Ricardian
Bulletin Magazine of the Richard III Society
ISSN 0308 4337 December 2012
Ricardian Bulletin December 2012
Contents 3 From the Chairman (Colour section cont’d) 4 Future arrangements for the Bulletin ii Scenes from the Greyfriars dig 5 Annual General Meeting 2012 iii Scenes from the Greyfriars dig and The 10 Living in exciting times The Chairman’s Penn Roll project Address to the Society’s AGM 2012 iv Greyfriars graphics by Emma Vieceli 11 Another AGM perspective 43 Media retrospective: painful puns and Sue and Dave Wells prognostication Geoffrey Wheeler 13 The Augustinian Friary, Lendal, York 48 More points from the dig Lynda Pidgeon Cris Reay Connor and Peter Hammond 14 Society news and notices 51 Media retrospective: an Antipodean 19 Society news from North America perspective Rob Smith and Dorothea Preis 21 Future Society events 51 More on the King in the Car Park 22 Society reviews Geoffrey Wheeler 26 Other news, reviews and events 53 The City Mayor’s Annual Lecture 2012 31 The Man Himself: Looking for Richard – the Wendy Moorhen Greyfriars project 54 Emma Vieceli’s Greyfriars graphics 31 The search for Richard III – DNA, 54 Managing the opportunities – a public documentary evidence and religious relations (PR) strategy Peter Secchi knowledge John Ashdown-Hill 56 Our Olympic Diary: part 2 32 Has the King been found? Sue and Dave Wells Philippa Langley 58 Focus on the Sales team 34 Statement from the University of Leicester 61 Photo caption competition 37 Leicester’s Greyfriars Project Roll of 62 Ricardian crossword 2 by Sanglier Honour 63 Correspondence 38 Greyfriars archaeological dig open day 65 Book reviews and notices Matthew Lewis 67 The Barton Library 39 Initial reflections and press coverage 69 Branches and Groups Bruce Watson and Geoffrey Wheeler 77 New members Centre colour section 78 Recently deceased members i The Society’s AGM and Members’ Day 79 Obituaries 2012 80 Calendar
The Ricardian Bulletin is produced by the Bulletin Editorial Committee. © Richard III Society 2012. Individual contributions and illustrations © the contributors except where otherwise stated. Printed by Micropress Printers Ltd.
For details on sending in future contributions, please see p. 4 Bulletin and Ricardian Back Numbers Back issues of The Ricardian and the Bulletin are available from Judith Ridley. If you are interested in obtaining any back numbers, please contact Mrs Ridley to establish whether she holds the issue(s) in which you are interested. For contact details see back inside cover of the Bulletin 1 IN MEMORIAM
This issue is dedicated to the memory of Dr Lesley Boatwright MBE 1932–2012 Editor of the Ricardian Bulletin 2009–2012
2 From the Chairman
ever before has an issue of the Bulletin been so tinged with sadness and joy in equal measure N– sadness for the death of Lesley Boatwright and joy at the prospect offered by the Greyfriars dig. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank all officers of the Society who have rallied around and taken on much extra work as a result of these two events. In particular, my gratitude goes to the Bulletin Team, who have put together this issue in such trying circumstances. I think you will agree that it is one worthy of Lesley. Lesley will be greatly missed by us all. She has been our friend and colleague as well as a tireless worker for the Society. Her contribution, particularly to our research agenda, has been immense and we will try to do full justice to that in the March Bulletin. Shortly before her death she was appointed a vice-president of the Society and was made aware of this. At the moment it is very hard to imagine the Society without her. The Leicester Greyfriars project has been a landmark event in the Society’s history, and perhaps its full impact is yet to be realised. Even if the remains do not belong to Richard III, it will have achieved considerable success in improving our knowledge of the site while raising the profile of ‘Good King Richard’. There has been extensive coverage in the press and media around the world, most of it positive and advantageous to the revisionist cause. Since the dig began back in August we have had over 200 new members, which compares with the 111 for the whole of the previous year. In just two years, our Facebook page reached 1000 ‘likes’ early in August and now it has over 2000. So, again I thank Philippa Langley and John Ashdown-Hill and all the others who have contributed to making a dream become a reality and, in so doing, inspiring us all. This is a bigger issue than usual but, of course, there is a big story to cover. The Man Himself dominates, with its wide coverage of the dig and its impact. Appropriately, we have articles from two of the project’s leading lights, Philippa Langley and John Ashdown-Hill, illustrated with photographs from the dig in a special colour insert. The archaeologist Bruce Watson casts an expert eye over the evidence and Geoffrey Wheeler comes up trumps with his coverage of the media, including a splendid collage of the headlines. We take a look at some of the inevitable jokes and cartoons, and it just goes to show that it is even possible for a parking ticket to have its funny side! We have our usual in-depth coverage of the Members’ Day and AGM held in York, which was very well attended, with an atmosphere of considerable excitement and expectation. There is an abridged version of my AGM address and you will see I have now completed a full decade as your chairman, an anniversary which coincided rather nicely with the Greyfriars dig! I spoke about the importance of the voluntary spirit and, appropriately, there are two articles in this issue which exemplify this: the second part of Sue and Dave Wells’ Olympic Diary and the focus on our hard working sales team. There is also a report on another successful event, the joint AGM of the American and Canadian branches. We welcome the new American branch chairman, Jonathan Hayes, and wish him well. You can also read about some of the things we are doing to take advantage of all the publicity that the Greyfriars dig is generating. We have a new press officer, Peter Secchi, who is a public relations professional and thus well placed to give us advice on how to cope with the modern media in all its forms. As events unfold over the coming months we are determined to take advantage of all opportunities to promote the Society and King Richard’s cause. 3 There is understandably much debate as to where the Greyfriars remains are finally to be laid to rest. Until the bones are confirmed to be those of Richard III and we are asked our opinion about the place of reinterment, the Society is not expressing any opinion. If we are asked we will take into account the various views that have been expressed by members and pass them on to the authorities. As we go to press the government has indicated that it is planned to inter the remains in Leicester Cathedral. We will accept wherever is chosen, of course. At this stage, all we can ask is that, whichever religious establishment is given the honour of holding the remains of Richard III, they are reinterred with the solemnity and dignity befitting an anointed king. What a year lies ahead, what opportunities, what challenges. No matter, we are ready for them all. Beth and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.
Lesley Boatwright The Bulletin Editorial Committee is deeply saddened by the death of its editor-in-chief Lesley Boatwright on 4 October; we are dedicating this issue to her memory. In March’s Bulletin there will be a full obituary and other tributes, together with details of our plans to celebrate her life and protect her legacy. Her funeral was held on 22 October, with a very good attendance by Society members. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to Médecins Sans Frontières or Macmillan Cancer Support. She leaves an enormous gap. Her unique range of skills, which have been of immeasurable benefit to us, are now simply irreplaceable. The editing and production of this issue has been a truly team effort, with contributions from committee members in this country and overseas. I am very grateful to them all. For the future we will need to consider how to manage the Bulletin in the absence of Lesley, and we will keep members informed of our thinking and about any developments. In the meantime we have some big stories to cover, so watch this space. John Saunders, Chair of the Bulletin Editorial Committee
FUTURE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE BULLETIN
Contributions are welcomed from all members. All future articles and other items for the Ricardian Bulletin should be sent to the new dedicated Bulletin email address: [email protected]. Alternatively, the contact details on the back inside cover can be used.
The editorial team would prefer to receive contributions as Word file attachments to emails wherever possible, since we have limited capacity to transcribe and type up written submissions and there may be delays in using them.
Bulletin items submitted over the past two months which have not been acknowledged, or do not appear in this issue, should be sent again to the above email address. Thank you. Bulletin Press Dates 15 January for March issue; 15 April for June issue; 15 July for September issue; 15 October for December issue.
Articles should be sent well in advance.
The Bulletin Editorial Committee
4 Annual General Meeting 2012
Minutes of the 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Richard III Society The 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Richard III Society was held at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York on Saturday 29 September 2012 at 2.30 pm. 142 members were present.
Chairman’s opening remarks Phil Stone welcomed members from the UK, Europe and further afield, including Anne Devrell, Hazel Hajdu and Wanda Summer from Australia, Margaret Manning from New Zealand, Rita Diefenhardt-Schmitt from Germany and Liselotte Messner from Austria. The Chairman then gave an address, including remarks on momentous events of the year and proposals for the future, particularly in the light of these events. He thanked several people for their input during the year. An edited copy of this presentation is reproduced elsewhere in this Bulletin.
Apologies for Absence Apologies for absence were received from Margaret Baldry, Betty Beaney, Nicky Bland, Lesley Boatwright, Julia Campbell, Denys Carden, Helen Challinor, Ros and Andrew Conaty, Jill Davies, Rachel Field, Moira Habberjam, Doreen Harris, Callie Kendall Orszak, Gillian Lazar, Doreen Leach, Andrea Lindow, Sue McMullen, Gwen Millan, Gillian Murray Kendall, John Saunders, Caroline Taylor, Josephine Tewson and Livia Visser-Fuchs. Dave Wells added that Callie Kendall Orszak had sent a donation of £100 to the Society to be used as we saw fit. A letter of appreciation for this gift had been sent.
Minutes of the 2011 Annual General Meeting These were published in the December 2011 Bulletin. They were approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record of the proceedings.
Reports from Members of the Executive Committee and other Society Officers:
Wendy Moorhen reported new memberships totalling 265 in the last year (231 UK, 34 overseas). Of these, 110 had been received between 2 October 2011 and 21 August 2012 and 155 between 22 August and 26 September; i.e. after the news of the finds at the Leicester dig. This was a significant increase over previous years and represented a net increase in members of 84 which meant that the Society’s position had changed from decline to growth. A number of new members had included donations in their payments and Wendy recorded her thanks for these. Wendy subsequently reported on moves to improve the Society’s public relations (PR) profile. A new member owned his own PR company and had offered to work, without charge, with the EC to produce a PR strategy and programme. The object was to enhance the Society’s standing and profile and the key point was to encourage a balanced discussion about Richard III’s life and times. In presenting this news, Wendy paid tribute to the significant work undertaken by Richard Van Allen, the Society’s Public and Customer Relations Officer who had done sterling work when the news of the finds broke. The new appointment in no way detracted from this work – rather it offered support and additional assistance. It was hoped that we could capitalise on recent events and ensure that we were able to react swiftly at future critical points, such as the announcement of the results of the DNA testing. The Society would also be taking out an advertorial item in both the BBC History Magazine and History Today.
Lynda Pidgeon reported that all places for the Triennial Study Weekend in York in April 2013 were now booked. She mentioned a new exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum of 20 medieval objects, 5 including the Middleham Jewel and the Stillingfleet Boar. The exhibition was scheduled to open in February and a special viewing for the Society had been arranged for the Saturday of the Triennial Weekend (13 April) from 5 to 6.30 pm. Places were limited and registration for the weekend did not guarantee access. A booking form would be included in the December Bulletin. The Yorkshire Museum was keen for the Society to play a part in the exhibition and was inviting questions from members that could be included in the display. These should be sent to Lynda in the first instance.
Marian Mitchell gave details of the visits planned for the coming year, which included day trips to Bodiam Castle, Bucklers Hard and a half-day visit to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The long weekend trip would be based in Newcastle and would include a visit to the site of Flodden, which would be marking the 500th anniversary of the battle. Marian concluded by confirming that, despite the recent very poor weather, the Sunday visit to Middleham and Jervaulx would still go ahead as planned.
Treasurer’s Report/Adoption of Accounts for Financial Year ending 31-03-12 The accounts had been printed in the Annual Report. Paul Foss commented that Society funds continued to be spent prudently, which meant that funds were available when needed. There being no questions, adoption of the accounts was proposed by Heather Falvey, seconded by Diana Powell and approved unanimously.
Appointment of a Qualified Independent Examiner Paul Foss recommended the continued appointment of Anne Summerell to examine the accounts and no objections were raised.
Reports and messages from branches A number of messages had been received from overseas branches. These included greetings and reports from the US, Canadian, Adelaide and New Zealand branches. These messages are available on the website. Hazel Hajdu from the Victoria Branch in Australia gave a brief presentation in which she offered warmest greetings from her branch to the Society. She added that her members were all very excited about the recent finds in Leicester and looking forward to more positive news about them. This had been a relatively quiet year but 2013 would see the next Australasian Convention in Sydney and she extended an invitation to all to attend.
Resolutions and motions No resolutions or motions were received.
Report on the Leicester Dig Philippa Langley (PL) gave a short presentation setting out some of the history of the Leicester Dig and the work she had undertaken to encourage and persuade the archaeologists from Leicester University to take part. She described in particular the major problems encountered when one of her sponsors withdrew funding of £10,000 with only weeks to go to the proposed start of the Dig. She thought that this might cause the project to collapse but was persuaded to approach ‘Richard’s Army’, i.e. the membership, and was astonished and delighted at the swift and positive response, such that the project was back on target in a very short time. She gave her thanks to all who had made this possible and paid a special tribute to Phil Stone for the huge support she had received throughout the project – ‘he made it possible’. PL went on to say that she hoped that this project would show the Society in a new light – not as ‘fans’ or ‘lovers’ of Richard III but as an organisation dedicated to serious research. She then paid tribute to the work done by John Ashdown-Hill in researching the descendants of Richard’s sister, Anne, duchess of Exeter, which made possible the DNA testing currently being undertaken. She had been asked many times how she would be able to prove that any human remains 6 were those of Richard and she now had not only DNA but also evidence of scoliosis and significant battle wounds. She went on to say that scoliosis was not a ‘hunch back’ and was often not visible as a deformity. Finally she talked about the support she had received from Richard Buckley, the archaeologist from Leicester University, who, although sceptical at first, had supported her all the way through and whose planning and foresight had been key in placing the trenches in the best places. There followed a question and answer session during which the following specific points were made: • The documentary on Channel 4 was scheduled for transmission in December and would hopefully include facial reconstruction from the skull which might tell us how Richard actually looked. • Scoliosis would not, of itself, preclude someone from leading a normal life and would not have prevented Richard from being the renowned warrior that we know he was. • Although DNA could degrade after so long in the earth, this was not the case here as the teeth in particular were in very good condition. An expert in ancient DNA was helping with the testing. • If the DNA did not match, there were other factors (PL could not give details for contractual reasons) that could be used to identify the remains. • There was currently no chance of Westminster Abbey allowing testing of other royal burials. • A detailed account, probably a book, would be published.
Robert Hamblin Award The Chairman explained that this award was instituted in memory of the former Society Chairman, Robert Hamblin, as a means of recognising work done by members of the Society that is of particular merit and ‘beyond the call of duty’. Consequently, it is not open to members of the Executive nor to Vice Presidents or the President. He then gave details of the award for 2012. This, together with an Honorary Life Membership of the Society, was to be awarded to Philippa Langley in recognition of her work with the Scottish Branch and, of course, her vision and indefatigable work on the Leicester Project which had resulted in the momentous finds a few short weeks ago. Philippa thanked the Society and said that the award was unexpected but very treasured. She commented that she had received support from many friends and relatives and named specifically, David and Wendy Johnson, who had been with her from Day 1 and kept her going through the difficult times. Philippa Langley accepting the Robert Hamblin award 7 Election of President The re-election of Peter Hammond as President of the Society was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by Joan Cooksley and carried unanimously.
Election of Vice-Presidents The Chairman, on behalf of the Executive Committee, proposed John Audsley, Kitty Bristow, Carolyn Hammond, Moira Habberjam and Rob Smith. The nomination was seconded by Cris Reay Connor and carried unanimously. Peter Hammond then thanked the meeting on behalf of the Vice Presidents and himself. He added that it was a great time to be President of the Society and to know that he was a part of such an incredible organisation.
Election of Executive Committee for 2012/2013 Nominations had been received for Lesley Boatwright, Howard Choppin, Paul Foss, Marian Mitchell, Wendy Moorhen, Lynda Pidgeon, Phil Stone, Anne Sutton, Richard Van Allen, David Wells, Susan Wells, Geoff Wheeler. He then pointed out that the nominations would result in an EC of 12 persons. The Constitution permitted up to 14 members. This meant that it would not be necessary to hold individual elections and he asked the meeting to consider the nominations as a whole. This was carried unanimously. Phil Stone then thanked the meeting on behalf of all nominees.
Important dates for 2013 The annual Bosworth commemoration would take place on Sunday 18 August 2013, although the Society would have a presence at the Battlefield event throughout the weekend. The carol service at Fotheringhay would take place on Saturday 14 December 2013.
Date of AGM 2013 The AGM 2013 and Members’ Day will take place on Saturday 5 October in the University of London. The speaker will be Chris Skidmore MP, who is publishing a book about Bosworth.
Open forum and questions A formal question was posted by Richander Birkinshaw, who asked ‘What is the Committee’s assessment of the impact of the Greyfriars Dig and the subsequent media coverage on the Society? Can it all be seen as positive?’ The Chairman responded that this was a resounding ‘yes’ – pointing to the positive reports in the press and TV and, in particular, to the significant increase in membership numbers. Marjorie Hodgkinson from the Yorkshire Branch asked if consideration could be given to a two- tier membership with a lower subscription to those who chose not to receive The Ricardian. The Chairman replied that this had been discussed in the past by the EC but rejected. He added that The Ricardian was the Society’s premier journal and had established our name and reputation in the worldwide history community. Whilst the Branches could do as they wish with internal matters, he maintained that membership of the Society must remain ‘all or nothing’. Rosemary Waxman asked if consideration could be given to publishing The Ricardian online. The Chairman referred to the questionnaire in the September Bulletin asking for the membership’s views on an online version of the Bulletin. This would enable the EC to gauge the views of members and further discussions would take place when the results were known. Generally he felt that the time was not right to make such a change. Elisabeth Sjöberg asked if consideration could be given to inviting the author Ian Mortimer as a future speaker. The Chairman responded that he had already issued such an invitation but Mr Mortimer was not available until 2016 at the earliest. Colin Marsh asked about distribution of The Ricardian beyond the membership and the Chairman confirmed that a number of academic establishments also took out subscriptions for copies. 8 Any Other Business Peter Hammond addressed the meeting to point out that 2012 marked the tenth anniversary of Phil Stone’s appointment as Chairman. During this time the Society had faced a number of difficult matters and Phil had dealt with these with skill and professionalism. His personal commitment and willingness to talk to branches and other groups across the country was very evident as was his support to the EC and other Society officers. In summary he was a consensual and approachable leader. Peter then presented Phil with an illuminated address to mark the occasion on behalf of himself and the EC. Phil thanked Peter and the EC for their comments and for their support over the years. Pauline Harrison Pogmore read out a statement on behalf of the Yorkshire Branch expressing the view that the remains of Richard III should be interred in York Minster. She commented that records indicated that this was where he would have wished to be buried and he had started plans for a chantry chapel for his tomb. She added that he was held in great respect by the people of York, as witnessed by the comments in the City records after his death. She ended by saying that the branch felt that Richard’s wishes should be honoured and he should ‘come home’. The Chairman thanked her for these comments but stated that many differing opinions had been expressed by members and others following the discovery. The Society would not be taking an opinion at this time as the final decision would lie with the Royal Household.
RCRF raffle Elizabeth Nokes supervised the drawing of the winning tickets and selection of prizes for the raffle.
Close of AGM The Chairman closed the meeting at 4.30 pm. He extended thanks to a number of people, mentioning in particular the Yorkshire Branch for their work on reception, the stall-holders for their efforts, Elizabeth Nokes for organising the raffle and the Joint Secretaries for arranging the day. He ended by thanking everyone for attending.
The 34th Major Craft Sale at the AGM and Members’ Day The 34th Major Craft Sale, which is in aid of the Ricardian Churches Restoration Fund, made a total of £201.50. Grateful thanks are offered, as always, to all who contributed to the success of the sale, either by serving on the stalls or contributing items for sale or raffle. We know who the former were, but suspect we do not know the names of all the latter, as people came up to the stalls with items for sale throughout the day: so, if your name is not listed below, and you did contribute, very grateful thanks, nevertheless. Known contributors and helpers, whom we thank: Kitty Bristow, Elizabeth Clarridge, Mr Downham, Jean Hester, Philippa Langley, Derek McCulloch, Elaine Robinson, Elisabeth Sjöberg, Beth Stone, Geoffrey Wheeler. Elizabeth Nokes and Phil Stone, RCRF Trustees
IN MARCH’S BULLETIN . . . • Up-to-date coverage of the Leicester’s Greyfriars dig and its aftermath • A specially commissioned psychological portrait of Richard III by Leicester University • Obituary and tributes for Lesley Boatwright • A fresh look at the role of Anne Neville, as portrayed by Claire Bloom in Olivier’s film of Shakespeare’s Richard III • Aymer Vallance – An Early Ricardian
Plus our usual news and reviews
9 Living in exciting times The Chairman’s Address to the Society’s AGM 2012
wo years ago, we gathered in Leicester and I commented that it was poignant that we met so Tclose to where Richard died fighting for his crown and even closer to where his remains were perhaps still buried, concluding that ‘we may never know for sure if those bones are still there . . .’ Well! What a difference two years can make! Who, at that time, could have imagined that at our AGM in 2012, we would be so tantalisingly close to identifying the remains of King Richard? Of course, during those two years and long before, one person had the imagination, the deter- mination and the drive to bring this about – Philippa Langley. I have told her repeatedly in private how utterly pleased I am with all she has done. Now, on behalf of all who care about King Richard and his reputation, I thank her publicly for all she has achieved in bringing about what we all hope will be the historic identification of the remains of Richard III. The worldwide impact of the Greyfriars dig has been quite phenomenal. Media outlets through- out the world have taken up the story and King Richard has been headline news. It has certainly kept officers of the Society busy with calls for comments and interviews. Best of all, perhaps, there has been a surge in membership. When the remains are identified as Richard’s, it will make an incredible change in many respects to us all. It will raise the profile of Richard III and the Society even higher. Of course, we now have the inevitable debate over where his remains should be interred and what sort of ceremony should accompany that interment. For now, the Society is not expressing an opinion. Truly, we have become subject to that well known Chinese curse - ‘may you live in exciting times’. I am grateful for the efforts of all the officers and it is always my pleasure at the AGM to take the opportunity of thanking everyone involved with the work of the Society – my sincere thanks to you all. Without all your freely given contributions, especially your time, we simply wouldn’t be able to function. Of importance in keeping the Society together are our publications, for which I thank Anne Sutton and Lesley Boatwright and her team, and our website, which crucially remains by far the main source of new members. It needs to be updated constantly, and I thank the two key people involved in doing this - my wife, Beth, and Jane Weaver, content manager and webmaster respectively. I wish to thank Beth publicly for her efforts as the great story broke. When you all began to get the wonderful news from the dig, I was in central Anatolia, so many texts and phone calls went back and forth as we prepared statements, etc. We’ve had a very eventful year since we last met in London, with the promise of a particularly fruitful year ahead of us. In April, many of us attended the highly successful Triennial Conference in Loughborough. The subject was the Battle of Bosworth and a first-rate venue and an excellent range of speakers made for an especially good weekend. My thanks to all those involved in its organisation. Within a few years, we have located the probable site of Richard’s last stand and his actual resting place. They say good things come in threes. What is the next one to be, I wonder? A signed confession from Henry Tudor, perhaps! We continue to maintain our presence at Tewkesbury and Bosworth, two events which are amongst the biggest of their kind in the UK. Whether Beth and I will be at Bosworth again is another matter. This year, we arrived in pouring rain on Friday afternoon and Dave and I got soaked to the skin clearing cow pats from the site for our stall – yes, even the Chairman can shovel shit when he has to! In July, we had a strong presence at the prestigious Medieval Congress in Leeds. My congratulations to all those involved. Needless to say, we will be back there next year. Throughout the year, the Research Committee has continued its pursuit of proactive research with the developing Ricardian Chronicle project and the completion of work on the York Wills – proof, 10 yet again of our determination to expand and enhance the Society’s commitment to original historical research. The presumptive finding of King Richard’s remains presents new challenges. A higher profile will mean more and greater scrutiny and more exposure to those who might not be so well disposed to Richard III or the Society. Nevertheless, the Executive Committee will work tirelessly to meet both the opportunities and the challenges that now face us. In all likelihood, 2013 will be a year of particular significance for the Society, its members and all who have a love of Richard III. It is likely that the full results of the examination of the Greyfriars remains will come too late for December’s Bulletin but they will be put on our website and, no doubt, they will be published by the media. We have even discussed the possibility of a special mailing to all members giving details of the findings and the conclusions reached. We are also hoping to have a conference, along the lines of that held in Leicester two years ago for the Bosworth findings. If this comes off, we will make sure that all members are aware of it by one means or another. This has been my tenth year as your Chairman. (My thanks to Philippa for such a wonderful anniversary present!) In 2002, when Robert Hamblin retired, I was somewhat taken aback, and not a little flattered, when he asked me to consider applying for the post. It seemed like such a big responsibility. Fortunately, the other members of the Committee said they would support me and so, here I am. Some years ago, when the Devon and Cornwall Branch had a celebratory dinner, I made the comment that the Chairman’s real job was to be the one who sticks his head above the parapet just that bit further than anyone else and in recent years I’ve had no reason to revise that opinion. I’ve had great backing from my colleagues on the Executive Committee but the time to worry, I suppose, is when they stop backing me up and start hoisting me up, so that my head is pushed even higher into the line of fire! I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve given talks to branches and groups. It’s always a pleasure to meet with the members and I’ve always been made very welcome wherever I go. I’ve also given up trying to count how many talks I’ve given to outside bodies, trying to get the message across that Shakespeare wrote a great play but, as Ira Gershwin later wrote, ‘It ain’t necessarily so!’ I think it goes without saying that a chairman is probably only as good as his committee. Sue, Dave, Wendy, Anne, Lynda, Paul, Lesley, Marian, Richard, Howard, Geoff, Stephen, John – friends, I thank you all for your support and help through the great times and the not so good. Most assuredly, I couldn’t have done it without you. I consider it to be a very great honour to be Chairman of this prestigious society and I thank every one of you, the members, for allowing me to hold that honour. Thank you. We have all been inspired by the Leicester dig and the prospect that now lies before us. There will be much new knowledge to be gained from the excavation. If the remains truly are those of King Richard, the most important outcome will be that, after 527 years, a historical injustice can be corrected. The treatment of Richard’s body after the battle of Bosworth, slung naked over a horse and wearing a noose around his neck like a common criminal, was, by any measure, an absolute disgrace, however in keeping with the times it might have been, and the obscurity of his burial was little better. All I ask now is that whichever church is given the honour of holding the mortal remains of Richard III, his reinterment will be performed with the solemnity, dignity and appropriate ceremony that is due to an anointed King of England. The treatment of his reputation has fared little better. The battle to right that particular historical wrong continues and we in the Richard III Society are even more determined than ever to continue the fight. To quote a different Shakespeare play, ‘The evil that men do lives after them while the good is oft interred with their bones.’ Not in this case. While the Richard III Society exists, it most certainly won’t be. Richard, I promise that we will keep your memory alive. As Josephine Tey reminds us, ‘Truth is the Daughter of Time’. Thank you.
