Patron: Robert Hardy Esq. FSA
Issue 14: 2011
OUR OBJECTS
To promote the permanent preservation of the battlefield and other sites associated with the Battle of Tewkesbury, 1471, as sites of historic interest, to the benefit of the public generally. To promote the educational possibilities of the battlefield and associated sites, particularly in relation to medieval history. To promote, for public benefit, research into matters associated with the sites, and to publish the useful results of such research. O UR AIM S
Working with the owners of the many sites associated with the battle of Tewkesbury, the Society will raise public awareness of the events of the battle and promote the sites as an integrated educational resource. We will encourage tourism and leisure activities by advertising, interpretation and presentation in connection with the sites. We will collate research into the battle and encourage further research, making the results publicly available through a variety of media. In pursuing our objects we will work alongside a variety of organisations in Tewkesbury and throughout the world. We will initiate projects and assist with fundraising and managing them as required. We aim to be the Authority on the battle and battle sites.
i. 2 2 30/03/2020
CONTENTS
Editorial 2 Daventry: a mystical moment 3 The Commemorative Statue 4 Site Interpretation 7 Walks and talks 8 Street Banners 9 Old battle memories of Tewkesbury 10 The Red Rose 11 The Saving of Souls for sale 12 The Web site 14 Horse Pendants 15 A Rover named the Bastard of Fauconberg 17 A talk at Kew 18 Sanctuary at Durham 19 Queen Margaret the Opera 22 A new Tewkesbury Gospel 24 Edward IV and the Wars of the Roses 25 Lots of Henries 26 The Town Museum displays 27 Robet Ingleton MP 29 Interesting discoveries 31 News from Elsewhere 34 New Battle Art 36
i. 1 1 30/03/2020
This edition of the ‘Slap’ has taken a long time to assemble. Mostly it’s been finding content and finding time to research and write it up. I hope that what I’ve managed to come up with is worth reading. If it provokes anyone into a response, I’d be happy to add it to ‘Slap’ Number 15, which will start as soon as this edition has been posted out.
These are interesting times, which is a blessing and a curse. There are a lot of things for us to do, many of which are touched upon in the following pages.
There’s a great deal in the pipeline concerning the battlefield which simply needs time to resolve. The projects will all be very positive once in place.
We think that we’re now close to having all the approvals we need for the commemorative sculpture, which will be a big landmark, and this is discussed below. We have then got a mountain to climb in raising the funds to commission the pieces. It will take a lot less time than getting the necessary consents, though, which now approaches 14 years.
We have a commitment to replace the battle-trail leaflet, the old version of which is now out of print, and associated with this to replace the ‘plinth’ which stood on the Bloody Meadow with a proper interpretation panel. This is overdue, but in hand. We are working towards having this piece of work completed in time for the Medieval Festival (July 9th and 10th this year). As a precursor to this, we’ve looked at an interpretation strategy for the whole battlefield, to ensure that the style and wording of the first will be consistent with those which will eventually follow. This is all reflected in the battle-trail leaflet, so that it won’t need a premature reprint.
The next big push is going to be around managing the battlefield. We’ve done quite a lot of work to date and will soon be completing a survey of all the key features of the registered battlefield, identifying things like ownership, condition and maintenance or improvement needs. The next step will be to press for the establishment of a Battlefield Management Partnership, involving all interested parties; landowners, residents, interest groups and government agencies. This is following the approach adopted in Worcester. From this, we hope to have our survey adopted as a Management Plan so that we can work together to protect the landscape and improve the ‘visitor experience’.
I hope that this ‘Slap’ has been worth the wait. i. 2 2 30/03/2020 DAVENTRY In the ‘Arrivall’ there is a report of a miraculous happening as Edward’s army travelled south. Although the account makes no mention of it, this event was on Palm Sunday 1471. Ten Palm Sundays after the victory at Towton.
On Saturday, the King, with all his host, came to a town called Daventry, where the King, with great devotion, heard all divine service upon the morn, Palm-Sunday, in the parish church, where God, and Saint Anne, showed a fair miracle; a good prognositique of good adventure that after should befall unto the King by the hand of God, and mediation of that holy matron Saint Anne. For, so it was, that, afore that time, the King, being out of his realm, in great trouble, thought, and heaviness, for the infortune and adversity that was fallen him, full often, and, specially upon the sea, he prayed to God, our Lady, and Saint George, and, amongst other saints, he specially prayed to Saint Anne to help him, where that he promised, that, at the next time that it should hope him to see any image of Saint Anne, he should thereto make his prayers, and give his offering, in honor and worship of that blessed Saint. So it fell, that, the same Palm Sunday, the King went in procession, and all the people after, in good devotion, as the service of that day asketh, and, when the procession was comen into the church, and, by order of the service, were comen to that place where the veil shall be drawn up afore the Rood, that all the people shall honor the Rood, with the anthem, Ave, three times began, in a pillar of the church, directly afore the place where the King kneeled, and devoutly honored the Rood, was a little image of Saint Anne, made of alabaster, standing fixed to the pillar, closed and clasped together with four boards, small, painted, and gowning round about the image, in manner of a compass, like as it is to see commonly, and all about, where as such images be wont to be made for to be sold and set up in churches, chapels, crosses, and oratories, in many places. And this image was thus shut, closed, and clasped, according to the rules that, in all the churches of England, be observed, all images to be hid from Ash Wednesday to Easter day in the morning. And so the said image had been from Ash Wednesday to that time. And even suddenly, at that season of the service, the boards compassing the image about gave a great crack, and a little opened, which the King well perceived and all the people about him. And anon, after, the boards drew and closed together again, without any man’s hand, or touching, and, as though it had been a thing done with a violence, with a greater might it opened all abroad, and so the image stood, open and discovered, in sight of all the people there being. The King, this seeing, thanked and honoured God, and Saint Anne, taking it for a good sign, and token of good and prosperous adventure that God would send him in that he had to do, and, remembering his promise, he honoured God, and Saint Anne, in that same place, and gave his offerings. All those, also, that were present and saw this worshipped and thanked God and Saint Anne, there, and many offered; taking of this sign, showed by the power of God, good hope of their good speed for to come. i. 3 3 30/03/2020 THE COMMEMORATIVE STATUE
I was going to add ‘a progress report’ to the title, but that would be tempting fate. Whenever I report on progress, it always seems that the final approval is imminent but always some unexpected and unknowable delay creeps upon us. On the next page is a minute from a Borough Council meeting twelve months ago.
For those who haven’t been following the story; It started in 1997 with a competition to design a commemorative sculpture for the Gloucester Road roundabout; a significant location on the southern edge of the battlefield. It took until about 2005 for County Highways to decide that it would be acceptably safe; there wasn’t a County policy about roundabout art. Since 2005 the ball has been batted between the Borough Council and the County Council. Causes of delay have been varied; retirement of the person with all the knowledge, losing the file, needing to redo all the safety appraisals spring to mind. Legal departments don’t speed things up, either!
The delays seem to have reduced to three items now:
1. The County Council are carrying out a structural assessment. They remain concerned that if a car collides with a horse’s legs the horse might damage the car, possibly by toppling onto it. 2. Despite the passage of nearly two years since the last safety audit and our detailed response to the points raised we still don’t know if the ‘powers that be’ are happy to sign it off. 3. The Borough Council are unwilling to pay the ongoing maintenance and insurance costs of about £1,000 per annum. The Town Council have agreed to pay them but the Borough are imposing a legal agreement which appears to be unduly onerous but which is being negotiated by exchange of correspondence rather than simply sitting down and thrashing it out.
On the basis that every delay which could have happened probably has, we’ve been talking to Phil Bews, the sculptor, about mobilisation. He’ll be constructing the pieces in the Forest of Dean, and we’re currently planning to bring them assembled to Tewkesbury on low loaders. They will appear as if by magic over a weekend, if our proposals are approved. Phil is sourcing the timber needed, and we hope to be able to agree a construction and payments programme soon after the final go-ahead.
Our next challenge is going to be fund-raising. The cost has risen considerably in fourteen years and although we’ve probably raised a quarter of it already slowly and steadily over the years we can’t do any proper fund-raising until we’re sure that we’ve got a project to raise funds for. We’ve now got to face the extra challenge of raising funds when money is short and competition is fierce. i. 4 4 30/03/2020
THE BOROUGH COUNCIL’S COMMITMENT
Twelve months ago, in March 2010, the Borough Council’s executive considered a report about our proposed sculpture. This is the minute from the meeting.
EX.149 STONEHILLS ROUNDABOUT – PUBLIC ART
149.1 The report of the Leisure and Culture Manager, circulated at Pages No.171-178, advised that the Tewkesbury Battlefield Society wished to locate two wooden monuments on, and adjacent to, the Stonehills roundabout. The Battlefield Society had requested that the Borough Council take on responsibility for the statues under licence from the County Council. The Committee was asked to consider the nature of the responsibility to be undertaken and to decide whether or not to agree the request.
149.2 The Corporate Head of Community Development & Partnerships explained that the location as identified in the report was of particular significance to the Battle of Tewkesbury and would act as a focal point for this entrance to Tewkesbury. The County Council could not take on responsibility for the monuments and as such Tewkesbury Borough Council would have to be licensed by the County Council to be responsible for them. The various considerations to be looked at were identified on Page 173 of the report and included health & safety, maintenance, insurance and County Council approval. Tewkesbury Town Council had agreed to pay both maintenance and insurance costs and it was recommended that this offer be accepted.
