Ricardian

Bulletin Winter 2008 Contents

2 From the Chairman 4 The Robert Hamblin Award 5 Society News and Notices 13 Richard III Society Bursary is awarded to Matthew Ward 16 Logge Wills Are Here At Last: by Lesley Boatwright 17 Media Retrospective 20 News and Reviews 28 Proceedings of the Triennial Conference 2008: Part 3: Survivors 37 The Man Himself: by Lynda Pidgeon 40 A Bearded Richard: by David Fiddimore 41 William Herbert, Earl of Huntingdon: A Biography: Part I: by Sarah Sickels 43 Eleanor Matters: by John Ashdown-Hill 45 The Real Reason Why Hastings Lost His Head: A Reply: by David Johnson 47 Correspondence 51 The Barton Library 52 Report on Society Events 60 In the Footsteps of Richard III: 2009 Annual Tour for Ricardians and Friends 61 Ricardians in Krakow and a Photo Caption Competition 62 Future Society Events 65 Branch and Group Contacts 66 Branches and Groups 71 New Members 71 Recently Deceased Members 72 Calendar

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

The Ricardian Bulletin is produced by the Bulletin Editorial Committee, Printed by Micropress Printers Ltd. © Richard III Society, 2008

1

From the Chairman

ith the Christmas season almost upon us again, it is always interesting to reflect on how W our modern celebrations compare to those which would have been held in Yorkist Eng- land. In the fifteenth century, it was first and foremost a religious festival, something which can- not really be said today, and of course, there would have been no turkeys in those pre-Columbus days. Instead, a goose would have been the bird of choice, or possibly even a swan. Mince pies were true to their name, with shredded meat being the main ingredient, while the Christmas pud- ding was in the form of a spicy porridge, known as ‘frumenty’. Our last Bulletin for 2008 offers another feast, this time of articles, reviews and news. The series based on the talks given at this year’s triennial conference on the fate of the continues with three articles about possible survivors. Also, we welcome a new contribu- tor, Sarah Sickels, a young member from the American Branch. She writes about William Her- bert, the earl of Huntington, who married Richard’s illegitimate daughter, Katharine. As we’ve not had a Letter from America for a while, it’s good to hear from our American friends with an account of their recent visit to these islands. During 2009, we will have a series of articles commemorating the quincentenary of the deaths of Henry VII and his mother, and the piece in the News and Reviews section about the unlikely case for the canonisation of the latter surely throws down a challenge to us. Another review points to a possible new feature with examples of members having traced their ancestry back to Yorkist . If any of you have managed this, please let us know. We’ll try not to mind if they happened to be Lancastrians! Writing of family history reminds me that the next Who Do You Think You Are? - Live exhibition is not so far off. The Society will be there again, so please visit and give us your support. A particularly exciting initiative next year will be the launch of a series that provides a chal- lenge to the published novelists amongst our membership. Graham Turner’s pictures of fifteenth century scenes and people are greatly admired and all contain within them a story waiting to be told, and that’s the task we have set our novelists: choose a picture and tell us the story. The se- ries will kick off in the spring issue with Sandra Worth. This issue has the minutes of the AGM held in October. It was good to be back in York, but as Jane Trump points out in her Low Down, attendance was a little disappointing. Perhaps the credit crunch made some members think twice about attending? As has been the custom in recent years, an abridged version of my address to the AGM is published in the Bulletin and follows this piece. As we look forward to another challenging and interesting Ricardian year, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and, in these uncertain times, a safe and, I hope, prosperous 2009. Phil Stone

2

The Chairman’s Keynote Address to the Society at the AGM At our AGM last year, I referred to 2007 as being a year of consolidation. I think we can look upon 2008 as a year of measured expansion, building upon the secure base that has been created by our reforms of the past six years. We have begun to advance and I am particularly pleased to note that our accounts for the last financial year show a healthy surplus, providing us with the capital to do yet more. Some of the highlights of the past year include the Triennial Conference in Cirencester and our debuts at Who Do You Think You Are? – Live at Olympia, and the prestigious Medie- val Congress. This is not to forget, of course, all the regular activities that make up the Ricardian year – the visits, commemorations, branch meetings, the bursaries, the ongoing work of the Re- search Committee, the Richard III and Yorkist Trust, and the Ricardian Churches Restoration Fund amongst others. Particular mention should be made of the Wills Project, something that seems to have been around for so long that I was beginning to wonder if the organisers were waiting to include my will, as well! The importance of the successful conclusion of this project cannot be overstated. It is a milestone achievement for the Society that will significantly enhance our reputation amongst fifteenth-century historians and scholars, at the same time extending our reach to the ever grow- ing family history community. Looking forward from the measured expansion of this year, we look to focused expansion during 2009, recognising that the best results are only achieved by the careful targeting of our efforts, aiming for where they can have real impact. In July, we will be back at the International Medieval Congress at Leeds and our presence will be even more pronounced as we hope that three of our members will be contributing lectures to the Congress. In January, we will launch the Bosworth Portal, an interactive computer screen to be installed in the reception area of the new battlefield centre. Sponsored and provided by the Society, it will focus on King Richard, provid- ing a balanced account of his life and reign. At the end of February, the Society will be present at the Who Do You Think You Are? – Live exhibition again, with a stand on the main walkway through the middle of the hall. The Visits team are working on an exciting programme, including a long weekend in South Wales and the possibility of a day trip to Croyland. The biennial Aus- tralasian Convention will take place in Perth, Western Australia, and we wish all who attend it safe journeys and a successful convention. 2009 is the year that sees the quincentenary of the accession of Henry VIII, of course, and, following the recent television series The Tudors, the reign will now have to be totally reas- sessed. This innovative series has revealed many new facts about the king and his times, not least the one that Henry found the fountain of youth and apparently never aged. If only they could follow this up with The Yorkists – there’d be no shortage of sex scenes, either, with Edward IV dropping his hose on all possible occasions. Seriously and more importantly, in 2009 it will be fifty years since the Fellowship of the was renamed The Richard III Society, an anniversary that will be commemorated in the Bulletin. The change of name has been fortunate, for not only has it gained us wide recogni- tion, it has proved very effective in selling our message. As the man said, it does what it says on the tin. While we look to the future, I hesitate to say that we look forward to the next fifty years, as I hope that, in 2059, there will be no need for a Society that is seeking to restore the reputation of Richard III. Perhaps we can hope that our successors at that year’s AGM will be celebrating the name’s 100th anniversary, basking in the knowledge that the Society’s aims of a reassess- ment of the times and reputation of Richard of Gloucester have shown the world that he really was Good King Richard. It has always been my pleasure at the AGM to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who has done work for the Society, and at this time, I would like to record my special thanks to the Executive Committee. I know how much they put into the running of the Society and the support that they give me. The voluntary spirit is alive throughout the Richard III Society, and my thanks go to 3

you all for making it so. Indeed, I will reiterate that it is thanks to the work of our volunteers that the Society’s finances are in the healthy state that they are, enabling us to look forward to a healthy future. Two major examples of this are the technical editing of our journals, which is all done in-house, saving literally thousands of pounds each year, and the work of the various stock- holders, whose spare rooms, cellars, garages and sheds save us a fortune in warehousing costs. To the list of those to be thanked, this year I will add my wife, Beth. My thanks go to her for supporting me in my role as chairman, of course, but this year, on the principle that, if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them, she has now become the Website Content Manager. With her help, we should be able to keep our splendid website up-to-date and ever vibrant. Finally, I thank you, the members, for being members. Without you, there’d be no Society. Recently, English Heritage sought to establish who was England’s worst ever monarch. The BBC took up the story and the public were invited to nominate their candidate for the title. Henry Tudor got a nomination, Henry VI and Henry VIII, too. The usual suspects, King John, Edward II, and so on, were all there, and the winner was George IV. The significant point for us is that no one nominated Richard III. Could this be a sign that the is turning? Surely, it must be a sign that, at last, we are winning the battle for Richard’s reputation. More and more, the myth of wicked Richard Crookback is becoming no more than a footnote in history. Gradually emerging is a new King Richard, judged fairly and receiving the positive recognition that his achievements deserve. I think we can feel justly proud of our part in this reassessment. We have come far, but there is still a long way to go. If we continue to fight this battle, we will continue to win. We must surely prevail in the end. Phil Stone

The Robert Hamblin Award 2008

This year’s winner is Moira Habberjam

At the AGM this year Moira Hab-

berjam, Secretary to the Yorkshire Branch, was presented with this year’s Robert Hamblin award for service to the Society. Moira has been a popular member of the So- ciety and branch for many years and secretary to her branch for no less than 22 years continuously. She has also taken her part in an- swering research queries for the branch and is a member of the So- ciety Research Committee. She is an expert palaeographer and Latin- ist and played a very important part in the Logge project, being one of the editors, and translating, transcribing and checking the work of most of the other transcrib- ers. She has many projects of her own, she always offers hospitality to the speakers at the Branch annual lecture and is active in the Yorkshire Archaeological Society. It is true to say

that with all this and her family she is always busy. She also likes to talk. On being named as this year’s recipient of the Award, however, Moira was for once at a loss for words.

4

Society News and Notices

Minutes of the 2008 Annual General Meeting of the Richard III Society The 2008 Annual General Meeting of the Richard III Society was held at The Merchant Adven- turers’ Hall, Fossgate, York on Saturday 4 October 2008 at 2.40 p.m. 80 members were present. Apologies for absence were received from John Ashdown-Hill, Graeme and Rebeka Beale, Michael Boon, Julia Campbell, Dr Helen Carron, Joan Cooksley, Theresa Egan, Gordon and Ra- chel Field, Paul Foss, Jessica Freeman, Graham and Sylvia Javes, Bryan Longfellow, Brian Moorhen, Bob Smith (on behalf of the New Zealand Branch), Christian Steer, Richard Van Al- len, Henk van Valen, Geoffrey Wheeler and Juliet Wilson. The Minutes of the 2007 Annual General Meeting, published in the winter Bulletin 2007, were approved and signed as correct. Chairman’s Remarks. Phil Stone welcomed members from the UK and overseas, including Elisabeth Sjoberg, who is Danish but living in Sweden, and Lorraine Street from Canada. He then reported on the year’s progress and highlighted Society activities, giving thanks where due, as fully reported in this issue on pages 3-4. Secretary’s Report. Jane Trump reported to the AGM that she had sent a letter of greetings to the American Branch of the Society and that she had received a letter of greetings back plus an email giving greetings from the Canadian Branch. She read both out to those attending. Reports: Report from Branch – John Saunders read out a letter of greetings from the branch, outlining their activities and promoting the forthcoming Australasian Convention which they are hosting next year. Mailshot to Members – Wendy Moorhen reminded members that the increase in subscription was due to be implemented this year. She explained that she had written to UK members to re- mind them to update their standing orders accordingly but that she could not report on the suc- cess of this initiative until she had seen the next Society statement. So far she had received a good response from those members not utilising a standing order and she expressed her thanks for this and for the donations that had been received. She expressed the Executive Committee’s gratitude for these donations which the Chairman echoed. Barton Library – Carolyn Hammond reported that the high spot of the Library’s year was the Fiction Book Auction which raised over £450, with almost every book being sold (including du- plicate copies). She expressed her thanks for everyone who had participated in that auction. She gave apologies for absence from Becky Beale, the Non-Fiction Papers Librarian, and Keith Hor- ry, the Non-Fiction Books Librarian, and explained that Keith had only just come out of hospital so response to non-fiction book requests may be slower than usual for a few weeks. Carolyn then announced that Becky needed to resign her role as Non-Fiction Papers Librarian due to poor eye sight. She has been advised to conserve her eyesight so she has no choice but to give up the role. Carolyn asked if there was anyone present, or if anyone knew of anyone, who might be interested in taking on the role. Carolyn reported that the Librarians were receiving a steady number of re- quests but would always welcome more and she reminded members that the librarians were hap- py to answer queries as well as lend out books and papers. She recommended Ian Roger’s web- site www.girders.net as a very useful research tool, giving the biographies of over 34,000 people living in the fifteenth century. Members were also reminded of the service Becky provided of preparing a pack of papers on a specific topic prior to a talk or visit, and of Geoff Wheeler’s vast audio/visual collection and, again, his willingness to put a tape together on a particular topic on request. Finally Carolyn announced the search facility available on the catalogue residing on the Society website, by which a person need only type in the topic of interest and a list of all the books/papers and audio/visual items with entries on that topic will be produced. 5

Treasurer’s Report. In Paul Foss’ absence, the Chairman reminded members that the Annu- al Accounts had been produced in the autumn Bulletin and invited any queries. (There were none.) Adoption of the Accounts for 2007-2008 was proposed by Kitty Bristow and seconded by Barry Edwards and carried nem. con. Appointment of a Qualified Independent Examiner. The Chairman announced that the Society did have someone in post and the Executive Committee recommended that they continue for the following year. Unfortunately the name of the person was not known so the Chairman was actioned to obtain the name from the Treasurer. [Post AGM Note: The Qualified Independent Examiner is Bristol Taxsavers.] That this Examiner was allowed to continue was proposed by Heather Falvey and seconded by Barry Edwards and carried nem. con. Robert Hamblin Award. On the sixth occasion of this award, the recipient was Moira Hab- berjam for her services to the Society, Yorkshire Branch and work on the Logge Wills. Moira epitomises the attributes and qualities for which the Society was founded and it was a pleasure for the Chairman to be able to present the award in person this year. Launch of the Logge Wills. The Chairman outlined the history of the Wills Project from the first recorded reference to the project in 1992 to the actual launch of the Wills Index CD in May to the launch of the Logge Wills at this AGM. He explained that Logge contains the wills of peo- ple from many walks of life, from William Lord Hastings and Richard Beauchamp, Bishop of Salisbury, to assorted tradesmen, merchants and widows, and provides a fascinating insight into the lives of fifteenth-century people, leading to much further research as has been seen in the many Bulletin articles inspired by Logge testators. He gave a collective thanks to all those who had participated in the Wills Project and commemorated the contribution of those members who have passed away, Daphne Booth, Arthur Cockerill, Philomena Connolly, Philomena Jones and Marian Treagus. He gave a special mention also to those most closely involved in the production of both Logge and the Wills CD: Lesley Boatwright, Moira Habberjam, Peter Hammond, Mary O’Regan, John Saunders, Heather Falvey and Wendy Moorhen. Finally the Chairman made a very special mention of Bryan Longfellow in recognition of the fact that Bryan transcribed 149 wills from Logge. Bryan will be presented with a complimentary copy of Logge to mark this recognition. Election of President. The re-election of Peter Hammond as President of the Society was proposed by the Chairman, on behalf of the Executive Committee, seconded by John Audsley and carried nem. con. The President responded with thanks. Election of Vice-Presidents. The Chairman, on behalf of the Executive Committee, proposed that John Audsley, Kitty Bristow, Carolyn Hammond, Robert Smith and Isolde Wigram should be re-elected as Vice-Presidents of the Society for 2008-2009. This was seconded by Elaine Rob- inson and was carried nem. con. Election of Executive Committee for 2008-2009 Nominations having been received for the following, it was proposed that these members be elected to the executive Committee for 2008- 2009: Lesley Boatwright, Howard Choppin, Paul Foss, Marian Mitchell, Wendy Moorhen, Lynda Pidgeon, Phil Stone, Anne Sutton, Jane Trump, Neil Trump, Richard Van Allen, David Wells, Susan Wells and Geoffrey Wheeler. These were all proposed by Margaret Stiles, seconded by Mary O’Regan and carried nem. con. Date of Bosworth 2009 The Bosworth commemoration would take place on Sunday 23 Au- gust, although the Society would have a presence throughout the Bosworth Weekend of 21-23 August. Date of AGM 2009 The AGM would take place on Saturday 3 October 2009 in . Any Other Business New Project to consider – Anne Sutton made the suggestion that research could be carried out by Society members into Richard’s estates. She explained that Richard held land in various coun-

6

ties so members from all over the UK could get involved. However, she cautioned that it would not be an easy task, with many questions to be considered but it could be a rewarding project to consider. A Home for the Society – Anne Sutton raised her concerns that the Society needs a permanent address and, although she appreciated that the Society was not currently in a position to purchase a property, it could be a project to be looked into and worked towards. She suggested that it could be a good idea to look at other societies with a permanent address to see how they managed it and thought that it would be worthy cause for any future large donations or bequests the Society might receive. She invited any members who may have any ideas or suggestions to get in touch with either herself or Peter Hammond. A Bag for Life – John Saunders asked whether the Society had considered producing a bag for life with the emphasis on carbon footprints. The Chairman responded that the Executive Committee were looking into the prospect of producing one of these. Current Membership Figure – Margaret Stiles asked Wendy Moorhen for the current mem- bership figure. Wendy responded that the current figure was 2,222 + 510 for the American Branch, giving a total figure of 2,732. There had been two questions pinned to the Question Board during the day: 1. Would the Society contact the College of Arms to query why they did not list Richard III as their founder and only listed the Tudor monarchs among their benefactors? The Chairman agreed that the Society would look into this and contact the College of Arms accordingly. 2. Is there any prospect of further excavations at Fotheringhay, particularly the castle area? The Chairman responded that he doubted that there would be any future excavations but he would write and report back. Elisabeth Sjoberg asked whether Time Team had been invited to excavate at Fotheringhay to which he responded that Time Team were not popular with other professional archaeologists and there would probably not be enough to warrant a 3-day dig. Barley Hall – Lynda Pidgeon notified members that forms were available to order the email newsletter. If people did not have access to email, they could leave their address for a hard copy but Lynda stressed that email was preferred due to cost issues. She explained that the newsletter was the communication/information system whilst The Friends of Barley Hall was still in a state of ‘flux’ due to recent developments. There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting.

Major Craft Sale at AGM The thirtieth Major Craft Sale, run by the Ricardian Churches Restoration Fund, was held at the 2008 Members’ Day/AGM from 10.00 a.m. and during the lunch interval. The craft stall, ‘grot’ stall, Elaine Robinson’s cards, and the raffle, together made a total of £251. We would like to thank all those who contributed items for sale or raffle, and who helped on the stalls during the day, including Rachel Field, Peter and Carolyn Hammond, Jean Hester, Maureen Nunn, Janet Rogers, Elaine Robinson, and Beth Stone. Our thanks to them all, and our apologies to anyone we have omitted. Elizabeth Nokes, Kitty Bristow and Phil Stone

Towton Battlefield Society and the Frei Compagnie On behalf of Towton Battlefield Society and its Frei Compagnie re-enactors, I would like to say a big ‘thank-you’ to the Richard III Society for inviting us to the AGM on 4 October. It’s always a great pleasure to appear for such an interested, well-informed and enthusiastic audience – so thanks also to everyone who visited our stand to chat or buy things; the TBS Treasurer was de- lighted with the proceeds, which all go towards supporting the Society’s work at Towton. And, on a personal note, it was a lovely and suitably Ricardian way to celebrate our first wedding anni- versary. Helen Cox 7

[TBS very generously donated 10% of their takings from the day to the Society]

Report on Members’ Weekend and AGM We returned to York for our AGM this year and Society Secretary, Jane Trump, organised extra activities to ensure folk had the opportunity to meet and relax with other members and enjoy some of the delights of Wensleydale. The weekend kicked off with a reception at Barley Hall, the restored medieval townhouse just off Stonegate. Whilst we had the run of the house, most members just seemed happy to mingle in the great hall with their drinks, renewing acquaintances and making new ones. The modest fee charged was sufficient to ensure the drinks kept flowing and people were enjoying themselves so much that we had to be politely reminded to leave after our allotted time. Members drifted to various restaurants in the city, and we re-convened on a chilly and grey Saturday morning at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall in Fossgate, the venue for our previous AGM in York during the 2006 fiftieth anniversary celebrations. A cheerful welcome was provided by members of the Yorkshire Branch who manned the reception desk and sold the raffle tickets. There were of course the usual sales stalls, with few escaping the attentions of that redoubtable grot-seller-in-chief, Kitty Bristow, who was vocally sup- ported by Beth Stone. Elaine Robinson had a wonderful display of Christmas cards and there were of course the usual craft and bric-à-brac stalls. Marian Mitchell and Car- olyn West provided a display about the work of the Visits Committee and Carolyn Hammond and Heather Falvey manned a rather reduced bookstall. Sadly, librarian Keith Horrey had only just come out of hospital the previous day and was unable to join his fellow Ricardians and provide a selection of duplicate books for the library. The branches were represented by Yorkshire, and Helen Ashburn from Receptionist Nicky Bland wearing Greater Manchester made it across the Pennines with an appropriate garment

goodies from her branch. Sue and David Wells supported by Andrea Lindow did a brisk trade in tea and coffee. Mem- bers also had the opportunity to pay their subs. There were, however, some additional attractions. Member Helen Cox with her husband Mick Doggett celebrated their first wedding anniversary with us and brought along col- leagues from the Towton Bat- tlefield Trust and their re- enactment group, Frei Com- pagnie, who gave demonstra- tions to enhance greatly the hall’s medieval ambience. If Derek McCulloch with two members of Frei Compagnie Frei Compagnie gave us visual 8

treats, the medieval troupe of mu- sicians, Trouvère, provided the audio ones with their delightful music played through out the course of the morning. The AGM saw the official launch of the Society’s latest pub- lication, The Logge Wills, and the editors were much in demand to sign copies. Lesley Boatwright, Moira Habberjam and Peter Ham- mond were joined by technical editor, Heather Falvey, checker Mary O’Regan and project co- ordinator, John Saunders, in a From left to right: The Logge team: Mary O’Regan, well deserved glass of cham- John Saunders, Moira Habberjam, Lesley Boatwright, Peter Hammond and Heather Falvey pagne. The guest speaker of the day was Gareth King, who reprised the talk he gave earlier in the year at the East Midlands Branch Study Day. It was a little daunting to be presented with a barefooted and, dare I say, scantily-clad peasant addressing the meeting, but Gareth was absolutely delightful and his audience frequently expressed their appreciation with howls of laughter as the realities of life for the mediaeval peas- ant were dramatically brought home to us. (For an earlier review of this talk and insight into life as a medieval peasant see the autumn Bulletin pp. 43-44.) Members were then provided with a generous break to have lunch and we all assembled again at 2.30 p.m. for the main business of the day, which is covered in full in the AGM minutes on pages 5-7. However, mention should be made of the auction of a rather delicious looking cake and the presentation of the white roses, always a decorative part of the AGM, to Marjorie Hodg- kinson, who was the first purchaser of a set of the Logge Wills. AGMs are formal proceedings and in recent years the reports from the committee officers have been supplied in the annual report with only recent updates being delivered at the AGM. The Executive Committee always reviews the AGM and it has been suggested that perhaps there needs to be a little more interaction with members during the meeting. We are looking into ways that we might achieve this in the future. Sadly the gala dinner at the Merchant Adventurers’ was cancelled due to lack of bookings. This was a shame as the dinner in 2006 was well attended and enjoyed by all. So once again members made their own arrangements. Your present scribe opted for a once loved restaurant only to find it had become part of a chain complete with an oversized menu but undersized at- mosphere. It was decided to round off the evening at the King’s Head on the banks of the River Ouse. Nothing stands still, and although we were aware that the portrait of King Richard had been replaced with his arms, it is a traditional drinking hole for Ricardians and should be visited at least once on a trip to the city. The rather lax drinking rules in the south were not practised in York where ‘time’ is apparently ‘time’ and at 11.15 p.m. everyone was escorted out of the prem- ises, disturbingly by a bouncer, an accoutrement that is now sported by all pubs in the city centre. At this point in the proceedings the heavens opened and the day ended with concerns for the trip to the dales the next day. Sunday morning was indeed grey and damp as thirty plus Ricardians met at the Memorial Gardens and we boarded the coach bound for Middleham. Morton threatened his worst. Howev- er, as we left the city and headed north the skies cleared, so clearly his writ does not run so well in Yorkshire! We were to take the scenic route and there was some consternation when the driver picked up the A1 motorway; fortunately it was only for a short distance and we soon exited and

9

continued on through the glorious countryside of Yorkshire crossing picturesque bridges that spanned beautiful flowing rivers and even catching a glimpse of the cathedral at Ripon. The fields were full, not only of sheep and cattle lying there soaking up the early autumn sunshine, but full too of gorgeously coloured game birds who appeared to have survived the ‘glorious twelfth’, the traditional date set for their slaughter. All too soon we arrived at Mid- dleham and as we disembarked from the coach we were met with the other ‘industry’ of the town, as a number of race horses trotted by on their daily exercise routine. The morning family service at St Mary and St Alkelda’s church was to take place at 11 a.m., so some members took the early oppor- tunity of visiting beforehand to view in partic- ular the window donated by The Fellowship of the White Boar in 1934. By the time our re- spects had been duly paid, the town’s cafes began to open and a welcome cup of coffee The Middleham window donated by the was enjoyed by myself and colleagues and no Fellowship of the White Boar in 1934 doubt by other members. It was then time to visit the castle itself. As noon approached the weather was glorious and the remains of Richard’s favourite residence could not have been seen in a better light. The audio-visual guide provided by the Fox family (reviewed in the spring Bulle- tin pp. 19-22) enhanced the visit and the old stones seemed to come alive reliving their momentous past. Ricardians met up at ran- dom and chatted before boarding the coach for that all-important event – lunch. Our meal had been booked at Aysgarth Falls. The earlier intention to eat at Leyburn was abandoned as it was not easily possible, with- out a site visit, to find a suitable establish- ment (the locals apparently enjoying their Sunday lunches in the inns which could then not accommodate coach parties). Advance orders for lunch were taken on the coach and so on arrival we were quickly served with simple but good quality fare. Everything was piping hot and the chips looked suspiciously home made and were delicious. So was the ice-cream. It was a perilous walk down to the falls. I wonder if other members suspect, as I do, that Richard and his family must often have visited them and enjoying a relaxing afternoon, and dipping their toes in the cool waters on a hot summer’s day? For me, the The ruins of the cellar at Middleham Castle added bonus of the visit was the exhibition of

