The Ricardian and the Bulletin Are Available from Judith Ridley

Ricardian Bulletin

Contents Winter 2006 2 From the Chairman 4 The Robert Hamblin Award 2006 5 Society News and Notices 11 Media Retrospective 14 News and Reviews 20 Celebrating 50 Years: Members’ Weekend and AGM 29 Celebrating 50 Years: Chivalry, the Order of the Garter and St George’s Chapel 39 Ricardian Heroes: by John Saunders 42 The Guildhall Dinner: by John Saunders 43 Memories from the Early Days: by Val Alliez 44 Our Longest Serving Members 45 The Man Himself by Keith Dockray 47 An Adventure in Historical Research: by Toni Mount 49 Constabulary Duty: by BM Cron 52 Cirencester Parish Church: by Gwen and Brian Walter 54 Completing the Set: Henry VIII’s Other Wives: by Stephen Lark 55 Logge Notes and Queries: by Lesley Boatwright 57 Translation service 58 On the Horns of a Bosworth Legend Dilemma: by Randolph Jones 60 Review Article by Helen Cox 62 Annual Report of the Richard III and Yorkist History Trust 63 Correspondence 69 The Barton Library 71 Letter from America: An American Member’s View of the AGM 74 Report on Society Events 79 Future Society Events 82 Branches and Groups 86 Palaeography by Post 87 New Members 88 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 The Bulletin are available from Judith Ridley. If you are interested in obtaining any back numbers, please contact Mrs Ridley to establish whether she holds the issue(s) in which you are interested. For contact details see back inside cover of the Bulletin

The Ricardian Bulletin is produced by the Bulletin Editorial Committee, General Editor Elizabeth Nokes, and printed by St Edmundsbury Press. © Richard III Society, 2006

From the Chairman

ur anniversary celebrations draw to a close and we look back on a most enjoyable and suc- O cessful year of special events. The Members’ Weekend in York at the beginning of October was a particular success and it’s good to see that we have reviews of all the events that took place over the three days in this issue. There are also reviews of the equally enjoyable Windsor Semi- nar, which was crowned by hearing Evensong in St George’s Chapel, where I had the good fortune to sit in the stall containing King Richard’s own Garter Plate. There are changes to the Executive Committee to announce. These are outlined in full later in this issue, but the most significant is that we have a new Society Secretary in Jane Trump, who is already well known through her work as the Barton Librarian. After many years of service to the Society as Secretary, Elizabeth Nokes has stepped down from the post and also from the Execu- tive Committee. I know that all members would wish me express their thanks for all that she has done during her time in office. Though standing down from one of her jobs, Elizabeth will continue to play a full and important role within the Society with her continuing responsibilities as Secretary of the London Branch, as a member of the Visits Committee and as the senior trustee of the Ricardian Churches Restoration Fund. My Chairman’s Piece is shorter this time as an abridged version of the address I gave to the AGM follows. This provides a review of the past year as well as setting out some thoughts about the future. Further details about this will be published next year and we will also keep you fully informed as we review the voting systems, as agreed at the AGM. Even though this piece is shorter than usual, there must be a mention in print of my thanks to Wendy Moorhen for her seemingly tireless work in organising the special events for this celebratory year. She tells me, ‘It's my day job,’ but as I've said before, the work still has to be done and she has done it. Wendy, my thanks, as always. As you can see, this is another bumper issue of the Bulletin. It contains a wide range of articles, reviews and Society news and together they make for excellent reading material for the Christmas holidays, and on that seasonal note, may I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year. Phil Stone

The Chairman’s Keynote Address to the Society at AGM

Change, consolidation and celebration are the three words that can be used to sum up this past year, as we continue to make important changes whilst we consolidate those already made, and at the same time, we celebrate all that has been achieved since 1956. Last year, I spoke about the tough decisions that have had to be made in recent years to improve our financial position. As a result of these reforms, our accounts for the 2005 - 2006 financial year show a surplus after too many years of deficit. In order to ensure that things do not slip again, we will continue to review the way we operate, seeking yet more ways to do things better and more efficiently, whilst improving the services we provide for members. Our research capacity continues to expand and we very much hope that 2007 will see the first 2

published results of the Wills Project. The continuing excellent scholarship of The Ricardian, as well as the lively, informative and entertaining Bulletin, continue to display all that is best in our Society to the membership and to the wider world. Our poster and essay competitions proved a considerable success, attracting entries from schools all around the country and culminating in the splendid event at Barnard’s Inn in the presence of our Patron and many of the prize winners, their parents and teachers. Looking back at the event, we can be heartened by the knowledge that the debate over Richard’s posthumous reputation should be safe in the hands of the next generation. I am very pleased to report that we are making progress with our initiatives to encourage younger people to become more aware of the work of the Society. Combining the skills and experience of several members who are teachers, we are producing an education pack of material relating to Richard III for use in secondary schools. The future is not just about engaging with young people, of course. There is also the ever increasing challenge to interest and involve the wider population in our history, which is why it is especially pleasing that the Society has joined the History Matters campaign recently launched by The National Trust and English Heritage and other similar bodies. My thanks must go to all the members of the Executive Committee and to all the officers of the Society for the work they have undertaken during the year. In particular, I thank John Ash- down-Hill, who is retiring from the Committee. John has been a hard working member of the Executive and the good news is that, whilst he is stepping down from it, he is not giving up all his responsibilities. He will continue in his Branch Liaison role. I must also thank Jane Trump for her work with the Barton Library. During her tenure, we have seen changes in the nature and use of the library, possibly brought about by changes in the availability of books and information on the internet. When Jane recently expressed a wish to reclaim her living room, serious thought was given to whether the library was still viable but I am relieved to say that it was agreed that the library should be kept as a Society amenity. A new vol- unteer was found and I welcome Keith Horry to the post of non-fiction books librarian. This year, of course, we are celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the 1956 refounding of the Society. Saxon Barton founded the Fellowship of the White Boar in 1924, but by the early 1950s it had almost faded away until, that is, Isolde Wigram came on the scene. I think it is safe to say that without her the Society would not have been refounded. We thank her. As I stressed last year, despite our achievements so far, there is much still to be done and it’s not yet time to rest on our laurels. Research, publication and education will always be our prima- ry purpose and we will continue to ensure that sufficient resources are available to promote this work. As well as maintaining the good reputation of our research, we will remain committed to objective research, that which is aimed at securing a reassessment of Richard III’s role in our history; research that is respected by historians, by writers and by the media, for it is only with their respect that we can have any influence. No respect, no voice. Publicity and promotion, memorials, commemorative events, social events and branch activities all help to advance the cause of Richard III, and we will, of course, continue to promote the wide range of activities that involves the Society. In terms of promotion and publicity, there is still room for improvement and new ideas. All too often, we see the media, etc, recycling the old negative myths about King Richard, with no recognition of his positive qualities. Let’s see the right stories being recycled. After all, when we are given a chance to have input into pro- grammes, articles and books, we’ve managed to go some way to restoring the balance. It’s time that stories that tell the positive side of Richard III were the norm! Of course, publicity for its own sake can often be counterproductive. It must be about effectively countering the negative images and given our limited resources, we need to focus activities on to where we can have a real and lasting impact. It is time to look again at internal governance - the role and composition of the Executive Committee, its accountability and the functions of the office holders. We will also look at how

we can engage with and represent members who cannot easily get to meetings and other events. In this, we are particularly conscious of the needs of overseas members. Crucial to our future success is our use of information technology and the internet. We already have an excellent website, but it needs to be maintained on a permanent and ongoing basis to ensure that it remains relevant. By far the majority of our new members are recruited via the net and it is the means by which we increasingly make our presence felt. In the Spring 2007 edition of the Bulletin, we will publish details of our proposed strategy for the next five years, a strategy that will build on our achievements and reforms of recent years. It must never be overlooked that we are a voluntary Society. Everything we do is due to individuals who, at every level, freely give of their time, and money, to enable the Society to function. We thank you all. Richard had a very good relationship with the City of York. We all know of the emotions expressed by the city fathers when they heard of his defeat and death at Bosworth. The city regarded King Richard favourably because it knew his qualities both as a man and as a leader. If anyone knew the real Richard III, it was the people of York, and the City was not backward, even during Tudor times, at expressing its regard for him. That popular history, thanks to Tudor spin, still expresses its disregard is a matter of great regret, but it doesn’t have to be that way. That’s why we’re here. We still have a job to do, seeking historical justice for Richard III. Surely, Good King Richard deserves nothing less. Thank you.

[This is an edited version of the Chairman’s remarks at the beginning of the AGM.]

The Robert Hamblin Award 2006

This year’s Robert Hamblin Award winner is Noreen Armstrong of Toronto. Noreen has received the award for her service to the Canadian Branch.

Christine Hurlbut of Toronto writes that Noreen Armstrong and her daughter Megan joined the Richard III Society in the late 1970s in the wake of a magnificent medieval celebration which the Toronto Branch put on at ‘Casa Loma’ – ‘Toronto’s answer to a medieval castle’. Megan soon went on to University (she is now a Professor of Renais- sance and Early Modern History) and played less of a role in the Society, but Noreen continued to attend meetings, many of which she hosted. She also hosted a Banquet, and has given many thoughtful research papers to the Branch over the years. She has served as membership secretary for many years, and was deeply involved in the planning for the AGM the Toronto Branch put on with the American Branch, and also the 1983 re- enactment of Richard’s coronation. Christine adds: ‘We have all enjoyed watching her knitting projects grow, have savoured her lavish post-meeting teas and home-made cakes, and treasure her dry wit ... I value Noreen’s friendship – she is a steady and loyal friend to many, and to Richard III.’ In her letter of acceptance and thanks, Noreen writes: ‘I am truly honoured to receive this award but feel quite undeserving of it, for I thoroughly enjoyed my years as secretary and keeping in contact with our members across our vast country, from small islands off the coast of British Columbia to the Yukon, and east to the Maritimes.’ Noreen’s husband immediately framed the certificate, and hung it in their office.

Society News and Notices

Minutes of the 2006 Annual General Meeting of the Richard III Society The 2006 Annual General Meeting of the Richard III Society was held at the Merchant Adven- turers Hall, York, on Saturday 30 September, 2006, at 12.00 noon. One hundred and twenty- seven members were present. Apologies for absence were received from John Ashdown-Hill, Celia Ault, Rachel and Gor- don Field, Gwen Millan, the New Zealand Branch, Diana Sanderson, Jane Trump, Geoffrey Wheeler and Juliet Wilson. The Minutes of the 2005 Annual General Meeting, published in the Bulletin for December 2005, were approved and signed as correct. Chairman’s Remarks The Chairman welcomed members, from the UK and overseas, including members from Holland and America. The Chairman then reported on another year of change as fully reported in this issue on pages 2-3. Secretary Elizabeth Nokes had sent greetings to the American Branch of the Society, and noted that we had been able to welcome Virginia Chanda from America at Bosworth this year. The Chairman read out greetings from the Canadian Branch, which was celebrating the fortieth anniversary of its founding. Research Officer Wendy Moorhen outlined the publication programme, to include the Wills project, once a firm financial basis had been secured, and to include external promotion. The website had been revised last January, economically, to raise the society’s profile. Work was ongoing on the wills project, with Lesley Boatwright taking the lead on Logge. Maria Hale had had to give up co-ordinating the Borthwick wills project. Lesley Boatwright had taken this over, and told the AGM that work on these wills would re-start in the near future. Library Carolyn Hammond had been asked by the committee to undertake the role of library co-ordinator, to the four-person team comprising Keith Horry as non-fiction books librarian, Re- bekah Beale as papers librarian, Anne Painter, fiction librarian, and Geoffrey Wheeler audio- visual librarian. Anne had added nine titles and made twenty seven loans. Rebekah Beale would provide an ‘SDI’ service for speakers’ needs for talks, and members’ study needs, identifying and supplying relevant material. She had lent 230 papers, and Geoffrey Wheeler had made 75 audio- visual loans. Jane had transferred the library catalogue to the website, to act as a reference re- source for members. Treasurer Paul Foss noted that the accounts showed a surplus, and the Society should continue to operate in such a way, needing to evaluate expenditure according to available resources. It was likely that a subscription increase would be required in due course. Adoption of the Accounts for 2005-2006 was carried nem. con. Appointment of Auditor for 2006-2007 The Treasurer proposed to seek a new, more eco- nomical auditor, and the meeting was asked to approve this: it was carried nem. con. Motion: ‘That the Executive Committee institute procedures to amend the constitution of the Richard III Society to allow for proxy voting by overseas branches and/or individual members of the Society unable to attend the AGM. These amendments to be submitted for approval at the 2007 AGM.’ Proposed: Richard III Society New Zealand Branch, Seconded: Richard III Socie- ty New South Wales Branch. Rob Smith, Chair, New Zealand Branch, had written in favour of the motion that it had the support of all the Australasian Branches, and would rectify what seemed to them a problem with representation in the Society’s affairs, in that a significant portion of the membership had no voice at the AGM through inability to attend. It was recognised that resolutions for the AGM

would need to be published earlier and thus the closing date for submissions would require to be brought forward, but in this day of electronic communication, effective use of the branch/group network should allow adequate time for publication consideration and response. He saw the suggestion as being similar to shareholder representation at a public company AGM, and noted that the point had been made that at most AGMs of the Society very few matters of consequence arise, and that therefore the use of a proxy vote might be minimal: however having the facility in place would ensure that no member was denied representation. John Saunders responded, on behalf of the executive committee, noting that, having himself been an Australasian Ricardian and being chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Branch, he fully appreciated the viewpoint of the supporters of the motion. The principle of involving the wider membership was sound, as an AGM might host up to 150 members, whereas the total membership was over 3,000. The problem arose with the method through which it was proposed to do this: a proxy vote carried the dangers of abuse and would be difficult to manage effectively and fairly. It would inevitably have cost implications and would need to be the subject of a cost/benefit study to identify if, as a voluntary body, the Society could afford it. A better way to enfranchise all members – one member/one vote – was a postal vote. This also should be subject to a cost/benefit study. He therefore recommended that the motion as it stood should be rejected, but the principle of reforming the voting procedure should be accepted, with all options being presented to the AGM in 2007. The Chairman then proposed that the motion be amended to read ‘to reform voting procedure’ substituting this for the word ‘proxy’, and the revision to the motion was seconded by Peter Hammond and carried nem. con. The motion as amended was then proposed by Ros Conaty, seconded by Peter Lee and carried nem. con. Robert Hamblin Award On the fourth occasion of this award, the recipient was Noreen Armstrong, for her work on behalf of the Canadian Branch of the Society. Noreen being on holiday, the award had been accepted on her behalf by Victoria Moorshead, Chair of the Canadian Branch. Election of President The re-election of Peter Hammond as President of the Society was proposed by the executive committee, seconded by Barbara Ellams and carried nem. con. Peter responded with thanks, noting that it had been a busy and important year for the Society, and next year, with the development of a new strategy, would be interesting. Election of Vice Presidents That John Audsley, Kitty Bristow, Carolyn Hammond, Robert Smith, Chair of the New Zealand Branch and Isolde Wigram should be re-elected as Vice Presi- dents of the Society for 2006-2007 was proposed by Phil Stone, seconded by Elaine Robinson and carried nem. con. Election of Committee for 2006–2007 Nominations having been received for the following, it was agreed that these members be elected to the executive committee for 2006-2007: Lesley Boatwright, Howard Choppin, Paul Foss, Marian Mitchell, Wendy Moorhen, Elizabeth Nokes, Lynda Pidgeon, John Saunders, Phil Stone, Anne Sutton, Jane Trump, Neil Trump, Richard Van Allen and Geoffrey Wheeler, proposed by Kitty Bristow, seconded by David Wells and carried nem. con. Date of Bosworth and AGM, 2007 The Bosworth commemoration would take place on Sun- day, 19 August 2007, and the AGM would take place on Saturday, 29 September 2007, in Lon- don. Celebrating Fifty Years The Chairman commended the successful events of the celebration, tendering thanks to those who had planned and executed them, especially John Ashdown-Hill and Jane Trump, for the Schools Competition, and Wendy Moorhen for arranging the events at the Tower, Barnard Inn, the members’ weekend and the forthcoming event at Windsor. Thanks were also due to Jacqui Emerson for co-ordinating bookings and payments, and managing the instalment payment system. He thanked all contributors to the Bulletin, Geoffrey Wheeler for the badge for the event, and Isolde Wigram without whom there would have been no Society and no opportunity to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the re-founding. She was not able to be pre-

sent, but her involvement had been commemorated at a celebratory tea earlier in the year. He thanked John Audsley for his continued support in Yorkshire as its branch Chair, and made a presentation to him. He thanked all involved in presenting the members’ weekend, including Yorkshire Branch members for manning the door, the caterers, exhibitors and workshop leaders, Michael Bennett, the staff of Merchant Adventurers and Barley Hall, York Minster and the Dean, and the membership as a whole. Any Other Business The question was asked from the floor what was the reference in the accounts to ‘Royal Burials’ and it was noted that this pertained to the publication Royal Funerals. There being no further business the meeting then closed.

Major Craft Sale at Members’ Day / A.G.M. The twenty-eighth Major Craft Sale, run by the Ricardian Churches Restoration Fund, was held at the 2006 Members’ Day/AGM from 11.00 a.m. until the start of the meeting, and during the lunch interval and afternoon. The craft stall, art and ‘grot’ stall, Elaine Robinson’s cards, and raffle, made a total of £840. We would like to thank all those who contributed items for sale or raffle, and who helped on the stalls during the day, including Kitty Bristow, Joan Cooksley, Renée Jennison, Maureen Nunn, Jean Richards, Elaine Robinson, Beth Stone and Rosemary Waxman. Our thanks on behalf of RCRF and apologies if we have omitted anyone. Elizabeth Nokes and Phil Stone, RCRF Trustees

Elizabeth Nokes Elizabeth Nokes has resigned from the Executive Committee and from the post of Secretary to the Society. Elizabeth was elected to the Committee in 1970, she became editor of the Bul- letin in 1978 and secretary in 1982.

