, of course, from the two kingly protagonists to archers and men-at-arms, blacksmiths, fletchers, etc., and of course all the hangers-on, so it was no great problem for them to assemble the required army, the damsel, and, presumably, the horse. There was no mention in the article of when the programme will appear and whether it will ever be seen on English television, but I couldn’t help thinking that the story gave a new meaning to Basil Fawlty’s telling his staff not to mention the war. Phil Stone

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The Asthall Hoard PEGGY MARTIN

n 22 August 2007 a hoard of gold coins denominations – ryals, again, and sovereigns O was found by a builder digging a – were minted in the reigns of Henry VII and soakaway in the village of Asthall, near Henry VIII.4 Burford, in the county of Oxfordshire. The The design of the angel and half angel find was reported to the district coroner and showed, on the obverse, St Michael spearing the coins taken to the Ashmolean Museum for a dragon. On the reverse was a ship with a identification. It was not until April 2010 that shield of arms surmounted by a cross, placed the coroner’s inquest took place and the hoard centrally. New mottoes referred to the Holy declared treasure under the Treasure Act of Cross: PER CRUCEM TUAM SALVA NOS 1997. The coins are now at the British CHRISTE REDEMPTOR (Save us through Museum and have been valued in the region thy cross, O Christ our Redeemer) on the of £265,000. Among the most valuable are angel (see fig. 1), and O CRUX AVE SPES the coins issued in the reign of Richard III. UNICA (Hail, O Cross, our only hope) on the Depending on condition, an angel of Richard half angel.5 The use of a ship in the design III can make £6,000 at auction. The goes back to 1344, when the noble was Ashmolean Museum hope eventually to introduced. The noble showed the king of acquire the coins for their collectioin. England standing in a ship with a drawn The coins were all of fine gold, angels and sword and shield of arms. This emphasised half angels, spanning the period from 1470 to the royal embodiment of the ship of state but 1526 including the reigns of Henry VI, more especially the claim of naval Edward IV, Richard III, Henry VII and Henry supremacy, since the defeat of the French VIII.1 There were 2 coins of Henry VI fleet by Edward III at the Battle of Sluys (second reign, 1470-71), 43 of Edward IV 1340.6 The appearance of the angel was (second reign 1471-83), 7 of Richard III brought up to date in the early 1490s by (1483-85), 116 of Henry VII (1485-1509) and modifying the gothic figure of St Michael. 42 of Henry VIII (1509-26). The condition of The large wings and spiky feathers were a few of the later coins of Henry VIII replaced by a more realistic figure in armour, suggested that they had been in circulation for representing the humanistic idiom of the age.7 only a very short time. 1526 was the date of Coins can be dated by their control or the first coinage reform of Henry VIII. No mintmarks. These can be found near the top gold denominations other than angels and half of the coin. In fig. 1 the mark of a pierced angels were produced in the second reigns of Henry VI and Edward IV, but the older ryals remained in circulation.2 The ryal was first issued in 1465 weighing 120 grains with a value of 10s. The noble, introduced in the reign of Edward III, had an original value of 6s. 8d. This amount became the standard professional fee and thus with the production of the ryal, the old noble was missed. Therefore the angel at 80 grains was issued to replace it and the ryal was discontinued.3 Angels and half angels continued to be the bulk of the gold output, but other gold Fig. 1 Angel from the Asthall Hoard 38

cross and pellet can be seen by the mast, and Normandy held the advowson and rectory denotes a date of 1477-80. Lord Hastings was with the tithes, until the crown’s final seizure Edward IV’s moneyer for many years. He of the possessions of alien religious houses in was succeeded by Bartholomew Reed as 1414.11 Between 1441 and 1453 the master of the mint at the final indenture in advowson was granted by Henry VI to Eton 1483. The cinquefoil coinage then came to an College. From 1457 to 1501 Eton leased the end and the sun-and-rose mintmark was rectory estate to vicars of Asthall, but from introduced. This mintmark continued through then on the lessees were laymen. From 1525 the short reign of Edward V and into the reign the leases were for 20 or 21 years.12 The of Richard III. It ended with the indenture of lessees were required to maintain the chancel 20 July 1483 when Robert Brackenbury, who and the rectory barn.13 had been Richard’s ducal treasurer, became This barn was first mentioned in 1525,14 his master of the mint and the boar’s-head standing about 55 feet south of the village mintmark was used.8 See fig. 2 for mintmarks street. It ranged west-east, measured about 48 of Edward IV and fig. 3 for those of Richard by 19 feet and was said in 1826 to be of four III. bays. Whether it was a tithe barn is not The standard and contemporary values of certain. It was demolished in 1873 to allow a the coins in the hoard did not change during new parsonage house to be erected. the years represented, nor were there any In 1872 a faculty was applied for by recoinages. Therefore finding these coins Henry Gregory, vicar of Asthall, to build a together is usual and representative of other new parsonage house.15 This was to be built hoards. That the majority of the coins come on a piece of land called Eton Close, given by from the later reigns of Henry VII and Henry the provost and scholars of Eton College, VIII suggest that the coins were issues in containing about half an acre, and the same current circulation and had not been collected added to the ancient glebe belonging to the over a long period. It is probable that the benefice. Standing on the land called Eton coins were taken out of circulation and Close was a barn, probably the barn deposited over a short time span and given previously mentioned, and upon the ancient the contemporary value of the hoard (£67 glebe adjacent a cottage and stable, in a 10s ) the concealer expected to recover them.9 dilapidated state. The barn and other Other hoards consisting of coins of all one buildings were to be demolished and the metal have been found but it is more usual to materials used for the new house. The faculty find a combination of ryals and angels, as was granted. It was upon this land that the found in some English gold hoards deposited hoard was uncovered. just before 1526.10 Coins of silver belonging It has not been possible to identify who to the concealer could have been exchanged may have owned this piece of land over the for gold before depositing the hoard. In period when the coins would have been today’s money £67 10s would be worth deposited. According to a lease book of Eton between £20,000 and £25,000. College 1445-1529, a William Sanson or The hoard was found on land that had Sampson leased the rectory estate in 1525, belonged to the church. The land in question but there are no details of which lands this was probably called Eton Close in 1872. The comprised. An enclosure map of 1814 shows church of St Nicholas, Asthall, was founded a tithe barn and close,16 with a parsonage in the twelfth century. The benefice was a meadow and vicarage house and garden vicarage by the early thirteenth century. It adjacent, possibly in the area of that was included a house, offerings and tithes, and named as Eton Close in the faculty, but it is was valued at 5 marks (£3 6s. 8d.) rising to £7 difficult to be certain as new roads have been 3s. 4d. in 1293-4. In 1525 the stipend was still built since then. However it is possible that only £8, paid by the lessee of the rectory, now the buildings that were demolished, owned by Eton College, who reimbursed the mentioned in the faculty, may have included lessee. The abbey of St Mary at Ivry in the old vicarage house.

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Fig. 2 Edward IV mintmarks

Edward IV, Second Reign, 1471-83

The Angel and its half were the only gold denominations issued during this reign. The main types and weight standards remained the same as those of the light coinage of Edward’s first reign. The use of the ‘initial mark’ as a mintmark to denote the date of the issue was now firmly established.

1471-83 Rose (33, York & Durham) 1473-7 Cross in circle (37) Lis (105, York) Cross pattée (6) 1471 Short cross fitchee (12) 1473-7 Pierced cross 1 (18) 1471-2 Annulet (large, 55) 1477-80 Pierced cross and pellet (19) Trefoil (44) Pierced cross 2 (18) Rose (33, Bristol) Pierced cross, central pellet (20) 1471-3 Pansy (30, Durham) Rose (33, Canterbury) 1472-3 Annulet (small, 55) 1480-3 Heraldic cinquefoil (31) Sun (28, Bristol) Long cross fitchee (11, Canterbury) 1473-7 Pellet in annulet (56) 1483 Halved sun and rose (38) Cross and four pellets (17) (listed under Edward IV/V)

Fig. 3 Richard III mintmarks

Halved sun and rose, 1, 2 and 3 Board’s head, 1 (62), 2 (63) Lis (105, Durham) Rose only (33)

We are very grateful to Spink & Son for allowing us to use these diagrams of the mintmarks.