Another AGM perspective And so the dust has settled on yet another Society Annual General Meeting, this year held at the 11 medieval Merchant Adventurers’ Hall in the splendid city of York. If anyone ever wondered what it’s like to organise this event, then read on. If we thought that the 2012 Battle of Bosworth re-enactment was hampered by the weather, to quote Al Jolson: ‘you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!’ York had encountered its heaviest rainfall for 30 years, resulting in the media giving the appearance that the whole city centre was submerged. In fact, although the effects were serious, it was business as usual for most of the city and the worst affected areas were in the immediate vicinity of the River Ouse. The King’s Arms public house, which boasts a portrait of King Richard III on its frontage, was in at the deep end, with waters up to its ground floor windows. Interestingly, the Daily Telegraph of July 2011 has a nicely understated quote: ‘Head to the King’s Arms in the North East for a friendly drink by the River Ouse in York, although it is liable to flood when the river rises’. Our venue, although low-lying and adjacent to York’s other major waterway the Foss, was unaffected and your Secretaries breathed a joint sigh of relief on the Tuesday prior to the weekend. The River Foss has had some major flood alleviation measures which ensure that the impact of heavy rain is minimised in those parts of the city. Because so many of our members had been concerned about conditions in the city and the possible difficulties in travelling to York, on their arrival in the city, your Secretaries circulated all of those who had supplied an email address when booking their place at the AGM advising of the conditions and assuring that their journey had been trouble-free. The same could not have been said for George Goodwin who, to follow the Members’ Day morning, was giving the Isolde Wigram Memorial Lecture on ‘Britain’s Bloodiest Battle – Towton 1461’, the subject of his recent book Fatal Colours. His journey was hampered by his choice of city park-and-ride facilities being under water, causing a hasty detour and then a slow congested bus trip into the city centre. We all know how bad city traffic can be on any Saturday morning, let alone one when some of York’s feeder routes were closed because of the floods. Dave Wells and George kept in touch by mobile phone and he arrived at around 12.20 pm. A decision had already been taken to rearrange the programme for the late morning/early afternoon and a midday lunch break had been declared. George’s talk was very well received and he signed copies of his book, which resulted in further Society sales. Immediately prior to the book signing, Phil Stone greets George Goodwin Dave was carrying a box of books down the hall and tripped over rather spectacularly, with, fortunately, no lasting effect. Sue has vowed never to book the medieval tumbler again. Relief was not what the Secretaries had expressed three weeks before the AGM, however. You may all recall that there was an intention to hold an informal post-AGM gathering in the Ask restaurant in York, which uses the former Assembly Rooms. By the end of August over 40 people had expressed their interest in attending. On Sunday evening they received a telephone call from the restaurant manager advising that the booking could not be fulfilled as the restaurant was closing for refurbishment. Further, and despite our guests coming from locations worldwide, he offered no advice or assistance in setting up in an alternative York location. Oh, the joys of the internet and email. A very hastily composed but nevertheless strongly worded complaint was sent to the company’s head office. By 9 am. on the following day, the Secretaries 12 received a call from the Regional Manager offering his assistance in finding an acceptable alternative with one of their competitors in York and agreeing to deal with the person who had been singularly unhelpful on the previous evening. Hence, Zizzi’s came to the rescue, via the Ask Regional Manager, and were able to accommodate the Society’s party for Saturday evening. It seemed that this turned out to be a very enjoyable evening for all. Unknown to most of us, the Zizzi’s building was located on the site of the former Augustinian Friary which had Ricardian connections – Cris Reay Connor has provided a short article on this: see below. The building itself was converted from part of a former church and had rather strange first-floor acoustics where people’s conversations reverberated around the walls, enabling some of us to hear clearly what was being spoken several feet and half a dozen tables away. Good job that the gossip was not too malicious. Our thanks to everyone who made the day so successful, including members of the Yorkshire Branch for running the reception desk so efficiently, Carolyn West and Rosanna Salbashian for their sterling work on the refreshments table, Howard Choppin and Jane Trump for their support on the Society’s sales table, all of the stall holders, the Trouvere strolling players and their medieval musical entertainment during the morning and over lunch, the Chairman and his greeting of members on their arrival in the undercroft, George Goodwin’s talk, Philippa Langley with her Leicester Dig revelations and, lastly, to all our members who made the journey – long or short – to York. Without you, it would not have been worth the effort. Last year, we had David Starkey’s lecture, this year we had the Leicester discoveries. Now, all we have to do is think of something even better for London 2013. Answers on a postcard to . . . No, perhaps not, we’ll have enough to organise. Sue and Dave Wells
The Augustinian Friary, Lendal, York The post-AGM meal, which had to be rearranged at very short notice, was a lucky last-minute switch for Ricardians. The new restaurant was ‘Zizzi’ in Lendal, which is on the site of the Augustinian Friary, where Richard, duke of Gloucester, would stay when in York. The friary wall extended from the water lane down to the Ouse (Lendal Bridge was not there, just a ferry across the river) along Lendal to the boundary of the Common Lane running down beside the Guildhall. Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant occupies the cellars, which may contain fragments of the original cellars of the friars. ‘In 1382 the mayor and citizens granted them [the friars] a narrow plot by Old Conyng Street near their church, extending from a corner of their old wall to their old gate; this plot they were empowered to inclose and build upon, on condition that they repair the pavement there at their own expense and without causing any hindrance to the course of the river.’1 The friars had moved to the city by 1272, and the church was their first building – interesting, as some members were seated upstairs in what they realised was a relic of some sort of church. The most distinguished persons whose burials are recorded in this church are Sir Humphrey Neville and his brother Charles, who were executed at York in 1469.2 In 1484, King Richard appointed Friar William Bewick ‘surveyor of the King’s works and buildings, within his place of the Austin Friars of York’.3 At the Dissolution in 1538, the city council attempted to persuade the authorities that the building should be used as the headquarters for the Council of The North, but necessary repairs would have been extensive, not least the troublesome drains and sewers. I am glad to report that such problems have been attended to in seemly fashion for Zizzi and Jamie Oliver and those who eat there. Cris Reay Connor
1. VCH, A History of the County of York, III (online version), pp. 283–96, text at footnote 18. 2. Others are Lady Margaret Moresby, Sir Thos. Baldwin, kt., Margaret Lady de Maule, Sir Thos. House, kt., John Merefield, Thos. Gosse; ibid. footnote 29. 3. ibid., text at footnote 34.
13 Society news and notices
Membership matters Renewals Thanks to all members who have renewed so promptly. A reminder to those who have not renewed will be sent out early in the new year but please note that this is the last Bulletin that will be mailed out until payment is received.
Donations A big thank you also to the members who have made donations to the Society along with their subscription renewals. In the current financial climate this is very generous. Several members specifically mentioned the Greyfriars dig and asked that their donation be added to the Society’s project fund.
Overseas members and postage supplement I tried to contact as many of you as possible by email in September to let you know that the overseas postage supplement had been reduced from £9 to £6. This had come about through the excellent new arrangements made with our mailing house by Stephen York but the decision was made too late to be included in the September Bulletin renewal form and in ‘Membership matters’. If you have renewed at the old rate of £9 I have held your account in credit for £3, which can be used to offset your renewal next year. The Society does hope to be able to maintain this rate but inevitably we will have to review the cost if Royal Mail increase their tariffs next April. Wendy Moorhen
The York wills are coming English wills proved in the Prerogative Court of York, 1476–1499, edited by Lesley Boatwright, Heather Falvey and Peter Hammond
When the last of the 379 wills in the Logge register of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury had been transcribed, several of our transcribers asked ‘What’s next?’ The equivalent volume from the Prerogative Court of York was chosen as our next project. This is Volume V in the series of probate registers now held in the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York. The choice has proved challenging. The York register is physically much larger than Logge – it contains 1399 wills and 402 records of grants of administration; furthermore, the vast majority of the wills are in Latin and so likely to prove too difficult for most of our volunteers. In order to make the project manageable, we decided to transcribe only the testaments and wills that are in English and also the handful of Latin testaments with English wills – documents relating to 88 testators in all. Many of these testators were inhabitants of York or Kingston-upon-Hull; 18 of them were women; some were former mayors or other civic officers. There is a wide range of occupations represented, including four clergymen, five merchants, a mercer, a grocer, an apothecary, two drapers, a weaver and two bell-founders. As might be expected, the wills reveal much about piety and religious practices in late medieval England, such as the existence of numerous parish gilds and various side altars in churches; but there are also details of jewellery, clothing, animals and lands. Perhaps my favourite bequest is that of John Carre, former mayor of York (will no. 31), who left to the Abbot of St Mary’s, York, a pair of silver and gilt spectacles. For a variety of reasons the transcripts languished uncollated for several years and it was Lesley Boatwright who set about gathering them together and having them typed up. She then checked the final versions and formatted them. In April 2012 we began planning the final stages of the book and agreed to launch it at the 2013 Research Weekend in York. Peter Hammond and I are writing the Introduction and I am finalising the text and producing indexes of people, places and subjects for the 14 whole volume. Sadly Lesley did not live to see her hard work come to fruition. It will be dedicated to her. She will be watching over the post-publication drinks. Heather Falvey
Annual report 2011/2012 correction Due to an oversight we omitted Wendy Moorhen’s name from the list of those elected at the 2011 AGM to serve on the Executive Committee for the year 2011/2012. The correct list should have been: Lesley Boatwright, Howard Choppin, Paul Foss, Marian Mitchell, Wendy Moorhen, Lynda Pidgeon, Phil Stone, Anne Sutton, Richard Van Allen, David Wells, Susan Wells, and Geoffrey Wheeler. We apologise for this omission.
Do we have your current email address? The Society normally communicates with members through the Bulletin and through notices on the website. However, it would be useful to be able to communicate directly with members through email, if we have any breaking news, something which is particularly relevant during these exciting times. Statistics show that around 90% of new members supply an email address when they complete their application forms and in recent years more of our established members are contacting the Society electronically. Although members are punctilious in advising of any change of postal address, this isn’t true of changes to email addresses and in many cases we have never been advised of an email address at all. We would now like to compile an email database. Initially this can be populated from the membership database, but currently there are only addresses for about 30% of members and many are out of date. We would stress that the database will not be made available outside the Society and that we do not intend to bombard members with trivia. There will also be a facility on emails received from the Society for you to ‘unsubscribe’. All you need to do to register is send an email to [email protected] and give your name, membership number (if known) email address and postcode. We would urge all members with an email address to respond even though: • you may be in contact with various officers by email already • you have recently joined and supplied an email address, as in some instances handwriting has been difficult to read. By responding we can verify the address we currently hold and add those we were not aware of before. Finally, we do not wish to disenfranchise those members who do not have email addresses and where it is necessary to communicate quickly and directly a letter will be sent through the normal postal system. Helen Challinor and Wendy Moorhen
The London and Home Counties Branch: Programme, Spring, 2013 February – Saturday 9 February 2013, at 2.30 pm in the Court Room, Senate House, Malet Street, London: ‘The Search for Richard III’ – Dr John Ashdown-Hill On 25 August 2012, on the anniversary of Richard III’s burial, excavation started at the Greyfriars site in Leicester in a quest to locate the king’s remains. John Ashdown-Hill had then been directly involved in the planning of this project for two years. Moreover, the project relied heavily on several strands of John’s research. In ‘The Search for Richard III’, John will trace these, and all the various strands (starting with the events of August 1485) which all came together in August 2012, to reveal details of Leicester’s Franciscan Priory – together with a body which circumstantial evidence already strongly suggests is likely to be that of Richard III. 15 NB As the Bulletin goes to press in mid-October 2012, no more information is available, but the situation will be different by the time the lecture is given. Non-branch members of the Society are welcome to attend this lecture – please contact the branch secretary, details below, if you would like to do so.
March – Saturday 16 March 2013 at 2.30 pm in the Bedford Room, Senate House, Malet Street, London: ‘The Explosive History of Gunpowder – Part Two’ – Rosemary Waxman From Ancient China to Crécy, to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, this will be a brief history of the invention, development and use of ‘The Devil’s Distillate’. Rosemary is a member of the London and Home Counties Branch Committee and has spoken to the Branch before, on communication before and after Caxton, ‘Here be Dragons’, and the Earl of Oxford’s estate. She gave Part One of the talk in March 2012. The London and Home Counties Branch Annual General Meeting, 2013, will precede the March 2013 lecture. Nominations for the Committee or motions for the agenda should be sent to the Branch Secretary by the beginning of March 2013. Branch Secretary: Elizabeth Nokes, [email protected] /01689 823569
Branches and Groups Liaison Officer news Goodbye from Angela and Pauline . . . Pauline Harrison Pogmore and Angela Moreton the retiring joint Branch and Group Liaison Officers (BGLO) sent us these reflections on their job-sharing the role. We were asked to take on the task of Branches and Groups Liaison by Phil Stone at the end of July 2010, in the impressive surroundings of Fotheringhay church, on the occasion of the commemoration of the reburial of Richard, Duke of York, in 1476. It has been an interesting and rewarding experience for us both, and we have particularly enjoyed the opportunities for getting to know how the ‘grass roots’ of our Society – the members at ordinary local level, at home and overseas – operate. The information which B & G Secretaries (most willingly and in a spirit of friendship, but a few others needing a bit of encouragement!) have provided is invaluable in letting the Society know the activities and particular interests of its members. We have, however, been disappointed that there hasn’t been much interest in the email ‘Ricardian Round-up’, and maybe the idea itself is no longer a priority. We would gladly have circulated interesting shorter items from various B & G publications world-wide, but much of the material we received was simply too long to make up a digest, while the ‘Calendar’ part of the original ‘Round- up’ is now covered by all the B & G websites. Our thanks to those secretaries and editors who have regularly sent us their magazines and newsletters: we have greatly enjoyed looking at the excellent articles produced by our members worldwide. It is, of course, a constitutional requirement of the Society that such publications be sent to B & G Liaison, and they are eventually held by the Papers Librarian so that members can access them at any time. We have decided to step down from the post now because the duties of the B & G Liaison Officer have recently been extended to include amongst other things financial advice, website work, and the organisation of representatives’ meetings, which we unfortunately have neither the technical expertise nor (due to increased family commitments) the time to carry out to the standard we should prefer. We have enjoyed our time in post, and wish our successor Jacqui Emerson well for the future. Grateful thanks to Pauline and Angela for their hard work and dedication over the past two years.
. . . and welcome to Jacqui. Jacqui Emerson was appointed to the post of Branches and Groups Liaison Officer during the summer and took up her new duties at the end of September. She agreed to be interviewed for the Bulletin, so we set her some questions:
Can you tell us about your background and interests? I was born in Windsor, lived in London 16 and the Home Counties until I left home to go to the University of Newcastle upon Tyne where I met my husband Hugh. We have lived in Cheshire for the last 44 years and have one son, appropriately named – Richard! I have lived with animals all my married life and have owned, bred and shown Bearded Collies for the last 25 years. I’ve always been keen that my dogs could do the work that they were bred for so I’ve had a long time interest in hobby (sheep) herding. For the past seven years I have been the Secretary of our local Canine Society, which involves amongst other things putting on an Open show once a year. However, much as I love my Beardies, my first love must be my moggies! Even though I’ve had dogs for such a long time, I’m still known locally as the ‘cat lady’, an epithet I’m not totally sure about! I have had eight cats over the past 44 years, including a young female who a few weeks after I’d rescued her presented me with two boy kittens – needless to say they stayed. My latest feline companion is a rather lovely aristocratic torte tabby Maine Coon called Sophie. I have a fondness for all things Arthurian. I’ve run an online Arthurian reading group for eight years and during this time we have read over 60 books of Arthurian fiction including those written by members of the group; there aren’t many Arthurian books left! Another of my other long time interests is flower arranging. I took a formal qualification in floral art 10 years ago but since I have stopped exhibiting I’m afraid I tend to buy flowers from the supermarket, dump them, ‘artistically’ of course, in a container and leave it at that! How did you become interested in Richard III and his times and how did you find out about the Society? I grew up with Richard. From a baby my parents and I used to stay with my paternal grandparents often visiting nearby Gainsborough Old Hall, which was proud even in the early 50s of the fact that ‘Richard III stayed here!’ When Olivier’s film came out I was so enchanted by Stanley Baker with his lovely Welsh accent, I became a Tudor fan – ah, the dark days! However that was to change when one day in my late teens, quite unexpectedly I had what I laughingly call a ‘tap on the shoulder’, and I remember saying to my mother that ‘he didn’t do it you know’. I then had to explain to her that it had suddenly hit me like a bolt from the blue that Richard was wrongly accused of many of his supposed crimes, although at that time I wasn’t at all sure what they were. So began my 50 years of interest in the life and times of Richard III. What has been your involvement with the Richard III Society so far? I’ve been a member of the Society for 27 years. It took me a long time in those pre-internet days to find out how to join, finally making it for the Quincentenary of the battle of Bosworth. I became Research Event Administrator in 2004, firstly working with Wendy Moorhen when she was Research Officer and then latterly with Lynda Pidgeon when she took over the role. It’s a job I’ve really enjoyed. I was pleased when a couple of years ago the North Mercia Group was started in our area, as up till then I had been bereft of Ricardian companionship. I edit the group’s monthly newsletter, the Mercian Messenger, and administer our website. What made you apply for the post of Branches and Groups Liaison Officer? Applying for the post of BGLO was a natural extension for me of my work for our group. I send out information about local events in the newsletter and keep members involved. I keep in touch with everyone, trying to keep the wheels of communication well oiled. I enjoy admin, planning, organising, but I especially like working with people, chatting, keeping in touch. The role of BGLO combines both admin and people – what more could I ask for – I had to apply! Can you tell us a bit about your plans and aspirations for the role? I think the role of BGLO will evolve in its own way over time, although I do have ideas on which direction I’d like it to take: but how successful this will be depends on input from the B & G secretaries themselves. I’m more than willing to listen to their suggestions for moving forward. The BGLO provides a channel for information both from the Executive Committee to the B & G secretaries and vice versa, helping to form a more cohesive body of Ricardian interest than isolated pockets, which might be seen to exist at present. Many of the B & G secretaries know each other well so we are probably more than halfway there already. 17 Our overseas branches and groups obviously can’t directly benefit from all the opportunities available to those in the UK, but they are nevertheless quite inventive in the range of activities they undertake. Have you any ideas about involving them more, and indeed learning from their experiences? The Overseas Branches have possibly felt neglected over the years, simply by the fact that they are so far from the centre of activities in the UK. I’m full of admiration for their persistence. So I shall be working with their secretaries to find new ways to involve them more fully. Anything else you would like to mention? Several secretaries have mentioned how useful the B & G meetings were; I shall continue with these. I’m hoping to send out a regular newsletter – the Ricardian Recorder – and will expand the ‘Ricardian Round-up’, which was ably established by one of my predecessors. The Round-up may well become a vehicle for the overseas branches to showcase their activities. In this age of the internet maybe an online forum would be of interest to both UK and overseas secretaries to discuss matters relevant to them? This is another avenue I’d like to explore. Finally, perhaps one of the more important functions of the BGLO as I see it is to encourage and support the efforts of the B & Gs to make their localities more aware of their existence by leaflets and general publicity. With the increased public interest in our warrior king there has been an amazing upsurge in memberships, many of whom I’m sure would like to join in the camaraderie provided by a local B & G and so become part of our great Ricardian family.
Thank you Jacqui and good luck in your new post.
Are YOU a Plantagenet Descendant? As you will already be aware, all-female-line Plantagenet descendants helped me in 2005 with the testing of potential remains of Margaret of York, duchess of Burgundy. They are helping again at this very moment with the testing of the putative remains of Richard III. All-male-line Plantagenet descendants may also be called in to help in the testing of the possible Richard III bones. For my part I am aware that there are a number of members of the worldwide Richard III Society who are descended from the Plantagenets, the Nevilles, or other significant fifteenth-century families. However, I may not be aware of all of such descendants. While in the present state of our knowledge mixed (male/female) line descendants cannot be used for DNA testing, this situation could change. At all events, I feel it would be very useful if I could maintain a list of living descendants of the Plantagenets, the Nevilles, and other significant fifteenth-century families. If you fit into one of these categories and are willing to give me your name, contact details, and line of descent, I should be delighted to hear from you – even if you think that I may already know about you! John Ashdown-Hill, Genistae, 115 Long Road, Lawford CO11 2HR, tel. 01206 393572, email [email protected]
Breaking news: special Greyfriars Dig conference The Society is planning to hold a conference early in 2013, probably on the University of Leicester's city campus. We have invited members of the Greyfriars Dig, dubbed the ‘Tomb Team’, to talk about their contributions to the project and the latest developments. Several have already accepted, including Philippa Langley, Dr John Ashdown-Hill, Annette Carson, Dr Julian Boon and Professor Mark Lansdale. As soon as all booking details have been confirmed we will make them available to members and they will also be posted on our website. The conference will be open to the public as well as members and so early booking will be advisable to secure your place. Wendy Moorhen, Deputy Chair
18 Society news from North America
The Joint Canadian–American Branches Conference and Annual General Meeting Starting Friday afternoon, September 28, and running until midday on Sunday, Canadian and American Ricardians met and shared their passion for the life and times of Richard III. This was the second time the two branches had joined forces and we looked forward to a stimulating weekend. Friday started with Registration, old friends meeting again and new friends being made. A light dinner was provided so that we could all continue to mingle into the evening. The Canadian silent auction, US raffle and US and Canadian Sales tables were also up and running to the dismay of our wallets. Our Branch Chair, Tracy Bryce, read greetings from Phil Stone and of course we were always talking about ‘The Bones’, so we felt quite close to the members meeting in England the same weekend. The first talk on Saturday was a little out of our time period but of great interest to the attendees from both sides of the border. This is the 200th anniversary of the start of the War of 1812 and David Brunelle spoke passionately on a soldier’s life during the conflict. Dr Arlene Okerland, Professor Emerita and author of books on Elizabeth Wydeville and on Elizabeth of York, took us through the latter’s life and how it followed the medieval conceit of Fortune’s wheel. After a delicious lunch, Susan Bond discussed Shakespeare’s Richard III in modern theatre, exploring various productions and what they say about both the play and the audience. Dr Ariella Elema examined what we know about English swordsmanship between 1250 and 1500. David Brunelle at the beginning of the day had brought uniforms and a musket. We had hoped that Dr Elema would bring swords but it was not to be! By 3 pm we were ready to stretch our legs and make one last sweep through the raffle and silent auction before separating for the two Annual General Meetings. 6 o’clock saw us re-gathered in the hall of the hotel, waiting for the fanfare to call us into the banquet. Early music ensemble Hurly Burly played softly throughout dinner and once we had eaten our fill, we sat back to give them our undivided attention for a collection of pieces from Richard’s time. Winners from the raffle and auction were announced and once all were seated again, we were treated to a variety of games that made the rest of the evening pass quickly. Sunday morning we met for one last seminar. American Branch member Jonathan Hayes enter- tained us with an engaging look at poet François Villon before the closing ceremonies rang down the curtain on another successful AGM.
Hurly Burly performing during the US/Canadian Joint AGM Dinner
19 The new Chairman of the American Branch Jonathan Hayes has recently been elected Chairman of the US Branch of the Society. Some of you may well have met him when he attended our study day and dinner at York a few years ago. In an earlier period of his life Jonathan spent some 20 years as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, including a period fighting in Vietnam. In fact he did three tours of duty there and flew 356 combat missions, and in the process was awarded four Distinguished Flying Crosses and 21 Air Medals. Following this he spent time in Korea and Japan, with his final posting being to the UK. It was while over here that he became interested in English medieval history and ended up joining the Society. In fact Jonathan is quite an Anglophile, and although he lives in the US he regularly reads the Daily Telegraph online. Jonathan has recently written a book on his 20 years in the Air Force, called No Lilies or Violets – Reminiscences of a Fighter Pilot. For those members with an interest in military aviation, and I know that there are a few, this is a good read and currently available on Amazon. If the title sounds a little strange, ‘No Lilies or Violets’ is the US fighter pilots’ anthem, based (interestingly) on the classic British soldiers’ refrain dating back to World War I, ‘The Long and the Short and the Tall’. Richard Van Allen
American Branch contributes to online edition of Edward IV genealogy The US city of Philadelphia is home to many splendid rare book and manuscript libraries, and they hold in their collections an unusually strong concentration of medieval manuscripts. Among these for years has been the Free Library of Philadelphia’s magnificent genealogy of Edward IV, which has been reported on in earlier issues of the Ricardian Bulletin, and whose conservation was also supported by the American Branch. In the past few years, the University of Pennsylvania has acquired another remarkable Edward IV Roll, this one a stunning 37 feet long and containing two different histories on its front and back. With the assistance of a grant from the American Branch treasury and individual donors, this roll has now been completely transcribed and is available for online viewing and study by an international audience. Says Marie Turner, the doctoral candidate who carried out the work, ‘Over the past three years, it has been my task and my privilege to undertake the transcription of a fifteenth- century Latin genealogical chronicle of the kings of England known as University of Pennsylvania Ms Roll 1066. In addition to its value as an artefact of the Wars of the Roses, manuscripts like Ms 1066 may have some role to play in the development of medieval digital humanities: as we considered what form the roll’s online presence would take, we realized that the vertical orientation of a web page mimics the physical form of the object itself; in bringing together old and new technologies, we may come to the pleasant realization that they are not so very different after all.’ Curator of Manuscripts Nancy Shawcross adds, regarding the American Branch contribution: ‘A grant! A grant! My kingdom for a grant?’ Well, no, but certainly noteworthy and very much appreciated are the vision and support of the American Branch of the Richard III Society for making possible an innovative website for the transcription of Penn’s Ms Roll 1066. Historical artifacts can be scarce; examining them can be difficult; understanding them even harder, but the Society has opened a kingdom for all to explore.’ The Penn Roll project may be accessed at http://sceti.library.upenn.edu/msroll1066. The Free Library of Philadelphia manuscript may be accessed at http://bit.ly/T85Y0V. An illustration of one of the pages is shown on p. iii of the colour section between pp. 40 and 41of this Bulletin. Laura Blanchard 20 Future Society events
2013 Study Weekend and York Museum visit
Richard III: his friends and foes in the North The Elmbank Hotel, York, 12–14 April 2013 Quite a lot has happened since the notice went into the September Bulletin. The weekend booked up extremely quickly and by the time of the AGM on 29 September we had to announce that we already had a waiting list. Sadly therefore we are unable to take any more bookings. I can confirm that as well as Tony Pollard giving the keynote talk on Friday evening, we will have David Hipshon giving a talk on ‘Richard III and the Stanley–Harrington feud’. We also announced the launch of the York Wills at a special event in Barley Hall. While we still hope to launch the York Wills at the weekend, we will not be doing so at Barley Hall, as a more exciting opportunity has presented itself – see the item below. I am pleased to say that costs have not greatly increased since our last visit to the Elmbank in 2011 and the estimate I gave in September has not proved too far wrong. The costs are single £230, twin/double rooms £385 and non-resident £95. Remaining payments should be sent to Jacqui Emerson by 15 January 2013. Please note that it will not be possible to make any refunds for cancellations made after 15 January 2013 unless there is a waiting list. Nearer the time, non-residents will be contacted to confirm whether they would like to book any evening meals and advise cost.