The Chairman and the Executive Committee would like to take this opportunity of thanking Elizabeth for her long and loyal service to the Society. Elizabeth’s service will continue as she remains a member of the Visits Committee, trustee of the Ri- cardian Churches Restoration Fund and secretary to the London Branch, though her work as Editor of the Bulletin will cease with this edition. Phil Stone

Roles and Responsibilities: some recent changes Following the AGM and other recent developments, there have been some changes to the roles and responsibilities of office holders within the Society. Members will already be familiar with some of these, however some they will not. So I would like to take this opportunity to outline the details of these changes and to introduce you to the new officers.

John Ashdown-Hill John decided not to stand for re-election to the Executive Committee this year, but, as I noted at the AGM, we are delighted that he has agreed to continue in his role as Branch Liaison Officer, reporting as necessary to the Executive Committee. John was first elected in 1997, and since taking on responsibility for branches has done a lot of excellent work in developing the committee’s relationship with them. The other good news is that John will be continuing his DNA and other research activities, in addition to studying for a PhD.

Carolyn Hammond Carolyn is one of our vice presidents, and was of course the Society’s Librarian for over thirty years. She returns to the library team to take on the newly created post of Library Co-ordinator. We explain more about this role on page 69.

Keith Horry Keith, who lives in Preston, Lancashire, has been a member since 1994 and in 2004 joined the Sales Team with responsibility for storing and distributing the Society’s merchandise. Keith has now taken over responsibility for the non-fiction books library; see page 69 for further details.

Lynda Pidgeon Lynda was elected to the Executive Committee at this year’s AGM. However, she will already be well known to many of you. She joined the Society in 1982, and for several years was chairman of the Glouces- ter Branch. In more recent years she has become technical editor of the Bulletin and secretary of the Richard III and Yorkist History Trust. Lynda is also a member of the Research Committee and has been a recent contributor to The Ricardian with her articles on Anthony Wood- ville, Earl Rivers. She has recently been awarded an MA and is currently studying part-time for a PhD at the University of Southampton. She also finds the time to act as the secretary of the Friends of Barley Hall.

Jane Trump Jane is retiring from her role as the Barton librarian and will be taking on the important role of Secretary of the Society, succeeding Elizabeth Nokes who has stepped down after many years of service. The post of Secretary is a vital one, which provides me with much needed support and assistance as well as being the key link between the Executive Committee and the wider membership. Jane brings much relevant experience to her new role, with many years working as a personal assistant at director level for a number of high profile commercial companies. Jane has a degree in history and has contributed a number of historical articles to the Bulletin. Jane will continue to act as the Education Co-ordinator, bringing the work of the Education Working Party to publication. Additionally, she will continue her role as secretary to the Research Committee and remain a member of the Website Committee.

Deputy Chairman Richard Van Allen succeeds Lesley Boatwright as Deputy Chairman for the current year. This post is elected on an annual basis by the Exec- utive Committee.

The responsibilities of the remaining members of the Executive Com- mittee remain unchanged but are listed below for your information.

Lesley Boatwright: Member of the Bulletin Editorial Team, Research

Committee, co-editor of the Logge Wills and Annual Report, and co-ordinator of the Borthwick Wills project Howard Choppin: Member of the Bulletin Editorial Team and Advertising Manager Paul Foss: Treasurer Marion Mitchell: Chair of the Visits Committee Wendy Moorhen: Research Officer, Membership Liaison Officer, Chair of the Bulletin Editorial Team, Member of the Website Committee, co-editor of the Annual Report and technical editor of The Ricardian. John Saunders: Strategist and co-editor of the Annual Report Anne Sutton: Editor of The Ricardian and Member of the Research Committee Neil Trump: Webmaster Richard Van Allen: Public & Customer Relations Manager, Deputy Chairman for 2006/2007 Geoffrey Wheeler: Press Records and A-V Librarian Phil Stone, Chairman

Membership Matters Renewal of Subscriptions First of all a big thank-you to all members who have renewed their membership so promptly. This greatly helps both our cash flow and administration. If you have not already renewed could you please forward your payment to the membership department at your earliest convenience. Members who have not paid by the end of the year will be deemed lapsed and will receive no further publications. We will be writing to these members in January but this does incur costs which we would prefer to avoid.

Donations A number of members have made donations to the Society along with their subscription payments and on behalf of the Executive Committee we would like to thank those members for their generosity. It is very much appreciated.

SO forms Due to an attempted fraud the standing order form has been withdrawn from the Society’s website. If you wish to pay by standing order please contact the membership department and a form will be sent to you either by mail or electronically.

Overseas Postage Supplement In the Autumn Bulletin an increase in the overseas postage supplement was announced. Unfortu- nately the new amount was not shown correctly on the membership renewal form or on the inside front cover of the Bulletin as copy for the insert and cover are sent to the printers ahead of the main Bulletin text and the decision to make an increase was made after these elements had been finalised. Could overseas members please note the new postage supplement is £6.50.

Overseas Distribution After major problems with the mailing of the journals to the Australasian and Canadian members we are now pleased to report that a new system was implemented in June and has proved successful for the distribution of the Summer and Autumn Bulletins. Wendy and Brian Moorhen, Membership Department

Society Area of the Website As announced in the Summer issue of the Bulletin, the intranet or society area of the website, is undergoing a major re-development and therefore we will not be issuing any further individual log-ons. We will announce in the Bulletin when we go live and publish a generic log-on and password in order for members to be able to access the site more easily. Neil Trump, Webmaster

The Ricardian Volume 17 (2007) will be distributed in June, and not March, 2007. As in the past few years it will be sent separately to the Bulletin in the UK but combined with the Bulletin to overseas members. Anne F Sutton

The Bulletin Just a reminder that all contributions to the Bulletin should be sent to the technical editor, Lynda Pidgeon. Contact details in inside back cover. Bulletin Editorial Team

Publication of the Annual Accounts Some members will have noticed that we have not yet published the accounts for the year 2005- 2006. This is primarily because we do not have an auditor currently. Having decided that we were paying out too much of members’ money previously, we are looking for a more reasonable option. As soon as a new auditor has been appointed and the accounts have been inspected, they- will be published in the next Bulletin. Phil Stone

Stamped Addressed Envelopes As most of you are aware, in August there was a major change to the way in which postage is charged on letters and parcels in the UK and the cost of mailing is no longer dependent solely on weight but on the size of the item. As a matter of routine members who apply for any of the Soci- ety visits, research or other events, are asked to send stamped addressed envelopes for the purposes of booking acknowledgement and for the joining instructions. Could members therefore please ensure that, unless stated to the contrary, the stamped addressed envelopes should be no larger than 240mm long and 165 mm wide (this covers both DL and C5 standard envelope sizes). Marian Mitchell and Jacqui Emerson

Media Retrospective

From Charles Walker: mouthy cardinal who would frequently hurl The Manchester edition of Metro, 18 August insults at Henry VIII from exile on the conti- 2006, ‘Metro Digest’: ‘.. and finally. Guests nent. Quite understandably, the elderly wom- attending an event to mark the historic Battle an wasn’t too happy about being executed in of Bosworth this weekend will have to have a his place; she refused to put her head on the strong stomach. Chef Richard Evans is plan- block and ran around screaming. The execu- ning to serve up a traditional rat pie. He tioner chased after her, axe a-swinging and scoured recipe books to find a recipe dating when he caught up he kept swinging eleven back to Henry Tudor’s victory over Richard times, making a horrific mess. Margaret’s III in 1485. He is planning to prepare the pie ghost is still apparently seen around the Tow- for this year’s Battle of Bosworth commemo- er, running from a pursuing axeman.’ ration at Bosworth, Leicestershire, on Sun- day. Mr. Evans said: ‘I suppose in those days From the Evening Standard’s ES Magazine in you ate whatever you could get hold of.’ September, ‘the little prince’ on ‘Prince Harry as king?’ by Andrew Roberts: ‘An historian From Geoffrey Wheeler: cannot be accused of being ghoulish when he From Dramatis Personae Stage by Stage, (a notes that William II had an elder brother history of drama through the ages), Philip who did not become king of England, as did Freund, Peter Owen, 2006, p.605, on Shake- Richard III. With such a weight of historical speare and Richard III: ‘Outraged by this precedent and the fact that only thirty percent harsh portrait, a twentieth-century group of of kings were their father’s eldest sons, it is interested persons – somewhat anonymous – only sensible to consider the possibility that has formed a world-wide society to obtain Prince Harry might very well one day be redress for the maligned Richard III. Each crowned king at Westminster Abbey, rather year on the anniversary of his death they pub- than Prince William. … Of the forty kings lish a kindly obituary notice in the New York and queens of England since William the Times and elsewhere to refute the libel perpet- Conqueror, only twelve have been the eldest uated by this play.’ sons of the previous monarch.’

From Time Out, 27 September – 4 October, From Times Books, 7 October 2006 ‘Why we ‘Heads you lose’: ‘Nick Funnell considers the all still identify with Shakespeare’ by Marga- noble and not so noble commemorated on a ret Reynolds: ‘Shakespeare’s plays are anx- new memorial to the Tower of London’s exe- ious about identity and national heritage. cuted: William Baron Hastings 1483. Highly England had just separated from the European influential in Edward IV’s court, first victim powers of church and state as a result of Hen- Hastings assumed he’d run the show after ry VIII’s reformation and Elizabeth I’s self- Edward died in April 1483 and his twelve- construction as the Virgin Queen. … Shake- year-old son took the throne. But moving to speare had to cultivate the civil servants of protect young Edward from his uncle – evil the day. Hence his complimentary reworking horse-misplacing hunchback / unfortunate of history in Richard III and his opportunism victim of Tudor propaganda Richard (later the in Macbeth ...’ III) – he was swiftly arrested for treason and beheaded’. and ‘Margaret Pole, Countess of From The Times Business, 7 October 2006, Salisbury, 1541 ‘This one’s from the “Itchy Robert Cole ‘British cheesemakers are not so and Scratchy” school of executions. Margaret blessed’ (Geoff notes ‘Blessed are the cheese- Pole was put to death because of her son, a makers’ comes from the Sermon on the 11

Mount in Monty Python’s ‘Life of Brian’). the evil image Shakespeare bequeathed him. Revelations of alleged contamination of curd But in his short reign, he divided contempo- cheese at the Bowland dairy in Lancashire raries and provoked uprisings. His death end- were illustrated by a curiously unrelated cared the Wars of the Roses and brought the toon ‘Richard the Curd’, prompting Geoff to curtain down on the Middle Ages. Fascinating other cheese related comments as per his arti- fact: Richard was probably not hunchbacked. cle on the Abbey Richard and Anne in the Ricardian Register Winter 2005: ‘Dick and From Valerie Coleman Anne, or the Double Gloucester, who thinks Tommy Steele’s autobiography was recently himself quite the cheese’ serialised in the Daily Mail, where he men- tions his love of history, as she paraphrases, ‘something in the vein that his wife will go to bed early perhaps and he will take the opportunity to see the History Channel on television and particularly watch something about Richard III’.

From Patsy Conway The Guardian 5 October 2006, ‘Traduced in Context’ by David McKie: ‘ ... another problem with Shakespeare ... Al- ready we’ve had the War [sic] of the Roses plays, and soon we’ll have Richard III, intro- ducing fresh generations to the vicious, twisted, hunchback king who killed the innocent Illustration to Times Business Report princes locked up in the Tower. You don’t 7 October 2006. ‘G.W.’ after ‘C.D.’ have to be an adherent of the Richard III So- ciety to regret that Shakespeare should have From Richander Birkinshaw swallowed so uncritically the spin of Tudor The Daily Telegraph has been giving away chroniclers. As a celebrated book by Paul free CDs of the Horrible Histories series, and Murray Kendall established, Richard of a full-size A1 poster came with them, with Gloucester was scarcely a saint, but he was Kings & Queens from William I to Elizabeth certainly not the out-and-out villain whom II. The House of York section, illustrated by a Shakespeare portrays. Since I saw that David portrait of Richard which I unfortunately rec- Hare had rewritten his play Stuff Happens to ognise but can’t put a name to (one of the not- adjust his portrait of Colin Powell to what he so-good copies of the portrait in the National now thinks is the truth, I’ve been wondering Portrait Gallery) says: Edward IV 1461-1470, whether a similar process might in the public 1471-1483 – having finally established a interest be applied to Richard III. The trouble Yorkist ascendancy, Edward IV’s second is that you can’t get closer to historical fact period on the throne was one of relative polit- simply by adjusting the lines assigned to his ical calm. Fascinating fact: Edward’s brother, enemies: Richard himself, in his opening George, Duke of Clarence, was convicted of lines, proudly proclaims his dastardliness. plotting against him. Edward V 1483 – im- But I think I now see a solution. A new char- prisoned in the Tower with his younger broth- acter could be written into the script, who, er, by their uncle Richard who seized the whenever the king is roughly traduced, even throne as Richard III. Both princes are be- when he traduces himself, might be given a lieved to have been murdered. Fascinating speech that said of the passage just spoken: fact: bones, possibly of the two princes, were ‘T’were better set in context’. In time this discovered in the Tower in the 1670s. Richard revisionist figure would take his place quite III 1483-1485 – Richard still struggles under naturally among the Buckinghams, Norfolks,

Oxfords and Hastingses who already frequent From the October edition of the magazine the pages of Richard III.’ Country Walking, which had a feature on Bat- tlefield Walks. Bill notes ‘the main walk was From Eric Thompson at Hastings but there is a small piece on Bos- From Paul Cartledge’s Alexander the Great: worth (along with Maldon, Myton, Lansdown the Hunt for a New Past, 2004: ‘The Roman Hill, Flodden and Killiekranke – an eclectic emperor Caligula is said to have made a horse bunch?). No comments on Richard, other than of his a consul; our good English king Rich- that his death marks the start of 100 years of ard III would allegedly have given his king- Tudor rule, but there is a small picture of the dom for such an equine.’ Eric comments: I well. It also comments that the landscape is liked the way Professor Cartledge referred to markedly different now, without saying why, ‘our good English king’ without qualifica- and, after getting the name of nearby canal tions – but not the echo of ‘my kingdom for a wrong, goes on to comment, “Be warned, horse’.’ though, an ongoing study is expected to find that the battlefield was not where it is current- From David Fiddimore ly thought to have been!” Details of the walk The demise of the Theatre Museum (The are on www.countrywalking.co.uk under War Times 26 September 2006) with particular and Peace.’ mention of ‘Sir Laurence Olivier’s costume for Richard III’, also used to illustrate the article, by Dalya Alberge, Arts Correspond- US Mid-term elections – Shakespeare ent, and captioned ‘One of the collection’s strikes again ! jewels’. He wondered whether, if the V&A Shakespeare seems to haunt us everywhere, in was going to put the material in store, rather an editorial covering the US mid term elec- than arrange an alternative display, the socie- tions disaster (for George ‘Dubya’ that is) in ty could step in to acquire this item, or inter- the Sunday Times, Andrew Sullivan starts off cede to arrange for it to be put on temporary with ‘The events of last week in America display somewhere until the V&A decided have an almost Shakespearean quality to what to do with the collection: Middleham or them. It’s like some ghastly conflation of the Bosworth battlefield visitor centre spring Richard II’s “Down, and down I come” and to mind. Richard III’s “Winter of our discontent” He also contributes ‘Picking over the Richard II is how Bush would like the world bones of royal homecomings’, The Times, 23 to see him – a king of noble motives brought September 2006, re royal reburials and Eng- low by injustice and fate. Richard III is …. lish monarchs buried abroad, concluding ‘... Well ask Karl Rove, the hunch in W’s back’. perhaps we should work out if Richard III is (Karl Rove was Bush’s election manager and really under a road in Leicester? Moreover, is is his political tactician) James IV of Scotland happy in Sheen?’ Richard Van Allen From Bill Featherstone

News and Reviews

Two Novels and An Exhibition: kind of books you want to acquire and to The Daughter of Time, Portrait of an treasure for their own sake as well as for the text. Unknown Woman and Holbein in The Daughter of Time does not disappoint England in terms of its production. The front cover is That most beloved of Ricardian novels, The in full colour but the coloured illustrations of Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey, has the book’s characters by theatre designer and been re-published this year by the Folio Soci- artist Lucy Weller were, I found, a little ety. For those members who are not familiar strange. She takes a collage approach and with this publishing house they specialise in utilises several photographs to produce the classic books, both fiction and non-fiction, pictures, frequently overlaying two photo- with the emphasis on quality. The format is graphs for one face – the overall effect is bi- hardback in a slip-case, printed in a sensible zarre. The rationale apparently is that Tey did size font and on high quality paper. These are not provide detailed descriptions of her char- not books you would read on the beach or on acters and that as there was a ‘theatrical ele- the train and I always feel I should be sitting ment’ to them it was appropriate to Weller’s upright in a chair and not slouching on a sofa style and background. when reading them. These volumes are the The content of the novel needs no review here but another feature of Folio Society publications is a modern introduction and this is written by Alison Weir. Weir is enthusiastic about the novel, having read it at fifteen and was ‘thoroughly convinced by its arguments, so much so that I believed it was the last word on the subject. It was only when I came to study the original sources that I understood the pitfalls of accepting fiction as fact.’ A rather obvious and naive statement! Despite urging readers to put aside the history and enjoy the novel for its own sake and observ- ing that a novelist has the right to ‘bend the facts’ or ‘even make things up’ she cannot resist writing that Tey was selective in her evidence and takes the opportunity to refute a couple of ‘suspect’ assertions. Perhaps the most annoying part of the introduction is Weir’s statement that Richard III’s reputation has ‘grown worse with the passage of time, not better’. The lady appears to be a little out of touch. This book is a splendid replacement for my dog-eared and much-read 1960s Penguin paperback crime classic. I was also pleased to note it was printed by St Edmundsbury Press, The front cover of the Folio Society’s who do such a good job of printing both the The Daughter of Time Bulletin and The Ricardian. 14

Portrait of an Unknown Woman is the fact Richard, Duke of York, and the recently first novel by Vanora Bennett, a writer and dead Guildford was his elder brother, the for- freelance journalist who recently joined the mer King Edward V. Society, and its publication coincides with the Although she is shocked by her beloved’s Tate Britain exhibition of Holbein in Eng- revelations, the couple marry and live in the land. The eponymous woman is Margaret city of London in Sir Thomas’ former home Giggs, the foster daughter of Sir Thomas and a son is born to them. Her father’s ca- More and wife of John Clement, and the story reer, however, is now in jeopardy as he can- is told by Margaret, John and Hans Holbein not accept the Act of Supremacy and resigns the younger and has been inspired by Jack his posts at court. Relations between Margaret Leslau’s theory that the Princes survived the and John become estranged, and she is drawn reign of Richard III and assumed the perso- into the dangerous world of people who are nae of Sir Edward Guildford and John Clem- questioning the Catholic faith and finding ent. The story opens solace in the doctrines with the artist’s first of Luther. visit to England when In 1532 Holbein re- he is commissioned to turns to England and is paint a picture of the still attracted to Mar- More family. Margaret garet whom he espies is in love with Clement, in the city. The pair who was tutor to the meet and Margaret More children and who begins to reciprocate has now returned to the artist’s feelings. England from the conti- The story draws to a nent, but she also has close with Holbein other matters on her painting a second mind. Her adopted fa- group of the family but ther has taken to bring- his craft has developed ing home heretics and to a stage where he can locking them in an out- create a rebus and im- building on the Chelsea mortalise the secret of estate and, to judge the survival of the from their appearance, Princes. ill-treating them. She This is a readable nov- cannot reconcile the el which has pace and intelligent and princi- good descriptive pas- pled man she loves with the bigot he appears sages. The genesis of the story will have ap- to have become and much of the story is de- peal to some members although it doesn’t voted to this dichotomy. Holbein meanwhile dominate the story and we have interesting is drawn to Margaret as he works on the mas- views of Sir Thomas More. The book is pub- sive painting and watches with concern as her lished by Harper Collins. romance with Clement develops. The day Clement proposes, and promises to talk to More about the marriage, the household is Holbein in England is a superb exhibition thrown into turmoil with the sudden death of of this dazzling artist and features many of his Sir Edward Guildford, who, much to Mar- designs as well as his paintings and drawings. garet’s surprise, is to be buried in More’s It is possible to gain the measure of the man’s private chapel that evening and her consterna- genius when we are able to compare the ex- tion grows when she sees the king is present quisite miniatures, such as those of William at the ceremony. It is now time for Margaret and Margaret Roper, with the magnificent to learn of the great secret, that Clement is in life-size portraits.