149.3 There was some concern expressed about the positioning of the statues and their proximity to the public highway. It was felt that their positioning made them vulnerable to collisions involving vehicles and motorcycles as well as being a distraction to motorists. One Member also indicated that the County Council plan of the statues that he had seen showed them in a slightly different position and he was keen that everyone should be considering the same information, especially given the fact that the Highway Safety Team would be deciding whether the statues were appropriate in the proposed position. In response, the Corporate Head of Community Development & Partnerships indicated that she would be happy to discuss the road safety audit with the County Council and Members and she assured the Committee that the statues would only be placed in a position that the County Council was happy with. There was a checklist that had to be addressed before the County Council would agree to licence the land and as such all of the details that i. 5 5 30/03/2020 needed to be addressed would have to be before the statues could be put into place. In addition a Member questioned why the report was only just coming to Committee when the planning permission that had been in place for a number of years was due to expire on 10 March. In response, the Corporate Head of Borough Development indicated that a lawful start would need to be made before the planning permission expired but this did not mean that the statues had to be in place by then. If the permission was not actioned then the application would be need to be reviewed but this should not pose a problem.
149.4 Some Members expressed the view that the idea was imaginative and would certainly be a great addition to the attractions in Tewkesbury and an asset to the battle re-enactment. A hope was expressed that other such initiatives at other ‘gateways’ across the Borough may be introduced. The Chief Executive indicated that he would encourage communities and organisations to celebrate what their communities had to offer the Borough and that the Borough Council would try to facilitate such installations, though funding would be something that would need to be addressed by those putting forward suggestions.
149.5 A Member questioned whether there would be any costs to the Borough Council for the project. In response he was advised that installation costs and any costs related to the checklist for the County Council would be borne by the Battlefield Society and the maintenance and insurance costs were being paid by Tewkesbury Town Council, therefore there should be no cost to the Borough Council at all.
149.6 Due to concerns about the road safety audit an amendment was proposed and seconded and it was RESOLVED:
1. That the erection of the statues located on, and adjacent to, the Stonehills roundabout be authorised and that the Council accept responsibility and ownership for those statues. 2. That the Corporate Head of Community Development & Partnerships be authorised to enter into appropriate agreements as required by Gloucestershire County Council on terms approved by the Borough Solicitor, subject to a satisfactory Road Safety Audit being approved by the County Council.
STOP PRESS
Since writing this, we’ve seen the County Highways structural assessment. The risks are variously assessed as low or very low. The Borough now want ROSPA to check this, but surely it can’t be long now before we can start fund-raising? i. 6 6 30/03/2020 SITE INTERPRETATION
The battlefield is just grass and hedges to the majority of people. Unless there are clues about what happened, and where it is likely to have happened, walking the site is just a nature walk.
The battlefield has very limited interpretation. There is a leaflet available from the Tourist Office describing the walk but this has limitations and is fast running out. There is a brick plinth on the Bloody Meadow which used to hold a descriptive graphic but time has taken its toll and this has now completely disintegrated. Time for a new start.
The Borough Council have no funds to maintain these assets, so we are stepping in to provide what is needed. It has to be said at the outset that progress has not been rapid. Despite the alleged power of the Big Society there’s always a time problem in pursuing a project which needs specialist skills with volunteers.
We started with a plan. We looked at the interpretation we’d like to see on the battle-trail, and on the wider battlefield. As far as the battle-trail is concerned, some of these points are already prominently marked, and to put a new interpretation panel there would be inappropriate. We recognise that we don’t have the resources to do all of this at once, but we can number each location and reference them on the walk leaflet, so that people with leaflets will be able to manage without the panels.
The leaflet can be therefore be designed and printed with an expectation that it will remain current for a long time. We know how we want it to look and what should go into it. All that remains is the graphics work and the printing. We’d like to break away from the current arrangement of leaflets being charged for, which means sponsorship. This is being pursued.
The Battlefields Trust has provided some excellent guidance on designing interpretation panels, and this is being followed. It is aimed at making them engaging, easy to read and accessible to everyone. We’re concentrating on replacing the Bloody Meadow panel at this stage and draft texts and graphics are now well in hand. The supporting structure will be a locally-sourced oak frame. The whole will stand in a location which is easy for wheelchairs to reach. We’ve received a donation from the Richard III Society towards this and the promise of a donation from the Tewkesbury Civic Society. Current work is to remove the brick plinth and paved area below, returning it to grass.
For many years there has been a painted sign at the Bloody Meadow entrance from Lincoln’s Green Lane, simply saying ‘Bloody Meadow, The scene of one of the fiercest combats of the Battle of Tewkesbury’. I’ve seen photographs of three i. 7 7 30/03/2020 different signs, so there must have been a tradition of replacing the signs as they deteriorated. Sometime in the eighties the last sign simply disappeared. No-one seems to know why, or when. We’re replacing it, and a new one is almost ready for erection. This is a bold and simple marker of the site, which many people pass every day without knowing its significance. The sign will leave them in no doubt.
In time we’ll move on to the other interpretation panels, but these will need negotiation with landowners and all that that will entail about ownership, insurance and the rest of it.
WALKS AND TALKS
The battlefield is just grass and hedges like any other grass and hedges. Quite a lot of it isn’t even that; it’s roads and houses and graves and soon a German supermarket. Unless you have an idea about what might have happened it will never be any more than that.
Since 1998 we’ve been conducting monthly guided walks around the battlefield. That’s about 150 walks and four or five hundred people. As well as this, we have never turned down the opportunity to talk to groups about aspects of the battle; from Probus clubs to WIs, but mostly history societies.
Walking around the battlefield, or the bit of it that remains, and talking about people and events is the best way of linking the actions to the landscape; ideally we’d like to have people seeing Somerset’s charge down the hill in their mind’s eye. That’s the plan anyway. Over the years, we’ve developed a system which follows the course of the battle relatively rationally, and it seems to work quite well. To date, no-one has asked for their money back or complained about the quality. The great variety of knowledge among the people taking the walk means that they’re frequently able to tell us things; about history, landscape or tactics. Recently, we’ve been branching out a little and in partnership with the Museum we’ve recently taken a group of army officers on a walk around the battlefield. This might be the beginning of a new venture as budget cuts mean less trips to the Somme and more investigating the back yard, so to speak.
Spreading knowledge of the battle and battlefield are implicit in our objectives. Walks and talks are an excellent means of achieving this and, we hope, are successful in helping meet the objective . i. 8 8 30/03/2020 STREET BANNERS
With most of our projects being ‘work in progress’, it’s easy to overlook our success with the street banners.
The project started in about 1989 with a couple of lions rampant flown from buildings at the Cross and it has developed from there into a project which is an exemplar for the ‘big society’. With no support, direction or encouragement from any official body it has developed into a project which has an inventory of over 120 banners, mostly arms but including some badges, each with an information leaflet giving information about the 1471 owner. The creation and maintenance is carried out by a small team who give up their Monday afternoons and they are put up and taken down by a team who give up a day for each activity.
The banners are now recognised as something that makes Tewkesbury distinctive. They certainly achieve their primary role of raising awareness of the battle and have generated their own ‘spin-offs’. The Britain in Bloom group work closely with us to make sure that the colour and visual impact of the banners are used to best effect and that the judges are aware of the involvement. We now have a leaflet which the Tourist office gives away which is a simple guide to heraldry and a sort of banner treasure hunt.
There has been a great deal of demand for more information about the banners over the years. Allison’s bookshop has sold a lot of heraldry books on account of the absence of a book about the banners. All we knew about the banner owners was collated into data sheets which were collated into a loose leaf book for the Museum.
An opportunity arose to have a book printed, and the information was re- formatted, edited and 200 copies were printed. These went on sale just before Christmas and to date sales have been steady. This is a subject where there is always new information and the text will need constant revision. The problem is knowing what to leave out to keep the size manageable.
Copies are on sale in Tewkesbury and we’ll have copies available at the various events we attend this year.
Members of the Society can purchase it directly at £10, plus £1 post and package (to a UK address). The address for orders is PO Box 147, Tewkesbury GL20 9AP.
i. 9 9 30/03/2020 OLD BATTLE MEMORIES OF TEWKESBURY LORD WENLOCK, K.G. KILLED IN THE MARKET PLACE, MAY 4, 1471 BY MR. B.C. GRAY
This little gem comes from a Tewkesbury Register from 1942. The Author seems very sure of his facts but unfortunately fails to say where they came from. These are not the views of the Battlefield Society!
Searching an old MSS., temp. King Edward IV, I learnt with interest that the body of Lord Wenlock was taken away and buried in his own Chantry, in the Church of Luton, Bedfordshire, and not placed in the tomb of much earlier date, usually thought to be over his remains in the south aisle of the Abbey Nave, at Tewkesbury. His death was one of the most remarkable of the many dramatic episodes associated with the Town’s long chequered history.
It was a May morning in the year 1471, and from the Barton Market place, might have been seen a glorious view of the Abbey's tower and eastern end the pinnicles [sic] of the Lady Chapel above and behind the Barton Gate. In the foreground, the High Cross. Across the little river Swilgate, the pied-clad men-at- arms of Lord Wenlock, who commanded the middle ward of Queen Margaret's Army, and had probably been sent to secure King John's Bridge, and the road to the west.
The Knight himself, was anxiously debating, whether to retreat while the going was good, for the battle had joined. News had just arrived that the Lancastrians were falling back on the Town and Abbey.