York Museum special opening To those of you who have missed out on a place for the study weekend we can perhaps offer some consolation. On the same page as the notice for the study weekend in the September Bulletin was a piece about the Stillingfleet Boar. Phil Stone advised that the Society had given York Museum £2000 towards conservation of the badge and that the head curator, Andrew Morrison, was keen to establish links with the Society. To this end, Phil, Peter Hammond and I met Andrew before the AGM to discuss how we might do this. In February 2013 York Museum will be opening a new exhibition based around 20 medieval objects from their collection. This will include the Stillingfleet Boar and of course the Middleham Jewel. Thanks to technology it will be possible to have enlarged images of the designs which surround the jewel and these will form a background for the display. It was suggested that it would be nice if we could have together all the boar badges that are known. York has another boar badge which was found at Middleham and this will of course be included, but we hope that Andrew will be able to arrange to have the Bosworth Boar and the Chiddingstone Boar for the exhibition. Andrew has offered us a special visit to the exhibition to take place after the museum closes to the public. This will be from 5–6.30 pm on Saturday 13 April; some light refreshments will also be provided. It was agreed that up to 60 members could attend. If you want to come along and possibly have the chance to get up close to the boar badge then please complete the booking form inserted in this Bulletin. This will be on a first come first served basis; those attending the study weekend will also need to confirm their attendance as soon as possible, as your attendance will not be presumed. There is no charge for this event; however, we will be taking a collection to raise funds for the museum. One of the things that we hope they might do is to analyse the soil which was compacted within the Middleham Jewel. This has never been done, although the soil has been carefully preserved. This might help to shed further light on the symbolism behind the jewel. It is in this vein of enquiry and speculation that the museum has asked for our help. They want to know what questions visitors have when they encounter these objects, as well as any suggestions and ideas. For example, is the Middleham Jewel unique or is anything similar known? Could it have been made in Burgundy? How was it made? Such questions will help to inform the exhibition notices. 21 When Andrew has sent me a list of the items that will be in the exhibition I will send it out to those of you attending; you can then let me have some questions for him. Lynda Pidgeon
North to Newcastle visit Thursday 11 July to Monday 15 July 2013 Join us for a progress through Percy and Neville country; an area that Richard knew well. We will also see where the Romans halted, where England suffered its first Viking raid and where a Scots king met his end. Newcastle upon Tyne is our base for the 2013 long weekend. We will travel by train from London on Thursday morning, meeting at King’s Cross and travelling as a group. We will stay at Jury’s Inn, just a few minutes walk from Newcastle station, where there is a choice of double/twin or single rooms. Four nights bed and breakfast, group train travel and coaches for day trips will cost in the region of £320–350 per person sharing, or £420–450 for sole occupancy. We also hope to include a group gala dinner in this amount. There may be some adjustment to cost, depending on numbers booking. The proposed programme is as follows: • Thursday afternoon: Brinkburn Priory and Tynemouth Priory and Castle, both English Heritage (EH). • Friday: Barnard Castle (EH), Staindrop Church and Raby Castle (private). • Saturday: Prudhoe and Aydon Castles (both EH) and possibly Hadrian’s Wall. • Sunday: Lindisfarne (EH) and Flodden. • Monday morning: free English Heritage’s entry charges are in the region of £4–4.40; free entry, of course, to EH members. Please complete the booking form in the centre pages and send it, together with your deposit of £100 per person, by 31 January 2013 to: Marian Mitchell (contact details on the inside back cover). Society reviews
Bosworth 2012 retrospective This year’s Bosworth weekend – Saturday and Sunday 18–19 August – will be remembered for a number of reasons. One, it was the first for a few years that Richard and Lesley had not attended. Richard’s wife Lynne was badly injured following a fall earlier in the summer and her recovery had been slow. Richard needed to be at home to provide her with the necessary support and care. Lesley’s illness had started to manifest itself and she felt unable to travel or spend long periods on her feet in the marquee. Two, the weather for the preceding weeks was anything but kind and by early August, the Bosworth Battlefield Centre management team were still undecided whether the 2012 event would take place. The farmer on whose land the event is staged was unsure that he would be able to get machinery on the site to cut the vegetation. Fortunately for all concerned, there was a long enough respite from the heavens to enable the field to be cut. However, the adjacent field remained waterlogged and by the weekend of the event it could not be used for access or encampment for the re-enactors. This resulted in the usual site layout being hastily revised by the management team, more of which later. Three, the marquee was operated by the Society Chairman and his wife (Phil and Beth Stone) and the Joint Secretaries (Sue and Dave Wells). They met on site during Friday afternoon to erect the marquee and do some initial preparation. Needless to say after the summer that we have experienced in the UK, the heavens opened once again and those four finished their travail in a rather soggy state – please see the caption competition on p. 61 of this edition. Nonetheless, the weather across the weekend remained dry, despite some threatening clouds on 22 both days, and the attendances were good. Because of the amended layout of the site, the position of the Society’s marquee did not front the showground, being partially obscured by another line of sales tents. The natural walking route from the pedestrian entrance to the events and tournament area was a diagonal line away from our site – and that of our colleagues in the Battlefields Trust – which meant that visitors were down on previous years. Nonetheless, takings from sales were healthy and we recruited six new members, two of which were family memberships, adding even further supporters to the cause. Oh, if only the momentous proceedings of the next few weeks had preceded the Bosworth weekend – people would surely have been queuing up to join. Our visitors included members from various parts of the country and Chris Skidmore MP once again spent some time with us on the Sunday and purchased some of our publications. The events of the weekend itself took the usual course and Richard’s forces were once again defeated. At least, we believe that we now know where he was interred after that Chris Skidmore MP was one of many visitors to the Society marquee battle! The representation of King Richard who took lunch each day (on a converted lorry trailer – ‘how medieval’) was the most unusual that any of us had seen. He was portly, bearded, greying and appeared to be 50+ years of age. Unlike his predecessor in 2011, he did not visit any of his ‘subjects’. Members of the Society also attended the traditional service in Sutton Cheney church, providing a quiet and thoughtful interlude from the happenings on Ambion Hill. Thanks go to those previously mentioned who helped operate the marquee and Howard Choppin who gave some support on the Sunday, Elizabeth Nokes who once more organised a coach from London – finishing the day with the mandatory ‘Ricardian tea’ – and all of you who visited the tent and contributed to the enjoyment of the occasion. Sue and Dave Wells
The Pageant of the Golden Tree: Bruges, 2012 In 1468, Margaret of York became the wife of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy. They were married in Damme at 6 am and immediately after mass, the duke rode back alone to Bruges. This was not a sign of his displeasure but rather the reverse. When she entered Bruges, all of the city’s acclamation would be for Margaret, the new Duchess, and just for her alone. Every five or six years, the citizens of Bruges re-enact the ‘Joyous Entry’ of Margaret into the city and this year, yet again, they did so in front of a large group of Ricardians. The Pageant, which resembles a medieval parade, with horse- and people-drawn floats, marching bands, etc., takes about two hours to pass. Nearly all the people of Bruges and the surrounding villages must take part, so many are involved, and with so much preparation, so many wonderful costumes, exotic animals – well, horses, dogs, sheep and camels – as well as thousands of spectators, it is essential that the weather for the parade be kind. It was, therefore, with apprehension that we wandered about the city during the morning before dodging showers, some of which were torrential! Happily, when the time came to take our places at the top of one of the banks of seats in the central market square the sun had overcome the clouds and shone brightly. The first part of the parade tells the history of Flanders, with the slaying of giants, the expelling of the Vikings, the wealth and poverty of the cities, and so on. Floats carrying tableaux and walking groups of re-enactors were interspersed with bands and singers in colourful costumes – one band looked as though it was dressed in Neapolitan ice-cream! Counts of Flanders and dukes and duchesses of Burgundy passed us by, accompanied by the ordinary citizens who carried the flags and 23 ‘Margaret of England’ enters Bruges to the adoration of her new ‘subjects’ represented the guilds of the city of Bruges. After this piece of history, we learned that the House of York is descended from King Arthur, which may have come as a surprise to some! We saw the re- enactment of various legends, including that of Merlin and the magic chessboard – answers on a postcard, please – as well as classic tales of true love – Pyramis and Thisbe, Floris and Blanchefleur – before we met with the household of Charles the Bold and the ladies of England who had accompanied the new duchess to her duchy. As the hunting dogs and the birds of prey – only one was stuffed, the others were very much alive – went by, the new duchess came into view. In a break with history, Margaret of England, as she styled herself, duchess of Burgundy, was accompanied by her new husband and her stepdaughter, Mary of Burgundy. Shortly after came a float in the form of a castle, filled at every level with young children representing the youth of Bruges. This was followed by a small group of guardsmen and the Pageant of the Golden Tree had passed us by. As we threaded our way back to the hotel it was possible to catch glimpses of the parade as it continued its way through the city. Otherwise, we joined the throng of cheerful people, mostly foreign to the city, who had all greatly enjoyed the afternoon and were now making their way back to wherever they were staying. That evening we had a lovely group dinner in a restaurant close to the Begijnhof named for ‘Maximilian of Austria’, appropriately enough, as we had seen Mary of Burgundy earlier in the day. Next morning, the sun continued to shine and we took the chance to visit a few more sites and to do our shopping. Beth and I went to the church of Our Beloved Lady in order to gaze upon the wonderful Michelangelo ‘Madonna and Child’. Walking back, we indulged in a more earthly pleasure – the purchase of some gorgeous Belgian chocolate! All too soon, we were making our way back home. The visit had had to be short as the hotels greatly increase their prices for the Pageant weekend. We had arrived in Bruges the day before the parade and we left the day after – short and very, very sweet! Incidentally, I didn’t say anything at the dinner as everyone seemed to be having a good time and I didn’t want to interrupt and, besides, I knew I would have this opportunity to say a very sincere 24 thank you to all involved, but especially Rosemary Waxman and Ros Conaty for all the work that had gone into organising our – all too short – visit to Bruges for the Pageant of the Golden Tree. My sincerest thanks to you all. Phil Stone
Two of the original Bruges party, Jo Quarcoopome and her daughter, had to cancel due to the illness of Jo’s husband. She sent the following message: ‘Jo and Nadia would like to thank all concerned for the card from Bruges and the kind sentiments.’ We are very sorry to learn that Jo’s husband passed away in September and we send condolences to all the family.
Visit to Rothwell and Southwick Hall, Northamptonshire Forty days of rain had preceded the Society’s visit on the Eve of St Swithin’s and the day was grey and unpromising. Rothwell, ‘Rodewell’ to the Danes, or ‘the place of the Red Well’, overlooks the Ise valley which has seen occupation since the Bronze Age. Granted a charter by King John, the town was given permission to hold a weekly market and an annual fair, and until the arrival of the railways in the nineteenth century its prosperity surpassed that of Kettering. We parked in the square, which contains the Market House, designed by the eccentric Sir Thomas Tresham, who was imprisoned for following the Catholic faith and encoded secret symbols into his curious buildings. We dismounted quickly, eager to find Holy Trinity Church before a succession of Saturday afternoon weddings. Built in mellow local sandstone and measuring 173 feet in length, it is the longest church in the county; the main body is thirteenth-century, although the chancel was built in Norman times. The church, which was endowed by the powerful Earl Roger de Clare, later came into the possession of the Augustinian monastery of Cirencester. After some searching, we found the imp high up on a chancel pillar, a reminder that before Henry VIII set up Peterborough diocese, Rothwell was in the extensive diocese of Lincoln. Amongst the misericords there is,
Southwick Hall
25 surprisingly, a modern one carved in 1980. The rarest feature is the Bone Crypt, one of only two in existence in the country. It was discovered in 1700, when a gravedigger fell on to a pile of skeletons. From recent analysis of skulls and blood groups, it is thought that some were brought here when the church was extended in 1350, whilst others had been moved from an earlier burial place when the Jesus Hospital almshouses, which we had glimpsed through an archway, were built in 1591. As the sun came out we continued to Southwick Hall built in 1300 and owned by three interrelated families, Knyvets, Lynns and Caprons, ever since. We were greeted by Christopher Capron, who as editor of the BBC’s current affairs programme Panorama, welcomed Solzhenitsyn here for secret filming after his expulsion from Russia in 1976. The entrance hall, originally open timbered, was the great hall of John Knyvet’s fourteenth- century house, later rebuilt by George Lynn in 1571. The crypt, undercroft and priest’s room also date from the fourteenth century. In the Gothic room, part of Richard Knyvet’s original extension, the unusual combination of fireplace, window seats and a recess indicates that the room was used both as chapel and living room. When a later Knyvet was ransomed for £1000 during the Hundred Years War, finances were straitened and the house was sold to John Lynn, who married Joan Knyvet. Through an Elizabethan window in the room that was once a solar, we espied Fotheringhay church, near the ruins of the castle. George Lynn, who carried out much Elizabethan rebuilding, was one of eight banerol-bearers at the funeral of Mary, Queen of Scots, and there is a story that the execution warrant may be walled up inside the house. In the nearby church, we discovered a memorial to a member of one of Southwick’s three families – Roubilliac’s fine marble monument to Sir George Lynn. Gillian Lazar
Other news, reviews and events
Royal Devotion and Gold – a personal account We started our recent trip to Europe in the UK and the first item on my agenda was visiting the exhibition at Lambeth Palace Library: ‘Royal Devotion: Monarchy and the Book of Common Prayer’. Rather than the Book of Common Prayer the draw card for me, not being Anglican, was a book which pre-dates the Reformation (and hence the Book of Common Prayer) – Richard III’s Book of Hours. I had pre-booked my ticket for the first slot in the morning after the day of our arrival. After a pleasant walk along the river, I arrived early and had enough time for a quick look at the beautiful front garden and the shop of the Garden Museum in the old St Mary’s church next door. Then I joined a growing number of hopefuls waiting outside the main entrance of a brick gatehouse – which I found out later was built by John Morton. However, it turned out these were members of an Art Fund visit and waiting for a tour of the palace, whereas the entrance to the exhibition was at the side of the complex. Here a much smaller group of maybe eight or nine people was waiting and punctually at 11 the small door opened and we were admitted. We were each handed a beautifully illustrated exhibition brochure and then our group was led into the library (I was able to take some photos outside, but photography was not permitted in the exhibition itself) with some explanations on the building and its history. Though the building itself is neo-Gothic, it creates the right atmosphere for viewing medieval books. We were left to view the exhibits at our own pace and it was nice to be able to do so without being crowded. The exhibition is displayed in 10 cases, the first of which was the most interesting to me, covering ‘Public and Private Devotion before the Reformation’. The first book exhibited is the Chichele Breviary (MS 69), which belonged to Archbishop Henry Chichele (c.1362–1443). It is one of only two books of his which are known to have survived to this day. The second was the book I really wanted to see: Richard III’s Book of Hours (MS 474). It was 26 open on the calendar page and I could read the entry for 2 October (or rather what the explanation card next to it said, as the original entry was somewhat cut when the book was rebound in the sixteenth century): hac die natus erat Ricardus Rex Anglie III apud ffoderingay anno domini Mcc [cc lij] ‘On this day was born Richard III King of England AD 1452 near Fotheringhay’ (own translation) This was added by Richard himself, obviously after 6 July 1483, as he refers to himself as king. His handwriting is large, though tidy and even. The manuscript was not made for Richard, but was produced c.1420 for an unknown owner. It is believed that he had the book with him at Bosworth and that it was found there after the battle. In his speech at the opening of the exhibition, the Archbishop of Canterbury remarked: ‘There’s a personal book of ours belonging to Richard III in this library which does not seem to have brought him a great deal of good fortune, though he carried it at the Battle of Bosworth.’ Henry Tudor gave the manuscript to his mother Margaret Beaufort, who seems to have made some half-hearted attempt to scratch out his name at various places, though fortunately not this one. Standing next to a book which Richard held in his hands and seeing his handwriting was certainly a special and moving moment for me. It was probably the closest I would ever get to the king I have been studying for some time. The rest of the of the exhibition contained various other beautiful and interesting books, most having some royal connection, through the centuries up to an order of service from the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in Case 8. Coming from the Cologne area, I was pleased to meet Hermann von Wied, Archbishop of Cologne from 1515 to 1547, in Case 2. However, before leaving the library I returned to Case 1 for a last glimpse of King Richard III, represented by his book. Afterwards I made my way to the Goldsmiths’ Hall to visit another exhibition: ‘Gold: Power and Allure’, featuring more than 400 gold items from 2500 BC to the present day. One of the exhibits was the Middleham Jewel, which is normally on display in York. The gold lozenge-shaped jewel was found in September 1985 near Middleham Castle. It is beautifully engraved and a large sapphire is mounted on the front. It is estimated that it was made between 1450 and 1475, certainly for a wealthy person. Whether there is any connection to Richard III is not known, though it has been speculated that it might have belonged to Richard’s mother, Cecily Neville. It was beautifully displayed, with both the front and back visible. Due to time pressure, I didn’t pay the exhibition the attention it deserved, though I spotted an angel from the time of Richard’s reign. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Richard III Society’s Facebook page for alerting me to both these fascinating exhibitions. Dorothea Preis
New Graham Turner prints and a painting in progress Bosworth standard bearers The artist Graham Turner has produced new colour prints of the two standard bearers at the battle of Bosworth: Sir Percival Thirlwall, who carried Richard III’s standard, and Sir William Brandon, who carried Henry Tudor’s. Both prints have an overall size of size 13” × 19” (33cm × 48cm) and are priced at £19 each. See overleaf for purchase details. Sir Percival Thirlwell: the ‘Ballad of Bosworth Field’ names Sir Percival as Richard III’s standard bearer at Bosworth. He was a member of an old but not particularly distinguished Northumberland family and he and Richard presumably met in the North. The Ballad says that he held on to the standard even though his legs were cut from under him. Sir William Brandon: Polydore Vergil names as Henry Tudor’s standard bearer William Brandon. He was from an East Anglian family and son of Sir William Brandon. He was struck down and killed by Richard III in the final melée. 27 Sir Percival Thirlwall Sir William Brandon
Richard III at Bosworth – a new painting in progress Graham is currently working on a new painting of King Richard at the battle of Bosworth, and has kindly allowed us to reproduce here his preliminary sketch picturing the king demonstrating his right to wear the crown of England as God’s anointed ruler before he confronts Henry Tudor. Graham’s first Bosworth painting was unveiled at the Bosworth Battlefield Centre in 1995, and Graham comments ‘While I have always been very happy with the way this painting turned out – the composition, narrative and “look” of it – my knowledge and opinions have evolved over the ensuing 17 years and I have felt for a while that it’s time I revisited ‘Bosworth’ and created something new that reflected these new thoughts. I first sketched out my ideas for a new painting over a year ago, but as usual it got put aside to make way for commissions and other projects. However, the recent discovery in Leicester of the likely remains of Richard III are compellingly inspirational – what an exciting time to be painting the last Plantagenet king of England, in all his regal glory, as he makes the fateful decision to lead the charge that would end his life and leave his body lost in an unknown grave for the past five centuries’.
For full details about Graham’s work and the purchase of prints visit: www.studio88.co.uk Follow updates about the new Bosworth painting’s progress on the website and Graham’s Facebook page, and see how it evolves from the basic sketch to a large full colour oil painting.
The White Queen is coming to our TV screens The BBC has commissioned a major ten part TV series, based on Philippa Gregory’s ‘The Cousins’ War’ novels, which have hit bestseller lists across the world. Filming began in Bruges this September
28 and the series is expected to be screened in the UK during 2013. The White Queen tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville (Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson) and her marriage to Edward IV (Max Irons). Her counter-part on the Lancastrian side is The Red Queen Margaret Beaufort (Amanda Hale), ably assisted by Jasper Tudor (Tom McKay). All our eyes will of course be on Richard, duke of Gloucester (played by Welsh actor Aneurin Barnard) and Anne Neville (Faye Marsay), whom Ms Gregory brought to us as The Kingmaker’s Daughter. The third of the York brothers, George, duke of Clarence, will be played by David Oakes, and his wife Isabel by Eleanor Tomlinson. James Frain will star as Richard Neville, Anne and Isabel’s father, and their mother will be played by Juliet Aubrey. Jacquetta of Luxembourg, The Lady of the Rivers (Janet McTeer) is married to Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers (Robert Pugh). They are the parents of Elizabeth Woodville as well as of Anthony (Ben Lamb), John (Simon Ginty) and Mary Woodville (Eve Ponsenby). It is to be welcomed that finally, after all the Tudor movies and TV series, the Wars of the Roses, a period of particular interest to Ricardians, will be brought to the attention of a wider audience. Philippa Gregory’s novels with their colourful characters, sorcery and general mayhem should appeal to a wide audience. And wouldn’t it be good too if viewers felt motivated to find out more about the real people and the real history?
R-3: the new Centre Five Production on Richard III, by Caroline Devlin and Timothy Allsop On 10 October, via one of my publishers, I received an invitation to attend the opening night of R- 3, a new play about Richard III, which the co-author, Caroline Devlin, told me was partly inspired by my book The Last Days of Richard III. The venue – a rather grand Victorian Gothic church at Chalk Farm – was quite a journey for me, 29 and I arrived a little early. Sitting waiting for the play to start was, in its own way, significant. The church was dimly lit. Six tall candles were burning on the high altar, and the rood screen was wreathed in periodic puffs of smoke, which I saw as symbolic of Henry VII (whose emblem, after all, was a red dragon) still doing his best to obscure the truth about his predecessor. The play was a one-man show, lasting about an hour. Tim Allsop, who played Richard, has taken the same role previously in Shakespeare’s dramatisation, and he had some of the same lines to say in this new play – though the meaning here was different. Caroline and Tim’s play acknowledges the writings of Shakespeare, More, Vergil – and even Ashdown-Hill – accepting some and rejecting others (I will leave you to guess which are which). I didn’t agree with all the interpretations, but then part of the rationale of the new play is its thesis that there are now multiple ‘Richards’ and that it is sometimes hard to tell which (or whose) ‘Richard’ is the real one. Personally I found the interpretation of Richard’s relationships with his mother and with Anne Neville moving. However, I have never been able to accept the notion that Richard was a sickly child. Towards the end of the play I found myself moved, too, by Richard’s profound analysis of what it means to be a king. The close of the play was sad. Even if Richard III’s body has now been dug up in Leicester, in one sense he is still deeply buried. The play was enthusiastically received by the audience. If you should get the chance to see it I would strongly recommend doing so. Like me, you may not agree with everything in the new play, but it is certain to inspire both thoughts and feelings. John Ashdown-Hill
New Website: Reflections of the Yorkist Realm Reflections of the Yorkist Realm is a new website created by historian David Santiuste (a member of the Society) and photographer Rae Tan. It features images of places associated with the Yorkist period, together with complementary text. Naturally there is some emphasis on the various conflicts of the Yorkist period, including the Battle of Towton. However, Rae and David have also chosen locations that can be linked to more peaceful aspects of the time, such as religious life and trade. Other places have been singled out because of their connections with important individuals, including Richard III. Rae’s preferred medium is infrared; her photographs are striking images, filled with drama. David uses the photographs as starting points for brief discussions of each of the chosen locations, drawing out the stories of the people who knew them. To visit the website please go to www.yorkistrealm.com.
AUSTRALASIAN CONVENTION 2013 The NSW Branch will be hosting the biennial Australasian Convention at Novotel, Darling Harbour, Sydney
‘Richard III: the Man behind the Myth’ Friday 12 to Sunday 14 July 2013
All members and friends of the Richard III Society are welcome. For further information and/or registration please contact the New South Wales Branch at [email protected] Let’s mark the 530th anniversary of Richard’s and Anne’s coronation with one big celebration!
30 The Man Himself Looking for Richard – the Greyfriars Project
here was nothing particularly unusual about 25 August this year, except in an English midlands Tcity where an archaeological dig was about to begin. The rest of the world had hardly even heard of Leicester, but that was soon to change. Press and media interest built up slowly and then, following the announcement on 12 September that human remains had been found, it became a worldwide phenomenon. In our coverage of events we have aimed to provide a comprehensive range of articles that provide both background and analysis, together with a taste of the media headlines. Of course there have also been jokes and cartoons aplenty, some in the worst possible taste, but nonetheless they are all part of the story that began in a Leicester car park during the late summer. The Man Himself for this issue is therefore devoted to the dig and its developing aftermath; our coverage is supplemented with a special colour insert with photos from the site and Emma Vieceli’s splendid graphics. In March’s Bulletin we will bring you the latest news, analysis and comment, together with the accompanying headlines, and yes the jokes too. Our thanks to all who have contributed articles, photos and comments to our coverage. The Search for Richard III – DNA, which would have been identical to that of all documentary evidence and religious Cecily’s children, including Margaret and knowledge Richard III. In 2003, while attending a conference in When the Belgian bones were tested against Mechelen to commemorate the 500th anni- Joy’s DNA they proved not to match. They also versary of the death of Richard III’s sister, seemed to date from the wrong period, and it Margaret, duchess of Burgundy, I was invited was concluded that, as yet, Margaret’s remains to attempt to provide a DNA sequence for have not been found. Margaret in order to try to prove or disprove Next I was commissioned by the BBC to the identity of three sets of bones of about the write an article for a website on Local Legends. right age which had been excavated from the They asked me to write about the story that Franciscan priory church in Mechelen, where Richard III’s body had been dug up at the Margaret had been buried. I tried both ‘dead’ Reformation and thrown into the River Soar. I and ‘living’ approaches. fulfilled the commission, and concluded that The ‘dead’ approach was to try to extract a the evidence for the ‘Body in the River’ story mitochondrial DNA sequence from a sample of was very slight, and the story was therefore not Edward IV’s hair, kindly furnished by the to be trusted. Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. This failed Later, while working on my book The Last because the DNA in the hair was too degraded. Days of Richard III, I researched the ‘Body in The living approach was an attempt to trace an the River’ story even more thoroughly. I found all-female-line descendant of Cecily Neville or that it dated only from the seventeenth century. one of her female relatives. This took more The earliest source was the map maker John than two years but eventually I succeeded in Speede, but Speede had not said Richard’s tracing one single line to a lady living in body was thrown into the river (that was a later Canada, called Joy Ibsen. As far as I could tell, development). Speede had claimed Richard’s Joy and her brothers and children were the only body was reburied under Bow Bridge. His living individuals who preserved the mtDNA reasoning was that when he personally visited of their ancestress, Cecily Neville – DNA the Greyfriars site in Leicester he was able to 31 find no trace of Richard’s tomb, and the site A new edition of John’s book The Last Days of was covered with nettles and weeds. But Richard III (The History Press) will be unfortunately Speede’s published map of published early in 2013, and will include Leicester showed that he had visited the wrong updates based on the Leicester excavation and site. On his map the site which Speede labelled on other new research. At about the same time ‘Greyfriars’ was actually the site of the John’s latest book, Royal Marriage Secrets, Dominican (Blackfriars) priory. Speede had will also be published by The History Press. looked in the wrong place. Had he looked in the right location, he would have found Has the King been found? Richard’s grave site – which was then marked In the pages of the Bulletin this year, I by a pillar set up by a former mayor of endeavoured to keep Society members as up to Leicester called Robert Herrick, in whose date as possible at each stage of the journey as garden the gravesite then lay. I concluded that we inched towards the excavation in Leicester Richard III’s body had never been moved, and for the lost grave of King Richard III. still lay where it had been buried, on the site of In June you learned of our quest and its roll- the former Franciscan friary in Leicester, just call of supporters and role-players, including opposite Leicester cathedral. leading experts and academic institutions. To The edges of the priory site had been built reach this point alone represented years of on, but the whole of the central area was open preparation, not merely to commission and accessible – occupied today by three car research projects such as map regression parks. When I visited the site I concluded that analysis and ground-penetrating radar, but the church would have been sited towards the indeed to scrape together the funding for northern side of the site, because friars had a essential preliminaries like these when all we vocation of preaching to the people, and could point to was a dream. usually sited their churches near main roads. Then in the September Bulletin, somewhat My view disagreed with the opinion then in arrears of events that had already taken current in Leicester, which would have sited place, my report appeared describing how the the church towards the south of the site – but project had been pulled back from the brink of the subsequent excavation has proved my disaster. What happened was that after the analysis to be correct. money had been put in place to bring in the The last sentence of my book The Last Days professionals and equipment, with archaeo- of Richard III expressed the hope that ‘maybe logical work scheduled for late August, a last- one day the search for Richard III will begin’. minute shortfall of £10,000 had been overcome This hope came true this summer. On 25 by ‘King Richard’s Army’ – Ricardians from August 2012 (the anniversary of Richard III’s all over the world who rallied with pledges burial) the search of the Greyfriars car parks in large and small to ensure the dig would go Leicester began. On exactly the site where my ahead. What was astonishing was that we had research had predicted that the choir of the just two weeks to raise the money, and only the church would lie, male bones were discovered. internet as our vehicle. The promised roll of The body which was excavated had apparent honour can now be published, listing those battle wounds to the head and back, and donors who gave to make the dig possible. scoliosis, which would have made the man’s Please see p. 37. left shoulder a little lower than his right (just as Of course, by the time members read of this John Rous had described Richard III). in their September Bulletin, they had already Evidence for the identity of this body is still got wind of the enthusiastic media reports that being explored – and will include use of the accompanied the launch of the dig on 24 mtDNA link which I discovered – but my August! I had imagined there would be a personal feeling is that in the moment when I certain amount of interest, and had arranged stood near the newly discovered grave and the presence of re-enactors Dominic Sewell looked down at the remains, I was as close as I and Henry Sherrey to offer the cameras some shall ever be to the real Richard III. visual excitement in what was otherwise a John Ashdown-Hill fairly featureless stretch of tarmac. But the 32 degree to which the story circled the world – aspect would receive emphasis equal to the and went viral on Twitter – took us all by documenting of the quest itself. As surprise. It soon became a balancing act preparations gradually got under way John between satisfying obsessive media interest kept up his input on the archaeology and DNA, and trying to keep the site protected. while Annette helped with communications, At this point I should mention that all along which included producing the appeal leaflet I was being helped by a great team. Behind my that brought in the missing £10,000. initial concept of searching for King Richard Once the site actually started being were two primary influences: first the Annette excavated from 25 August onwards, it was Carson’s book Richard III: The Maligned King, something of a relief to shift a lot of the and second John Ashdown-Hill, whose book responsibility to the archaeological team and The Last Days of Richard III convinced me that the university. Nevertheless, it was important his was scholarship of an unparalleled level in for me to remain there overseeing the work and terms of (a) researches into the ultimate resting ensuring that all was carried out in accordance place of King Richard’s body, and (b) the with assurances I had given to other parties genealogical work that led to his identifying involved. The search for a king, and the the mitochondrial DNA sequence descended implications involved if we found remains that from Richard’s sister Anne of York, duchess of might be his, were beyond the remit of Exeter, which now resides in Michael Ibsen, everyday archaeology. Additionally, I was Anne’s seventeenth-generation grandson. It determined that everything which related to was John’s expert knowledge of the probable any gravesite would be carried out in an architecture of the Franciscan friary that atmosphere of reverence and respect. But I spearheaded the amazing success of the need not have worried. It was a singular archaeological search. experience to work with a group of From The Maligned King I derived professionals who, while not Ricardians encouragement for my belief that we could set themselves, were clearly caught up in the out Richard’s true story in ways that could historic importance of the endeavour. capture the imagination of a popular audience. Now that news of the discovery of human Fortunately, when discussing the planned TV remains has been released, we have reached a programme of the project, the production juncture where there is little more to do than house Darlow Smithson agreed with me: this wait while they are subjected to examination,
The press conference in Leicester Guildhall: panel consists of (L-R): Philippa Langley, Dr Turi King, Dr Jo Appleby, Sir Peter Soulsby, Richard Taylor, Richard Buckley and Professor Lin Foxhall.