The exhibition is organised into eight sec- the meeting between Christ and Mary Magda- tions, each occupying a room. It begins with len at the resurrection where the artist his first visit to England in 1526-28 which I ‘beautifully depicts the natural light of dawn found of particular interest as it contained the gradually brightening the deep blue night design and composition of the More family sky’. The final section, ‘The Art of Illusion’, group made in 1526-7 and drawings of seven was dominated by the charming full-length of the sitters. The design is annotated with painting of Christina of Denmark, Duchess of changes, some of which are shown in the Milan, a candidate for being wife number drawings and others are incorporated into the four of Henry VIII, a fate she fortunately copy of this lost painting and attributed to avoided but the king liked the portrait well Rowland Lockey. The next section was enti- enough to retain it in his collection. tled ‘London 1532-43: Court and City’ and A fascinating exhibition, although I re- for me the outstanding exhibit was a black gretted there were not more larger canvasses and coloured chalk drawing of Sir John God- such as The Ambassadors, which apparently salve who eventually became Comptroller of was too fragile to move from the National the Royal Mint. Although handsome, he had a Gallery, and the Lockey. However, this exhi- shifty look that made him repellent. Another bition is recommended, and will run at Tate drawing, thought to be Anne Boleyn, showed Britain until 7 January 2007. an attractive face and one which we could Wendy Moorhen understand Henry VIII falling in love with but no painted portrait has survived. After view- Review of The Blakburns in York ing the paintings and drawing of the courtiers Nicholas Blakburn was a leading merchant of and officers I had the vivid feeling that I York in the early fourteenth century. He would have no trouble recognising the char- came originally from Blackburn in Lancashire acters that walked, and stalked, the palaces of and reached York via Richmond. He was a Whitehall and Greenwich. The fourth section merchant of the (wool) Staple and a member displayed Holbein’s royal portraits and in- of the Corpus Christi guild. He was Lord clude the charming painting of young Prince Mayor of York in 1412. The Blakburns lived Edward (the future Edward VI) and a chalk in the parish of All Saints North Street and drawing which may have been the basis for worshipped in that church, although Nicholas the oil. The former was loaned by National asked to be buried in the Minster. The two Gallery of Art, Washington, and the latter is windows in All Saints which Nicholas, (and from the Royal Collection and it is rather probably his third son, also Nicholas), gave to poignant to see them re-united, although not a the church are still there. The east window unique occurrence in this major exhibition. shows both Nicholas senior and junior and Holbein’s wall painting for the Privy Cham- their wives and the other shows six corporal ber at Whitehall Palace was destroyed in the acts of mercy. 1698 fire but the copy by van Leemput was This book consists Latin transcripts with exhibited together with the life-size cartoon English translations of the wills of Nicholas, showing the left-hand side of the wall paint- his wife and of various other friends and de- ing with Henry VIII in all his strutting mag- scendants. Nicholas’s will is long and de- nificence and the languishing figure of Henry tailed. It includes many charitable bequests VII with an enigmatic expression on his face. and details of his lands and property in York. However, my favourite image of Henry VIII The will of Nicholas’s wife Margaret is was in the ‘Workshop and Legacy’ section, equally long with bequests of clothing and where a chalk drawing seemed to perfectly ornaments and household items. Both of encapsulate the nastiness of the man with his them are marvellous examples of what medie- small mean mouth. Holbein is of course re- val wills can tell us of life and beliefs in the membered as a portraitist but the Catholic middle ages and will be of great interest to England, Protestant England section included members, particularly those who have worked Noli me Tangere, an enchanting painting of on either of our will transcription projects.

Appendices in this book describe the Tim Sutherland, Honorary Research Fellow Blakburn windows and also the illuminated in Battlefield Archaeology at the University manuscript book of Hours known as the Bol- of Bradford. One of Tim’s early tasks was to ton Hours in the Minster, which is probably investigate the historical landmarks associat- associated with the family of John Bolton ed with Towton, including tumuli and other who married Nicholas’s daughter Alice. sites traditionally supposed to represent mass It is available from Ann Rycraft, The Lat- graves. His conclusions, presented in the sec- in Project, Centre for Medieval Studies, The ond paper of the day, challenge or disprove a King’s Manor, York YO1 7EP, or from Bar- number of these long-held assumptions. ley Hall if you are in York. It costs £9.50 Fieldwork has indicated that tumuli around (plus £1.50 p&p). The Blakburns of York is an the battlefield are of prehistoric origin; other excellent book. ‘graves’ appear to be geological anomalies or, Peter Hammond in one case, a Romano-British enclosure; while the head of Dacre’s Cross may derive from a medieval boundary marker or preacher’s cross. The only landmark that seems to Conference Review: Towton: the have any genuine relationship to the battle is, largest and bloodiest battle ever ironically, the most ephemeral: the site of the fought in England? burr tree where Lord Dacre is believed to On 4 October 2006, a large audience gath- have died. ered in the Yorkshire Museum’s Tempest This point was expanded in the following Anderson Hall to hear the latest results of the paper, jointly presented by Tim Sutherland ongoing Towton Battlefield Archaeology and metal-detector specialist Simon Richard- Survey project. son. Tim and Simon represent a highly fruit- The opening address of this eagerly- ful collaboration between professional ar- awaited tenth-anniversary conference was chaeologists and detectorists, and their work delivered by Graeme Rimer, Keeper of Weap- stands as an exemplar to the irresponsible ons at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. Graeme treasure hunting and ‘nighthawk’ fraternities. referred to TBAS’s important early work on Together they have developed a painstaking the mass grave discovered at Towton Hall in methodology for battlefield survey, in the 1996, made famous in Channel 4’s Secrets of process exposing the shortcomings and inac- the Dead series, and announced that next year curacies of the GPS system frequently used Oxbow will publish a second edition of the for pinpointing find-spots in the field. Among excavation report likewise entitled Blood Red the most significant of their findings is a large Roses. concentration of metal objects including ar- Osteologist Malin Holst then reviewed the rowheads, sword components and harness skeletal evidence uncovered in 1996: the re- fittings in the vicinity of Dacre’s Tree, sug- mains of at least 36 individuals crammed into gesting that this area did indeed form some a single pit, mostly in a west-east or east-west focal point for the combat on Palm Sunday (i.e. Christian) alignment, with one body 1461. placed north-south to fill in a gap at the top of Leading on from this, Dr David Starley, the grave. The grave group consisted of males Science Officer at the Royal Armouries, gave aged between 16 and 46 or over, with clearly some insights into the metallurgy and tech- identifiable battle wounds including sword nology of the Towton arrowheads. Analysis cuts and war-hammer injuries; their bones has shown that a common arrowhead used in indicated that many had strenuous physical the battle (a triangular, broad-headed form) occupations, while the presence of healed was made by an unusual process, with the wounds suggested that some were battle vet- blades being attached to the socket by braz- erans. ing. This raises the interesting possibility that This exciting find catalysed an intensive the ‘Towton’ arrowheads represent an early programme of archaeological research led by form of mass production, with a smith forging

blades and sockets in the normal way, and a interpretation of the events of 29 March 1461, team of workers brazing the components to- was the most controversial presentation of the gether at smaller hearths. day. Tim combined historical and archaeolog- After lunch, Tim Sutherland opened the ical evidence to argue that the numbers of afternoon session with a thrilling revelation: both participants and casualties at Towton TBAS has located one or more of the mass could have been grossly inflated by Yorkist graves that were subsequently opened at propaganda, and may not in fact have been Richard III’s command for the remains to be significantly higher than the figures recorded re-interred in consecrated ground. Situated in for other Wars of the Roses battles. He also the vicinity of Dacre’s Tree, one pit contained put forward a persuasive theory to account for the small bones (fingers, toes, vertebrae and a apparent discrepancies and contradictions in few articulated fragments) that would typical- the historical record, suggesting that the battle ly be left behind after a mass exhumation; now known as Towton actually encompassed close by, a second likely grave pit remains to the preceding actions at Ferrybridge and be excavated. Tim also discussed the latest Dintingdale, the whole being fought within a findings from the environs of Towton Hall, much tighter time-frame than most historians suggesting that Richard III’s vanished chantry assume. This is based on the medieval day chapel does not lie on Chapel Hill but in beginning at 6 a.m. with Prime, rather than Chapel Garth, within the Hall’s gardens. His being the period from midnight to midnight as presentations included video footage of a day is perceived in the modern world. Sad- TBAS’s most recent investigations, including ly, the necessity to vacate the Yorkshire Mu- the discovery of further human remains im- seum at 5 p.m. put a premature end to the mediately adjacent to and within Towton Hall lively debate which could otherwise have itself. continued for hours. The following paper by Malin Holst gave Thanks and congratulations are due to all a moving picture of the lives and deaths of the speakers at this excellent and thought- individuals found within a short distance of provoking conference, and especially to the the 1996 mass grave. Two skeletons lie with organisers Tim Sutherland and Simon Rich- their upper bodies inaccessibly buried under ardson. Their work is at last beginning to re- the Hall’s foundations, while other communal solve the abounding mysteries concerning the and single inhumations have been excavated Battle of Towton – and it is to be hoped that from beneath the dining room floor. The latter in future, the TBAS will be able to answer include a group of four males carefully in- many more of the questions still remaining terred in an east-west orientation, bearing regarding the course of events on Palm Sun- signs of hereditary disease suggesting that day 1461. they may come from the same family. Of the Helen Cox, Towton Battlefield Society single inhumations (which appear to have been placed close to mass graves, inviting speculation that they may represent the lead- ‘A-level is useless’ says television ers of discrete household or military units), historian one man had flat stones placed on his shoul- Television historian David Starkey has ders like epaulettes, possibly to hold his head launched a fierce attack on history A-levels. in an upright position, with a nearby assem- Speaking before the recent release of the film blage of stones that may have been the foot- ‘The History Boys’ written by Alan Bennett, ings of a grave marker. Malin again identified Starkey said history teaching at A-level was signs of leg inflammation, spinal deformities fragmented and subjects were often taught in and dental problems, a poignant reminder that isolation leaving students with no understand- many of the combatants at Towton must have ing of what happened before or afterwards. suffered from chronic aches and pains before Academic and writer, Dominic Sandbrook, meeting their deaths on the field. commenting on both the film and history said Tim Sutherland’s closing paper, a re- that one of the lines that always brings the

house down is when one of the schoolboys debate among academics and members of the from the film says ‘How do I define history ? public more than 500 years after his death’. its just one ******* thing after another’. Postscript: The journalist, York Membery, Dominic continues ‘It may bring the house has also written about, in the Journal of Lib- down but it’s dead wrong’. History is more eral History, the predicament of the archive at than a succession of dates and events; it is the St Deiniol, Hawarden, North Wales, which very depth and texture of the human experi- houses the country’s foremost residential li- ence, the foundation on which we build our brary. This is the collection of books accumu- fleeting lives. And in the 21st century when lated by four-times prime minister William we are beset by challengers from every corner Gladstone. The roof of the library needs re- of the globe, the importance of history has pair and refurbishment and although part of rarely been more obvious. But thanks to a the cost is being met by the Lottery Heritage blinkered curriculum and twisted priorities, Fund, there is still a half-million pound short- we are producing generations of schoolchil- fall. St Deiniol’s was the venue of the Socie- dren with a weaker grasp of global history ty’s second research weekend in 1992 than ever. (Researching Medieval People), and is still ‘No subject offers a better introduction to remembered by participants, for many rea- the heights and depths of the human charac- sons, not least of which because it relegated ter, from Alfred’s wisdom and Newton’s bril- those members with special dietary require- liance to the idealism of the Chartists and the ments to their own exclusive table! courage of Churchill’. Wendy Moorhen Richard Van Allen

BBC History Magazine: Guilty As- Barley Hall: A Medieval Pilgrimage sassin or Assassinated Character? Sponsorship money is still coming in but to Following the furore of Michael Hicks’ arti- date the ‘Pilgrims’ have raised £2600 for the cle in BBC History Magazine on Richard III Hall. My contribution to the total currently and his presentation of him as the ‘incestuous stands at £325. I would like to thank the fol- king’, the Society’s Public Relations Officer, lowing for generously sponsoring me.

Richard Van Allen, opened a dialogue with the magazine’s editor, Dr David Musgrove, Lesley Boatwright – John Carlin – Maria which resulted in BBC History commission- Hale – Carol Hall – Peter and Carolyn Ham- ing an article about Richard by freelance jour- mond – Peggy Martin – Annabel Morris – nalist and writer, York Membery, which will Anne Naylor – Fiona Price – Judith Ridley – appear in the December issue of the maga- Phil Stone – Jeanette Underhill – Yorkshire zine. Rather than looking too deeply into the Branch. story of Richard and the ‘crimes’ attributed to him, the article concentrates on Richard’s Can any outstanding sponsorship please be reputation. As well as consulting Richard Van sent to me at the address inside the back cov- Allen, the writer interviewed Joe Ann Ricca er. Cheques should be made payable to The of the Richard III Foundation Inc and Michael Barley Hall Trust. Anyone wishing to make a Bennett, actor and curator of the Richard III donation to the Hall can also do the same. If Museum in York. All three promote a posi- anyone would like to follow in our foot-steps, tive image of Richard and Membery con- there is a booklet for sale at the Hall detailing cludes that the ‘most remarkable thing is that the route. he (Richard) continues to provoke such fierce Lynda Pidgeon

Celebrating 50 Years:

MEMBERS’ WEEKEND AND AGM, YORK

Friday 29 September received B+?++ (quite good, but could do Lecture at the Hospitium better). A more purposeful approach began ten years later, when by a lucky chance he As an entirely appropriate start to the Socie- came across a fifteenth-century roll of Rich- ty’s 50th anniversary celebration weekend, a mondshire gentry in receipt of fees from the large number of Ricardians gathered on the Lordship of Middleham. This had been bound Friday evening at the medieval Hospitium in upside down into another book as its flyleaf, York to hear Professor Tony Pollard talk and it led him to an interest in Richard III. about his personal journey with Richard III. He was still in touch with Charles Ross, Chairman Phil Stone opened the proceedings and often met him with Keith Dockray for an before handing over to the research officer to exchange of ideas and a pint or two. In the introduce the speaker. 1970s there was very little Professor Pollard, who modern historiography about recently retired as Profes- Richard and the North, and in sor of Medieval History at time these discussions led to Teesside University, will Professor Pollard’s 1977 arti- be well known to Society cle in the Journal of Medieval members for his publica- History, ‘The Tyranny of tions on Ricardian history Richard III’. Although his and as a popular and enter- ideas were subsequently taining speaker. He has somewhat plagiarised by oth- himself been a member of ers, Professor Pollard was the Society for nearly quite relaxed about this, as he twenty years, although he had himself used ideas from described himself as ‘not a Ross and Dockray. As he full believer’. remarked, historians after all are hungry for He told us that he had originally intended promotion and power. ‘Academics, like the to speak about Richard, but had begun to feel sons of the Duke of York, will stop at nothing that, after thirty years studying Richard’s fif- to get their own way.’ teen-year career, he probably had little useful He had continued with his work on the left to say. He had decided therefore to talk North Yorkshire gentry, as did other histori- about his own intellectual journey, and about ans, each working in their own specialist are- the current state of Ricardian studies. as. The 1970s saw the beginning of the appli- Professor Pollard’s own interest in Rich- cation of modern research methods to the ard had begun, as he told us, when he wrote subject, in particular the use of family rec- an undergraduate essay for Charles Ross with ords. He paid tribute to Charles Ross, whose the title ‘Was Richard III the malignant mon- influence in this respect he felt had not re- ster of history?’, for which he thought he had ceived due credit, since others had completed

and published their work whilst Ross was still writing his Richard III. During the 1980s, Professor Pollard had branched out, organising a conference on Richard III and the North, curating an exhibition at Middleham with Peter Hibbert of The Old School Arts Centre, and taking part in a debate at the Oxford Union with the Duke of Gloucester, Keith Dockray and Jeremy Potter. Most notably, he appeared for the prosecution at the televised Trial of Richard III, and he amused us all with his description of Richard du Cann’s cross examination of his fellow prosecution witness, Dr David Starkey. They Professor Tony Pollard lost! He took part in several debates with Jer- emy Potter, who he said always won, and had sources left to explore in this country or in talked to Ricardian groups all over the world. Europe. He also said that the Woodville fami- He was glad to say that the Richard III Socie- ly should not always be treated as one unified ty had always showed great forbearance with entity, but that some of them may have his apostasy. aroused more antipathy than others, such as At this moment, he doubted that there was the marquis of Dorset. We had been treated to much more new to be said about Richard III. a stimulating, thought-provoking and very In the past, there had only been a debate entertaining lecture, and certainly one which about Richard’s reputation, rather than inten- gave us food for further thought and discus- sive study, and the debate had been largely sion. fostered by the Society. However, the great Outside, the weather had turned wet and surge of research by academic historians be- windy as members made their way to Barley tween 1970 and 1990 had produced several Hall for post-lecture drinks. Mulled wine, major works which radically changed the way wines and beers awaited us. We were encour- Richard was seen. A lot of work by Society aged to look around the hall, and congregated members had contributed to this, as well as in the Great Hall, which was candlelit and that of cutting-edge historians like Rosemary looking truly medieval. The evening was an Horrox. Perhaps, in two or three generations atmospheric start to our celebrations. to come, there might be another fruitful peri- Jacqueline Simpson od. He professed himself amazed that, despite all the work done in the last fifty years, there was still no popular awareness that Richard Saturday 30 September was not a monster. Why had the message not Members’ Day & AGM yet got across to the public? He was frequent- Saturday dawned bright and clear after the ly telephoned by TV researchers (‘usually rain of the previous evening and at 10.30 a.m. women, unfortunately’) who had just had the the doors opened on the guildhall of the Mer- bright idea of doing a programme suggesting chant Adventurers’ guild, founded in 1357. Richard was not as black as he was painted. We were met by the chairman of the York- Alan Sutton had told him that there was a shire Branch, John Audsley, a Society vice- market for a new book on Richard every year, president, and the reception was manned by but still the old image persisted. members of the branch, Nicky Bland and During the subsequent questions, Profes- Mary O’Regan, who easily took us through sor Pollard agreed that there may still be fresh the ‘formalities’. Our ‘base’ for the non- perspectives to find on the period, but felt that formal proceedings was the Undercroft, it would need substantial new documents to which was used as a hospital from 1373 until come to light first, and that there were few 1900, fulfilling one of the guild’s functions as

who were demonstrating various aspects of medieval life. They had set out a most interesting display demonstrating a knight’s arms and armour, calligraphy, various medieval items and what can only be described as medieval snacks. Paul dressed up in a full harness (a suit of armour to the uninitiated) ably assisted by Alex, and proceeded to demonstrate just how mobile a knight could be when fully armed, which attracted a lot of attention and questions too. Alex meanwhile was demonstrating calligraphy, using vellum, as The Merchant Adventurers’ Hall well as talking about medieval food. Interest- being a charitable organisation. At the end of ingly Alex has been also been involved with the Undercroft was the chapel, restored dur- arms and armour, has her own harness, and ing the reign of Charles II, which was a quiet has actually participated in a number of re- oasis we could visit. There were the usual enactment engagements. attractions we have come to expect, stalls As an indication of the enthusiasm that supporting the work of the RCRF (Ricardian these two have for the medieval period they Churches Restoration Fund) selling the leg- have actually made their own harnesses to a endary ‘grot’ with Kitty Bristow, another very professional standard, a task which is society vice-president, doing her usual ‘hard- usually only undertaken by a highly skilled sell’. Definitely non-grot were Elaine Robin- armourer. These activities are not just a hob- son’s hand-made Christmas cards, a snip at by for these two as they are both involved in 50p a card. Not surprisingly there were few the pursuit of history with their regular jobs, left by mid-afternoon. The local branch had both being archaeologists. Paul works as a an excellent sales stall of both artefacts and curator for a local museum in Coventry whilst books with Pauline Pogmore promoting her Alex maintains records of old documents. recent publication Who’s Who in the Wars of Both Paul and Alex expressed an interest in the Roses as well as the full range of Rosalba joining the Society and their know-ledge and Press publications. Across the way was the expertise will be a boon. Society sales stall of merchandise and books The Undercroft soon swelled with mem- published by the Society and the Richard III bers and just before noon we were ushered Yorkist and History Trust and manned by upstairs to the Great Hall for the AGM which members of the Committee who were also lasted a little under an hour and a half and talking to members about research and the which saw John Audsley, on his home patch, website. In lieu of a library auction this year acknowledged for his service to the Society. there was a sale of library duplicate books, a (minutes of the AGM are printed on pp. 5 – pruning exercise before the non-fiction library 7). leaves Surrey for Lancashire. Completing the A number of members had opted to have line-up was the membership department the buffet lunch served in the Undercroft and manned by treasurer Paul Foss and member- thankfully there were sufficient chairs for ship manager Brian Moorhen who seemed to members to sit down and relax with their be doing a brisk trade in membership renew- food. Others decided to visit the local cafes or als. The Undercroft was personalised by the restaurants in the city but by 2 p.m. the Un- Society with the display of the posters drawn dercroft began to buzz as members returned by schoolchildren for the poster competition for the afternoon workshops. Our reception run earlier in the year. area was transformed into a music workshop A welcome addition to the AGM attrac- led by Paul Leigh of Trouvère and supported tions was a re-enactment duo called Guard- by his partner, Gill Page, the former manager robe, made up of Paul and Alex Thompson, of Barley Hall. Trouvère are a group of musi-

tence. She then handed out vocabulary and phrase sheets, and showed the groups how to draw up their wills in Latin. Richard Van Allen

York Minster Tour To round off our Saturday afternoon in York, arrangements had been made for members to visit the wonderful Minster, with its spectacu- lar architecture. This proved so popular that we were allocated to three separate groups, so this report relates what we saw with our guide, Bryan Seymour, who rather put us in The Undercroft, Merchant Adventurers’ Hall mind of Sir John Gielgud with a pony-tail, but whose love and knowledge of the building cians specialising in medieval music and have clearly shone through. Bryan gave us consid- entertained the Society at numerous events in erable information about the history of the York. This was the first of three appearances Minister, but to repeat all of it would proba- over the weekend. Space was obviously at a bly fill the Bulletin and much is already well premium and it was a little disconcerting as known to members so we have focussed on a the area was the thoroughfare for entry into few of the more ‘quirky’ anecdotes. and out of the building but this did not detract Our arrival at the Minster coincided with from our enjoyment and appreciation of the its re-opening to the public following a pri- session. vate service, so we were all able to feel very Each workshop was run twice and there superior as we were escorted past the long was much to-ing and fro-ing as members queues. moved on to their next activity. The catering We entered via the South Door, which is area was transformed into a display of medie- now the main public entrance to the building, val costumes (see Letter from America for a a recent change from the West End. Bryan review of this workshop). Either side of the advised us that the change was not popular chapel were the remaining two workshops, with guides and we also agreed that the im- Latin and Palaeography. pact on entering the building is reduced by Moira Habberham ran the palaeography. the new arrangements. In the short period available, Moira gave the Our tour started in the Choir, where we students photocopies of handwritten alphabets were given a brief history. The Minster is the and the most commonly-used abbreviation largest medieval Gothic cathedral in northern symbols, and showed them how to tackle the Europe. It was started in 1220 and took 272 reading of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century years to complete, by contrast with its Nor- manuscripts. Skill in palaeography demands man forerunner which was built in 20 years. practice, and it was hoped the students would The site was also the location of three previ- take their work away with them and persevere ous Saxon churches, the earliest of which with what were quite difficult pieces of lan- dated to 627 AD. The cathedral is dedicated guage and handwriting. [Details of the Socie- to St Peter, hence the crossed keys symbol ty’s Palaeography by Post course are to be throughout. The original intention was to found on p. 86 of this Bulletin.] modernise the Norman cathedral and styles Lesley Boatwright conducted the Latin used vary from Early English to Decorated. In sessions, in which she described how, like 1407, the central tower collapsed and was most 2,000-year-old European languages, its rebuilt along with the East End in the Perpen- technique was to change the end of a word dicular style: thus the building is representa- according to the job it was doing in the sen- tive of a wide range of styles of medieval

in York?). He was paid the then princely sum of £46 plus a £10 bonus for his work: £25 would have bought a good size manor house – how times and values have changed. The entire East End is in a dire state, as any of you who have seen the recent BBC1 series will know. Conservation work is likely to last 10-12 years at a cost of around £23m (£8–10m of which will be spent on the east window alone). It is possible to buy a stone for around £600 and the Friends of Richard III have purchased two which will be carved with the initials of Richard, Anne and Ed- ward. We were challenged to match this – not sure whether this was entirely tongue in cheek.[*] Before we left the Choir, we were told about the 1829 fire, started by one Jonathan Martin, who took a dislike to the organ and one night started a bonfire beneath the casing. The resultant inferno was not discovered until the next morning, by which time most of the Choir had been destroyed. Fixtures and fittings that is, not people! At the high altar, we were shown the Min- York Minster ster’s most recent acquisition, a beautiful icon of St Peter. This was a gift from the people of architecture. The tower was rebuilt by Wil- Exeter when their Dean became the Dean of liam of Colchester, Henry IV’s builder, but York about two years ago. unfortunately he failed to reinforce the foun- Our next stop was in the All Saints’ Chap- dations. It was not until the 1960s that serious el where a panel was on display which depict- defects were discovered and years of repair ed extracts from contemporary 15th-century commenced, during which they found St Wil- York City records commemorating the high liam’s remains, the Norman church, a Saxon regard with which Richard III was held by the burial ground and, at a depth of fourteen feet, city. We saw some wonderful examples of evidence of the original Roman structure, embroidery work on the altar pieces made by where it is believed Constantine was pro- the Minster broderers. There is a modern claimed Emperor of Rome in July AD 306. stained glass window depicting Richard’s Coincidentally, there was an excellent exhibi- coat of arms flanked by two boars. The de- tion in the Yorkshire Museum to commemo- signer was not sure exactly what boars looked rate the 1700th anniversary of this event. like and visited a local farm for advice. He The East Window was completed between was told that their tails were either curled or 1405 and 1408 and is the size of a doubles straight to show their placid or truculent tennis court with the largest area of mediaeval moods. He depicted one of each, perhaps as a glass in the country, giving a pictorial repre- reflection of Richard’s alleged mood swings? sentation of the beginning and end of the Bi- We were told an amusing story about two ble, the illustrations all presided over by the chalices donated to the Minster by the Friends Almighty. It was designed by John Thornton of Richard III and which were stolen – not by of Coventry who was also responsible for the Friends we were hastily assured. One was other windows in the Minster (was he also discovered to be stolen from a church in Ire- responsible for starting the chocolate industry land, the church authorities had numerous

similar vessels and had not realised it was way is a series of modern sculptures of head- missing. The other was stolen from the en- less angels, spelling out in semaphore the graver’s car shortly before the ceremony at letters of ‘Christ is here’. Finally, we were which it would be formally donated. treated to a typical piece of Victorian repres- We then moved on to the Lady Chapel sionism. Some of the ceiling bosses depict where we shown a Victorian triptych, often scenes from the Nativity and Mary feeds the photographed and a favourite reproduction on infant Jesus with a bottle rather than the natu- Christmas cards. The altar frontispiece (more ral method. magnificent work of the Minister broderers) The latter part of our tour was enhanced showed the fifteen Roses of the Rosary. How- by the glorious sound of the choir practising, ever, the impact has now been lessened as the providing a fitting end to a memorable visit. new Pope has decided that five more Roses Susan and David Wells will be added to the Rosary. [* RCRF is looking into this] Two interesting memorials in the south aisle: one was of Archbishop Lamplugh, with Gala Dinner marble sculpting by Grinling Gibbons. This is The Gala Dinner on Saturday evening was unusual for two reasons; the obvious one is held in the magnificent setting of the Mer- that the Archbishop’s effigy is standing up- chant Adventurers’ Hall, to celebrate the fifti- right, not so obvious is that he has two right eth anniversary of the re-forming of the Soci- feet. An added item of interest on this is that ety. Lesley Boatwright knew a descendant of the During the pre-dinner drinks our attention Archbishop and told us that family tradition was taken by the arrival of a number of says that he was not highly religious and he friends who adopted medieval attire – your did not even turn up for his own enthrone- correspondents were not so bold! Amongst ment. Was his journey hampered by his two those in period costume were two Richards right feet? The second memorial was to Jane (both female), a churchman (as both Bishop Hodson, wife of an 18th-century church official. She died, aged 38, giving birth to her 24th child – it doesn’t bear thinking about. From the nave we saw the highly decorated screen which has carving of fifteen kings of England between William the Conqueror and Henry VI. Because of the odd number, the central passage is not symmetrical, much to the aesthetic displeasure of the church authorities. Bryan also mentioned the massive propor- tions of the Five Sisters and Rose windows which are not always apparent from the usual viewing position in the nave. The former has some of the oldest medieval glass in situ. Be- cause of the dark coloration, many visitors ask how often the window is cleaned ... Another unusual feature in the nave is a carved dragon’s head positioned just below the clerestory level. This is believed to have been formerly used as a pivot point for a winch to lift the font cover. Today, it remains an attractive, if anomalous, feature. Bryan ended at the West End with two One member who entered into the more interesting stories. Above the west door- spirit of the occasion

from the United States and Livia from the Netherlands. The Society Chairman, Phil Stone, – not the ‘Bishop’ - commenced proceedings with a splendid Grace in Latin. Each candle-lit table was hosted by a member of the Executive Committee and we were honoured to be invited to join Lesley Boatwright. Her avowed intention was to host the table which laughed the longest and loudest and it appeared to us that she succeeded. The meal of cauliflower and coriander soup, aromatic lamb and lemon meringue roulade was su- perbly cooked and served. This was accompanied by copious amounts of wine which no doubt added to the evening’s enjoyment. After the meal we toasted two monarchs, our own Queen and of course Richard and our President, Peter Hammond, toasted the Socie- ty. One of the players, Gill Page, entertained

Wendy Moorhen, Organiser of the Members’ Weekend Redman of St Asaph and the Abbott of the Monastery of Shap), several high ranking noblewomen and a jester. We were entertained pre-dinner and during the whole evening by the splendid troop of strolling medieval players – Trouvère. Susan and David Wells The event was attended by 77 people from all areas of the UK as well as some friends us with the tale of Brother Jucundus and his Twelfth Night drinking. The evening ended with a parade of the splendidly costumed guests: this was delayed briefly whilst one came back from a cigarette break and another took a call on a mobile phone but was impressive nevertheless. Overall the evening was a wonderful opportunity for some lively conversation with friends old and new and was a fitting celebration of the society’s anniversary. On behalf of the broader membership, we would like to thank Wendy for organising this and the other events in what made up an excellent weekend Yorkshire members, Don Flear, Susan and David Wells Sharon Stow and Janet Senior Sunday 1 October 26

The Barley Hall Ricardian Fair

On the Sunday a special Richard III event was staged at Barley Hall in York incorporat- ing the AGM of the Friends of Barley Hall as well as exhibits and demonstrations of medieval life. Following on from their fascinating workshop the previous day, Trouvère took over the Parlour with a selection of early musical instruments and an illustrated music manuscript showing the recognisable begin- nings of modern musical notation. It quite made me wish I was more musical; maybe I should dig out my old recorder from the wardrobe. Moving on, we came to a stall of Oriental wares including beautifully embroidered kaf- tans and decorated boxes, together with as- sorted glassware and a selection of lamps, some quite exquisite. Next door we found stoneware in various shapes and sizes opposite a leatherworker’s stall, set out with sun- dry leather purses etc. and with the leatherworker himself practising his craft behind it. A fully armed member of the The next two rooms housed the Court of Court of Palm Sunday Palm Sunday and in the Lesser Chamber the women were in fifteenth-century costume working at crafts of the age such as fletching my head, buckler in my left hand and bow in arrows, lucetting and weaving. my right, I was ready for the fray. I can only For me, however, the most interesting add that ‘running’ into battle would be unlike- room was the Great Chamber, with suitably- ly. So, for a few moments, I was a Yorkist dressed fifteenth-century men-at-arms archer! demonstrating the arts of war. One had a se- This was an intriguing and enjoyable lection of armour and swords, whilst another event, giving a fascinating glimpse of medie- – in a very impressive black doublet and val life, and in a truly appropriate venue. wearing a boar badge – explained the many Sue Taylor different types of arrows that were used. There was also an archer, complete with An Audience with Richard III longbows of yew and ash, and here I found performed by Michael Bennett myself getting some hands-on experi- Well before the performance was due to com- ence. First he challenged me to draw a long- mence the Great Hall began to fill up until bow; needless to say, I could only pull the there was a full house. Michael entered with a string halfway. It seems boys were trained parody of Shakespeare’s Richard, hump, limp from about seven or eight years old to master and all, then quickly dispensed with this and this skill. Then the archer and his mate of- made a denunciation of Shakespeare and most fered to dress me as one of their number of the actors who had played the part. which (being of a theatrical mind) I accepted. Assuming the character of Richard, he The padded jack was quite heavy, and over told us how he was a little boy being brought this went a felt livery jacket (in blue and mur- up in Middleham when his brother Edward rey of course) and the leather belt bearing was crowned in 1461 and recalled how the sword, dagger, etc. With a sallet (helmet) on battle of Barnet had been a great day for him

boy to Richard, the Pro- tector, but young Ed- ward was already on his way to London. When Richard met with his nephew and arrested the boy’s maternal relations Elizabeth Woodville fled into sanctuary with her remaining children to await the coronation. About this time, Richard suggests, rumours began to circulate about Edward’s pre- contract with Eleanor Butler and then the possibility of Edward’s own illegitimacy. ‘What’, he says, ‘my mother and an archer – though there was some talk of an eleven-month pregnancy. Consequent- ly, I, Richard, was of- fered the crown.’ What became of the Michael Bennett as King Richard III boys? Well, he, Richard, questioned Buckingham but got no answer. Per- and how afterwards he married Anne Neville haps they escaped but Richard felt that they with whom he spent many happy years. were probably killed by the duke. Seventeen Then came that other marriage, Edward’s years later Tyrell confessed privately to Hen- to Elizabeth Woodville, ‘a great mistake’ ry Tudor that he had killed them. when he had such a wide of choice of suitable So to Bosworth or Merivale – which was brides. She did not make King Edward happy it? – where we all know he was betrayed by and he died from his excesses at the age of the Stanleys and his remains eventually 41. tossed into the Soar. Richard was at Middleham and only heard This was a clever portrayal of Richard, about his brother’s death ten days later and amusing and well acted with appropriate ges- that he was named Protector. When he heard tures. The setting in the Great Hall was per- that the Woodvilles had made moves towards fect which added to an atmospheric perfor- the boy-king, Richard started up country. mance. Hastings had already arranged to deliver the Betty Beaney