10

a rather curious looking vehicle parked outside the restaurant. It was, in fact, the carriage made for the transportation of the future Emperor Commodus and his sister Lucilla for the film Gladia- tor, as they made their way to the German front following the opening battle scene of the film. All too soon we were on the coach making our way back to York where members were dropped at the station in preparation for their return journey south. Several members were mak- ing a long weekend of it and walked back to the city centre but for those of us who faced the long journey south by train or car it was goodbye to our favourite city and to our old and new friends. Thanks to Jane Trump for making it all happen over the weekend and to those at the AGM who once again gave their time and energy to the benefit of the Society. Wendy Moorhen

Bidding for your cake and eating it As the successful bidder for the auctioned cake I would just like to say what an excellent cake it was; I shared slices with a number of others and they likewise shared my sentiments as to its quality. So can I say a big thank you to Jane Rogers, the cake maker and ask could I have the recipe please (see inside back cover of the Bulletin for contact details.) John Saunders

Ricardian Roundup As many of you already know (because you receive it), every three months I circulate an elec- tronic magazine called Ricardian Roundup. This comprises items from Branch and Group publi- cations which might be of wider interest. If you don’t already receive the Ricardian Roundup but would like to do so, just email me to that effect, giving me the email address to which it should be sent. It’s FREE! And if you think you should be receiving the Roundup but haven’t seen one recently could it be that you’ve changed your email address but haven’t told me? One or two of the addresses I have no longer seem to work. Sadly, I can’t do anything about this unless you let me know your new address. Contact me on email: [email protected] John Ashdown-Hill

Membership Matters The renewals have been rolling in since late August when we wrote to all UK members about the subscription increase, either asking them to update their standing order arrangements or suggest- ing they might like to use this method of payment. So thanks to all of you have who have re- sponded, one way or another, to our letter. We would also like to thank those members who included a donation with their subscription payments. Whether large or small, they are very much appreciated by the Executive Committee, particularly when this year has seen the implementation of the increase in subs for existing mem- bers and the fact we are experiencing a credit crunch. If you have not yet renewed your subscription, we would be grateful if you could do so at your earliest convenience. The renewal form was printed in the centrefold section of the autumn Bulletin. We will be writing to members in January if they are still showing as unpaid, and if a response is not received the membership will then be treated as lapsed and no further journals will be sent. Brian and Wendy Moorhen

Society PayPal Account Many members, particularly those overseas, are now using this method of payment, which is working very well. I gave details of how to use the account in the autumn Bulletin 2008 p.7 so please use this as your reference if you wish to pay this way for any of the Society’s goods or services. Paul Foss

11

Bulletin Deadline for Copy You will have seen in recent editions of the Bulletin that there have been difficulties in getting the Bulletin out on time. Our new printers do an excellent job of production but they are a larger company and are consequently much busier than our previous printers. This means we have less flexibility than we used to have. This unfortunately has a knock-on effect on the timings for get- ting the Bulletin to them to enable them to print it ready for our delivery schedule, and this in turn means we have to have everything prepared at least a week earlier than previously. Can I please therefore stress that the copy date of the 15th in each quarter is the LATEST date by which we need to receive items, NOT the earliest. I am reluctant to move the copy date forward by a week, but if we continue to experience difficulties in getting the Bulletin ready in time then I may have no choice. We shall, of course, be able to respond to breaking news and accommodate a few SHORT items as stop-press news after the 15th in each quarter, but it is really important that these should be kept to a minimum. Lynda Pidgeon, Technical Editor

Executive Committee – The Low Down Well, finally the AGM/Members’ Weekend has been and gone and I have to admit that, after all the build up, I am relieved that it is all over for another year. My tip to all future Secretaries is never to go away on holiday just before an AGM. I have a phone with access to email so I was still organising whilst on holiday and then it was go, go, go on my return – on top of all the pres- sures the day job piled on top of me. I don’t mind telling you, I was exhausted by the end of it. However, all the effort was worth it because it was a resounding success and those attending seemed to have a great time and enjoyed the presence of the re-enactors who provided colour, spectacle and atmosphere with gentle medieval music – so perfect for the surroundings. Although we did not have a banquet, the reception at Barley Hall brought many people together on the Fri- day evening and the air buzzed with Ricardian chat and gossip. My thanks go to everyone who supported me during the weekend; to all those running stalls, to Dave and Sue Wells and Andrea Lindow for helping with the refreshment stall, to Nicky Bland and other Yorkshire Branch mem- bers for all their help in manning the reception and generally being around to help out, and espe- cially to Neil, my husband, and Wendy Moorhen for all that they did during the weekend and for keeping me sane. The one disappointment was the number attending the AGM. It was one of the lowest turn-outs, at 80, and it surprised the EC, with the venue being Richard’s city of York. Per- haps it is time to look again at the format? We will keep you posted. The website goes from strength to strength and continues to be the most popular way for peo- ple to join the Society. The EC are always willing to make things as easy as possible for people to join so, when a member queried why the Society did not offer an on-line service, although the expense and effort would be far too much for the return, the EC gave it some thought and pro- posed a half-way of providing a direct link to PayPal. Although not everyone has a Pay- Pal account, it is extremely easy to set up and we hope this compromise will encourage more people to join up. Our relationship with the Bosworth Battlefield Centre continues to flourish in a reciprocal fashion. When the Centre complained about the new plaque at Richard’s Well, the EC immedi- ately set about looking for a more suitable replacement for it. Additionally we have put in a plea for the Centre to replace the banners they have removed from the battlefield site. Our portal is coming on well. Wendy is working on a simple but direct text and we have some very colourful pictures from Geoff Wheeler and my father, sculptor Gerry Hitch, showing Richard in his many guises, as king, duke, soldier and family man. Graham Turner’s pictures will also figure in the portal. It is due for installation in January 2009 when the Centre is closed. The EC hope that, by keeping the portal simple and colourful, it will encourage people to look at it and hopefully awaken an interest in Richard and a desire to join the Society. Jane Trump

12

The Richard III Society Bursary is awarded to Matthew Ward

t the end of 2007 we announced a new bursary that would be funded by the Society and A open to members who were studying for higher degrees. The Executive Committee is delighted to announce that the recipient for 2008 is Matthew Ward of Calverton in Nottinghamshire, who has recently graduated from Trent Uni- versity with a BA (Hons) History degree. Matthew is now registered for an MA History

(Research) degree at Nottingham University. The title of his thesis is ‘The Politics of Purgatory: Power, Piety and Aristocratic Death in Lancastrian and Yorkist England, 1399-1485’. Matthew’s undergraduate dissertation in- volved researching notions of and attitudes towards death and dying amongst the fifteenth-century English elite, with overriding themes of ‘piety, politics and prestige’. His Master’s dissertation will build on and extend that research. In particular, it will ask how far Yorkist and Lancastrian political affinity was reflected in choice of burial site, executors of wills and funerary monuments and to what extent deaths were used to display prestige. Matthew’s supervisor at Nottingham, Dr Rob Lutton, sup- ported his application for the bursary commenting that his Matthew Ward proposal ‘demonstrates originality of thought and consid- erable ability to engage with the historiography’ of his chosen subject, and that he had ‘shown great imagination and diligence in identifying a wide range of relevant primary source material that will call for an interdisciplinary approach and will lead to new insights on the topic’. We wish Matthew every success in his research. The recipients of the other bursaries funded by the Society this year were Jennifer Rampling of Cambridge University, who is registered for a PhD and is researching the alchemy of George Ripley, and Meghan Kawka of the University of York, whose interests are Richard III’s activities in the North. Prof. Linne Mooney, Director of the Centre of Medieval Studies at York, commented during our correspondence this year that the ‘£500 scholarship makes more of a difference for its award- ees than you might think, sometimes making the difference between their deciding to pursue the Master’s degree and not, so we are very grateful to you’. If any member would like to apply for the Society bursary, applications forms are available from me and should be completed and returned together with supporting documentation by 31 July 2009. Full details of the bursary are in the winter Bulletin 2007, p. 13 and on the website (www.richardiii.net/education/bursaries). Wendy Moorhen, Research Officer

13

2 volume set Special price to participants £22 plus £7.50 p&p Price to members £25 plus £7.50 p&p

379 wills and testaments Text in English and Latin Person, Place and Subject Indexes 1043 pages

Available from the Sales Liaison Officer: Sally Empson 42 Pewsey Vale Forest Park Bracknell Berkshire RG12 9YA

14

The LOGGE Wills Are Here At Last

inally, after sixteen years’ hard work by so many people, the Logge-jam has been resolved, F and the PCC wills project has Logged-off. The volumes were delivered hot off the press to the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall in York ready for the Society’s AGM. The sets of two handsome volumes contain full transcriptions, and translations where neces- sary, of all the 379 wills and testaments recorded in Latin or in English in the register of the Pre- rogative Court of Canterbury for the years 1479 to 1486. The register is known as ‘Logge’ after its first will, that of John Logge, woodmonger of London. A few wills were made before 1479. Some of these testators were leading figures of the day: nobles, bishops, men prominent in court circles and in the world of learning. Many were important figures in London livery compa- nies, powerful men in their own day, yet not often found taking an active part in the movement of history. Others, solid tradesmen, parish clergy, lesser local landowners, also lived through the turbulent times of the later fifteenth century, experiencing rather than contributing to the quarrels of York and Lancaster. These wills introduce us to the sort of men and women who form part of the background to that history. These include Thomas Breton and Thomas Ostrich, two of the eleven commoners who at- tended Richard III’s coronation. Sir William Heryot was one of Edward IV’s city partners in trading ventures. Richard Kelet, poulterer of London, supplied fowl to Richard III. William Mynte, wheelwright of London, was given exemption from serving on juries by the Mayor and Aldermen of London in 1478 at the request of Queen , ‘on whose business as well as that of the Prince he was daily occupied’. Walter William was one of the Southampton rebels against Richard III in 1483. Edmund Albon was physician to Edward IV. Sir Richard Roos wrote poetry. Two men who did take an active part in the movement of history in the , and were exe- cuted for it, were William, Lord Hastings, and , esquire. Their wills are present in the Logge Register. Hastings was not attainted for treason: his will was proved in the normal way, and his property descended to his heirs and legatees – Richard III did not wage war against his dead body, or his family. Catesby’s will is well-known, with its unique declaration to his wife, ‘to whom I have ever be trewe of my body’. Of the 379 wills and testaments, 41 were made by women. Dame Agnes Forster was famous in her day as a prison reformer. Anne, Duchess of Buckingham, was the grandmother of Rich- ard’s 1483 collaborator and ultimate rebel, Duke Henry: she wanted a funeral setting aside all pomp and pride of the world, whose cost should not exceed £100. Elene Langwith is well known as a silkwoman of London, though she simply describes herself as ‘widow’. The will of Dame Jane Barre contains a full description of the furnishings of each room of her house, and many other of her possessions as well, a wonderful source from which to visualise the lives of the well- to-do women of the period. While a number of the wills carefully list a testator’s landed property and the instructions for its disposal, the over-riding impression these volumes give is of the human beings who drew up these wills. They are worried about their souls, about whether their children will behave properly, about how they will be remembered by posterity. They take thought about who they will leave treasured possessions to: their missals, their horses, their silver cups, their silver spoons with the pointed handles, ‘my vestment of blue silk’, ‘my own saddle that I was wont to ride in’, ‘my flat chain of gold made with a borage flower’, ‘the silver and gilt cup which the noble Duke of Clar- ence gave to me out of his goodwill’. Reading these wills, we can hear the authentic voices of men and women of Richard’s day. Lesley Boatwright 15

Premiered in the spectacular surroundings of Lancaster Castle’s Shire Hall Courtroom, Richard III - On Trial For Murder sees Henry Tudor, Henry Duke of Buckingham, Elizabeth Woodville and Richard III himself take the stand. In this gripping Courtroom drama, the audience have the ultimate re- sponsibility. They are the jury.

“an intriguing courtroom drama, where the audience vote added its own charged climax…” ( Evening Post)

£5.95 + £1.00 p&p UK - Reading/Production set (8 copies) £48 p&p FREE UK

Complete Publications, 83 Albemarle Rd, York YO23 1EP (01904) 643000 www.completepublications.co.uk

16

Media Retrospective

From Karen Lewis From Geoffrey Wheeler ITV Teletext News Day – It happened on ... The Times, 13 August, ‘Now must be Rich- An entry for 22 August read: ‘1485. Rich- ard’s summer of discontent’ by Fran Yeoman; ard III was butchered as he vainly tried to commented on in The Times, 16 August, ‘The reach the usurper Henry Tudor at the Battle of Rich-ards are different. But only for now’, by Bosworth Field’. Richard Morrison. (This is a notch up from last year’s entry: These two pieces comment on recently- ‘1485. The was published research into the declining popular- fought in Leicestershire and Richard III was ity of various names. In the first, we read, killed as he vainly tried to reach the usurper ‘Richards have been kings, actors and Virgin Henry Tudor’.) billionaires. Today, it would appear, they are an endangered species. The number of babies called Richard, once Britain’s favourite name, From Margaret Fuller, Gloucester has plummeted over the past century.’ The Letter in The Citizen 11 August: Our flag name joins Percy, Walter, Herbert, Clifford, should reflect history, by Terry Haines. Edna, Ethel, Elsie and Mabel at the bottom of ‘I regret that the idea to design a flag for the list. Only 538 boys were named Richard Gloucestershire was missed by many who in 2005, as opposed to 4,671 in 1807, and have suggested good ideas to me on this sub- 2,289 a century later. One suggested reason ject. Congratulations to all who took part and was that the name had ‘the potential for em- the victor. However, the chosen flag does barrassing nicknames’. But all is not lost: look a bit insipid. Julia Creswell, who writes books on babies’ We need a flag to march behind into battle names, says that after the Restoration the (peaceful, we hope). The marvelous display name Oliver was totally unusable – but last in Tewkesbury prior to its commemorations year it was the third most popular boy’s name of 1471 show how colourful and inspiring in England and Wales. So perhaps Richard standards can be. will make a come-back. Gloucestershire is full of historic emblems Richard Morrison, a bearer of the name, and designs. The civic chains worn by its ponders its unpopularity. ‘The strange thing is Mayors, and Gloucester’s sheriff, display this. that I can’t work out why. True, history has The red and yellow chevron (or is it crimson thrown up a fair number of overbearing Rich- and gold?), and the roundels of De ards. Even if Richard III was the victim of Clare’s has [sic] often been used by county character assassination by that Tudor propa- organisations. ... May I suggest the De Clare gandist Shakespeare (himself a lowly Willie, shield is used as the field of the flag. In the of course, and therefore obviously harbouring centre there could be a roundel containing the a psychological grudge against clever Dicks), magnificent boar’s head found in the city we Richard-apologists still have to account Tudor Coat of Arms. This was the badge of for the likes of Wagner, Nixon, Dawkins and Richard III, formerly Duke of Gloucester, the Branson. ... But they are vastly outnumbered monarch who gave Gloucester city status in by the Richards who have been intelligent, 1483. Our country, our county town and our creative, witty and a credit to their mums and most famous king in a stirring colourful flag.’ dads.’ [Margaret comments: ‘to celebrate its millen- The article by Richard Morrison calling nium Gloucestershire recently commissioned Richard I ‘the greatest Richard of us all’ gen- a county flag, about which there has been erated correspondence: much comment and most seem to think it’s a The Times, 19 August, had a letter from bit colourless.’] Victoria Solt Dennis agreeing that Richard I 17

was a great soldier, but ‘it’s hard to find any- massacre of British men than on the first day thing else favourable to say about him. He of the Somme. Without machineguns or milked England and his other territories ruth- shells, young blokes hacked, bludgeoned and lessly for funds to go crusading ... he had no trampled, suffocated and drowned. An aston- interest in just and efficient administration ...’ ishing 1% of the English population died in She also pointed out that he abducted and this field. The equivalent today would be raped women – and then passed them on to 600,000.’ Gill met some re-enactors: ‘a band his soldiers – pocketed his sister’s dowry after of enthusiasts: an amateur historian, an arche- fighting someone else for it, and threw tan- ologist, a metal-detector, a supermarket man- trums: ‘of the whole gifted, erratic Angevin ager, a chemical engineer, teachers, a printer, tribe, he was by a considerable margin the a computer technician, a schoolboy and his most unpleasant ...’ dad. ... keen but defensive, proud and embar- The Times, 20 August, printed a reply rassed, inhabiting that mocked attic of Eng- from Simon McCarthy, who recommended a land’s hobbyists ... beginning to wiggle into book by Frank McLynn, Lionheart and Lack- leggings and jerkins of boiled wool and linen land (2006), which ‘reaches a much more ...’ positive verdict’. For one thing, Richard He gives a very colloquial, entertaining, ‘managed to avoid the head-on collisions with word-violent account of the Wars of the Ros- the papacy and the all-England primates that es ‘that complex internecine bout of patrician soured the reigns of both Henry II and John. bombast, a hissyfit that stuttered and smoul- dered through the exhausted fag end of the From Susan Russell, Wisbeach Middle Ages like a gang feud’ ... He has an BBC Radio 4, 22 September, 11 a.m. ‘Where eye for the horrid details, and the imagination Scotland Meets England’ to construct his narrative around them: ‘The Reference was made to Richard III in this metal-detectors have found the long, broad programme – that he negotiated the return of trench of bodkin points, showing where the Berwick to England in 1482 when he was first appalling fusillade was loosed. ... there duke of Gloucester. may have been half a million arrows fired in 10 minutes that day – the largest longbow From Richard Van Allen shafting in history. ... under an arrow storm The Sunday Times Magazine, 24 August [men] can do one of three things. They can 2008, front cover and pp. 28-35, had an arti- take it, the steepling hysteria, the terror, the cle by A.A. Gill, with photographs by Tom incessant keening of the goose feathers, the Craig, on the Battle of Towton. The cover thud and grunt, the screaming and pleading, called it ‘Britain’s Valley of Death’, but the the smell of shit and vomit and split gut ...’ article is headed ‘England’s Forgotten Killing [or they can retreat, or attack]. ... ‘The oldest Field’. The sub-editors have extracted com- bullet in the world has been found in this val- ments on the violence: ‘This Yorkshire field ley. ... The Lancastrians ran. The army of of ruffled corn is where the most gruesome York, ... harried them, whooping with relief battle ever fought on English soil took place and the anger that comes after fear. This was in 1461. Why ... have so few heard of Tow- the moment when they made their bounty, the ton, the bloodbath that changed the course of coins and rings and rosaries, the badges and our history?’ and ‘This wasn’t about killing lockets and hidden purses that would pay for the opponent. It was about putting the man in the farm, for the cow, for the wife. They front of you down on the ground. He’d be moved down into the valley of the River dead in seconds.’ Cock and thousands drowned, their linen jer- Gill’s article is informative, and also ex- kins soaking up the frozen water ...’ tracts the last drop of horrified sympathy from ‘If Towton were a grand house, it would the reader: ‘... allowing for medieval exagger- be nannied by dozens of quangos and chari- ation, on this one Sunday between 20,000 and ties, patronised by posh interior decorators, 30,000 men died. ... that’s a more grievous fey historians, titled ladies, Anglophile Amer- 18

icans and the Prince of Wales. But it isn’t. It’s nobody had stayed at the castle, now a muse- kept by the quiet, respectful community and um and art gallery, since the Duke of New- [the re-enactors], who ... I see are the yeomen castle in the 17th century.’ of England walking back through our histo- ry.’ From Lesley Ware, Peterborough The Local (a Peterborough paper) has a notice From Philippa Langley, Scotland of a production of Richard III by the Stam- Sunday Times Magazine (17 August), from ford Shakespeare Company – ‘the story of a the ‘Life in the Day’ as Moira Cameron, the young man with a lust for power, his ambition ’s first female Yeoman and his ruthlessness’ ... ‘but the question re- Warder in its 522-year history of the unit, mains – How accurate is Shakespeare’s por- tells us about her day: ‘I’ve heard quite a few trayal of history? Was he recording events as stories from people living here about sight- they were? Or was he trying to please a Tudor ings of ghosts, particularly the Princes in the audience, whose dynasty followed that of Tower. I won’t believe it until I’ve seen it Richard III?’ myself, and I’ve not seen it yet.’ From Marilyn Garabet, Scotland Sunday Times Magazine (24 August), from an Daily Mail, 13 August ‘Vandals smash royal article by A.A. Gill on the Battle of Towton gravestone’, entitled: ‘England’s Forgotten Killing Field’. ‘The gravestone of a murdered Scottish After telling us much about the forgotten bat- king has been smashed by vandals. James tle that was ‘Bloodier than the Somme, it III’s original tombstone was split in two on killed 1% of England’s population,’ he goes Sunday at Cambuskenneth Abbey in Stirling. on to say: ‘Back at the Crooked Billet we sit ... James ruled from 1460 to 1488 and was in the snug. Some of the Towton Society are killed, supposedly by an assassin disguised as dressed in the burgundy and blue of the a priest, after his defeat at the Battle of , with its badge not of a rose, Sauchieburn.’ but of a sun in splendour.’ ... ‘These are the Marilyn also sent us a most entertaining people who can still raise lumps of emotion piece from the Daily Mail on 6 September, over the misrepresentation of Richard III, ‘The first flying Scotsman’. This is about which may well be mildly bonkers but is also Abbot John Damian, abbot of Tongland, who endearing, and as valid and important as any- put on giant wings made of chicken feathers thing done in a university library.’ And when and tried to fly from the west ramparts of talking about Edward IV: ‘He left his young Stirling Castle in 1507. (Leonardo da Vinci sons in the care of his brother Richard. Bad had tried something similar in 1504, and choice. The house of York perished at Bos- failed.) Damian landed in the midden, 250 worth, making way for the Tudors and the feet below, and broke his leg. Now there is a New Age.’ suggestion that the midden was half a mile

from the castle, so if he got there, he must From Lynda Pidgeon actually have flown. A Professor McKean of Daily Telegraph, 17 September. ‘Russian Dundee University will lecture on Damian’s wants to be king of the castle’, by Aislinn experiment in Stirling in October.

Simpson, ‘A visiting Russian billionaire tried to hire From Wendy Moorhen, Langley a castle built by William the Conqueror be- The Last Gospel by David Gibbins cause the nearby four-star hotel did not meet The novel examines the role of the ‘crippled’ his high standards. ... Sergei Matvienko, 35, Emperor Claudius and hero Jack Howard says due to arrive in Nottingham with his 40- ‘… it’s a bit like Shakespeare’s take on the strong entourage ... to oversee a arts English king Richard III, the hunchback. tournament ... set his sights on Nottingham There was a good deal more to Claudius than Castle. He was disappointed to be told that that.’

19

News and Reviews

Saint Margaret Beaufort? Gordon Smith has sent me an article published in The Spectator by Paul Johnson in his ‘And Another Thing’ regular series, with the suggestion that the Society should send a considered offi- cial response. It is entitled ‘Should a widowed mother aged thirteen be a saint?’ and presents the, or should I say, a story of Margaret Beaufort. The article is available on their website, www.spectator.co.uk or if you google ‘spectator paul johnson’ and scroll down to article dated 10 September. The article may well send members into apoplectic fits, and it is a superb example of an ec- lectic approach to history. Johnson suggests that ‘someone should write her life as an example of how a woman of strong beliefs can survive a traumatic childhood and become a credit and exem- plar to society’ and goes on to commend her cause (canonisation) to the present Pope. There are factual errors in the article, such as that she lived ‘simply at her manor in Woking’ (in fact a palace and one of several properties where she divided her time), and that she wasn’t ‘pushy’ and once her son was king she didn’t try to influence him (the ambassadors of Spain and Venice, however, considered her somebody of great influence with the king). Johnson even claims Henry Tudor became king ‘to some extent’ through his victory as Bosworth, but ‘chiefly by descent through her’. Obviously Johnson is unaware of the ineligibility of the Beaufort family as royal heirs and Tudor’s determination to take the crown by conquest. And there are the half- truths, such as her lands being confiscated by Richard, without reference to them passing to her husband, following her role in Buckingham’s rebellion and treasonous activity against the king in whose coronation she had recently been a participant. Indeed it is Johnson’s silence on her role during this period that is most annoying and misleading. There is no denying that in later life Margaret became extremely pious but her charitable work is in itself a demonstration of her wealth and power and it is interesting that the article does not, or cannot, demonstrate any humili- ty on her part. The article has generated responses from the public, ‘Cis’ writes: ‘This essay is a blot on your copybook, Mr Johnson. The suggestion that Richard III might have executed Margaret Beaufort is wholly unjustified. Proscription and confiscation of estates was the accepted way to make it harder for the family of a traitor to support them, at least until Margaret’s son and grandson took the throne. They set about pre-empting the risk of opposition by eradicating all possible alterna- tive claimants with a positively twentieth century vigour, culminating in Herny VIII’s execution of the aged Margaret de la Pole. If Richard had been half so ruthless, we would be living in a different England.’ P. Conway makes an excellent point and asks ‘how sympathetic the pope would be to making the grandmother of Henry VIII a saint?’ A response has been sent to The Specta- tor and I am grateful to Gordon for bringing this article to my attention and to Jennie Powys-Lybbe for her input to both the re- sponse and this review. Wendy Moorhen

The triptych in St Mary's church Lydiard. It repre- sents the family of Margaret’s mother, the St Johns, by her first husband. The two side panels show the genealogy of the family. The lady in the triangle at the top is of course the most famous of their ancestors, the ‘blessed’ Margaret. Photo courtesy of Lynda Pidgeon

20

Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2009

After last year’s resounding success, the Society has taken a stand at Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2009 and this year our stand will be bigger and bold- er than last. The live event format of the hugely popular BBC TV series, Who Do You Think You Are? will take place at London’s Olympia from 27 February to 1 March 2009 and promises to deliver the most com- prehensive resource for any family historian. Who Do You Think You Are? Live, sponsored by Ancestry.co.uk and powered by The Times Archive, is a one-stop-genealogy-shop which showcases 200 exhibitors who collectively provide you with records, information and services for you to take your re- search one step further plus the opportunity to see a mix of celebrities from the TV programme who promise to both inspire and entertain you. A number of well-known historians will be there, each offering an insight into moments of our history, in workshops as well as one-to-one sessions. Here’s a preview of what’s in store: Society of Genealogists Family History Show with TheGenealogist.co.uk This is the place to speak directly to family history societies from across the land and find specialist researchers and businesses who provide a rich research resource. Ask the Experts – get a 20 minute one-to-one session with an expert. A visit to this area of the show is a must for anyone who is stuck and needs help. Society of Genealogists Workshops. Drop into a workshop and hear from the UK’s leading specialists plus overseas experts. And a brand-new Regional Workshop in association with The Federation of Family History Societies is being introduced to help you tap into knowledge from regional experts from up and down the country. Who Do You Think You Are? Theatre Here you will hear the stories from celebrities from the TV show first hand. And you will have the chance to ask them the questions about their story. Military Memorabilia Checkpoint Find out the stories and history of your military artefacts and heirlooms from the most respected experts in the UK. New Areas This year there are areas dedicated to DNA, photography and preservation of memo- ries, ancestral tourism and travel, and international record holders.