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Over the period in which we are Part 1, English gold coins and their interested, Eton College held the advowson of imitations 1257-1603 (Sylloge of Coins of the the church and between 1492 and 1549 British Isles, no. 47, 1996). presented its chaplains to the living.17 Thomas 7 Stewartby, English Coins. Warner was in possession of the living in 8 Spink, Coins of England (2001). 1525, followed by John Lucas in 1528 to 9 Baker Gold angels and half angels from 1549. Probably few incumbents resided. Asthall. Ultimately it is impossible even to 10 Ibid. speculate who deposited the coins and for 11 S. Townleye et al. eds, The Victoria County what purpose, nor why he was unable to History of England: the County of Oxford, recover them. Life and death were uncertain. Vol. XV (2006), s.v. Asthall. Death then as now could be sudden and 12 Eton College Lease Book, 1445-1529. unexpected. The care of the soul in the early 13 Eton College Recs LII, nos 1-2. sixteenth century was more important than 14 Eton Collge Lease book 1145-1529. the care of the body. It was important to be 15 Oxfordshire Record Office, Ms Oxf Dioc, ready. Had he stored up treasures in heaven, c1702/1 draft faculty petition 27 July 1872. as well as on earth? 16 Oxfordshire Record Office QSD/A Vol D. 17 VCH Oxfordshire Vol XV, Asthall. Notes 1 Julian Baker, Gold angels and half angels from Asthall, Oxfordshire (2007 T 433), Acknowledgements Report to HM Coroner submitted 17/1/08 I am grateful to Dr Julian Baker of the (unpublished). Ashmolean Museum for allowing me to use 2 Ibid. his report on the Asthall Hoard and giving of 3 Spink, Coins of England (2001). his time to show me similar coins from the 4 Baker, Gold angels and half angels from museum`s collection, and to the archivist at Asthall. Eton College for helping Lynda Pidgeon and 5 Lord Stewartby, English Coins 180-1551, myself to use the college archives. Diagrams (2009). of mintmarks by kind permission of Spink & 6 P. Woodhead, Herbert Schneider collection. Son.

More about coins: Ricardian loose change ...

On Thursday 24 June Spink, the London auction house, held a sale of coins. The star item was expected to be an Anglo-Saxon gold shilling of King Eadbald of Kent, the oldest English coin to be sold in many years. It sold for £26,000. In the same sale, there were a number of coins dating to the reigns of Edward IV and Richard III. A ryal of Edward’s first reign went for £4,200 and an angel of his second reign went for £3,200. A couple of angels from the restoration of Henry VI sold for £9,000 and £5,200. However, the real prize went to a gold angel of Richard III which was described in the catalogue as showing St Michael spearing a dragon on the obverse, with the text ‘ricard[us] d[e]i gr[aci]a rex angl[ie] & franc[ie]’, and a shield within a ship on the reverse, with a small cross, the letter ‘R’ and a rose. The estimated price was about £8,000, but the extremely rare and almost extremely fine coin sparked a bidding frenzy and actually went for £27,000. Phil Stone

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All Saints, Aldwincle, Northants Evidence for an ardent Yorkist? LYNDA PIDGEON

This article has been written to show how much information can be found quite quickly by using printed primary sources, online sources and Society publications, and to encourage people to become involved in their own research and the Society’s suggested new project to compile a ‘diary’ for the reign of Richard III (see p. 6 of the June Bulletin). It also demonstrates how useful the Society’s Wills Index can be. Under ‘Chambre’ is to be found ‘Parish Churches and Religious Houses of Northants’, by the Rev. R.M.S. Sergeantson and the Rev. H. Isham Langden, Archaeological Journal of Royal Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, (vol. 70, London, 1913), which is also available at www.archive.org/bookreader/print.php?id=archaeologicalj48unkngoog&server

hile looking through The Medieval chaplain to acquire lands to the value of 12 W Stained Glass of Northamptonshire marks p.a. in mortmain. £40 was paid for the (Richard Marks, Oxford, 1998) I came across licence. The chaplain John Selyman later the following: ‘The white rose quarries in the acquired the manors of Armeston and Chambre chantry at Aldwincle All Saints Denford, two messuages, one toft, 300 acres would appear to allude to some connection and one virgate of land, 30 acres of meadow between the Chambre family and the House and seven acres of wood in Armeston, of York, and their 1489-93 dating is a Denford, Aldwyncle and Benyfeld to meet the warning against assuming that the presence of request. Yorkist devices invariably means a pre- Elizabeth Chambre in her will of 1489 Bosworth date.’ My curiosity was aroused. requested ‘my husbands chauntre and myne Who was Chambre and what was his Yorkist be made suer according to lawe. I wyll that a connection? chapel be made for the same chauntre in the The presence of white roses in stained churche of All Halowes of Aldwyncle and a glass into the reign of Henry VII raises a house for the preste of the same chauntre’, number of questions. Was it considered and granted lands worth 10 marks. Further ‘I acceptable to continue to demonstrate Yorkist wyll that xxvj s. viij d. be made sure yerely (if not Ricardian) support? Was Aldwincle so for ij almesmen and a house that John Wever far from the centre it was considered safe to dwelleth in, to pray for the soule of William do so? Was it Chambre or someone else Aldwyncle Esquyer, William Chambre connected to the chantry that was the Yorkist? esquyer, and Elizabeth wyfe to them both’. The licence to build the chantry was dated William Chambre in his will of 1493 wished 26 November 1488. William Chambre asked to be buried in the chapel of the Blessed for a licence to found a perpetual chantry of Virgin Mary in the church of All Saints one chaplain to celebrate divine service at the Aldwinkle. altar of the Virgin for the ‘prosperity of the This certainly confirms the date of the king and Elizabeth his consort, and for the chantry as being post 1485. The design was good estate’ of himself, his wife Elizabeth presumably determined by Chambre and or and her first husband William Aldewynkell. his wife, and they were certainly concerned Chambre also requested a licence for the that it should be well endowed and ‘suer’. 42

The Inquisition Post Mortem following commission to collect a subsidy from the William’s death shows they had no children, county. which may perhaps account for their anxiety William Chambre would therefore appear in securing their chantry. The prayers for the to have served Edward IV but not Richard III, king and his consort are fairly standard and given the names of some of the other doubtless helped to grease the wheels to get commissioners was his link possibly to the the licence approved. There is nothing in this Wydeviles? The name Chambres occurs fairly to indicate any Yorkist connections. William regularly in the records, in 1408 a John and Aldwynkle died in 1463, so he is perhaps less William Chambres were ordered to be likely to have been the one with Yorkist links arrested and brought before the king, one of being commemorated this late. Chambre’s those ordered to carry out the arrest was career may therefore give some clue to any ‘Thomas Wydevylle’. The medieval soldier Yorkist connections. data base lists a number of men called The calendars of Fine Rolls and Close Chambre dating back to 1372, of particular Rolls contained nothing on Chambre, but the interest are John and Thomas Chambre who Patent Rolls show that in February 1477 served with Richard Woodville, Lord Rivers William was appointed to a commission to in Acquitaine in 1451. Were these men enquire into the holdings of Sir Thomas related to William and were the family part of Tresham, who had been attainted of high the Wydeviles wider affinity? Their paths treason. His fellow commissioners included certainly crossed so they were at least known Sir William Catesby, John Catesby and Roger to one another, it may also explain William’s Wake. This places Chambre amongst some of lack of employment by Richard III. the important and trusted members of the Is it possible that the white rose is not just county. During the period 1480 to 1483 he a mark of Yorkist sympathy, but an also served on commissions of the peace. acknowledgement of Elizabeth of York, who Those serving with him included William was not only the recipient of prayers in Hastings, the duke of Gloucester, Sir Richard Chambre’s chantry but the grand-daughter, Wodevyle, Sir William Catesby, Roger Wake sister and niece of the family he had worked and Thomas, Marquis of Dorset. He is alongside? therefore amongst the Yorkist establishment. Interestingly, he did not serve on any References commissions during Richard III’s reign. Calendar of the Patent Rolls (CPR), 1476-85 However he once again appears on and 1485-94 commissions of the peace during the years Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry VII vol. 1. 1486 to 1493, along with Thomas, Marquis Medieval Soldier website: Dorset, Richard, Earl Rivers, John Tresham, www.icmacentre.ac.uk/soldier/database Andrew Dymmok and Richard Emson. In Victoria County History (VCH), Northampton October 1486 he was appointed to deliver the vol. 3 (also available at www.british– gaol of Northampton and in January 1488 a history.ac.uk).