Celebrating 50 Years:

‘CHIVALRY, THE ORDER OF THE GARTER AND ST GEORGE’S CHAPEL, WINDSOR’

he genesis for the Windsor seminar the Descendants and Friends of the College of T came from Anne Sutton a couple of St George, Antony Farnath, facilitated matters years ago, who suggested that the College of although we all had to provide photographic St George would be an ideal venue and that I identification to gain access through the Hen- should talk to the archivist, Eileen Scarff. ry VIII Gate and by-pass the usual visitors’ Eileen in turn provided me with the relevant entrance gate. contacts. A possible event at the College, In the event, everything went smoothly however, was not straightforward. Since the and the police, whilst being efficient, were 1960s the College had provided a unique and friendly and helpful. The acting verger and intimate environment for meetings for those canon of the College, the Revd Michael Boag, with experience and influence in society to also took an interest and came down to the discuss some of the major issues of our times gate to see the ever-growing line of eager and their facilities were not let out on the usu- Ricardians. al commercial basis. When the Executive The seminar was held in the Vicars’ Hall, Committee discussed the programme for our an early fifteenth-century building which has celebratory year the idea of a one-day seminar been extensively renovated. The undercroft at Windsor was resurrected and I was fortu- houses the College’s archive of manuscripts nate in being able to secure the venue. The and archival material and now meets the mod- College consists of a number of buildings, the ern standards of storage and consultation. The chapel of St George, the Vicars’ Hall, the Hall above houses the library and the interior Horseshoe Cloister, St George’s House and reflects the age of Queen Victoria although smaller buildings which are the residences for some of the medieval woodwork is still visi- the community of the College and with the ble in the ceiling. exception of the chapel, these buildings are The theme of the day was not difficult to not accessible to the general public. develop; it had to be about the chapel itself, That was only the beginning. There was the Order of the Garter and the knights’ stalls now the issue of getting members into the and chivalry in the Yorkist age. Lesley Boat- College which is situated within the precincts wright’s research on the miracles of Henry VI of Windsor Castle, managed by another offi- was a natural addition and, when she learnt cial body, and to get them through the securi- about the plans, Dr Rowena Archer of Oxford ty provided by the Metropolitan Police. Secu- University was eager to talk about her re- rity was to become an issue following the search on Alice Chaucer and its connections alleged terrorist threat at Heathrow Airport with nearby Eton College and the College of during the summer and the probability of the St George. Queen being in residence on 21 October. For- During the midday break members were tunately an extremely helpful and efficient able to visit the chapel, undoubtedly inspired administrator at the College, Claire Black- by Tim Tatton-Brown’s vivid talk on the ar- burn, who with the help of a representative of chitectural history and Peter Hammond’s talk 29

The rendezvous at the Henry VIII Gate on the Order of the Garter and the stall plates. I would like to thank the staff at the Col- Society member and a steward of the chapel, lege, Georgina Grant Haworth and Claire Art Ramirez, was on hand to answer the nu- Blackburn; Society members Antony Farnath merous questions of where the various stall and Art Ramirez; our speakers and the au- plates were sited although they were too frus- thors of the reviews of the talks which now tratingly distant to be easily viewed. Howev- follow. er, for those who stayed on after the seminar Wendy Moorhen and attended Evensong there was a treat in store as we were able to take our places in the Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk, choir stalls and the chairman ‘bagged’ the seat in front of King Richard’s plate. The and an Aspect of Rivalry between service was perhaps the most fitting end to Eton and St George’s Chapel – the last of the official events celebrating our Rowena Archer fifty years. To attend a service in such a his- The first talk of the day was about Alice toric and beautiful setting is truly awe- Chaucer, by Dr Rowena Archer of Christ- inspiring. During the Magnificat, sung by the church, Oxford. In view of the title of the St John’s Choir, the autumn day drew to a seminar, Dr Archer apologised that Alice’s close and as the sky darkened the interior of story was not a chivalrous one, as Alice was a the chapel became infused with light and one selfish and determined woman. could feel an affinity with all of those who Henry VI founded the twin educational had, like us, been privileged to participate in a colleges of Eton and King’s in 1440-41. Eton service that has been celebrated in the chapel had priests, clerks and a schoolmaster for 25 for over five hundred years. ‘poor and indigent scholars’. Eton was the

first purchase of the twin foundation, and ing the French wars, and they were given to Henry VI’s 1448 will assigned £1,000 a year royal women. In 1381, John Worship was to Eton and Kings’s, with a further £1,000 to given licence to purchase the property from complete building in twenty years. Eton and Fontevrault. King’s was designed to be a bigger founda- Henry V granted the manor to Alice and tion than William Wykeham’s foundation at John Phelip (her first husband) in 1414. This Winchester. is the first documentary evidence of Alice as On 3 July 1435, a licence was given to a married woman; she was 10 and Sir John William de la Pole and Alice, his wife, to was 34. The lands were granted in perpetuity establish almshouses at Ewelme in Oxford- and regarded as part of Alice’s jointure. Sir shire. The almshouses would be endowed John died in 1415, outside the walls of Har- with de la Pole lands to the value of 100 fleur, and Alice became a wealthy widow. marks yearly (£66 13s. 4d.). There were two Her next marriage, to Thomas Montagu, priests – one of whom was a ‘master of gram- made her a member of the aristocracy. mar’, and thirteen poor men. However, there The Grovebury estate accounts are kept at was no record of a school building in the statutes. In 1448 William de la Pole was Duke of Suffolk and had become a protector of Eton. This protection was lost on his murder in 1450. Alice Chaucer had been born a commoner. She was the granddaughter of Geof- frey Chaucer, and her great- aunt was Katherine Swyn- ford, so she was related to the Beauforts – and linked with the king. It was noted that Alice chased lands in East Anglia, especially those at Hellesden and Drayton. The Pastons said that ‘she would not depart from those lands – she would rather depart from money’. In 1973, archaeologists excavated the site of a medieval priory in Bedford- shire. This was Grovebury in the manor of Leighton Buzzard, and it was these lands which Alice gave to Eton. Grovebury had been granted by Henry II to the French abbey of Fon- The speakers on the steps of St George’s Chapel, from left to right: tevrault. Later, the Crown Peter Hammond, Anne Sutton, Tim Tatton-Brown, Lesley claimed the lands back dur- Boatwright, Rowena Archer and Livia Visser-Fuchs

Vicars’ Hall, Windsor Castle the Bedford Record Office and also at Wind- Chaucer, who was allowed the Grovebury sor Castle. These accounts reveal that these lands. lands were in the hands of William de la Pole, At Alice’s death in 1475, her inquisition Alice’s third husband, by 1439. In 1448 the post mortem showed that the Grovebury mon- Grovebury lands were granted to Eton Col- eys were still being paid to her right up to her lege, with the income to go to Alice, reverting death. The Grovebury lands were then re- to Eton after her death. In 1448-49, William turned to Edward IV for St George’s Chapel. de la Pole made a gift of 1,000 marks for the John de la Pole tried to retain these lands, but chancel – but perhaps this money came from by 1479 they had been granted to Cecily Ne- Alice’s Grovebury income? ville. Throughout her life, Alice had made There was some doubt about the validity sure that she retained the Grovebury property of Alice’s claim to the Grovebury lands in the which had come to her from her first husband. 1440s, and trustees granted the reversion to Whilst her third husband, Suffolk, had sup- Henry, Duke of Warwick – he exchanged the ported the Ewelme foundation, she helped lands with Henry VI for lands in the Channel Eton. Islands. Had Henry VI forgotten he already I enjoyed Dr Archer’s talk very much. It owned this land through Eton? made me aware how foundations like Eton By the time of Edward IV’s accession, and Ewelme received some of their funding, Alice had already abandoned Lancaster. She and also how managing some of these medie- had married her only son, John, to Elizabeth, val dowagers could be in a man’s world. I daughter of Richard, Duke of York. So John look forward to hearing more about Dr became brother-in-law to the new king. Ed- Archer’s researches on Alice Chaucer. ward’s parliament of 1461 revoked all Eton Fiona Price land grants, with one exception – that of Alice

The Order of the Garter and the although the original number was 24 but Garter Stall Plates – Peter Ham- could have excluded the king and Prince of Wales. Knights of the Garter had to be of mond gentle blood and knights in rank but foreign- Peter’s talk covered one of the main raisons ers could also be invited to join the Order if it d’être of St George’s Chapel, the Order of the suited foreign policy. All knights, save the Garter. He gave us a brief history plus an king, were equal in rank within the Order but overview of knights and procedures within Edward IV’s political considerations were the period of the Yorkist kings. The Order overshadowing military ones in the choice of was probably founded in 1348 by Edward III knights and the king changed the practice by as part of a general movement by kings and moving the higher-ranked knights to stalls not to be outdone by the French king who had nearer his own. founded the Order of the Star in 1344. How- By the time of Edward IV, the knights ever, despite Edward’s love of chivalry and could generally be divided into three types: the Arthurian myth, the Order of the Garter family, friends/political allies and foreign was essentially military and religious in tone. allies. Thirty-six knights were nominated in The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Edward’s reign, nine of whom were foreign- George and St Edward was also founded in ers. Richard III only had two years to nomi- 1348 to support the Order and maintain the nate knights so his totalled seven. Surprising- chapel. Peter discussed the motto and the use ly there were no family nominations (not even of the garter as the emblem, being a literal the Prince of Wales or John de la Pole, Earl of garter binding the knights of the Order togeth- Lincoln). Given the unsettled foreign situa- er, with the colours of blue and gold symbol- tion and Richard’s need for domestic support, ising Edward’s claim to the French throne; it is not perhaps surprising that all his elec- the motto being directed at anyone opposing tions went to supporters. Francis, Viscount that claim. Lovell, Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, Sir The knights of the Order were essentially Richard Ratcliff and Thomas, Lord Stanley a group of military supporters, designed to were prominent nominations. Richard’s enhance the king’s prestige and patronage. choice of commoners was not unusual by this The number of knights has always been 26, time. Knights could be chosen for their func- tional use and importance to the king. Peter then covered the procedure for choosing knights, laid down by statute in the fifteenth century. The quorum for choosing knights was six knights and each knight was asked to present a list of nine candidates, divided into three categories: three earls and above, three barons and three knights, all of whom had to be of unblemished reputation and no threat to the monarch. The monarch had the ultimate choice and as time went on had more of a say in the nomination, resulting in our own Queen holding the vacancies to the Order in her gift. Candidates were not always elected at the first nomination but, once nominated, they continued to be so until they were elected. There have been few changes to the rega- lia of the Order since its inception and knights are still expected to erect a sword, helmet, Stall plate of Richard, Duke of Gloucester banner and crest over their stall plus erect a

ter’s overview and description certainly enhanced my enjoyment of them. Jane Trump

St George’s Chapel – Tim Tatton- Brown In his introduction to Windsor and the Chap- el, Tim pointed out that it is the later period that is best known. When you look at the castle what you see is the outer curtain wall, most of which is Victorian. However a lot of medieval building work does survive, the Chapel being the most complete and obvious building. Hidden beneath some of the Victori- an ‘improvements’ other medieval work survives. The largest bell tower in England survives in the curtain wall; originally built in 1220, it was made into a temporary belfry in 1480. It is still there under a Victorian shell, capped by a Victorian roof that they thought looked medieval. The bells are still rung today. Garter Stall Plate of Francis, Viscount Lovell This is typical of most of the castle, especially the lower ward or northern area, which stall plate, a practice probably dating from contains the college of St George. The college around 1415. However, of 800 knights elect- is a separate body answerable to the Queen, ed since the fourteenth century, we only have and is the second of only two royal peculiars 600 stall plates in existence, some probably in England, the other being Westminster Ab- getting mislaid in the move from the original bey, which means the Queen personally ap- chapel to Edward IV’s new one. points the Dean. The southern area consists of Stall plates, although of a uniform size the royal palace and comes under ‘Royal Pal- now, varied greatly throughout the ages, the aces’. Therefore within the castle area there nineteenth-century plates often being the larg- are two distinct areas of power. est. Design varied too and Peter used photos Built sometime in the 1070s, the motte of examples to illustrate the different designs and bailey castle was not built as a means of being used in the fifteenth century. The earli- control as generally thought, but on the edge est plates were the most elegant and, Peter of one of the best hunting forests close to felt, the nearest to what heraldry should be, London. Originally the Saxon kings had a whereas later plates had fringed borders, ban- palace near here, for exactly the same reason. ners and badges included. Crests, arms, mot- In 1107-10 a royal residence was built in the toes and names were all used liberally with upper ward or inner bailey. Later Henry II plates becoming more complicated and less enlarged it and a town began to develop be- attractive after the fifteenth century. neath the walls. In 1190 a bridge was built Peter ended his talk by saying that the across the Thames giving better access to display of arms in the chapel is one of the London; until then the nearest crossing point most splendid displays to be seen and that the had been at Staines. medieval ones, in their wonderful design and Many people will have seen the ‘Time simplicity, are a lesson in the way heraldry Team’ excavations which took place earlier was used in the middle ages. Seeing them for this year. This gave archaeologists the oppor- myself later, I would heartily agree and Pe- tunity to open up areas where they suspected

medieval buildings had once been. Henry II’s was rebuilt and the dean’s cloister and dean- Great Hall was located, as was the curious ery was built on the north side along with the round table building of Edward III. knights’ chapter house and a bigger cloister In its early stages the castle was not very for twelve canons. well defended. Following several sieges at the Until 1471 the canons of Windsor had not end of the twelfth century Henry III set about been the most important canons in England. improving its defences. In the 1220s work However in 1471 Edward IV decided to make was completed on the curtain walls and tow- St George’s his personal college and burial ers when it looked very much as it does to- place. This provided the canons with a huge day. Henry then set about improving the lodg- increase in revenues; they now became the ings within the walls and built the first chapel most important priests in England. This im- in the lower ward, part of which still survives portance led to great things for individual in the east end of the present chapel. canons, for example Cardinal Wolsey, who With the building of royal lodgings for the started his career as a canon at Windsor in king and queen, Windsor became an im- 1511. portant royal residence. Following a fire in When Edward made this his college he 1296 which gutted the lodgings they fell into decided that the original chapel of 70 x 28 disrepair and were abandoned. The royal resi- feet was too small. The original chapel is now dence then moved into the upper ward. the Prince Albert Memorial Chapel, and the In 1348, just before the outbreak of the shell of a medieval building really does exist Black Death, the north-east corner of the low- beneath the internal Victorian excesses. On er ward was granted to the college of St 19 February 1473 Richard Beauchamp, Bish- George. In the 1350s work began, the chapel op of Salisbury, was appointed master of the king’s works at St George’s; his building work at Salisbury made him the best qualified for the job. In his will drawn up 20 June 1473 Edward stated his desire to be buried in St George’s and specified that a vault should be made with a chantry over. His example appears to have been that of Henry V’s tomb in Westminster. Unfortunately little of the original now remains. Work began on the eastern arm of the chapel; the nave was left till last as Edward wished to have the chapel ready to use as soon as possible. Work started in 1477 and by 1481 the shell had been completed and the choir stalls put in. Bishop Beauchamp died in 1481 and by 1483 work had petered out. It was not until 1493 that work recom- menced to complete the chapel. It was not however generosity on the part of Henry VII, but the desire of Sir Reyn- old or Reginald Bray to have his chantry here that saw the nave completed. In his will Bray desired money be given to The north side of St George’s Chapel. The new addition is the chapel where King George VI and Queen the completion of the nave ‘after the Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, are buried form and intent of the foundation’. Bray

to the extent that he was Henry of Wind- sor – i.e. this was where he had first entered the world. He left it, as Ricard- ians are well aware, in the Tower of London, and his mortal remains did not return to his birthplace until 1484. Since then, however, they have lain in St George’s Chapel, and so the claims of his in- creased usefulness after death represent an important aspect One of the delightful buildings in the cloister not usually seen by visitors to the Castle. of the Chapel’s history. died in 1503 and work began immediately. Lesley explained that our knowledge of The nave vault was the widest ever built in the miracles attributed to Henry VI comes England and was completed by 1506. Work from a study commissioned around 1500 by was also done to complete the vaulting on the the then Dean of Windsor, John Morgan, per- eastern arm; however the planned Lady Chap- haps with a view to canonisation (Henry VII el was never completed. Once Bray’s money was eventually to drop this idea when he dis- ran out work came to an end. Henry VIII cer- covered that haloes come rather expensive). tainly did not intend to spend money on the Morgan’s commissioners initially took details chapel, and so in 1528 the garter knights paid of at least 368 miracle claims, but of these for the fan vault to be in-filled and the roofing only the 174 ‘more evident and famous’ cases to be finished. The planned crossing tower were investigated and recorded for posterity. was never built and so the temporary belfry of Most of these, perhaps for ease of investiga- 1480 continues in use today. tion or perhaps because they would have been Lynda Pidgeon better known in Windsor, were from the south of England. The majority of the miracles had been performed for people of below gentry The Miracles of Henry VI – Lesley status. Many more had been carried out for Boatwright adult males than for women or children and, After we had taken our lunches amongst the in keeping with the general trend of miracles shops and eating houses of Windsor, it was reported by men, a high number involved time to reconvene in the Vicars’ Hall. What accidents rather than illness. Only eight of the might be termed the ‘afternoon nap slot’ fell miracles can be positively dated to before to Dr Lesley Boatwright (formerly known as Bosworth. Lesley Wynne-Davies), but there was little The miracle stories Lesley described range chance of anyone nodding off during this from the sublime (or at least spooky) to the fascinating and graphic account of the mira- faintly ridiculous: from the reanimation of cles attributed to King Henry VI. hanged men to the non-spillage of wine from This gentle and ineffectual king had, of a damaged barrel. Her study is a work in pro- course, always been associated with Windsor gress, but already she has identified some of