33 which in addition to DNA testing may include An historic day in Leicester carbon dating to fix the age of the bones and On Tuesday 12 September in Leicester’s the arrowhead, and also isotope analysis which fourteenth-century Guildhall, just streets away can determine where an individual lived in his from the location of the Greyfriars, a press early years. Already much of the media conference was presided over by the city’s coverage has gone too far in the direction of Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby. misreporting and making assumptions, so I The conference would reveal that the search prefer to use the careful wording of the for King Richard III had entered new territory statement released at our press conference on following the unearthing of human remains on 12 September, as given below. This was agreed the site; a discovery that had the potential to with the archaeologists and other experts rewrite history. The eyes of the world were whom the University of Leicester has made indeed on Leicester that day. available to take the project into its next phase, The press statement issued by the i.e. the identification of all the finds made at the University of Leicester to coincide with the site of the Greyfriars. press conference (reproduced below) provides In case any members should wish to visit an excellent summary of the excavation and its Leicester to see the site of the excavation for outcome. It also includes comments from those themselves, please note that the site is not open involved with the dig and the post-excavation for the time being but plans are under way at work and from other interested parties. the council to open it at a later date. We will let you know as soon as we hear anything. Philippa Langley
STATEMENT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER ISSUED ON 12 SEPTEMBER 2012 On Friday 31 August the University of Leicester applied to the Ministry of Justice under the 1857 Burials Act for permission to exhume human remains found at the Grey Friars site in Leicester. Exhumation commenced on Tuesday 4 September and has continued to this morning. The work was conducted by Dr Turi King from the University’s Department of Genetics and Dr Jo Appleby and Mathew Morris of our School of Archaeology and Ancient History. We have exhumed one fully articulated skeleton and one set of disarticulated human remains. The disarticulated set of human remains was found in what is believed to be the Presbytery of the lost Church of the Grey Friars. These remains are female, and thus certainly not Richard III. The articulated skeleton was found in what is believed to be the Choir of the church. The articulated skeleton found in the Choir is of significant interest to us. Dr Jo Appleby has carried out a preliminary examination of the remains. There are five reasons for our interest: 1. The remains are in good condition and appear to be of an adult male. 2. The Choir is the area reported in the historical record as the burial place of King Richard III. John Rous reports that Richard ‘at last was buried in the Choir of the Friars Minor at Leicester’. 3. The skeleton, on initial examination, appears to have suffered significant peri-mortem trauma to the skull which appears consistent with (although not certainly caused by) an injury received in battle. A bladed implement appears to have cleaved part of the rear of the skull. 4. A barbed metal arrowhead was found between vertebrae of the skeleton’s upper back. 5. The skeleton found in the Choir area has spinal abnormalities. We believe the individual would have had severe scoliosis – which is a form of spinal curvature. This would have made his right shoulder appear visibly higher than the left shoulder. This is consistent with contemporary accounts of Richard’s appearance. The skeleton does not have kyphosis – a different form of spinal curvature. The skeleton was not a hunchback. There appears to be no evidence of a ‘withered arm’. 34 Both sets of remains are now at an undisclosed location where further analysis is being undertaken. I need to be very frank with you. The University has always been clear that any remains would need to be subjected to rigorous laboratory and DNA analysis before we confirm the outcome of the search for Richard III. We are not saying today that we have found King Richard III. What we are saying is that the Search for Richard III has entered a new phase. Our focus is shifting from the archaeological excavation to laboratory analysis. This skeleton certainly has characteristics that warrant extensive further detailed examination. Dr Jo Appleby is undertaking further work to examine the remains. Dr Turi King from our Department of Genetics will lead the laboratory analysis. The results of this analysis are expected to take up to twelve weeks. I should emphasise that all human remains found at the site are being treated in accordance with the University of Leicester’s ethical policy for dealing with human remains. Clearly we are all very excited by these latest discoveries. We have said finding Richard was a long-shot. However it is a testament to the skill of the archaeological team led by Richard Buckley that such extensive progress has been made. We have all been witness to a powerful and historic story unfolding before our eyes. It is proper that the University now subjects the findings to rigorous analysis so that the strong circumstantial evidence that has presented itself can be properly understood. This is potentially a historic moment for the University and City of Leicester. Richard Buckley, the University of Leicester archaeologist who led the search for Richard III, said: ‘This is an historic and perhaps defining moment in the story of Leicester and I am proud that the University of Leicester has played a pivotal role in the telling of that story. From the outset, the search for Richard III was a thrilling prospect but it has involved many hours of dedicated research by our team that has led to the astonishing finds we have disclosed today. The search has caught the imagination of not only the people of Leicester and Leicestershire but beyond and has received global media attention. It is a measure of the power of archaeology to excite public interest and provide a narrative about our heritage.’ Dr Phil Stone, Chairman of the Richard III Society, said: ‘This has been a momentous undertaking, and one that needed to happen. It represents a huge leap forward in terms of learning more about Richard III and his period, which is the Society’s main goal. We hope it will encourage an upsurge of interest in this seriously undervalued king.’ Philippa Langley, screenwriter and member of the Richard III Society, who conceived the idea of searching for King Richard III and instigated the project three years ago, said: ‘We came with a dream – and if the dream becomes reality it will be nothing short of miraculous.’ Philippa has worked tirelessly to bring about the partnership between the University of Leicester and Leicester City Council in association with the Richard III Society. She also secured the funding for the dig project and is now working with Darlow Smithson Productions and Channel 4 on the forthcoming TV documentary about the search for King Richard’s grave that will be aired later this year. ‘It’s been a long, hard journey,’ she adds, ‘and has demanded unceasing optimism to pull together all the resources needed to find King Richard’s last resting place. I am incredibly grateful to the University of Leicester for funding the project in association with the Richard III Society, and to Leicester City Council for agreeing to facilitate it and allow us to do all this excavation work. The University of Leicester Archaeological Services is one of the UK’s leading archaeological teams and I cannot thank Richard Buckley enough for agreeing to come with me on this unique journey of discovery. If the impossible dream is now made possible, it is thanks to a group effort by a wonderful team.’ The Very Revd Vivienne Faull, Dean of Leicester, commented: ‘The news from the excavation is very exciting and I congratulate Philippa Langley of the Richard III Society for her persistence and Richard Buckley and his team of archaeologists for their painstaking work. Leicester Cathedral, along with Leicester City Council, and the University of Leicester, has worked closely with the Richard III Society for many months on the current search. There has been a major memorial to King Richard at the heart of the cathedral and adjacent to the Herrick Chapel since 1980. This is the only cathedral memorial to Richard in the country and has been the focus for remembrance, particularly on the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth. The memorial states that Richard was buried in the 35 graveyard of the Church of the Greyfriars in the parish of St Martin (now the cathedral church). If the identity of the remains is confirmed, Leicester Cathedral will continue to work with the Royal Household, and with the Richard III Society, to ensure that his remains are treated with dignity and respect and are reburied with the appropriate rites and ceremonies of the church.’ Dr Turi King, leading the DNA analysis, spoke of genetic fingerprinting: ‘In terms of what happens next, our plan has been to extract DNA from the skeletal material and compare the DNA with a known living relative of Richard III and see if it matches … In reality this will be a long process. In the first instance we will be hoping that we can extract mitochondrial DNA of sufficient quality to be able to sequence it. MtDNA is the piece of DNA of choice for this particular project for two reasons. MtDNA is found in hundreds to thousands of copies in our cells so it’s the easiest to retrieve from ancient material. It is passed down through the female line (in the ovum). Daughters will pass on their mtDNA type but sons will not. This means that if we have any female-line relatives we can test them to see if they match one another. We hope to use the latest technologies to sequence the DNA from these skeletal remains and compare them with those of Michael Ibsen to see if the results are consistent with them being related.’ Dr Jo Appleby, Lecturer in Human Bioarchaeology in the University’s School of Archaeology and Ancient History, discussed some of the pathology of the male remains discovered in the Choir: ‘It was evident during the process of excavation that the skeleton exhibited several pathological features. The skull had a minimum of two injuries. The first was a small penetrating wound to the top of the head that had dislodged two small flaps of bone on the skull interior. The second was a much larger wound to the occipital bone (or base of the skull): a slice had been cut off the skull at the side and back. This is consistent with a bladed implement of some sort, but further laboratory- based analysis of the bones once clean will be needed to fully understand the nature of this injury. It should be noted that this did not cut through the neck and that the skull was still in its correct anatomical position when excavated. In addition to the injuries to the skull, there was evidence of an abnormality of the spinal column. This took the form of scoliosis, or a major sideways ‘kink’ in the area of the ribcage. A small piece of iron (as yet unidentified) was recovered behind and between two vertebrae towards the top of the ribcage. The skeleton itself was mostly complete, although the feet had been destroyed at an unknown point in the past. The condition of the bone is moderately good. From the position of the bones on excavation it is possible to see that the body has not been moved, and it appears that it was originally buried in a shroud, although no physical traces of this remain. ‘Of course, we don’t know that we’ve found Richard: he is not the only individual in history to have had scoliosis and not the only medieval man to have received head injuries. We won’t be able to be certain until DNA analysis has been carried out, and perhaps not even then. What we do know is that we have excavated the skeleton of a man who bears a close resemblance to the historical accounts that we have been given of Richard and this is hugely exciting.’ Dr Sarah Knight and Dr Mary Ann Lund, scholars of C16 & C17 English literature and academic in the University’s School of English: ‘The Tudor historians Thomas More, Polydore Vergil, Edward Hall and Raphael Holinshed wrote highly critical accounts of Richard III: for More, he was ‘ill fetured of limmes, croke backed, his left shoulder much higher then his right’, and Holinshed also mentions that he was ‘of a readie, pregnant, and quicke wit’. Shakespeare wove these sources into his charismatic anti-hero who plots, seduces and murders his way to the crown, boasting that ‘I am determined to prove a villain’. This find could make us re-assess the Richard III bequeathed to us by Tudor historians and dramatists and look again at their narratives in the light of the material remains.’
Leicester’s Greyfriars Project on the internet The Greyfriars Project website contains extensive and up to date information about the dig and the finds, including a video of the press conference, photos of the dig in progress and many other useful resources. It can be accessed at this address: www2.le.ac.uk/projects/Greyfriars
The Society’s own website now has a section devoted to the Leicester dig: www.richardiii.net
36 Leicester’s Greyfriars Project Roll of Honour
Beds and Bucks Group of the Mary Cheyne, USA Judith Anne Jackson, UK Eva Pitter, Austria Richard III Society Alison Clark, UK Susan Jeeves, UK Carolyn Preston, USA Gloucester Branch of the Alison Coates, UK David and Wendy Johnson, John Priestley, UK Richard III Society Anthony C Collins, USA UK Patricia Pugh, USA East Midlands Branch of the Cris Reay Connor, UK Pat and Mike Joseph, UK Patricia Pullen, UK Richard III Society Helen Corkin, USA Mary Kelly, UK Ben Ravilious, UK Lincolnshire Branch of the Jacqueline C. Cox, USA Sally Kiel, USA Charles Rees, UK Richard III Society Julia Cranston, UK Joann Koch, USA Vivian Reeves, UK (Former) Mid-Anglia Group of Florence (Babs) Creamer, UK Karen (Kaye) Ladniuk, Brazil Ralph Richardson, UK the Richard III Society Iris Day, UK George Langley, UK Joan Ripley, UK New England Chapter of the Barbara Gaskill Denvill, John Langley, UK Julie Roberts, UK Richard III Society, USA Australia Marigold Langley, UK Elizabeth Robinson, UK New Zealand Branch of the Rita Diefenhardt-Schmitt, Philippa Langley, UK Starla Roels, USA Richard III Society Germany Eileen T. Lehner, USA Ian Rogers, UK Norfolk Branch of the Richard Mark Dobson, UK Mark Lewis, UK Janet Rose, UK III Society Roger and Linda Dowlen, UK Dr Martin Litherland, UK Lesley A. Scott, UK North Mercia Group of the Linda Drew, UK Clive Lloyd, UK Neville Sibery, UK Richard III Society Jean Edwards, UK Bob Long, UK Katherine (Kitty) B Simmons, Northwest Chapter of the Leonid Elbert, Canada Yvonne Mary Love, UK UK Richard III Society (US Jacqui Emerson, UK Ken and Mary Lowles, UK Jane Skelton, UK Branch) Elizabeth York Enstam, USA Joan B. Mach, USA Rose Skuse, UK Notts and Derby Group of the Stephanie Bronder Fagan, USA Donald MacLachlan, USA Rob Smith, New Zealand Richard III Society John C Farrell, USA Judith Fitzgerald Madore, Anne Easter Smith, USA Richard III Society of Canada Gilda Felt, USA Canada Niz Smith, UK Scottish Branch of the Richard Jean Fitzpatrick, UK Renate Maria Maier, Germany Simon Smith, UK III Society Donna Flatley, USA Margaret Manning, NZ Isobel Sneesby, UK St. Swithun’s Society, Canada Garry Fletcher, UK Garry Marnoch, Canada Elizabeth Sommers, USA Sussex Group of the Richard Kate Fletcher, UK Sandra Martenson, USA Fletcher Stewart, Canada III Society Jane Forsyth, UK Gerry Martin, UK Lilian Stockton, UK Thames Valley Branch of the Mary Friend, UK Isolde Martyn, Australia Christine A. Stone, UK Richard III Society Katheryn Gallant, USA Victoria (Vicki) Mather, UK Dr Phil Stone, UK The Society of Friends of King Judy Gardner, USA Muriel Ann McDonald, UK Georgina Ann Strachan, UK Richard III, UK Pamela Garrett, USA Geraldine McDonnell, UK Pamela Strong, UK Victoria Branch of the Richard Roswitha Gerhart, Germany Farrah McFadden, Canada Ruth Stroud, UK III Society, Australia Linda Gilliland, UK Sofia Meaden, UK Gayna Stuart, UK West Surrey Group of the Hannelore Gormley, UK Dr Liselotte Messner, Austria Joan Szechtman, USA Richard III Society Bethan Groom, UK Mhora Millar, UK Judy Gerard Thomson Worcester Branch of the Brenda Groves, UK Chris Mitchell, UK Diana Thompson, Richard III Society Aubrey Gunn, UK Anabel Morris, UK Traxy Thornfield, UK Elizabeth (Liz) Hamilton, UK Nancy Mosley,USA Nikoletta Toth, Hungary Stuart Akers, UK Joanna Hamminga, Holland Marion Moulton, UK Mollie Toy, UK Grant Alexander, UK Muhammad Hanif, Turkey Shah Mugaseth, UK David Wilfred Turner, UK Dr John Ashdown-Hill, Turkey Sandra Hardy, UK Nita Musgrave, USA Annamarie Vallis, USA Anne Ayres, UK Paul Harper, Canada Right Rev’d George Nairn- Richard Van Allen, UK Sally Badders, USA Jonathan Hayes, USA Briggs, UK Erika Van de Sande, Belgium Norma Bassett, Canada Maureen Heal, UK William Narey, USA John and Joyce Varty, UK Gail Beardall, UK Sally Henshaw, UK Kristen Negrotto-Weber, USA Bob Vivian, USA Margaret Bentley, UK Jean Hester, UK Jane Nixon, UK Brian Wainwright, UK Pam Benstead, UK Patricia Hibbs, UK Helen O’Dea, Australia Diana Wallis Dornella, UK Lorelie Bond, USA Diane Hoffman, USA Janet Oliver, UK Cynthia Waterman, UK Helen Brickell, UK Christine Holmes, UK Bettina Ortiz, USA Doug Weeks, UK Angela Brown, UK Lisa Holt-Jones, Canada Caroline (Callie) Kendall Sue and Dave Wells, UK Carole A. Brown, USA Vicki Horwood, UK Orsak, USA Rosemary (Rosie) Anne Tracy Bryce, Canada Sue Howlett, UK Micki Parkinson, USA Wileman, UK Debora Carr, USA Eleanor E. Huebner, UK Pat Parminter, UK Elaine Williams, UK Lillian Carr, New Zealand Karen Huisman, USA Patricia Payne, UK Linda Williams, USA Sybil Carter, UK Elaine Hunt, UK Dianne Penn, UK Doug Woodger, Canada Annette Carson, UK April Hussong, USA Alfred (Dave) Perry, UK Ann Wroe, UK Dr Tim Carter, UK Wayne Ingalls, USA Jerilyn Peterson, USA Nessa Wyberd, UK
Grateful thanks to all who contributed and helped to make history
37 Greyfriars archaeological dig open It was explained that Franciscan churches day are almost always laid out east to west, so in They say that the sun shines on the righteous. It order to try and find anything, two long certainly seems to be beating down with trenches were opened up running north to growing intensity on the Greyfriars dig site as south. These had yielded several walls and they edge closer and closer to answering the even a very ornate step decorated with burning question: Is King Richard III buried herringbone tiles, which was unusual and there? Saturday 8 September 2012 was a probably paid for by a benefactor of the church. memorable day. It was that rarest of things, a We were able to clearly see the bases of the hot day. I managed to drag two of my children walls and the direction that they ran, and even along with my wife and I to the Open Day at the herringbone pattern left by the tiles on the Greyfriars. After queuing briefly, we found our step in Trench 2. In Trench 1 was a stone bench excitement growing as we rounded the used by the monks (and now the building and passed up a driveway and the site archaeologists!) for having a seat and eating came into view. Our group was fortunate their lunch. The evidence uncovered in enough to be guided around by Philippa Trenches 1 and 2 gave the archaeologists a fit Langley, so there was plenty of relevant on the presumed church plan and meant that Ricardian information, which I understand was the area containing the choir, where Richard is sorely lacking from other tours. believed to be buried, was either under a row of
Members of the public viewing the Greyfriars excavation during one of the open days
38 Victorian buildings, lost forever, or under the circumstances of Richard’s death, he was playground of the grammar school next door. hardly likely to have been given a state funeral Trench 3 was then dug in the school by the Lancastrians. Possibly, Richard’s playground. Although we were unable to get requiem funeral mass was a private affair, close to Trench 3, Philippa was able to tell us hence Polydore’s comments. that it had revealed more church walls that It is not known how Richard’s resting place edged the position of the choir and this proved was initially commemorated, but what is to be the spot where the remains that have certain is that in about 1494 Henry decided to caused so much excitement were found. erect a tomb for his former adversary. One of It was a fascinating experience to see an the items listed in Henry VII’s household archaeological dig in progress and exciting to accounts for 11 September 1495 was the see how they were edging closer to an answer. payment of £10 1s 2d for ‘King Rich. Tombe’. My son and daughter enjoyed the tour too and However, recently it has been established that found it interesting. It’s amazing to think what this figure only represents a part-payment by is under a car park in the middle of a city. I Henry for the erection of an alabaster or wonder whether people would be horrified at ‘marble’ tomb or monument, which cost £50 the thought of parking their cars or spending (Ashdown-Hill 2010, pp. 97–103; Baldwin break times playing on top of human remains – 1986, pp. 21–22). This monument may have perhaps even those of an anointed king of been a chest tomb surmounted by a recumbent England! effigy of Richard (Ashdown-Hill 2010, fig 25). If the remains uncovered can be verified as A literal translation of the epitaph said to have Richard’s the question will then be where they been on the tomb reads: should be interred. I suspect that that will be a I, here, whom the earth encloses under various hard-fought, passionate debate! A huge thank coloured marble/ Was justly called Richard the you to all at Leicester University and Leicester Third/ I was Protector of my country; an uncle Council for making an interesting experience ruling on behalf of his nephew/ I held the possible and to Philippa Langley for bringing it British Kingdoms in trust [although] they were to life for us. disunited/ Then for just sixty days less two/ And Matthew Lewis two summers, I held my sceptres/ Fighting Initial reflections and press coverage bravely in war, deserted by the English/ I succumbed to you, King Henry VII/ But you Introduction yourself, piously, at your expense, thus It appears that Richard’s naked corpse was honoured my bones/ And caused a former king discovered after the battle of Bosworth to be revered with the honour of a king/ When stripped of both armour and clothing probably [in] twice five years less four/ Three hundred by looters. His corpse was then slung over a five-year periods of our salvation had passed/ horse and transported to Leicester. The fact that And eleven days before the Kalends of Richard’s naked corpse was recognisable September/ I surrendered to the red rose the among the dead on the battlefield implies that power it desired/ Whoever you are, pray for my it was not badly mutilated, a fact which had offences/That my punishment may be lessoned important implications for the potential by your prayers/ (Ashdown-Hill 2010, p. 102) condition of his skeleton. There are no accurate contemporary accounts of Richard III’s burial, Why did Henry VII some nine or ten years but it appears that on either 24 or 25 August after Richard’s death suddenly feel the need to 1485 the Leicester Franciscans took custody of commemorate his existence? Was it perhaps to Richard’s corpse and shortly afterwards they placate Yorkist opinion? The content of the interred his remains within the choir of their epitaph is very interesting, as it must have church. According to Polydore Vergil this received royal approval and therefore can be event was ‘without pompe or solemn funerall’ regarded as an ‘official statement’. It accepts (p. 226 of the Ellis edition, Three Books of Richard’s title as king and Lord Protector and Polydore Vergil’s English History, Camden does not describe him as a usurper. In fact it Society, 1844). Bearing in mind the pays tribute to Richard’s bravery as a soldier. 39 The king in the car park been claimed that Richard’s skeletal remains On 24 August 2012, the media informed us that had been found within a grave discovered in the search for the remains of Richard III was Trench 1, which was aligned at right angles to now underway in a Leicester city centre car the main axis of the choir. It should be stressed park. We were told that it was hoped that this that our knowledge of the layout of the archaeological investigation directed by church’s plan is currently limited to Trenches 1 Richard Buckley of Leicester University and 3, both of which revealed evidence of two Archaeological Services and carried out in parallel truncated east–west aligned masonry conjunction with the Richard III Society, wall foundations 7.5 metres apart, which are would locate the king’s remains. On 13 Sept- interpreted as the remains of the choir (see ember, there was a triumphant press release plan). Attempts to trace the buried friary from the University of Leicester stating that the foundations using ground-penetrating radar search had apparently been successful. So failed (Symonds and Hilts 2012, pp. 14–15). Richard’s supposed remains quickly became a leading news story, inspiring some priceless What is known about the burial? headlines including: ‘The king in the car park’; The body was exhumed on 4 September. The ‘Richard III? Our hunch is it is him’ and ‘Is available information concerning this inhum- now the summer of the king’s disinterment?’ ation is still limited, but quite a lot is already Also, this discovery inspired some leading known from a preliminary osteological study articles, cartoons, correspondence and debate carried out by Dr Turi King (Leicester about Richard’s reign and his portrayal by University Dept of Genetics), Dr Jo Appleby Shakespeare. and Mathew Morris (Leicester University The Franciscan friary in Leicester, pop- School of Archaeology and Ancient History). ularly known as Greyfriars, was founded about According to available information this 1230. It was closed in 1538, as part of the sup- individual was an articulated adult male, ‘with pression of the monasteries. Since then all its fully fused bones’. The condition of the buildings have been demolished, so no signif- skeleton has been described as ‘moderately icant portion of it is now visible above ground good’ and it showed no evidence of later level to help determine its ground plan. By disturbance, apart from the removal of both 1612 Greyfriars had been converted into a feet. His clavicle was fused, which indicates he house by Robert Herrick, the site of the choir was at least 20, when he died. His wisdom had been transformed into a garden and the site teeth had erupted, which also indicates he was of Richard’s tomb was now marked by a probably at least 20. However, there was no commemorative pillar (Ashdown-Hill 2010, p. sign of any skeletal degenerative conditions 108). The interim plan of the friary showed the that might suggest he was a mature adult (aged outline of a simple rectangular church with no over 45). None of this evidence contradicts the evidence of aisles, consisting of a nave and a view that this individual could be Richard, who choir (see plan opposite). Further information was aged 32 when he was slain. about the ground plan of the friary and the This individual had apparently died from excavation was provided in Current ‘battle injuries’ or ‘significant peri-mortem Archaeology (Nov. 2012, p. 14). To the south trauma’. An arrowhead was found lodged in of the church were situated the cloisters the man’s spine between the second and third (apparently with a trapezoidal ground plan), thoracic vertebrae. There was evidence of chapter house and domestic buildings. Three brutal trauma to his skull: a bladed weapon had linear trial trenches were excavated across the apparently cleaved away part of the base and car park to try and determine the location and there was a small puncture wound to the top of layout of key elements of the friary. the skull; perhaps caused by a blow from a Trench 2 located what is interpreted as the weapon such as a poleaxe. Either of these head eastern arm of the cloisters, with a 2-metre wounds would have been fatal. Interestingly, wide walkway, which contained the well there is a Welsh tradition that Richard was preserved impressions of the mortar bedding felled by a blow from a poleaxe (Symonds and for its robbed-out encaustic tile floor. It has Hilts 2012, p. 16). 40 The Society’s AGM and Members’ Day 2012
Enthusiasm and excitement at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall as members gathered for possibly the most memorable of Society AGMs
Society President Peter Hammond congratulates the Chairman on his ten Philippa Langley reporting on years in office the Greyfriars dig
i Scenes from the Greyfriars dig
Lead archaeologist Richard Buckley with a piece of tracery that once held a window
Checking the trenches
Philippa Langley in Herrick’s garden Mediaeval remains uncovered on site All Greyfriars photographs © University of Leicester
ii Where the human remains were found Mediaeval inlaid floor tiles from the friary
The Penn Roll project
A page from the University of Pennsylvania’s website showing the Edward IV genealogical roll
iii Greyfriars graphics by Emma Vieceli
All illustrations © Emma Vieceli
iv Plan of the excavations showing layout of the three trenches and the found and conjectured elements of the Friary. The location of the grave in Trench 1 is shown by the peg man. (© University of Leicester) 41 No information is available concerning encaustic tile floor in the choir survived at least either the alignment or the posture of the burial. in part, allowing the height of the floor to be This individual suffered from ‘severe determined. However, within the vicinity of the scoliosis’, a form of curvature of the spine burial all the floor levels had apparently been (angle of curvature not stated), a rare condition destroyed by Victorian activity (Symonds and which today affects around 0.3 to 0.4% of the Hilts 2012, p. 15). population. This condition would have resulted Did any trace of an associated tomb or in this individual’s right shoulder appearing monument survive, including any ex-situ higher than his left; there is no evidence that he fragments of alabaster effigies? Some ex-situ had suffered from kyphosis (another form of Lombardic-style copper alloy letters possibly spinal curvature). Interestingly, assuming that derived from a funerary inscription were found the remains of this adult are those of Richard on site, but it is not known if these artefacts III, then he was clearly not the demonised have any connection with the grave (Symonds monarch with a withered arm and a hunchback and Hilts 2012, p. 16). depicted by Shakespeare. Given Richard’s We understand that further details con- military prowess he was clearly physically fit, cerning the scientific study of the remains are and significantly this particular individual was being withheld for a forthcoming Channel 4 described as ‘plainly strong and active despite television documentary, which doubtless will his disability’ (The Times 13/9/12; Symonds inspire further press coverage. and Hilts 2012, pp. 15–16). The current archaeological and osteological There was no mention of any inscription evidence present a strong circumstantial case (which would have confirmed the identific- for this particular individual being Richard III, ation of this individual) or any grave goods but in the absence of any inscription, confirm- such as dress accessories. The ‘shaft grave’ was ation of this individual’s identity can only be described as ‘a tight fit for the body laid to rest established by scientific analysis, particularly within it’. Apparently there was no evidence of DNA testing and radiocarbon dating. In answer a coffin and it is considered probable that the to the question: Have they found Richard III? body was buried in a shroud, although no trace David Baldwin told British Archaeology ‘it of it survived. Interestingly, the grave was seems pretty likely, doesn’t it?’. Clearly a lot described as ‘slightly too short for the body’, more will be learnt from the ongoing the implying that it had been dug before the body osteological and scientific study of this was measured and there was no time to enlarge particular individual including: it (Guardian 24/9/12). The fact the grave was His height and some indication of his clearly the wrong size implies a certain haste to • physique. bury a corpse. Remember, if Richard’s corpse Details concerning his apparently fatal had not been embalmed after several days of • injuries and the weapons which caused being moved around in the heat of summer, it them (see above). To discover a medieval would have been rapidly decomposing by the burial with injuries of this nature is time the friars got custody of it. unusual, unless it was found at a battle site It would be interesting to know if any dat- such as Towton. able material, such as pottery, was recovered Any evidence of previous injuries from the backfill of the grave. Apparently some • including healed fractures. broken medieval floor tiles were recovered from the backfill, providing some idea of the It is hoped to extract mitochondrial DNA from how the choir was floored during this period his teeth and try to get a match with his (Guardian 24/9/12). descendants, including a seventeenth gener- Prof. Biddle (letter in The Times 19/9/12) ation great-nephew (Michael Ibsen). Will this pointed out that no details had been included in work? (Ashdown-Hill 2010, pp. 115–26). the press coverage to date concerning the Isotope analysis of his teeth would provide a stratigraphic position of this particular grave broad indication of where he lived as a child. and its relationship with any surviving floor This technique would identify the geological levels. Apparently, the mortar bedding for the origin of the minerals that his adult set of teeth 42 absorbed from his food and drink during their of a church was a favourite place for burial of formation. High precision radiocarbon dating high-status or rich patrons. would provide an approximate date for the Bruce Watson and Geoffrey Wheeler burial in the absence of any useful finds dating or stratigraphic evidence (see above). Bruce Watson is a freelance archaeologist, who It is understood that the preservation of the formerly worked for the Museum of London, skull is good enough for a facial reconstruction where he was involved with the burial of Anne to be undertaken. Mowbray in particular and the Plantagenets in general. Bruce and Geoffrey Wheeler will Discussion provide further comment and analysis on the Richard III lived and died in an age when Greyfriars finds and related media coverage in members of the aristocracy and royal family future issues of the Bulletin. generally paid great attention to the provision of monumental tombs. Witness the splendid References chapel that Henry VII added to Westminster Ashdown-Hill, J, 2010 The Last Days of Abbey as his mausoleum. Of course Richard Richard III, Stroud: the History Press. III was at a great disadvantage when it came to Baldwin, D, 1986. ‘King Richard’s Grave in preparing a monumental tomb: he had a very Leicester’, Trans Leicestershire Archaeol short reign and the circumstances of his death and Hist Soc 60, pp. 21–4. would have strongly discouraged any surviving Leicester University Press Office 12/9/12 friends or family members from making any ‘Transcript of finds: search for King provision for the decent burial of his remains. Richard III enters new phase after Presumably Leicester was chosen as Richard’s momentous discovery has potential to place of burial for its nearness to Bosworth rewrite history’. rather than any family connection. A graphic Symonds, M, and Hilts, C, ‘Richard III: the idea of the elaborate funeral rites due to a search for the last Plantagenet king’, contemporary English king are described in Current Archaeology No 272, Nov. 2012, several versions of a late fifteenth- or early pp. 12–17. sixteenth-century text, which mentions the Sutton, A F, Visser-Fuchs, L, with Griffiths, R funeral of Edward IV (9–19 April 1483) A, 2005 The Royal Funerals of the House (Sutton et al 2005, pp. 33–4). So it would be of York at Windsor, Richard III Society. interesting to see what aspects (if any) of BBC History Magazine vol 13, No 11, pp. Richard’s burial conformed to this treatise. For 12–13 instance, was there any evidence of clothing? This particular grave in the centre of the Media retrospective: painful puns choir occupies a prominent position and one and prognostication that would have hindered pedestrian access An advance press release drafted by Annette along the choir if it consisted of a sizable chest Carson, timed for 24 August, created a modest tomb with an effigy (see above), so perhaps the response in the Daily Telegraph (see below). tomb was not sited directly over the grave, but The story was also picked up by the Guardian to one side as its provision during 1495 was and Metro. 25 August saw a substantial clearly an afterthought (see above). Of course increase in coverage, with the Express* and Richard’s burial would not have been the only Mail publishing an unattributed modern copy interment within the church and ongoing of the Society of Antiquaries of London documentary research by Philippa Langley has portrait of Richard III which was to feature identified four other individuals who were prominently throughout the forthcoming media definitely buried here. For instance, excav- coverage; while the Telegraph ran an in-depth ations within the choir also revealed a piece by Sarah Rainey, contrasting the views of disarticulated female burial confirming the Philippa Langley with those of other historians existence of other patron’s burials. Document- and several novelists. After the public holiday ary evidence and the excavation of other on 30 August, the Telegraph returned to the mendicant church choirs show that this portion story with an update on the progress of the 43 44 excavation and a letter pleading for Richard’s the Independent* the twentieth-century stained reburial in York. In the Mail on Sunday (9 glass image of Richard in Cardiff Castle was September) ‘Quote of the Week’ had Richard presented as ‘proof’ that Richard had not Taylor of the University of Leicester declaring: suffered from a spinal deformity. ‘this search has at times resembled a Dan The following week (17–20 September) Brown novel with its twists and turns’. Three saw letters in the The Times discussing aspects days later The Times made a brief of Richard’s life, his rediscovery and the future acknowledgement of the discovery of human resting place of his supposed remains (see remains during the excavation. Coincidentally, below). On 21 September the Comment & both the Mail* and Telegraph* ran stories Debate forum in the Guardian saw Simon featuring identical photographs of Kevin Jenkins (a contributor to these pages, see Spacey as Richard III. The theme was now Bulletins Sept. 2010, Mar. and Dec. 2011) ‘had Richard III’s remains been found?’ in the giving some well-reasoned thoughts on the Express, Independent and Mirror. subject of how we confuse history and myth, 13 September produced dramatic mast- criticising Ben Macintyre’s article (The Times heads for stories in the Guardian* and The 14 September). On the same day the novelist Times* (see below), proclaiming the discovery Rosemary Hawley Jarman pointed out in a of Richard’s remains, plus in-depth coverage letter to the Mail that having scoliosis does not and comment; the Telegraph feature provided a stop people leading active lives and that the dichotomy between its bold headline and the endless press references to Richard’s possible text, which struck a more cautious note. While murder of his nephews ignore the fact that his the Metro and Independent expressed no doubt guilt is unproven. in their coverage that the remains of Richard On 22 September an item in Andy had been discovered, the Express instead chose McSmith’s ‘Diary’ in the Independent pointed to discuss Shakespeare’s portrayal of Richard. out that the House of Commons motion calling The Sun ran the story with the headline: ‘It’s for Richard’s state funeral had only attracted just a hunch – we think we’ve found Richard two signatures. Meanwhile in the Sunday III’. The Mail, in the first of a series of articles Telegraph Sarah Gristwood used the interest in favourable to Richard, expressed not a shred of Richard to promote her new book Blood doubt that he had been found and launched a Sisters: The Hidden Lives of the Women Behind patriotic plea for his ‘decent’ reburial. the Wars of the Roses, to discuss Richard’s 14 September saw the Telegraph get more ‘charismatic mother Cecily Neville’. mileage out of the discrepancies between 24 September saw another feature in the Shakespeare’s play and historical reality. The Guardian, which included the views of local Times discussed the importance of DNA testing visitors to the now completed excavations. One of the remains to help determine the identity of of the archaeologists informed the reporter that this individual, whilst the Evening Standard getting permission to carry out the excavation wondered if we could clone Richard III. 15 was surprisingly easy ‘because nobody September saw the Guardian reporting a expected us to find anything’. 27 September demand from a Tory MP that Richard receive a saw Richard linked with one of the other big state funeral and reburial in either Westminster stories of this summer: ‘Could Richard III join Abbey or York Minster. Unfortunately, these Paralympics GB?’ in the Guardian (G2). 30 aspirations were confounded by The Times September witnessed a last retort, from the informing us the Queen had rejected a request editorial column of The Stage: ‘Shakespeare’s for Richard’s reburial in Westminster Abbey. myth of Richard III tells us greater truth’, The Telegraph published a letter from someone pointing out the famous account of Richard’s claiming to be descended from Richard’s sister life was written by Shakespeare not an Anne. historian. Though ultimately ‘The imagined, Sunday’s broadsheets (16 September) and yet exaggerated Richard is a profoundly provided some in-depth coverage with features more interesting character than the king who in the Independent*, Observer*, Sunday inspired him’. Of course medical opinion Times* and Sunday Telegraph. Curiously, in concerning Richard’s physique has been 45 central to the portrayal of his character on stage noblewoman better known as Leonardo’s during the twentieth century. Sir Antony Sher ‘Mona Lisa’ (1503). Press reports for 4 October in his book Year of the King (1985) charted his pictured the exhumed skull next to the Louvre extensive research into the king’s possible painting. However, yet again, not all the deformity favouring kyphosis, over a scoliotic experts are convinced, one declaring ‘although back (discussed earlier). the excavation is being carried out in a Finally, it would seem that the dust has professional manner (it) is not grounded in scarcely settled on the Leicester excavation, scientific research methodology’. O Tempora, when a similar archaeological search for the O Mores! remains of another famous individual has been Geoffrey Wheeler reported from Italy. Since April a team has been working in the former convent of St (Please note that an * against a newspaper Ursula in Florence searching for the remains of title indicates the headline appears in the col- Lisa Gheradini Del Giocondo, a Florentine lage on p. 44) Selected reports from UK newspapers and magazines concerning the Leicester excavations 24 August Daily Telegraph, ‘“Stunning” find in the search for Richard Daily Telegraph, ‘King who lies buried in a council car III: discovery under council car park could be final resting park: archaeologists believe that they have found the site of place of last Plantagenet king’ Nick Collins, illustrations: the friary in Leicester where Richard III was laid after the M. Ibsen, NPG portrait and Kevin Spacey as Richard III. Battle of Bosworth’. Nick Collins, illustrations: map; car Insert box – ‘Fact or fiction? Shakespeare’s propaganda and park; Leicester cathedral monument and engraving of a confused map maker’. Richard’s charge at Bosworth (Richard Doyle, 1864). Independent, ‘Richard III’s remains found under car park’ Guardian, ‘Dig may uncover lost grave of Richard III’ Press Nick Clark, illustrations: excavation trench and Soc of A’s Assoc (PA), illustrations: National Portrait Gallery (NPG) portrait. portrait of Richard III. 13 September 25 August Daily Express, ‘Was Shakespeare right about the killer Daily Express, ‘Hunt for Richard III’s grave in car park’, king?: Richard III’s grave may finally unearth the truth illustrations: car park, Doyle’s engraving (see above) and about the Bard’s hunchback despot’, Julie Carpenter, illus- copy of Society of Antiquaries of London (Soc of A’s) por- trations: Philippa Langley in trench, Kevin Spacey as trait of Richard III. Richard III, NPG portrait and car park. ‘Richard III? Our Daily Mail, ‘Is there a king under this car park?’, Paul hunch is it is him’ Tammy Hughes, Column. Bentley, illustrations: car park and copy of Soc of A portrait Daily Mail, ‘An arrow in his crooked back, surely this must of Richard III. be Richard III’ Tamara Cohen. Insert ‘Yes he may have Daily Telegraph, ‘Digging for dirt on hunchback king’ killed the princes in the Tower, but now we should give our Sarah Rainey, illustrations: car park, Victorian engraving of last ENGLISH king a decent burial’, Simon Heffer illustra- Richard III dying and Henry being offered the crown. tions: trench: Soc of A’s portrait and Pugh cartoon. ‘Niece’s ‘Descendant of Richard III joins dig for grave’ Nick Collins DNA to be tested’ (the late Joyce Ibsen provided DNA sam- (M. Ibsen visits excavation). ples in 2005), photo: Joyce Ibsen. Independent, News: Archaeology: ‘Is Richard III’s grave Daily Telegraph, ‘Richard III’s skeleton reveals “hunch- under car park?’ photos: M. Ibsen. Marking out excavation back” king’ Nick Britten, illustrations: Google Earth view of trench and NPG portrait. car park; close up of the fully excavated grave and an engraving of Edmund Kean as Richard III. Editorial com- 30 August ment ‘Richard III lost and found’. Daily Telegraph, ‘Team searching for Richard III’s remains Guardian, Front cover, masthead: ‘Is the car park skeleton under car park unearth first clue’ Nick Collins, Column. Richard III? Remains to be DNA tested’. ‘Could warrior Letter ‘Richard III should be buried in York’ Angela with crooked spine be the body of Richard III’ Martin Moreton. Wainwright, illustrations: re-enactment with two medieval 6 September knights in car park. ‘Kings and Canadians descendant’s Daily Telegraph, ‘Richard’s burial site found under car DNA crucial to dig’ Caroline Davis, illustrations: M. Ibsen. park’ Donna Bowater, Column. G2 Supplement ‘Is this really Richard III’s resting place?’ Patrick Kingley, illustrations: different view of two re-enac- 12 September tors in car park, one with a speech bubble saying: ‘I could Daily Express, ‘Found: King Richard III’s bones’ Anil have sworn we left him around here somewhere’. Dawer, illustrations: NPG portrait. Independent, ‘Richard III’s skeleton has arrow wound’ Nick Daily Mail, ‘Have they dug up remains of Richard III in a Clark; and leading article ‘Is now the summer of the king’s council car park’ Paul Bentley, illustrations: Soc of Antiq’s disinterment?’ portrait and Kevin Spacey as Richard III at Old Vic. Metro, ‘A spine-tingling discovery: skeleton with arrow in Daily Mirror, ‘Richard III’s remains found in car park’ back could be King Richard’’ Fred Attewell, illustrations: Martin Fricker, illustrations: car park and a Victorian engrav- Karen Ladniuk of the Richard III Society working on excav- ing of Richard III. 46 ation, cartoon and two medieval knights re-enactors in car monarch a decent burial’ Don Jones, In Focus, illustra- park. tions: Look & Learn Richard III’s last stand, vignettes of The Times, Front cover, masthead: ‘The king in the car Richard’s death and burial, reconstruction of Greyfriars, park’ Tom Whipple and Ben Macintyre on the hunt for skeletal reconstruction and NPG portrait. Insert: ‘The Richard III, illustrations: Look and Learn Richard III’s last DNA test’, photo: M. Ibsen. stand and caricature of Edmund Kean as a Richard III and 17 September Haldane cartoon. Leading article ‘King’s Evidence: have The Times, letter ‘Richard III’s guilt’ archaeologists in Leicester found the battle-scarred Dr Andrew Spencer, Cambridge University. remains of Richard III?’. ‘Richard III mystery takes a new turn in council car park’ Tom Whipple; illustrations: friary 18 September plan showing grave location; Philippa Langley in trench; TheTimes, letter ‘Richard’s farewell’ Ronald Fletcher, medieval silver penny (find); fragments of ex-situ window Glous (Richard’s reburial should be celebrated by a Latin tracery. ‘Good king or bad? Truth is, we may never know’ requiem mass); cartoon by Peter Brookes ‘Exam question: Ben Macintyre, Commentary; ‘The end of the royal DNA who murdered the Princes in the Tower?’ (linked with the line’ Helen Rumblelow, illustrations: M. Ibsen. proposed abolition of GCSEs). ‘Shakespeare’s charmingly appalling villain’ Ben Hoyle, 19 September illustrations: frieze of Richard III actors. The Times, letters ‘Richard III evidence’ Prof Martin Sun, ‘It’s just a hunch – we think we’ve found him’, pho- Biddle, Oxford University (see above) and Geoffrey tos: Kenneth Branagh as Richard III, M. Ibsen and NPG Carter (on the dangers of judging Richard III’s actions by portrait. Leicester, Guildhall Press Conference. modern standards). 14 September The Times, letter ‘Abbey precedent’ Bruce Watson (on Daily Telegraph, ‘Shakespeare histories are no more than how Anne Mowbray’s reburial provides a contemporary legends, but they live’ Alan Massie, Comment, photos: Plantagenet precedent for Richard’s burial in Westminster Olivier in film of Henry V. Abbey). Evening Standard, ‘Give us a royal Jurassic Park’ Nick 21 September Curtis, photos: Kevin Spacey as Richard III. Daily Mail, letter ‘Richard III innocent? It’s more than a The Times, ‘A DNA swab his kingdom for a DNA swab: hunch’ Rosemary Hawley Jarman (author of a novel about the science that could identify Richard III’s bones could Richard III: We Speak No Treason). Photo RHJ, inset RIII also clear him of murdering the Princes in the Tower’ Ben portrait. Macintyre. Guardian, ‘History as fantasy is no substitute for rigorous 15 September truth’ Simon Jenkins, Comment & Debate. Cartoon of a Daily Telegraph, letter ‘Richard III’s DNA’, Nigel Mc chest containing crown, cloak, crutch, scroll, sword and Crea (15th great-nephew, descended from Richard’s elder ‘White Tower’. sister Anne). 24 September Guardian, ‘Tory MP calls for state funeral for Richard III’, Guardian, ‘Winter of content for Richard III loyalists: Chris Skidmore, Archaeology. Letter ‘Remains of King king’s latter-day fans have high hopes for bones found Stephen are also missing’ Valerie Gidlow. under Leicester car park’ Maev Kennedy, illustrations Independent, ‘Boning up is the best way to learn history’ nineteenth-century engraving of battle of Bosworth (after Phillip Hensher, Opinion. A. Cooper painting) and coloured Victorian Portrait of The Times, ‘Queen rejects royal place of rest for Richard Richard III, plus excavation trench. III’s troubled spirit’ Ben Macintyre. My week ‘Richard III’ (according to Hugo Rifkind), illustrations: Kevin 27 September Spacey as Richard III. ‘How science may help identify the Guardian, (G2 Notes & Queries) ‘Could Richard III join bones of Richard III’ Norman Hammond, Archaeology Paralympics GB?’, two letters pointing out that some four column (issue of DNA testing), illustrations: moulded people in every thousand suffer from scoliosis to some stones from Leicester Greyfriars. degree and that some modern athlete’s including Usain Bolt have scoliosis. Illus: N. Dance portrait of Garrick as 16 September Richard III. Independent on Sunday, ‘Richard III: the truth may yet be discovered’ Lisa Hilton (has lectured to Richard III November Society), illustrations: 1920s stained glass image of BBC History Magazine (vol. 13, No 11, pp. 12–13), ‘Did Richard III at Cardiff Castle. Richard III die from a blow to the head?’ David Keys, Observer, ‘My kingdom for a makeover: could a skeleton illustrations: copy of Soc of A’s portrait, view empty grave prompt a rethink of Richard III’ Robert Mc Crum, In and engraving of the Battle of Bosworth. (From John Focus, History, illustrations: Mark Rylance as Richard III Speed’s map 1611.) at the Globe and medieval re-enactors in car park. Insert : British Archaeology (No 127, p. 6), ‘Is this a king? Key ‘In his own words . . . courtesy of Shakespeare’, illustra- Facts on Leicester dig’ Mike Pitts, illustrations: views of tions: NPG portrait. excavation, floor tile and a detailed plan of the excava- Sunday Telegraph, ‘Was the king in the car park really tions. bad? Profile of Richard III’ William Langley, Column (an Current Archaeology (No 272, Nov. 2012, pp. 12–17), attempt to uncover the truth about Shakespeare’s pan- ‘Richard III: the search for the last Plantagenet king’ tomime villain), illustration: ‘Spring’ cartoon of the king Matthew Symonds and Carly Hilts, illustrations: Soc of feeding the parking meter. A’s portrait, various views of the car park and excavation, Sunday Times, ‘My kingdom for a hearse: hopes are grow- the River Soar, selective finds (a floor tile, a silver penny ing that bones found beneath a Leicester car park belong and some copper alloy letters) and a detailed plan of the to Richard III. It’s time to give England’s most reviled excavations. 47 More points from the dig from and when did it first appear? It seems The Times was amongst the first newspapers to Who killed Richard III? name him. On 13 September 2012 Ben One of the more intriguing stories to emerge Macintyre wrote in his column ‘Commentary’ from the newspaper coverage of the excav- ‘In Shakespeare’s play, the king cries out ‘A ations at Leicester has to be the story that horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse’, but Richard III was killed by a Welshman called Richard’s horse, a white courser, may have led William Gardner wielding a poleaxe. This fits to his undoing: according to one account, it got neatly with the description of the injuries to the stuck in a patch of marsh, whereupon a skull that has been found. Welshman, Wyllyam Gardynyr, stove What is intriguing is that this was the first Richard’s head in with a poleaxe’.6 The story time I had ever heard of William Gardner: was repeated in part by the Observer, ‘Richard, surely the name of the man who killed Richard immobilised at bay, was felled by a III should have been pretty well known? Welshman’s poleaxe’.7 More worryingly Polydore Vergil, who was writing for Henry Current Archaeology repeated it: ‘Welsh VII, provides no names, only that Richard died tradition has it that Richard was felled by a alone fighting manfully in the thickest press of poleaxe blow from the mercenary Wyllyam his enemies. The most detailed account by a Gardynyr’.8 None of these has given the source modern historian of Richard’s death is in Paul for this ‘tradition’. Murray Kendall’s biography of Richard, ‘He Thinking that it may be the result of more heard yells . . . a shock of steel. Stanley’s recent research I contacted some historians cavalry had crashed against his tiny fellowship. working on medieval Welsh history. Dr Adam ‘Treason!’ he cried again . . . A dozen weapons Chapman worked on the soldier project at smashed through his armour. In the midst of his Southampton and specialises in Welsh soldiers foes, alone, he was beaten lifeless to the ground of the medieval period. He had not come across . . .’1 According to Michael Jones, ‘A desperate anything for William Gardner, I therefore tried stand was made, with the fate of the battle Dr Barry Lewis, who is working on the hanging in the balance . . . But now Stanley’s translation of the medieval Welsh poets at the men had arrived and Richard’s own followers University of Wales. He confirmed that were being overwhelmed . . . in a bloody Gardner had not been named by poets such as denouement Richard was overpowered with Gutor Glynn or Lewis Glyn Cothi, nor did he blows and battered to death.’2 It is only in the appear in the seventeenth-century Life of Syr notes that we start to get a name: Jones records Rhys ap Thomas, or any of the secondary ‘the part played by Sir Rhys ap Thomas’, literature dealing with Welsh matters. Both which appeared in Ralph Griffith’s edition of Barry and Adam pointed me to Wikipedia an early seventeenth-century family history.3 where they found Gardiner mentioned. Given that William Gardner was said to be a The Wikipedia entry claims that ‘Wyllyam Welshman, it seemed that the best place to look Gardynyr . . . was born in 1451 at Oxfordshire, would be in Welsh sources. I therefore turned England. He was a commoner and cloth to Wales and the Wars of the Roses, by H. T. merchant before he was hired as a mercenary Evans. He too shows Richard’s death in ‘the during the War of the Roses. Although he was thick of the fight’, adding that ‘Rhys ap sometimes recorded as a ‘Welsh halberdier’, he Thomas was knighted on the battlefield, and was most likely of French, Scottish, and gave considerable assistance to Henry in English ancestry. The Welsh accounts state that subsequent years’.4 If a single Welshman was Sir William Gardner killed King Richard III responsible it appears to be Rhys ap Thomas. It with a poleaxe. The Welsh account reads, would seem that when writing a family history ‘Richard’s horse was trapped in the marsh there was perhaps some kudos in claiming a where he was slain by one of Rhys Thomas’ regicide in the family. The family of Ralph men, a commoner named Wyllyam Gardynyr’. Rudyard of Rudyard claimed that he killed The entry continues that as a reward Gardner Richard.5 was knighted by Tudor and married to Jasper So where did the story of Gardner come Tudor’s illegitimate daughter – they were the 48 parents of Stephen Gardiner, bishop of Win- chester. 1. Paul Murray Kendall, Richard the Third There are only a couple of references cited. (1973), p. 367. One is a website which is no longer live, but 2. Michael K. Jones, Bosworth 1485 the main source would appear to be Gardiner Psychology of a Battle (2002), p.170. Generations and Relations, Vol. 1, by Richard 3. Ibid, p. 213. Thomas Gardiner. Further delving led to 4. Evans (1915, revised edition 1995), various family history sites, one of which p. 135. claimed that William had married Helen Tudor, 5. I am grateful to Peter Hammond for this daughter of Jasper Tudor and Katherine reference. As Peter remarked, if Henry Woodville. Another entry had amended this to reliably knew who had killed Richard name Helen as the illegitimate daughter of then he would have rewarded him – he Jasper. The story that they were the parents of had rewarded men for less. Stephen Gardiner was maintained. However, a 6. Ben Macintyre, ‘Commentary’ The Times quick look at the Oxford Dictionary of (13 September 2012), p. 5. National Biography shows that the bishop’s 7. Robert McCrum, ‘In Focus History’, the parents were probably John Gardiner, a Observer (16 September 2012), p. 28. clothmaker of Bury St Edmunds, and Agnes his 8. Matthew Symonds and Carly Hilts, wife. ‘Richard III The search for the last A discussion thread on the history of Plantagenet king’, Current Archaeology William and Helen throws a little more light, (November 2012), issue 272, pp. 12-17. quoting a chunk from Gardiner Generations; 9. Molinet’s account of Bosworth is given this gives the only references for the story of by Michael Bennett in The Battle of William and his doughty poleaxe, or does it? Bosworth (1985), p. 161. This differs ‘Molinet, a chronicler from Burgundy, slightly from that quoted by Gardiner in covering the battle, described the scene in this his family history. ‘The king bore himself manner (taken from the book The Making of valiantly according to his destiny, and the Tudor Dynasty, by Roger Thomas) ‘During wore the crown on his head; . . . he found the vigorous hand-to-hand fighting . . . a Welsh himself alone on the field he thought to halberdier . . . knocking off Richard’s crown, run after the others. His horse leapt into a then giving one mighty swing, smashed marsh from which it could not retrieve Richard’s helmet into his skull’. What Molinet itself. One of the Welshmen then came has said is that it was a ‘Welsh halberdier’.9 after him, and struck him dead with a Presumably he was the only Welsh halberdier halberd, . . . ’ in the whole Tudor army and as William was ‘sometimes recorded as a Welsh halberdier’ Shot in the back? then he must be our man! Somewhere along the Reports on the skeleton found at Greyfriars way the halberd has also managed to turn into have included a number of interesting facts a poleaxe. other than signs of scoliosis, amongst them the That someone called William Gardner fact that the feet were missing. A reason for this delivered the death blow is unlikely from the could have been the Victorian building work, evidence. What this does demonstrate is how which narrowly missed cutting through the easy it is for a piece of nonsense to be picked middle of the grave site, although if the body up from Wikipedia and delivered as fact was moved from a previous location in the without anyone first checking the sources and Newarke, the images conjured up by Tim confirming the evidence. I hope that this is one Sutherland at the Triennial Conference come to myth about Richard that can be dismissed. mind. On discussing the mass grave pit found However, now that it has appeared in at least at Towton which contained mainly the small two newspapers and a periodical it is bound to bones from hands and feet, Tim explained that resurface again, and of course anything placed these were the bits that tended to drop off when on the internet must be true! bodies were taken away for reburial. Lynda Pidgeon What was particularly interesting was the 49 report of a barbed arrowhead being found in near to where they were found but these, of the area of the spine. Given that Richard would course, could be the bones of an anointed king have been wearing the best armour that money of England, so that perhaps other criteria could buy, this seemed curious. The person should apply. best able to answer my question over this was There have been suggestions that he should Toby Capwell, who has spoken at both a be reburied in York, ‘where he planned to be Society AGM and the Triennial Conference on buried’. It is worth stating that there is no direct armour. evidence whatsoever that he did plan this. Toby exercised caution about making Much has been made of the fact that he planned assumptions before the DNA results are back. to set up a college for 100 priests in York At the moment we do not know if this is Minster. There is no doubt that he planned this. Richard. Even if the results show that it is, we There are several entries in the Privy Seal still do not know in detail what happened at Register (Harleian Ms, 433) which probably Bosworth and exactly how Richard met his date from between August 1484 and February death. Toby provided a number of possibilities: 1485 which show this. One of the early entries merely says that ‘The Chirche of York hath a 1. It is possible that the arrow was from an graunt for C prestes etc’ but subsequent entries old wound. fill in some of the detail and make clear that 2. The location of the arrowhead – it could Letters Patent setting up the college had been have been in some other part of the torso, issued and that grants of income and property, lodged in the soft tissue, and it may have (probably in the Duchy of Lancaster) had been moved to the present location during made to the Minster. The Dean and Canons of decomposition. At the moment we do not York were given permission to collect the know the exact orientation of the rents.1 arrowhead and the direction it was We know that work had started on setting up pointing in when it was found. How the college because the Fabric Rolls of the likely is it that this was the original Minster for 1485 contain an entry showing that location and orientation when retrieved? six altars for these priests had been erected. In 3. An armour-piercing scenario seems the will of William Poteman, a Canon of York unlikely; however, back plates tend to be and one of those given authority to collect the thinner and lighter than breast plates and rents from the property granted to the new a shot in the back might have a better college, was a bequest of some timber which chance of piercing the back plate, had been taken from the house that was although not a good chance. If the archer originally being erected for the priests of the doing the shooting was big, strong and College to live in but was now being experienced, shooting with a heavy bow demolished. Thus work had progressed quickly into a light back plate, it might be as long as Richard was alive but probably possible. But there are a lot of ifs. stopped soon after he died. Poteman was dead by March 1493.2 My thanks to Toby for his thoughts on this. So we know that Richard not only planned When the programme is finally shown, one of but started work on a large college for priests in the things I will be watching for is exactly York Minster. What we do not know is how he where the arrow head was placed. planned to use this college nor can we know, Lynda Pidgeon lacking any actual evidence. He may have intended this as a mausoleum for his family, Richard III and York starting with the burial of his son Edward (who Since the exciting discovery of the bones in may possibly have been buried in the Minster Leicester, which we are all hoping turn out to already), but we do not know. Richard founded be those of Richard III, there has been much many chantries and elevated the existing discussion about where they should be reburied chantry at Middleham into a college of six if they are indeed his. Normal archaeological priests. He also planned to found a college for protocol would dictate that they be reburied 12 priests in Barnard Castle, another project 50 which failed at his death. We have no more (or around Australia. less) reason to suppose that he wanted to be Our branch was contacted by three radio buried in his foundations of Middleham or stations for interviews. The first one, with Barnard Castle than that he wanted to be buried Australian Broadcasting Corporation New- in York. castle, was broadcast on Thursday afternoon, Peter Hammond ABC Queensland followed on Friday afternoon and finally, 4BC Brisbane on Sunday 1. British Harleian Manuscript 433, ed. R. morning. Each of the interviews lasted approx. Horrox and P. W. Hammond, vol. 1 10 to 15 minutes and obviously I was asked (1979), pp. 201, 221, 242, 247 and 267. about my opinion of the discovery in Leicester 2. The Fabric Rolls of York Minster, ed. J. and who Richard was, but also about the Raine, (1858), pp. 86, 87 Society. All three interviewers had certainly done their homework and asked informed Media retrospective: an Antipodean questions. 4BC Brisbane also included a perspective recording of Shakespeare’s ‘Now is the winter New Zealand of our discontent . . .’ which led to a discussion The ‘Leicester Dig’ was surprisingly well of Shakespeare v. the real Richard. They also covered in New Zealand. Both the national and played a recording of Richard Taylor from the local press, together with national radio University of Leicester at the press conference featured all developments as they occurred. explaining the find. Several members took the opportunity to On Friday, the Sydney Morning Herald had contact local newspapers and the Branch was an article entitled ‘Hunchback skeleton may be featured as far afield as Christchurch and good fit for a king’, which stated that the Auckland. skeleton proved much of what experts ‘knew’ My local interview resulted in a half-page about the medieval king, including that he was article and photograph mid-week to be a hunchback. I immediately put pen to paper followed by the Society being the subject of the (or rather, fingers to keyboard) and was glad weekend editorial (albeit a somewhat that they included my message on their letters’ incredulous ‘whatever rocks your boat’ page the next day. comment) followed by a very supportive All in all it has been a good period of column, strengthened by the fact that both our publicity for our branch and we anticipate more president Deirdre Drysdale and I live locally. of this, if the remains are identified as National Radio have indicated they will be Richard’s. interviewing me when the DNA results are Dorothea Preis, New South Wales Branch known; this will be a follow-up on two interviews they have already conducted with Editor: The ABC NSW station also contacted the archaeologist while the dig was being the Society in England and the deputy conducted. chairman was interviewed for around 15 Our branch contributed to the appeal, minutes on the Thursday, around noon GMT. together with individual members, so the positive results so far have given us all a great More on the King in the Car Park sense of ownership. Without doubt Richard III Needless to say the discovery of the bones and has been to the fore in recent weeks and New their location inspired several cartoonists and Zealand is more aware of our cause than ever attempts at humour by contributors to daily before. columns and letters pages. Rob Smith, New Zealand Branch In Metro (13 September) Robert Thompson drew an attendant next to a multi-storey car Australia park lift (Floors 1–3 indicated) greeting a On the day after the announcement that the workman carrying a bucket and spade with remains of a man with severe head trauma and ‘King Richard? . . . The third!’ scoliosis had been found in Leicester, the news In that day’s Mail Pugh showed a career started attracting a wide audience in and adviser (newspaper headlined ‘Richard III 51 We are grateful to the cartoonist Chris Bambrough for permission to reproduce his work here. Original, pigment-inked, hand-drawn versions of the cartoon are available for purchase from Chris, for further details contact him at [email protected]
A cartoon by Pauline Kelly of Hartley, Kent, who drew it for a member of the Society when news broke of those bones found in a Leicester car park. Pauline suffers from Parkinson’s disease, which makes it more difficult for her to use her great artistic talents but has no effect on her wonderful sense of humour 52 bone sensation’ on his desk), asking a dog, Clarkson in the Sun (15 September) ‘So ‘What sparked this sudden interest in they’ve found a shrivelled up Richard III in a archaeology?’, and also ‘Haldane’ in The Times Leicester car park this week? What’s the big drew a couple of archaeologists with a box deal? I have three dogs. Which means my back labelled Richard III saying ‘We also dug up yard is full of the damn things every day’ (NB Henry IV parts one and two’. Cockney rhyming slang). ‘Springs’ end piece to William Langley’s Private Eye’s contribution, not as one might Sunday Telegraph profile (16 September) expect in Pseud’s Corner, showed a seated showed a coroneted ‘Antiquaries portrait’ skeleton, with the headline: ‘Totally Naked caricature about to feed a parking meter, whilst Royal Exposed’ inspired by the recent Kate Peter Brookes in The Times (18 September) Middleton nude photos exposé. ‘Richard III took a political swipe at Education Secretary has been discovered in a car park in Leicester Michael Gove, dressed as Olivier’s Richard, wearing “absolutely nothing”’ it reported. ‘He under the headline: ‘Exam question: who killed didn’t even have a codpiece to hide his the Princes in the Tower?’ strangling two modesty. A spokesman said, “The late King is Millais dressed boys, holding GCSE papers. absolutely furious at this invasion of the Politics was also to the fore in the first of privacy of his grave. To be quite frank, he’s got three Guardian letters: ‘Archaeologists think the hump”’. they’ve found Richard III, and the TUC is Even limericks were featured in the Mail’s considering a general strike. A winter of ‘Rhymes for our Times’ (21 September) ending discontent then.’ (15 September). ‘Identific- ‘. . . “But I’ll beg Leicester’s pardon, for in my ation of bones found in Leicester as those of back garden, I’ve Henry First, Second and Richard III may be supported by the telling Third.” Ed Stoat, Bickley, Kent.’ absence of any horse’ (17 September) and ‘Is Geoffrey Wheeler there proof that the bones are those of Richard III or is it just a hunch?’ (20 September). The City Mayor’s Annual Lecture, The Independent’s far-flung correspondent, University of Leicester, 1 October Cole Davis (from Russia!) contributed: ‘I’m 2012 not surprised that Richard III’s remains were This was the second lecture by Sir Peter found under a car park. He was probably Soulsby, Leicester’s first city mayor, who was hoping to make a quick getaway.’ (14 elected in 2011. The first part of the evening September). was given over to a fascinating talk by Richard The tabloids threw in a series of one-liners: Buckley, the founder of the University of ‘If Richard III is found in a car park, how much Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) and will he owe in parking charges?’, Mail (31 the lead archaeologist on the Greyfriars August). Similarly, their Martin Samuel wrote Project. Richard introduced his talk by stating (14 September) ‘The remains of Richard III that Leicester is one of the oldest settlements in have been found in a council car park in Europe and spoke of his experiences and those Leicester. Good luck handing in that ticket.’ of archaeologists before him on the major Regular columnists also found it irresistible: projects in the city including the Iron Age ‘DNA tests are being carried out on bones settlement; Roman Leicester (Ratae suspected to be Richard III [there’s] strong Corieltavorum), the walls of which defined the evidence that [it’s] his body . . . as it has a medieval city; the excavation of the unique curved spine. The real confusion now is why he Jewry wall and Roman baths in 1936–9, now has a shell, four legs and was buried in a one of the city’s free museums; and the excav- cardboard box full of straw’, Sun’s Frankie ations prior to the shopping development of Boyle (14 September). Highcross and of Leicester Abbey, just a short ‘Richard III is parked here’ said Jennifer walk from the city centre. Needless to say, the Selway (Express, 15 September). She con- lecture concluded with an account of the tinued ‘DNA tests to confirm this will take 12 Greyfriars dig. weeks (a long wait – in Silent Witness on the The second lecture came from the mayor, telly [it] takes three minutes max)’ and Jeremy talking about his project ‘Connecting 53 Leicester’. He recalled the words of Sir of us fall more in love with this amazing set of Nickolaus Pevsner, written in 1960, about the characters with every new fact researched. It’s city’s great sites such as the castle, St Mary’s, a long way off completion, and is only being the Newarke, St Nicholas, the Roman baths, St mentioned now because of the excitement Martin’s and the Guildhall, and how a decade around the dig, but it’s a project we care a lot later the integrity of this group was lost due to about and one I hope will appeal to a broad the demands of motor transport within the city. audience when we finally do have it ready. Soulsby’s plan is to reconnect these buildings ‘One of my favourite aspects of the 20 or so and other parts of the city by removing the years we’ve been focusing on, for example, is barriers which make it difficult for people to the ever-shifting dynamic between the three move from area to another. Two of the brothers: Edward, George and Richard. audience had spent the day familiarising Jealousy, rivalry and loyalty are dynamics that themselves with the historical sites and risking are relevant to everyone, whether living in the life and limb crossing the canalised Soar and St fifteenth or twenty-first century. Of course, Nicholas Place, and so could readily empathise there are things we’ll never know and can only with the mayor when he also mentioned the guess at, and that uncertainty is nothing if not perils of crossing the city. massively inspiring. We’re not looking to make An audio version of the talk is available on a history book; we’re looking to tell an http://citymayor.leicester.gov.uk/welcome/city amazing story that will hopefully make readers -mayor-lecture think twice about who they think Richard III is. Wendy Moorhen I don’t need to tell Bulletin readers how inspiring he is, after all. I am so lucky that there Emma Vieceli’s Greyfriars graphics is such a wealth of fantastic historical writing On p. iv of the colour section, we reproduce out there to absorb and enjoy! I’m especially a four of the five graphics that the Cambridge- fan of Seventh Son by Reay Tannahill, as it was based artist Emma Vieceli created to describe the first historical fiction telling of the time that the University of Leicester’s Search for King I read, having stuck to history books before Richard III project. These impressive images that. I now have shelves of them. follow stained-glass windows in style and have ‘Of course, this is all background to how I been drawn to capture the past in an innovative became involved with the Greyfriars dig. Like way; the graphics were produced with Kate every Ricardian alive I suspect, when I heard Brown (flat colours and textures) and Paul about the Greyfriars dig I was all over the Duffield (panel borders and text). Emma is also news. I started following Leicester University working on a graphic novel series about the life on twitter, desperate to see any news that they of Richard. We asked her for some thoughts might share in what was, after all, an incredibly about the Greyfriars dig and Richard III: long shot in many ways. In support of the ‘It feels odd to say I’m a fan of a 500-year- project I even changed my Twitter avatar to an dead monarch, but I am. I have been for a very image I’d drawn a little while back to long time, and what’s lovely is knowing that accompany the graphic novel project, and I’m I’m far from the only fan he has, and his so glad now that I did. Richard Taylor at the supporters are apparently growing in number University spotted my avatar and got in touch, all the time. Indeed, I fell so hard for Dickon asking whether I’d be interested in offering and his story that I decided a couple of years some illustration to accompany the press ago that I wanted to create a graphic novel release. I leapt at the chance. series about Richard’s life; something that tells ‘It was all rather short notice and incredibly the tale that Shakespeare wasn’t able to. A exciting, but I drafted in my friends and fellow historical novel in graphic form, essentially. creators, Kate Brown and Paul Duffield, and I’m a professional comic book creator by trade together we produced the set of five illus- and being able to turn that towards a subject trations that the University released in matter so close to my heart is a dream. I’ve conjunction with their incredible findings. I been working on this with my husband, pencilled and inked the pieces, and Kate and Andrew Ruddick, for a while now, and the pair Paul finished them up with colour, borders and 54 text. We’re all fans of the boar, so being able to be a small part of this momentous event was just thrilling for us. I was holding my breath for days! The response to the five panels has been so positive, and I am just over the moon to have been a part of the Greyfriars project. I have huge respect for the skill and dedication the team behind the dig displayed. What mind- blowing results they produced!’ Our thanks to Emma for talking to the Bulletin and to the University of Leicester for permission to reproduce the graphics. To find out more about Emma and her work visit: www.emmavieceli.com.