Just then, he saw, coming down the Vineyards Hill at the head of a few followers, a knight clad in complete steel and wearing a tabard emblazoned with the Leopards of England, and the lilies of France, with a bar sinister, the Somerset Arms. The approaching knight drew rein and demanded support for the Queen's hard-pressed Army, prompt help at this instant would enable the Queen and the young Prince Edward, sole hope of the Red Rose cause, to escape and fight again on another and happier field.
The Duke of Somerset, mad with rage, clove him with his battle axe and he fell lifeless to the ground. Then a mob of fugitives, fighting, struggling, cursing, swept down the Vineyard, across the Market Place, through the old Barton Gate, into the Abbey precincts, bearing Lord Somerset with them. From thence soon after he was led to execution, within a few yards of the place where his victim had perished at the foot of the High Cross, wantonly destroyed in 1651. i. 10 10 30/03/2020 Doubtless the victorious King knew of the incident resulting in Lord Wenlock's death, and allowed his body to be removed to Luton for burial.
In this Chantry, built by Wenlock himself, were these lines, which passing to us down the ages have a strange touch of pathos:-
"Jesus Christ, most of might, Have mercy on John Ie Wenlock, Knight. And of his wife Elizabeth, Who out of this world is passed yy death. Who founded this chapel here, Help them with your hearty prayer, That they may come to that place, Where ever is joy and solace".
A Tabard is a sleeveless coat worn over armour, and the actual place of this incident is now the forecourt of Girl's High School. Stones of the High Cross are in the wall of No. 27 Church Street.
27 Church Street is the offices of Thompson & Bancks, solicitors. The lower part of the eastern wall is indeed made of blocks of dressed stone. Though you can’t be sure of anything where Tewkesbury buildings are concerned, 27 Church Street has Georgian attributes, so unless parts are of an earlier building it is unlikely to have incorporated stone from a structure demolished in 1651. If the stone did come from an earlier building on the site, there are lots of other possible sources for it, including demolished monastic buildings.
The High Cross and its wanton destruction are matters which need a little local research; it isn’t something that features prominently in local history.
THE RED ROSE Thibault IV, Count of Champagne at the beginning of the thirteenth century, was the perfect knight. Called ‘the Troubadour’ he was accomplished in all the skills of Chivalry. Inevitably, he went on crusade. His abiding memorial is not a deed of great bravery, but a rose. He fell under the spell of the rose gardens of Damas, in Syria, and brought a plant home with him, which thrived in the soil of his town of Provins, then chief city of Champagne. This red rose, ‘rosa gallica officinalis’ thrives there still. It is reputed to be the ancestor of all the roses of Europe. In Provins it is used for lotions, jams and sweets even today. Edmund of Lancaster, brother of King Edward I, married Blanche of Artois, and was for a while Lord of Provins. The rose captivated him as well, to the extent that he used it as a badge; the origin of the red rose of Lancaster. i. 11 11 30/03/2020 THE SAVING OF SOULS FOR SALE
A recent sale at Bonhams has very strong Tewkesbury connections. It was the Abbey’s half of an indenture, although with the seal missing, made with King Henry VII for masses to be said for family members, including the Beaufort brothers. In return, the Abbey received the parishes of Eastleach and Taynton. Penalties for non-performance were severe. What the ‘ornaments’ were isn’t explained, except in terms of punishment for losing them. Below is an attempt at rendering the text into modern English, though the order of words has not been changed. ‘Xpen’ has totally stumped me; there’s no doubt at all that those were the letters written but I’ve no clue as to what it means. The order of the words seems a little random but sentence structure doesn’t follow modern grammar, though a solicitor would probably have fewer problems.
‘This indenture made between the most high mighty and xpen (sic) King Henry by the grace of God King of England and of France and Lord of Ireland of that one party and Richard, Abbot of the Monastery of our blessed lady Mary of Tewkesbury and the Convent of the same place of the other party.
‘Witnesseth that where the king by his letters patents hath even licence to the said Abbot and Convent and to their Successors to appropriate to them and their Successors the advowsons or Patronages of the Church of Eastleach within the County of Gloucester and of the Church of Taynton within the County of Oxford. And the same advowsons, patronages and churches to be holden in proper use to them and their successors forever, without any thing for the same licence to the King paying. Of the which advowsons patronages the said Abbot and Convent being now seized of in their demesne as of fee as in the right of their said monastery, the said Abbot and Convent by one assent and consent covenant and grant to the King that they and their successors, at their costs and charges, before the feast of Christmas next coming shall endeavour themselves to cause the said advowsons, patronages and churches sufficiently and lawfully to be appropriated to themselves and their successors forever.
‘And after the same appropriation so had and made, the said Abbot and Convent and their successors shall do, or cause to be done or said, a mass daily forever at the Altar of Saint James the Apostle in the north Isle of the church of the said monastery, for the good estates of said most xpen (sic) King and his most dearest wife Elizabeth Queen of England and of the most noble Prince Arthur their first begotten son and all other the King’s most noble issue while i. 12 12 30/03/2020 they be in life and for their souls when it shall please Almighty God to call them into his mercy. For the souls also of Prince Edward, late son to King Harry the VIth; the Lord Edmond, late Earl of Richmond, father to the King; Lord Edmond, late Duke of Somerset and of the Lord John of Somerset departed out of this natural life on whose souls Jesus have mercy. And yearly shall keep the 4th day of the month of May a solemn dirge or obsequience and the 5th day of the same month next after a solemn mass of Requiem to be sung for the souls aforesaid and all Christian souls. And if the said dirge and mass cannot for causes reasonable to be kept and said at the days aforesaid that, then the same solemn dirge and mass shall be kept and said at other days in as convenient and brief time as it may be said or done after the same 4th and 5th days . And the King our Sovereign Lord hath given and delivered the day of the date of these presents to the said Abbot and Convent all manner of Ornaments necessary to be used for the annunciation of the said divine services as shall be thought most expedient to the intent aforesaid. And the said Abbot and Convent granteth for them and their successors to keep and repair the said ornaments even by the King as often as need shall require and in their stead and place to buy or have new at their proper costs and charges or by their means for annunciation for the said divine services as often as need shall require for ever.
‘And the said Abbot and Convent granteth for them and their successors to the King that as often as it shall happen the said obit, dirge and mass or any part thereof to be not kept once in the year at times afore limited, so often the said Abbot and Covent and their successors shall forfeit and pay to the king 6s 8d in the name of a penalty. and as often as the said daily mass be behind not said nor done by one day that that so often the said Abbot and Convent shall forfeit and pay to the king 6s 8d in the name of a penalty. And as often as the said ornaments be not sufficiently repaired renewed and sustained by the said Abbot and Convent and their successor, and when need shall require new ornaments instead and in place of the old ornaments by the same Abbot and Convent and their successors to be bought within a quarter of a year that they need to be repaired renewed and sustained that so often the said Abbot and Convent and their successors shall forfeit to the King £3 8s 8d and that it shall be lawful to the King and his heirs for every of the said penalties as often as they or any of them shall be forfeit to enter into the manor of Taynton in the County of Oxford aforesaid and in to all the lands and Tenements, rents reversions and services of the said Abbott and Convent and their successors in Taynton aforesaid within the same County and for the same penalties and every of them to distrain them. And the distress so taken to lead carry away, i. 13 13 30/03/2020 enpark and withhold till the King or his heirs be truly content and paid of the said penalties and every of them so forfeited.
‘In witness whereof to the one part of these indentures remaining with the said Abbott and Convent the King hath commanded his great Seale to be put to. And the other part of the same indentures remaining with the king and enrolled in his Courte of the Chancery and resident in the King’s Treasury the said Abbot and Convent have put their coventual seal. Even the 17th day of March the 15th year of his reign.
POSTSCRIPT: The purchaser of this document has placed it on loan to Tewkesbury Abbey. It will be on display there in the near future, with an official handing-over during the Medieval Festival when the new owner, who lives in Florida, will be visiting the town. A good news story!
THE WEB-SITE
We’ve made a few positive steps with our web-site recently. Those who looked at it will know that it sat there for more than ten years without any update. Those who’ve looked more recently will see that the situation has changed. A couple of very positive things have happened:
1. Thanks to the generosity of Craig Fletcher, who built the original web- site, the Society now owns the domain name ‘tewkesbury.org.uk, which is both memorable and valuable 2. Rob Mason, of Sponge Projects has sorted out our layout and page linking for us and handed over a web-site which is fairly straightforward to keep up to date.
All we need to do now is to look after it and keep it up to date. If you’ve looked at it, you’ll have noticed that it’s a pretty barren visual landscape; there are no pictures. This is because sorting them out and arranging for them to be added to the pages is ‘on the list’. The delay is a bit embarrassing, it has to be admitted, because Graham Turner has agreed that his painting of the battle can be used on our home page, but to date…nothing. I hope that we’ll be remedying that soon as well as adding more pictures through the text and doing a bit of general updating.
Of course what we really need is a web master; someone with both a knowledge of the web world and the battlefield society. If you know anyone, I’m happy to surrender my responsibilities……
i. 14 14 30/03/2020
HORSE PENDANTS
Unlike Towton and Bosworth, Tewkesbury has a serious shortage of finds which can be definitely associated with the battle. There are lots of possible reasons, mostly connected with the closeness of the action to the town.
A metal detectorist made a find recently which almost certainly was lost in May 1471. With most finds there’s a large dose of uncertainty because of the nature of the object; it’s range of uses and long period of currency. This one is different.