Ancient and Medieval History Books (3500 BC to 1600 AD)

For a catalogue of secondhand fact and fiction send SAE to: Karen Miller, 59 Psalter Lane, Sheffield S11 8YP

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The Coventry Pageants PETER LEE

aving starting towards the end of the have survived, the number and individual H fourteenth century, by the late fifteenth scenes seem to have varied from year to year. century these pageants had become an It is believed that around ten pageants were immensely popular event; clerical in origin regularly performed, however, beginning with and once performed in the Greyfriars church, the Creation, moving on through successive they had become increasingly secular in events in the life of Christ and ending with nature, with performers drawn from the Domesday, which was performed by the various town guilds and crafts. Furthermore, Drapers. A list of the characters and to accommodate the ever larger audiences, the equipment needed for one of the Drapers’ plays had moved, first out into the ‘Domesday’ performances has survived in the churchyard, then to travelling from station to Coventry archives. They had to find twenty station around the town. Each pageant was five actors and quite a few ‘props’: performed on a sort of outsize ‘Punch and Characters: God, two demons, three white Judy Show’ style of stage, mounted on a cart (saved) souls, three black (damned) souls, and with the performers hidden behind two spirits, four angels, three patriarchs, two curtains underneath while the action took worms of conscience, a prologue, two clerks place above. for singing, one bass singer and a pharisee. The popularity was not limited to the Machinery: a hell-mouth – a fire kept at it; ‘rude peasantry’; nobles were regular visitors, a windlass and three fathoms of cord; an and even royalty also attended from time to earhquake and a barrel for the same; a pillar time. It is on record that Henry V in 1416, for the words of the barrel painted; three Margaret of Anjou in 1457, Richard, Duke of worlds painted and a piece that bears them; a Gloucester, in 1477, and Henry VII in 1493, link to set the world on fire; pulpits for the all attended and enjoyed the performances. angels; and a cross, rosin and a ladder. Richard himself was in Kenilworth on Unfortunately, the plays themselves have Tuesday 31 May 1485,1 but arrived in not survived. There are just passing Coventry the following day, Wednesday 1 references to them, the descriptions are June, ‘where he rested many days’, again vague, and we do not even know how many according to the same sources. He could well there were. have been there specifically for the feast of Corpus Christi, which in 1485 was on References Thursday, 2 June, and is next recorded back 1 BL Harl. MS 433, vol. 2, p.226 and TNA in Kenilworth (a comfortable day’s ride) on C81/907/1078. Monday, 6 June.2 2 BL Harl. MS 433, vol. 2, p.227 and TNA The pageants were performed at regular C81/907/1079. stations around the town; although no scripts

Several towns held Corpus Christi processions and put on series of plays that day. What evidence can be found in local or national records for peformances during Richard III’s reign, and can we discover who actually attended them?

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Correspondence

Will contributors please note that letters may be shortened or edited to conform to the standards of the Bulletin. The Bulletin is not responsible for the opinions expressed by contributors.

A Cautionary Tale kind enough to download everything she From Annette Carson, South Africa could find from journal databases on the We all know we shouldn't believe everything sources of More's Richard III, and also some on the Internet, and I’ve also heard that inter-library-loaned nineteenth- and early Wikipedia can be very unreliable. But the twentieth-century books and articles, thinking following, if true, seems to reveal a singularly it possible that the ‘Honorr’ source might successful hoaxer at work. have been posited to exist in an earlier period The story started when I read an of scholarship and was since discredited. Her interesting article about Richard III on one of final conclusion, in a recent email to me, was, our very good branch websites, written by an ‘I am now entirely satisfied that it does not associate professor at a leading university exist.’ (not a professor of history, I hasten to add). Upton tells me that he intends to excise To spare her blushes I will call her Dr X. The the Wikipedia entry, but first wishes to article mentioned the following: ‘Thomas spend a little more time making absolutely More’s History was based on a contemporary sure it is fictitious. Hopefully it will have source, Sir Robert Honorr’s Tragic Deunfall been corrected by the time this is published. of Richard III, Suvereign of Britain (1485), a Meanwhile, I am sure the infection has by text that has not survived.’ now spread to considerably more than the 128 This surprising claim was news to me, so I sites he originally located, and presumably is did a Google search and found several still rebounding around cyberspace. I wonder websites quoting the same thing in precisely whether the effects of the hoax will ever be the same words. I began to realise that a lot of eradicated? copying had been going on. Significantly, I could find no trace of the mysterious Robert Honorr himself, or any of his alleged John Howard did not play writings. Pandarus I then found an admirable summary by an From John Ashdown-Hill enterprising blogger named Upton In his recent review (Ricardian vol. 20, Rehnberg, who was as dubious as I was. pp.110-12) of my book on John Howard, Upton had been on a similar mission to learn Duke of Norfolk, Professor Pollard suggests more about the Honorr story, and had that I see John Howard as having played evidently spent far more time on his Pandarus to the young Edward IV. researches than I could spare. Using eight or This is inaccurate. nine different search engines he uncovered no In a book which explores Howard’s fewer than 128 results, all quoting exactly the relationship with the House of York it was same words, the origin of which he traced to naturally important to include an examination the Wikipedia entry for Thomas More, http:// of Howard’s relationship with Edward IV’s en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More. The women. However, I concluded that ‘Howard Wikipedia reference cited no source. probably had no particular involvement in the With my suspicions well and truly sexual activities of Edward IV, and was not, aroused, I sent an email to Dr X asking her for example, in the habit of procuring women the source of her information. She was then for the royal bed’ (Beloved Cosyn, p. 78).

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Books to Read — perhaps ‘If luck had been with him, Richard III From Betty Beaney, London might well have ruled long and wisely.’ Has anyone come across Lisa Hulton’s book An added bonus is Fiennes’ assessment of Queens Consort: England’s Medieval Henry VIII: ‘with no inbuilt bias for or Queens? against any particular monarch, I have come Quite a revelation, I assure you. The away with an active dislike for only one of earlier chapters are very interesting, even them: Henry VIII. He was in every way a though she does rather sideline Eleanor of right evil bastard, as we used to say in the Aquitaine. When she gets to Elizabeth Wood- army, and with no redeeming features.’ ville and Anne Neville, she really goes to I recommend the book as a fun read, not town! necessarily high in academic analysis but She states categorically that Richard mur- interesting and entertaining in his reporting of dered his nephews and then, worse, accuses great events and the part that the extented him of an adulterous liaison with Elizabeth of Fiennes/Twistleton/Saye family played in York. She says Henry did not marry Elizabeth them. straight away in case she was pregnant with Richard’s child. She also suggests that Carcassonne versus Calais Richard may have had a hand in Anne’s From Phil Stone death. In her letter in the June Bulletin, Carol Carr I see that this lady is speaking at the Nor- comments that the Society trip doesn’t know folk Branch study day, and I’m sure a lot of what it is missing in choosing Calais over members will wish to question her. Carcassonne. Sadly, many of us know only too well what we are missing, having been From Richard Caryl there many years ago with Joyce Melhuish. I have just enjoyed what I can only describe Indeed, because we had so little time in Car- as a romp through the last thousand years of cassonne on that visit, we have long been British history in the company of Ranulph determined to return for a longer stay. Fiennes. His book entitled Mad Dogs and Unfortunately, when we sat down last Englishmen describes the many ways that his year to discuss the details and make plans, it antecedents have, as it were, touched the hem quickly became obvious that, with the pound of great events, and occasionally led them. sinking against the euro and all the other pro- What was particularly pleasing was his gen- blems with the economy, the cost of a visit erally sympathetic view of Richard III. The with time to spend a whole day or two in Car- following are some extracts: cassonne would be in the region of £800 to ‘Thanks to Shakespeare turning him into a £1,000, a sum which we knew members murdering hunchback, [Richard] is still would not be willing to pay, even if they were thought of as the ultimate villain. This, in my able to pay it. It was for this reason that I opinion, is grossly unfair. ... threw out, in passing, the suggestion that we ‘Richard was everything anyone could visit Calais. After all, it has so often been a wish for in a brother ... utterly loyal to King town to pass through on the way to some- Edward throughout the latter’s life and young where else, and we had never actually Richard Fiennes was lucky to have him as his stopped to see its historic sites. Having now guardian and custodian ... his loyalty to his had a few days there, I am very glad that my brother the King helped keep the peace for a fellow Visits Committee members didn’t long period of prosperity ... even his throw out my slightly tongue-in-cheek behaviour to his unbelievably duplicitous suggestion. Calais and its environs have much brother Clarence shows him in a good to offer. light ...

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The Barton Library

Postal Book Auction The deadline for receiving bids is 18 September – so you still have time to pick up some bargains – and raise money for a good cause (i.e. the Society’s Library). Full details of the books on offer, and how to submit your bids are on pages 53 to 54 of the June Bulletin.

Additions to the Non-Fiction Book Library The Last Days of Richard III by John Ashdown-Hill (The History Press, hardback, June 2010) As this new book has only just been received full details will be in the December Bulletin. It was kindly donated by member Elisabeth Sjoberg, the third book donated by her to the Barton Library, very welcome and much appreciated.