Managing the opportunities – a public relations (PR) strategy If Richard III’s story makes for good historical Peter Secchi, newly appointed Press Officer for detective work then as a PR challenge it is the Society almost unrivalled. The last 500 years have not encourage discussion and study into the life been kind to King Richard; reviled as one of and times of Richard – in other words, to fulfil British history’s ‘bad guys’: tales of the our mission statement. hunchback and alleged infanticide far out- The plan follows the three critical moments weigh tales of wisdom and fraternal loyalty. that lie ahead of us – the broadcast of a Yet despite this, the Richard III Society’s programme following the dig on Channel 4, the quest to seek a re-evaluation of Richard’s reign announcement of the results on the skeleton, presses on regardless. Through modern pro- and the reinterment of the skeleton if it proves Tudor populism and widespread, lazy to be Richard III. acceptance of the ‘established facts’, Richard’s Just as would have been the case 500 years beguiling stories still sees Society membership ago, scandal sells and when these stories break, numbers rise and fall, usually dictated by the media will need to cover them. Each of external factors which relight interest in the these incidents will see a natural increase in mystery. media awareness and a public discussion The television trial of Richard III in 1984 centring on Richard. The PR plan is designed saw numbers boom, as they did with the to offer the Society’s expertise to the media on publication of Josephine Tey’s book The each of these occasions. Daughter of Time and the quincentenial Nothing changes, of course. Woodville anniversaries of 1983–5, but the recent meddling or Tudor’s usurpation of the throne discovery of human remains in Leicester would have set the European courts into full represents the most significant opportunity for gossip-mode with each foreign envoy or spy the Richard III Society to promote its cause. being tasked to send home as much And so we have begun the roll-out of a information as possible. Doubtless each comprehensive PR campaign. interested party would have had the As with many reactive PR campaigns, the contemporary of our press officers lobbying for timing of the discovery was rather sudden and the equivalent of media coverage in the offered limited time in which to operate. Much missives being dispatched across the Channel. as might have been the case in 1485, fact is One wonders how a Plantagenet Press muddled with fiction and rumour as people talk Officer might have handled a post-Bosworth and desperately seek more information on the apocalypse without the aid of a Blackberry and talking point of the day. And, just as in 1485, Sky News . . . how ever would they have people will move on and it is imperative to managed? make the most of this golden opportunity to Peter Secchi, Society Press Officer 55 Our Olympic Diary: part 2
SUE AND DAVE WELLS
ell, it is all over now, but what systems that enabled us to select the Olympic Wwonderful memories. They will stay venues, airports and hotels that were being with us forever. The anticipation gradually used by the officials, etc. The system then built in the days leading up to our first duties. selected the fastest route using the Olympic This was mixed with a little anxiety (the fear of lanes wherever possible. Also, we all had hand- the unknown) as we did not really know what held radios to keep in touch with the central to expect. In the event, these concerns were control point at Stratford. Not all of the drivers, completely unfounded, and all went well. not to mention some of the controllers, were Our duty rosters covered the period from 18 entirely comfortable with using the equipment. July to 14 August. Although we volunteered for Some of the exchanges were excruciating. the Olympics and Paralympics, we were not Fortunately, most of us wore earpieces, which used for the latter. On reflection, we were meant that our passengers did not hear the pleased that we were only selected for the somewhat strangled radio conversations. For Olympics as we were so tired at the end of it example, one driver was asked to re-tune his all. set to channel one and he promptly re-tuned the We were asked to come on duty in advance car radio to BBC Radio 1 and wondered why of the Games which began on 27 July, so that his controller wasn’t getting through. we could collect people from airports or As we said last time, we were providing an stations and take them to their hotels, although ‘on demand’ taxi-style service, mainly for this was a fairly quiet period for us. It gave us Members of the International Olympic the opportunity to familiarise ourselves with Committee, National Delegates from their the cars, the locations, especially the Olympic respective sporting associations, trainers and Park – which was huge – and the Olympic coaches and, in some cases, the athletes routes. You will no doubt have read about the themselves. We were not lucky enough to carry dedicated Olympic lanes to give priority any household names, but Sue was fortunate around London. We thought that they were a enough to carry Jacques Rogge’s family and splendid idea; not so sure about other drivers who were stuck in long queues, as we sailed by. Dave with Alistair Brownlee, Olympic Triathlon Our depot was at the Olympic Park in Gold Medallist. Stratford. On arrival each day we were assigned to a team and told where we would be based for the shift. This could be, for example, at the Olympic Park, the Athletes’ Village, Heathrow or Stansted Airport or the London Hotels where the VIPs were based. Sue reckoned that the best loos were at the Grosvenor Hotel in Park Lane! Our favourite location was the Olympic Village, where we were able to indulge in some ‘stargazing’ at the athletes. In fact, we even managed to meet some: see the photographs – Sue with Oscar Pistorius (the South African ‘Blade Runner’) and Dave with Alistair Brownlee, who was the men’s triathlon gold medallist. All cars were fitted with satellite navigation 56 the descendants of Baron de Coubertin: the latter were particularly charming although they were somewhat puzzled by the popularity of the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. This was the day following his appearance on the news bulletins dangling from a zip-wire and Sue had to be rather diplomatic in her reply. A few days after this we saw Boris leaving the Olympic Park heading for Stratford station and gathering a healthy procession of followers. He shook Dave’s hand and commented what a great job the Gamesmakers were doing. Security throughout the Games period was tight at all locations, not just the Stratford site. However, the armed services, who as many of you will know were drafted in at the last minute, performed these duties very efficiently and with a good deal of humour. The police were also notable, in that they had represent- atives from many forces across the UK including Scotland and Wales. They also were having a good time and we often saw them Sue and Oscar Pistorius, South African Olympic posing for photographs with visitors who were and Paralympic athlete. wearing one of the ‘copper’s’ helmets. On one occasion, no one was allowed to pass through beyond the security point and wait for Roger an exit gate without first ‘high-fiving’ the Federer. Her immediate reaction was that was officer on duty. How different from the normal all a joke and she took some persuading to perception of police officers. Everyone, comply with the instruction. In fact, when she security and visitors, were having such a good got to the pick-up point, Roger Federer time. climbed over the security fence, which was Our passes allowed us access into the over 6 ft high, followed by his team coach. He Olympic Park although, sadly, not into any of was apparently absolutely charming, very the venues. We took advantage of this access bouncy and playful. She had to remind him to several times just to savour the wonderful wear a seatbelt, because she ‘didn’t want to be atmosphere and to be able to interact with responsible if she had an accident and he visitors and ticket holders. In our distinctive couldn’t play tennis’. On arrival in Wimbledon, uniforms, we were often asked for directions she was invited into his house for coffee to and other information, which we were happy to meet his wife and twins. Unbelievably, she said provide. ‘No!’ None of the drivers, including us, could Although we haven’t any particular believe that she had refused – she was anecdotes ourselves, we do have two stories to concerned that she might get into trouble. We share with you all. all thought, ‘What the heck, go for it: it’s Roger The first concerned Roger Federer, who was Federer.’ What an opportunity. renting a house in Wimbledon, but had to The second story started with a very attend a meeting at the Athletes’ Village in flustered Frenchman climbing into the back of Stratford. He used his own driver to get to one of the cars and demanding to be taken Stratford but was not happy with him as he got urgently to a function in the Haymarket. The lost a few times on the journey. So he told this driver asked to see his accreditation, only to be driver that he wouldn’t be needed for the rest of told, ‘I do not need accreditation. I am the the day and used the on demand service President of France.’ She thought, ‘Pull the instead. A Gamesmaker driver on her first shift other leg’, and called a dispatcher over who was asked by the dispatcher at the village to go looked in the car and said words to the effect: 57 needed to move on immediately. Her response was: ‘Listen mate, I’ve got the President of France in the back and if he can’t get out, you can ****ing tell him!’ Needless to say, the President alighted without further trouble. In both cases the drivers were Irish ladies and, as one of them commented, this was a perfect example of the ‘luck of the Irish’. On our final duty, we, and some of our fellow drivers, drove the cars from Stratford to a base near Dartford in Kent, where they were de-commissioned and prepared for auction. This involved removing all of the Olympic features: transfers and specific Olympic routes and locations in the satellite navigation system. It was quite emotional walking away from the vehicles that we had grown so used to over the previous four weeks. Our last report ended with the following words: ‘Our next dispatch should be with you in the December Bulletin and will hopefully report on a successful and exciting Olympic Games, for us, if not for the whole of Team GB.’ Never, even in the nation’s collective Sue, Dave and an Olympic Torch. wildest dreams, could it have been imagined ‘Oh heck, it is the President. Take him just how successful the London Games would wherever he wants to go.’ At this stage, his be. To say that we were proud to wear the security officer arrived and joined him. M. Gamesmaker uniform would be an under- Hollande was, apparently, very friendly once statement. It was a joy and an honour to be a he knew that he was on his way, but it didn’t part of such a wonderful occasion. end there. On arrival at the Haymarket she Many people have asked whether we would stopped the car at the back of a taxi rank. do it again. On balance, the answer would Before she could open the door, a very irate probably be ‘Yes’ but by the time the Games taxi driver approached and told her that this come back to England, you will probably have stopping place was only for cabs and she to dig us up! Focus on the Sales team
he Richard III Society is dependent on the this issue we focus on our sales team. T voluntary service of its members to be Since the Society was re-founded in 1956 it able to function and fulfil its objectives. has always had items that members could buy, Volunteerism has been much to the fore over starting with the first boar lapel badge. Sales the summer here in the United Kingdom with were usually dealt with by the secretary or the crucial role played by volunteers in the others handling individual items, but over the success of the London Olympics and Para- years the range of items for sale increased so lympics. They were hailed as ‘Gamesmakers’, that in 1974 it was decided to appoint a and in the same sense our volunteers are indeed dedicated officer to deal with sales. The very ‘Society makers’. In March’s Bulletin we first person appointed was Barbara Ellams, and began a new series focusing on the role of our she has kindly provided a few memories of volunteers, beginning with the visits team; in those early days:
58 ‘I enjoyed managing the publications stall and selling the books the Society had on offer and Jeremy Potter, who was then the chairman, thought we should have a person who just dealt with the Society’s publications. I mentioned that I had a little room in which I could store books and my local post office was not too far away and in the way of such things, I was then voted in as the publications officer. In those days we didn’t have very many Society publications so it was not a very onerous job. I remember buying a trolley for taking books to venues; it was a really good one that did sterling service only finally wearing out last year! I made some good friends as some people sent for the newest books as soon as they were announced. It was fun receiving mail from different parts of the world as well as those regulars in the UK. ‘However, my theatre work load became heavier and so instead of being able to get books out on the same day or next day after receiving the order, I had to do the orders once a week. We had just had a new book on sale (I Sales Liaison Officer Sally Empson cannot remember which one) and I had about through the mail, but people were more 20 letters with cheques and quite a few with trusting back then.’ cash or postal orders, I had opened them and several other letters including some bills and Don Fleming remained in post until 1980, left them all in an uneven pile on my bookcase when Anne Smith took over. She had a rather when I realised I was late for work. Imagine longer tenure, not retiring until 1994, later my horror when I got home to find I had been receiving the Robert Hamblin Award for her burgled. All the lovely jewellery I had been services. Thereafter sales were contracted-out, given by special friends whilst working in the since the job had become too big for one theatre was gone – drawers all over the place, person to undertake on a voluntary basis. cupboards open and contents pulled out – and However the decision was taken in 2004 to then I remembered all the Ricardian letters and bring the role back in-house with a sales team those with cash! With shaking fingers and in a to share the work, and Sally Empson as liaison cold sweat, I approached the bookshelf and officer. The following year, however, disaster saw the bills and a couple of cards and lifted almost struck. The book stock was being held them up and there were all the lovely letters in a warehouse in Hemel Hempstead, just a few complete with contents. I cannot tell you the hundred yards from the epicentre of the relief I felt. Buncefield Oil Depot explosion. As the fires ‘Shortly after that I handed over to Don raged nobody was allowed into any Fleming and when he came over to see what neighbouring premises, though on the third day there was, he brought his lovely wife Irene with a small party was admitted and it was found the him and we had a wonderful afternoon tea warehouse was flooded. The water was featuring my special chocolate sponge cake of switched off but it was over two weeks before which Don was particularly appreciative. the stockholder was allowed to assess the When I recounted the tale of the burglary, Don damage, donning heavy-duty boots, high- said he would reinforce the request for cheques visibility jacket and hard hat. Fortunately, other and POs only with orders. It may seem strange than a lot of dust and broken glass, the that people would still insist on sending cash Society’s stock was okay. 59 The range of items for sale has continued to current team comprises Keith Horry, Heather increase and with it the need for storage space. Falvey, Anne Sutton, Judith Ridley, Helen The volume has outgrown spare rooms in Ashburn, and Sue and David Wells, who, with houses and in 2009 the decision was taken to Howard Choppin, also act as my liaison with also rent some space at a storage facility. Our the Executive Committee (EC) for pricing, current store is located close to the Joint postage, and stock level issues. We recently Secretaries, Sue and Dave Wells, home in a bade farewell to one of our original team second hand office furniture warehouse in members, Anne McMillan, who has moved to Braintree. It is tucked away in a corner of this Greece. very large building, occupying two bays with How do you organise your sales officer three levels of storage. The top layer is role? Can you describe what happens from reserved for archive and seldom used material. receipt of initial order to despatch? I usually The decision to rent storage do all the order processing on space was a welcome a Sunday evening although I development since it allowed will have already prepared the consolidation of some of answers to price requests and the stock that was previously other questions, and logged spread around the country, orders received by post in although some still remains in readiness. I liaise with all the stockholders’ houses. A system team by email providing them of numbered storage boxes with the stock number and enables items to be located description of the items quickly and ensures that we required, and the despatch keep accurate stock records. address. Each member of the To give a feel of how our team holds a different “area” current sales operation is of stock – books, merchan- carried out and organised Sally dise, back issues, etc. This is Empson agreed to answer a few why an order will sometimes questions for the Bulletin: arrive in several parcels and How long have you been on different days. I then doing the job and what were update my master stock list. If your thoughts when you first any items are close to selling volunteered? Sometime in out I alert the EC, who make 2004 I was approached by Dave Wells checking stock at the the decision on re-stocking Wendy Moorhen to see if I Society store and who will arrange for would take on the role of replacement or new stock. I Liaison Officer for the new Sales Team that am also responsible for paying in cheques but would consist of volunteers from the Society. since my office location moved out of the town The prospect was a little daunting but I was centre these banking visits have to be provided with a master stock list which I still scheduled around my working hours. This does use today (although the formulas stopped now amount to more than two hours a week. working years ago) and assured that the job What aspect of the role do you most would only take a couple of hours a week. The enjoy, and which bits are not so enjoyable? change from outsourcing Sales to bringing it The most enjoyable aspect of the job is ‘in-house’ would save the Society money. swapping news with the team members when I Given that the stock is in several send through the orders – and selling the locations, how do you all keep in touch and occasional headscarf. The worst times are how are stock levels monitored? It is the those following a sales push in a Bulletin when stockholders who are the core of the team, as orders flood in – we’ve requested no more in they give up vast areas of their own homes to the December issues – and after conferences or stock our goods, and have the task of Bosworth when it can take several hours to get packaging and despatching the orders. Our the stock lists updated. 60 Any advice for members thinking of is, however, to remember that the Sales Team putting in an order? Is there anything that are all volunteers who fit this work around their can be done to make life easier for you and home and working lives so, although most the stockholders? The best advice for anyone orders are handled and despatched fairly wanting to put in an order is to ensure that they quickly, sometimes illness, holidays, or even include their membership number, to write the weather will mean a delay. clearly in block capitals, and to remember to include the 5% bank surcharge when paying by credit card or PayPal. Many thanks to Sally and the rest of the sales The most important advice to our customers team. Photo caption competition
This photo shows Society Joint Secretary, Dave Wells, and Chairman, Phil Stone, during the Bosworth weekend in August. They are enjoying the task of clearing cowpats from the spot where the Society’s marquee is to be erected – a task made even more enjoyable by the persistent rain. Can you think of a good caption to go with it? Please send your suggestions to the Bulletin Team; contact details can be found on p. 4. We will publish the best captions and there might even be a prize for the very best. 61 Ricardian crossword 2
BY SANGLIER
Cryptic clues, mostly with a Ricardian or Wars of the Roses reference. Solution on p. 76.