Buy 2 tickets for 1 There will be the chance to buy two adult tickets for the price of one – that is, 2 for £20.* To claim this special offer, simply call 0844 412 4629 or visit:

www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.co.uk and quote ‘Special Offer’. Q jump ticket – if you want to beat the queues, a new ticket has been introduced to help you do just that. For £22* you can gain fast track entry into the show and Ask the Experts, plus three guaranteed workshop sessions of your choice. Group Tickets – If you would like to book for a group of 10 people or more, you can buy two tickets for £16* *£2 transaction fee applies. 2 for 1 offer ends 20 Feb 2009. On door, standard entry tickets are £20 each. Q Jump tickets not available on the door. Workshops and theatres are included in the ticket price but entry is provided on a first come first served basis and is subject to availability. 21

Exhibition in Bruges Following the major exhibition about Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, at the Historisches Museum in Bern which closed at the end of August, the exhibition is moving to the Groenin- gemuseum and Church of our Lady in Bruges next year, opening on 27 March and continuing until 21 July. The website www.charlesthebold.org has English versions of the site available. For details of the exhibition itself click on the Bern site. Fred Hepburn

Party at the Palace 1503 Marilyn Garabet has sent us a notice from Homecoming Scotland Events Guide 2009, headed ‘Party at the Palace 1503’, which invites us to ‘celebrate the rich and vibrant history of the Stew- art Royal Court at Linlithgow Palace and become guests of King James IV and his new bride, Queen Margaret’. There will be ‘jousting knights, falconry, jesters, feasting and courtly games’. [May 23-24 at Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian, tel. 0131 668 8885 or email historic-scotland. gov.uk/events]

A Genealogist’s Tale On 31 July the Daily Mail published an article entitled ‘Meet the Family’ which featured the work of Roy Blackmore, a family historian who has traced some 9,394 ancestors including Al- fred the Great and William the Conqueror. Mr Blackmore has spent thirty years and an estimated £20,000 on his researches and it is suggested that this is the world’s biggest family tree. What is of interest to Ricardians, however, is a snippet related to King Richard. The article reads ‘Then there was the relative who audaciously questioned Richard III’s authority to throw his two princely nephews into the Tower. He escaped the king’s men who wanted to kill him by leaving his horse by the banks of the river Tamar, throwing in his hat and swimming underwater to safety; while they, seeing the roaming horse and flowing headgear, presumed him drowned’. John Saunders has supplied the identity of Mr Blackmore’s ancestor – Sir Richard Edgecum- be of Cotehele House in Cornwall. John quotes from the history of the house:

Sir Richard joined the Duke of Buckingham in his ill starred revolt against King Richard III in 1483. Sir Henry Bodrugan, acting for the King, besieged him at Cotehele. Vastly outnumbered, the desperate Sir Richard managed to break through the cordon and ran toward the river hotly pursued by his enemies. He hid in the bushes and put a stone into his hat which he tossed into the river. The ruse worked, and his pursuers gave up the chase. He escaped to France where he joined Henry Tudor.

Thanks to Geoff Wheeler for bringing this item to the Editorial team’s attention and John for the identification. Genealogy, however, is an interest of many Ricardians. In some instances it forms part of their research into the fifteenth century and is unconnected with their own family history, but there are many of you who are family historians and perhaps a few of you have succeeded in getting back to the fifteenth century. Sometimes this is possible by identifying a ‘gateway’ ances- tor, i.e. an ancestor who was well-known and whose own ascent is a matter of public record. However, it is possible to trace ordinary folk, through manorial records, litigation in the courts, wills and testaments and criminal activity, to name but a few sources. As an occasional series, the editors have discussed the idea of inviting members to write a brief article about an ancestor who was contemporary to Richard in a new series on Fifteenth Century Connections. The intent is that it should be biographical with a summary of the line of ascent. If any of you are fortunate enough to have gone back over 500 years and think you have a story to tell please contact articles editor Peter Hammond in the first instance. Wendy Moorhen 22

‘A rose by another name’ Oxford don Clifford S.L. Davies contributed this article to the Times Literary Supplement (13 June 2008) which is reviewed below. We all know who the ‘Tudors’ are. The ‘Tudor Age’, like the Early Modern period, began 22 August 1485, or 21 August if Henry VII had had his way. In this fascinating article by Davies, he questions whether the ‘Tudors’ would have recognised themselves. The family could equally have called themselves Meredith after Henry’s grandfather who was called ‘Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudor’. Then there was Henry’s claim to the throne which was made through his mother, a Beaufort. His link to Henry VI was after all through his grandmother Katherine, a French princess who did nothing to contribute to his claim to the English crown. In fact Henry’s claim was flimsy to say the least. His Yorkist supporters believed his mar- riage to Elizabeth was required to legitimise his claim. But Henry had other ideas and showed some reluctance to make the marriage. He ensured he was crowned first thus establishing his claim in his own right. Once married, he delayed Elizabeth’s coronation until she had produced a male heir. In a further attempt to ensure his claim and that of any of his children, he obtained a Papal Bull in 1486 that established his right to the throne, just in case he failed to have a surviv- ing male heir with Elizabeth. His name Tudor therefore had no link whatsoever to his claim. If he was known as anything it was Richmond, the title he had held since birth. ‘Tudor’ was a name used only by his enemies in their propaganda. Richard III referred to him as ‘Henry Tydder, son of Edmund Tyddir, … de- scended by bastard blood’. made a similar proclamation in 1497, ‘Henry, son of Edmund Tyddur … of low birth in the country of Wales’. If Henry did not use his Welsh name, he used his Welsh connections to win support in 1485. However he was claiming a greater descent; from Cadwalader, last ‘King of Britain’. This link was emphasised by naming his heir Arthur. Once established on the throne he downplayed the Welsh link. His main claim to the throne rested in his Lancastrian link and his union of the two royal houses. Ironically his wife could also claim the same Welsh link to Cadwalader through her Mortimer ancestors. In fact the Welsh had been equally sympathetic to Edward IV because of this link. In building his chapel in Westminster Henry further emphasised the Beaufort link by giving his mother a place of honour in the chapel, but his Tudor link is conspicuous by its absence. His son, Henry VIII, was even less interested in his Welsh connections. After 1485 no ‘Tudor’ monarch ventured into Wales. The closest they got was , where Prince Arthur was established as head of the ‘Council of Wales and the Marches’. What of Henry’s subjects, were they aware of the ‘Tudor’ surname? The supporters to Hen- ry’s royal coat of arms were ‘Tudor’ in that they were a red dragon and a greyhound, but it was Henry VI who provided the greyhound for Edmund Tudor. Henry VIII replaced it with a lion. The red dragon was used in 1485 on Henry’s banner and appears in the east window of King’s College Chapel Cambridge. However, it was the Beaufort portcullis that was most popular. The best known badge, the red and white rose, does not appear to have been known as the ‘Tudor Rose’ during this period. Most telling is the fact that the name ‘Tudor’ does not appear in any of the chronicles by Hall, Holinshed, Grafton or Vergil. Shakespeare didn’t use it either. In discussions of the succession during Elizabeth’s reign the name is still absent. She contin- ued the tradition of ignoring the Tudor link and emphasised her Yorkist descent. Even the Lan- castrian and Beaufort link is ignored. In Wales however the story is different. Bards used Tudor genealogy in their ‘praise poems’. This first appeared in English in 1547, when Arthur Ketton, a Welshman living in Shrewsbury, published A Chronycle with a Genealogie. Ketton showed Edward VI being descended from Osi- ris and then through ‘Tewdr Mawre’ and Cadwalader. 23

William Warner may be the first to claim the distinction of referring to Henry VII and his descendants as Tudor when he published Albion’s England at the end of the sixteenth century. Henry’s marriage united the two families ‘the Tyrant was subdew’de And thence the surname Tudor doth Plantagenet include’. The seventeenth century adopted this new usage; however it was not until 1757 that David Hume established the spelling as ‘Tudor’. The designation ‘Tudor’ has now become a useful term for historians, but for Henry VII it was a designation that he would have seen as distracting people from his claim in which he want- ed to emphasise continuity, not something new. Davies concludes, ‘We must learn to do without the Tudors’. Some of us might wish, if only we could! Lynda Pidgeon

Book Reviews The expression that you wait for a bus and then three come at once seems pertinent to our book reviews in this issue. Richard III, The Maligned King is available from the Sales Liaison Officer.

Richard III, The Maligned King, by Annette Carson Published by The History Press, 2008. (320 pages). ISBN 978 0 7509 4973 6

If you haven’t yet read Annette Carson’s Richard III, the Maligned

King then I would strongly recommend you to do so, for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the book is extremely readable and enjoyable. Annette’s written style is simple yet masterly; glorious- ly free from pomposity and often tinged with dry humour. Elabo- rate and wildly inflated balloons full of hot air (but very little hard evidence) optimistically sent aloft by some earlier writers are mer- cilessly grounded and swiftly lanced by incisive comments, such as: ‘To the best of my knowledge there are no reports giving Pro- fessor Richmond’s version of [Edward IV’s] wishes’, and ‘Professor Anthony Pollard has said on television that “no one be- lieved” what Stillington said (which was manifestly not the case)’. I was also delighted with Annette’s telling observation that ‘it’s surprising how little regard historians pay to chronology’. The construction of her argument is soundly based, and clearly set out for all to see. There are three simple stages: 1. Present evidence 2. Establish its precise status 3. Interpret it Undoubtedly people will continue to argue over the detail in the case of points 2 and 3 in this list. For example, should Sir be allowed to carry any (in this book he is, in general, ruthlessly excluded), and above all what does the evidence really mean? Hence there remains plenty of scope for differences of opinion in interpreting the material that Annette pre- sents: for example, on the death of Edward IV, or, of course, on the very vexed question of what became of his sons. However, no-one, surely, could quarrel with the basic approach which she adopts. I imagine that even a reader with little or no background knowledge of Richard III and his period would find this book quite easy to follow. The thread of the discussion is very clearly set out, and the text is accompanied by that all too rare blessing, clear and accurate family trees. Yet the book does deal with highly complex issues, and (despite Annette’s modest disclaimers) is a work of considerable scholarship. As for potential readers who are already well-versed in all as-

24

pects of the Ricardian controversy, if any imagined that there couldn’t possibly be anything new to be said about Richard, I’m confident that Annette will prove you wrong. In the author’s own words, ‘this book has attempted to step outside conventional academic opinion which relies too heavily on narratives that could well be biased, sectarian, opportunistic, ill-informed or perhaps, as with Polydore Vergil, more spinned against than spinning’. It tackles the thorny problem of Richard’s historiography head-on, and Annette provides in her appendix a handy reference list of sources, sorted into pigeon-holes such as ‘commentaries dating from Richard’s lifetime’ and ‘Tudor “histories”’. Within these groups Annette briefly summarises the nature of each source and gives her own evaluation of it. Her reader is therefore in a position to know exactly upon what basis she has reached her conclusions. As the author herself readily acknowledges, ‘in the last resort the issue of credibility is a mat- ter for the individual to determine, [but] … as an author I have made choices as to which [sources] are reliable enough to be quoted in evidence, and which are, to a greater or lesser ex- tent, dubious. If a source is so biased that it must, in my opinion, be read with inordinate care and circumspection, or if written by a person too far distant in time or location from the events he purports to describe, then it will be mentioned only if there is some exceptional reason for doing so – and then with a health warning attached.’ The eminent medievalist, Professor Anne Curry, remarked in the introduction to her recent book on the battle of Agincourt that a historian is like a detective, and this is certainly a role which Annette embraces in Richard III, the Maligned King. But the roles of detectives and judg- es are different, and should not be confused. Many earlier writers on Richard III have arrogated to themselves a judgemental role in relation to their subject, but this is something which Annette seeks to avoid. She presents her evidence, and then leaves the reader free to decide what to make of it. The book is attractively presented, and includes an excellent range of illustrative material, both within the text and in the form of colour plates. Many of the colour plates are directly rele- vant to the discussion, to which they provide a valuable adjunct. Nevertheless, I did, at times, find myself wishing for a good clear plan of the Tower of London. My only other quarrel – and this is very much a personal view – is with the inclusion of imagined Victorian and later images. These may illustrate the responses of subsequent periods to Richard III, but personally I would gladly have sacrificed William Burges’ stained glass ‘’ in unlikely garb and improb- able headgear, for a well-labelled plan of the Tower. However, this is really my only adverse criticism. Richard III, the Maligned King, is an ex- tremely valuable contribution to Ricardian historiography, and will, I am sure, become a classic: essential reading for all established and budding Ricardians. John Ashdown-Hill

Figures In Silk, by Vanora Bennett Harpercollins 2008. Hardback. 448pp

As a literary device, an invented historical hero or heroine can be very useful. Released, to a certain extent, from the discipline of accepted fact, the author has considerable freedom to invent the character’s personal world, to allow him or her to glide smoothly amongst the real and known people of the period, saying and doing exactly what the author wants. Vanora Bennett’s novel is constructed round such a figure. Her hero- ine is Isabel Lambert, ‘daughter’ of John Lambert, citizen and mercer of London, and ‘sister’ of Jane (Elizabeth) Shore, whose historical claim to fame is as one of Edward IV’s mistresses. The sisters both enter into ar- ranged marriages, but from here their lives diverge sharply. The beautiful Jane becomes enmeshed in court life while Isabel, now married into the 25

Claver family, dominated by her formidable, widowed mother-in-law Alice Claver, is drawn into the colourful and fascinating world of the London silk industry. Conveniently widowed after only a few weeks (Thomas Claver is killed defending London from the Bastard of Fauconberg), Isabel begins to learn the silk trade from its very basics, and undergoes a harsh apprenticeship under the tutelage of Alice. The author has clearly done her research into the late-fifteenth-century silk industry in London, and Isabel’s rise through the dif- ferent levels of the trade is well documented. Isabel’s daily life amongst the residents of the City is also evoked with skill and imagination, although the inclusion of William Caxton as her neigh- bour, close friend and confidant seems artificially imposed on the story. The concept of the book is very much a twenty-first-century one: there is (thankfully) no at- tempt to reproduce ‘medieval speak’ and Isabel is a thoroughly twenty-first-century heroine – strong, feisty, determined, astonishingly well-educated and knowledgeable, and like her sister, she also has a royal lover. The dark, mysterious stranger she first meets by chance just before her wedding is, of course, Richard of Gloucester. Their relationship is rekindled later and they be- come lovers, meeting whenever they can in a tiny room in an inn. Vanora Bennett insists on re- ferring to Richard as ‘Dickon’ throughout the story but, in spite of the diminutive, she is no friend to the future king, and we go through the usual list of crimes – Richard is responsible for: the deaths of the princes, poisoning his wife in order to marry his niece, murdering Hastings, and implicated closely in the deaths of Henry VI and Clarence. Believing all this to be fact, Isabel finds she must end the relationship, though admitting that ‘she will always love him’. No doubt Richard had several mistresses but in this instance the affair with Isabel adds very little to the story, which is certainly strong enough to hold its own without such a contrivance and which, in its telling, asks the reader to suspend a huge amount of disbelief. (Would Richard real- ly have been able to meet Isabel so many times, so secretly, in a public place, unescorted and without anyone noticing?) This is one of the difficulties with the invented historical hero or hero- ine – the freedom it allows means that the author must impose his or her own discipline on the story; there is a definite line between the acceptable and the fanciful. Vanora Bennett is a well-respected journalist and, as might be expected, writes fluently and engagingly in cool, crisp English, with an ear for dialogue. She draws the reader into her world of silk, intrigue, love affairs, international trade and politics, all set against a backdrop of the medie- val City of London, its citizens and the Plantagenet court. Figures in Silk is an entertaining read but it’s more likely to appeal to the general reader as an historical romance than anyone seriously interested in the period. Elaine Henderson

The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century, by Ian Mortimer The Bodley Head, Hardback, 341 pages, fully illustrated.

Ever fancied stepping into the Doctor’s Tardis and setting the co- ordinates for the Middle Ages? An impossible dream perhaps, but a far from impossible experience. Ian Mortimer’s new book can be your Tardis and whilst the co-ordinates will take you primarily to the four- teenth century, it was this period of profound change and upheaval that forged the fifteenth century of Yorkist England. To get inside the medieval mind is a huge challenge, but it is easier if you understand and indeed experience the reality of the natural and man-made world in which these people lived. Pick up this book and within only the first few pages you will be walking the streets of fourteenth-century Exeter reeling from the stench of the shitbrook – the name says all you need to know – but

26

relax because a little further along you will be admiring the fine houses of the richer merchants, the beautiful gothic cathedral, the Bishop’s Palace and other fine ecclesiastical buildings. As the book notes ‘to visit a town in the late fourteenth century is a bewildering and extreme sensory experience’. The past is indeed a foreign country, and as with all foreign travel a guide is neces- sary. This book is our Rough Guide and Lonely Planet for the middle ages. There is a wealth of information and experience here; it is social history with a difference, history to be lived as much as studied. The book is divided into chapters setting the wider context such as landscape, people, law and the medieval character. For more intimate glimpses into the lives of people there are chapters that cover such life-essentials as clothing, health, hygiene and leisure. Within the chapters are very useful listings of key factual information, complementing the experiences of the narrative. I found these particularly useful since they bring together a lot of otherwise disparate information that is not always easily accessible. For example, there are lists giving the main towns; regional population levels and density; types of clergy; English pilgrim- age sites and fourteenth-century musical instruments. There are also sixteen pages of full colour contemporary illustrations. Apart from the sheer raw experience of this tour of the past, there are many interesting tit-bits of information to be picked up during the journey. Did you know that St Wylgeforte was the pa- tron saint for women with bad husbands? Members down-under might be pleased to note that in terms of medieval geography there was indeed a vague knowledge of a great south land on the edge of the ocean, terra australis incognita. And did you know that Henry IV corresponded with the Emperor of Ethiopia and that due to the increasing availability of sugar dental health in the fourteenth century was worse than in Anglo-Saxon times? The narrative goes along at a comfortable pace, and whilst the sheer extent of the information and experiences available might seem daunting, remember this is a tourist guide and in the true sense of that genre it is user-friendly and the author is very much guide as well as writer. New areas and themes are introduced with fluent explanations giving the context and providing the understanding that you as a tourist from the twenty-first century need to know to fathom the strange world of your ancestors. In some respects a world familiar to us, but in many significant respects a vastly different world. It was a world of credulity and systemic violence, but also a world of beauty, manners and laughter. This book is a bridge between the contrasts. My reading of it has coincided with the publication of the Logge Register and I have been thinking how well they complement each other: one providing a real feel of medieval existence, and the other providing direct insights into the lives and thoughts of real medieval people. Un- derstanding a life in the context of its own existence is surely the best way to empathise with the past. Ian Mortimer notes in his introduction that ‘As soon as you start to think of the past happen- ing (as opposed to it having happened), a new way of conceiving history becomes possible.’ With this book he achieves that and more. If travel broadens the mind, just think what time travel can do to it! The Time Traveller’s Guide gives you a chance to find out. On Christmas Day in 1347 at Hunstanton Sir Hamon le Strange’s household consumed bread, two gallons of wine, one big pig, one small pig, a swan, two hens, and eight rabbits. Our Christmas dinners will be somewhat tame in comparison, but there is a feast for the mind with this book. It is a perfect Christmas present for any Ricardian. John Saunders

27

Proceedings of the Triennial Conference 2008 Part 3: Survivors

This is the third section of talks given at the triennial conference held at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, in April this year. By necessity they have, of course, been summarised. The papers will conclude in the spring 2009 issue with the Remains.

Lambert Simnel and the King from Dublin

GORDON SMITH

rebellion was planned for 18 October the princes may have survived incognito. A 1483, to be led by the Duke of Bucking- After Bosworth, their reappearance would ham. Henry Tudor was expected to invade be inconvenient or unacceptable. Henry, now from Brittany. In the midst of the prepara- king, was in a position to put forward evi- tions, a rumour was spread, that Richard III dence that his evil predecessor had killed his had murdered his nephews, the Princes in the nephews. He could examine the people who Tower. But was the rumour true? worked in the Tower, and Richard’s hench- It was never officially contradicted. men. And yet Henry did nothing. Only Bacon Look at the situation from King Richard’s says he set up a perfunctory enquiry, and one point of view. If the princes were alive and he suspects Bacon says this because he felt that’s produced them, there would be rebellions to what Henry must have done. No-one else restore them. If people thought they were mentions the enquiry, and we have no details dead, Richard would suffer opprobrium and about what it is supposed to have uncovered. this would fuel attempts by other claimants, The Act of Attainder in Henry’s first par- but after Buckingham’s death the main one, liament of November 1485, with its accusa- Tudor, had to invade to press his claim. Rich- tion of ‘the shedding of infants’ blood’, mere- ard’s best course therefore was to do nothing. ly confirms the rumour of their deaths, not From Tudor’s point of view, once Bucking- that they were dead. In the early years of ham was executed he was the sole serious Henry’s reign, some people still believed that contender. The fugitives who joined him be- one or both of the sons of Edward IV were lieved (or wanted to believe) the rumour of alive. This was not a new belief. the murder, and pledged allegiance to Tudor, There were three main pretenders, Lam- who pledged to marry Elizabeth of York. It bert Simnel, Perkin Warbeck and Ralph Wil- was expedient for Tudor if the boys were ford, and three Princes in the Tower: Edward dead. V, Richard, Duke of York, and Edward, Earl So it was a matter of political expediency of Warwick, the son of George, Duke of Clar- for both Richard and Tudor to consider the ence. According to Henry VII, at least two of boys – in strategic terms – to be dead. these three princes are linked to the claims of But Elizabeth Woodville’s conduct is eas- the pretenders: Lambert Simnel impersonated ier to explain if they were not dead. We can Warwick, Perkin Warbeck impersonated certainly conceive of circumstances in which York, and Ralph Wilford impersonated War- 28

wick. But I am suggesting that the so-called the age and identity of the Irish ? ‘impersonation’ involved in the Simnel rebel- The accounts describe him as a young man or lion was that of Edward V. adolescent. In 1485-87, Edward V would be The Simnel rebellion looks like an open 15-17, York 12-14, Warwick 10-12 and Sim- and shut case – if we follow the usual story. nel 8-10. And Henry Tudor’s envoy Warham In this, a priest called Simons took his pupil accused Margaret of Burgundy (who was Lambert Simnel to . There Lambert involved in both the Simnel and Warbeck impersonated Edward, Earl of Warwick, and conspiracies) of giving birth to two children was crowned king in Dublin. But when his (i.e. Simnel and Warbeck) aged 180 months, invaded England, they were defeated at which is exactly 15 years. Edward V would the battle of Stoke in June 1487. Lambert and have been exactly 15 in November 1485. Simons were both captured and spared. Si- The November 1485 parliament repealed mons confessed to the imposture, and Lam- Richard’s Act of Settlement making Edward bert was paraded with the real Warwick, IV’s children illegitimate. The object was to brought from the Tower. In the attainder in legitimise Elizabeth of York, who married the parliament of November 1487, the impos- Henry in January 1486, but it also legitimised tor was described as Lambert Simnel, aged Edward’s sons. Margaret of Burgundy could ten, son of Thomas Simnel, late of Oxford, then have recognised Edward V as legitimate. joiner. The picture of Lambert as a scullion in So when in 1486 it was reported that a son of the royal kitchens is a familiar one. He rose in Edward IV had appeared in Ireland, Henry’s the employ of Henry VII and was probably government would be likely to say it was the still alive in the 1520s. younger boy, Richard, Duke of York. This But the story is not so simple. A.F. Pol- ploy would not work for long if the boy’s lard, in the Oxford Dictionary of National name was Edward. In February 1487 Henry Biography, says, ‘the discrepancy of the vari- VII’s council at Sheen admitted that the Irish ous accounts suggests that the government claimant’s name was indeed Edward, but said and chroniclers alike were ignorant of his real that was because he was impersonating Ed- origin’. This seems an odd suggestion if Lam- ward, Earl of Warwick. bert was alive and could be questioned. And Warwick was hauled out of the Tower and the conspirators who foisted his imposture on exhibited, but the people were not convinced. him seem to have been unbelievably incom- John, Earl of Lincoln, went to join his aunt petent. According to Bacon, Simnel first im- Margaret of Burgundy and the rebels. It personated Richard, Duke of York, before his seems the change of impersonation from imposture was changed to Warwick. (André York to Warwick was not stupidly done by thought he impersonated York, Vergil the conspirators – it was done by Henry VII’s thought Warwick, and Molinet thought he government as a matter of necessity, because really was Warwick.) But Warwick was born otherwise it would be found out. in 1475, and so 12 years old in 1487. Simnel At this point the council at Sheen sent was 10. And why impersonate Warwick, who Elizabeth Woodville to a nunnery. Vergil said was secure in Henry’s hands in the Tower? this was because she released her daughters to On the imposture, Isolde Wigram made Richard III; Bacon said that she taught the a very perceptive point. We know who impostor about Warwick. Neither of these Henry VII said the pretender was, but who accusations makes sense. But they do if it was did the Irish say he was? because she released her sons to Richard, and Vergil has the story that when they dashed instructed the impostor not about Warwick, to Sheriff Hutton after Bosworth in 1485, but about a son. Henry’s troops captured the ‘15-year-old’ When the Irish invaded England, they said Warwick. As Barrie Williams pointed out, the they had come to restore their king to his age is wrong – Warwick was 10½ in August kingdom – which would fit Edward V. Ed- 1485. The prince who was nearly 15 would be ward V would have been 16½ in June 1487; Edward V. Is Vergil telling us inadvertently Lambert was 10. The Irish pretender could