The Battle of Wakefield revisited: a Fresh Perspective on Richard of York's Final Battle, December 1460 by Helen Cox (Herstory Writing and Interpretation, paperback, May 2010) A new look at the Battle of Wakefield, this thoughtful, perceptive account discusses various ‘myths’ surrounding the Battle, including the alleged incompetence of the Duke of York, and convincingly disposes of them. There is a full review of this book by Lynda Pidgeon on pp. 18- 19 of this Bulletin.

Most of the new books added to the Library in the last year are reviewed more extensively than we have space for here, in the latest issue of The Ricardian, including the two books on John Howard mentioned in the last Bulletin.

Look out for more new novels and additions to the Audio-Visual Library in the next Bulletin

Non-Fiction Papers Library We are sorry to report that Gillian Paxton, the Papers Librarian, has had to resign for personal reasons, so that loans from the Papers Collection are temporarily suspended while we look for a new Librarian. If you feel you might like to volunteer for this rewarding post, please see the notice on page 23 for more information about what is involved.

Contact details for all the Librarians are on the inside back cover.

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Reports on Society Events

An aviary fit for birds of paradise: Society visit to Kenilworth Kenilworth may not be Ricardian, it isn’t even medieval, but it was certainly well worth the visit we made on 15 May. The weather was in our favour, too. At first, it was a bit overcast but by the afternoon the sun shone continually and it became very warm. The castle is best known for being the scene of a visit Elizabeth I made to Robert Dudley, the earl of Leicester. She was lodged in the keep, and Dudley apologised for the rather mean accommodation. In the hope that she would visit him there again, he built a new house alongside the keep and the ruins of both stand within the outer wall. Elizabeth never saw the new house as she didn’t visit her ‘sweet Robin’ there again. Having crossed the dam upon which was built the tilt-yard and which is the entrance to the castle, the first place we went to was the newly refurbished Gatehouse, which was due to close for a wedding only an hour or so after we arrived. Many of the rooms are furnished as though being lived in, but the furnishings are not Tudor and look slightly out of place in their setting. The top floor had a small but interesting exhibition on the subject of ‘Elizabeth and Leicester’, while the oak-lined hall, with its ragged-staff decor, looked as if it would make a splendid venue for a wedding reception, though. The other part of the castle to be visited was the Elizabethan garden and aviary. Robert Dudley had everything laid out and constructed anew for the queen’s visit and, using contemporary accounts and drawings, English Heritage have tried to reconstruct it as accurately as possible. It looked splendid but another year or two and a month or two later should see it looking magnificent. The borders of the knot-garden are done in wild strawberries and thrift, and each section is laid out in a different but complementary design. The huge wooden obelisks give height to the design, while in the middle there is a huge fountain, consisting of two semi-clad male figures holding aloft a ball from which the water spouts, though this was somewhat fitful while we were there. The principal structure in the garden, of course, is the new aviary. Built to the original style out of solid oak, it is somewhat alarming to see how badly the wood is cracked. According to the Elizabethan account, the aviary was decorated with great jewels and these have been represented with large chunks of glass or plastic. The originals cannot possibly have been of such a size – they were all larger than the Koh-i-noor. The openings in the aviary for viewing the birds are filled with wire netting, but the mesh is almost as close as chain mail, making it nearly impossible to see the birds within. However, close up, it was possible to see that there were birds in there – two pheasants and two guinea fowl, birds that couldn’t have escaped if the mesh had been ten times larger. Overlooking the garden, alongside the keep, is a short walk, with stairs at each end down to the planted area. In the middle, there are two wooden bear and ragged-staff statuettes, presumably for Robert Dudley, but the bears have been painted white. Surely not the ‘polar bear and ragged staff’!

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Kenilworth Castle and restored Elizabethan garden

Despite the glorious sunshine that brought out the traffic, our journey back to London was uneventful and I’m sure that all who had taken part in the visit had thoroughly enjoyed their day. Thanks go to Marian Mitchell for organising the trip, though she couldn’t actually be there when it came to it, and to Carolyn West for taking charge at the last minute. Phil Stone

Last Richard III Society Annual Requiem Mass: 26 June 2010 At twelve noon on Saturday 26 June 2010 in the medieval church of St Mary-at-the-Elms, Ipswich, some twenty-five Ricardians and guests assembled to commemorate King Richard III and Queen Anne Neville in the annual Requiem Mass. This small church houses the restored Shrine of Our Lady of Grace (Our Lady of Ipswich), patronised before the Reformation by members of the Royal Family including Queen Elizabeth of York, and by John Howard, Duke of Norfolk. The ancient plainchant of the Requiem Mass was sung, and Canon David Skeoch, wearing an embroidered black fifteenth-century style fiddle-back chasuble, conducted the service with moving simplicity and spoke in his homily about the importance of removing the stain from Richard III’s blackened name. After lunch members of the congregation enjoyed a short guided walk around those parts of historic Ipswich which could easily be visited on a busy modern Saturday afternoon. A blazing Yorkist sun shone of all the day’s proceedings. The only cause for regret concerning an otherwise very enjoyable day is that this may have been the last regular Annual Requiem Mass for the Society. The small group of organisers of this event feel that attendance this year was so low compared to previous years that it is probably not worth continuing to expend the quite considerable outlay of time which is required to set up such an event. John Ashdown-Hill

We very much hope that this year’s will not be the last Requiem Mass and are therefore seeking someone else to take on the responsibility. We also need a volunteer to organise the commemoration of Queen Anne Neville at Wesminster each March. Are there any members prepared to take on the organisation of one or both these events? If you can assist, please contact the Joint Secretaries. 49

Fair Stood the Wind for France ... The Society’s visit to Calais 15-18 July 2010

It was good to be returning to France after the two-year gap since we went to Provence, even though our original plans to go to Carcassonne had to be shelved as the euro steadily rose to near- parity with the pound. Calais, on the nearer shores of France, is a place we had all been through in the past, many times, but few of us had ever stayed there and explored its streets and buildings. Crécy and Agincourt are within reach, as is the great cathedral at Amiens, and the area has reminders of later, more dreadful wars than the Hundred Years War. It was also good to see old friends again, especially Don Jennings, who came all the way Where we went - from a different angle from St Louis, USA, to join us. Don lived in this country for a number of years till his retirement, and was a prime mover in setting up the Visits Committee when Joyce Melhuish died and we thought the visits would die with her. France nearly rejected us at first: the ferry was delayed an hour or so because of windy weather in the Channel, but it sailed at last. The crossing was very choppy, though with the compensations of nostalgia: fish and chips and mushy peas in the restaurant, sea-spray on the windows, nausea in the lavatories, and children racing about in the heaving open spaces. What with British Airways subject to strikes and volcanic ash, and Eurostar also having problems, will ferries eventually come back into their own? But we were in Calais at last. When Ricardian visits have been made to other destinations in France or beyond, people say to us, thinking how clever they are, ‘But I didn’t know Richard III ever went to Avignon / Aachen / Angoulême, etc.’ For Calais, there is no such problem. Richard was there, and on the bridge at Picquigny too. In northern France there were green trees, grey skies, pink hollyhocks in the gardens, clusters of windfarms. Is there a name for an individual component of a windfarm, one of those restless creatures with the circling

spokes – is it a windmill? Or, more prosaically, a generator? The motorway bridges had a sort of statuary, white metal cut-out figures at their entrances, representing various sports: golf, fishing, archery, tennis, shooting. Beautiful new houses have been built on the outskirts of Sovereign’s stall misericord, St George’s Chapel, Windsor, villages, and at intervals came showing the meeting on the bridge at Picquigny in 1475 between older, more substantial houses Edward IV and Louis XI of France. Drawn by Geoff Wheeler.

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with pointy towers and smart brickwork. Both Crécy and Agincourt have smartened-up museums, very up-to-the- minute with electronics and themed information, but precious few artefacts from the actual battle sites. As usual, it was easier to see what happened in the battles from the contoured models of the terrain in the museums rather than from the fields themselves. The historian Froissart, said our guide at Crécy, said the French had been defeated ‘by men of no value’, meaning our plebeian archers. We all know the gesture our archers would have made to Froissart in return: the one showing that they had not been captured and had their fingers cut off to prevent them from ever drawing their bows again ... It was a very good trip, and the rain mostly stayed away. Windsor misericord: the French We had a preview of the Society’s new pewter pins in the king leaves his castle shape of Richard’s boar (see p.xx). Dave Wells brought two dozen with him and sold nearly all. The hard work of a number of people made this visit a very enjoyable one. There were the three Rs. Rosemary Waxman and Ros Conaty organised it, wrote the tour guide, and Rosemary was our efficient tour manager, taking endless trouble to see that the arrangements worked. Ros brought round little presents for each of us at the dinner on the final evening, little bundles containing a white rose apiece and a pin to fasten it on with, some sweeties and a little glass or eggcup – such a nice thought. The third R was Rodney, our coach driver, who was no speed merchant (not that you want a Jehu in a motor vehicle) but very safe and steady. We should also thank Geoff Wheeler, who drew the most exquisite pictures for the front cover of the tour guide and Edward IV and his brothers has given us permission to reproduce some of them here. outside his tent Each day has been written up here by a different person: four different takes on four very good days.