the personnel from other documentary ture. This promises to be a fascinating article. sources. The story with the closest Ricardian Marie Barnfield connection is the slightly hallucinatory account of Henry Walter, one of the sailors involved in Richard’s naval campaign against Chivalry and the Yorkist Kings – the Scots in 1484. Shot right through the body Livia Visser-Fuchs and Anne Sut- with a cannonball, his wound unsurprisingly ton began to fester. In fact it festered so much Livia Visser-Fuchs gave the penultimate talk that his shipmates cast him adrift in a small on a day which had been filled with infor- boat to relieve themselves of the smell. After mation on the Chapel of St George and the he experienced visions of St Erasmus and an Yorkist Dynasty. Her talk on ‘Richard III and unshaven pilgrim whom he somehow recog- Chivalry: Knight and King’ was given in the nised as Henry VI, Walter’s little boat one fading light of a late October afternoon when day drifted into port and he was taken to hos- time seemed to have stood still. In the small pital. Here (though only after prayers to King pool of light on the desk the modern world Henry) a surgeon finally turned up who was was linked with that of the medieval, of chiv- willing to treat him, and his life was saved. alric ideals and deeds. The wounded Henry Walter is probably Under the headings of ‘Learning about the soldier of Guisnes of that name who had chivalry’; ‘What contemporaries thought received a pardon in January 1483, and the about Edward’s and Richard’s chivalry’; and naval campaign in which he took part is de- ‘Edward’s and Richard’s own views of the scribed by the Crowland Chronicler. One of duties of a knight’ the audience learned about the stories can do better than this, however, in the books that the brothers possessed, and the that independent evidence survives of the way in which they offer a modern historian an miracle itself. In 1488 a Sussex vicar, Dr Wil- insight into the ideas about the way in which liam Edwards, was set upon by three parish- a king should behave in light of these treatis- ioners, who attempted to prevent their victim es. Moreover, it is evident from their owner- from seeking justice by gouging out his eyes ship of these books that they understood the and cutting out his tongue. Henry VI, howev- contemporary concept of chivalry. It was no er, restored Dr Edwards’ sight and hearing surprise to learn that Richard had the more sufficiently for him to name and identify the comprehensive library and that it is possibly culprits. In this case, the Ancient Indictments his own writing that annotates a copy of Gui- at The National Archives not only corroborate do delle Colonne’s Historia Troiae. the story but add to our understanding of the Gifts to Edward IV from Middelburg in incident, for the attack that the miracle narra- Zeeland, and to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, tive portrays as one of pure motiveless evil from Louis XI of France, were considered for turns out to have resulted in the theft of a their relevance to the chivalric ideal that per- sizeable collection of treasures from the meated society in the late fifteenth century. vicar’s person, including a silk purse contain- The Great Bombard given to Richard and the ing 52 pearls. ship given to Edward were very different, and Another of the miracle settings for which their suitability as gifts for such persons was corroborative evidence exists involves the left for the audience to consider until the end repented suicide attempt of a London servant of the talk. When discussion returned to the girl named Helen. Thanks, according to the bombard Richard’s fascination with artillery witnesses, to the intercession of King Henry whilst duke of Gloucester, was considered. It rather than the ministrations of her distraught was suggested that this may have been instru- mistress and the doctor, Helen survived the mental in gaining him the reputation that slashing of her throat from ear to ear. Lesley caused the French to fear him when he be- has succeeded in identifying the family for came king, which could justify us in describ- whom the girl was working and is writing up ing him as truly chivalric; as Livia said, ‘at this discovery for publication in the near fu- least in the ambiguous terms of his own time’.

Edward was elected to the Order of the Richard became king he no longer took part Golden Fleece in 1468 and information has in chivalric activity, leaving it to those like been taken from reports made on him by Astley and Lalaing who had nothing else to 1473. These confirmed that he was reluctant do. to proceed in any endeavour without the ap- This short review cannot fully examine proval of his close companions, and more the complexities of Livia’s talk, which cov- importantly that he was lacking in foresight. ered many more themes than have been put These reports could lead modern historians to forward here. She compelled the listener to conclude that he was basically lazy, though command a great degree of concentration, and Livia questioned whether this assumption is her examination of Richard and chivalry was correct. fascinating. The Order of the Garter and the repercus- Anne Sutton concluded the day by taking sions that the change of dynasty presented us back to Edward IV’s chantry at the heart of were examined in detail. The fact that both his magnificent new chapel. Edward had de- Edward and Richard had unusually large cided it would be his burial place by the time numbers to fill at the beginning of their reigns he invaded France in 1475; his main support- meant that they could inaugurate not only the er in the project was Richard Beauchamp, members of their family, as all kings had Bishop of Salisbury, whom he made chancel- done, but also numbers of their friends and lor of the order of the Garter. They recorded foreign allies. The contrast between their atti- their friendship and joint commitment to the tude to the crusading ideal, and the difference chapel in the roof boss which shows them between Edward and Richard’s involvement kneeling before the Cross Gneth, containing a in the movement, was examined, with Rich- piece of the True Cross. We rely on Edward’s ard appearing to have a closer affinity with will of 1475 for the details of his plans: burial the ideal than his elder brother. Also, Rich- in the earth on the north side of the choir un- ard’s veneration for the oil given by the Vir- der the most easterly arch; an image of death gin Mary to St Thomas Becket was touched above the tomb; and above the arch over the upon, and the lack of evidence for an equal tomb a room with an altar and space enough veneration by Edward mentioned. This was for thirteen persons to worship (the poor important because the oil was said to bring knights) and for a tomb-chest on which was divine assistance against all enemies. Further- to be a statue of Edward as in life. The north more, it was believed that the first king to be part of the chapel, the choir and stalls, the anointed with it would build churches in the tomb and chantry room were all complete Holy Land. Therefore, although Richard had before Edward’s death; the statue was never the greater leaning towards the crusading ide- completed. The most telling survivals of Ed- al, it must be said that neither he nor Edward ward’s choices of decoration for the chapel actually took any action toward it. are the text of Psalm 20 running round the The lives of two professional soldiers, Sir knights’ stalls, the superb iron-work gates of John Astley and Lewis Robbersart, who knew his tomb made by the clock-maker, John the protocols and who were held up as the Tresillian, and the surviving slabs of black ideals of chivalry by contemporary chroni- touchstone; the misericord recording the clers, were presented to the audience. The meeting at Picquigny, the bloodless and fi- contrast between reality and ideals was nancially profitable victory against the brought home through the telling of the death French; the snail emblem of Richard Beau- of Jacques de Lalaing who was killed by a champ hidden in the carved vine scrolls and cannon ball whilst taking part in a siege but Beauchamp’s request for prayers carved in a who had been a paragon of chivalry. This wall in the south aisle; and the Cross Gneth demonstrated that all the ideals in the world roof-boss. count for nothing when confronted with cold, Carole Black hard metal which has no respect for them. The conclusion was, therefore, that once

Ricardian Heroes: Jeremy Potter

JOHN SAUNDERS

f anyone shaped the Richard III Society Jeremy first came on to the Ricardian sce- I we know today it was Jeremy Potter, our ne with the publication of his novel A Trail of chairman from 1971 until his retirement in Blood in 1970. He had always had a love of 1989. His achievements were considerable: history and passion for truth and accuracy, he was a first- class act. and this together with an interest in crime Jeremy was born on 22 April 1922 and fiction and unsolved crimes, inevitably led to was educated at Clifton College, where he Richard III and the Princes in the Tower. He was head boy, and at Queen’s College, Ox- found out about the existence of the Society ford. Whilst at Oxford he met his future wife, from his father-in-law, Bernard Newman, Margaret Newman, whom he married in who had written a history of Bosworth Gram- 1950. They had two children, Jocelyn and mar School. Initially Jeremy joined to have Jonathan. The family lived in London and access to the Barton Library’s resources when Jeremy retired from work he and Mar- whilst researching A Trail of Blood. Follow- garet moved to Oxford. ing the book’s publication he was invited to During the war Jeremy served as an intel- address the 1970 AGM and when Patrick ligence officer in India. Thereafter he had a Bacon announced his retirement from the distinguished career in publishing and the chairmanship during the next year Jeremy media. From 1950 to 1969 he was successive- emerged as the favourite to succeed him. He ly manager, managing director and deputy described it as ‘an appealing challenge and chairman of the New Statesman. He then one I never regretted accepting’. moved to Independent Television Publica- He inherited a Society that had solid foun- tions, publishers of the TV Times, as manag- dations, but one that needed to change and ing director. During his tenure the TV Times adapt to face the challenges of the coming became the most successful mass-market decades. Membership in 1971 stood at around magazine in British publishing history. In 900; when Jeremy left office nineteen years 1979 he moved to London Weekend Televi- later it was approaching 4000, the fastest sion where he was director of corporate af- growth in the Society’s history. In the inter- fairs. His managing director at the time noted vening years there were developments in that Jeremy was ‘a shrewd organiser, a wily many areas and a number of important exter- corporate operator and a brilliant editor’. nal factors that generated interest and new Jeremy was also a prolific writer, the au- members: the 1973 National Portrait Gallery thor of ten novels and numerous historical Exhibition and the Quincentenary years from works including volumes three and four of 1983 to 1985. Internally there was a growth in The History of Independent Television in the number of branches and groups, an ex- Britain. He was also a vastly experienced panding range of publications, increases in book publisher and was a director and then the number of visits and most significantly an chairman of Hutchinsons from 1978 to 1984, expansion in the depth and range of research and a director of Constable and Co from 1980 activities undertaken. For such an expansion until his death. Other interests included a pas- to be a success a steady hand was needed at sion for real tennis: he was a gifted amateur the helm, for growth inevitably results in player of that game and in 1994 published a problems as well as opportunities. It was im- scholarly historical work on the sport, Tennis mensely fortunate for the Society that Jeremy and Oxford. Potter was a first rate manager, bringing to

Jeremy Potter: witness for the defence, Channel 4’s The Trial of Richard III the post of chairman a range of skills and publication of Harleian Ms 433, the Leicester depth of experience. He was particularly ef- Statue and the anni mirabiles of the 1983 to fective in dealing with any matters involving 1985 quincentenary. However he was always clashes of opinion and personality within the the first to acknowledge that his success as Society. His extensive experience of public chairman depended also on the committee relations and the media was a crucial element and officers who supported him. in the Society’s success during these years in I once asked Jeremy what had given him attracting good publicity and deflecting the the greatest personal satisfaction during his bad. George Awdry noted of Jeremy that ‘He years as chairman – he unhesitatingly cited is learned in the lore, and well used to dealing the Leicester Statue and his book Good King with people, even difficult ones. He knows Richard? The book remains one of the best what publicity is for, and how not to attract it introductions to the Ricardian controversy, when unwelcome.’ both scholarly and readable. The Leicester As chairman he helped focus the skills statue, one of the most poignant memorials to and resources within the Society to areas the king, was a project very much initiated where they could have positive impacts. and pushed through by Jeremy. The amount Hence the success of many of the events and to raise was almost £20,000 – a significant projects of his time in office, particularly the sum in the late 1970s and Jeremy played a

major role in attracting sponsors, raising Following his retirement from the chair- funds and crucially selling the concept to the manship in 1989, Jeremy continued to main- membership and the public. It was therefore a tain his interest in the Society’s affairs and proud day for him when on 31 July 1980 remained its adviser on publicity matters. Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, un- When Patrick Bacon died in 1996 Jeremy veiled the statue in Leicester’s Castle Gar- succeeded him as President of the Society, dens. being elected by acclamation at that year’s Jeremy was a very formidable debater and AGM. At the time Jeremy was seriously ill public speaker, skills he used on behalf of the with cancer and it was understood his tenure Society on many occasions during his time as in the post was unlikely to be very long. chairman. He also gave many interviews for However, it proved to be tragically short; he radio, television, newspapers and journals died the following year on the 15 November. throughout this period. To many however Our current President, Peter Hammond, Jeremy will always be noted at the time of Jere- remembered for his in- my’s death that ‘He was volvement with the brilliant at dealing with 1984 televised Trial of people, equally at ease Richard III, first seen on welcoming royalty or Channel 4, and subse- handling tricky situations quently on many video at meetings. He was nev- recordings. The trial er at a loss for the right brought a ‘not guilty’ words in any situation verdict from the jury, such as when he present- and that favourable ver- ed the Duke of Glouces- dict was in no small ter with some Ricardian measure due to Jere- literature at the opening my’s performance as the of the Bosworth Battle- principal defence wit- field centre in 1974: ness. It was also helped “Tracts!” exclaimed the From left to right: HRH The Duke of of course by the coun- Gloucester, Jeremy Potter and the Duke – “Just the truth” ter-productive perfor- Duke of Norfolk at the Guildhall Dinner Jeremy responded. … mance of Dr Starkey, An outstanding man in who, Jeremy noted was very pleasant off many ways – we felt privileged to have camera. Jeremy himself also considered his worked with him.’ performance at the Oxford Union in 1983 to A few months before his death Jeremy be another highlight. The Union was debating mentioned in a letter to me how he saw his ‘Richard III – more sinned against than sin- legacy to the Society and what he considered ning’. Jeremy, together with our Patron, the to be his most important achievement. He Duke of Gloucester, spoke for the motion and summed this up as ‘keeping the Society to- of course it was carried. gether and happy … and helping it to gain a The establishment of the Richard III and new image and be seen to be respectable’. Yorkist History Trust in 1986 as an independ- Almost ten years after his death, the Society ent charity to maintain and broaden the Socie- in the early years of the twenty-first century ty’s publishing programme owed much to again faces new challenges and opportunities. Jeremy’s experience and knowledge of the However to remain together, happy and re- publishing world. He saw the Trust as an im- spectable is a combination that still matters; portant bridge to the academic community, so the legacy of Jeremy Potter is still very which over the years has considerably en- much with us, and long may it remain. hanced the Society’s reputation. Jeremy The Ricardian Heroes series will conclude served as the Trust’s first chairman. in the Spring issue.

The Quincentenary Guildhall Dinner

JOHN SAUNDERS

n 11 May 1983 over 300 members and of this Society to demonstrate that Richard III O friends attended a dinner held in London’s was a very different character to Shakespeare’s historic Guildhall to celebrate the five hundredth interpretation; to show that where he was best anniversary of King Richard’s accession to the known – namely in the north – he was loved and throne of England. Joining them were the guests respected as a fair judge and a believer in peace of honour: HRH The Duke of Gloucester, The and justice not only for the powerful, but for the Duke of Norfolk, Sir Colin Cole (Garter Princi- poor as well.’ Jeremy Potter reminded guests that pal King of Arms) and the Lord Mayor of they should also remember and honour all those Gloucester. The last three certainly have genuine over the past five hundred years who had played historical reasons for being grateful to King a part in the rehabilitation of the character of Richard. Members had travelled from America, Richard III. He paid particular tribute to Saxon Australia, New Zealand and branches throughout Barton, Isolde Wigram and Patrick Bacon for the United Kingdom. The Committee were all their work in founding and establishing the Soci- present and amongst other prominent Ricardians ety. He ended his speech with these stirring were Patrick Bacon, Isolde Wigram, Phyllis Hes- words – ‘What higher tribute can there be to any ter and the novelist Rosemary Hawley Jarman. ruler in any country in any age than that accorded Before the dinner, guests were given conduct- King Richard III by Frances Bacon: “A good ed tours of the Guildhall, followed by drinks in lawmaker for the ease and solace of the common the medieval crypt. The dinner was served in the people”? That is the truth which generations of historic and magnificent Old Library and each revisionists and Ricardians have striven to make table had an individual heraldic shield decoration known down the centuries, and in your name I made by Geoffrey Wheeler, with the menu cards salute them for it.’ Isolde Wigram spoke after written and illustrated by the artist Andrew Ja- accepting on behalf of the Society a gift from the mieson. The menu itself consisted of consommé city of Gloucester of a facsimile of the Charter of Richard III, grilled Scottish salmon, guinea fowl Liberties granted by King Richard to the city in chasseur, and lemon syllabub, washed down with 1483. The evening was undoubtedly one of the wine and followed by port and coffee. Few pre- highlight of the quincentenary celebrations, and sent would have dissented from agreeing that it much credit goes to Elizabeth Nokes for the or- was an excellent and delicious choice. ganisation of the event. The magic of the dinner The principal speeches were given by The was well summed up in the Bulletin’s account: Duke of Gloucester, Jeremy Potter and Isolde ‘All in all, the evening provided a remarkable – Wigram. The Duke noted that ‘it is the purpose even historic – occasion which those present are unlikely to forget. It also provided a centrepiece for mounting publicity for the Ricardian cause during the quincentenary year.’ There was indeed much publicity generated by the event: it was recorded in the Court Circular and mentioned in two national newspapers. Representatives from the press and television attended the dinner, and the BBC World Service broadcast an interview with Jeremy Potter the same afternoon.