Horse harness pendants came in a lot of shapes and sizes. They are recorded from as far back as the Viking period, with the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries being the high point. Large numbers have been found. The portable antiquities web-site (www.finds.org.uk) lists 2,500 of them. Common shapes are circular, cruciform and shields, though there were very many more. Shield shapes in particular were heraldic. Materials generally were copper alloy enamelled on one side with a suspension loop at the top. These are small items, with the largest dimension being not much more than 2 inches.
In use, the pendants were suspended from harness straps, with the breast band being far the most common location for decoration, typically six would be hung from the strap. They were not high value items for use by high status individuals; they were much more likely to have been used for the harness of mounted retainers. The method and location of suspension is probably responsible for them falling off unnoticed.
i. 15 15 30/03/2020 A late fifteenth century date for such an object is a bit unusual in that The Museum of London suggests that they died out as a fashion by the end of the fourteenth century. Most, particularly metal detector finds, which are the most numerous, are very difficult to date. The Portable Antiquities Database commonly ascribes a vague 13/14 century to finds where a date is given. There is little doubt that this find is fifteenth century.
The find was made to the south east of the battlefield, in a field adjoining the Rudgeway north of Rudgeway Farm. This is very close to the route from Tredington probably followed by the Yorkist army. The problem is, though, that the pendant isn’t Yorkist. The arms are unmistakably those of the Duke of Bar; Azure, semée of crosscrosslets, two barbells hauriant back to back, Or. In 1471 the Duke of Bar (a small area of what is now France, close to the Luxembourg border) was Duke Rene of Anjou; Margaret’s father. The full arms of the Duke of Anjou show all the territories he claimed, and Bar is among them.
Interesting as it is to link a find to a real person with such a high degree of certainty, the location of the find is a puzzle. It is a long way away from where the Lancastrians are thought to have been. Neither is it on their line of retreat. It may have been part of a Yorkist’s booty, but as this isn’t the direction of Edward’s departure it must have been part of a prize of someone released from service and going home. Another possibility is that it fell off a fleeing horse. Unfortunately, we’ll never know.
The area is now close to suburban Tewkesbury, and has recently hit the headlines locally as the place where the local GPs are contemplating building a surgery to replace three now undersized surgeries in the town centre. If this building goes ahead, it is likely to be a ‘stalking horse’ for further residential development, so it’s somewhere that a close watch needs to be kept on if there’s any possibility of further finds.
i. 16 16 30/03/2020 A ROVER NAMED THE BASTARD OF FAUCONBERG
The invasion of Kent was a postscript to the failed 1471 Lancastrian campaign, but if the timing had been better would the outcome have been different? Was this event a serious threat to Edward’s throne?
The events which Edward had to deal with in the ‘final recovery of his Kingdoms’ in 1471 happened one after the other, rather than all at the same time, as Margaret would have wished. This undoubtedly worked to Edward’s advantage and there is no doubt that his generalship was helped by a measure of good luck.
The sequence which meant that Warwick faced Edward at Barnet whilst Margaret was still en route is well known, but in the third engagement of a momentous year Sir Thomas Neville, the Bastard of Fauconberg raised a rabble in Kent (not a difficult thing in those days), supplementing his ‘regular’ troops from the Calais garrison for a bid to release Henry from the Tower, to lead a new army and confront Edward. If this had been properly co-ordinated and executed it might have been a greater threat. It is hard, though, to discern any planning at all. If he intended to give support to his cousin the Kingmaker, with whom he shared an interest in shipping and privateering, then he got his timing spectacularly wrong. The whole enterprise is bewildering. Some have suggested that the attack was intended to co-ordinate with Margaret’s campaign, to release Henry from the Tower whilst Edward was otherwise engaged and to re-unite him with the Lancastrian army. Even in this he was late.
Sir Thomas was one of at least two Bastards of Fauconberg, his father was William Neville, Lord Fauconberg and Earl of Kent. His fortunes changed with those of Warwick the Kingmaker. He had received the freedom of the City of London in 1454 for his part in removing pirates from the North Sea and the English Channel. He was made Vice-Admiral of the Fleet by his cousin Warwick. He had also played an active part in placing Edward IV on the throne. He stayed with Warwick when the Kingmaker changed allegiance.
The Great Chronicle of London describes Thomas as a Rover named the Bastard of Fauconberg who landed in Kent with a multitude of Rovers. They landed in Kent and there raised more men and headed towards London. Fauconberg also sent ships to the Thames estuary and landed in Essex,
It shows another side to the confused sympathies of the general public. The people were said to be out for revenge particularly against the Lord Mayor of London who had raised taxes on their goods too high ‘The husbands cast from them their sharp Scythes and armed themselves with their wives smocks, cheese cloths and old sheets and weaponed themselves with heavy and great Clubs and long pitch-forks and ashen staves, and so in all hast sped them toward London … i. 17 17 30/03/2020 that they would be Revenged upon the mayor for setting so easy pennyworths on their Butter Cheese Eggs pigs and all victuals.’
The greater endeavour came to nothing because Fauconberg had misjudged the mood of London. Attempts to batter a way through the Aldgate came to nothing and Fauconberg abandoned his army at Blackheath, being captured at Sandwich. Though some say that he was executed there, there seems good evidence that he was given a second chance by Edward, but he soon involved himself in further plotting and was executed in September 1471, in the north.
The rebels were ruthlessly pursued in what was described as the season of punishment of the Kentishmen. The King’s Commissioners extracted fines estimated at £2,000. The Great Chronicle explains ‘such as were rich were hanged by the purse and the others that were needy were hanged by the necks, by means whereof the country was greatly impoverished and the King’s coffers greatly increased’. Sources Easily accessed sources for the Bastard of Fauconberg are very limited.
A talk at the National Archives, Kew
The battle of Towton - a 550-year retrospective 31 March, 14:00-15:00
'The largest, longest, bloodiest and most murderous battle ever fought in Britain'
This talk was an introduction to the biggest battle of the Wars of the Roses, the decisive clash in a snowstorm at Towton in Yorkshire on 29 March 1461. A new English dynasty came to the throne with Edward IV's victory, but more Englishmen may have died at Towton than on the first day of the battle of the Somme. The talk will outline the events of that day, look at some of The National Archives' sources for the battle and examine the participants' motivations.
Dr. James Ross is a medieval records specialist at the National Archives. He has a particular interest in the politics of the Wars of the Roses, and the nobility and gentry during the period.
For those of us who couldn’t make it, it will be released later as a podcast; see http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/visit/events.htm i. 18 18 30/03/2020 SANCTUARY AT DURHAM
Though the outcome of the negotiations at the Abbey were inevitable, the stand-off between Abbot Strensham and his now-undisputed King is intriguing. The Abbey was found to be unable to offer sanctuary to the King’s traitors. The absence of a charter was a clear impediment. Durham was one of those places licensed to provide similarly high levels of sanctuary.
In 883, St Cuthbert’s community gave assistance to Guthred the Dane to further his ambition to become King of Northumbria. In return, he gave them lands at Durham and the right of sanctuary. This right was allegedly confirmed by Alfred when he unified the Saxon Kingdoms and was continued under the Normans. Sanctuary, together with the ancient and charter rights which churches all over the land had carefully guarded, was abolished in the reign of James I.
The Saxon code was clear. A church could offer protection to a fugitive for seven days, extended to thirty if he surrendered his weapons. The condition was that the fugitive must not have been found guilty of crimes, but merely accused. It wasn’t therefore open to escaped prisoners. This is rather different to the protection sought by those such as Queen Elizabeth (Woodville) or the Duchess of Warwick, who sought sanctuary for protection from those who would do them harm because of who they were, not for crimes they’d committed.
Those who violated sanctuary faced the retribution of the law, in a scale of fines, the maximum being a fine of £96 for killing a fugitive in sanctuary.
In Durham, the procedures were ritualised. The sanctuary-seeker used the sanctuary knocker on the north door to rouse the porter. Once he was admitted, the Galilee bell was tolled to warn the local community.
He was required to confess before St Cuthbert’s shrine, in front of witnesses. A second bell was tolled and he was required to put on a black gown with a yellow cross of St Cuthbert sewn onto the left shoulder. He was provided with bedding and space to sleep by the south door of the Galilee chapel. He was given food and water enough for thirty seven days.
The next step was to confess for a second time, this time before a coroner. He was also required to make a vow of abjuration; ‘to abjure the land of England, i. 19 19 30/03/2020 haste me to a port, not deviating from the highway. ‘To diligently seek for passage but one flow and one ebb. If there is none, to enter the sea daily up to my knees assaying to pass over, and unless I can do this within forty days I shall put myself again into the church as a robber and as a felon of our lord the king. So God help me and his holy judgement.’
On his journey to the coast, he was accompanied by a constable, being passed from hand to hand at parish boundaries. The role of the law was principally to ensure that he continued to the coast, but it also deterred those who might be seeking revenge. Once at the port, he had forty days to take ship.
Not all churches had the same traditions. Beverley Minster, for instance, had the fugitive swear on the Bible not to carry any pointed weapon against the king’s peace, to help in case of fire and to be present at mass on King Athelstan’s birthday. Evidence of another Saxon foundation.