Thursday 15 July Calais: England’s ‘last corner of a foreign field’ Le Nord (covering some of historic Artois and Picardy) may not be the most glamorous part of France: however; any Ricardian will appreciate its significance as the one area of modern France of which Richard III had direct experience, coming here during Edward IV’s 1475 short-lived military expedition against Louis XI. We would actually be following in Richard’s footsteps on later stops in our trip: Richard and Clarence had a sibling re-union in St Omer with Margaret of York; and, after the signing of the Treaty of Picquigny, Richard received gifts of plate and horses from King Louis at Amiens. As with us, Richard entered and left France through Calais: a very different Calais, naturally. Apart from the fact that Calais was then part of the English kingdom, the physical fabric of Calais is much-changed from what Richard knew: Richard came to Calais to wage war in France and similar twentieth century ‘visitors’ caused immense destruction during the two world wars. Much of Calais is therefore of modern construction: the Flemish-style Hôtel de Ville looks as if it might be medieval, but dates from 1926. Even so, it is still a handsome backdrop to Rodin’s famous and fine statue of the Burghers of Calais, which commemorates their surrender of the

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town to Edward III in 1347 which followed an eleven- month siege, and the beginning of two hundred years of English rule here. A few structures in Calais actually date from the medieval period: less than five minutes walk from our hotel was the Tour du Guet. The tower dates from the thirteenth century and it was from here that the surrender terms of 1347 were announced; it has been sturdy enough to survive everything that war and even earthquake can throw at it since. Another medieval building has been less fortunate. The church of Nôtre Dame was started in the thirteenth century and then completed Plaque on Calais monument: Charles during English rule de Gaulle and Yvonne Vendroux, in an English Per- married at Calais, 7 April 1921 pendicular style. It was severely damaged during World War Two and restoration work has been continuing since. In happier times, the church was the venue for Charles de Gaulle’s wedding in 1921. Unsurprisingly, modern Calais, given its significant role as a ferry port and shopping attraction for British tourists, has plenty of reminders of its neighbour across the Channel and also how this is a two-way relationship. So, an advertisement in a travel agent’s invites locals ‘Découvrez Canterbury’ and a pub nearby is called ‘The Rodin’s Burghers of Calais London Bridge’, though the effect is slightly spoiled by the images of Tower Bridge in frosted glass on the windows. However, my first day ended with a comforting reminder of France: a leisurely, four-course meal for €15. Howard Choppin

Friday 16 July: Crécy and Amiens The 75-mile drive from Calais to Crécy and Amiens in Picardy, took us along the A16 motorway passing farmland, Boulogne, small villages and, nearer Crécy, an elaborate nineteenth-century (?) chateau. The battlefield site is farmland now, and half a mile north of the outskirts of Crécy-en- Ponthieu. On arrival, we met a real knight: our guide Sir Philip Preston, founder of the Battle of Crécy Trust and co-author of the 2007 book on the battle. Did his ancestors fight there, I wonder? We climbed the viewing-tower built on the site of the windmill where Edward III had watched the battle. Edward drew his army on the highest point of the ridge, and the French army was forced to fight uphill. Edward had arrived in northern France in July 1346 to stake his claim to the French crown. He captured Caen and arrived at Crécy on 26 August. The French king, Philip VI, with his ally, blind King John of Bohemia, and his army including Genoese crossbowmen arrived at midday. Philip was forced by his advisers to engage the English. A sudden rainstorm caused the strings of the crossbows to get damp, and when fired, bolts fell Seal of the blind King John of Bohemia, killed at Crécy short of the English army. The English archers, however, 52

Looking at the battle plan in Crécy visitors’ centre: L to R: Joan Cooksley, Fiona Price, Kitty Bristow, Jeanette Underhill, Gillian Lazar, Rosanna Salbashian, Jane Barrett, Sheila Hamilton Smith, Audrey Howes (just), Faith Lewis and Ros Conaty had kept their bowstrings dry by placing them in their clothing and under their hats. The chronicler Froissart described how the English archers ‘let their arrows fly so wholly and so thick that it seemed snow’. The resulting casualties caused the Genoese to retreat into the advancing French cavalry. The surviving crossbowmen were later hunted down and killed in the streets of Amiens for their treachery. Philip VI fled the battlefield. The ensuing English victory against the larger French army meant that Crécy is more important than Agincourt. Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince, won his spurs and adopted the motto of the dead king of Bohemia ‘I serve’. Edward III besieged Calais, which surrended in 1347 and was held by the English until 1558. The Order of the Garter was set up in 1348 as the highest chivalric ideal, and the longbow was recognised as the decisive battle weapon. Crécy is less well known because Shakespeare did not write a play about it. The Crécy museum contained a model of the battle, diagrams, a replica of Gloucester cathedral’s Crécy window, and a French illustrated children’s history book of the middle ages with biographies of Jeanne of Arc and Robin de Bois – Robin in the wood. The museum also contains World War Two relics, as an airbase and V1 rocket launch site were situated nearby. Our next stop was Amiens, a city much damaged in World War One. It was in the streets of Amiens that Edward IV’s English soldiers got drunk on French ‘hospitality’ before the Treaty of Picquigny was signed in July 1475. Amiens was ceded to the Duchy of Burgundy from 1435 to 1477. After lunch in a small bar, enjoying ‘ficelle de Picardie’ ( a mushroom, ham and cheese crêpe) I visited the cathedral. Louis XI called the cathedral of Nôtre Dame one of the most beautiful in his kingdom, and it was much admired by John Ruskin. The cathedral is the largest in France, and when completed in 1288 could hold the whole population of Amiens. The stained glass was destroyed during during World War One. The west front with its 3,000 stone figures, including signs of the zodiac, and rose window is most impressive. Inside, treasures included a reliquary containing (it was averred) the head of St John the Baptist brought from Constantinople in 1206 in the fourth crusade, and venerated by kings and princes. Nearby polychrome carvings from the 1470s tell the stories of John the Baptist and the martyred St Firmin, with figures in fifteenth-century costume. The choirstalls with 4, 000 carving of religious and social scenes were completed in 1522. On the journey back to Calais, I thought how evocative the day had been: the names of Crécy, Amiens, the Somme and Picardy redolent of history and memories of Englishmen of different centuries who had left their bones in France. Fiona Price

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Saturday 17 July: Agincourt and St Omer Saturday morning dawned bright and fair for the day when we happy, and not so few, coach-load of brothers and sisters sallied forth for the Field of Agincourt. A short journey south-westward along the almost empty auto-routes brought us to the country road by which we would approach the remote village of Azincourt – this is the first and last time I will spell it with a ‘Z’, and my spellchecker doesn't like it either. Agincourt is Middleham’s twin town but is much smaller. There is little signposting to show that one is approaching such an important historic site and the first signs are lifesize wooden cutouts of bowmen half hidden in the hedgerows, to be joined later by knights in armour, and the intensity of their number increases as one draws nigh to the village, finally being joined by their comrades ensconced in cottage front gardens. This is not nearly so naff as it sounds and actually induces a sense of impending excitement. I would not recommend this approach for Bosworth, though! We arrived at the new custom-built Battlefield Centre and it was decided that we would go around the battlefield on a ‘moving grandstand’ (i.e. our coach) before sampling the delights of the Centre, and not forgetting the nearby Charles VI restaurant. Our guide, who must remain a man of mystery, as we only ever knew him as ‘Monsieur’ climbed aboard and with no introduction possible, sat invisibly in the low front courier seat and began his lecture. He was a paragon of impartiality, although French of course, and this may explain his apparent wish to remain anonymous. Rodney, our driver, was ordered to stop at certain relevant points as we skirted the battlefield. A farm on a hill was on the site of the old castle where the French had camped, and Maisoncelle, where Henry probably camped, was thought, by its name to have been an old leper centre. The battlefield itself was, in the main, planted with cereal, and in the sunlight, was more reminiscent of The Field of the Cloth of Gold than the muddy ploughed acres of the October battle. A minor road horizontally bisects the battlefield and the opposing armies would have been each side of this modern road, illustrated by a concentration of cutout bowmen on the English side and knights on the French. It was interesting to note that the harvest was under way and the French half of the field was already cut down and the English still waving proudly in the breeze. A nice touch! Monsieur explained that the story about Henry slaughtering thousands of French prisoners in retaliation for the murder of the English baggage-train boys was untrue and invented by none other than Shakespeare, who could not always be trusted with the facts. The baggage boys were not murdered and Henry only killed the prisoners because the English were already tremendously outnumbered and he couldn't risk the prisoners salvaging weapons from the dead and regrouping. Monsieur said he had no choice but to disregard the laws of chivalry and allow the ‘Cry Havoc’ to be sounded. We did not visit the cross erected in 1793 in the copse where the French were reputedly buried as the site had been recently excavated and found to be empty. The grave sites Garter stall plate of Sir Thomas are now believed to be in the middle of cultivated land, so Erpingham, commander of the alighting on the copse in earlier times may have just been archers at Agincourt agricultural expediency.