29

hardly lose nearly seven years during the bat- tender was Edward V, but he was killed at the tle, so he could not have been Lambert Sim- battle of Stoke. Henry VII’s own impostor nel. So it looks as if the king from Dublin was Lambert Simnel was then substituted. killed at Stoke. The pretender and Simnel are There were three pretenders, A, B and C. two different people. A claimed to be Edward V, but initially What is the hard evidence that the Irish Henry said he was York. After the council at thought their king was Edward V? The de- Sheen, he said A claimed to be Warwick. scription in the Annals of Ulster fits him. The Henry’s ploy was to say that the impostor had few surviving Irish coins resemble those changed his imposture. When pretender B minted for Edward V. The king’s seal was appeared at Cork in 1491, we are told there attached to one of the Ormond deeds making was some dispute about whom he was to im- Fitzgerald deputy in 1486. This is suggestive, personate, which is unlikely. He probably but hardly conclusive. But Henry VII ruth- always claimed to be York, and Henry could lessly suppressed evidence. He had all the not dispute this. Irish documents of 1486-87, including those The usual story is that A and B were both of the Drogheda parliament, destroyed. Edicts captured and confessed their impostures. But were issued against rumour-mongers, but we Henry failed to prove that either was who he don’t know what the rumours were. After said he was. He failed to prove that Pretender Stoke, only foreign prisoners were allowed to A was Lambert Simnel, or that Pretender B depart; the Irish and the English, who might was Perkin Warbeck. Rather than the Princes spread rumours, were hanged. Prompted by choosing to survive with another persona, one Henry, the pope forbade disputing Henry’s might say those who claimed to be the Princ- claims, on pain of excommunication. es had another persona thrust upon them by The story goes that some Irish lords visit- Henry. ed Henry a few years after Stoke, and were Lambert’s father was Thomas Simnel, late served wine by Lambert, and the old lord of of Oxford, so (presumably) conveniently Howth acknowledged him. But Howth had dead. He is variously described as an organ- not taken part in the rebellion and presumably builder, joiner, barber, baker, actor, cobbler, had not met him. Howth left with money and and even priest – so take your pick! gifts. The Irish lords involved in the rebellion If the captive at Stoke was really John, as did not acknowledge Lambert. The story is a he initially claimed, then Henry failed even to clumsy attempt by Henry to foist an impostor show that Lambert Simnel was Lambert Sim- on them. nel. But did Henry find out about Lambert’s Historians have pointed out that Henry imposture after Stoke, when he spared him failed to provide convincing evidence that and his mentor Simons? There is a confession Pretender B was not who he claimed to be: by a priest named William Simons at a ses- Richard, Duke of York. In making him Perkin sion of convocation – in February 1487 – so Warbeck, Henry provided him with a mother we have to believe that afterwards Simons and father, but failed to confront the parents rejoined the rebellion and got captured at with their erring son. Stoke – I don’t think so! And Vergil says the Pretender C was captured in early 1499 priest was named Richard Simons. And when and executed almost before any plot began. he was captured at Stoke, according to the He claimed to be Edward, Earl of Warwick; contemporary herald’s report, the impostor Henry said he was Ralph Wilford. He may said his name was John, not Lambert. And, have been a ‘genuine’ impostor, but what of given the wholesale slaughter at Stoke and A and B? Henry failed to prove (a) they were afterwards, one wonders if either Lambert or who he said they were; and (b) that they were Simons could have survived. The evidence not who they said they were. for Henry’s story of Lambert Simnel just isn’t Henry relied on the accusation of impos- there. ture instead of the obvious one: that the Princ- To sum up: the Irish claimed their pre- es were murdered by Richard III, and there-

30

fore the pretenders could not be the Princes. in particular, we have found sufficient dis- Does the behaviour of Henry VII suggest turbing evidence which is not covered by the to you that Richard murdered his nephews – presumption of murder. It is time we started or that there was any murder at all? If the looking at the possibilities for the fate of the answer is no, then we are rejecting murder Princes without assuming they were mur- theories in general and probably looking at dered. We should assume that Richard III is some form of survival. I would maintain that, innocent until he is found guilty. in looking at the survival of the Princes gen- erally, and at the so-called ‘Simnel’ rebellion

Perkin Warbeck

ANN WROE

as Perkin Warbeck Richard, Duke of the sense that the Warbeck, or Werbecque, W York? Ann Wroe began by asking this family existed. But the confession was still question, and by denying that she had ever full of mistakes, starting with the Pretender’s said he definitely was. But the conclusive supposed father, ‘John Osbeck’. First, there case for ‘Perkin’ still had to be made. were no Osbecks in Tournai. Second, Jehan Henry VII tried to prove that case by pro- Werbecque, far from being ‘controller’ of ducing the famous confession, in which Per- Tournai, as the confession calls him, was in kin – or Piers Osbeck, as Henry then called fact a troublemaker who was banished from him – admitted that he was just a boatman’s the town of Beveren for brawling before he son from Tournai in Picardy. The Pretender went to Tournai, almost got himself banished apparently signed this when he surrendered to for GBH in Tournai, and lived in the worst Henry in Taunton on 5 October 1497, after part of town. He made an implausible father his third attempt to invade England. Ever for this princely young man, and Henry knew since, it had become the Ur-document of the it. whole story. It was vitally important, but also The English and French versions of the a very odd document indeed. There is no orig- confession also gave contradictory accounts inal, and there are no contemporary copies in of the Pretender’s childhood. In the first, he England; contemporary rescriptions in Cour- left home at the age of ten or so and travelled trai and Tournai are all we have, despite the round the fairs of Flanders; in the second, he confession’s supposed huge importance to learned music for some years at the Tournai this very careful king. grammar school before he ran away. Both The confession was also obtained under couldn’t be right. The French version was duress. The Pretender was not tortured as far sent out from England with what purported to as we know, but he was at Henry’s mercy, be a letter from the Pretender to his mother, with his wife and baby son also captured, and getting so many details wrong that most histo- his cause in ruins. He was happy to oblige by rians have happily called it a fake. They signing a legal document which had been should question the whole package. slowly in the making since 1493. And before Henry never successfully linked the Pre- any public confession was made – so Bernard tender to this family. And the family never André tells us – king and pretender had a pri- acknowledged any connection with the young vate conversation about it. Everything was man in his custody. In fact, when the kings of carefully arranged. both France and Spain offered to send The outline of the confession was true in Perkin’s parents over, Henry didn’t want 31

them. There was something wrong with this ans went to curious lengths to account for, story. including the theory that he had been brought But the second half of the confession was up in England and even at the Yorkist court. even odder, with its story of how the He carried off his ‘performance’ for six ‘imposture’ started: a group of Englishmen on years in the public eye, with no mistakes and the quayside at Cork in Ireland accosting an with considerable persistence; so much so elegant young man and telling him he must be that when he was offered the chance of a soft Edward, Earl of Warwick, then Richard III’s existence as a court pensioner in Spain, in the bastard son, then Richard, Duke of York, un- summer of 1497, he didn’t take it, but took til, worn down, the young man agreed to take the almost suicidal risk of invading the West on that identity. The idea was absurd. Why, Country instead. when there were other Yorkist candidates The way others treated him was also re- available, should these Yorkists kidnap a for- vealing. Henry from 1493 said he knew ex- eign boy who didn’t even speak English? actly who he was, but as the Pretender be- How did they expect him to prevail against came more of a threat he began to call him the king of England? ‘the Duke of York’, offered him a general The evidence of several documents sug- pardon and challenged him to a pitched battle gested a different story. The young man, who- – responses that would have been bizarre if ever he was, went to Ireland as a prince, and this had been merely a Flemish rebel. When probably as the duke of York. Henry himself at last Henry captured him, he ‘took him in said he was conveyed there for this purpose, his company’ and kept him ‘in court at liber- and that the earl of Desmond received him ty’, with servants and his own tailor. when he arrived. The Cork records gave this These privileges baffled contemporaries. version of events. And, in fact, the famous They don’t prove that Henry thought the Pre- scene of the town officials arriving with the tender was the prince. But they do prove that relics to witness ‘the Flemish boy’s’ desper- the king had no idea who he was, and could- ate oaths suggests, on the contrary, a formal n’t prove he wasn’t the prince because he had reception. And back even further, four years no dead body. Meanwhile, several of the rul- before, this young man had been noticed as a ers he needed on his side in Europe, especial- Yorkist prince in Portugal. ly Maximilian and James IV, ignored or dis- The nub of the matter was that Henry’s missed the confession and went on supporting own historians didn’t believe the kidnapping this young man just as ardently as before – story. André and Polydore Vergil both seized even for some time after his execution. on the name Perkin and his family’s assumed But there were also points against the Pre- poverty, but ignored all the rest. Henry him- tender’s claims. His story of his escape from self put it aside. What he believed was that the Tower was quite incredible, especially his was behind it all, and had claim that he had been taken abroad and im- been carefully training the boy for years. mediately abandoned there. Something much After reviewing the muddle Henry VII better than this was needed to counteract the had got himself into, Ann Wroe turned to the much more widespread and likely story that Pretender himself, and the figure he presented the two princes were dead. round the courts of Europe. Turning to his Also weighing against him were the rab- portrait, she pointed out the many details of ble of corrupt and bankrupt people in his im- princeliness (not difficult to carry off when mediate circle, and his habit of running away wearing cloth of silver and cloth of gold), and as soon as the going got difficult. There may also the astonishing likeness to Edward IV – have been extenuating circumstances in Kent though he was much slighter, had blond hair, in 1495 and Scotland in 1496, but in 1497 he and had none of the king’s famous gregari- simply abandoned the Cornishmen in terror: ousness. Rather, it was his manners and bear- not the behaviour one would expect in a son ing that convinced people; his stories of the of Edward IV. court; and his English, which Henry’s histori- Last of all came the confession on the

32

scaffold on 23 November 1499, when he ad- same age as the young prince; he was raised mitted that he was ‘not who he had said he as a young courtier, with his own tutor and was’ – that is, the second son of Edward IV – guardian; and at the end of 1485 both he and or anything of that blood’. A confession at the his guardian disappeared from the records. He point of death was assumed to be true, under had possibly been sent on the first phase of an pain of eternal damnation, so this was very audacious career as a Yorkist prince. unlikely to have been a lie. Yet this confes- This was only speculation, of course. But sion was so vital to Henry’s diplomacy that it the boy’s closeness to Margaret would ex- is just possible that king and Pretender had plain at least some of Henry’s chronic diplo- reached a bargain of some kind. His wife was matic difficulty in dealing with him. And the still in the king’s power. And his death whole relationship, surrogate mother and sur- (hanging until dead, then beheading) was rogate son, might explain this young man’s more merciful than the traitor’s end he was persistence and sense of obligation, as well as expecting. the persistent love of his supporters. The points for and against and Pretender’s The ‘Perkin’ label might never be shifted; claim were therefore intriguingly balanced. but it was important, Ann Wroe concluded, to But there remained a third possibility, which acknowledge the mystery and alternative pos- was neither Perkin nor Richard, Duke of sibilities still inherent in this story. York, but the young boy called Jehan le Sage who was taken into Margaret of York’s household at Binche in 1478. He was the

Was ‘Richard Plantagent of Eastwell’ Prince Richard of York?

DAVID BALDWIN

hat happened to the Princes? We could have shared his knowledge, or suspi- W don’t know of course, and we some- cions, with us, but kept his own counsel like times think that no-one ever knew, but this is the rest. most unlikely. Whatever the boys’ fate, some- There is no evidence that the Princes died, one gave the order, and someone else, per- but Edward V was receiving regular visits haps several persons, carried it out. Their from his doctor, John Argentine, and was mother, Queen Elizabeth Woodville, and their therefore, presumably, ill. He could have died five sisters surely asked questions, questions from natural causes, perhaps late in 1483 or that could hardly have been avoided after early in 1484, but there is nothing to suggest Elizabeth made her peace with Richard III that Dr Argentine was also attending Prince and her eldest daughter married Henry VII. Richard or that there was anything wrong Both Richard and Henry must have known, with him. It is curious that the later pretenders and if Henry knew, then so did his mother, claimed to be either Prince Richard or Ed- Margaret Beaufort, Cardinal Morton, and ward, Earl of Warwick, but not the ex-king. perhaps other close confidants. The more we Was it generally accepted that Edward had think about it, the more it becomes apparent died, but that Richard could still be alive? that quite a lot of people knew the answer to And did Edward’s death spark the rumours the mystery, but they all chose to remain si- that both boys had been murdered? All we lent. The well-informed Croyland chronicler can say is that if Prince Richard had survived 33

and was to be allowed to live out his life, it lated to Prince Richard can also be linked to would have to be on terms that posed no the stories of Richard of Eastwell. Henry VII threat to either Richard III, or Henry VII, or certainly treated Dorset with a good deal of Henry VIII. The fate of the Princes could caution, apprehension even, after he became have been revealed after a decent interval if king. He clapped him into the Tower when they had both died, but it would have been a Lambert Simnel’s rebellion threatened in very different matter if one of them was still 1487, and five years later obliged him to living. Secrecy would have been necessary at place all but two of his manors in the hands of all times. trustees. Henry told him that if he behaved Many of you will have heard of the elder- himself his son would be allowed to inherit, ly bricklayer, Richard Plantagenet of East- but if he caused trouble they would be entire- well, who arrived at Eastwell Park, near Ash- ly lost to his family. Dorset was always a po- ford, in Kent, in 1542 or 1543, and helped to litical lightweight so why was Henry so con- construct Sir ’s fine new man- cerned about him? Is it possible that he was sion there. The most striking thing about him one of the less reliable individuals, perhaps was that he could read Latin, implying that he the most unreliable individual, who knew that had once been a well educated clerk or noble- Prince Richard was still alive? man, and when questioned, he identified him- (4) There is evidence that something unu- self as a previously unknown illegitimate son sual was happening at Colchester in the early of King Richard. These particulars are de- years of Henry VII’s reign. We have already rived from traditions preserved in the Finch- noticed that Richard of Eastwell was taken to Moyle family first committed to writing in the Bosworth on 21 August 1485, and immediate- 1730s, but there can be little doubt that the ly after the battle Francis Lovel turned his entry in the parish register which records the horse eastwards and rode some 200 miles to old bricklayer’s death in 1550 is genuine, and the sanctuary of St John’s Abbey. St John’s that the little house he built for himself once was a secure chartered sanctuary: but there stood in Eastwell Park. were at least 21 other chartered sanctuaries So could Prince Richard and Richard of scattered across England, and Lovel did not Eastwell have been one and the same person? have to go to Colchester unless he had a par- (1) They were both called Richard Plan- ticular reason. Henry visited the town himself tagenet. on four or five occasions between 1487 and (2) There was never obviously more than 1493 (although he showed no interest in go- one of them, since Prince Richard disap- ing to Great Yarmouth or Ipswich or other peared in 1483 and nothing is heard of Rich- comparable places), and in June 1486 a confi- ard of Eastwell until 60 years later. The dential servant called Philip Knighton was Prince would have been 77 if he survived sent to Colchester ‘with secret letters from the until 1550 – old, but not impossibly old, by King’s council’. contemporary standards. We can only conjecture that Prince Rich- (3) There are hints that Queen Elizabeth ard was the subject of these concerns, but Woodville and perhaps Prince Richard were could he have been taken to St John’s Abbey entrusted to the custody of first John Nesfield by Lovel after the battle of Bosworth, and and then Sir James Tyrell after the Queen left given an entirely new identity which included sanctuary at about Easter 1484, and the apprenticing him to the abbey’s master brick- Finch-Moyle tradition says that Richard of layer? It could be argued that a prince would Eastwell was lodged with a schoolmaster, or have stuck out like a sore thumb on a building clergyman, at Lutterworth, in Leicestershire, site, but Richard was still only 12, young before being taken to Bosworth the night be- enough to be malleable, but old enough to fore the battle. The patron of the living of appreciate that his survival depended on his Lutterworth was Thomas Grey, Marquis of accepting his new situation. It seems highly Dorset, Prince Richard’s half-brother, and it unlikely that King Richard would have be- is curious that someone who was closely re- trayed his late brother’s trust to the extent of

34

killing him, or that Henry VII would have that the danger had passed. done so before or after he married his sister (2) On 31 January 1512 (some three years Elizabeth: but at Colchester he would have into Henry VIII’s reign), a royal pardon was been both out of sight and out of mind. granted to a Richard Grey of Colchester and Prince Richard had now ceased to exist North Creake in Norfolk. We do not know for all practical purposes, but there are two what Richard was called during his years of pieces of documentary evidence which could obscurity, but Richard Plantagenet, Richard refer to him. Woodville, Richard of Shrewsbury and Rich- (1) A curiously worded pardon granted to ard Fitzroy would all have drawn unwelcome a young widow named Eleanor Kitchen in attention to him. Richard Grey (his mother’s February 1491: ‘General pardon to Eleanor name at the time of his birth if she had never Kechyn late of Colchester, co. Essex, widow, been Edward IV’s wife) was suitably neutral alias ‘huswyf’, for offences before 18 De- however, and this was possibly how he was cember last, provided that she find security known. The connection with North Creake is not to go at large during the rest of her life, interesting because Creake Abbey had been but remain in the custody of her parents or severely damaged by fire in the early 1480s, nearest kinfolks’. and there was continuous rebuilding there Eleanor had clearly offended the Crown in until the house finally closed for lack of some way or she would not have needed a brethren in 1506. Could Richard – a skilled royal pardon, but the conditions attached to it bricklayer by this time and a man whose po- were quite remarkable. She had to promise litical significance was already diminishing – and find sureties that she would not go at have been allowed to ply his trade at Creake large ‘for the rest of her life’, and that she and perhaps other sites in East Anglia when would live with her parents, and after their the Abbot of Colchester had little or no work deaths with her ‘nearest kinfolks’. Any pro- for him? Richard, we may assume, had no spect of re-marriage was apparently to be intention of making trouble for Henry VIII, denied her, and she was to be supervised by but a pardon was a useful piece of insurance members of her own family in what can only if anything went wrong. be described as a state of perpetual house Richard would presumably have remained imprisonment. This does not suggest that she at Colchester for the rest of his life, but the had committed some minor, everyday felony Dissolution of the Monasteries, and particu- – rather, that it was altogether something larly the closure of St John’s abbey in 1539, more serious – and we can only wonder if she changed everything. Monks dispossessed by was made subject to these restrictions because the upheaval were given pensions and some- she had acquired some knowledge or infor- times found employment as parish clergy, but mation that touched the king personally and lay brothers and servants were often less for- about which she was to be given no oppor- tunate. They might be kept on if the new sec- tunity to gossip abroad. Prince Richard would ular owners of the properties had work for have been seventeen in 1490, easily old them, but many were thrust out and forced to enough to succumb to the charms of a young earn their keep in the wider world. And this, widow, and the possibility that he might se- if our theory is accurate, would explain why cretly marry her and sire children would have Richard suddenly appeared at Eastwell in rung alarm bells all over Westminster. The Kent in about 1542. only solution would be to separate them and It was reading, perhaps the one part of his ensure that they remained separated, a deci- former existence he had never entirely aban- sion that would explain Eleanor’s curious doned, which aroused the curiosity of his new pardon and accompanying ‘sentence’. The employer, but why did he say that he was an abbot would have received a tersely-worded illegitimate son of Richard III rather than a letter from Chancellor Morton telling him that true son of Edward IV? The answer is almost Richard had been allowed too much freedom certainly that it was safer, because the bastard and must be kept closer until he was satisfied son of a man who the Tudors did not regard

35

as a lawful king anyway would pose no threat why he could not have been the ‘Richard to Henry VIII. In reality, few would have Plantagenet’ who came to Eastwell almost 60 remembered Edward IV by 1542, and fewer years later. The various pieces of evidence still would have regarded this unlikely figure may be no more than unrelated coincidences, as their rightful sovereign: but perhaps some but they might, just, add up. deep-seated instinct for self-preservation re- asserted itself, even then. We cannot hope to find proof of some- David Baldwin is the author of The Lost thing that would always have been a closely Prince. The Survival of Richard of York (The guarded secret; but there is no evidence that History Press, hardback 2007 and paperback, Prince Richard died, and no obvious reason 2008).

RICHARD III: THE MALIGNED KING

Annette Carson

The History Press, June/July 2008, hbk, 320 pp., 27 colour plates

This book offers a rejection of traditional assumptions about King Richard III and a major reassessment of what really happened when he came to the throne of England. The Society has a limited number of copies available of this publication, which was written by one of our members.

Special Offer

This book normally retails at £20, but we are offering a 20% discount to members. The book is available at £16 plus p&p (p&p for UK delivery is £3.50, for the EU is £5.50 and for the rest of the world is £8.50). Please contact the Sales Liaison Officer, Sally Empson, to order your copy (Sally’s contact details are on the inside back cover of your Bulletin).