Durham still retains its register of Sanctuary applications. There is an example of an entry: To be remembered that on the 6th day of October 1477, William Rome and William Nicholson of the parish of Forsate fled to the cathedral church of St Cuthbert in Durham, where on account among other things of a felony committed and publicly confessed by them, consisting of the murder by them of William Aliand; they asked from the venerable and religious men, Sir Thomas Haughton, sacristan of the said church, and William Cuthbert, master of the Gallilee there, both brothers and monks of the same church, to be admitted to the immunity of the church, according to the liberties and privileges conceded in old time to the most glorious confessor Cuthbert. And by the ringing of one bell, according to custom, they obtained this benefit. There were present there, seeing and hearing, the discreet men William Highyngton, Thomas Hudson, John Wrangham and Thomas Strynger, witnesses caused especially for the occasion.
Whilst sanctuary could be an impediment to the king’s justice, it had its uses for political fugitives and so was preserved by successive kings. The Collegiate church of St Martins le Grand, in London, seems to have caused particular problems, as the rights were abused by career criminals who used it for safety between their regular escapades in the City. There was a problem in the cemetery, where the enemies of the fugitive lay in wait. The king was petitioned in 1315, complaining that felons were so closely watched that they were in fear of even attending to their natural wants. They were also attacked i. 20 20 30/03/2020 on the road to the port, with death being a frequent outcome. This led to statutes to provide protection: When a robber, murderer or other evil-doer shall fly onto any church on confession of his felony, the coroner shall cause the abjuration to be made thus: Let the felon be brought to the church door, and there be assigned to him a port, near or far off, and a time appointed to him to go out of the realm, so that in going towards that port he may carry a cross in his hand, and that he go not out of the king’s highway, neither on the right hand nor on the left, but that he keep it always until he shall be gone out of the land; and that he shall not return without special grace of our lord the king.
This didn’t unify the law, because it didn’t over-ride the charters of ancient sanctuaries. That the king respected ancient rights was demonstrated in 1450, when one of Jack Cade’s rebels fled to St Martin le Grand. The king wrote to the Dean asking him to produce this traitor. The Dean refused, and produced his charters, which were found to be correct. The fugitive was guaranteed his safety.
There is recorded in Durham the case of Nicholas the Porter, one of a gang who snatched some fugitives from the church of the Carmelites in Newcastle. These men were handed over to the civil authorities, tried and executed. Nicolas had to petition the nuncio for a pardon, and was forced to do penance: The Bishop instructed the Curate of St Nicholas of Durham: ‘We order that on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of the Whitsun-week just coming, he shall receive the whip from your hands publicly, before the chief door of your church, in his shirt, bare headed and bare foot. He shall proclaim in English the reason for his penance and shall admit his fault; and when he has been whipped the said Nicholas will go to the cathedral church of Durham, bareheaded, barefoot and dressed as above, he will walk in front, you will follow him; and you will whip him in the same manner before the door of the cathedral these three days, and he will repeat there the expression of his fault’
Breaking sanctuary by the king doesn’t seem to have happened (Tewkesbury excepted) until Henry VII declared that the sanctuary of Colnham was ‘insufficient for traitors’ and had a group of political enemies removed, one of whom was executed.
Sources: Durham Cathedral; John Field, Third Millenium Publishing, 2006 English Wayfaring Life, J.J.Jusserand (Trans Lucy Toulmin-Smith) T Fisher Unwin, 1888 i. 21 21 30/03/2020 QUEEN MARGARET; THE OPERA
If anyone’s life is deserving of an opera, it is Queen Margaret. Her life was both heroic and tragic, and there is material a-plenty for a film, a play or an opera. The opera was indeed written, by Giacomo Mayerbeer (5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864), a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of Grand Opera. At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer and producer of opera in Europe, yet is little known today (according to Wikipedia). Adapted from a French melodrama of circa 1810, it was first performed on November 14 1820 at La Scala. It seems to have had remarkably little airing in England. It seems that it was performed in 1828, and again in 2002, at the Royal Festival Hall. A recording of this latter performance, which had some very good reviews, is available on CD; Margherita d’Anjou (Opera Rara ORC25). The following synopsis is taken from the sleeve notes. There are, as you may note, a number of historical inaccuracies
A semi-serious melodrama in two acts By Giacomo Meyerbeer Cast Margherita d'Anjou, Widow of Henry VI of England, (soprano) The Duke of Lavarenne, Grand seneschal [steward] of Normandy,( tenor) Isaura, His wife, disguised as Eugenio, (contralto) Carl Belmonte, General banished by the Queen, leader of the Scots Highlanders, currently employed by Gloucester,(bass) Michele Gamautte, French physician, (bass) Richard, Duke of Gloucester,( bass) Bellapunta, Official of Margherita,( tenor) Orner, Official of Margherita,( baritone) Highlanders, English & French soldiers, Vivandieres [female cooks, sellers of food, wines & spirits to soldiers in French & English armies; camp followers].
Synopsis ACT I An encampment on the bank of a river. The army of Margherita d'Anjou, widow of Henry VI, led by Orner and Bellapunta, drink to their queen's honour. Carlo Belmonte, formerly one of Margherita's generals, now banished and currently in the employ of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, enters the camp. As he mingles with the soldiers and peasants Margherita enters with her retinue and addresses her troops, praising their support and promising to reward their loyalty. Margherita's excitement mounts as joyous military music in the distance promises the arrival of the Duke de Lavarenne. She goes to meet him. Michele arrives accompanied by Eugene (Isaura - Lavarennes wife - in disguise), who sings of her love for her husband while Michele pours scorn on her i. 22 22 30/03/2020 emotions. Isaura reveals Lavarenne’s love for Margherita, both of whom arrive with their entourage. Lavarenne announces an attack on Gloucester's camp for the following day and predicts victory. Isaura despairs of her position and Michele attempts to soothe her. Isaura (still disguised as Eugenio) and Michele are presented to Margherita, who immediately appoints 'Eugenio' as companion to her son. The interior of a tent. Lavarenne has resolved to reveal to the queen the secret of his marriage. Isaura enters his tent as he is writing his confessional letter; he instructs Isaura to give the letter to the queen if he does not survive the coming day's battle. A cannon shot is followed by distant trumpets indicating soldiers outside the encampment; Lavarenne tells Margherita that they are men of the Duke of Somerset come to assist, but Carlo knows that they are in fact Gloucester's men that he has alerted. To the assembled throng, Margherita praises the courage of Lavarenne as she presents young Edward, the heir to the throne. The crowd cheer their future king. A dense forest. Carlo returns to the Highlanders' camp in the forest, and reports the defeat of Margherita and Lavarenne's army. Michele is apprehended by Carlo's men and appointed doctor to the Highlanders. In the dark, Lavarenne, Isaura and Michele appear, one by one, among the rocks. The Highlanders lay a trap for Margherita who is also wandering in the forest; they ambush her. Just as they are about to assassinate her, Carlo reveals himself to Margherita and, despite her treatment of him, vows his allegiance, and instructs the Highlanders to do likewise. Carlo proposes that his Highlanders should lure the enemy away while all make their way back to the camp; Margherita, disguised as a peasant woman, will stay in Carlo's cottage in the forest. As distant trumpets reveal the approach of Gloucester's army, all pray that heaven will protect them in this moment of danger. ACT II The Scottish countryside, as in Act I. It is just before dawn. A group of soldiers yearn for revenge as Gloucester appears. He is furious that Margherita is still at large. He orders the entire forest burned down. Carlo, his allegiance to the Queen renewed, attempts to deceive Gloucester as to her whereabouts. A small village with several cottages, near the forest. It is broad daylight. Highland men and women, enjoying the beautiful day, wander off into the countryside. From the cottage where she is hiding, Margherita appears in disguise. She reflects on recent events but returns to her cottage when an approaching soldier is spotted by the Highlanders. Isaura arrives and delivers Lavarenne's letter and reveals her true identity to Margherita. The queen, although shocked, is wise enough to see that Isaura is devoted to Lavarenne. Inside a tent, as in Act I. Lavarenne knows he must choose between the two women in his life. Although he is fiercely loyal to Margherita, he realises he still loves Isaura. Interior of a cottage. Michele, now the cook, sends Carlo to answer the loud knocking on the door. It is Richard, Duke of Gloucester, in search of Margherita and her son. He interrogates Michele and is suspicious of the latter's 'wife' whom he demands to see. Margherita is brought in and Gloucester recognises her. Just i. 23 23 30/03/2020 as he threatens her, Lavarenne and a detachment of French soldiers enter, but Gloucester grabs Margherita's son and, threatening to kill him, attempts to use him as a means of escape. Michele has, in the meantime, absented himself and now returns with some Highlanders who disarm Gloucester. A village, as before. Bellapunta congratulates his officers on their victory. Michele attempts once more to convince Isaura that she will regain Lavarenne. Isaura is uncertain but Margherita comes in and presents the Duke to Isaura. Lavarenne asks forgiveness and Isaura expresses her happiness as the opera closes with husband and wife reunited.
THE NEW TEWKESBURY GOSPEL
Alex and Pam Summer are old friends of Tewkesbury. From coming here in re- enactments in the dim and distant past they graduated to working with the Little Museum, developing its potential for Living History and school visits. Though they keep threatening to retire they come back every year to support the Museum’s presence at the Medieval Festival with their displays of the skills of the clerk and bookbinder.
Together, they’ve embarked upon a remarkable project for us. Pam has prepared a new printed version of the New Testament, creating a font especially for the task. Alex has illuminated it, including adding the arms of the knights who fought at Tewkesbury, painstakingly tinted. These are the designs we’re familiar with in the streets but each converted to a beautiful miniature work of art. The finished article is leather bound and gilded.