Memories from the Early Days of London Branch

VAL ALLIEZ

here are three things that stand out for would have to get back on to the coach. That T me from the early days. Whenever we was not a happy run! went out on a coach trip, to Bosworth, Min- And then Bosworth in the early days when ster Lovell, wherever, George Awdry always the object of our visit was the cairn and well raised his hat as we passed a county boundary where we would hang a wreath, on a nail, at - and London branch members, it was THAT the back of the cairn. This cairn was in the hat. field of farmer B. However we had to cross I only went on one overseas trip with the field of farmer A beforehand. Each year Joyce Melhuish but it will never be forgotten. we would contact farmer A to say we were (I am sure others can supply the year.) We coming, and each year he would wait for us, were running late when we arrived on French at the gate to his farm, shotgun in hand. When soil and the driver managed to get us to our we had negotiated this we walked up the lane destination, in the dark, late at night, on un- and across the fields to the barrier between known roads, without any mishap. We could the two farms. On his side of the barbed wire not see where we were going – there did not fence farmer A had parked his cows some- seem to be any street lights at all. We found time before we arrived, so there was an obsta- out why the next morning as he had driven us cle to pass. Also the wire fence was too high through a vineyard, in the dark, but without to walk over and not high enough the get un- causing any harm. On the way back we had a der easily. Then the nail at the back of the certain ferry to catch and before we got to the cairn was only in reach of someone with long ferry port many of us wanted to make our- arms, long legs and who could hang the selves comfortable, as it were, as we had wreath without falling into the well. That was passed no facilities on the way. When he all there was - the cairn and the well and alt- found one the coach driver stopped, we hough the battlefield centre is now exciting streamed out and queued. Because we had a and well done, nothing can beat the sheer deadline Joyce came up to us and said that perseverance and pride we all had in the early everyone standing in front of her could com- days. plete their business and everyone behind

The Society’s Earliest Members

e have two final candidates for our quent year I was there when Fyfe Robertson W earliest members. Brian Bannister, interviewed the schoolgirls Valerie Giles after reading the series, realised his wife must (now Val Alliez) and her friend in the garden be amongst them. He writes ‘I knew that outside the Hall, which later went out on the Thelma had been a member of the Fellowship Today programme. of the White Boar before we were married, I went to Bosworht the year after I joined and I soon persuaded her to rejoin the newly for the ceremony at the Well (going through reconstituted Society. I then caught the bug the farmyard). This was when the newly- myself and became a member in my own planted ‘white’ roses came up with the dis- right some years later. We have been trying tinct red tinge. to work out the exact dates of her member- Soon after I joined, I attended a meeting at ship, but the only thing for certain is that she Isolde and her mother’s flat at 39 Lennox was a member when given Paul Murray Ken- Gardens when I seem to remember we heard dall’s new book for Christmas 1955.’ part of a tape recording of the The Daughter of Time from a radio broadcast. (I dragged my Margaret Styles from Harrow, Middle- mother to that event.) sex ,writes ‘I cannot pinpoint the year I joined I was also at the unveiling of the plaque the Society; the closest I can get is the late on the mound at Fotheringhay Castle com- 50s or early 60s. I joined when it was still the memorating Richard’s birth. I even presented Fellowship of the White Boar, holding what the bouquet of flowers to the Mayoress of we then called the Birthday Reunion at Cros- Peterborough. This was covered by local by Hall. Before that, however, I took my press and a photo appeared in a local newspa- mother to see Leslie French in The Sun of per. York at the Royal Court Theatre, not knowing I reckon I have been a member for nearly there was a society. 50 years. I used to love the name The Fellow- I first became interested in Richard after ship of the White Boar which sounded so reading Philip Lindsay’s biography when I secret and mysterious, but I was pleased when was about 12 and later read The Daughter of the name was changed to the Richard III So- Time. It was a strange coincidence that I ciety, so that I could be identified with what heard about the Society. I was sitting at the has become a lifetime association with our same table as Dr Alice Weissbruth in the old much maligned king.’ vegetarian restaurant on Ludgate Hill during my lunch hour. I overheard her talking about As I wrote at the onset of this series, the early a society and she gave me details. I joined membership records have not survived so I straight away and went to my first of several cannot declare a winner but I would like to Birthday Reunions at Crosby Hall. I got there thank all of those members who have taken early and attended the AGM in the Minstrel’s the time and trouble to write about their mem- Gallery (12 people attending including Pat- bership. Long may you all remain members. rick Bacon, Isolde and Olivia Wigram and Wendy Moorhen Anne (?) the treasurer at that time). I think we were told that membership had reached the dizzy heights of 200. We then toasted Rich- The photograph of Margaret presenting ard’s memory in Malmsley wine. In a subse- the flowers to the Mayoress is on page 59.

The Man Himself

THE HERO AND THE VILLAIN? HENRY V AND RICHARD III (Part 1)

illiam Shakespeare did not create the like a commissioned official life; Walsingham W heroic Henry V and the villainous felt moved to pen a veritable eulogy of the Richard III. Contemporary and near- king soon after his death in 1422; and it is contemporary commentators did that. Fortu- surely no coincidence that Tito Livio enjoyed nately for Henry, the foundations of his his- the patronage of Henry V’s bellicose brother torical reputation were laid by admirers. Sad- Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. Even fif- ly for Richard, the verdicts of his critics have teenth-century French commentators fre- traditionally held sway. quently praised Henry V’s courage, love of From the very moment of his accession to justice and valiant deeds, perhaps reflecting the throne in 1413, if not before, Henry V the efficacy of Lancastrian propaganda in embarked on a deliberate stratagem of image- France no less than the king’s military creation, consciously presenting himself as a achievements there. An anonymous monk man resolved to restore harmony at home writing at the abbey of St Denis during Henry after his father Henry IV’s turbulent reign and V’s own lifetime, for instance, commented vigorously reassert English claims to hegemo- approvingly on ‘the wisdom of his govern- ny in France. A master of the art of political ment’ and judged him ‘a scrupulous dispenser propaganda, he knew just how to win, and of justice’ who ‘made it a point of honour to retain, the support of the secular and ecclesi- treat everybody, of whatever rank or degree, astical elites and, no less significantly, of the with the utmost affability’; another contempo- population at large. Hence the portrayals of rary chronicler, Pierre Fenin, regarded him as the king in early fifteenth-century literary a ruler of ‘high understanding’ who possessed sources. For his earliest biographer, a royal a ‘great will to keep justice’; and even Jean chaplain and well-informed insider writing in Juvenal des Ursins, a supporter of the Valois about 1417, he was a model Christian prince, Charles VII of France and no lover of the carrying out God’s wishes both at home and English, judged him a prudent man, valiant in abroad; the contemporary St Albans chroni- arms and, above all, a great administrator of cler Thomas Walsingham judged him an ad- justice. mirable defender of the faith against heresy, a Favourable contemporary and near- chivalric warrior and an English patriot who contemporary comment on Richard III, by proved the justice of his claims across the contrast, is sparse in its survival, but by no Channel by winning a string of military victo- means lacking altogether. Thomas Langton, ries in France; and, for the humanist Tito Liv- Bishop of St David’s, declared in 1483, for io in about 1437, he was an energetic, just and instance, that the new king ‘contents the peo- shrewd military commander who, at Agin- ple wherever he goes better than ever did any court, ‘fought like an unvanquished lion’. Yet prince’; indeed, he added, ‘I never liked the the Gesta Henrici Quinti looks suspiciously qualities of any prince as well as his: God has

sent him to us for the welfare of us all’. The French patriot at the time of Henry V’s tri- Warwickshire antiquary John Rous, during umphs over his fellow countrymen, the sec- Richard III’s lifetime, praised him in notably ond Lancastrian was ‘a ferocious and savage extravagant terms as a man who ruled his king’; the Norman Jean Chartier judged him realm ‘full commendably’, and thereby as a harsh, even cruel, dispenser of justice earned ‘the love of all his subjects, rich and who occupied the French realm ‘without rea- poor’. In 1484 a visiting Italian humanist son’ and ‘made degrading and criminal’ de- Pietro Carmeliano eulogised the king as an mands on its inhabitants; and, later on in the outstandingly pious, modest, munificent and century, Georges Chastellain deeply lamented just ruler; the Scottish envoy Archibald the fact that, by his own hand, so much Whitelaw, in the same year, heaped praise on French blood had been spilt. Similarly, the his nobility, justice, military skill, liberality Burgundian chronicler Enguerrand de Mon- and outstanding humanity; and an entry in strelet declared that anyone who thwarted the York’s municipal records bemoans the fact king’s will or disobeyed his orders was ‘most that, at Bosworth, he was ‘piteously slain and cruelly punished and received no mercy’, murdered, to the great heaviness of this city’. sentiments firmly echoed in Jean de Waurin’s Unfortunately for Richard III, no northern conclusion that Henry V was ‘much feared chronicler chose to narrate the king’s history and dreaded by his nobles, knights and cap- or, if he did, his work has not survived. In- tains, and people of every degree’ because stead, what we have in the accounts of Domi- ‘all those who disobeyed his orders or in- nic Mancini and the second Crowland contin- fringed his edicts’ were ‘put to death without uator are southern-coloured perspectives on mercy’. Only towards the end of his reign did Richard as a ruler who was disliked and dis- criticisms of Henry V begin to figure signifi- trusted, even in his own lifetime, an ambi- cantly in home-grown accounts, most notably tious, devious and ruthless politician. Tudor the Welsh chronicler Adam Usk’s lamenta- historians such as Polydore Vergil and Sir tion, in 1421, that the king was now ‘fleecing Thomas More, of course, simply added gener- anyone with money, rich or poor, throughout ous dollops of early sixteenth-century propa- the realm’ in readiness for his imminent re- ganda and prejudice. Indeed, this is perhaps turn to France. already apparent in the Crowland chronicler’s Superficially, Henry V and Richard III 1486 judgement on Henry VII as ‘an angel could hardly be more different. Yet a little sent from heaven through whom God deigned probing beneath the surface of traditional to visit his people and free them from the portrayals soon reveals unexpected similari- evils which had hitherto afflicted them be- ties, and these will be considered in the sec- yond measure’, let alone Vergil’s comment ond part of this article. that many who came to Bosworth with Rich- ard III did so out of awe rather than goodwill, ‘as men who desired not the safety but the Reading List destruction of that prince whom they hated’. Much of the information and all the quota- Not surprisingly, critical comment on tions in both parts of this article come from Henry V in fifteenth-century literary sources my Richard III: A Source Book (1997), Wil- is mainly to be found in French and Burgun- liam Shakespeare, the Wars of the Roses and dian annals. For Robert Blondel, a young the Historians (2002) and Henry V (2004).

An Adventure in Historical Research

TONI MOUNT

s a rather mature student, I am now em- sending me, by e-mail from New York, the A barking on an MA/MPhil by research catalogue entry for the Physician’s Handbook with the University of Kent at Canterbury, for the 1999 sale. This revealed a juicy tit-bit having completed my BA Hons with the of information that, on the Introduction page, Open University at Christmas 2005 with a an area of erasure, viewed under ultraviolet dissertation on ‘The Professionalisation of light, named the author as ‘Richard ... of the Medicine in the Fifteenth Century’. Purely by City of Lincoln’ – a valuable clue I intend to chance, my husband Glenn typed ‘medieval follow up. medicine’ into the Google search engine and Fellow-Ricardian Moira Habberjam has it came up with manuscript MS8004, A Physi- helped me with tricky bits in transcribing the cian’s Handbook at the Wellcome Library, pilgrimage section, and I learned to tell complete text available on-line, in Middle ‘thorns’ from ‘y’s, and my experience with English, dated 1454. Even a quick look at the the Ricardian Logge Wills Project has proved website showed that here was a real medieval invaluable. Moira’s husband Gerald traced gem, illuminated with gold and full of intri- out the entire journey on a map for me. I am guing information, including an astrological pretty sure our author Richard had made the calendar and the unique addition of instruc- trip in person at some time. In particular, he tions on how to make a pilgrimage to Jerusa- seems to know Pavia in Italy very well. In the lem. The author describes the sights to visit fifteenth century, Pavia University taught on the journey, costs and ‘paperwork’ re- medicine, so I wonder if he studied there as a quired – all to improve the health of your foreign student. Not only is the inclusion of soul, if not of your body. I couldn’t resist the pilgrimage section reckoned unique in a transcribing the pilgrimage section, just to see medical text, but the fact that it’s written in what it said, and decided that transcribing and Middle English, not Latin, makes it extremely researching this manuscript would be a task unusual and worthy of further research, espe- worth a post-graduate degree. cially for me as I don’t find Latin easy. Other The book was sold by the Duke of New- intriguing features include a list of battles castle’s estate at Clumber Park near Worksop from 1066 to Agincourt in 1415 – what can via Christie’s auction house in 1999, and was that have to do with medical treatment, I won- purchased by a rare-books dealer with a view der? to selling it abroad. Fortunately for me, and Enquiries made to Wellcome and else- others like myself, the government put an where make it apparent that, so far as is export ban on the precious document and the known, the pilgrimage section hasn’t been Wellcome Library was able to raise funds to transcribed before, but a PhD student at York buy it in 2002 and keep it in England. Now University was intending to do so. We corre- they have digitised it and it is freely available sponded briefly by e-mail, I told her I had on the internet. If you want to view it, it is at completed my transcription already and she http://library.wellcome.ac.uk (MS8004). responded by offering to check through my Researching its provenance, Glenn e- transcription for me. I declined her offer. Two mailed Christie’s, which resulted in them days later I received another e-mail from the

said student, informing me that she had decid- the book, checking out words and letters that ed not to continue with this part of her re- had been difficult to determine on my print- search after all. So, hopefully, my transcrip- out version and on screen. Mostly, they were tion of the pilgrimage section, checked by a little clearer in the original but not much – I others who are experts, like Moira and my am very impressed by the quality of the on- tutors, will be an original piece of work that I line text that Wellcome has produced. can eventually make freely available to oth- Since that visit, I have completed the tran- ers. scription of another section of text: a poetical On Monday 25 September Glenn and I ‘treatise for good health’. This turns out to be visited the Wellcome Library in London to based on an earlier work by John Lydgate see the book ‘in person’. I felt as if we were who died c.1451, though some words and going to visit some incredible celebrity, but rhymes have been changed, a line omitted one that had been around for 550 years! We altogether and one or two other alterations handed over our enrolment forms, had our made that seem to improve the sense of the pictures taken and our library cards were pro- text. My next tasks are to transcribe the ‘list duced on the spot – unlike my passport im- of battles’ in the hope of discovering its rele- age, I don’t look like a cross between a con- vance to medicine and to try to identify the vict and a bag-lady, surprisingly. Up to the author, Richard ... of the City of Lincoln. Poynter Room, no gloves required, and there I hope to keep my fellow Ricardians up to it was, nestled in its customised blue box, all date with progress on this amazing medieval that history between simple parchment co- text via the Bulletin and Blanc Sanglier and vers. I admit, I was scared to touch it, never already owe thanks to a number of them for having handled anything so old and precious their unstinting support, Moira and Gerald before. Habberjam and Heather Falvey in particular. Gingerly, we counted folios and quires – Next year, I hope to apply for a Ricardian things that cannot be done on the internet – bursary to help pay for my research, and one and were amazed by the still-gleaming per- of the conditions would be that I have to keep fection of the gold leaf frames around the you posted. I give my e-mail address below if urine bottles in the urinology colour charts you wish to contact me and regular news up- and the way the text had been written around dates on progress with the mss will be posted two holes in a vellum folio. The parchment on my website, if you are interested. Eventu- cover is a brand new but sympathetic replace- ally, I propose to post my transcriptions on ment for a nineteenth-century brown leather the website as well. cover with gold tooling, also kept in the box. The parchment cover is utterly plain with e-mail: [email protected] white leather reinforcements and thong ties. web-site: We spent about 1½ hours working through www.echoe.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

Ancient and Medieval history books (c.4500BC - c.1550AD)

For a catalogue of secondhand fact and fiction, please send SAE to: Karen Miller, Church Farm Cottage, Church Lane, Kirklington, Nr Newark, NOTTS, NG22 8NA.