36

The Man Himself

RICHARD AND THE WYDEVILES

LYNDA PIDGEON

t is generally assumed that because of his …’. 1 I actions in 1483 there was a history of dis- It is important to bear in mind that when trust and dislike between Richard and the Edward married Elizabeth Wydevile on 1 Wydeviles. This would not have been surpris- May 1464 Richard was only eleven years old. ing; after all this was true of the attitude be- It is believed that Richard spent the years tween Clarence and the Wydeviles, and most 1465 to 1468 in the care of Richard Neville, people at the time disliked the Wydeviles. Or Earl of Warwick (‘the Kingmaker’). It might did they? thus be argued that while in the Warwick There is a large element of myth about household he learnt to dislike the Wydeviles feelings towards the Wydeviles, and much of as much as his brother Clarence and War- what is written is with the benefit of hind- wick, although how much he would have seen sight. If the family were not so universally of ‘the Kingmaker’ during these years is diffi- unpopular, and if Richard did not distrust and cult to say. dislike them, how else could the events of There is nothing to suggest that Richard 1483 be explained? What evidence exists to came into contact with the Wydeviles before suggest that Richard and the Wydeviles did 1469. He does not appear to have attended the not get on or even disliked one another? queen’s coronation on 26 May 1465 although Unfortunately there is no juicy gossip in Clarence and their sisters Elizabeth and Mar- the Paston Letters to shed light on their feel- garet were present. ings, so we only have official records to rely In May 1469 Richard may have attended on. These mention occasions when the paths the Garter ceremony at Windsor; he was cer- of Richard and the Wydeviles crossed, but tainly with Edward in June on a to they cannot indicate any feelings upon the Bury St Edmunds. Present at both occasions part of either. This has not stopped some his- were Richard, Lord Rivers, Anthony, Lord torians from trying. Kendall’s biography of Scales and other Wydeviles. It was during the Richard III is full of purple prose, his descrip- pilgrimage that Edward heard about War- tion of Richard and the Wydeviles being no wick’s rebellion. Yet Richard did not join exception: Warwick and Clarence in their rebellion but ‘In the Woodville court Richard could not remained with Edward. His loyalty to Edward have been at ease … He could not bring him- may have led to an acceptance of, if not a self to enjoy the company of the Woodvilles, liking for, his new in-laws. whose arrogance shone as bright as the new- Edward went to Nottingham to raise ness of their fortunes … Sir Thomas Grey … troops; presumably he sent Lord Rivers to was already in training to become a boon Northampton while Scales remained in East companion of the King … In the tilt-yard the Anglia. Richard’s whereabouts are unknown. talk was all of Anthony Woodville … The In July Lord Rivers and his youngest son, Queen, beautiful and rapacious, … viewed John, were captured and executed by War- the King’s two brothers only as rivals of her wick. Edward fell into Warwick’s hands and family for the favours of her lord. Woodvilles was taken north, but by September he had surrounded Edward like a glittering hedge been released, and returned to London. On 17 37

October he created Richard Constable of Eng- beth was clearly demonstrating who she was land. This may have produced the first reason giving her support to, but this should perhaps for conflict between Richard and the Wyde- be viewed in the light of her hostility towards viles. Richard, Lord Rivers, had previously Clarence rather than any deep affection for held the office of Constable; it had been made Richard. an hereditary title and Anthony, now the sec- Richard also visited the court in London, ond Lord Rivers, could have expected to as- attending ceremonies at which the Wydeviles sume the office. Perhaps Edward came to played a prominent role. In November 1477 some arrangement with Anthony to waive his he had paid homage to his nephew Richard claim in Richard’s favour. for his Norfolk lands and attended the council When rebellion broke out again in 1470 held at Westminster. Richard was also present Edward was forced to flee the country. With when Antony Wydeville presented his copy him were Richard, Anthony Wydevile and of the Dicts and Sayings to Edward in De- William, Lord Hastings. They headed for the cember. He was still in London in January coast at Lynn where they took ship for the 1478 to attend the marriage of his nephew to Low Countries. Richard and Anthony were Anne Mowbray and the tournaments held in together on the same ship, sharing exile and celebration. 4 an equal desire to return Edward to the The execution of Clarence in 1478 is often throne. cited as the reason for Richard’s withdrawal It has been suggested that another ‘family’ from court and his hatred for the Wydeviles. link existed between Richard and the Wyde- Mancini, writing in 1483, certainly thought viles. Richard held lands in East Anglia, and so. He claimed Richard ‘avoided the jealousy in the receiver’s accounts for these lands is an of the queen from whom he lived far separat- annuity of £5 payable to Katherine Haute. ed’. He speaks of ‘long-standing hostility’ Katherine was married to James Haute. The between the Queen and Clarence. Mancini Hautes were related to the Wydeviles through goes on to claim that ‘At that time Richard the marriage of Joan Wydevile (sister to Rich- duke of Gloucester was so overcome with ard, lord Rivers), to Sir William Haute. The grief for his brother that he could not dissimu- suggestion is that Katherine was Richard’s late so well, but that he was overheard to say mistress, as his illegitimate daughter was that he would one day avenge his brother’s called Katherine.2 Richard Haute junior was death’. Sir Thomas More explained Clar- knighted by Richard on the Scottish cam- ence’s death had been engineered ‘by the paign. There were therefore links with the Queene and the Lordes of her bloode which wider Wydevile family. highlye maligned the kynges kindred’, alt- There are other links between Richard and hough he believed Richard’s grief was the Wydeviles in East Anglia. In 1471 Rich- ‘simulated’.5 ard had been granted the confiscated estates Credence is given to these stories by the of Lewis FitzLewis. On 16 March 1475 Rich- case of the earl of Desmond. Elizabeth was ard granted these lands to Elizabeth Wydevile held responsible for the death of Thomas Fitz- and others, possibly at Edward’s request? gerald, Earl of Desmond, in 1468. When This would have bolstered Wydevile holdings Richard was king he gave instructions for in the region. In March 1483 Anthony asked those responsible for Desmond’s killing to be Richard to act as an arbitrator in a dispute he prosecuted, and sympathised with his son, had with Roger Townshend over property in claiming particular understanding because ‘… Norfolk.3 This suggests co-operation between of his brother the duc of Clarence, as other his Richard and the Wydeviles and at least an nighe kynnesmen and gret frendes’.6 This is element of trust. thought to refer to Elizabeth’s involvement in In February 1472 Elizabeth had granted the death of both men. Richard ‘a stewardship worth £100 a year’. It is important to remember that these This was during the dispute between Richard statements were all made in 1483 and later. and Clarence over the Warwick lands. Eliza- Richard benefited from the death of Clarence,

38

and there is no evidence to indicate that he or his nephew Richard Grey. According to went against Edward’s wishes and tried to More, during a council meeting in the Tower save Clarence. Richard claimed Elizabeth had used witch- Between 1478 and 1483 Richard was busy craft against him. On June 10 Richard sent an in the North, especially in the war against urgent message to York asking for help Scotland. His absence from the court in this ‘against the queen, her blood adherents and period can therefore be easily explained. It affinity, which have intended and daily doeth was the speed with which events unfolded in intend, to murder and utterly destroy us and 1483, and his change from loyal brother and our cousin, … by their damnable ways …’. supporter of the crown to usurper, which has However, these were exceptional times. It caused most speculation and the need for a is perhaps too easy to read something into the satisfactory explanation. past to explain these events. Did Richard’s Distrust and hatred of the Wydeviles actions in 1483 really require him to have a seems the best solution. Certainly Mancini longstanding hatred of the Wydeviles? His and More felt this to be a satisfactory expla- loyalty had been to Edward, and while his nation. It is certainly true that the action taken brother lived a balance was maintained be- by Hastings against the Wydeviles in April tween the demands and desires of the Wyde- 1483 was motivated by distrust and fear of a viles and the ambition and desires of Richard. Wydevile-dominated king. But then Hastings The unexpected death of Edward and the pro- had fallen foul of the Wydeviles over his ap- spect of a young Wydevile king changed the pointment as captain of Calais in place of status quo heavily in the Wydeviles’ favour. Antony Wydevile. Also, if the later stories of Richard’s primary loyalty now was surely to More are true, he was also competing with himself and his family and protecting them Dorset for the favours for Jane Shore. and his own interests. He did not really need There were also a number of nobles who to like or dislike the Wydeviles to carry out had been deprived by the Wydeviles of their this aim. due inheritance and they looked for an oppor- tunity for redress. William Herbert, earl of Pembroke, had been forced to give up his Notes earldom and offices in Wales, while the crea- 1. Paul Murray Kendall, Richard III (1973 tion of Prince Richard as heir to the Mow- edition), pp. 61-2. bray’s had disinherited John Howard.7 The 2. Rosemary Horrox, Richard III: A Study in council too was uneasy about a Wydevile- Service (1989), p. 81. dominated king. Again according to Mancini 3. A.J. Pollard, Richard III and the Princes in they had voted against a Wydevile regency the Tower (1991), p. 183. because Dorset had claimed ‘… we are so 4. M.A. Hicks, False Fleeting Perjur’d Clar- important, that even without the king’s uncle ence (1980), pp. 144-5 and p. 151. we can make and enforce these decisions’.8 5. Hicks, pp. 146-50. Richard’s actions once he had control of 6. Charles Ross, Richard III (1981), p. 33n. the young king seem to enforce this belief. He 7. Ross, pp. 35-6. did not hesitate to execute Antony Wydevile 8. Ross, p. 68-9. Ross, p. 81.

39

A Bearded Richard

DAVID FIDDIMORE

n 1729 the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries wanted to establish ‘the true images’ I of the kings and queens of England, and looked at ‘Bustos, Medals, Coins and other Monu- ments’. They then asked Jean Dassier, a master engraver at the Swiss Mint in Geneva, and a member of a family of renowned Swiss medallists, who had already been offered (but declined) a post at the London Mint, to produce a series of commemorative medallions, and supplied him with their reference materials. He produced a series of 35, in gold, silver and bronze, which are avidly collected today. Here is a photograph of my own copy of Dassier’s medallion of Richard III. This is a noble profile, and not too unlike the NPG and Society of Anti- quaries three-quarter portraits of Richard with which we are familiar. The inscription reads ‘Richardus III * D * G * Ang * Fr * et * Hib * Rex’ (Richard III, by the grace of God King of England, France and Ireland). Look at Richard’s face. I am haunted by this face. I can’t help wondering what Dassier, the Royal Society and the Antiquaries saw in 1720 which carried such weight that it put a beard on Rich- ard’s face. From other images which have survived we know that they got most of the other details in the other portraits right, so why not this? Is it still out there waiting for us to redis- cover? The reverse of the medallion shows a catafalque, or tomb, on which is reclining a rather fetching unclothed lady, wielding a sword and balancing a crown on her elegant knee. The catafalque it- self has a funeral drape depicting mounted knights in battle riding over the corpses of the dead (Bosworth?) and the words Coronat’ * 5 Jul 1483 * Mort’ * 22 Aug 1485, which, sadly, need no translation.

40

William Herbert, Earl of Huntingdon: A Biography: Part 1

SARAH SICKELS

illiam Herbert was born on 5 March of York in his fight for the crown. W 1451 to William Herbert of Raglan It was this turncoat action of his father’s and his wife Anne Devereux, daughter of which brought Herbert the younger into con- Walter Devereux, Lord Chancellor of Ireland. tact with a man who would later change the The eldest son in a family of ten, Herbert’s face of England for ever. On 30 September early years were probably spent in family 1461 Herbert’s father captured Pembroke lands in Wales as his father was descended Castle during a campaign to crush Lancastri- from Welsh gentry associated with Raglan an rebellions in Wales. Inside the fortress he Castle and was said to be a ‘scion of a family found a four-year-old Henry Tudor living which had long been identified with the re- with his mother Margaret Beaufort and her gion.’1 This man, known as ‘Black William’ second husband Henry Stafford. Seeing the was, in the words of the annalist of Glouces- possible benefit of a relationship with this ter Abbey, ‘ambitious, greedy, and totally young child, Herbert bought the wardship of unscrupulous’, and was renowned for his Henry Tudor for £1000 from Edward IV. He shifting political loyalties during the 1450s sent Henry to live with his wife Anne and and 1460s. It was this deep involvement in their children in the luxurious , the which had such a and it is possible that Tudor became close to strong impact on the fate of his son in years to William Herbert the younger, who at the time come. was only ten. This feasible relationship was William Herbert’s life was first affected further enhanced when it was made clear that by the tumultuous Wars of the Roses in 1457 Herbert the elder intended young Henry to when his father was captured by Queen Mar- wed his daughter Maud (who instead eventu- garet of Anjou after laying waste parts of the ally went on to marry the infamous Henry Welsh countryside in the name of the Yorkist Percy, fourth earl of Northumberland). cause. It seemed as though Herbert of Raglan It can be assumed that Herbert received a would be executed and attainted due to his relatively good education in his youth, for it is adherence to the duke of York and that his known that Henry Tudor was well educated at lands and titles would be lost to his young son the hands of his caretaker. Herbert also may when he came of age. William Herbert the have had a relatively decent home life, for younger would possibly grow up lacking although his father had a reputation for vio- much of the power his father and his ances- lence and wickedness, he was known to be a tors had obtained over their lifetimes. Howev- good guardian to Henry Tudor and, when er, despite the queen’s animosity towards dying, wrote a letter to his wife that appeared him, Herbert the elder was saved by a royal to show that the two had a loving relationship. pardon issued by Henry VI, and by February This was unusual for fifteenth-century mar- 1458 all attainders against him were revoked. riages, so thus it can be concluded that there Sensing the need to reconcile himself with the was relative domestic tranquillity as young regime in power, Herbert the elder became William Herbert began to come of age. staunchly Lancastrian, but remained so only Due to his father’s growing status in the until after the Battle of Blore Heath on 23 court of Edward IV, it was decided that in September 1459, when he rejoined the duke May of 1464 the 13-year-old William Herbert 41

would marry Mary Wydeville, aged 8, a Edgecote, ‘the earl of Pembroke [and others] young sister of the queen. Many of Elizabeth were made prisoners, and were, by order of Wydeville’s siblings were being married off the before-named earl of Warwick, without into the noble houses of England, so it any opportunity for ransom, beheaded at seemed logical that the man who had brought Northampton’.2 The impact on Wales was not Edward IV victories in Wales should receive a pleasant one in any respects: though Herbert a great prize in marriage for his eldest son. was a brutal man he was evidently liked by But this marriage also brought the Herbert the Welsh, and when tales of his death family a dangerous rival: Warwick the King- reached the region unrest became widespread. maker. Warwick believed that now the Her- The people of Wales began to refuse to pay berts, in addition to the already intolerable their yearly dues to royal officers and Lancas- Wydevilles, were usurping the higher nobili- trian rebels were able to gain footholds by ty’s rightful place as close confidantes to the stirring up discontent across the countryside. king. This conflict was made even worse It was assumed would return to when William Herbert the younger was given England and stop at nothing to regain the the lordship of Dunster as wedding present by earldom of Pembroke, and it appeared that King Edward. Warwick believed this lordship Warwick’s greedy ambitions in Wales would was rightfully his due to his status as heir to go completely unchecked. It is plausible that the Montagues, and therefore he came to re- Herbert fled Wales with his mother to her sent even more the growing power of lesser home at Weobly in Herefordshire, where the nobility at Edward’s court. This resentment young man would be safe from returning Lan- would eventually prove deadly for Herbert castrian marauders. In October 1470 he saw the elder, and would have serious repercus- the departure of his father’s ward, the 13- sions on young William Herbert and England year-old Henry Tudor, with his great enemy itself. Jasper Tudor, and the two would not cross From the autumn of 1464 to July 1468, paths again until many years later when Tu- Herbert’s father was not a prominent figure in dor returned to claim ‘his’ throne. his life. Herbert the elder, on orders from the From 7 November 1469 to 7 February king, initiated a siege of Harlech Castle which 1470, rather than give the earl of Pembroke’s was to last four years. When the castle finally power and offices directly to Herbert after his fell, Herbert was able to drive Jasper Tudor father’s death, Edward IV instead chose to finally out of England and was generously grant them to his brother Richard, Duke of rewarded by Edward IV with the earldom of Gloucester. For a brief time Warwick had Pembroke, having been created Lord Herbert taken control of the lordships in south-east in 1461. This lofty title would obviously be Wales, but Edward IV, in order to regain con- passed down to Herbert’s son at his death, trol of the region and reaffirm its loyalty to thus giving the young boy a greater noble him, placed his young brother in control and status in England than he previously had been was able to quell Warwick’s growing power afforded as simply brother-in-law to the there. Richard appears to have been a compe- queen. The heir to the new earldom of Pem- tent leader of Wales, and when the land re- broke probably spent the four years of his gained some semblance of order the king was father’s absence living with his mother, sib- able to hand power over effectively to Wil- lings, and Tudor in Raglan Castle. Like many liam Herbert. young men of his status, William’s life proba- bly consisted of continuing his education in both martial and scholarly spheres in order Notes that he might one day successfully take up his 1. Paul Murray Kendall, Richard III (W.W. father’s offices and maintain the earldom of Norton and Company Inc. 1955), p. 399. Pembroke through the troubled times ahead. 2. The Second Continuation of the History of And troubled times were not far in the Croyland Abbey, The Richard III Society future. On July 26-27 1469, after the Battle of American Branch Online Texts and Libraries. 42

Eleanor Matters

JOHN ASHDOWN-HILL

arlier this year I was invited to give a tions this can indeed imply something that E talk to the Richard III Society’s Worces- happens before, and in preparation for, anoth- tershire Branch. The talk was billed as er event. Thus prenatal classes are classes ‘Eleanor Talbot, the Lady of the Precontract’. which take place before, and in preparation I imagine that the word precontract was in- for, a birth. This analogy tends to suggest that cluded in the title to ensure that no member of precontract must mean a preparation for a the prospective audience could possibly be in contract of marriage (i.e. something like a any doubt as to which Eleanor we were talk- betrothal). This deduction is perfectly logical ing about. Unfortunately, however, the term – but unfortunately it is also wrong. precontract is itself a frequent cause of confu- In the case of the word precontract the sion. In fact, it is so widely misunderstood pre- element actually has the meaning of pri- that it seems to be worth expending a little or or previous. Thus a precontract refers to a time and effort in trying to establish more marriage which actually took place, and clearly what precontract really means. which preceded a subsequent (and therefore First, we perhaps need to understand that allegedly bigamous) second marriage. In oth- the word precontract is by no means exclu- er words, what Bishop Stillington told the sively associated with the alleged marriage of royal council in the summer of 1483 – and Edward IV and Eleanor Talbot. The records what Parliament subsequently formally enact- of the medieval church courts show that in ed – was that Edward IV had actually con- matrimonial disputes allegations of precon- tracted a marriage with Eleanor Talbot. The tracts were not uncommon. The same church act of parliament of 1484 was very precise on records also make the meaning of the term this point and referred quite specifically and precontract absolutely clear. But of course unequivocally to a marriage. It was only in reports of medieval marriage disputes may relation to the subsequent (and allegedly biga- not be everybody’s favourite bedtime reading. mous) contract of marriage between Edward Typically, many people seem to think that and Elizabeth Woodville that the earlier mar- precontract means something like ‘formal riage contract with Eleanor came, with hind- betrothal’. This is the explanation of the term sight, to be described technically as a precon- that you will find in most historical novels. tract. The use of the term in this, and every Moreover, in the course of a recent discussion other case therefore refers to an earlier mar- at an academic institution I discovered that an riage, the validity of which is formally assert- eminent medieval historian who teaches at a ed with the intention of establishing the inva- well-known university actually had little no- lidity of a later marriage which had hitherto tion of what the term precontract really generally been accepted as genuine. means. It is very important that this key point Because misunderstandings are so preva- should be understood, and that we should lent, I have made a point of explaining care- grasp the fundamental fact that in 1484 Par- fully in my forthcoming study of Eleanor that liament formally acknowledged that Edward the medieval legal term precontract is not at IV and Eleanor Talbot had been legally mar- all synonymous with ‘betrothal’. The – ried. Why does it matter? It matters because contract part of the word refers, of course, to this fact was the most important part of the a contract of marriage. The main problem lies case establishing that Edward IV had never in the use of the prefix pre-. In other situa- been legally married to Elizabeth Woodville.

43

It matters because once the marriage of Ed- issue. ward IV and Eleanor was formally acknowl- But as the great nineteenth-century histo- edged, all of Edward IV’s children were seen rian James Gairdner saw so clearly, once we to be bastards, ineligible to ascend the throne begin to notice the very determined efforts or transmit rights to the crown. It matters be- made by Henry VII to purge Eleanor from the cause Richard III’s right to succeed ultimately slate of history, we should start asking ques- depended upon the fact of Eleanor’s marriage. tions. What did Henry have to hide? If the Ricardians seem to have been curiously claimed marriage between Edward IV and reluctant to assert this very simple fact, which Eleanor was a lie, why not simply expose it as Richard III’s own parliament unhesitatingly such? It would have been so much simpler! stated in absolutely plain and unequivocal Yet for 500 years, Henry VII’s blue- language. It is a strange thing that fifteenth- pencilling of Eleanor – just like his rewriting century contemporaries, including, of course, of the character of Richard III – largely suc- Henry Tudor – not to mention those historians ceeded. throughout the ages who have wished to deni- Even when the name of Eleanor Talbot grate Richard – seem to have perceived much resurfaced, real or pretended doubts about her more clearly than most Ricardians the key identity persisted until very recently. An on- issue that Richard III’s claim to the throne going part of this process has been a deter- actually depends on Eleanor and the validity mined avoidance by many writers of the use of her marriage. For if Eleanor was not mar- of Eleanor’s noble birth surname of Talbot, ried to Edward IV then Richard III can and and an insistence on disparaging her as ‘a should be dismissed as a usurper. widow called Eleanor Butler … almost cer- Whatever his failings may have been, tainly not the daughter of the Earl of Shrews- Henry VII was an intelligent man, and he bury’. The fact that the real Eleanor was of obviously grasped this point very clearly. It royal descent and the first cousin of Queen was for precisely that reason that he attempt- Anne Neville would presumably make her ed to blue-pencil Eleanor completely, and appear much too plausible as a potential royal with unprecedented and ruthless efficiency, bride. Some historians have left Eleanor out from the English historical record. He very of their story entirely. Other quite eminent nearly succeeded. To serve his ends his serv- writers have sought to dismiss her as ‘Edward ants invented the wholly spurious tale of an IV’s mistress’ – despite the fact that not one alleged marriage between Edward IV and single fifteenth-century source describes El- Elizabeth Lucy. Few of us keep written rec- eanor as the king’s mistress, while more than ords of public events, and most of us have one fifteenth-century source independently memories which, at times, play us false. Hen- reports the allegation of her marriage to the ry VII’s clever red herring was therefore just king. close enough to the truth thoroughly to mud- So, in Ricardian terms, Eleanor does real- dle anyone whose memory might, perhaps, ly matter. Moreover, the history of the second have retained vague lingering vestiges of half of the fifteenth century makes much bet- what had actually been said at the time. It was ter sense if we include her. It is therefore high a really clever move – so much safer than time to put Eleanor Talbot back into her prop- trying to pretend that the validity of Edward er place in the story. This is what I attempt to IV’s marriage had never been raised as an do in my forthcoming book.

44

The Real Reason Why Hastings Lost His Head: A Reply to Wendy Moorhen

DAVID JOHNSON

n the summer 2008 issue of the Ricardian role as the monarch’s principal courtier, a I Bulletin Wendy Moorhen responded to my position lost in the wake of Richard’s as- two-part article (winter 2007 and spring sumption of the protectorate and the meteoric 2008) concerning the execution on 13 June elevation of Buckingham. Therefore, the 1483 of William Lord Hastings. I contended question as to whether Hastings’s conspiracy that Hastings’s beheading was a consequence was sparked by loyalty to Edward V or bla- of a failed assassination attempt against the tant self-interest becomes one of precisely duke of Gloucester and the duke of Bucking- when Stillington divulged the pre-contract. If ham, and that the motive for the assassina- Richard knew of it before 13 June then Has- tions was a restoration of Hastings’s lost posi- tings probably acted in loyalty to the new tion at the heart of royal government. Contro- king, but if it was disclosed after 13 June then versially, I also argued that Hastings plotted nothing other than self-interest motivated the to cover his tracks by falsely incriminating Lord Chamberlain. the Woodvilles. In reply Wendy conceded So let us examine what is actually known. that Hastings intended to take the lives of Hastings, as we have seen, was executed on Gloucester and Buckingham, but disputed 13 June, but it was not until 22 June, at St two important points central to my hypothe- Paul’s Cross, that Dr Ralph Shaa delivered sis. Firstly, Wendy believes that Hastings’s his ‘bastard slips shall take no deep root’ ser- motive was loyalty to Edward V, rather than mon: a text intended to pronounce the ineligi- self-interest, and secondly, that Hastings bility of Edward IV’s children. Four days would have accepted complete responsibility later, on 26 June, Richard claimed the crown for his actions, rather than accuse the Wood- as Richard III, and two days after that John villes. The two issues that separate us, there- Howard became duke of Norfolk, a title pre- fore, are the questions of Hastings’s motive viously held by the now debarred duke of and character. York. Thus the events that demonstrate Rich- To take motive first. Wendy places her ard’s knowledge of the pre-contract all occur faith in the traditional account of Hastings’s after Hastings’s execution. There is nothing conduct. That is to say, before 13 June the concrete to suggest any awareness of it before Lord Chamberlain somehow became aware of 13 June. In fact all Richard’s known actions the precontract, and, convinced that Richard show that Edward V’s coronation was fully was about to depose Edward V, plotted to intended to take place as planned on 22 June, eliminate the protector in order to preserve and that the protector had absolutely no de- the young king’s throne. In this version of sign on the throne whatsoever. Therefore, events Hastings’s plan to kill the two dukes is based on what we actually know, the strong motivated solely by loyalty to Edward V. probability is that Stillington did not disclose However, in the scenario I propose Hastings the pre-contract until after 13 June. Conse- is guided instead by an insatiable desire to quently, the evidence suggests that it was reclaim his accustomed and highly lucrative self-interest, and not, as the traditional ver- 45

sion would have it, a noble and unshakeable tings’s long-term colleague Sir John Scott. loyalty to Edward V, that drove the Lord This strengthening of the Calais garrison Chamberlain to attempt the assassination of would have provided the Lord Chamberlain Richard and Buckingham. with a potent invasion which, when Let us now turn to the question of Has- combined with the additional men Hastings tings’s character. As Wendy and I agree that could raise from his estates, would have con- the Lord Chamberlain intended to murder the stituted a formidable fighting force. ‘It is two dukes, the issue as to whether Hastings therefore no surprise,’ David Grummitt ob- would have taken full responsibility for his served, ‘that faced with such a threat the actions (as Wendy believes) or attempted to Woodville faction backed down.’2 blame the Woodvilles (as I believe) becomes The Lord Chamberlain’s unequivocal in- a question of moral fibre. To accuse the Lord tention to confront the Woodvilles with Chamberlain of wilfully incriminating an armed force demonstrates just how desperate innocent third party, Wendy argues, is com- he was to defend his threatened interests. He pletely unjustified. I, however, am convinced stood ready to instigate civil war in the that Hastings was fully capable of such ruth- preservation of his central role as the less behaviour, and that the evidence to prove monarch’s principal courtier. It is abundantly it lies in his reaction to the unexpected demise clear then that Hastings, when circumstances of Edward IV. demanded, was fully prepared to act in the The Woodvilles, as Sean Cunningham has most ruthlessly self-interested fashion. There pointed out, held Hastings personally respon- can be little doubt that the failure to recognise sible for encouraging much of the late king’s Hastings’s vigorous pursuit of his own agen- dissolute lifestyle.1 Edward’s death left the da has distorted a proper understanding of his Lord Chamberlain fearful of Woodville re- true motives and character. The assumption, prisals, particularly as the new king was to be following Edward IV’s death, that the Lord accompanied to London by an excessively Chamberlain was first of all allied with the large force of armed Woodville retainers. In protector and then with the Woodvilles is, I desperation Hastings threatened to withdraw believe, fatally flawed. What we have to ac- to Calais unless the young king’s escort was cept is that Hastings constituted a powerful drastically reduced. At first glance this retreat third force, totally independent of both the across the Channel appears to be a purely Queen’s party and the duke of Gloucester. It defensive measure; however, nothing could is only then that we can properly appreciate be further from the truth, for it in fact the lengths to which he was prepared to go in amounted to a chilling declaration of war. order to protect his own interests. The Lord Chamberlain had been appointed lieutenant of Calais in July 1471, but between 1 S. Cunningham, Richard III A Royal Enigma mid 1482 and early 1483 the garrison had (2003), p. 106. been substantially reinforced. Some of the 2 D. Grummitt, ‘William Lord Hastings and reinforcements were drawn from Hastings’s the Defence of Calais 1471-83’, in T. own north midlands estates, while others ar- Thornton (ed.), Social Attitudes and Political rived from Kent under the command of Has- Structures in the Fifteenth Century (2000), p.