They are donating this book to the Society to use to raise funds. This gives us a problem; how to raise the maximum amount for funds whilst at the same time ensuring that the book goes to a home where it will be used and cherished? We have no answers yet. The options seem to be some sort of raffle or some sort of auction. We have yet to decide on this, but in the meantime the book is finished and we’ll be putting it on display in selected secure locations as an awareness raising exercise.
We’ll be letting you know what we propose with this book once we’ve decided. It won’t be easy. The obvious options are to auction it or raffle it. Auctioning won’t raise a great deal, and the purchaser is likely to get a huge bargain. A raffle will raise more, but there’s a strong possibility that the winner won’t appreciate or treasure it. There must be another way, and we’d be very interested in suggestions. The stipulations are that it should raise huge amounts of money and go to a home where it will be properly looked after.
Suggestions?
i. 24 24 30/03/2020 BOOK REVIEW
EDWARD IV AND THE WARS OF THE ROSES by DAVID SANTIUSTE Published by Pen and Sword Books
What the Publishers said: Indisputably the most effective general of the Wars of the Roses, Edward IV died in his bed, undefeated in battle. Yet Edward has not achieved the martial reputation of other warrior kings such as Henry V – perhaps because he fought his battles against his own people. It has also been suggested that he lacked the personal discipline expected of a truly great commander. But as David Santiuste shows in this perceptive and highly readable new study, Edward was a formidable leader whose strengths and subtlety have not been fully recognised... David Santiuste’s reassessment of Edward’s military role, and of the Wars of the Roses in which he played such a vital part, gives a fascinating insight into the fighting. Based on contemporary sources and the latest scholarly research, Edward IV and the Wars of the Roses brings to life an extraordinary period of English history.
It is always a good start to find both one’s Chairman and one’s Patron acknowledged within the first few pages of any book, but I confess I embarked on this new publication by Pen and Sword with some trepidation. As one who enjoys the Bernard Cornwell school of medieval history (at least one arrow head or sword blade slicing into vital organs per page), I have always found the machinations of the respective royal courts hard going, and very much the ‘essential homework’ element of our field. I was, therefore, pleasantly surprised to find that David Santiuste’s book lived up to its cover blurb in its readability. Relatively succinct at 146 pages, he takes us briskly but logically through Edward’s early life to explore what factors influenced his later success as a leader. The relationship with his father, and the house of Warwick, inevitably provides a consistent theme but – without resorting to conjecture dressed up as fact – is presented in terms of human interaction rather than simply listing off the events in which they played a part.
Of course, one naturally gravitates towards the battles themselves in any account of the Wars of the Roses, and my litmus test tends to be the handling of our own chapter of the story. Again, Santiuste sets the right tone by including Steve Goodchild’s history amongst his sources, praising its ‘perception’ in analysing the battle. That rather partisan perspective i. 25 25 30/03/2020 aside, there is a strong parallel with Steve’s book in the overt recognition that there are a number of possible scenarios that the primary sources could sustain and an avoidance of any conceit that the one the author espouses is ‘obviously’ the right one. Instead, Santiuste cites various versions of the battle selectively to build up a picture of what probably happened, honestly pointing out where the known unknowns make certainty impossible. His narrative is, though, far more than a regurgitation of previous works; his logical journey through the events of the day put forward a number of deductions that had escaped me on my regular wanderings on the Gaston Field but left me wondering why I hadn’t thought of them before. For instance, it is entirely possible that the Yorkists’ pursuit of Somerset’s ‘fellowship’ back down the lanes along which they had made their unsuccessful flanking movement would result in the Yorkists in their turn taking the Lancastrian positions in the flank – making Edward’s frontal assault all the more straightforward. It is these well conceived and articulated suggested scenarios that make Santiuste’s story a welcome addition to the already burgeoning Wars of the Roses canon.
So – a thoroughly entertaining read from a slightly different perspective and something new to say. If the Society’s copy ends up in safe keeping on my bookshelves, it will be no accident!
LOTS OF HENRIES
This has nothing whatsoever to do with the Battle of Tewkesbury.
Sometime in the twelfth century, Heinrich VI, Holy Roman Emperor made Heinrich the Rich, Prince of Reuss (in Thuringia) the Provost of the Cloister in ‘Free secular Imperial abbey of Quedlinburg’. This foundation in Saxony was incredibly rich and was a patronage never forgotten in Reuss.
The Prince was so grateful that he vowed that his male offspring should be called Heinrich. This they were, for nearly eight hundred years. Not just the eldest son, but all of them, in increasing numbers, in all branches of the family. They were identified by number in chronological order. When the numbers got too big they started again at one. In 1688 they passed a family law such that the first new son born in a new century should be named as the first.
In 1918, Reuss was rationalised and the custom ended with Heinrich XXII, the senior Prince and Heinrich XIV, the junior Prince.
i. 26 26 30/03/2020 THE TOWN MUSEUM DISPLAYS
Our secretary updates on progress with the ‘battle room’ in the museum
One of the Society’s ongoing projects is maintenance of the Battle-related displays in the Town Museum. For a Battle occurring over 500 years ago, one would think this would be a relatively simple task, but sometimes it seems to take on the scale of repainting the Forth bridge with a toothbrush! This year’s work has focussed on refreshing the display material in the upright cases to make it more appealing to the visitor uninitiated in the complexities of the Wars of the Roses, as well as reflecting the standard of display now expected of a modern Museum (within the finances available of course!).
Thanks to the graphics department at one of our members’ workplace, we have been able to replace the original typed-sheet information panels with more colourful and eye-catching, spongeboard-mounted versions, which will shortly be joined at children’s eye level by a collection of our past Medieval Festival posters, to join the cartoon-like medieval figures acquired by Angie Pope on one of her flea-market expeditions. Also on display, long after their original construction, are a series of long-bows crafted by Keith Miles, illustrating the various stages in the Bowyer’s art. The banners, too, now play a more prominent part, with a large format copy of Andrew Lawrence’s compilation of banner information displayed on its own plinth, courtesy of the Brian Howgate carpentry shop.
Elsewhere in the Battle Room, the theme of complementing information panels with 3D displays continues with a series of five 12-inch figures depicting 15th Century soldiers. The figures are based on merchandise intended to complement the motion picture ‘Timeline’, based on a Michael Crichton novel and featuring a time-travel storyline which sees our hero transported back to the 14th Century. The film and its merchandise seem not to have captured the public imagination, which allowed us to purchase a number of the figures, including a couple of ‘unclothed’ versions, at sale prices and set about adapting and redressing them to match our period. With Angie Pope and Gill Goodchild as seamstresses in miniature, and Clive Montellier setting about the accoutrements with scalpel, modelling putty and the makings of scaled down halberds and longbows, we now have characters representing a medieval archer, another archer stringing his bow, a billman and two men-at-arms. While the purist would no doubt spot the odd inconsistency, the collection should bring the Battle to life for those who have not had the chance to see it re-enacted.
Clothing in miniature presents its own problems. Lots of costume references were used, but the finished articles owe a great deal to Gerry Embleton’s books, and the Knights of St George. Though reducing patterns is fairly straightforward, finding fabrics with threads one sixth of the diameter of the real thing needs considerable inventiveness, which has been duly delivered, with even the shoes being authentically turned. i. 27 27 30/03/2020
Centrepiece of the Museum display is, of course, the model – now approaching its 40th anniversary. It has held up well with only occasional maintenance and the display panels to explain the progression of the Battle have this year been refreshed and remounted. Our aspiration, though, is to install an audio commentary system offering a selection of narrations giving not only a potted history of the Battle, but also of the making of the model and perspectives of the fighting from those involved. This sort of technology is widely available, but does not come cheap and, in comparison with other priorities in the Museum’s budget like repairs to the roof, comes well down the pack. We remain hopeful that Airfix might assist with sponsorship, given that the model represents one of the largest gatherings of their model figures on public display.
We have obtained a little more background information about the model, which is now an artefact in its own right, thanks to Geoffrey Wheeler.
There was an article written by Geoffrey describing the model in the April 1972 edition of the Airfix Magazine. This explains the origin of the model, as the centrepiece for the quincentennial exhibition at the museum. The base was much larger, being cut down when the model was taken to Gloucester for exhibit. The contours are achieved using wooden blocks overlaid with chicken wire and papier mache dusted with sand and decorated. Hedges are small pieces of loofah and the tops of the trees made from nylon pot-scourers. The armies are recruited from the Airfix HO/OO range, ‘Sheriff of Nottingham’ and ‘Robin Hood’, more than 2,000 of them. To provide more variety than Airfix could, significant amounts of, quite literally, plastic surgery was carried out, with bodies being cut at the waist, and sometimes at the shoulders or necks, to vary the poses, with UHU glue being used to fix them. Figures of heralds, trumpeters, drummers and the important knights were made like this.
Time has taken its toll on the base and the soldiers. Whilst we can regularly collect up and refix torsos, fixing the base is a different matter. It needs expert restoration to the areas where the newspaper can be read or the chicken wire is showing through. We’ll need to face this one day.
The battle is shown at its height, with the 200 Yorkists charging into Somerset’s ‘fellowship’ from the deer park. Hidden within it, though were a number of other incidents; the death of Lord Wenlock, the death of Edward Prince of Wales and the slaughter in the Bloody Meadow. Not all of these still exist in their original form.