Across 8 See 27 down. 15 Confiscate nearly half of Essex by fraud. 10 One earl is outraged to find his daughter (7) possibly married in secret. (7) 18 Gunshot blasted three in a thousand. (7) 12 When a mistress has left, it’s finished. 20 Like our favourite rose, wilting when it (3, 4) loses initial novelty. (5) 13 Like the Duke of Buckingham, says 22 A Bachelor of Divinity, wearing robe or Richard – ungrateful turncoat throwing stole. (6) flag away. (6) 24 Dances at home and lands a catch. (5, 2) 14 May be an eminence that Richard finally 25 Edward V maybe, the unruly, sad brat! lacked at Bosworth, according to (7) Shakespeare. (5) 28 Fears to convey how the losers at Towton felt? (12) 62 Down 1 European who lost his head at Castle-on- 15 Monarch died horribly, maintaining the-Water? (4) conflict ends in victory. (6,2) 2 Leer at northern lord. (4) 16 Cromwell’s leaders overturned half the 3 Angle to be an officer of the crown and accusations against Richard. (6) throw nothing away. (6) 17 Brown got caught up with inrush of 4 Hardly a hundred acres were ploughed. people called out to fight. (8) (6) 19 He gained a crown by dealing with rout 5 The allegation against Tyrell: ‘Displays a and initial disaster. (5) sort of passive resistance, and not 21 Teresa made time for an egg. (6) receptive’. (8) 22 What we’d like to do with the king in the 6 Skin is covered in a novel luminescence. question of St Edmund’s place. (6) (6) 23 ‘Good Queen’ (though a Tudor) accepts 7 Hurried up over-estimates of what the alien plagues. (6) Croyland Chronicler does. (8) 26 European union with Georgia? Just 9 Assert that Queen Elizabeth left a receipt. bringing it up is enough to give you the (6) shivers! (4) 11 Endless delusion spun by a notorious 27 and 8 across Our man declaims ‘Feud? spider? (5) OK, get closure!’ (4, 2, 10) Correspondence
Will contributors please note that letters may be shortened or edited to conform to the standards of the Bulletin. The Bulletin is not responsible for the opinions expressed by contributors. The line of succession about the direction of the succession, to wit, is From Revd G D Underwood, Glen Parva, the succession to the crown then to be traced Leicester from the member of the Royal family next in I note with interest the article in the September line after the ending of the entail (in effect the Bulletin concerning ‘King Michael I’ following last holder of the entail), or from the prince or his death in Australia. princess whose own right of succession was Although the received wisdom is that the displaced by the coming into effect of the legitimate line of succession following Richard entail, i.e. who would have succeeded but for III’s death in 1485 should be traced from the entail? Clarence’s daughter Margaret (after her Both logic and law would appear to indicate brother’s death), there would appear to be at the latter. Moreover, as Edward III’s entail least an arguable case against this. effectively continued the existing rule of the From its inception in the Saxon period, the House of Anjou (but in written form), that national monarchy has encompassed rules succession should be traced to the beginning of concerning the succession to the throne, Angevin rule in England, i.e. to Henry II and latterly at least within a primogenitary then from his eldest daughter, who married hereditary framework. This perhaps was Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, regarded as settled and constitutionally in 1168. Coincidentally, the Stuart pretender to definitive from the advent of the House of the throne of Great Britain traces his descent Anjou (1154) and underlined by Edward III’s from the same source. entail (tail male) in 1376, to which Richard II’s 1385 amendment proved, in practice, unnec- Richard’s place of burial essary. The expiration of that entail due to the From Pauline Harrison Pogmore, Sheffield, absence of heirs male to Clarence’s son, Yorkshire Edward of Warwick, raises further questions Ever since the excavation of the bones thought
63 to be those of Richard in Leicester everyone turns out that the Cobb angle of spinal seems to have an opinion on their final resting curvature indicates moderate or severe place. Some of the comments attributed to scoliosis then, if it is Richard, his efforts at various people are, to the say the least, Barnet, Tewkesbury and Bosworth will be ludicrous. The latest I have read is that York is deserving of even more praise. Hopefully full and there may not be anywhere to put him. sometime the Society will be able to publish a What a truly ridiculous statement to make professional analysis of the effect of this about the largest Gothic cathedral north of the condition on Richard’s performance and Alps. Furthermore, it is my understanding that behaviour. in 1854 an Act was passed forbidding burials in any cathedral or church. If this is the case a Perpetuated errors special dispensation would be needed equally From Geoffrey Wheeler for York or for Leicester to house Richard’s It’s gratifying to note that throughout the acres bones. Since it is hardly likely, I hope, that of newsprint devoted to the Leicester Richard will be buried in a churchyard the Greyfriars dig relatively few factual errors whole process is hardly likely to be swift. have been perpetuated by the reporting However, to me the hub of the matter is the journalists, at least in the editions reviewed to wishes of the individual which should be date. Nick Collins in the Daily Telegraph (24 sacred. Had Richard expressed a desire to be August) referred to ‘the altar under which the buried on the moon I would have said that was body would have been buried’ and the same where he should have been interred. As it paper’s Sarah Rainey (25 August) wrote that happens he wished (and plans were already ‘portraits portray the 32 year old as deformed being carried out on his chantry to the extent and ugly’ whilst the Daily Mail’s Simon Heffer that six altars were already in place and (13 September) referred to Edward’s marriage building had begun on a collegiate college for with a Jane Butler, probably a confusion 100 priests) to be buried in York. His burial in between his mistress Elizabeth (‘Jane’) Shore Leicester was the wish of Henry Tudor, not of and Lady Eleanor. Richard. We have now the opportunity to right However, unfortunately, a couple of letters this wrong by making the powers that be aware published recently perpetuated rather more of this wish if they are not already informed. errors and confusion: the first referred to Wherever Richard is laid to rest it should not scoliosis being shared by archers found during be as a boost for a city’s tourist trade. It should the Battle of Towton excavation, but there does be for the final honouring of a king. Can we not appear to be any reference to this disability please not honour the man’s own wishes at in the published account Blood Red Roses, ed. long last? V. Fiorato, A. Boylson and C. Knusell (Oxbow Books, 2000). The letter referred to the Royal scoliosis National Portrait Gallery picture of Richard From Graham Ransom, by email being x-rayed to reveal the later addition of a Imagine my amazement, whilst watching a humped shoulder making the fairly common DVD on the Royals, to learn that Princess error of confusing that image with the one in Eugenie suffered from scoliosis as a child. She the Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, though is now cured, having had surgery at the age of even their alteration amounts to no more than 12. The Duchess of York said that if Eugenie half-an-inch at most, and its significance has had not had the surgery ‘she would have been been greatly exaggerated since it was first a hunchback’. There is a lot out there on given prominence in the 1973 NPG ‘Richard scoliosis and readers might be interested in the III’ Exhibition. Lastly the point is made that at Wikipedia articles, for example. From what I Richard’s coronation, he and Anne Neville can gather the Duchess was wrong, thankfully, were required to strip to the waist to receive the and therefore neither Eugenie nor Richard holy oil. This also repeats an error thoroughly would have been hunchbacks. However, we dealt with by Anne Sutton and Peter Hammond now await confirmation and the osteology in The Coronation of Richard III – The Extant reports with even greater bated breath. If it Documents (Sutton, 1983), describing the 64 garments worn at the time of anointing, certainly an invention of the early 17th century consisting of ‘two shirts’ (p. 40, footnote 174: historian Sir Francis Bacon, rather than the ‘The king was thus not naked from the waist archbishop’. up’), reinforcing Anne’s earlier reference in the 1979 volume of Costume ‘The Coronation The Manners Family Robes of Richard III and Anne Neville’ pp. From Debbie Keenan, Thames Valley Branch 8–16 to the corrupt version published by I read with interest Pauline Harrison Pogmore’s Samuel Bentley in Excerpta Historica (1831) account of the Manners Family in the p. 381 and its ‘bizarre to note that Richard III September Bulletin. As a steward in St and his Queen stood naked to the waist to George’s Chapel, Windsor, I know the receive the unction’. Manners link very well. I would just like to The other correspondent wrote in reply to a make a small correction. The Rutland Chapel previous letter on the speculation that Thomas in the north transept was founded in 1481 as a More was influenced by his stay in the chantry for Ann St. Leger, formerly the duchess household of Cardinal Morton when writing of Exeter, and her husband Sir Thomas St. his account of Richard III (still a matter of Leger. Ann was sister to both Edward IV and some debate: see the introduction pp. lix–lxiii Richard III and her husband Thomas was by Richard S. Sylvester to his Yale edition of beheaded in 1483 by order of Richard III, The Complete Works of St Thomas More, ‘The having been involved in the abortive landing of History of Richard III’ Volume 2 (1967) and Henry Tudor. There is a silver-gilt memorial more recently ‘Richard III: The Maligned plate erected to their memory in the chapel. King’ by Annette Carson (The History Press, In the centre of the chapel is the elegant 2008), appendix 3, ‘Tudor Histories’ pp. alabaster tomb, one of the finest in the country, 291–6), and goes on to describe him as ‘Henry of their only daughter Ann Manners (d. 1526), VII’s unpopular chancellor of “Morton’s Fork” niece to both Edward IV and Richard III, and fame’. But according to his latest biographer, her husband George Manners, 11th Lord Roos Chris Harper-Bill in the Oxford DNB , Vol. 39 (d. 1513). Their son Thomas was created first pp. 421–25, that ‘famous device . . . was earl of Rutland in 1525. Book reviews and notices
Loyalty: Father, Husband, Brother, King Matthew Lewis, 2012. 594 pages, Centrespace, ISBN 9781477594674, £12.99.
As the subtitle indicates, Matthew Lewis’s novel focuses on Richard’s character and personality, as expressed principally through his relationships with his close family and in his brief rule as king. Richard is at the heart of the book, a constant presence, and Lewis has clearly worked long and hard to try and bring this most elusive man to life. The narrative is bound within the device of a story- within-a-story: the Tudor court painter, Hans Holbein, is summoned by Sir Thomas More, Henry’s chancellor from 1529 to 1532 and compiler of a history of Richard III. Tucked away in a stuffy, overheated room, More tells Holbein that what he is about to hear ‘will give to you the power to destroy the lives of others’ (p. 9), for ‘what you will learn . . . will alter your perception of the past and of the present, of humanity and of the art of history, and you must be ready’ (p. 9). As More’s long tale unfolds the reader, listening like Holbein, is drawn into Richard’s life, his relationships with Edward and Clarence, with Anne and his son, and his loyal friends. We first meet Richard on the eve of the battle of Barnet in 1471, where Gloucester, young and nervous, ‘wondered whether they knew how he felt, whether his face betrayed the fears of his mind’ (p. 15). And after the battle he looks down at the faces of the men he has killed, trying ‘to force down the guilt he already felt rising in his stomach’ (p. 15). For this is an imaginative and sensitive man, though he can also be fearless and determined, such as when, in an exciting and dramatic scene, he rescues Anne 65 from kitchen drudgery in the house of one of Clarence’s retainers. The subsequent meeting with Edward and Clarence, the latter furious that he has lost his ‘property’ and thus his title to Anne’s estates, is well rendered and effective.Lewis has chosen an episodic narrative, selecting key events from Richard’s life and placing his protagonist central to almost every scene, each of which explores a different aspect of his personality, mainly through dialogue. At the negotiations for the Treaty of Picquigny (1475), for example, the nervous young man at Barnet has developed into a fiercely patriotic nobleman, furious at what he sees as Edward’s actions which, to him, mean ‘the sale of English honour’ for French coin (p. 158) and unable to control his disapproval. Sent from the room in disgrace he is soon regretful and ‘could not shake the sense of having let Edward down’ (p. 165). As the well known events of Richard’s life unfold, we see him maturing and developing in character, increasing in both military and political skills, yet always maintaining his core beliefs in honesty, truth, religion and a selfless care for the common good of the people of England. Once king, however, he finds that these may not be sufficient: ‘I rule for the people’ he tells Catesby (p. 521) but his friend, more astute, tries to get Richard to understand that this is not enough: that to accomplish a fair reign, to abolish abuses of the Crown and people ‘…you must focus on and gain control over the nobility’ (p. 522). But time is not on his side, Bosworth comes and Richard has gone. This is not the end of More’s tale, however, for now he reveals the reason for Holbein’s presence: the story is ‘only the background to the secret that you must hide for all to see’ (p. 581) (and which shall not be revealed here!). This is the proverbial ‘weighty tome’ (although this perhaps has much to do with the curiously wide line-spacing employed) and, unfortunately, it has been a victim of the Curse of the Spellchecker (lurch becomes lunch, reign becomes rein and so on and on). Apart from this, however, Lewis’s story is an original and imaginative rendering of the familiar tale and in his utilisation of dialogue rather than description he brings Richard alive with dramatic effect. Elaine Henderson
Matthew Lewis contacted us recently to explain about some technical problems experienced with the first edition of his new novel reviewed above. Here is what he had to say: ‘My novel Loyalty was not properly proofed prior to its release in Kindle or paperback formats. This was entirely my error and I am aware that some members may have acquired the book during the free promotional weekend. I would like to offer my sincere apologies for these errors; I hope they did not spoil the enjoyment of the story. All the mistakes have now been corrected and the current Kindle and paperback versions are now as they should be. Many thanks.’
Margaret of York: The Diabolical Duchess Christine Weightman, 2009 [sic], published 7 October 2012. Stroud: Amberley, ISBN 9781445608198, £10.99.
According to the press release issued by Amberley, this book is ‘the first ever biography of Margaret [of York]’. . . Well, yes, strictly speaking that is true, but it is also true that this is, in fact, a reissue of Christine Weightman’s book entitled Margaret of York: Duchess of Burgundy 1446–1503 (Alan Sutton, Gloucester, 1989). Nowhere does the publicity material acknowledge this. There is no explanation for the change in title, although obviously it is ‘sexier’ than the previous one. From this new title, the uninitiated might suppose that Margaret of York had some kind of reputation as a witch. However, the epithet ‘diabolicall duches’ (note the spelling) was actually coined by the sixteenth-century chronicler Edward Hall, when referring to her support for Yorkist ‘claimants’ to Henry Tudor’s throne. Thus Margaret was yet another victim of Tudor propaganda. The Amberley edition contains no new material. The postscript to the postscript (p. 204) states this is a new edition ‘which has undergone some minor revisions and a slight reordering of the chapters’. The reordering means that the Prologue, which describes the scenes in London when Margaret was about to set sail to Burgundy to be married, is now immediately followed by an account of her ‘Marriage of the Century’, the celebrations of which are still re-enacted today. This 66 makes good sense because rather than starting with her birth, the main text begins with her real historical significance – as the wife, and then widow, of the most powerful duke in Europe. There are some small modifications to the text to clarify a few very minor points, for example, Bruges is explained as ‘modern Brugge’, and titles are expanded so that even someone of very little brain can understand them, for example, ‘King Louis XI’, instead of ‘Louis XI’. Many paragraph breaks have been added, thus making them shorter. There are a few changes to the actual text. For example, after Richard III took the throne, Molinet stated that, amongst other crimes, ‘Richard reigned cruelly and spoiled the church’. Weightman originally commented that ‘This was certainly not true for Richard like his sister Margaret seems to have been particularly pious’ (p. 145). In the new edition, her comment reads ‘This was certainly not true, for Richard like his sister Margaret was publicly particularly pious’ (p.144). A subtle but rather damning alteration. In the original edition the illustrations were placed near relevant text, but in the Amberley edition the illustrations are in blocks without any reference in the text to them at all. Similarly, rather than placing the map and genealogical tables near the relevant text, they have been placed in a block at the end of the book. That said, this is a well-researched study of Richard III’s youngest sister (whose bones have never been located (p. 202) and so cannot be used for DNA matching). Members who missed the book the first time round will welcome this opportunity to purchase it. The original edition was reviewed by Livia Visser-Fuchs in The Ricardian, vol. 8, no. 108 (March 1990), pp. 365–7. Heather Falvey
Wars of the Roses Gazetteer In September’s Bulletin we reported that Dr Michael Robin Ryan Jones had written to tell us that his new four volume publication White Rose or Red? A gazetteer of the Wars of the Roses was available via the internet. He has asked us to clarify that the first two volumes are indeed available online at www.lulu.com. However, Volumes 3 and 4, which include the indices, are not yet available but will be within the next couple of months. There may also be a Volume 5, covering Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the Continent.
The Barton Library Contact details for all the librarians are on the inside back cover.
Additions to the Non-Fiction Books Library John de Vere, Thirteenth Earl of Oxford (1442–1513): ‘The Foremost Man of the Kingdom’, by James Ross (The Boydell Press, 2011, hardback). There is a review of this book by Professor A. J. Pollard on pp. 110–12 of the 2012 Ricardian. The Medieval Gentry: Power, Leadership and Choice during the Wars of the Roses, by Malcolm Mercer (Continuum, 2012, paperback version). There is also a review of this book by Michael Jones on pp. 100–2 of the 2012 Ricardian. For Honour and Fame: Chivalry in England, by Nigel Saul (The Bodley Head, 2011, hardback). The book tells the story of England from the Norman Conquest to the aftermath of Henry VII’s triumph at Bosworth. Again, grateful thanks to Elisabeth Sjöberg for this kind donation. The English Nobility in the Late Middle Ages, by Chris Given-Wilson (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1996, paperback version). The book largely concerns the fourteenth century, and includes the families of the Nevilles, Mauleys, Berkeleys, Courtenays, Montagues, Beauforts, the Beauchamp earls of Warwick, Fitzalans, Mowbrays, Percys and finally the Cliffords. This book donated by the librarian. 67 Towton – The Battle of Palm Sunday Field 1461, by John Sadler (Pen and Sword Military, 2011, hardback). A review of this book by Peter Hammond is on pages 104–6 of the 2012 Ricardian, along with a review of Fatal Colours: Towton 1461 by George Goodwin – which is also in the Barton Library. Paperback versions of Anne Crawford’s Yorkist Lord: John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, c1425–1485 and Thomas Penn’s Winter King (on Henry VII) are now on the shelves, available for loan. And to conclude, the librarian thanks our reviewers for saving him a considerable amount of typing!
Additions to the Fiction Library Richard Plantagenet by Brenda Clarke (1997, hardback) A novel about the life and times of Richard III: from when he was a fragile child in 1465, his life in the Warwick Household, his marriage to Anne Neville and the period up to his death at the Battle of Bosworth. The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory (2012, hardback) This is the fourth book in the ‘Cousins’ War’ Series. This novel covers the period from 1465 until the death of Anne Neville in 1485, all seen through Anne’s eyes. It thus covers some of the same events that were described in Gregory’s earlier books, but seen from a very different viewpoint. Loyalty by Matthew Lewis (paperback, 2012) A review of this book appears on p. 65 of this edition of the Bulletin.
News from the Non-Fiction Papers Librarian The news of the find of the Greyfriars remains has obviously made hot topics of Richard’s health and physique, and his burial. The Barton Library has many papers from erudite medics speculating on the likely cause of Richard’s ‘deformities’, but the description of the skeleton found has rendered all these rather obsolete (at least for the present) as they are without exception based on the descriptions of More and Shakespeare, and therefore suggest conditions rather more serious than simple scoliosis. For any members who are interested, though, a useful summary of many of these theories is provided in: ‘King Richard III: Historical and Gynecological-teratological Aspects to the 500th Anniversary of his Coronation’ by Dr Med. Sylvia Hobert of Hochberg, Germany (typescript, 1983). Almost all the major articles in the Papers Library speculating on the subject of Richard’s deformities are listed in the current catalogue, the main exception being: ‘Richard III: A Study in Medical Misrepresentation’ by Isabel Tulloch (Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, August 2009), in which the author suggests that Richard may have suffered from Sprengel’s deformity, a condition affecting the development of the scapula; notes on the text by Geoffrey Wheeler are included. The Library also contains some past papers on the subject of the Greyfriars burial, including ‘Notes and Correspondence Relating to Richard’s Tomb in Leicester and the Skeleton Found in the River Near Bow Bridge in 1862.’ The chief item in this collection is a letter sent to the Society’s founder Dr Saxon Barton in 1935 by the Secretary of the Leicestershire Archaeological Society dismissing the story of the remains having been thrown into the Soar from Bow Bridge and giving information on the history and general position of the Greyfriars site and on the pillar in Robert Herrick’s garden.. We also have ‘King Richard’s Grave in Leicester’ by David Baldwin (Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, 1986) – a detailed examination of the information on Richard’s place of burial, and on his tomb and its subsequent fate.
Additions to the Audio Visual Library Audio BBC Radio 4: Open Country – Jules Hudson visits North Yorkshire, exploring the history of Middleham and Richmond Castles, with photographer Rae Tan. Leicester Excavation items: BBC Radio 4: (1) World at One – interviews with Richard Buckley and 68 Michael Ibsen; (2) PM – Richard Taylor and others on skeletal remains; (3) Six O’Clock News – report by Anthony Bartram with Lin Foxall and others (all on 12 September). BBC Radio 4: Broadcasting House – Steven Berkoff delivers his monologue ‘Richard III: My Car Park Years’ (16 September). BBC Radio 3: Night Waves – Philip Dodd talks to Mark Rylance about his career, including his latest role as Richard III, in which he refers to ‘old bones under a car park . . . Richard and Ratcliff died here and we are probably telling lies about their lives . . .’ BBC2 TV: Newsnight – Kirsty Wark interviews Dan Brown and Annette Carson in the studio, with Richard Buckley, Philippa Langley and Simon Russell Beale; plus excerpts from Horrible Histories (24 September – audio sound track only, with thanks to David Baldwin). BBC Radio 4: In Our Time – Melvyn Bragg and his guests, including Julia Boffrey, discuss the life and influence of William Caxton, who brought the printing press to Britain.
Video ITV1: Britain’s Secret Treasures – Michael Portillo looks at the Bosworth boar badge (see September Bulletin, p. 26). Leicester Excavation Items: BBC1 TV: One O’Clock News – Anthony Bartram reports from the Guildhall Press Conference, with interviews with Lin Foxall, Philippa Langley and Michael Ibsen. Also ITV1 News and Channel 5 TV News – notable for its quirky visual: when illustrating the Tower of London they showed the entrance to the nineteenth-century Waterloo Barracks (all 12 September). ITV1: London Tonight – Sarah Harris interview with Michael Ibsen, when the presenter remarks on his resemblance to the modern copy of the Antiquaries portrait. BBC2 TV: Mock the Week – satirical panel game – when dealing with the news of the Leicester dig it descends into an over-long competitive Star Wars (Darth Vader?) impersonation battle between Chairman Dara O’Briain and Chris Addison. BBC2 TV: Huw Edwards presents The Story of Wales: Part 2 – Owain Glyndwr and the early fifteenth century, etc.; Part 3 – Tracing Henry Tudor’s march through Wales and concluding with a ‘two-man’ recreation of Bosworth – a mounted Henry and Richard’s body. If any members have recordings of other local news broadcasts, features, etc., on the Greyfriars dig please contact Geoffrey Wheeler.
Branches and Groups
East Midlands Branch report Many tributes from Society members have been paid to our late Branch founder and Chairman, Margaret York (Margaret Abbey, the author), who has been fondly remembered. A seat, in her memory, has now been placed by her friends in Leicester’s Abbey Park, overlooking the lake. She graciously left legacies to the Branch, and to the Society, and plans are in hand to have banners made to hang in Leicester Cathedral near the site of Richard’s plaque. Our Branch programme has continued to reflect topics concerned with King Richard and the background of the medieval England he would have known. A talk on Leicester Abbey by Richard Buckley, director of Leicester University’s Archaeological Services, inaugurated the 2011–12 season. He was very diplomatic in his answer to the member of the audience who asked about future plans for archaeological work in Leicester (a local version of the Official Secrets Act was in force at the time!) Another well-established local archaeologist, Peter Liddle, spoke on ‘Medieval pilgrims and pilgrimages’, followed by Gareth King on ‘The history of witches and witchcraft’. Jean Townsend came from Lincolnshire to describe how many of the sports and pastimes we 69 enjoy in our leisure time today had their roots in medieval times, and in April our branch chairman Richard Smith marked the 600th anniversary of Joan of Arc, by telling her remarkable story. An entertaining and informative talk by Wendy Freer on ‘Packhorses and packroads’ ended the lecture season. The current programme for 2012–13 includes:
• a visit to the Leicestershire Museums’ Service store • Christmas dinner • ‘Richard III’ by David Baldwin, on his latest book • ‘Lincoln cathedral’ by Pam Neilson • ‘The Bold, the Fearless, the Good and the Rash’ by Richard Smith, exploring the Valois Dukes of Burgundy • ‘Movement of medieval villages: deserted or otherwise’ by Peter Liddle • ‘Illuminated manuscripts’ by Dr Miriam Gill
Already in planning is our third Study Day, to be held in June 2013, focusing on the exciting events, whatever the outcome, which have overtaken us this year – the archaeological search for King Richard’s remains on the Greyfriars site. The interest in this has proved to be phenomenal with an estimated 10,000 visitors taking advantage of the ‘open days’ to visit the site, many from overseas. Our branch chairman, Richard Smith, and secretary, Sally Henshaw, have been on hand at the dig’s visitor sessions, talking to groups about the Society and its aims, giving some idea of the (real) historical background to Richard’s story and answering questions from members of the public. I eavesdropped on our branch chairman telling a small boy, whose surname happened to be Neville, that it might be worth his while to research his family history! It was pleasant to meet Society members from far afield who made themselves known to us, and who were sharing the excitement generated by this project. I am sure all who visited the site were grateful, not only to Richard and Sally, but those university and museum staff and local authority employees who worked so hard to make a visit to the site such a memorable experience. If you would like to learn more about our branch do get in touch with our Secretary, Sally Henshaw – she will be pleased to hear from you. Marion Hare – Vice Chair
Greater Manchester Branch report The Greater Manchester Branch meetings have been very well attended this year and we are very pleased to say that our present membership has increased with the addition of three new members. I have also had a number of enquiries by other potential members, so it is very encouraging. At our April meeting branch member Sue Lumsden gave us a fascinating and well researched illustrated talk on ‘The origin of nursery rhymes’. It was quite a surprise to us to find out how obscure some of these rhymes are and gave us all food for thought and discussion afterwards. In May Marion Moulton gave an illustrated talk on ‘Ricardian ghosts’. I don’t how most people slept when they arrived home that evening, as many of the tales were enough to make your hair stand on end! In June we welcomed guest speaker Mark Olly, who gave a very un-Ricardian talk on the disappearance of ‘The lost Ninth Roman legion’. Needless to say, it was an excellent talk, as Mark is always so knowledgeable and engaging to listen to. At our July meeting we welcomed another guest speaker, Ann Metcalfe, who gave a talk entitled ‘The history of pub signs’. It was fascinating to hear how the names of public houses have developed over the centuries and how many of the once familiar names have now changed to more obscure ones. Once again we have not been able to organise any trips this year but a number of our members joined the North Mercia Group this year on their trips to Bosworth and Chester. Three members also attended the AGM in York in September. Our AGM has had to be postponed until November but we are already looking forward to organising some varied and interesting meetings for 2013. Helen Ashburn 70 Lincolnshire Branch report Our first trip of the season was to Clifton House, King’s Lynn, in April. A privileged visit to the family home of Dr Simon Thurley, Head of English Heritage, provided an impressive tour through English history within one house. The cellar for storing merchandise was entered from the river frontage, whilst reception rooms looked out into the town. The tower gave a commanding view down the river Ouse towards the Wash. Then on to the delights of Sandringham, home of HM the Queen – guns, dogs and the atmosphere of a real home. Wendy Freer gave us a talk on ‘Packhorses and packroads from the medieval period to the nineteenth century’. The bridges and droves in the Lincolnshire landscape now have a deeper relevance. May found us in Perthshire visiting Dunkeld, Glamis and Scone Palace; a packed itinerary. We visited Colchester Castle and Nicholas Charrington’s home at Layer Marney Tower, a huge Tudor brick structure intended to rival Hampton Court. July’s Mugaseth Memorial Lecture was given by Dr Jonathan Foyle, who presented ‘Climbing Britain’s cathedrals’. August was busy. ‘The dark history of monarchy 1066–1603’, related by Jean Townsend in an illustrated talk, wove betrayal, murder, atrocities and treason into an enthralling evening. We had our picnic and visit to Fulbeck Manor, where Julian Fane showed us fascinating portraits. On 22 August a moving and atmospheric memorial event for Richard III was held at the Chapel of St Edmund King and Martyr, Spital in the Street; it being especially dressed with flowers and draperies for requiem mass with the Titular Bishop of Tintern as celebrant. The responses were beautifully sung. After refreshments, Dr David Marcombe spoke on Sir John Neville of Liversedge – a forgotten Ricardian. September found us exploring medieval town walls and châteaux in northern France from our base in Boulogne. Recently, on 11 October, we enjoyed a full day with Dr Jonathan Foyle investigating the medieval heart of the city of Coventry. A walking tour of the three cathedrals and St Mary’s Guildhall included exclusive access to view the work now taking place to restore some of the wonderful early glass recovered from the cathedral prior to the bombing of 1940. A truly memorable day. Our members are indebted to Jean Townsend, our branch secretary, for arranging another superb series of events. Details may be found at www.richardthethirdlincs.org. Maureen Wheeldon, Publicity Officer
New South Wales Branch report – Mittagong Mini-Conference On Saturday 12 May 2012, the Richard III Society NSW Branch held their eagerly anticipated biennial mini-conference in the Southern Highlands, at the Mittagong RSL Club*. The event was attended by both Sydney-based regulars and other members, some coming from Canberra and Victoria. We were especially pleased to welcome Michael, the chairman of the Victoria Branch, and his wife Yvonne, as well as Gillian and Bruce from the South Australian Branch. The presentations were very diverse, with competent speakers from a wide range of backgrounds. David Mee spoke on ‘Medieval coins’ and brought examples of types of coinage from across the centuries, including one from the era of Richard III. Judith Hughes told us about ‘Eleanor Talbot, the spurned queen’, being the hapless lady the self-serving young Edward IV secretly wed then ignored for the rest of her life, whilst making a public life with Elizabeth Woodville, with whom he had his large brood. Karen Clark spoke on ‘John Neville’s feud and the destruction of a family’, an area of particular expertise and one on which she is writing a book. Her detailed grasp of the generations of family members and their competition was impressive; the Percy family still survives, although the Nevilles are long gone, she mentioned in conclusion. Kevin Herbert spoke on ‘Royal relicts’ – the widows of the kings – and his handout was chock full of details worth knowing, and his presentation a highlight of the day. Lynne Foley and Dorothea Preis critiqued Ricardian books they had recently read. Lynne favourably reviewed Margaret of York: The Diabolical Duchess by Christine Weightman and Dorothea told us about the recently published Richard III by David Baldwin, which has its good points, but does not offer much new for someone well versed in the period. Doug and Leslie McCawley told us about their favourite Ricardian books, having been invited at short notice to 71 replace a speaker who had to cancel. They chose the ever-popular The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman, and Some Touch of Pity by Rhoda Edwards. Julia Redlich spoke about how Richard III has been presented on stage across time and Helen Portus and Denise Rawling gave us ‘Richard III the posthumous hunchback’, getting audience members to question what we accept at face value in the media, and encouraging us to be discerning consumers of received opinions and so-called histories. Ann Chandler gave us a comprehensive (and tricky) four-page quiz to complete during the day, then graded the results and announced the winners. The more cowed amongst us did not hand our quizzes in, admitting defeat early on! Our congratulations went to Karen for winning by achieving 47 out of 50 possible points. In addition to the speakers, other attractions included a bring-and-buy table, the sale of the books from the lamented dissolution of the once-fine branch library, Ricardian pens, bags and brooches for sale, and best of all the opportunity to catch up with friends in a leisurely manner. At the conclusion of the day, the representatives of the Victoria branch surprised us by presenting the NSW branch with a beautiful table runner in Yorkist murrey adorned with white roses. We were delighted and would like to give a big ‘thank you’ to our friends from Victoria. A number of attendees chose to stay for the weekend so the festivities continued after the conference proper with dinner out and a day to explore the attractions of the area. The weather was sparklingly clear and cool, and the venue well chosen. Thanks to the organisers for another successful and pleasurable branch event. Members who decided to stay on at Mittagong, as well as several partners, met up on Saturday evening for dinner with lots of interesting talk and laughter on a wide variety of topics. We wondered why so often in information for the general public there seems to be nothing of historical interest before the Tudors came along – quite contrary to what actually happened. Although it wasn’t a formal Ricardian banquet, the Man Himself was not forgotten in a loyal toast – and the three-fingered salute from Horrible Histories. Sunday morning saw us enjoying a long leisurely breakfast. Some farewells were said to those who had to return home, and then the rest of us prepared for our excursion to the small Southern Highlands town of Robertson. One group opted for the swiftest way thanks to GPS; the other decided on the scenic route – and what a reward that was: sunshine, blue skies, green fields, magnificent mansions and extensive gardens behind imposing gates – and the trees wearing their most wonderful autumn colours of red and gold. Leslie McCawley, Julia Redlich and Dorothea Preis
* The Returned and Services League of Australia (often abbreviated to RSL) is a support organisation for men and women who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force.