46

Correspondence

Spinsters The other issue of equal gravity was the From Gina Barrett, of Soper Lane disappearance of the two princes. This would I have today received my Ricardian Bulletin have been an opportune time for the London- and read the very nice write-up regarding my ers to ask this question. Why did they not talk at the East Midlands Study day in June. ask? Was it a non-issue? Or was it because However, the author did misquote me on a they knew Richard was innocent of the disap- particular point, one which I am sure that pearances? many other medievalists will point out. The term ‘spinster’ does not originate with the silk Bodies in Framlingham Church industry; I was comparing it to ‘throwster’, From Philippa Langley, Scotland which is specific to silkwork. I’m sure this I read with great interest John Ashdown- doesn’t require anything to be printed in the Hill’s article: ‘The Opening of the Tombs of Bulletin, but should anyone contact you to the Dukes of Richmond and Norfolk, Fram- query it, it does save me appearing not to lingham, April 1841: the Account of the Rev- know my subject. erend J.W. Darby’ (The Ricardian, Vol. 18, [Editors: we thought we should print Gina’s 2008) and very much agreed with his asser- letter to put the record right, and show that tion that the reverend’s account gives much to she does indeed know her subject.] Ricardian study. I have always been confused by the vary- Was a Ricardian at heart? ing accounts of John Howard’s death at Bos- From Stephen Lark, Ipswich worth – whether he died of an arrow hit to the Having read the article about ‘Who Do You head or was executed after the battle by the Think You Are?’ mentioning the comic ac- earl of Oxford etc. – and it is in this regard tress Josephine Tewson, I am hoping to have that I would ask the following questions. my curiosity satisfied as to whether her late Firstly, to recap with regards to the re- colleague Ronnie Barker was also a Ricardi- mains in the north aisle, the Richmond vault, an. named as N2 that Darby assigns to either The evidence I can quote is: the series John Howard or Lady Mary Howard about the short-sighted removals man, Clar- (Richmond’s bride). These remains were of ence (Sale); the lustful photographer, The an older body wrapped in lead, with sandy- Magnificent (Plantagenet) Evans; the rhym- coloured hair and damage to the front of the ing-slang sermon about the small, brown skull. Now, if we take, for the sake of argu- Richard III (Two Ronnies); Peter Sellers de- ment, that these are the remains of John How- claiming ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, dressed as ard, first duke of Norfolk (the remains of S1 – Olivier’s Richard (TR); a scene from that play a male body, also sandy-coloured hair, de- in which other TV programme titles were sur- cayed teeth, wrapped in linen, could be sug- reptitiously mentioned (TR). gested as those of his son, the second duke of Too much to be a coincidence, surely? Norfolk) then it raises the following questions that I would be most grateful if a member An Enigma may be able to shed some light upon: From Marietta Shafer, Florida, USA 1. As N2 was the only body found wrapped in Shortly after Richard III’s wife Anne died in lead, would this be in keeping with what we March 1485, he was obliged to defend him- know of the transport of human remains at the self before a council of the mayor and citizens time, i.e. is it likely that the remains of John of London regarding two issues: the death of Howard would have been placed in lead by his wife and his intention to marry his niece, his followers, after Bosworth, in order to pre- Elizabeth of York. serve them while transporting them the not 47

insignificant distance to Thetford? Is it known Wars of the Roses writes that, ‘More, who if this was standard procedure for the time? was certainly no advocate of loose living, 2. If the damage to the front of the skull is, wrote an indulgent, even tender, account of potentially, consistent with that of an injury the king’s mistress’. More seemed to know sustained in battle what is its most likely Mistress Shore extremely well, describing her cause considering Howard would surely have as she then was, ‘for now is she old, lean, been wearing the most up-to-date armour / withered and dried up, nothing left but riv- head wear for the period? Could an arrow elled skin and hard bone’, and he comments have been able to pierce his helmet and thus on her ‘beggarly condition, unfriended and make such an injury, or is it possible that he worn out of acquaintance ... for at this day she had already lost his visor (John Martin Robin- beggeth of many at this day living, that at this son The Dukes of Norfolk) or could it be the day had begged if she had not been’. result of another weapon? Reading More’s words, I wonder if it is 3. With these remains being in lead is it there- possible that the poverty-stricken Elizabeth fore doubtful that the injury to the skull was Shore had approached him to beg for money sustained during the removal from Bosworth (More was famed for his generosity) and that to Thetford, or from Thetford to Framling- he had pitied her and taken her into his own ham, as the other remains seem to show no care. This theory is not as far-fetched as it such injuries? Could this then confirm that the may sound. Thomas Stapleton, who had met bodies must have been treated with some care many members of More’s circle, including during their removal and re-internment, so Margaret Giggs (More’s ward), her husband, increasing the likelihood that the injury to the Dr John Clement, and John Harris (More’s skull must have been sustained before death, secretary), wrote in his biography of More thus making them those of John Howard, and that More would personally visit the families not Mary Howard? of the poor, ‘helping them not with small gifts I do understand that the answers to these but with two, three or four pieces of gold, as questions may be conjecture but would be their need required’. Furthermore, in Chelsea, most grateful for any illumination, however More actually hired a house in which he tentative, that any member may be able to of- placed many who were ‘infirm, poor or old, fer. providing for them at his own expense’. More’s compassion for these helpless ones Did Thomas More look after ‘Jane’ Shore was such that ‘one poor widow, named Paula, in her old age? who had spent all her money in litigation, he From Marilyn Garabet, Scotland took into his own family and supported’. I enjoyed reading the latest Bulletin and We have, of course, no written evidence would like to write in support of Wendy that Elizabeth Shore was one of the unfortu- Johnson’s letter concerning Richard III and nates helped by More, but his affectionate de- his times. Of course our king was not a fail- scription of her reveals how much her sorry ure, and how refreshing it was to see that he plight affected him and, certainly, if he had was not even nominated in English Heritage’s shown her any charity he would never have debate concerning our worst monarch. mentioned it or boasted of it. I wonder. Could On a different topic, I was recently read- it perhaps be possible that Elizabeth ‘Jane’ ing The Mysterious Mistress, Margaret Cros- Shore finally ended her days not friendless land’s biography of Elizabeth ‘Jane’ Shore, and alone upon the cold streets of London, and it struck me, not for the first time, how but in the warmth, safety and love of a certain very moving Thomas More’s pen-portrait of house in Chelsea that Thomas More had hired her is. Charles Ross, in his Richard III, de- for those who were old, poor and infirm, such scribes More’s famous depiction of Mistress as she? Shore as ‘one of the earliest and most attrac- Members of our Society will, I am sure, tive characterisations of a living woman in the be well aware that, at the time Thomas More English language’, and J.R. Lander in his was writing his famous description of Eliza-

48

beth Shore, she was, in fact, Elizabeth Lynom from Isabella of France, consort of Edward II. or Lynam, having taken as her second hus- band Thomas Lynom, solicitor to King Rich- John Scogin: the ghost of a maybe man ard and a member of the Inner Temple (who From Doug Weeks, Ashford sued him for dues in 1496/7 and again in Last autumn saw the shortlist for the Man 1510). Moving, as he must have done, in the Booker Prize published. One of these books, legal circles of London, which was of course Darkmans, by Nicola Barker, received ac- a much smaller city in those days, it is not im- claim in the local press. possible that Lynom became acquainted with The story is set, in detail, in modern times, an up-and-coming young lawyer named John in my home town of Ashford, Kent. The main More, who rose to become a judge on the character is my age, and worked for two of King’s Bench in 1518, and was the father of the employers that I have. The language, gen- Thomas More. If this was indeed the case, tle reader, is up to date, but the novel is good then perhaps Lynom’s wife Elizabeth was not and thought-provoking. What is of Ricardian a complete stranger to the More family circle. interest is that John Scogin is featured, who, as we know (if he existed), was Richard III’s Maternal-line Descent fool (‘wading through Rivers to get to the From John Ashdown-Hill, Colchester king’ springs to mind). Elizabeth Woodville, Ian Mortimer (‘York or Lancaster’, Autumn ‘Jane’ Shore, the two boys in the Tower, plus Bulletin, p. 21) chooses to describe as a red Richard, all get mentioned. herring the allegation that Henry IV claimed Perhaps a few words about John Scogin the throne on the basis of his maternal-line should be added, included his probable inven- descent from Henry III. Mortimer also points tor Andrew Borde, bound together by the out, quite correctly, that the contemporary posthumously published Jests of Scoggin in chronicler, Adam of Usk, argued against the 1566. This is usually believed to be apocry- validity of this claim. phal, with Scogin a Robin Hood type charac- Nevertheless, it is undoubtedly the case ter, perhaps an amalgamation of two or more, that Henry IV’s claim to the throne, as put to or completely fictional. If Scogin was ban- Parliament in 1399, was that he ‘cam oun ished to France and did work for Louis XI lynealli of Kyng Harri, the sone of King Jo- there is perhaps something to prove from ‘the han, and was the next heir male of his blod’. French Connection’. Moreover, Adam of Usk himself stated that Andrew Borde, or Boorde, who is said to this claim implied (albeit falsely) that Ed- have compiled the Jests, was a physician, mund Crouchback was Henry III’s elder son. traveller and writer. He was a Carthusian, be- The original sources for all this are quoted in ing appointed Suffragan Bishop of Chichester my own ‘The Lancastrian Claim to the c.1521, and then went to study medicine Throne’ (The Ricardian vol. 13, p. 30). It is abroad. He took the Oath of Conformity at therefore beyond question that Henry IV’s London Charterhouse, and must have known formal claim to the throne was matrilineal. Thomas More, although some twelve years Mortimer seems aghast at this idea, stating his junior. In 1534 Cromwell sent Borde that ‘to base a legal claim to the throne abroad to report on attitudes to Henry Tydder through his mother would have been tanta- – does that make him a spy? The following mount to recognising officially that women year he was practising medicine in Glasgow. could pass on such a claim’. Indeed it would! He travelled in 1538 to Jerusalem: one won- But was not the entire Plantagenet dynasty ders why? Surely it could not be on pilgrim- dependent upon that very premise for its age? Borde settled in Montpelier for approxi- claim to the English throne? After all, Henry mately four years until 1542 (French Connec- II (founder of the dynasty) was the son of tion II?). In 1549, the year of his death, he Henry I’s daughter, the Empress Mathilda. was committed to the Fleet prison. Accounts Likewise the Plantagenet claim to the throne of his travels plus treatises on medical sub- of France was based upon matrilineal descent jects were published. 49

Scogin is not a name. The only she was fascinated. Lovely ending to her let- other historical character so named that I am ter: ‘Happy Richard the Third-ing!’ aware of is Henry Scogan or Scoggin, the po- et connected with Geoffrey Chaucer and tutor Dancing on le pont d’Avignon to four of the usurper Bolingbroke’s sons. I From Denys Gordon, Bexhill-on-Sea have asked Terry Jones, ex Monty Python, On reading Phil Stone’s excellent report on now Chaucerian scholar, Ricardian II and III our lovely trip to Avignon, one thing struck historian, but he knows of no connection. me, he and Beth didn’t see anyone dance on I have corresponded with the authoress le pont d’Avignon. I respectfully beg to dif- and received a very nice letter in reply. Ap- fer! Hence the photograph of Jill Davies, parently her partner, Ben Thompson, who dancing and merrily singing – it was a good writes books about comedy, was researching job there were railings! about jesters and told her about Scogin, and

Jill Davies dancing on the bridge at Avignon

50

The Barton Library

New Society Papers Librarian Wanted Rebekah Beale took over the running of the Society’s Papers Library seven years ago, and we are all very grateful for her dedicated and enthusiastic work; sadly she is now very reluctantly having to give it up because of problems with her eyesight. So the Society is looking for a new person to join the Library Team. The job involves caring for the Collection, responding to requests from members to borrow items and keeping a look out for interesting new items to add to the Collection. Professional experience is not necessary, just an interest in the wide range of information on our period to be found in articles, booklets and extracts from books. We will explain all you need to know. Becky estimates there is an average of one or two loan requests per week, so the job is not onerous. Since the Library operates by post, the new Librarian could be based anywhere in the country, but access to emails and the internet would really be necessary. All expenses (mainly postage and photocopying) would be refunded by the Society. The Collection is presently housed in two standard four-drawer filing cabinets and approximately eight shelves of folders and boxes. The filing cabinets and shelves will be supplied with their contents. If you feel you might be interested in joining the Library Team, which we can promise you will find it both interesting and rewarding, especially the opportunity for contact with other like- minded members, please do get in touch with me or with Becky to discuss the possibilities and any questions you may have – our contact details are on the inside back cover of the Bulletin. Carolyn Hammond, Library Team Leader

Auction of Novels Anne Painter writes: I am pleased to report that when all the money has been received the Barton Fiction Library Auction will have raised £465 for Library funds. There were ninety-two books on offer, covering forty-one different titles. I received a total of one hundred and thirty-three bids, ranging from £1 to £15. The book which received the most bids was Dickon by Marjorie Bowen, closely followed by The Killing of Richard III by Robert Farrington and The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. Should any member wish to know the winning bid on any specific book please contact Anne Painter. Her details are on the inside back cover of the Bulletin.

Additions to the Audio-Visual Collection Audio BBC Radio 4: Matthew Parris’s Great Lives series on Henry VII: ‘When this proud and very pri- vate man died in 1509 he left to his more colourful Tudor successors an England that might be said to be the beginning of a modern state, with an effective revenue-raising system set up, ex- pensive wars settled, trade and commerce fostered and the public finances in good shape.’ BBC TV: Mastermind: Questions and answers on King Edward IV, taken by Jennie Dunn (audio tape only) Video ITV1: By Royal Appointment: Hannah Scott-Joynt visits Windsor and Maidenhead, looking at royal patronage and associations. It includes tours of St George’s and Eton College chapels. Please contact Geoffrey Wheeler to borrow any audio-visual items. His details are on the in- side back cover of the Bulletin.

51

Report on Society Events

Visit to Fotheringhay and Nassington, 7 June 2008 After some uncertainty about numbers we mustered a sufficiently full coach, which travelled first to Fotheringhay. A primary intention of the visit to Fotheringhay had been members’ expressed wish to have more time to look around the church and village as a whole, as compared to attend- ing for the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols in December. This did not explain why quite a lot of them ‘looked around’ the interior of the Falcon … The weather was not very conducive to adventuring up the castle mound, although we had been advised that access was now improved. Most contented themselves with an inspection of the plaque and the church. It was pleasant to have time to inspect the church, Geoffrey Wheeler’s display screens on the history of the parish, the church and the Yorkist connections, as well as later historical connections, and to ensure that the Society’s contributions to the church – namely the window in the Yorkist chapel, the has- socks and the fair linen, were all in good order. Picnic lunch was eaten in the chapel: one felt that those who had made the hassocks had perhaps earned themselves ‘squatter’s rights’, but as to the rest – could there be ‘noises off’, otherwise Joyce Melhuish expressing displeasure? Lunch once consumed, members dispersed, and for some of us it was good to be able to have an unhur- ried conversation with Mr Wilson, Church Warden, and with Alan Stewart, who had come over to meet with us. Usually meeting is confined to rather hurried greetings at the Christmas event. From Fotheringhay, we went on to Nassington Prebendal Manor – for some of us a second visit, and it was interesting to see the developments to the gardens since the last visit. The weath- er was kind to us, insofar as the sun came out, briefly, while each of the two groups into which the party was split, was visiting the garden. The tour started all together in the Tithe Barn Muse- um, which serves as museum, activity centre, and café, where the owner explained the back- ground and history of the estate. We then split into two groups, touring the house, and gardens, respectively. The house has been rescued and restored from its come-down to dilapidated labour- ers’ cottages, but it was sad to hear that the older parts of the building can only be used on high days and holidays because of the current prohibitive cost of heating. The garden included the medieval dove cot, a herber with turf seats, a ‘poison garden’ with medicinal plants, a flowery mead, a nut walk, and livestock – pigs, geese, etc. The tours were followed by an excellent tea, after which a short visit was made to the church, before departing for London. Thanks to Phil Stone for organising the visit, and to our hosts at Fotheringhay and Nassington. E.M. Nokes

London Walk, 6 September 2008 What better than a guided walk around the City of London on a bright Saturday morning early in September? Unfortunately, Kitty’s thorough arrangements did not extend to arranging suitable weather, so 30 of us assembled at Liverpool Street Station, duly armed with weather proof cloth- ing, umbrellas etc. Members of the Richard III Society are nothing if not intrepid when it comes to adverse conditions. Our guide was Val Alliez, a society member since the 1960s and a regis- tered London guide. She was a mine of interesting, amusing and enlightening information and we would like to start this report by extending to her our thanks on behalf of the group for making the morning so enjoyable. Thanks also to Kitty for arranging the event. Our first port of call was St Helen’s Church. En route in Bishopsgate we passed a pub called The White Hart and a church dedicated to St Botolph. Val told us that there has always been a pub and a church so named in the City. St Helen’s Church dates from the early thirteenth century, and Richard would have known it because of its proximity to Crosby Place. It is unusual in that it has twin entrances. These origi- nate from the time when there was a nunnery on the site. The nuns used one entrance and the 52

congregation the other. There is also a squint in the north wall that would also have been used by the nuns who were unable to come into the church. At the dissolution, the nunnery was surren- dered and acquired by the Leathersellers Company. The church was then used by the parish. The principal interest in the church was the tomb of Sir John Crosby who died in 1475. He was a mer- chant and built Crosby Place. The tomb of Sir John and his wife has survived well. There were other very interesting medieval, Elizabethan and Jacobean tombs. The custodian kindly gave very restricted access to an old, fragile book and allowed us to take photographs of some of the relevant pages. We are happy to email these to any-one who would like to see them. Our address is [email protected]. We will also try to remember to have a set with us at future Ricardian events. The book appeared to date from the mid-eighteenth to nineteenth century. There was nothing to give any precise indication of source or origins but it seemed to be a history of the church and surrounding areas. The interesting part from our point of view provided written and pictorial historical information about Crosby Place with summaries of the important events such as the visit of the citizens of London to ask Richard to take the throne. There were prints of portraits of Richard and Sir Thomas More and a playbill for Richard III at Drury Lane Theatre with Sir Edmund Keane in the role of Richard. At various times during the walk, Val gave us anecdotes about the origins of words or phrases and the first one came as we left the church. It was about the pub name ‘Pig & Whistle’. Appar- ently, in medieval times, a ‘pig’ or ‘piggin’ was a container for ale, and cellar boys were told to whistle while they went into the cellar to fetch them to prove they were not drinking the contents. As we walked through the City – so quiet in comparison with week days – we all commented on the huge contrast between the modern, skyscraper buildings (and there are many in various stages of construction as well as those already occupied) and the medieval and later historical buildings. At one time there were 150 churches within the square mile and the bells would have rung almost continuously. Today, we have mobile phone rings instead as City dealers go about their business. We stopped outside St Andrew Undercroft. In medieval times there was a maypole in the square outside but this is no longer there. The church contains the remains of John Stow, the London historian. His tomb shows him holding a quill pen which is renewed every year. We ar- rived at an eerily empty Leadenhall Market. The current construction dates from 1881 but there has been a building on the site since the fourteenth century, when it was the London home of the Neville family. It had a lead-roofed hall – hence the name. It was sold to the City Corporation in 1411 and became a market selling produce – an early version of Tesco perhaps? The original building was destroyed in the Great Fire. As we left the market we noted studs set into the cob- bled footway. These marked the curtilage of each building. They were not unlike silver coins and we wondered if they might have given rise to the rumour of the streets of London being paved with gold. Our route then took us to Lombard Street which, even in medieval times, was a centre for many of the financial houses. It would have included bankers, merchants and money lenders. With the exclusion of the Jews, most of the inhabitants would have come from Lombardy and this gave the street its name. The banks would have had signs outside to indicate their names and many of these are still there even though the style is modern and, in some cases, they do not rep- resent the current name of the business. They included a grasshopper (this had a date of 1563 although the sign was clearly much newer), cat & fiddle, castle, archer and anchor. As we continued our walk, we noticed many blue signs indicating former sites of buildings – churches, residences etc. These were a reflection of the damage done to the City over the years by Henry VIII’s dissolution policy, the Great Fire, Hitler’s bombs and the IRA. Whilst acknowl- edging that the modern City finance and business centre could not possibly function out of medi- eval buildings, it nevertheless saddened us to see the number of losses. Medieval London was known to be a noisy, dirty and smelly place and we all know about the trenches down the middle of the roads to carry waste away. Nowadays, we noted, trenches are

53

still being dug but these are to carry utility services, cabling for satellites, computers and other modern technology. At least the smell is no longer there but there is plenty of dirt and noise whilst the road works are ongoing. As we turned into Cheapside and made our way towards Guildhall, the rain finally started. The next point of interest was at the junction of Cheapside and Ironmongers’ Lane where a plaque indicated the birthplace of St Thomas Becket. We stopped so Val could talk to us about the area and were very grateful for the scaffolding and shelter provided by the adjacent building as we huddled out of the wet. After we passed the former site of the Mercers’ Hall, Val talked to us about the various guilds. They all had symbols in the form of signs. For example the Mercers’ Company Maiden was the symbol and coat of arms of their guild. She first appears on a seal in 1425. Her precise origins are unknown, and there is no written evidence as to why she was chosen as the Compa- ny’s emblem. She became known as the ‘demi-virgin’ as she was always depicted from the waist up. As we walked along Ironmongers’ Lane there were several examples carved into the outside of buildings. There was predictably ribald speculation as to what constitutes a demi-virgin and, as two appeared on the same frontage, this led to the obvious question – did two halves make a whole? Val told us that the word ‘Cheap’ meant market. In Richard’s day the street was named West Cheap. (There is still the equivalent East Cheap in the City.) Surrounding streets still bear the names of the trades/business that were practised in the market – Ironmongers, Poultry, Cordwain- er, Carter and many others. As we arrived at the Guildhall we noticed a very up-market catering company delivering sup- plies and wondered whether Kitty had arranged lunch. Sadly, it was not to be, a wedding was to take place early in the afternoon. Having successfully negotiated the security checks, we were allowed into the Great Hall where Val pointed out various features including Richard III’s win- dow. Every king had such a window listing the mayors that served during their reign. Richard had only two – Mayors Shaa and Billsden. Mayor Billsden is best known for settling a dispute between the Merchant Taylors and Skin- ners who were numbers 6 and 7 in the Mayor’s procession but who continuously disputed who should go first. During Mayor Billsden’s year, this led to blows and he decreed that henceforth they should alternate precedence excepting a year in which the Mayor came from their guild, when they would always lead. This led to the saying ‘being at sixes and sevens’. Other points of interest included the Tudor window, discovered following renovation to WW2 bomb damage, Gog and Magog and a list of all who were tried and condemned in the hall. This included a Dr Lopez who was accused of treason for attempting to poison Elizabeth I. On leaving the Guildhall we passed the church of St Lawrence Jewry. The eponymous saint was martyred on a gridiron and this instrument of torture is depicted on the outside of the build- ing. Legend has it that he asked his tormentors to turn him over, saying he was done on one side. We moved on to the site of the former Church of St Mary Aldermanbury. This is now a peaceful garden containing a memorial to John Hemming and Henrie Condell who collected the writings of Shakespeare as the first portfolio to be published after his death. Our next destination was St Paul’s Cathedral. En route we passed the Wax Chandlers’ Hall and Phil Stone reminded us that our former chairman, Robert Hamblin, was a Master of this guild. Their original charter was granted by Richard III and is on display in the Hall. With Rob- ert’s help, the Society took part in the Lord Mayor’s Parade in 1983. We passed the site of the monastery of St Martin le Grand where Richard placed Anne for safety before their wedding. Val pointed out the proximity of Bread Street and wondered if it related to the rumours of her rescue from a baker’s? We stopped at the former site of St Paul’s Cross. Jane Shore would have walked past this site in her shift as part of her penance. There was once a triple-tiered pulpit from which three preach- ers could have spoken concurrently. It would have been difficult for any of them to get their mes-

54

sage across properly. The speech proclaiming the princes as bastards was made from there – presumably without any other preachers it out. It was possible to take a short cut through the medie- val cathedral without actually stopping to worship. This route was named Paul’s Walk and contained a market and skittle alley. It could have been an influential factor for Henry VIII when condemning church excesses. Val announced that this was the official end of the tour but offered to continue for another 20 minutes if anyone was interested. No-one left the party and we con- tinued past Temple Bar to Wardrobe Place. This quiet courtyard was the former location of the King’s Great Wardrobe. Dignitaries taking part in formal processions were robed here. The original buildings were destroyed in the Great Fire. Wren wanted to rebuild the site in a medi- eval pattern but was over-ruled and the buildings are typi- cal of the seventeenth century. Val pointed out that the fanlights above the doors were all different. In times past when houses were not numbered and fewer people could read, they were an instantly recognisable feature. St Paul’s Cross Val told us that the Tower of London was outside the City walls and to this day the monarch has to seek permission from the Lord Mayor to enter the City. In procession, the Lord Mayor takes precedence over the monarch – a unique situation. Our final destination was the College of Arms, and our route took us past the site of Baynard’s Castle, today occupied by an office building and wine bar. The College received its charter from Richard III. The building that Richard knew was further to the east. The current premises are by Wren and sometimes display a white boar in a window. Unfortunately, the court- yard exhibits the coats of arms of the Stanleys and Margaret Beaufort! On the opposite side of Queen Victoria Street is another Wren building – St. Bennett's Church – which has a largely plain exterior, but with a very decorative interior. Inigo Jones is buried here and services are of- ten held in Welsh. This marked the end of our tour. We hope we have reflected the day accurately but as those who were there will appreciate, it was difficult with traffic, rain etc., to hear everything that was said. If we have missed anything or reported inaccurately please accept our apologies. It was a very interesting and enjoyable experience and thanks again to Kitty and Val. Sue and Dave Wells

A Report On The 2008 Ricardian Rover (The American Branch UK Tour) Day 1: Carlisle Castle. Five of us (Americans Linda, Jean, Lorelle and Jane, and Italian Cecilia) met over dinner at our Manchester airport hotel last night and began a happy acquaintance. In the morning we met our driver, Paul (who turned out to be an absolute character of whom we be- came very fond) and headed north. After a long drive, we met Wanda, the Australian addition to our group, and visited Carlisle castle. The keep was impressive, and the carvings found on the stone walls of the gaol were of fine quality for what were basically graffiti. Our English Heritage online printout said that these carvings might have been done by Richard’s prisoners, but the plaques at the castle say they were most likely done by bored soldiers. The entire time we were there, the smell of chocolate wafted on the air, and we decided that something good must be bak- ing down the street at the Carr’s factory. The final member of our group, John (another Ameri- can), joined us this evening at the inn.