The Museum is currently planning a Heritage Lottery Fund bid to repair and conserve the building, to update its displays and to extend its services. We hope that arising from this there’ll be an improved ‘Battle Room’ which we can set up properly to do justice to the subject. In the meantime, we’re doing our best to provide enough to give an insight into the battle and the people who were involved. i. 28 28 30/03/2020 Robert Ingleton MP
Robert Ingleton has no direct connection with Tewkesbury. I became interested whilst carrying out some work in what is now Wolverton, a district of that star in the crown of historic towns; Milton Keynes. On the wall was a framed brass rubbing; Robert Ingleton of Thornton, Chancellor of the Exchequer (died 1473). A little poking around revealed that Thornton was a manor in what is now Wolverton, and in Thornton church there is an tomb (which has led an interesting life, being removed from the church in the eighteenth century, when the chancel was demolished, and taken to decorate a grotto in Thornton Hall, from where it was identified and recovered in 1946.
The inscription (translated) reads ‘See, here lies a pious squire under the earth, Robert Ingleton, Lord of Thornton and rightly its patron. He died and passed to heaven from this world on the fifteenth day of October, 1472. May Mary, Queen of heaven, be kindly to him, may Christ who is God save him for the love of his Mother. Here lies Robert Ingleton Esquire, once Lord of Thornton, who was once an expert in the Law, and a friend to all virtue. Here too lie three wives, Margaret, Clemency and Isabel; and Robert died on the 15th of October 1472; may God have mercy on their souls’.
The real Robert Ingleton is a little harder to find, though the search is made a lot easier by the History of Parliament Trust, who have a mission to publish volumes containing biographies of all MPs since 1386. The latter part of the fifteenth century is still in preparation, but a draft biography of Robert Ingleton exists.
Robert Ingleton was born in the North, son of Robert Ingleton of Warton, Lancs and Margaret daughter of Thomas Wandesford of Ugglebarnby, Yorks.He married three times; first to Margaret, daughter. of Sir Philip Dymmock (hereditary King’s champion) of Scrivelsby, Lincs.; second to Clemence daughter of William Cantelowe of London, and third to Isabel Beaumont , of Whitley Beaumont, Yorks. These are all represented on the brass, with their children. There are five boys and nine girls, though how many reached adulthood isn’t known.
Robert seems to have qualified in law and rose through the social ranks through patronage and preferment, a dangerous route if your patron fell out of favour. It seems that his earliest patron was Sir Thomas Parr and through him he was first returned to Parliament as MP for Appleby. Through Sir Thomas, he probably i. 29 29 30/03/2020 made contacts with his next patrons, the Nevilles. In 1444 he was in the service of Robert Neville, Bishop of Durham, and after this he is frequently noted as in the service of various members of this powerful family. By 1452 he is described as ‘of the parish of St Martin within Ludgate’; he was moving into exalted circles. Preferment during the duke of York’s first protectorate proved a mistake, as once Queen Margaret regained control she more than reversed his advances in fortune! After St Albans he lost his position as common Serjeant of London and his role in the Exchequer. This was the end of his role in public office and his fortunes now depended on acquiring property, which was by and large manors in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.
After Northampton, and certainly after Towton, his fortunes again changed with preferment in public offices, through the Nevilles rather than the new king. In December 1461 he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. Gifts were showered upon him.
In 1462 he purchased the manor of Thornton, which became his principle residence. Unfortunately, the title to this was by no means clean, and he acquired it through the services of George Neville, then Bishop of Exeter. This proved a problem later. He was soon in litigation with a neighbour, William Garnon, who seemed to have a claim through inheritance. He fought off this challenge through the courts and consolidated his estate with further purchases and building.
Being too close to the Nevilles proved not to be a good thing, and as tensions grew Ingleton’s fortunes again flagged. A low point came in 1470 when Thomas Garnon, presumably related to William ‘broke his close and houses’, assaulting his servants and making off with goods worth £40. One of Thomas’ companions was Sir Richard Wydville During the readeption Ingleton, ever the lawyer, went to law to recover his loss but the writing was on the wall when Edward returned in 1471 and he chose to retire. He was granted a general pardon on 14 July 1471, dying two years later (though according to his tomb he died in 1472)
Ingleton died on 17 Oct. 1473 and writs of diem clausit extremum were issued four days later. Inquisitions were held in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire, but the jurors in each county baldly returned that he died seized of no lands. It is suspected that he’d used his knowledge of the law to transfer his property to trusts.
It seems very unlikely that Robert was directly involved in any of the military actions which his life spanned, but he was close to the movers and shakers. As a young man he was briefly the Keeper of Roxborough Castle but that seems to be the closest he came. The interest, to me, is in the evidence of the turbulence of the times and the difficulties this caused to an obviously talented man in climbing the social ladder.
The other fascination is in the evidence of a past behind the unrelieved modernity of Milton Keynes. i. 30 30 30/03/2020 INTERESTING DISCOVERIES
This comes from a ‘Tewkesbury Register and Gazette’ from September 1934. It was written by W.G. Bannister, who was once Sacristan at the Abbey and author of a number of books about aspects of Tewkesbury.
The article reviews the mills, consequent upon finding the foundations of an earlier water mill at the Abbey Mill site. Of interest is the description of the windmill on Holm Hill and in the ‘hill garden at the end of Church Street’. Unfortunately, no sources are given.
The operations being carried out by the Severn Catchment Board at Tewkesbury have now reached the Abbey Mill (now a mill no longer, except in name) and the discovery of some foundations of part of the original mill of the Monastery has evoked much discussion and conjecture.
Two queries have .arisen:
1. What was the original course of the Avon? 2. Of what importance was the mill?
The Avon had its rise near Naseby in Northamptonshire, and in its course of nearly 100 miles flowing through Warwickshire and Worcestershire, passing Stratford, it finally united with the waters of the lordly Severn. Just before reaching the town of Tewkesbury, near a point where the Carron Brook joined it, the Avon divided into two arms, the one breaking through its right bank at a point known as the ‘Goutts’ and passed into the present Stanchard’s Pit at the railway bridge; the other arm ‘cometh down by the side of the town and the Abbey, leaving it on the east’. (Leland). Passing through the highest of the arches of King John's Bridge (built 1190-1200) the stream wound its way round a bend of the meadow and then took a wide curve on its right bank; similar to the action of its great neighbour, the Severn, at a point almost exactly opposite. There were no impediments of any importance to the flow of the water either on Avon or Severn in those days, and the records tell us of a number of instances of great scarcity of water. For instance, we are told that in October, 1635. The water in the Severn was so low that ‘persons may now easily wade through the river in any part of it’. The Avon must then have been almost dry and would have been of no great depth under normal conditions. It follows that the mill of the monastery was of much lower level than that of the present one, and this is indicated by the foundations now disclosed. Its operations were limited by the condition of the river. Sometimes there was too little water, oftentimes a great deal too much. It had to cater for the needs of an i. 31 31 30/03/2020 establishment calculated to number some 200 persons, the number varying from time to time. It seems to have had one wheel only, as was the case in the many mills existing in the adjoining district wherever a running stream existed. In 1735 it is recorded that a lad, John Newman, about four years of age, was ‘carried under the mill wheel, between the paddles and sustained no hurt, although there were only about two inches between the paddles and the sheeting’ and in 1766 a boy twelve years of age fell into Avon, just above the mill, and was carried by the rapidity of the current under ‘the great water- wheel’ but being carried between the paddles of the wheel, he passed through without hurt. Below the mill pool the river wound its sinuous way and again merged in the Severn at the Lower Lode. Ages of disuse have no doubt, contributed to make it narrower, in spite of the fact that the Swilgate brook discharges great volumes of water into it, after very heavy rains upon the Cleeve Hills, but as the landing place of water-borne goods and materials for the Monastery was the present Pleasure Garden, known to the monks as ‘Pyler’, the channel would have been maintained in a more serviceable condition. The mill would obviously occupy a position at or near the middle of the river as the foundations, now discovered, seem to indicate. The buildings of the Monastery on this side were the malthouse, or granary, adjoining which was the wall of the bowling green to the west; the main road to the Monastery and the parish church, nearly opposite the mill, and on the east of this the ‘Great barn next the Avon'. In front of these was a considerable open space and a roadway, so that the mill was much nearer the road than present conditions would imply. Note that the mill was not built on monastic land and it is doubtful whether or not it belonged to the monks in earliest days, but was used in common with the Lords of the Manor. In any case it was superseded as far as the manor was concerned by a very important windmill which was erected on high ground near the town end of the Lower Lode lane, then known as ‘Homme Hill’,' and in modern times as ‘Windmill Hill', this was one of the most important assets of the manor and was let for twenty shillings per annum, a very large sum in those days, when a man's work was valued at a halfpenny per day and arable land was let for fourpence per acre. The manor was held direct from the Crown and at the death of the lord an exact inventory of the value of all the property was taken at an inquisition held by order of the Court of Exchequer before a jury of principal persons on the estate, but this article is dealing only with the mills. From this time the water mill seems to have been considered the property of the monks. The windmill was in use for the tenants of the manor until the year 1375 when it fell into disuse owing to dilapidation, and the Abbey Mill seems to have worked full time when conditions allowed. At the dissolution of the Monastery it passed into the hands of the town authorities or private hands. In 1742 records state, ‘This year John Wilson built a Windmill of Brick in the Hill Garden at ye Church street end." Just where this garden was I am unable to determine, but a wooden windmill had been erected, on the site of the old -manor mill and in the year 1747 .the following event is recorded: "This year the old wooden windmill at the Windmill Hill was pulled down and a brick one-was erected in his place, by Edward Popham Esquire”. i. 32 32 30/03/2020 The next entry concerning the old mill occurs in 1793 and refers to the present structure. "Tewkesbury Town Mill. Rebuilt this year by Richard Jenkins, gent., there are Four Large Water Wheels, which work eight pairs of stones; the whole of the building is done in a masterly manner so as to do credit both to the proprietor and to the work men employed in erecting it." This mill is placed on a site nearer the roadway than the older mill and the course of the river diverted somewhat, the left bank was straightened and the; soil which was excavated placed on the sloping bank of the original pool where it has produced little but weeds and an inconvenient grip. Below the sluice the outline of the original pool can.be easily traced and the bank on that side has been raised for some distance in some cases, as, for instance, opposite the old Tannery which existed for centuries on the north side of St. Mary's Lane, where little has been added. Space prevents further details at the present time and must await further developments.