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The Battlefield Centre was extremely well laid out and was (if I remember rightly), not unlike the new Bosworth one. After a good look around and much purchasing in the shop we retired in relays to the rather small Charles VI restaurant where we could eat anything we liked as long as it was omelette. Madame had to turn French people away. I’m sure Charles VI would not have approved. We then set off for Calais by way of St Omer where we spent a pleasant and relaxing afternoon. This town has as many English connections as Calais itself. It is twinned with Deal and it was the HQ for the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War. It was a refuge for English Catholics after 1593 when a Jesuit College was founded. It is believed that the Gunpowder Plot could have initially been hatched here. In 1793 it was Modern stained glass window deemed safe to move the college to England, where it became of St Omer in the cathedral. Stonyhurst. On a less happy note, another export from here was Drawn by Geoff Wheeler. the expert swordsman demanded by Henry VIII for the execution of his hapless second wife. There is a splendid basilica here which on one side has a typically English close, whilst the usual streetscape skirts the other side. A wedding was in progress when we arrived and some of us took the opportunity to take the weight off our feet and augment the congregation. Other features to admire were an astronomical clock designed by a contemporary of Copernicus, with the earth at its centre and the sun on the outside, and a truly splendid organ dating from 1717 made of Danish oak. We then encoached again for our Calais base to prepare for our special Saturday night dinner, which we knew would be somewhat more substantial than the lunchtime omelettes. Joan Cooksley

Saturday evening dinner After the day visiting Azincourt and St Omer, the party gathered for dinner at the Café de Paris, just along from our hotel. It was, as these events so often are, a very convivial evening, with good food, good conversation and quite a lot of good wine. As the evening went on, it seemed as if each of the five tables was vying with the others as to which could be the loudest. As has become customary on these occasions, I gave thanks on behalf of us all to various people, to our driver, Rodney; to Ros and Andrew Conaty for the party favours which we had been given at the beginning of our meal; to Ros and Rosemary Waxman for organising the whole trip and, finally, to Rosemary for making such a good job of being our tour manager. Recalling that I had thanked

Ros Conaty, Rosemary Geoff and Joyce Tindle, Lesley Boatwright, Don Jennings, Dave Waxman and Andrew Conaty Wells, Elaine Robinson (just) and Howard Choppin

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visits organisers for nearly every one of the last 30 years, I commented on how pleased I was that the Visits Committee had taken my somewhat throwaway suggestion of Calais seriously (see my letter on page 46).

Sunday 18 July: Boulogne It was bright and blustery on Sunday morning as we left Calais for the last time and headed for Boulogne. There, we stopped near to the castle, the former home of the Counts of Boulogne. Some found time to visit the cathedral, with its enormous dome-topped tower, while others headed straight for the castle. Before either, however, we all had to pass the monument to Auguste Mariette, Egyptologist and founder of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. A grey stone pyramid, topped by a bronze statue, it is set in gardens, where one of the bushes is also shaped like a pyramid. Nearby, and looking equally magnificent was a full size replica of the so-called ‘solar boat’ of Khufu, which was found some years ago next to the Great Pyramid at Giza. The walk to the castle took us through a small market where one stall had some water melons exquisitely carved to look like flowers and leaves, while nearby, in the grounds of the Hôtel-de-Ville was a sculpture display, with gardening implements or fruit and veg, including a ten-foot -tall pair of green wellies, a six-foot-high radish and a Brobdingnagian garden implements twelve-foot-high spade. on show in front of the Hôtel-de-Ville In the castle is an interesting museum, part of the collection being ethnological, beginning with artifacts from Ancient Egypt, with an unwrapped mummy, amulets and shabtis – very typical of the finds in many a provincial museum, and none the worse for that. There were also many Greek vases, as well as items from Peru, Africa, and Alaska. There were also some pieces of medieval art, mostly depictions of the Virgin, in various states of decay. Another floor had a collection of modern art, and another a collection of nineteenth-century glass, paintings and sculpture. In the basement, it felt like walking through a fridge, which was not unwelcome with the ambient temperature elsewhere being so very warm. There we saw some Roman statuary and the ‘vaulted room’, with, as you would expect, a vaulted ceiling. As well as visiting the castle and the church, some people walked the massive walls of the old town, some went in search of lunch and others just made their way Castle Museum, Boulogne, drawn back to the car park next to Mariette in order to sit in the by Geoff Wheeler sunshine and await the coach. Back on board, we headed for Calais and the various procedures required – passport inspection, checking for illegal immigrants in the engine compartment, etc. – before being allowed to board the ferry for Dover and what was to be a very comfortable crossing, as smooth as Thursday’s had been rough. Phil Stone

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Future Society Events

Christmas at Fotheringhay: Saturday 11 December 2010 It’s June and I’m shivering indoors whilst watching the rain pouring down the window so it’s clearly time for me to be arranging Christmas at Fotheringhay, which many of us think of as the start of the festive season. It’s a great chance to meet up with old friends for lunch followed by the uplifting and joyful experience of the Carol Service. If ‘flaming June’ is time for me to arrange the event, then September is very much the time for you to book – see below. At 12.30 pm, there will be a buffet lunch in the Village Hall, and this will include a vegetarian option for those who have let me know beforehand. Desserts will include Christmas pudding and fruit salad and there will be wine or soft drinks as desired, followed by coffee and mince pies. If this is not enough to encourage you to join us, Kitty Bristow plans to hold one of her raffles. The Carol Service, which is shared with members of the parish, begins at 3.00 pm in the medieval church of St Mary and All Saints and is similar in style to the Festival of Nine Lessons. As usual, the music will be led by our friends, the St Peter's Singers. The coach from London will leave Charing Cross Embankment at 9.30 am, getting back between 7.00 and 7.30 pm. Pick-up in Bromley at 8.30 am will be available for those who let me know. If you wish to take part (and who could not, surely?), either by coach or using your own transport, please let me know as soon as possible which option you require:

a) lunch and a place on the coach b) lunch after making your own way to Fotheringhay c) just a place in the church

The costs will be as follows:-

a) £36.00 to cover hire of coach, lunch, choir, admin., etc. b) £20.00 for lunch, choir, admin., etc.

Please complete the coupon in the centrefold and return it to me at 181 Rock Avenue, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 5PY, with a cheque endorsed ‘Fotheringhay’, together with an SAE, as soon as possible. Phil Stone