55

Day 2: Hadrian’s Wall and Alnwick Castle. We went to the little museum and the remains of a Roman fort at Birdoswald, which included a building for indoor military drills in case of bad weather. Then came Cawfield’s Quarry. This site offered a mile-castle and quite a long stretch of the Wall over rugged terrain that we could walk along. Many people were trekking along the wall, very much like they would do on the US Appalachian Trail; but here it only takes 87 miles and about one week, and I bet many of them trek from inn to inn. It seemed that sheep were eve- rywhere here, and so were dense pine plantations for the logging industry. Next we visited Ches- ter’s Roman Fort, and had lunch on the outskirts of Hexham, where we saw the largest lumber mill ever. No sooner had we gotten off the country lanes and onto the highway than we had a flat tire and Paul had to change it. An officer (on a pink motorcycle!) was immediately on the scene to alert traffic. We moved on to Alnwick Castle, which was fantastic, as expected. The eighteenth- and nine- teenth- century staterooms were marvelous, filled with original artwork (Van Dyke, etc.) and the most intricate wood carving on the ceilings and panels. A little discomforting were the stuffed dogs (real ones) in every room. Day 3: Lindisfarne and Warkworth Castle. Lindisfarne (Holy Island) is only accessible via a causeway when the tide is out. We visited the museum and then the lovely Priory, after which a few of us wandered into St Mary’s parish church. Then we were all ready for a little shopping in the village. This included some of the locally bottled mead. The castle’s early-twentieth-century interior is more like a country home than a castle, and I felt this was a place where I could easily live. It’s such an ideal spot for a castle that it’s hard to believe none existed here until the time of Henry VIII. First garrisoned as a fort to protect a fleet that Henry kept in its harbor, he later turned the area over to the dukes of Northumberland who established the current castle here. Driving down the North Sea coast, we passed Bamburgh Castle and then made a quick stop in the picturesque fishing village of Seahouses. Soon we reached today’s final destination, Wark- worth Castle. It was really impressive, with so many nooks and crannies to explore, as well as wonderful views of the sea and the town below – but (sigh), it was yet another Percy holding. Day 4: Durham Cathedral and Barnard Castle. Time is flying by, and none of us can believe it is already Thursday. We were off to the city of Durham this morning. What a cool town – an- other place I would love to revisit sometime! Durham teams with shops and college students and seems very lively. The cathedral was a very impressive place, but I personally felt that it was quite massive and heavy in nature. Of special interest to us were the Neville chantry and Neville screen, but we also enjoyed seeing St Cuthbert’s shrine, the Galilee Chapel, and the tomb of the Venerable Bede. The cloisters appeared to be something straight out of Harry Potter. (I looked it up on-line after returning home, and Durham Cathedral is listed as a film locale.) Our next stop today was Barnard Castle. Along the way we passed Raby Castle, which was surrounded by dozens and dozens of red fallow deer. Barnard Castle had been a very large castle in its day. Not much of it remains, but it’s still a really lovely site. It was very windy and cool while we were there, and the river below seemed to be raging. Cecilia won the prize by being the first to spot Richard’s boar emblem. We were to have gone to the beautiful Rievaulx Abbey, but the climb up Sutton Bank to the North Yorkshire moors killed our coach. Sutton Bank is a rigorous 25% grade that we had been joking about all day. (Seems we should have been knocking on wood instead.) A mechanic and tow truck had to come for the coach, and cabs to transport us on to our next inn, the Black Bull in Escrick near York. Day 5: York. Today was a free day in York. Once at Monk Bar, we visited the Richard III Muse- um, which was very camp but a real hoot. We all really enjoyed it and then just about wiped out the gift shop. Descending from the wall into the city, we made our way to the fantastic Merchant Adventurers’ Hall. And what an ancient and wobbly place it was! The undercroft had been the victim of many floods, as is evidenced by the high water marks at the chapel doors, but they have now installed a flood mitigation system. Fans of shows like ‘Most Haunted’ may be interested to

56

know that a couple of us found that we had orbs in our photos of the undercroft. (A little spooky.) Proceeding from there, we spied some Richard III cheese (a variety of Wensleydale cheese) ad- vertised in a shop, and John went in and bought a hunk of it for us to share later at dinner. Afterwards a few of us departed for the Jorvik Viking Museum, while the remainder proceed- ed to the Guildhall. Still a part of the City Hall, it was a bit hard to find, but we managed. What an interesting building! The corbels on the roof (replicas of what would have been here during the Middle Ages) were surprisingly colorful and amusing. We also found a plaque that was do- nated by the Society in 1983. Our next stop was the Yorkshire Museum and Garden. In addition to the famous Middleham Jewel, there were quite a few fascinating Roman remains in this small museum. The Minster was beautiful, uplifting, even ethereal. My little group first toured the undercroft and crypt. It was just amazing to be standing in the footprint of three spectacular buildings (a Roman fortress, a Norman Cathedral, and the present Minster), and be able to see portions of it all. The main tower of the Minster had been shored up in massive blocks of concrete, with a steel cord running through it all – a true feat of engineering. The stained glass, especially the Five Sis- ters Window, was splendid and, as we walked around the Minster, we were able to hear the sounds of the men’s and boys’ choir preparing for Evensong. Before the service, I had asked the lady at the information desk to help me locate the plaque that noted Richard’s investment of Edward as Prince of Wales. She had no idea what I was talk- ing about, but apparently she made a phone call, because she later tracked me down and directed us to the Minster Library (formerly the Bishop’s Palace). Sure enough, the plaque was there (which just goes to show you should always ask). I love the city of York and could easily have done with three days here instead of just one. Day 6: Middleham and Markenfield Hall. Today, our first (and as it turned out, only) rainy day in England, began at Middleham. The castle is situated right at the top of its charming little town. While not as well preserved as many others, the castle presents itself as tidy and well de- signed. With a generous share of windows and built of a pleasant gray stone, it just feels very sensible and homey. I liked it very much.We then strolled over to the church of St Mary and St Alkelda to view the few items of significance to Ricardians, including the memorial window do- nated by the Society. Next we headed to Masham to sample a market day, but it was a bit of a washout due to the weather. However, we did meet up with several members of the Yorkshire Branch of the Socie- ty, which was a real treat. We all would have liked to spend more time with them but were sched- uled to meet another Society member at our next site. Janet Senior, also of the Yorkshire Branch, had graciously offered to give us a tour of Markenfield Hall. Markenfield Hall is a beautifully restored and totally moated medieval manor house. Perhaps the most exciting part of the visit was being able to meet the lady of the house and her husband who was a well-known playwright. I found myself thinking, ‘If only I wasn’t wearing this plastic rain poncho! How embarrassing!’ But they were very welcoming, and their gentle family dog seemed to like us. Day 7: Old Hall and Lincoln Cathedral. Today we left Yorkshire for Lincoln- shire, and our first venue was Gainsborough Old Hall. What a superb place! The medieval kitch- en was very impressive, with its massive hearths and giant ceiling vent; but ghost hunters should beware: many orbs appeared in my photos taken here. The bells were tolling as we got out of our coach in front of Lincoln Cathedral, a loud, joyous sound. The Cathedral was splendid, although the famous Lincoln Imp was much smaller and more difficult to find than we expected. We saw the tombs of both Katherine and Elea- nor of Castile, queen to Edward I. (Only Eleanor’s viscera are entombed at Lincoln; her body was laid to rest in a tomb at Westminster Abbey.) We also viewed the tomb of Bishop John Rus- sell, Richard III’s chancellor. Being a Sunday, this Cathedral was also preparing for an evening service. They had to shoo us away from the quire area, but we were still treated to the sound of the choir rehearsing with the magnificent organ. Afterwards we had about 45 minutes to wander

57

the steep and narrow streets of Lincoln; and, battling very high winds, we explored various candy shops, book shops, tea shops, and art galleries. Day 8: Bosworth. Today was a day, more than any other, that was dedicated to Richard III. Af- ter making a brief stop to take delivery of our beautiful memorial wreath and two bunches of white roses, our first stop was the church at Sutton Cheney. There is an attractive memorial plaque on a wall inside, and it was here that we hung our wreath. John wrote ‘Loyaulté Me Lie – American Branch’ on the card. Cecilia (a gifted artist who has done some fine paintings of Rich- ard III) left one of them tucked up behind the plaque, and we also left a small bunch of white roses in memory of Nancy Detrick who became so ill and eventually died after last year’s tour. We discovered that the Canadian Branch had apparently already been there, because their silk wreath was hanging nearby. From there we went to the Bosworth Battlefield Centre nearby, where we were met by Rich- ard Knox, the Assistant Keeper of Archeology for the Leicestershire County Council. He took us into the Centre and gave us a detailed overview of the three most prominent prospective battle- field sites – the traditional site on top of Ambion Hill, Michael Jones’s proposed site at Ather- stone, and Peter Foss’s choice a little nearer at Dadlington. Next Richard took us on a short walk of the traditional battlefield even though much of it may no longer be relevant, at least not in the way it once was. We then boarded our coach and were transported down to the site nearer Dadlington that the Leicestershire County Council now thinks is most likely Redemore Plain. The lay of the land did feel right for a battlefield site and, to most of us, seemed to make a lot of sense. Unfortunately, there has not been much sound physical evidence of the battle found here, if this is indeed the true site. (But is it any wonder, with Henry’s army being made up of merce- naries and criminals who would certainly have stripped the field clean?) Richard Knox was ex- tremely knowledgeable; and it was a real treat to have him as a guide. Before leaving Bosworth, Paul drove us down to the Society’s memorial stone, where we laid a large bunch of white roses and made many a toast with the Lindisfarne elderberry wine that John had brought along for the occasion. Finally, we returned to our hotel by way of , where we made a quick stop at the Castle Gardens to see the marvelous statue of Richard that was commissioned by the Richard III Society, a perfect end to our day dedicated to Richard. Day 9: Fotheringhay church, Castle Rising and Castle Acre Priory. Our first stop today was at Fotheringhay in Northamptonshire. Here we were met by Juliet Wilson, who gave us a detailed tour of the beautiful church. Juliet, who has an MBE as well as being the churchwarden, is also an esteemed Ricardian and an expert on this church and its history. There are Elizabethan-era monuments erected over the reburied bodies of Richard of York and Cecily Neville, and Rich- ard’s brother Edmund is also believed to be buried somewhere here as well. There is also an at- tractive stained glass window given by the Society, as well as an outstanding wood pulpit that was donated by Edward IV. Some of us also walked over to the site of the castle, although nothing much is left of it ex- cept the motte. But we did climb it and were rewarded by sweeping views of the surrounding countryside as well as a small canal with an occasional longboat. Then, after a break for lunch, we continued on to Castle Rising. What an impressive moat this castle has! Although little else remains, the castle keep is very well preserved compared to most others we have seen. It was fun to imagine which room Richard may have been in when he wrote his poignant letter asking for £100 to help raise troops. The last stop of the day was Castle Acre Priory. Located in a peaceful and serene setting. We really enjoyed exploring this lovely site, where we were able to find faint medieval paintings on some ceiling panels and walls – a reminder of how colorful ornamentation was during the Middle Ages. Day 10: Walsingham Abbey, Blickling Hall and Norwich. We were off to Walsingham Ab- bey, where we visited the Roman Catholic Slipper Chapel that would have been visited by Rich- ard, as well as the modern Anglican Shrine of Our Lady.

58

Nothing seemed easy to find today. After some driving to and fro on a network of sleepy country lanes, we found our next venue, Blickling Hall. It was nice to take a break from the usual medieval castle and cathedral for a posh Jacobean manor house. I thought Blickling Hall was just splendid. The hedge alone was a thing to impress, and the parlors and private rooms were quite sumptuous. It was also fun to go ‘downstairs’ to witness the world of the servants. After lunch, we made our way to the attractive city of Norwich. Some of us visited the splen- did Cathedral while others took a final opportunity to do some shopping. There was a soap shop where all the soaps were done up to look like giant wheels of cheese, and cakes and almost any- thing else edible – most unusual. As tonight was to be our last night with Paul, we all gathered in the guest lounge of Hunters Hall to throw a little party. Here we made a toast to Paul and presented him with a small gift, as well as sampling cheeses and sweets, wines (Battle of Bosworth, The War of the Roses), ciders and ales. Day 11: Wingfield Church and Framlingham Castle. First on the agenda was Wingfield Church, which contains the tombs of Richard’s sister, Anne, and her husband, John de la Pole. This quiet church had an ancient feel to it and was set in the middle of nowhere, much like Foth- eringhay. It seemed rather strange to find the fine effigies of such mighty people in this unassum- ing place. Our final destination on the road tour was Framlingham. I found it a strange place – a castle with no keep. But the walk around the curtain walls with our audio guides was informative and entertaining, and the views on this bright and sunny day were just wonderful. Day 12: The Royal Society of Antiquaries, London. We visited the Royal Society of Antiquar- ies, which is located in Burlington Place beside the Royal Academy of Arts. Here we were pleased to be met by several members of our parent Society from the London area. After welcoming us, Collections Manger Julia Steel gave us a very informative talk on the history of the SAL, followed by a presentation on the items in their possession that are of signifi- cance to Ricardians.We saw two portraits of Richard. The first, the better known and believed to be a copy of his earliest portrait, was part of a set with Edward IV and had been recently dendro- dated. They found that both the portraits were made from the same tree (one that was felled in 1510), so it seems likely that they were indeed created as a set. The other was a portrait of Rich- ard with a sword. Most of us had never seen this portrait before. Although it was obviously meant to depict Richard unfavorably, we agreed that the face was rather pleasing. Among other items we were shown was a lock of Edward IV’s hair, a sketch of his tomb, and, finally, the love- ly Bosworth Processional Cross. We felt privileged to receive such special treatment from the SAL, and our visit to this institution provided a wonderfully fitting end to a spectacular trip. And a brief comment from our Italian tour member, Cecilia Latella: The Ricardian tour was a wonderful experience, exceeding all my expectations. We were blessed with good weather and friendly conversations all throughout the tour. As the lazy travel- ler I am, I have to admit that I didn't know even the names of the places we were going to visit, except for the ones with the closest Ricardian connections such as Fotheringhay, Middleham and Bosworth. It was fascinating to discover every day a bit of history I hadn’t considered much be- fore, such as the destruction of monasteries following Henry VIII’s split from the Roman Catho- lic church. Good examples of this were on the magical island of Lindisfarne and at Castle Acre Priory. Then, there was the impact of the Vikings’ that left its traces on Lin- disfarne and in York. I also had the opportunity to admire Norman architecture with its huge carved pillars and the zigzag arches which I discovered for the first time in beautiful Durham Cathedral. But most of all, I appreciated the fact that I could finally visit all those Ricardian sites which I longed to see for ages. It was almost like a pilgrimage for me. Our trip permitted me not only to see in person the castles, churches and the battlefield that I had previously seen only in photos, but to understand in a much deeper way their interconnec-

59

tions, position and distances and to appreciate the difference in their lordship. Before our tour, Northumberland and Norfolk were but two names in my head, but after travelling all the way down from north of Hadrian’s Wall to London, England’s geography as well as the systems of ruling it became clearer to me than they had ever been. Now that the tour is over, I am even more interested in Richard than when it started. Thanks for this extraordinary opportunity. Tour Coordinator’s Note: I was very fortunate to be joined on the 2008 Ricardian tour by Jean Domico, Lorelle Hunt, Cecilia Latella, John O’Farrell, Jane Skillman, and Wanda Summers, who all proved to be exemplary tour members. We had the best of everything going for us – lovely weather, fascinating sites to visit, charming accommodations, delicious food everywhere we went, and truly friendly traveling companions. Especially rewarding for me was the presentation we received at the Bosworth Battlefield Centre. We all came away feeling so much better in- formed about the progress being made in determining the actual location of the battlefield. I don’t feel I would be out of line in saying that the 2008 Ricardian tour was a real treat for every one of us. Jane Skillman and Linda Treybig

In the Footsteps of Richard III The 2009 Annual Tour for Ricardians and Friends 20 June – 1 July 2009

You are cordially invited to join our friendly little band of Ricardians as we explore the England of Richard III in 2009. Ricardian sites we will visit include the castles of Middleham, Bolton, Pickering, Skipton, Conisburgh, Sandal and Ashby-de-la-Zouche, and the parish churches of Middleham, Sutton Cheney, Skipton and Pickering. This time our travels will also include an entire day in York, the splendid cathedral at Worcester, fabulous Tewkesbury Abbey, and the romantic ruins of Minster Lovell Hall, the home of Sir Francis Lovell, as well as an optional visit to Ludlow Castle. And, of course, we will make our annual pilgrimage to Bosworth Battlefield, where we will be treated to an outstanding presentation at the new exhibition area. This carefully-crafted tour will also include a choice selection of Britain’s other gems: pictur- esque Little Moreton Hall (a remarkable timber-framed home), time in the historic city of Ches- ter, the beautiful remains of Rievaulx Abbey (which we had to forego last year) and visits to two very special medieval manor houses: Baddesley Clinton and Stokesay Castle, the fascinating remains of Chedworth Roman Villa – and much, much more. Also featured will be a short side- trip into scenic north Wales, where we plan visits to two of Edward I’s mighty castles: Caernar- fon Castle, where the Prince of Wales is crowned, and legendary Harlech Castle, one the strong- hold of Owain Glyndwr. Most of our lodgings will be attractive, smaller hotels and coaching inns in market towns and villages. We will enjoy many lunches at charming country pubs that are recommended for their tasty food. Your tour coordinator and escort will be Linda Treybig, who has planned and led 17 previous Ricardian tours. Tour registration deadline is 12 February 2009, and group size is limited to a maximum of 12 (minimum 8). Our annual tour has become popular and draws many repeat members. Since some are already committed to the 2009 tour, you are urged to request your brochure and further de- tails right away. For brochure and details please visit the American Branch web site at www.r3.org, or contact Linda Treybig at 11813 Erwin Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44135 (tel. (216) 889-9392, email: [email protected]

60

Ricardians in Krakow and a Photo Caption Competi- tion

When Aneta Jasiolek, a student at Krakow’s Akademia Pedagog- iczna, wrote to the Society for advice about her planned thesis on Richard III, little did she realise that she would soon be meeting face-to-face such Society luminar- ies as Research Officer Wendy Moorhen and Logge Supremo Lesley Boatwright. They just hap- pened to be going on a visit to the historic and spiritual capital of Poland with two other Ricardians. It was suggested to Aneta that she might like a chat with the travel- ling Ricardians whilst they were in her home town. She was up for it and they all got together at tra- From left to right: John Saunders, Aneta Jasiolek, ditional Polish restaurant for a Lesley Boatwright, Jean Nicholls and Wendy Moorhen meal and spirited conversation about Richard III. A good time was had by all as this photograph confirms. Krakow is recommended as a place to visit, not least for the opportunity to see the city’s historic cathedral set atop the Wawel Hill. Buried inside are most of Poland’s medieval kings, including Rich- ard III’s contemporary Casimir IV. His tomb sits in the Chapel of the Holy Cross and Holy Spirit, with the walls and vaults beautifully decorated with Byzantine pol- ychromy painted in 1470. This long- reigning and enigmatic king will be the subject of an article in next year’s sum- mer issue of the Bulletin. Within the Wawel Hill are a number of caves; outside one of these is a bronze statue of a legendary dragon that once terrorised the citizens of Krakow. It belches fire every couple of minutes and your visiting Ricardians could not resist it as a photo opportunity. Three society members (Wendy Moorhen, Lesley Boat- wright and Jean Nicholls) stand before the statue of the fire- dragon of Kra- kow – can you improve on this rather bland caption? Send your suggestions to the Bulletin and we will announce the winner in the next issue. 61

Future Society Events

Bookable Events

Honour My Bones Scottish Branch Study Day: Saturday 21 February 2009 at 85 Barnton Park Avenue, Edinburgh A Series of Illustrated Talks by Dr John Ashdown-Hill 10.30 Arrival and welcome with tea and coffee 11.00 ‘My Late Lamented Uncle’ – Henry VII and the Burial of Richard III 12.30 Lunch at the Cramond Inn, Cramond, Edinburgh 15.00 ‘Finding the DNA of Richard III’ – what is DNA and what can it contribute to Ricardian research? 16.00 Tea and coffee 16.30 ‘Eleanor’ – a new book on Lady Eleanor Talbot, the woman who put Richard III on the throne 17.00 Vote of Thanks and Close Cost: £5.00 And afterwards at: 19.00 Howie’s Restaurant, 10 - 14 Victoria Street, The Old Town, Edinburgh. Transport available. All welcome.

Contact: Philippa Langley on 0131 336 4669 or [email protected]

Annual Requiem Mass, Saturday 14 March 2009, Cambridge Cambridge is a very appropriate venue for the Richard III Society’s annual requiem mass, be- cause Richard was remembered with affection and esteem at Cambridge University. In fact, it is known that an annual mass was offered for the repose of Richard’s soul in Cambridge, starting in August 1486 and continuing for some fifty years until all chantry masses were suppressed by King Edward VI. Those original masses were celebrated at the church of Great St Mary, so it is also appropriate that the Society’s 2009 commemoration will be held at the church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, which is likewise dedicated in honour of the Virgin Mary. Moreover, amongst the Eng- lish martyrs remembered in the dedication of this church is Blessed Margaret Pole – otherwise Lady Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury, daughter of the duke and duchess of Clar- ence, and niece to Richard III and Queen Anne Neville. Margaret is depicted in one of the stained glass windows of the north aisle. The requiem mass will be celebrated on Saturday 14 March at 11.30 a.m. Cambridge is easily accessible by train from London Liverpool Street, and the church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, a splendid neo-gothic building with a tall spire, is not far from the railway station. Cur- rently trains depart from London Liverpool Street on a regular schedule (about four per hour on a Saturday). The journey time to Cambridge is approximately 1 hour 12 minutes. Car parking in central Cambridge is not easy, but Cambridge has an inexpensive, regular and efficient ‘park and ride’ service which is recommended for those wishing to bring their own cars. We hope that many Ricardians will be able to join us in reversing, at least for this year, the Tudor suppression of Richard’s Cambridge commemorations. 62

The programme for Saturday 14 March will be: 11.30 a.m. solemn requiem mass 12.30 p.m. lunch (own arrangements) 2.00 p.m visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum exhibition ‘I turned it into a Palace’, followed by tea at the Fitzwilliam.