Interesting as the information about the Abbey Mill is, it has little relevance to the battle. Only the mill stream is mentioned. The windmill has possibly got a closer connection. The evidence given here for a windmill is confusing. Two are referred to. All the evidence points to ‘Homme Hill’ being Holm Hill, as it is now called, which is the location of the Borough Council offices. Brian Linnell gives only one name for this parcel of land; Windmill Hill. (Theoc, Guppy and Wulf; Theoc Press, 1978). Brian has explored every field name in the old Borough and most have had more than one name recorded. The area on the opposite side of the road, once occupied by the workhouse, later Holm Hospital, seems to have been referred to as Holm Hill as long ago as 1504. Before the coming of the turnpike road it seems very likely that this parcel of land was joined to the Windmill Hill parcel, maybe separated by a steep pathway which was later re-graded as the road. The date of erection of the wooden windmill is unclear, but as the site was also the site of manor houses until the mid fourteenth century the two must have co-existed for some time, unless the windmill which fell into disrepair by 1375 was remarkably short-lived. It was obviously replaced at some time if the brick mill erected in 1747 replaced an existing wooden mill. Nothing of a windmill was recorded in the archaeological survey which preceded the construction of the present offices in 1974. The reason for this is likely to be that as the mill would have been on the highest ground it was not part of the area surveyed and that such remains as there are are likely to still be in the ground. John Wilson’s windmill of brick is a bit of a puzzle. The description points to Holm Hill, part of which was recorded in 1504 as ‘Great Garden’. Either there were two brick windmills or there are two references to the same mill. All of this suggests that in 1471 there was a windmill on the hill, and what better place for Queen Margaret to watch the battle, with a panoramic view of the whole site and a quick exit route to Lower Lode and over the river. i. 33 33 30/03/2020 NEWS FROM ELSEWHERE
Barnet Museum is under threat: Barnet Council have decided that the funding to operate Church Farmhouse Museum Hendon and the support grant for Barnet Museum is to be withdrawn, taking effect from 1st April 2011 (subject to a public enquiry). This means that both museums are likely to close. As these are the only two council-supported museums in the borough, residents and particularly school children would be deprived of the opportunity to see, appreciate and engage with the long history and archaeology of Barnet. The total annual saving according to the Council figures is £40,000 in the first year followed by £60,000 per annum thereafter. The latest news from the Museums:
‘We would like to thank the more than four thousand people who have already signed our petitions - written and online - and who have made very generous contributions to Barnet and District Local History Society. We have been very encouraged by your support. It makes such a difference to us to know the number of people who believe that Barnet Museum is worth fighting for. And it is going to be a fight, which we are fully committed to!
Since writing here about our surprise at Barnet Council's remarkable lack of understanding of the wide range of work that the Barnet Museum undertakes, I am afraid that we have to report that there is no obvious sign that we have managed to change their views. Following the Cabinet meeting on Monday 14 February which supported the proposal to remove all funding from the Museum, Cllr. Rams was quoted in Barnet Press 18 February 2011 as saying:
'While I do propose removing funding for Church Farmhouse Museum and Barnet Museum, I am prepared to keep looking in the next three months for a future arrangement that has to be at a zero cost to the council. We will help museums make business plans and offer alternative locations for them'.”
He apparently wants us, a registered charity and a provider of a community service, to pay a commercial rent or he will sell the building.
The Barnet & District Local History Society, whose volunteers run the Museum, is resolved that its unique collection, begun in 1927 by the then Barnet Record Society and largely donated by the people of Barnet Town will stay in Wood Street, in the building that has been in community use since 1938. The Barnet Urban District Council granted the building in Wood Street to create the Barnet Museum in perpetuity. Numbers 31 and 33 Wood Street were bought by them for a mere £4,150. The newly formed Borough of Barnet inherited the Museum in 1975 and with it the moral obligations taken on by the Barnet Urban District Council.
The volunteers who run the Museum are working hard to ensure the Museum's survival i. 34 34 30/03/2020 on its present site. With the help of our supporters we believe we can finance the running costs of the building. Paying a commercial rent would change the whole basis of the Forward Plan, a draft of which we have already supplied to the Borough. We have complied with the likely loss of our funding and grant. We have asked for a capital asset transfer of the building to the Barnet & District Local History Society at no cost and would be happy to relieve the Borough of any further responsibility for the building. We are already and want to remain a prime example of what Cameron's 'Big Society' can do.
As we told the Cabinet meeting:
‘We can run the Museum if the Borough leave us alone to get on with it!’
Why does this sound familiar?
Edgcote and HS2:
From Martin Marix Evans: ‘The revised route of the proposed High Speed 2 line crosses directly over the field of battle as best we know it. This has been pointed out to the Minister and he's not even acknowledged getting the information. The clear area to the right of the roads near Edgcote, above the box saying where a bridge is to be built, is the flat area on which the Wars of the Roses battle and, probably, the battle against the Danes was fought. It is called Danesmoor and is the only place that fits the 15th-C texts about a battle in which massive slaughter was visited upon the Welsh troops: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/highspeedrail/hs2ltd/route/mitigated/northernrout esection/pdf/03207.pdf’
Parts of guns found at Towton:
A metal detectorist unearthed the fragments of the guns, thought to date back to the 15th Century, on the site at Towton. The find contradicts the idea that guns were only used in that period of history to attack castles.
Tim Sutherland said the unearthing of the parts of gun barrels was ‘incredibly important’ - but possibly unlucky for the soldier who had been holding the weapon in the conflict in 1461. The manufacturing of firearms in that period of time was notoriously unreliable, Mr Sutherland said. He revealed the reason the guns were probably not found intact was that it was not uncommon for the weapon to explode in the user's hands because of metal casting faults.
Experts at the ISIS Research Centre in Oxfordshire, which uses neutron analysis to examine samples in minute detail, said the finds were ‘unique in Britain’ . Mr Sutherland said: ‘We don't know of any other battlefield where one of these has turned up. In terms of the Towton battlefield, it's very important because i. 35 35 30/03/2020 we're looking at the cusp of the use of archery and the introduction of handguns. When we analysed the internal coating , we found that it contained the constituent parts of gunpowder. It's incredibly important and we still can't believe we've found this.’
He added: ‘We have fragments of handguns that exploded during the Battle of Towton - how rare can you get? It's unbelievable.’
Metal detector user Simon Richardson, who was trawling the site for objects said he was not sure what he had found on the battlefield. He said: ‘I found two pieces on two separate occasions. I had an idea of what they were, but it's pretty rare. I had previously found a lead ball, so I knew guns had been used.’
Dr Evelyn Godfrey, who analysed the fragments at ISIS said the fragments had revealed more about battlefield weapons. She said: ‘We have looked at the crystal structure of the objects. Almost certainly there are two different alloys which came from two different castings. They are almost certainly from two different guns.’
(This piece owes a lot to the BBC news release)
Second St Albans:
This year also sees the 550th anniversary of the second battle of St Albans, somewhat overshadowed by Towton.
The date has, in fact, passed, being fought on February 17th. It was marked by a two-day conference, including tours, lectures and a requiem mass.
A feature of St Albans, a rare Lancastrian victory, was the way in which the young Prince of Wales was indulged by his mother and passed sentence on Lord Bonville and Sir Thomas Kyriell, who had been his father’s guards during his captivity. He ordered their execution, which was even then considered to be a war crime. It was one more act, closely following the events at Wakefield, towards a war of revenge and retribution.
NEW BATTLE ART
A new painting of the battle is to be unveiled on May 1st at the Museum as a part of the 540th anniversary walk. Entitled 'Melee: Tewkesbury, 4 May 1471’ it is the work of Karen Sarkar of Worcester. Her work can be seen at www.karensarkarart.com. The painting will be on display at the Museum for a little while beyond May 1st.
i. 36 36 30/03/2020
The Battlefield Society committee is:
Steve Goodchild Chairman Ruth Howgate Brian Howgate Treasurer Andrew Lawrence Banner sub-Committee Clive Montellier Secretary Peter Williams Bernie Willoughby Amanda Thomas Angie Pope
The Committee meets as required to discuss the ongoing business of the Society. Regular open meetings and events are held, and these are advertised either in the newsletter or by mailshot to Society members.
Membership is open to all with an interest in preserving and enhancing our medieval heritage. Full membership is £5.00 per annum, family membership £7.50 and overseas membership £10. Details can be obtained from the Membership Secretary; 44 Gould Drive, Northway, Tewkesbury, GL20 8RL
The Society has a presence on the Internet at http://www.tewkesbury.org/
The Society newsletter is published irregularly. A news sheet is produced more regularly.
The Society is indebted to ex Councillor Connors for the name of its newsletter
i. 37 37 30/03/2020