The 2011 Study Weekend will take place from 8 to 10 April

in the Elmbank Hotel, York

Theme: the de la Pole family

See page 10

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Branch and Group Contacts

Branches America David M. Luitweiler, 1268 Wellington Drive, Victor, New York, 14564 United States of America. Tel: 585-924-5022. Email: [email protected] Canada Mrs Tracy Bryce, 5238 Woodhaven Drive, Burlington, Ontario, L7L 3T4, Canada. Email: [email protected] Web site: http://home.cogeco.ca/~richardiii Devon & Cornwall Mrs Anne E Painter, Yoredale, Trewithick Road, Breage, Helston, Cornwall, TR13 9PZ. Tel. 01326-562023. Email: [email protected] Gloucester Angela Iliff, 18 Friezewood Road, Ashton, Bristol, BS3 2AB Tel: 0117-378-9237. Email: [email protected] Greater Manchester Mrs Helen Ashburn, 36 Clumber Road, Gorton, Manchester, M18 7LZ. Tel: 0161-320-6157. Email: [email protected] Hull & District Terence O’Brien, 2 Hutton Close, Hull, HU4 4LD. Tel: 01482 445312 Lincolnshire Mrs J T Townsend, Westborough Lodge Farm, Westborough, Newark, Notts. NG23 5HP.Tel: 01400 281289. Email: [email protected] London & Home Counties Miss E M Nokes, 4 Oakley Street, Chelsea, London SW3 5NN. Tel: 01689 823569. Email: [email protected] Midlands-East Mrs Sally Henshaw, 28 Lyncroft Leys, Scraptoft, Leicester, LE7 9UW. Tel: 0116-2433785. Email: [email protected] New South Wales Julia Redlich, 53 Cammeray Towers, 55 Carter Street, New South Wales, 2062, Australia. Email: [email protected] Website: www.richardiii-nsw.org.au New Zealand Robert Smith, ‘Wattle Downs’, 61 Udy Street, Greytown, New Zealand.Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Web site: www.richard3nz.org Norfolk Mrs Annmarie Hayek, 20 Rowington Road, Norwich, NR1 3RR. Tel: 01603 664021. Email: [email protected] Queensland as New South Wales Scotland Juliet Middleton, 49 Ochiltree, Dunblane, Perthshire, FK15 0DF Tel: 01786 825665. Email: [email protected] South Australia Mrs Sue Walladge, 5 Spencer Street, Cowandilla, South Australia 5033, Australia. Email: [email protected] Thames Valley Sally Empson, 42 Pewsey Vale, Forest Park, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 9YA. Email: [email protected] Victoria Hazel Hajdu, 4 Byron Street, Wattle Park, Victoria, 3128, Australia. Email: [email protected] Western Australia Helen Hardegen, 16 Paramatta Road, Doubleview, Western Australia 6018, Australia. Email: [email protected] Web site: http://members.iinet.net.au/~hhardegen/ Worcestershire Mrs Pam Benstead, 15 St Marys Close, Kempsey WR5 3JX Email: [email protected]. Website: www.richardiiiworcs.co.uk Yorkshire Mrs P.H. Pogmore, 169, Albert Road, Sheffield, S8 9QX Tel: 0114 258 6097. Email: [email protected]

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Groups Bedfordshire/ Mrs Rose Skuse. 12 Brookfield Rd, Newton Longville, Bucks, Buckinghamshire MK17 0BP Tel: 01908 373524 Email: [email protected] Bristol Keith Stenner, 96 Allerton Crescent, Whitchurch, Bristol, Tel: 01275-541512 (in affiliation with Gloucestershire Branch) Email: [email protected] Croydon Miss Denise Price, 190 Roundwood Rd, London NW10 Tel: 020 8451 7689 Cumbria John & Marjorie Smith, 26 Clifford Road, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 8PP Dorset Babs Creamer, 27 Baker Road, Bear Cross, Bournemouth, BH11 9JD. Tel: 01202 573951 Email: [email protected] Mid Anglia John Ashdown-Hill, Genistae, 115 Long Road, Lawford, CO11 2HR. Tel/fax 01206 393572. Email: [email protected] Web site: www.freewebs.com/r3midanglia/ North East Mrs J McLaren, 11 Sefton Avenue, Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 5QR Tel: 0191 265 3665. Email: [email protected] North Mercia Miss Marion Moulton, 6 Shrewbridge Crescent, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 5TF. Tel. 01270 623664 Email: [email protected] Nottinghamshire Mrs Anne Ayres, 7 Boots Yard, Huthwaite, Sutton-in-Ashfield & Derbyshire Notts, NG17 2QW. Email: [email protected] Sussex Liz Robinson, 14 Queen’s Park Rise, Brighton, BN2 9ZF, tel. 01273 609971, email: [email protected] West Surrey Rollo Crookshank, Old Willows, 41a Badshot Park, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 9JU. Email: [email protected]

Richard III and the Knave of Cards: An Illuminator’s Model in Manuscript and Print, 1440s to 1490s

Anne F. Sutton and Livia Visser-Fuchs The Antiquaries Journal, Volume 79 (1999), pages 257-99

For over 200 years it has been asserted (originally by Joseph Strutt) that an unflattering portrait of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, exists in the presentation miniature of the copy of the Chronicle of England by Jean de Wavrin owned by Edward IV. The authors recite the history of this assertion and prove that no such

portrait exists. In fact the figure of the courtier concerned turns out to be a figure commonly used by illuminators and painters of all sorts, ranging from Dürer to the first designers of playing cards. The figure in fact was the original knave of cards. When Strutt and his imitators searched for a figure that answered their imaginary idea of what a villainous Richard looked like they chose, by chance, the knave of cards! They did not find a portrait of the historical Richard. This off-print is extensively illustrated. Price £3.50 including p&p, for UK members, from the Sales Officer, or direct from Dr A.F. Sutton, 44 Guildhall St, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 1QF. Overseas members please consult the Sales Officer

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Branches and Groups

East Midlands Branch Report A review of this year’s Branch activities must begin with an expression of our relief that the memorial plaque to King Richard on the former St Martin’s Bank in Grey Friars has been restored to public view. It had been obscured by a hoarding placed by developers, with the apparent consent of the City Council. Thanks to the efforts of the Society, the Branch and public protest in the local media, good sense eventually prevailed and the episode had a happy outcome. Thanks to all who supported us to ensure that the plaque can again be seen.. We have enjoyed a full programme of meetings, which has included talks on recent archaeological excavations in Leicester by Richard Buckley of Leicester University; ‘Four Medieval Ladies’ by Rowena Edlin-White; Janet Parker, costumed in the guise of a medieval wise woman, describing her craft and her potions; an account of the Bosworth Battlefield Conference from those lucky enough to be present; Bob Trubshaw on ‘Mawming and Mooning – the Minds of Medieval Masons’ (often quite disgusting!) and to end the season in grand style our Secretary, Sally Henshaw, gave a most well-researched and innovative talk on ‘The Court Jester’. A group visit was made to Tewkesbury, led by our Branch Chairman, Richard Smith, and a welcome return visit to the Leicestershire Records Office was made, where the ever-helpful staff displayed some medieval documents from their collection, including one signed by Lord Hastings, and we were given an insight into the conservation and repair of documents in the collection. We look forward to next season, starting in September with a walking tour of Medieval Stamford, again led by Richard Smith. In October Gareth King returns to talk on ‘Medieval Myths and Legends’ and there will be ‘Who was Robin Hood?’ from another returning favourite speaker, David Baldwin, in November. A full programme is available from our Secretary, and, if you live in the Leicester area and have not yet joined in our activities, please do get in touch. Unless you do we have no way of knowing you are out there, as the Society does not give out members’ details to Branches, leaving it to the member to make contact with the Branch. Please do, you will be assured of a warm welcome from a group of enthusiastic Ricardians dedicated to learning all they can about King Richard and his times, and locally presenting well-reasoned arguments about his cause. We hope to meet many of those members who are coming to the Society’s AGM in Leicester in October and please look out for details of our Branch Study Day on the theme of ‘The Power Behind the Throne’ planned for June 2011. Marion Hare, Branch Vice-Chair

Worcestershire Branch Report The summer has seen the Worcestershire Branch making visits outside the county, as well as enjoying an excellent talk. On 8 May the Chairman, Judith Sealey, organised a most interesting day’s outing to Bridgenorth in Shropshire. Members gathered in the morning at the ruins of the castle, which was probably founded by the Lady Æthelflæda, was certainly a royal fortress under the Plantagenets and was most definitely slighted by Cromwell. The first stop on the tour was Thomas Telford’s church, built in the 1790s; it was an austerely elegant building made unusually light and airy for a church by its enormous arched windows of clear glass. By contrast, the medieval St Leonard’s church was much darker and retained many Gothic features, including some stained glass and finely carved corbels, despite heavy Victorian