North Mercia Group report The group continues to thrive and membership numbers are at 19. Members come from Stafford- shire, Flintshire and far and near parts of Cheshire.We continue to meet on a monthly basis in members’ houses in Nantwich. We have been offered the use of a room in the oldest part of the Crown Hotel, in Nantwich. It is Elizabethan, because the older inn that Richard might have known, if he’d ever visited Nantwich, burned down in the Great Fire of Nantwich in 1584. In May we met at Pat Lockett’s home and discussed Annette Carson’s book Richard III: the Maligned King. The meeting proved very lively and everyone had their say. The book is excellently written and very easy to read. In June we headed to Chester and had a guided tour of the cathedral in the morning, before lunch at the ‘Pied Bull Hotel’. Suitably fed and watered, we went on an open- topped bus tour of the city. This was brilliant and a super way of learning about the history of Chester. The day finished with a trip on the River Dee. This, too, was very enjoyable and we were able to see an unusual part of Chester from the river cruiser. Then in true Mercian fashion we partook of afternoon tea, but not before certain members had managed to get lost. In July we met at the home of Win Farrington. Mark and Neville gave fascinating 10-minute talks. 72 Mark spoke on ‘The great Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury’ and Neville on ‘Chivalry’. Thank you for the hard work that had been put into producing them, it was much appreciated. In August, 15 of us went to Bosworth. Some of us arrived in minibuses driven by Mark and I, whilst others came by car. There was a slight delay, because I got lost! All the times I’d driven to Bosworth from Nantwich, and I had to get lost when people were waiting for me. I only realised I was lost when I got to the M69 interchange and had to double back through the Saturday morning traffic in Hinckley – not advisable if you’re late! I found out why I got lost on the journey home. The sign for Fenny Drayton had disappeared, and that was the crucial turn to Bosworth. We had lunch in the Heritage Room, because there was a wedding party at the Tithe Barn Restaurant, and then had a superb guided tour of the new site. Dave and Graham were brilliant guides and really did us proud. It was a very educational tour and has much to recommend it. We finished the day with our usual refreshments. Our September outing was to Norbury in Derbyshire to visit the Old Manor and Norbury Church. We had lunch at Doveleys Garden Centre just outside Ellastone. The food is excellent – it was all home cooked and beautifully prepared. It tasted good too! The Old Manor is owned by the National Trust. Most of it is Elizabethan, but there are still parts of the medieval manor house. After exploring all the nooks and crannies and the lovely garden, we crossed to the Church. This is a little gem. It has beautiful medieval glass in all the windows of the chancel and some in the small chapel in the south transept, but the pièce de résistance for all Ricardians is the tomb of Sir Ralph Fitzherbert. He wears a Yorkist collar and a boar pendant – the only one on a tomb in the whole country. He lies next to his wife, who also wears a beautiful choker necklace with the Virgin and child as a pendant. Sir Ralph and his wife are on the north side of the chancel and his father Sir Nicholas Fitzherbert is on the south side. He too wears a Yorkist collar, but his pendant is the Lion of March. Both tombs are of Derbyshire alabaster and executed by the Nottingham school of carvers. They are exquisite. The weepers around the sides of both tombs are also very fine. There are other tombs in the church – one of a priest holding a chalice, a shrouded corpse on a tomb slab and a cross-legged knight in the south aisle. There are also brasses and bases of Saxon crosses in the church, so you will understand how much we enjoyed our visit. There was so much to see and much of it of our period. We were also served with cups of tea and homemade cake. These are sold every Saturday afternoon to help church funds, and were very welcome. By the time you read this report we will have heard Sally Henshaw as our guest speaker for October. Sally is speaking on ‘Fools and jesters’, but I think the meeting will end with Sally talking about the subject uppermost in every Ricardian’s mind and that is ‘The Leicester Dig’. Sally has been on site regularly and has kept an eye on proceedings very diligently. Our November meeting will be held at the Crown Hotel in Nantwich and our guest speaker will be Mark Olley, a local archaeologist and television personality. He will be talking on ‘Lost treasures of the north west’. Mark is a very lively and interesting speaker, so we are in for a very enjoyable afternoon. Our third year will finish with a traditional Christmas lunch at the Crown Hotel and if it’s anything like last year we will definitely be able to say we have been well-fed and watered. So, all is well up here in the wild Stanley lands of Mercia and we are continuing to thrive. It is hard to think we will have completed our third year soon. But then tempus definitely fugits when you’re having fun! Marion Moulton
Thames Valley Branch report Our annual post-Christmas lunch was enjoyed by a goodly number of us at The Chequers Inn at Fingest, on 21 January. This lovely pub nestles in the Hambleden Valley, Buckinghamshire, and we all had an enjoyable meal and ‘catch up’. In February we met at the British Library in London for the wonderful exhibition ‘Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination’. This exhibition showcased over 150 richly decorated manuscripts owned by English monarchs between the eighth and sixteenth centuries, many of them belonging to Edward IV. This kept us spellbound for a couple of hours, followed by a visit to the 73 British Library shop and a convivial meal at Carluccio’s restaurant at nearby St Pancras. Our meeting in March found us at Wendy Moorhen’s home, where Sally Empson gave us a very interesting talk on the Empson family and in particular Sir Richard Empson (not a relation I am told), one of the first victims of Henry VIII. This was followed by tea and cake. At the end of April we again met at Wendy’s house, where Art Ramirez, a steward in St George’s Chapel, gave a very interesting talk on the chapel, followed by afternoon tea. For the next meeting a group of us met at the Castle Inn on a hot June day, followed by a visit to Bodiam Castle in East Sussex. It was our second visit, but the first was many years ago and we agreed it was worth going to again. It was built in the fourteenth century and enough of the interior ruins survive to give an impression of castle life, and the views both from inside the castle and of the castle are stunning. On another pleasant summer day in July we met for a lovely meal at the Maltsters Arms, 3 miles from Henley-on-Thames. This was followed by a visit to nearby Grey’s Court, which once belonged to Francis Lovell, inherited from his paternal grandmother Alice Deincourt, and later belonged to Jasper Tudor. The present house was built in Tudor times by the Knollys family and the gardens and tea room made it a very enjoyable visit. Again we managed to meet on a very hot summer day in August at Windsor Castle, joined by friends from the West Surrey group. Organised by and with thanks to Karen Rex, we started our two-hour visit with a sandwich lunch in the Dungeon and were given a brief introduction to the Curfew Tower and Dungeon. We were then divided into groups and were given talks in and about the Archives Corridor exhibition, the Rare Books Room and the Search Room. The staff had very kindly brought out documents and information relating to Richard III for us to view. We then walked over the bridge to Eton and enjoyed a guided tour of Eton College and chapel, marvelling in the medieval wall paintings in the latter, from the fifteenth century. September brought a trip to Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire, where we had a meal at The Hollow Bottom, a recommended pub with good food. Our stroll around the gardens in the fine weather was to the sound of a string quartet, courtesy of the wedding party whose presence denied us access to the coffee shop. A Ricardian outing without a cup of tea – shocking! For our October meeting we are looking forward to a visit to Syon House in Middlesex, the London home of the duke of Northumberland. We are having our AGM at Wendy’s home in November and hope to go the carol service at Fotheringhay in December. Thanks are due to Wendy for hosting the home meetings and to our secretary Diana Lee. Thanks also to Sally for her talk and to Karen, Jane, Beverley, Diana, Maria and Sally, who have arranged the trips this year. Judith Ridley
Worcestershire Branch report The Battle of Tewkesbury commemoration on 14 and 15 July was yet another victim of this summer’s terrible weather. Regular attenders could not remember a muddier weekend for the re- enactment and a resemblance to Flanders in 1916 rather than to Worcestershire in 1471 was noted. Nonetheless, the Worcestershire Branch had its customary stall, decorated with Yorkist pennants, in the main marquee. It had plenty of visitors and gave out lots of information about the Richard III Society and about the branch, as well as selling a range of appropriate goods. The help of the Battlefield Society in physically moving people, equipment and goods onto the field was invaluable. The traditional August evening walk took place this year in Bromsgrove. The town was first mentioned in the ninth century, was named in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the tenth and has an entry in Domesday Book in 1086. It was an important centre of the wool trade in the Middle Ages, but there are few medieval buildings left. However, there proved to be a pattern of alleyways, dating back to the Middle Ages, leading off the High Street, once the main Birmingham to Worcester road, and a few early buildings were discovered, including a beautifully preserved medieval cottage with stone mullioned windows. The parish church of St John the Baptist has Norman origins, but was mainly built in the thirteenth century; it was then restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1858. In the fourteenth century Bromsgrove was granted a weekly market and an annual three-day fair on the feast of St John the Baptist, the town’s patron. After the walk members ended the evening with a convivial supper in a local hostelry. 74 A visit to Hartlebury Castle on 8 September, Heritage Weekend, proved fascinating. The land on which the castle is built was owned by the bishops of Worcester from the middle of the ninth century and the fortified manor house built there early in the thirteenth century became the principal episcopal residence until 2007. The building has changed enormously over the centuries, gaining and then losing fortifications, and acquiring elegant Georgian state rooms. It now houses the Worcester County Museum and retains Bishop Hurd’s eighteenth-century library. Members also heard a talk by a conservator, who explained some of the intricacies of the preservation of precious historic artefacts. The afternoon ended with a visit to the small Victorian church at Wilden, near Hartlebury, built by Alfred Baldwin, father of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, whose family home was there. The wonderful stained-glass windows are by Edward Burne-Jones, who was Alfred’s brother-in-law. Georgiana Burne-Jones (Edward's wife) had ten siblings. Her sister Alice married John Lockwood Kipling and their oldest child was Rudyard, Agnes married Edward Poynter and it was her sister Louisa who married Alfred Baldwin. The branch is looking forward to George Goodwin’s lecture on the battle of Towton on 10 November at Hanley Castle School, near Worcester, and hopes to welcome members from the main Society. The Worcestershire Branch offers sincere condolences to Lesley Boatwright’s family and friends on her sudden death and wishes to record its recognition and appreciation of her scholarship and her splendid work on behalf of the Richard III Society. Carol Southworth
Yorkshire Branch report Those of you who look at our reports may have had a strange sense of déjà vu when reading the one printed in the September Bulletin, which was in fact the same one as in June, due to Lancastrian gremlins in action between Yorkshire and London! As a result, this report is longer than usual as it includes some items from June. Dr David Baldwin was a welcome speaker at our Arthur Cockerill Spring Lecture at Jacobs Well, York on 28 April. Taking as his subject ‘The character of Richard III’, he made a good case for the idea that the king’s traumatic childhood experiences markedly affected his responses to actions in his adult life. He remarked on how ironic it is that the thing King Richard is admired for even by hostile sources – the manner of his death – also ensured the end of his dynasty and his own lasting defamation. After the lecture there was a lively discussion, and members didn’t hesitate to consider whether perhaps, as king, Richard hadn’t been promoted beyond his abilities (strong stuff)! The lecture was an enjoyable and thought-provoking experience. Next year’s lecture will be held at the same venue on Saturday 27 April. Staff at the Royal Armouries in Leeds have kindly agreed to come and talk on arms and armour in the period of the Wars of the Roses. The branch took its thoughts about King Richard, in particular his Middleham heritage, up to the Dales on 9 June, when we held our first Study Day at Middleham Key Centre. The committee would like to thank all those of you who attended and made the day so worthwhile. In response to the many members who have asked us to run another such day next year, the committee is glad to say that Jacob’s Well has been booked for Saturday 15 June 2013. Further details in due course. Unfortunately Scowen Sykes, our opening speaker, was prevented by illness from taking part, but the rest of the programme was as arranged. Lynda Telford discussed an aspect of Middleham which people obsessed with Warwick the Kingmaker seem to forget – that there was a considerable settlement here even before the first castle on William’s Hill. She told us about the port just downriver where lead mined up in Dentdale and Arkengarthdale would have been brought in Roman times for shipment by barge to York and overseas for the empire. There was a large Roman fort between Middleham and Ulshaw, and in a nearby field have been found traces of a hypocaust (central heating system). This was fascinating material, and put Middleham in perspective as an area of continuous occupation long before the Nevilles. Angela Moreton spoke in St Alkelda’s church about the college King Richard founded there in 75 1478 and its subsequent fate. Even before the King’s death it appears that the college’s income and endowments were insufficient to maintain the dean and six canons in their duties. Perhaps Richard’s thoughts had turned more to the immense college of 100 priests he intended to found at York Minster and which was in the process of being set up at his death. It is quite probable that the Middleham College lapsed well before the Chantries Act of 1547 ended such places: Middleham is not included with those royal foundations like Eton College and St George’s, Windsor, which were specifically exempted in the Act. Although the rector of Middleham was called dean until the mid-nineteenth century, and there was an attempt to revive the college with non-resident canons in the 1840s (one of them was Charles Kingsley), it seems likely that the college did not survive its founder by more than 30 years or so. In the afternoon Jean Gidman dealt with the intriguing relationship between Henry VII and Sir William Stanley, the man who (allegedly) handed him King Richard’s crown after Bosworth but who died by execution ten years afterwards. How could things go so wrong for Stanley? It wasn’t just the arrival of Perkin Warbeck and Stanley’s comments on him which made Tudor so suspicious – as with most events in this period, lasting family allegiances and questions of lands and retainers played a part too. Pauline Harrison Pogmore ended the day with a detailed look at the Neville family, whose members through several generations were important on both sides of any dynastic quarrel. The branch held its customary informal commemoration of Bosworth on 19 August at St Alkelda’s, Middleham; our thanks. as always. to those members and friends who attended. Plans have been made to combine next year’s commemoration with a visit to Coverham Abbey (privately owned and not generally open to the public), which has lasting associations with the Nevilles and where, it has been suggested, Edward of Middleham, Richard’s son, is buried. Please note the date, Sunday 25 August 2013, for this excursion; it is hoped that after visiting Coverham we can go to St Alkelda’s as usual to place flowers under the Richard III window. Once again, further details in due course, in these pages, our Branch Newsletters and on our website www.richardiiiyorkshire.com. The branch AGM in York at the beginning of September was a very sociable and enjoyable occasion, with an increased attendance of members over recent years. Last year’s committee was returned, and details of officers will appear in the next Bulletin. At the end of September we held our Boar Dinner in York, and welcomed a new member as well as some more familiar faces. It was a great evening, enlivened by (amongst other things) an impromptu recital of some of the famed Marriott Edgar monologues such as ‘The Battle of Hastings’ and ‘Albert and the Lion’. Lesley Lambert revealed a hitherto unsuspected dramatic talent which was much appreciated! The branch will be holding its annual wreath-laying at Sandal to commemorate the battle of Wakefield, but details have not yet been finalised. Please contact our secretary, Pauline Harrison Pogmore, for more information. And now for something completely different . . . may I remind Branch members that their subs are now due for 2012–13 if not already paid? Current rates are £7 for three magazines and Newsletters, £3.50 just for three Newsletters, and our NEW Joint Membership rate of £9 for three magazines and Newsletters together with two votes on Branch business, applicable to two adults at the same address. Please send your subs to our Secretary as usual. Overseas members are welcome to use Paypal if they wish, through the kindness of our parent Society. Angela Moreton
Answers to crossword on pp. 62–63 Across: 8 of Gloucester; 10 Eleanor; 12 All over; 13 Untrue; 14 Mount; 15 Escheat; 18 Noughts; 20 White; 22 Robbed; 24 Reels in; 25 Bastard; 28 Terrorstruck. Down: 1 Pole; 2 Ogle; 3 Corner; 4 Scarce; 5 Assassin; 6 Vellum; 7 Narrates; 9 Avouch; 11 Louis; 15 Edward IV; 16 Crimes; 17 Tenantry; 19 Tudor; 21 Easter; 22 Rebury; 23 Besets; 26 Ague; 27 Duke. 76 New members
UK 1 July–30 September 2012 Wendy Ahl, Haywards Heath, West Sussex Amanda Estall, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex Peter Allen, Bedford Jonathan Evans, Beckenham, Kent Linda Amey, Stevenage, Hertfordshire Laura Farleigh, London Rosemary Ashton, Ormskirk, Lancashire Stuart Farmer, Weymouth, Dorset Wendy Atkin, Sleaford, Lincolnshire Marie Fitchett, Faversham, Kent Margaret Baldwin, Bradford, West Yorkshire Judith Ford, Poole, Dorset Kevin Ball, Ashford, Middlesex Susan Fuller, Nr Rugeley, Staffordshire Derek Barnes, London Suzanne and Stephen Gamble, Leicester Mary Barrett, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire Annie Garthwaite, Bridgnorth, Shropshire Jennifer Bartram, York Margaret and Gerald Giordmaine, Basingstoke, Robin Beeby, Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire Hampshire Sheila Bennett, Cambridge Richard Glover, Weston-Super-Mare Susan Bentley, Wolverhampton, West Midlands Ann Godden, Hull Kate Benton, Ealing Gwen Godfrey, Irvine, Ayrshire Anne Berry, Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire Alison Gough, Chipping Camden, Gloucestershire Dave Besag, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Sue Grimwood, Nottingham Stephen Bettison, Coalville, Leicestershire Helen Grundy, Congleton, Cheshire David Biran, London Catherine Hammond, Cromer, Norfolk Jacqueline Bircumshaw, Wickford, Essex David Hand, Launceston, Cornwall Stephen Black, Kettering, Northamptonshire Terence Harris, Leicester Maureen Bolwell, Ross on Wye, Herefordshire Dilys Hartland, By Kiltarlity, Inverness Imogen Botterell and family, Plymouth, Devon Jacqueline Harvey, London Ciar Brennan, Sutton, Surrey Catherine Hawes, Exeter Lynda Brooke, London Andrea Heggie, Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan Nicola Brooke, London Julia Hess, London Linda Brooklyn, Ely, Cambridgeshire Kay Hillier, Southampton Angela Brown, Bedford Carol Hingley, Pevensey, East Sussex Priscilla Brown, Ely, Cambridgeshire Michael Holmes, Brighton, East Sussex Elizabeth Brownhill, Sheffield Judi Hopcroft, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire Deborah Bryant, Pickering, North Yorkshire Carol Horne, Barnet, Hertfordshire Colin Burgess, Southport, Lancashire Sarah Howard, St Albans, Hertfordshire Dianne and Christopher Butterfield, Harrogate Rozalyn Howell, Cockermouth, Cumbria Joan Caile, Lymington, Hampshire Mike Hudson, Fulford Lalage Cambell, Llanelli Paul Hunt, Kettering, Northamptonshire Beryl and Amanda Carmen, Penshurst, Kent Patricia Hutchings, Bridport, Dorset John Carr, Horsham, West Sussex Sue Ingle, Leicester Rebecca Carville, Pontefract, West Yorkshire Hayley James, Port Talbot Carol Chattaway, Porthcawl, Mid Glamorgan Anne Johnson, Leigh Cecelia and Colin Clark, Ulverston, Cumbria Madeleine Johnson, Stonebroom, Derbyshire Martin Clark, Bristol Alexander Jolic, Bradford Peter and Angela Clarke, Woodstock, Oxfordshire Hilary Jones, Rugby, Warwickshire Elayne Clifford, Bedford Carol Juba, Leicester Daphne Cole, Truro, Cornwall Jennifer Kauntze, London Jennifer Colley, Westrip Joseph Kelly, Coventry Rosalind Cooper, Garndolbenmaen, Gwynedd Hazel and Michael Keohane, Torfaen Karin and Bob Cotter, Northampton Ian Lauder, Saffron Walden, Essex Valerie Creasey, Diss, Norfolk Martin Lawrence, Towcester, Northamptonshire Ynys Crowston-Boaler, Beeston, Nottinghamshire Pete Lawton, Sheffield Peter and Julia Dabbs, Sleaford, Lincolnshire Mark Learoyd, Leeds, West Yorkshire Susan Daly, Diss, Norfolk Jacqueline and Bernadette Leather, Marazion, Jill De Laat, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk Cornwall Robin Dransfield, Keighley Sylvia Lewis, Holbeach Drove, Lincolnshire Jeremy Edwards, London Laura Liddington and family, Coalville, John Eke, Hatfield, Hertfordshire Leicestershire 77 Gary Lines, Knaresborough Alexandre and Irene Zagoskin, Loughborough, Victoria Lochhead, London Leicestershire Judith Low, Wallington, Surrey Mary Mason, Wokingham, Berkshire Overseas 1 July–30 September 2012 Victoria Mather, Penzance, Cornwall Aimee Brown, Wicklow Town, Co. Wicklow, Linda Mc Donnell, Southport Ireland June Mc Intyre, Ayr John Clarkson, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Ruth Meates, Nr Sleaford Learna Coupe, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia Nicola Medawar, Wimbledon Maureen Gray, Newport, NSW, Australia Susan Morrissey, Liverpool Christine Hammond, East Lansing, MI, USA Lindsay Noad, Plymouth Tiffany Meeks, Cheyanne, WY, USA Michelle and Michael O’ Gorman-Dujardin, Karen Millan, Indianapolis, IN, USA Chelmsford, Essex Janice Ratter, Mangerton, NSW, Australia Victoria Owen, Shrewsbury Irene Schjodt, 8700 Horsens, Denmark Margaret Owens, Oswestry, Shropshire Johanne Tournier, Cambridge, Nova Scotia, Canada Virgina Player, Guildford, Surrey Andrea Povey, Woodall Spa, Lincolnshire US Branch 1 July–30 September 2012 Mike Pritchard, Southampton Jean Airey, Englewood, FL Rosemary Rees, Rathmell Settle Morgan Bailey, Los Angeles, CA Yvonne Renowden, Falmouth, Cornwall Fran Becker, Madison, NJ Clarke and Diane Richards, Snowshill Broadway Larry Brewer, San Leandro, CA Charlotte Ridgers, Oswestry, Shropshire Peter Edward Campos, Decatur, GA Maureen Robertson, Wick, Caithness Gail Chesler, New York, NY Pauline Ryan, Manchester Christopher P. Clarens, Manteo, NC Lynda Sargent, Alderley, Gloucestershire Thomas L. Clay, Fort Pierce, FL Jessica Saunders, Bath Kelley R. Davis, Solvang, CA Peter Secchi, Walton-on-Thames Penny Deutz , East Hartford, CT Sandra Secchi, London Anne Dewindt, Detroit, MI Charles Selmes, Slough, Berkshire Delbert Calvert Hiestand, Hoover, AL Edward Shine, London Karen Hoover, Huntington Beach, CA Sylvia Sims, Bryngwran, Anglesey Brian Keller, O'Fallon, IL John Spokes, Streatley, Berkshire Gayle Hove King, Adams, ND Lauren Strauss-Jones, Edgware Carol McGiffin, Santa Fe, NM Alexandra Syson, London Sheila M. Mitchell, Valley Village, CA Jennifer Taylor, Leighton Buzzard Alyssa Morales, Tucson, AZ Peter Thompson, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk Lois Mary Murphy, Sugar Land, TX Beverly Tuckwell, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk Christopher Music, Clarkston, MI David Turner, Ponteland, Northumberland Maggie-beth Rees, Glendale, AZ Frances Vericonte, Dunstable Karen Reid, Romeoville, IL Judith Veysey, Cardiff Emily Richardson, Henrico, VA Malcolm Walker and family, Ulverston, Cumbria Alan Shaw, Basking Ridge, NJ Kate Wescombe, York Theresa Soares, Santa Clara, CA Rosaline Whitehead, Retford Laurel Southworth, New York, NY Anthony Wibberley, Cambridge Christine Steinmetz, Mountville, PA Stephanie Wiffen, Pershore Dean Theophilou , Ft. Worth, TX Ann Wigmore, Coventry, Warwickshire Diane Warren, Norman, OK Jacqueline Williams, Stafford Mary Wood, Santa Cruz, CA Lisa Wright, Derby Carol Wu, Pleasant Hill , CA
Recently deceased members
David Ashton (joined 1991), Guisborough Lesley Boatwright (joined before 1985), Charlton, London Dennis Martin (joined before 1985), Carlisle Ralph Pethick (joined 2002), Sheffield Pauline Staniford (joined 2006), Dorset 78 Obituaries
Carol Kendall, 1917–2012: writer and wife of Paul Murray Kendall Siggy Kendall, who died 28 July 2012 in Lawrence, Kansas, was born 13 September 1917. It was the end of World War I; it was the beginning of the Spanish Flu pandemic; it was a time when the Russian Revolution shook the world. She married Paul Murray Kendall, English Professor, historian and biographer in 1939 on the eve of World War II. Siggy came to observe with the acumen of a writer the major events and developments of the twentieth century. When Siggy was a child, the iceman made deliveries to the house. As an adult, she wrote a book on a new device: the home computer. Her life spanned technologies, different ways of living, new visions of what the world was and what it could be. Siggy’s first books were for adults – The Black Seven (1946) and The Baby Snatcher (1952) – but she realised, after casting a 12-year-old boy as her detective, that she wanted to write for children. In 1957, she wrote The Other Side of the Tunnel, and in 1960, The Big Splash. Between these, she wrote The Gammage Cup (1959), a Newbery Honor Book and an Ohioana prize winner (published in England as The Minnipins). Twenty-eight years later this book became a Hanna-Barbera animated film for television, and is still in print. The famous editor Margaret McElderry worked with Siggy and offered suggestions that helped lead to the final draft of The Gammage Cup. The sequel, The Whisper of Glocken, was published in 1965. Siggy’s final fantasy, The Firelings, was published in 1981 and won a Parents’ Choice Award and the 1983 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. Her manuscripts and archives are housed in the Special Collections of the James C. Kirkpatrick Library at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. After travels to far-flung places (Easter Island was a favourite) and many visits to China, Siggy became interested in folk tales and proceeded to publish Haunting Tales from Japan (1985) and The Wedding of the Rat Family (1988). She translated and retold, with co-author Yao-wen Li, two collections of folk tales: Sweet and Sour: Tales of China and Cinnamon Moon. A number of these tales appeared in Cricket magazine. Despite her deep love of travel, Siggy always liked to return to her beloved house on Holiday Drive and to Kansas, ‘with its big blue skies, its fresh air, and its friendliness.’ Siggy is survived by her two loving daughters, Caroline Kendall Orszak and Gillian Murray Kendall, their husbands Thomas Orszak and Robert Dorit, and by three grandchildren, Christopher Kendall Ahearn (and his wife Elly Truitt); Sasha Dorit-Kendall and Gabriel Dorit-Kendall. Paul Murray Kendall, her husband, predeceased her in November 1973. Thank you to Grace Hospice and the staff and nurses at Pioneer Ridge. Gillian Kendall
Dennis Martin, 1933–2012 It is with great sadness that I inform you and your readership of the passing of a long-time member of the Richard III Society, Dennis Martin, after a short illness. He died peacefully at the Cumberland Infirmary in September. He was a historian through and through. Having read history at Cambridge University, he pursued a career in education teaching history initially in the Army Education Corps (via National Service), where he taught General Montgomery’s cook, before going on to teach at Wellington and Henry Meoles Schools on Merseyside. He was respected by his colleagues and pupils – many a time when we might have been fearing an approach from a gang of youths, we were simply greeted with an ‘alright sir’. In 1984 he retired from teaching to become the proprietor of a guest house in rural Cumbria, where the family looked after some 6000 guests. During this time he maintained his interest in history, becoming a Hadrian’s Wall tour guide for a while. I am sure that, to this day, there will be some American tourists telling their friends stories about Hadrian’s Wall, that my dad expounded on 79 from historical evidence. He would think nothing of driving other visitors eager to trace relatives to graveyards around Cumbria and when on his own holidays would take the family on long drives down narrow roads, in fading light, with petrol running out, on long walks to see a pile of stones, which apparently had some historical significance or other. His historical interests always included Richard III and he made a number of trips to sites with relevance, especially the Bosworth battlefield sites – although there would always be a cricket match or a Newcastle United FC match to go to nearby as well. He always greeted the arrival of the Bulletin with great joy and would go missing for a few hours following its arrival, with household and gardening jobs going undone until it was read. He is greatly missed by family and friends alike. Iain Martin
Pauline Staniford Dorset Group are sad to announce the death on 15 July of Pauline Staniford, who joined in early 2006 after enjoying our lively Christmas social. She always enjoyed our meetings and will be very much missed. Babs Creamer, Secretary Dorset Group Calendar We run a calendar of all forthcoming events notified to us for inclusion. If you are aware of any events of Ricardian interest, whether organised by the Society (Committee, Visits Committee, Research Committee, Branches/Groups, etc.) or by others, please let the Bulletin team have full details in sufficient time for entry. The calendar will also be run on the website. Date Events Originator 2012 15 December Christmas at Fotheringhay Chairman 31 December Wreath-laying at duke of York’s statue, Sandal, 2 pm. Yorkshire Branch For full details, please contact our Secretary on [email protected] or tel: 0114 258 6097. 2013 9 February ‘The Search for Richard III’ – Dr John London Branch (see p. 15) Ashdown-Hill, 2.30 pm in the Court Room, Senate House, Malet Street, London 16 March ‘The Explosive History of Gunpowder – Part Two’ London Branch (see p. 16) – Rosemary Waxman, 2.30 pm in the Bedford Room, Senate House, Malet Street, London 12–14 April Study Weekend and Yorkshire Museum visit Research Committee (see p. 21) 18 May Day trip to Beaulieu Abbey and Buckler’s Hard Visits Committee 11–15 July North to Newcastle: 2013 Long Weekend Visits Committee (see p. 22) 12–14 July Australasian Convention, Sydney NSW Branch (see p. 30) 17–18 August Bosworth Weekend Visits Committee 7 September Visit to Bodiam Castle Visits Committee 5 October Members’ Day and AGM, London Joint Secretaries 23 November Visit to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry Visits Committee 14 December Christmas at Fotheringhay Chairman 80
The Achievement of arms of the Richard III Society
Front cover: Portrait of Richard III reproduced by kind permission of the Society of Antiquaries of London