Saturday 21 March 2009, Westminster Abbey After evensong at Westminster Abbey, we shall be holding our annual wreath-laying ceremony at the plaque commemorating Queen Anne Neville’s tomb. Firstly, in the morning, we shall be of- fering a guided tour of one of the finest remaining twelfth-century buildings in London, St John’s Priory Gatehouse, the London home of the medieval Knights of St John, Clerkenwell. The tour will also include a visit to the museum. The programme for Saturday 21 March will be: 10.30 a.m. visit to St John’s Priory Gatehouse and Museum, Clerkenwell 12 noon lunch (own arrangements) 2.30 p.m. tea in Westminster Abbey cloisters (optional) 3.00 p.m. evensong 3.45 p.m. wreath-laying

You are welcome to book for as much (or as little) of this cycle of commemorative events as you wish. Attendance at the requiem mass in Cambridge and the visit to the Fitzwilliam exhibition are free, but we shall need to know numbers, please. There will be a collection as usual at the mass. In London there will be a charge of £4 per person for the Clerkenwell visit, which must therefore be booked. Attendance at Westminster is free, but again, we should like to know num- bers in advance. Please complete the booking form in the centre pages and return to John Ashdown-Hill (contact details inside back cover) by Friday 20 February 2009. Bookings which do not include the Clerkenwell visit can be sent by email. Please ensure that you enclose either an SAE (two SAES if you require immediate acknowledgement of receipt), or email contact details. Cheques should be made payable to Richard III Society – Mid Anglia Group. John Ashdown-Hill

Study Weekend: Making Research Happen York St John University (formerly College of St John) Friday 24 – Saturday 26 April 2009 It is seventeen years since the first study weekend was held in 1991; a further eleven have been held since then, all but one in York. The Wills Project was initially discussed at the second week- end held at St Deiniol’s Library in 1992; and now sixteen years later we have seen the successful conclusion of both aspects of this project. So it is a good time to reflect on how we approach fu- ture study weekends and in particular how we structure next year’s, which again takes place in York. The completion of the Wills Project is a watershed for the Society’s research agenda, so we want the 2009 weekend to be forward-looking and to help us identify future research projects and how we might go about developing them. Also we want to broaden the research community and involve members new to research. However, we want to avoid a specific ‘beginner’s guide to research’ type of event since this might discourage experienced members from attending. The Research Committee recently discussed some ideas and it was agreed that we wanted a weekend that set the context for research into the fifteenth century, and which at the same time offered specific themes for both beginners and more experienced researchers. The presence of experienced researchers will provide both support and practical examples to the beginners. In fact 63

there is considerable benefit in having such a synergy insofar as the combination of new ideas, enthusiasm and experience are often the best ingredients for making things happen. We also looked at the structure of the weekend and we thought it would be a good idea to make more use of time on the Friday; people attending nearly always travel up to York to arrive mid-day to early afternoon, so we have put in an opening session that occupies the late afternoon. This fills an otherwise under-utilised gap and allows us to add more substance to the weekend. We had thought about making use of Saturday afternoon, but it was decided that this period was valued by members for the opportunity that it provided for free time in York. In short we aim for the weekend to provide:  A flexible learning environment in which both those new to research and those with ex- perience can contribute and learn; and  An opportunity for members to explore how we might take the Society’s research agenda forward; particularly in the context of the re-launch of the research community and Anne Sutton’s suggestion of a new research project at the AGM. The weekend will therefore focus on six key areas: knowledge and skills; secondary sources; printed primary sources; the internet; choosing subjects for research; and the research communi- ty. This will be achieved through formal presentations, case studies and discussions. In this con- text the knowledge and experience of our seasoned researchers will be of great value and be an encouragement to those new to the subject. The opening formal session will examine three case studies where the researchers will each explain their approach to a project, one about a person, one about a place and one about an organ- isation. The research officer will then move on to the knowledge and skills required. This topic is vast and therefore it will be limited to the basics rather than have participants be concerned about palaeography and Latin at this early stage. We will then move on to the sources and Peter Hammond, our former research officer, will take participants through secondary sources, which are histories based on research at the basic, or primary level. This is a perfectly acceptable route to begin research, particularly if the purpose is to prepare for a low-key talk. Heather Falvey will tackle the slightly more challenging printed primary sources. These records, which are contemporary to the subject being researched, are readily available. All it requires is to know where to look for them. The final main topic, present- ed by Lynda Pidgeon, will examine what can be found on the internet. This will include live demonstrations and a guide to participants as to which sites can be trusted and which cannot. It is expected to close the proceedings with a round table discussion which will include sug- gestions for future collaborative research projects and the research community. Members who register for the weekend will be asked if they have any particular research in mind. A response is not mandatory but where the research committee has advance notice of topics that interest the participants, it is intended to provide workshops to assist them to begin their projects. The weekend will be held at the University of York St John which is located just outside the York city walls on Lord Mayor’s Walk. The accommodation offered by the college is adequate but basic and does not include twin or en-suite facilities. Members, however, are welcome to source their own accommodation although the cost for the weekend is based on lunches and din- ners being taken with the group. The conference dinner on Saturday evening will be held in the beautiful medieval Bedern Hall close to Goodramgate. The menu and dress will be strictly twen- ty-first century. The present hall, the second around this site, was built from 1370 and probably completed in 1399. The hall was used by the Choral Vicars who sang services at the Minster. The weekend will be a unique opportunity both to develop and enhance individual research skills, to help extend the Society’s research community and to contribute to the debate about our future research priorities. Costs for the weekend are £215 for residents at the university and £135 for non-residents. Wendy Moorhen 64

Dragons may be here, but so was Richard! Friday 10 July to Tuesday 14 July 2009 – South Wales In the words of Paul Murray Kendall ‘...he shortly returned westward to head a great commission of oyer and terminer for both North and South Wales. A month later he was appointed Chief Jus- tice and Chamberlain of South Wales and Steward, during the minority of Pembroke’s son, of all the King’s lands in the counties of Carmarthen and Cardigan. Not only had Richard, by this accu- mulation of powers, become the virtual Viceroy of the principality of Wales …’ You are invited to follow in Richard’s footsteps – come with us to Swansea and St David’s and to various places in between, and Cardiff on our last day. Our travels will take us through the beautiful countryside of the Gower Peninsular and Pembrokeshire. We will be based at Swansea University. Accommodation will be on a single room (en suite) basis but there are a limited number of double rooms available. The cost of the trip will be in the region of £300-£350, which includes coach travel, half- board accommodation, tips and donations. Applications by 31 January 2009, please. A deposit of £100 per person is payable on booking. It is strongly recommended that you take out person- al travel insurance as, if you have to cancel, it may not be possible to give a refund. If you have any queries or would like more information, please contact: Marian Mitchell, 20 Constance Close, Witham, Essex, CM8 1XL. Tel: 01376 501984 Email: [email protected] Please use the booking form in the autumn Bulletin. Marian Mitchell

Branch and Group Contacts: Amendments

Victoria Branch Australia – web address http://home.vicnet.net.au/~richard3/index.html

Western Australia Branch – email address [email protected]

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

For a catalogue of secondhand fact and fiction send SAE to : Karen Miller, Church Farm Cottage, Church Lane, Kirklington, Nottinghamshire, NG22 8NA

65

Branches and Groups

Mid Anglia Group Report On Sunday 21 September the Mid Anglia Group held an open event which was attended by group members and a number of other people. It comprised a walk around Colchester’s ‘Dutch Quarter’, focusing especially on the fifteenth century, and based on material from my forthcom- ing book Mediaeval Colchester’s Lost Landmarks (Breedon Books, March 2009). We began in the High Street, meeting in front of The George. Although the name of this inn is not recorded in fifteenth-century documents, parts of the building date back to the 1450s, and an unnamed inn in this area was owned in the third quarter of the fifteenth century by John Rouge. Opposite is St Nicholas House, a red brick shop building on the site of St Nicholas’ Church, once the Colchester parish church of Sir John, Lord Howard, first Duke of Norfolk. In an act of vandalism much protested about even at the time, this church was pulled down in the 1950s. Howard’s Colchester house, now The Red Lion, is a little further along the High Street, opposite the site of another demolished medieval landmark: the church of St Runwald. Colchester’s Victorian Town Hall ris- es on the site of its medieval predecessor, from the front of which the young Rich- ard II addressed the local populace in 1381, at the end of the Peasants’ Revolt, to assure them that they would now revert to servitude. Behind the Town Hall is the detached graveyard of the former St Run- wald’s Church. West and East Streets recall the existence of the Stock Well, one of medieval Colchester’s important water sources. The river water was used for full- ing cloth, or turning into ale, but was not safe to drink ‘raw’. We visited the redun- dant St Martin’s church, recently restored by the Historic Churches Conservation Trust, and were introduced to fifteenth- century parishioner Jeweyn Blackcote, the local fortune teller. In East Stockwell Street we encountered Robert Cok, a local butcher, often in trouble with the borough authorities for his unhygienic habits, but either he or a member of his family seems likely to have served Richard III and the duke of Norfolk at the battle of Bosworth. Colchester's St Nicholas' Church prior to its demolition. This was once the parish church of The former chantry chapel of St Hel- Sir John, Lord Howard (Duke of Norfolk). en, once the property of St John’s Abbey, is now the church of Colchester’s Ortho- dox community. Its walls are now lined with icons which extend also across the iconostasis, a screen which cuts off the altar, rather as a medieval rood screen would have done. Opposite the chapel is the house of Roger Purtepet, Colchester’s town clerk through most of the reign of Ed- ward IV. Roger Purtepet’s garden backs on to the grounds of ‘the king’s castle of Colchester’, of which John Howard was constable from 1461 to 1485. We ended our walk in the Castle Park. To 66

the strains of brass band music from the splendidly restored Victorian bandstand, our final dis- covery was the remaining carved masonry from John Howard’s parish church – now sadly com- prising a rockery. John Ashdown-Hill

Thames Valley Branch Report As usual we held our AGM and post-Christmas meal in February at the Yorkshire Rose in Maid- ens Green, Bracknell. Our Chairman reported on another successful year for the branch in 2007, and we put together a full programme of events and talks for the forthcoming year. In March several members of the branch attended the Society’s Triennial Conference at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester. In April, Pauline Stevenson organised a wonderful visit to Winchester. We began with a visit to the Great Hall and King Arthur’s Round Table. The Great Hall and Sally Port are the only sur- viving parts of Winchester Castle. The Great Hall was once one of the largest and finest in Eng- land, and is certainly the finest of that period to have survived. Its many features include stained- glass windows, a judges’ gallery and wrought steel gates that were installed in 1983 to commem- orate the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. We also visited the magnifi- cent cathedral and the ruins of Wolvesey Castle, former principal residence of the bishops of Winchester and venue for the wedding breakfast of Queen Mary and King Philip of Spain in 1554. May saw us visit Grafton Regis in what must have been some of the heaviest and most persis- tent rain of the year. After a short walk to the site of the Hermitage, where Edward IV and Eliza- beth Woodville were married, and getting thoroughly soaked in the process, we abandoned all thoughts of visiting the Queen’s Oak and instead drove to Stony Stratford and a warm pub with hot drinks. After lunch at the White Hart, we watched a video about Elizabeth Woodville which had been put together by villagers, who are understandably proud of the part their village has played in the nation’s history. We finished the day with a tour of the village church. In June some members attended the East Midlands Branch study day in Leicester, a report of which has appeared in a previous Bulletin. July brought a visit to Broughton Castle in Oxfordshire, home of Lord and Lady Saye and Sele and the star of many films and television series, including Three Men and a Little Lady and Shakespeare in Love – actors Ralph and Joseph Fiennes being related to the owners of the house. August was our last visit for the year and we went to Kenilworth Castle to their Wars of the Roses weekend, which promised and delivered ‘colour, spectacle, action, adventure and the chance of treachery in high places’. In September, Peter and Diana Lee invited us to their home and Peter gave a fascinating talk on the history of his former home in Napton, Warwickshire, which he had traced back to its ori- gins in the fourteenth century. This was followed in the afternoon by another talk on the celebra- tions Peter held for the house’s 600th anniversary and the chance to enjoy some authentic medie- val fare thanks to Diana’s wonderful cooking. In October Lynda Pidgeon gave an intriguing talk on the marriage of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, and Sir Richard Wydevile and this was followed by a sumptuous tea which included a wonderful chocolate anniversary cake provided by the Lees who were celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary. Our programme for the remainder of the year is:

23 November A talk on the Coventry Mystery Plays by member Maria Hale 13 December We will be joining the main Society at the annual carol service at Fotheringhay

We are always pleased to welcome prospective members at any of our meetings and anyone interested should contact our Branch Secretary Sally Empson ([email protected]). Maria Hale 67

Yorkshire Branch Report The Branch’s annual Bosworth commemoration took place at Middleham on 24 August this year, and we were joined by the family of our late Chairman, Ralph Taylor; after leaving St Alkelda’s church most of the group went up to the castle, where permission had been given for Ralph’s ashes to be scattered. The Branch wishes to record its thanks to Ralph’s family for allowing his Ricardian friends to be present on this sad occasion. Following our Branch AGM in York in September a new Committee was elected. Our new Chairman (or is that ‘person’?) is Angela Moreton, with Cris Reay Connor as Vice-Chairman and Sales Officer. We welcome Cris back to Yorkshire after some years at Dadlington. Indefatigably, Moira Habberjam continues as our Secretary and Christine Symonds as our Treasurer: our debt to them both is immense. Pauline Pogmore remains our Research Officer but now also takes over as Librarian, and the Committee is completed by Marjorie Hodgkinson, Wendy Mills and Janet C. Senior. Moira has been Branch Secretary since 1986, edited the Newsletter until 1999, and for many years has been responsible for distributing our magazine (and also contributing to it) and dealing with subscribers’ correspondence, providing board and lodging for visiting lecturers and holding many local group and Committee meetings at her home. Just in case this wasn’t enough to occu- py her, she has also been a member of the Society’s research sub-committee, and one of the main guiding spirits and hands-on workers behind the Logge Wills Project for some sixteen years. At the Society’s AGM in York in October, her ‘significant long-term service’ to Yorkshire Branch and to the Richard III Society was acknowledged by the presentation to her of the Robert Ham- blin Award. I am sure all our members will join the Committee in offering Moira our sincere congratulations on this well-deserved honour. On 12 October members joined a group from the Yorkshire Archaeological Society to visit Harewood castle and church. The ongoing investigation and conservation of the castle site was the subject of our Branch lecture in 2006 and reported on in the summer Bulletin for that year, but now for the first time we were able to go inside the actual building. Ed Dennison, our lecturer in 2006, has been working at the castle site for some ten years and gave us a vivid impression of the stages of its construction, the Victorian ‘improvements’ made to the fabric for picturesque reasons and particularly the odd communication plan between different floors and towers. We had been asked to bring torches and were intrigued (and anxious) to see that Ed carried a small ladder about with him: some of us were braver than others about descending into basement kitch- ens in the dark or climbing spiral staircases where much of the wall was missing. The flora and fauna of the site have been carefully tended, too: plants which had thrived on the ruined stone- work have been left in (tidier) place and a careful note – with arrows – had been made on a wall at one point to indicate that a colony of bats had been living inside. After visiting the castle we walked through the grounds of Harewood House (a mere eight- eenth-century infant) to All Saints’ Church, which is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. Here our guide was Erik Matthews of the YAS, who told us that the present building dates from about 1410, on the site of a pre-Conquest church of which traces have survived, and was founded as a collegiate church with six priests by Elizabeth and Sibilla, the daughters of William, lord Aldborough, the builder of the castle we had just seen. They inherited the estate jointly on the death of their brother in 1392. Today the church is most famous for its remarkable alabaster effigies: there are six double tomb chests, the largest number in any English parish church, all produced between 1419 and 1510 and commemorating members of the families connected with Harewood castle. It is probable that the figures were made in the workshops at Chellaston, Der- byshire, near where most medieval alabaster was quarried, although there were also workshops in London, York and Lincoln. Elizabeth Aldborough (d. 1434) lies beside her husband Sir Richard Redman (d. 1426) whose family’s principal seat was Levens Hall in Westmorland. He was elected Speaker of Parliament in 1415 and organised the mobilising of Henry V’s army for the voyage to France that year. 68

Sibilla Aldborough (d. 1440) is buried here with her husband Sir William Ryther, of Ryther cas- tle near Tadcaster in the West Riding. He is described as being a ‘difficult’ (i.e. violent) man and it seems that the couple lived apart for much of their marriage. Altogether nine generations of Rythers owned Harewood castle, sharing living space there at times with members of the Red- man family in apparent peacefulness, so that the sisters’ joint estate remained intact for centuries. Ricardians will be especially interested in the later effigies. There are two Sir William Gas- coignes in the church, with their respective wives, Margaret Clarell and Margaret Percy. The Gascoignes came from Gawthorpe Hall, demolished in the eighteenth century when the grounds of Harewood House were laid out. (The earliest of the alabasters in the church is to Judge Gas- coigne, created Lord Chief Justice in the reign of Henry IV.) The first Sir William is shown wearing a collar of suns and roses with a pendant Lion of March, showing that he died some time after Edward IV became king in 1461, and he must have predeceased his wife since she is depict- ed as a widow. The other Sir William is his grandson, who held government appointments in Yorkshire in the , was created a Knight of the Bath at the marriage of Richard, Duke of York and Lady Anne Mowbray in 1478 and campaigned with Richard, Duke of Gloucester in Scotland in 1482, where Richard made him a knight banneret. He supported Richard at Bosworth and died in 1487. It seems that, like Edward Redman after him, he settled down under Tudor rule, which shows a realism shared by most other people in those unfortunate circumstances. The most recent effigies in the church are to Edward Redman (or Redmayne) and his wife, Elizabeth Huddleston. They are perhaps the most beautiful in the collection and may even be portraits, although this was not usual. Edward acquired the estates at Harewood and Levens in 1482 from his elder brother; he was an Esquire of the Body to Richard III and fought at Bos- worth, after which he was included in Tydder’s general pardon and lived quietly until his death in 1510. His livery collar shows a combination of the SS of Lancaster and roses, with a rose pen- dant – a Tudor compromise – and under his right foot can be seen a little bedesman holding a rosary, the only example surviving in Yorkshire of such a figure. Edward’s father-in-law Sir John Huddleston was a noted Yorkist who also fought for King Richard at Bosworth. The day at Harewood was very much enjoyed by all those who attended – the weather was also warmer than on some days this alleged summer – and we should like to thank Janet Senior who arranged it, Erik Matthews and Ed Dennison. The Branch will commemorate the battle of Wakefield at Sandal on Saturday 27 December when a wreath will be laid at the duke of York’s statue in Manygates Lane at 2.00 p.m. and there will be various displays and activities at the castle by the Towton Battlefield Society and others. We hope members will join us there. Angela Moreton

Worcestershire Branch Report In August of each year we usually arrange a fairly informal evening outing, as many members are often on holiday at this time. This year Joan Ryder organised a most interesting visit to Kings Norton Grammar School and the Saracen’s Head, which had been the subject of our January lec- ture by Greta Lacy. These two buildings won the BBC 2 Restoration series in 2004. Greta met us at the Saracen’s Head, which was built in 1492 by Humphrey Rotsey and has now been carefully restored to its former glory with some very sympathetic modern facilities. Greta guided us around the fascinating mix of old and new where we saw traces of the original paint on the beams and walls in some rooms. She told us that as much of the original timber has been kept as possible, even including some of the windows. We then went on to see the Grammar School, which is alongside the twelfth-century parish church. The church, the school and the green on which they stand form the largest complex of medieval buildings in Birmingham. The school is a unique little building, the original ground floor only measuring 10m x 5m. It was built between 1434 and 1460, but it is not known if it was built as a school. The lower outer parts are seventeenth-century and could have been rebuilt or 69

even filled in around stilts. It may have been a chantry chapel or a guildhall. At the east end there is a fourteenth-century window with wooden tracery but it was clearly inserted into the wall at a later date as it does not fit. There is written evidence that the building was used as a school dur- ing the reign of Edward VI and continued until 1878. Judith Sealey led our September outing to Fairford in Gloucestershire where we visited Fair- ford Church, famous for its medieval glass. We spent a wonderful afternoon with an excellent guide who explained the meaning of each window in turn. It was a lovely sunny day and the light enhanced the beautiful colours in the glass. We all marvelled that these treasures had survived through a chequered history and were still in place for us to enjoy. October’s meeting has seen us indoors at Belbroughton Church Hall, a very old meeting room with lovely old beams. The purpose of the meeting was a debate on ‘The Character of George Duke of Clarence’. Ralph Richardson led the debate with an almost convincing appraisal of George, his main argument being that, as a royal prince with no expectations, he was expected to misbehave and his rebellion and treason were no more than any other nobleman of his period would have done. They changed sides at the drop of a hat. He had clearly been devoted to Isabel, and the summary trial and execution of Ankarette Twynyho was no worse than Richard’s hasty trial and execution of Lord Hastings. In favour of his character Ralph pointed out that George had restored Warwick Castle and was a benefactor of Salisbury Cathedral and was believed to have been faithful to his wife. Judith began her argument by asking, ‘What went wrong?’ Before Edward’s marriage Clar- ence was heir to the throne, made a Knight of the Garter and had the world in front of him. After Edward’s marriage and the birth of the princes it all went awry. He married Isabel against Ed- ward’s wishes, hated Elizabeth Woodville, and fell under Warwick’s influence. Even after being reconciled with Edward he quarrelled with Richard about property and Anne Neville and was still rewarded. We had a lively debate on these two arguments for some time and eventually most of us were convinced he was basically a bad lot with some mitigating circumstances. Our 2009 programme is still in preparation. We are planning a talk on St Wolfstan, and a guided tour of Worcester Cathedral will follow later in the year. There will be a visit to Easton Bishop and White Castle in Monmouthshire. Several of our members are preparing talks and we will be attending the Three Battles Festival in Worcester again. Details of our programme can be found on our branch web site www.richardiiiworcs.co.uk or contact our Programme Planner Joan Ryder 01384 394228, for further information. We are always pleased to welcome friends and prospective members at any of our meetings. Pat Parminter

Spring 2009 Bulletin

Features and articles planned for the next issue will include the first in a se- ries on Henry VII commemorating the quincentenary of his death in 1509. Helen Cox will continue our Living History series and there will be an arti- cle on another of Richard III’s European contemporaries – King Matthias of Hungary. Lesley Boatwright will be reporting on her investigations into a mysterious woman who fell foul of the law in Essex at the very end of the fifteenth century. ‘The Man Himself’ slot will be devoted to the programme developed for the Bosworth Battle Centre and the original artwork that has been produced for it. Finally, we welcome our guest novelist, Sandra Worth, with a short story based on one of Graham Turner’s paintings. Novelist Sandra Worth 70

New Members

UK 1 July - 30 September 2008

Lorna Austin, Colchester Pam Linairi-Linholm, Cheltenham Anne Baird, Haddington Vivienne Littleworth, Clayton-Le-Moors Rebecca Berger, St Andrews Clive Lloyd, near Malvern Richard Boardman, Wimbledon Elissa Lowder, Peterborough Janet De Gaynesford, Porthtowan John Mayhead, Ampthill John & Margaret Doughty, Worcester Ian Mcdonald-Leitch & Frederica Goulding, Annette Dowling, London Tewkesbury Rilla Eade, North Connel Gillian Newbold, Newhaw Laura Grayling, Ashtead Dominic Newman, Market Harborough Alison Gundy, Cambridge Geoffrey Orton, Westage-on-Sea Damon Hadley, near Atherstone Carmel Palao, London Sam Hartin, Nuneaton Stephen Rate, Peterborough Lesley Hayward, Shrewsbury Jano Rochefort, Ludlow Marjorie Heath, Swindon Dean Rowland, London Margaret Henley, Tamworth Geoffrey Smith, Pontefract Simon Hoar, South Croydon Neville Smith, Leicester Rosemary & David Holden-Smith, Jennifer Llewellyn Stenhouse, Taunton Kidderminster Alexandra Syson, London Jean Jones, Dursley Susan Towell, Nuneaton Nigel Keegan, London Daniel Warwick, Brentford

US Branch 1 July - 30 September 2008

Sandra Brock, California Grace Obermann, Virginia Elizabeth Dibble, New Hampshire Joshua Paulin, Massachusetts Dorothy Dodson, Illinois Diane Prete, Rhode Island Libby Frost, Minnesota Sandra Pritchard, Florida Gary Jackson, Nevada Marie M. Stanley, Illinois Linda S. Lovell, Virginia Sarah Vallieres, Florida Lisa Martin, Texas Kimberly Williams, Missouri Keith J. Meland, Arizona

Recently Deceased Members

Mrs R.E. Alstead, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, joined 1997 Mrs Marjorie Foster, Nottingham, joined 1988 Mr Tom Hodge, Ebbw Vale, Gwent, joined in or before1985 Miss M.A. Nobes, Gosport, Hampshire, joined in or before 1985 Miss Elizabeth Rolfe, Ely, Cambridgeshire, joined in or before 1985 Mr Peter Ryan, Sydney, NSW, Australia, joined in or before 1985 Mr Mark Tomlinson, Leicester, joined 2006 Mr John Stevens, Carmarthen, Dyfed, joined 2004 71

Calendar

We run a calendar of all forthcoming events: if you are aware of any events of Ricardian inter- est, whether organised by the Society – Executive Committee, Visits Committee, Research Com- mittee, Branches/Groups – or by others, please let Lynda Pidgeon have full details, in sufficient time for entry. The calendar will also be run on the website.

Date Events Originator

2008

13 December Fotheringhay Lunch and Carol Service Phil Stone

27 December Commemoration of the Battle of Wakefield Yorkshire Branch

2009

21 February Scottish Branch Study Day ‘Honour My Bones’ Scottish Branch See page 62

27-28 February Who D You Think You Are? Live Exhibition See page 21 And 1 March Olympia, London

14 March Annual Requiem Mass, Church of Our Lady John Ashdown-Hill and the English Martyrs, Cambridge See pages 62-3

21 March Annual Wreath Laying at Queen Anne Neville’s John Ashdown-Hill Monument, Westminster See page 63

24-26 April Study Weekend at York St John University Wendy Moorhen See pages 63-64

10-14 July Long Weekend Visit Visits Committee South Wales, based in Swansea See page 65

2010 Visit to Carcassonne, France Visits Committee

72