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restoration. A walk through the old town clearly showed the medieval street plan. The poor weather ensured that a brisk pace was maintained, but some fine buildings were nonetheless noted en route to the only surviving town gate, the North Gate. After a fine lunch in a pleasant hostelry, the party descended the steps to the river to look at the ruins of the fourteenth-century house of the Grey Friars, a site only recently excavated after the removal of modern buildings. Jumping forward to the early nineteenth century, Judith pointed out the place where Richard Trevithick had built his steam locomotive, ‘Catch as catch can’, which predated Stevenson’s ‘Rocket’. Members wisely took the funicular railway back to the castle at the top of the hill and repaired to one of Bridgenorth’s splendid cafés for well-deserved tea and cakes. No direct Ricardian associations had been found, but it was a most enjoyable and thoughtfully planned day for which Judith was thanked by all. On 11 June the Branch was delighted to welcome Steven Goodchild, an historian and Chairman of the Tewkesbury Battlefield Trust, to give an illustrated talk about the battle, prior to our visit to the Festival in July. He lucidly explained the complex connections between the English and French royal families, the political web woven by Louis XI, the ‘Spider King’ of France, and the devious behaviour of Warwick and Margaret of Anjou. He then vividly described the advance of the armies and their meeting at the fogbound Battle of Barnet and he detailed the roles of the principal nobles, Warwick, Somerset, Oxford and Devon, as well as those of Edward IV, the hapless Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou and Richard of Gloucester. Steven’s account of the subsequent progress of the Yorkist and Lancastrian forces to Tewkesbury and of the battle itself was dramatic. He clearly explained the disposition of the different contingents and the manoeuvres and encounters that led finally to the Lancastrian rout. He used evidence from the sources, particularly from The Arrivall, quoting the account of the fate of Edward, Prince of Wales, who was ‘taken fleinge to the townewards and slayne in the fielde’, not treacherously murdered by Richard. He described the subsequent executions and burials and noted that Edward’s monument in Tewkesbury Abbey was destroyed in the eighteenth century, though a drawing of it survives; above the brass plate which marks the place where he was buried there is, appropriately, a Yorkist ‘sun in splendour’; the Duke of Somerset lies beneath the Abbey Gift Shop. Steven added that one of the Sforzas of Milan noted that Edward of Lancaster was a nasty child and that another story said that, while still young, he had told his mother to behead the captives she held. Edward was also generally referred to as a ‘boy’ while Richard of Gloucester, only a year older, was universally written about as an adult, not unreasonably since he had had considerable experience of both war and politics by 1471, though he was still only eighteen. Steven Goodchild’s talk had prepared members for their excursion to Gloucestershire for the Tewkesbury Festival on 10 July. The weather was glorious and it was agreed that the town had had never been more splendidly decorated with flags and banners. The Mayor arrived formally in procession at the battlefield and the principal guest was actor, author and authority on the longbow, Robert Hardy. Many people were in costume, including some of our members, and the tented village was larger than usual with numerous authentic tents equipped in true fifteenth-century style. The Branch’s stand proved popular, with many items sold and leaflets distributed. One member, Pam Benstead, had produced a large and detailed display showing the future Richard III’s role in the battle. And three new members joined. The re-enactment of the battle was spectacular with some 2,400 participants. Steven and the Tewkesbury Battlefield Trust are to be congratulated on their excellent organisation of a memorable Festival, which we would certainly recommend other members of the Richard III Society to attend in the future. Carol Southworth

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Yorkshire Branch Report The Branch Chairman, her daughter Hannah and Lynda Telford, our Swaledale representative, met the party of American (and one Canadian) Ricardians who visited Britain this June: we were delighted that the weather was so good, and as always it was good to meet old friends and make some new ones. We spent time together at Middleham (a very quiet morning at the castle and no visitors apart from ourselves) and then at Fountains Abbey. The duty custodian at Middleham kindly let us pose for group photos with the English Heritage Ricardian boar banner which is usually flown from the top of the keep on notable anniversaries. At Fountains, Lynda guided the party round to such good effect that a passing Australian couple asked if she was an official guide and if they could join us; they did anyway. A special word of thanks must go to Linda Treybig and her group for the lovely birthday card they had prepared (and calligraphed) and signed for the present writer, whose birthday was that day. Their kindness and forethought were much appreciated. The following day saw our visitors in south Yorkshire; our Committee members Pauline and Marjorie met them at Bolsover and took them round the castle, and I gather the younger members of Pauline’s extended family were most helpful in showing people up and down the four storeys of the ‘Little Castle’, the oldest part of the structure, begun by Charles Cavendish in 1612 as a ‘fantasy house’ in which to entertain his guests and described by Mark Girouard as ‘an almost untouched expression ... of the lost world of Elizabethan chivalry and romances’. It was also heartening that the day was a good sales opportunity for the Branch! The Bulletin deadline prevents reports on our visit to Fotheringhay on 29 July and on our Bosworth commemoration on 15 August and AGM at the beginning of September, but there is time to remind members of the Branch 50th Anniversary event at Bedern Hall, York, on Saturday 23 October. There will be stalls, short talks, and demonstrations by re-enactors, and a Medieval Banquet will be held at the same venue in the evening. The dress code for this last is medieval costume OR lounge suit, as we don’t wish to deter people who would like to come but aren’t keen on ‘dressing up’. Please contact our Secretary at [email protected] for full details. Subscribers to our Branch magazine should have received the menu and a booking form with their August Newsletter. The Branch will be holding its commemoration of the battle of Wakefield with a wreath- laying at the Duke of York’s statue in Sandal, to take place at 2.15 p.m. on Sunday 2 January 2011. Please meet at the statue and let’s hope the weather isn’t as bad as it was last year.

Angela Moreton

Fotheringhay events for your diary:

Friday 10 September at 8.00 p.m.: the Tenth Annual Organ Recital Robert Quinney, sub-organist at Westminster Abbey Music by Mozart, Byrd, Mendelssohn, Gardner and Bach

Saturday 6 November at 2.30 p.m.: AGM of the Friends of Fotheringhay Church followed by the annual lecture: John Whitehead, of Bosworth Battlefield Centre, will speak on ‘The Battle of Bosworth: lost and found’.

The Society thanks Juliet Wilson for all her assistance while churchwarden of Fotheringhay Church, and welcomes the new wardens, Ann Gould and Jenny Martin. We look foward to a happy association with them both.

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New Members

UK 1 April to 31 June 2010 Ronald Page, Crawley, Sussex Paul Rose, Leicester Robert Briggs, North Harrow, Middx Rosemary Sanderson, Sheffield Mark Carr, Alton, Hants Samantha Smith, near Lymington, Hants Christine Clarke, Jarrow, Tyne & Wear Richard Smolowik, London Peter & Diana Clegg, Sheffield Frances Stevenson, Bracknell, Berks S. Cottrill-Bent, Mount Hawke, Cornwall Elizabeth Sutherland, St Albans, Herts Annette Davies, Stafford Elizabeth Williams, Colchester, Essex Wendy Drinkwater, Nottingham Patrick Worthy, Totnes, Devon Winifred Farrington, Sandbach, Cheshire Michael Farrow, London Australia 1 April to 31 June 2010 Susan Franks, Ossett Lee Gibson, Doncaster Kathryn Gauci, Eltham, Victoria Marianne Gilchrist, Glasgow Elizabeth Howatt, Camberwell, Victoria David Hawes, Slough, Berks Mike Holland, Staines, Middx US Branch 1 April to 31 June 2010 Jennifer King, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire Chris Lake, Aberdeen Joyce Cowles, San Antonio, Texas Katie Leaver, Redditch, Worcs Jennifer Depold, Sacramento, California Stephen McQuiggan, Craigavon, Co. Armagh Pam Milavec, Northglenn, Colorado Thomas Munch-Petersen, St Leonards on Sea, Louise Troehler, Fort Wayne, Indiana E.Sussex Marti Young, Chico, California John, Moira & Jane Oliver, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham

Recently Deceased Members

Gwyneth Jones, Ruislip, Middx, joined 2009 George Smith, Ilford, Essex, joined 2010 Donald Templeman, Sheffield, Yorks, joined 2002 Mr M. Bowden, Devizes, Wilts, joined 1985 David Oldroyd, Biggleswade, Beds, joined 2002

We are also very sorry to report the death of Carole Rike of the American Branch, news of which came when the Bulletin was about to go to press. There will be a full appreciation of her in the December Bulletin.

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Calendar

We run a calendar of all forthcoming events. If you are aware of any events of Ricardian interest, whether organised by the Society (Committee, Visits Committee, Research Committee, Branches/Groups) or by others, please let Lesley Boatwright have full details in sufficient time for entry. The calendar will also be run on the website.

Date Events Originator

2010

2 October Society AGM, Leicester Secretaries (see p. 3)

23 October Yorkshire Branch 50th Anniversary Event Yorkshire Branch

23 October Norfolk Branch: talk by Glenn Foard on Norfolk Branch Bosworth Battlefield Discoveries

13 November Norfolk Branch Study Day, Norwich Norfolk Branch

11 December Christmas at Fotheringhay Chairman (see p. 57)

2011

2 January Yorkshire Branch Commemoration of the Yorkshire Branch (p. 62) Battle of Wakefield

24-27 March Blood & Roses: special interest weekend at Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church, Oxford (see p. 22)

8-10 April Study Weekend at York Research Committee (see p. 10)

June East Midlands Study Day on ‘The Power East Midlands Branch Behind the Throne’

14-18 July Long Weekend based in Sussex Visits Committee (see December 2010 Bulletin for details)

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