When Constabulary Duty’s to be Done …

BM CRON

as Richard Duke of Gloucester in the runs that Edward did not have him killed be- W Tower of London on the evening of cause Prince Edward of Lancaster was still Tuesday, 21 May 1471, and if so what was he alive in France. But Edward IV would have doing there? 21 May was a momentous day. had to capture, and possibly kill, the prince if Two weeks earlier at the Battle of Tewkes- he ever returned to England whether Henry bury Edward IV had defeated the Lancastrian VI was alive or dead. If Edward IV had de- army and Prince Edward of Lancaster, heir to cided not to harm Henry until the prince was Henry VI, had been killed. After the battle out of the way, why wait two weeks after the few surviving Lancastrians were rounded Tewkesbury before having Henry put to up, among them the Lancastrian queen, Mar- death? And why was the deed done on the garet of Anjou.1 Edward IV returned to Lon- very day that Edward IV returned to London? don in triumph. Ever the courteous king, and Such maladroit behaviour is not typical of the not adverse from securing the loyalty of politically astute Edward IV. Charles Ross wealthy men, Edward knighted the mayor, believed that Edward issued the order for eleven aldermen and the Recorder of the city. Henry’s death and that Richard of Gloucester He entered the city at the head of a cavalcade may have carried it to the Constable of the of Yorkist lords in a display of martial Tower.3 Keith Dockray and Michael Hicks strength and pride, with banners flying and concur.4 Hicks points out that the allegation trumpeters heralding his arrival. In the van that Richard murdered Henry was circulating rode the king’s younger brother, Richard as early as 1486, if not earlier, and it is re- Duke of Gloucester, Constable of England. At peated by John Rous in his history of the the rear of the procession came the cart carry- kings of England dating to 1490.5 The canard ing the captive Queen Margaret, the one Lan- was eagerly adopted by Tudor historians, castrian leader Edward could not kill in battle, including Thomas More,6 and the tradition but whom he could display publicly to became established until the nineteenth centu- demonstrate that the woman who had headed ry when apologists for Richard pointed out the resistance to him for the last ten years that only a king could order the death of an- would trouble him no more. other king, which began to shift the blame On that same evening Henry VI died in back to Edward IV. Henry’s ‘murder’ is still the Tower of London where he had been a firmly established in the popular tradition. prisoner, except for one short interval, since Desmond Seward and Alison Weir state it as 1465.2 Few people, then or now, have doubt- a fact.7 ed that he was murdered. As early as 17 June The mostly nearly contemporary chronicle the Milanese Ambassador at the French court to place Richard at the scene was compiled reported Henry’s death, adding that King Ed- towards the end of Edward IV’s reign: ward had chosen ‘to crush the seed’. Most ‘And the same night that King Edward modern historians accept this somewhat tortu- came to London, King Harry, being in prison ous logic. Edward IV was certainly ruthless in the Tower of London was put to death, the enough to order Henry’s death, but Henry had 21st day of May on a Tuesday night between been his prisoner for years, and the argument the hours of eleven and twelve. The Duke of 49

Gloucester, King Edward’s brother, was there bones (not a complete skeleton) were found with many others. And in the morning he was was air tight, which makes it highly unlikely “chested” and brought to St Paul’s with his that whatever St John Hope saw was human face uncovered so that every man might see hair. Hair matted with blood would not have him.’8 survived the intervening nearly five hundred Edward’s official version of the event is years, but this is irrelevant, as when the body the only account to claim that Henry died a was prepared for burial any blood, if there natural death, of ‘pure displeasure and melan- was any, would have been washed away. choly’. This has largely been discounted as Henry VI was not thrown helter skelter into a propaganda even though the overall accuracy coffin; the considerable sum of £18 3s. 2d. of The Arrivall is now widely accepted.9 was expended to give him burial befitting an Support for the contention that Henry was anointed king.13 murdered is based on twentieth-century foren- So what did happen on 21 May? Where sic science, but the evidence has been handled did Margaret of Anjou, following her public badly. In 1910 a skeleton believed to be that humiliation, spend that night? Not at West- of Henry VI was exhumed and examined by minster or in one of the bishops’ palaces. She the then Professor of Anatomy at Cambridge was Edward’s prize prisoner and neither her University, Dr A. Macalister, and a highly dignity nor her comfort would have been con- misleading account of his findings was pub- sidered. There is only one place where she lished.10 This account was accepted by Paul would have been were housed – the Tower of Murray Kendall as proof that Henry was mur- London. And the man whose duty it was to dered: ‘the appearance of Henry VI’s skull escort her there was the Constable of Eng- suggested that Henry had died a violent land. Henry VI is traditionally said to have death’.11 Macalister’s findings were some- lodged in the Wakefield Tower. Unless they what different. He described the skull as well went by water the queen’s escort would have formed but small in proportion to the stature ridden past Wakefield to reach the lodging of and abnormally thin for an adult male. Macal- Lord Dudley, the Constable of the Tower. ister also stated that the bones of the head Henry either saw, or was told of, the queen’s were ‘much broken’.12 This is hardly surpris- arrival. He had not seen her for nearly ten ing as the body was moved from the Tower to years and may even have believed she was St Paul’s, then buried at Chertsey and then still safely in France. The shock of realising disinterred on the orders of King Richard III that she was a prisoner perhaps brought on a for reburial at Windsor in accordance with collapse of the king’s faculties, not unlike the Henry VI’s known wishes. What happened to one he had suffered in 1453 which had inca- the body from that time until the opening of pacitated him for fifteen months. He could the chests is unknown. It would be unusual have fallen and struck his head (perhaps on for the bones of the skull not to be ‘much the edge of his prie dieu?) and the blow to his broken’, especially as the skeleton was dis- abnormally thin skull killed him. What would membered in order to make it fit into the have been the first reaction of his keepers? wooden chest within the lead chest in which it Surely to run and report to the Constable of was found. St John Hope allowed his imagi- the Tower that a fatal accident, for which they nation to run away with him. He recorded were in no way responsible, had occurred. ‘that to one of the pieces of the skull there Richard of Gloucester must have been was still attached some of the hair, which was conferring with Dudley about arrangements brown in colour, save in one place where it for the queen and her attendants (she had at was much darker and apparently matted with least one lady, Katherine Vaux, with her). blood’, a remarkable fact not recorded by They probably discussed what was to be done Macalister. Human hair can survive for long with George Neville, Archbishop of York, periods under certain conditions, but by St John Hals, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, John Hope’s own admission neither the lead who had been Queen Margaret’s Chancellor casket nor the wooden chest in which the and Lord Sudeley, a life-long servant of Hen-

ry VI, all of whom were incarcerated in the Historians, 1975, p. 157. Tower.14 Gloucester may have apprised Dud- 7. Desmond Seward, The Wars of the Roses, ley that Henry Holand, Duke of Exeter, was 1995, p. 6; Alison Weir, The Wars of the shortly to be forcibly removed from sanctuary Roses, 1995, p. 414. at Westminster and sent to the Tower, as this 8. Lister M. Matheson, (ed.), ‘“Warkworth’s” was done on 26 May. What would have been Chronicle’ in Death and Dissent :Two Fif- the reaction of the two Constables when they teenth Century Chronicles, 1999, p. 116. heard of Henry’s collapse? Surely to rush to 9. Keith Dockray, (ed.), ‘The Historie of the see for themselves, since they would be held Arrivall of King Edward IV, A.D. 1471,’ in responsible. Richard of Gloucester was at the Three Chronicles of the Reign of Edward IV, scene of Henry VI’s death, but he was not 1988, p.38. there as a murderer, or to arrange a murder. 10. W.H. St John Hope, ‘The Discovery of He was doing his duty, as he had always the Remains of King Henry VI in St. done, as Constable of England. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle’, Archaeo- logia, vol. 62, 1911, pp. 535-542. 11. Paul Murray Kendall, Richard III, 1955, References p. 451. 1. P.W. Hammond, The Battles of Barnet 12. P.W. Hammond and W.J. White, ‘The and Tewkesbury, 1990, p. 101. Sons of Edward IV : A Re-examination of the 2. W.J. White, ‘The death and Burial of Evidence on their Deaths and on the Bones in Henry VI, a Review of the Facts and Theo- Westminster Abbey’, in P.W. Hammond ries, Part I’, The Ricardian, vol.6, no. 78, (ed.), Richard III : Loyalty, Lordship and September, 1982, pp. 70-80. Law, 1986, p. 115. 3. Charles Ross, Richard III, 1981, p. 22; 13. A.R. Myers, (ed.), English Historical Edward IV, 1974, p. 175. Documents, 1327-1485, (1969), pp. 318-319. 4. Keith Dockray, Richard III: Myth and 14. Hannes Kleineke, ‘Gerhard von Wesel’s Reality, 1992, p. 30. Newsletter from England, 17 April 1471’, 5. Michael Hicks, Richard III: the Man be- The Ricardian, Vol. XVI, 2006, pp. 66-83, p. hind the Myth, 1991, pp. 51 and 149. 79. 6. Alison Hanham, Richard III and his Early

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Cirencester Parish Church

GWEN AND BRIAN WATERS

he parish church of St John the Baptist, and it is a rare survival of a pre-Reformation T Cirencester, has been called ‘The Cathe- pulpit. Up to that time the church windows dral of the Cotswolds’ and it is, indeed, one of were richly filled with stained glass but in the the most spacious churches in the country. Its succeeding years this has suffered many vi- handsome tower, built early in the fifteenth cissitudes, becoming damaged or removed century, can be seen for miles in the country- and thrown out. In more recent times the frag- side around and the magnificent south porch ments have been gathered together and fitted, can claim to be one rather haphazardly, of the most splendid into parts of the exist- of all English church ing glazing. One very porches. It was built special piece fortu- about 1490 in three nately survived and storeys and, over the was placed in the years, the upper west window from chambers have been which it has since used for various sec- been removed and re- ular purposes, includ- instated in the east ing becoming the window of the Trini- Town Hall for a ty Chapel where, while. presumably, it origi- The church is nally belonged. This Norman in founda- roundel, set high in tion but has been the clear glass, alleg- much altered and edly depicts Richard, extended over the Duke of York. centuries. During the Sir Robert At- fifteenth century, kyns, writing in The c.1430, the Trinity Ancient and Present Chapel and north State of Gloucester- porch were built and, Richard, Duke of York shire (1712), p.345, about twenty years reports it in its origi- later, the Lady Chapel was reconstructed in nal position: ‘There are still in Trinity Chapel Perpendicular style and the Garstang Chantry the remains of a very fine painted glass. The Chapel founded. This latter is enclosed in a Figure of Richard, Duke of York, Earl of beautifully-carved wooden screen, and por- Cambridge, etc., in his Paternal Coat-Armour, tions of fine late medieval wood carving are as large as the life, stands neatly painted in an preserved in the lower portions of much of East Window of the North Aisle, having in the screen work in the church. the Pomel of his Sword the Arms of Morti- The nave pulpit is a treasure; it is exquis- mer, Earl of March.’ Looking at the portrait itely carved from a single block of stone in a today, disembodied as it is in its blue roundel, wine-glass shape with unusual stone tracery, it is difficult to imagine it was ever a full fig- 52

ure as Atkyns reports. Lysons, from whose Antiquities of Gloucestershire, (1791), Plate XV, the accompanying illustration is taken, also says that the head was originally part of the full figure dating from about 1430 and ‘is in better style than most of the Portraits of that time would lead one to expect.’ The portrait was almost certainly commissioned by Sir Richard Dixton and Sir William Prelatte, two Yorkist retainers who certainly would have known the Duke well. In conjunction with the Weavers’ Guild of Cirencester they founded the Trinity Chapel. Richard Dixton was esquire to the Duke and William Prelatte was Receiver-General of the duke’s large Gloucestershire estates; he is described as being ‘a friend and follower of Richard, Duke of York’, (Trans. Bristol and Glos. Archaeological Society, Vol. 39, p. 207), and it seems that Dixton, too, may have enjoyed a similar personal relationship. Their devotion to the House of York is evidenced by the prominence of the Yorkist falcon and Falcon and fetterlock carving fetterlock symbol with which the chapel is so liberally decorated. tor of his will (Trans. Bristol and Glos. Ar- Dixton died in 1438 and was buried in the chaeological Society, Vol. 11, pp.155-160). chapel in accordance with his expressed wish. The memorial brasses of both men are now Prelatte, who died 24 years later, was execu- on the ‘pace’ behind the altar.

This is the first of a series of short articles describing the medieval attractions of the Cirencester area where the next triennial conference will be held.

A Ricardian Archive Isolde Wigram, our senior vice-president, would like to dispose of a collection of old Ricardi- ans - journals that is, not members - which she has accumulated. I understand that some of them go back to the 1960s. At this time, I am not sure exactly what the collection actually contains, but if there is anyone interested, perhaps they could contact me and I will put them in touch with Isolde’s cousin, who is dealing with the matter. Phil Stone (see inside back cover for contact details)

Completing the set: Henry VIII’s other wives

STEPHEN LARK

wo articles in The Ricardian deal with early in Henry’s reign and reaffirmed under T the ancestry of four of Henry VIII’s Elizabeth, were in flux in the early 1540s. It wives. The Lancastrian Claim to the Throne would not have been a good idea to suggest to (John Ashdown-Hill, 2003) showed Henry’s Henry VIII that a dispensation was required. relationship to Catherine of Aragon, both Note that Henry III was also her ancestor. descended from Blanche of Lancaster, the wife of John of Gaunt. Genealogical Conun- Anne of Cleves drums (Wendy Moorhen, 2006) illustrated the If Catherine Parr is the easiest of Henry’s descent of Anne Boleyn, her cousin Catherine wives to locate then Anne of Cleves is surely Howard and Jane Seymour, these four sharing the most difficult. I originally envisaged her Henry III as a common ancestor. Having once descent as being through the Lancastrian- been told that all six were descended from Spanish marriages but she actually descends Edward I, I was inspired to look for the other from Henry II via the marriage of his daugh- two. ter Eleanor to Alphonso VIII of Castille, his daughter Blanche’s marriage to Louis VIII of Catherine Parr France and then eventually through the Valois It turns out that Catherine Parr is the easiest Dukes of Burgundy and the Dukes of of the sextet to trace. She was in fact descend- Cleeves. ed from Richard, Earl of Salisbury, (and so from John of Gaunt) via the Lords Fitzhugh Conclusion and the Parrs, and was a generation younger The legend about Edward I as a common an- than her king – I like to call this an ‘overlap’. cestor of the wives turned out not to be true This marriage would earlier surely have re- but it does apply to Henry II. quired a dispensation but the rules, so certain

Logge Notes and Queries: Control Exerted Beyond the Grave

LESLEY BOATWRIGHT

any testators sought to impose their Bosworth, begged his wife Margaret ‘to leve M wishes on their legatees, some by en- sole and all the dayes of your liff to do for my treaty, some by granting or refusing their soule’, but he did not say that she must lose blessing, but most by financial sanctions and property by re-marrying. Perhaps he thought the manipulation of legacies. it would be enough to remind her that he had There were of course sound reasons for ‘ever be trewe of my body’ to her. Laurence imposing conditions on inheritance by a Stevens of Wiltshire (337) also attempted to woman, in that when that woman married any curb his wife’s sexuality when he left his wife property she had without strings attached be- Joan his dwelling, his fulling mill and pasture came her husband’s and was lost to her birth while she lived ‘chaste and pure’ (casta et family. Yet of the 244 married men whose incorrupta); if she re-married she simply got wills appear in the Logge register, nearly all three months’ grace to remove her goods and left at least some property (landed or other) chattels. unconditionally to their wives. Often this Some men tell their wives to be content property was the unbequeathed residue, with the legacies left them, and not to inter- which the widow was expected to spend on fere with their arrangements: Robert Bifeld works of charity for the good of the testator’s (40) left his wife considerably more than her soul rather than to put in her own pocket, but legal third part, including her own clothes and as the widow was nearly always one of the 1800 marks sterling – ‘and in caas the same executors, and often the sole executrix, she Johanne my wif holde her natt contented and could spend it on herself rather than her hus- pleased with my biquest ... but refuse the band’s soul if her conscience permitted. Many same, I will and ordeigne ... that my said other legacies, especially of real estate, went biquest to her ... be voide and of no force’, to the widow for her life, and then passed to and she is just to have her legal third. Sir the children. William Taylour (106) says much the same Only 19 of these 244 men said that their thing, even though he addresses his wife as widows must give up some property if they ‘my tru and entirly wellbelovid wiff’. William re-married. John Teryngham (will 102) hoped Nycholasson, merchant of Lynn (282) left his that his wife would take the widow’s vow of wife Margaret ‘a parcell of houshold and chastity in a church ceremony: ‘I will that yef juelles and gownes and certeyn marchandises Elizabeth my wiff after my decesse will take [and] an C li. in redy money’ on condition uppon her the mantell and the ring that than that neither she nor her children or anyone my feoffes of trust shull make a sufficiant and else in their name ‘neyther vex nor troble non a lawfull astate to the same Elizabeth’ of a of myn executours but take the forseid parcell number of manors; but ‘yef the seid Elizabeth ... and be plesid and content’. ... mary agayn than I will that my seid feoffes Testators often tell their children to be- reentre into all the seid maners’, and Eliza- have themselves and be content with what beth is only to keep her legal dower. William they are allocated, and make legacies contin- Catesby (will 187), about to be hanged after gent upon good conduct. Ralph, son of John 55

Werall, king’s coroner, was under age when with no less than I do ... And that it wull his father died in 1480, but Werall already please you [his executors?] tobe lovyng unto had his doubts about his character. If Ralph my wife and to my sonne Edmunde which turned out to be of good and honourable char- hath be come moost lowly and humbly child, acter, then Werall’s feoffees were to allow wherefor I besech John geve hym his blessing him to have rents for life, but no estate was to and I do myne ... And as for those londes, be made to him of the property; if Ralph had rentes and services ... that I have gefe to Ed- children, the feoffees were to make estate to munde my sonne, they be fesympill and were them after Ralph’s death. If Ralph was not of never entaylid in my blode, wherfor I charge good character, then the property was to be the John my son on my blessing that thou used to found a perpetual chantry at Alden- never trobill ne let Edmunde they brother of ham church (19). that I geve hym ...’ Robert Parker’s son seems to have been Daughters, too, were told to behave them- much the same sort of person (143). Young selves, particularly in the matter of their mar- John got his inheritance if he was ‘at all tyme riages. They were to accept guidance from hereafter of vertuous disposition, goode rule their mothers, the family, the executors, about and lowly in behavyng hym to Margarete my the choice of a husband. If they chose for wiff his moder and also be thryving and to- themselves, they could lose their legacies. ward the worlde and of no riotouse disposi- Richard Jeny (21) left one daughter 50 marks tion.’ If John did not behave himself, half his and the other £20 (and more if the king paid share went to his mother and the other half to what he owed him) if they married by their Parker’s executors to be spent on works of mother’s advice; if they did not, they did not charity. Hugh Denne’s eldest son John was a get the money. The widow Agnes Forster (84) chaplain; even so, Denne’s bequest of 9½ made provision for the two daughters of her marks a year for two years to say mass for his dead son Robert, leaving them £20 each if soul was only to be paid ‘if John shall be will- they were guided by her executors and their ing to behave with prudence, sobriety and mother, but these legacies were void if they good sense by the guidance of my executors married without their consent, and Agnes also during that time’ (316). William Pratt, mercer guarded against any possible elopement: the of London (346) left the reversion of some legacies were void ‘if any of theym be ra- lands in Kent to his son Richard and the legit- vysshed or othere wise myscaried by any per- imate heirs of his body, provided that those sone or persones ayenst the will and entent of heirs ‘be nott begoten upon the body of one my said executours’. John Teryngham (102), Gress Hemper’. What had Grace done to in- he who wanted his wife to forswear re- cur Pratt’s disapproval? marriage, said that none of his daughters was In his will, Thomas Hampden (376) did to marry a man unless he could properly his best to compose a quarrel between two of spend 100 marks a year from his lands and his sons. This Thomas was probably killed at tenements. Bosworth [see my article in The Ricardian, Sometimes a testator foresaw trouble in 2003], and his second son Edmund was cer- store for other people at the hands of their tainly at the battle, fighting for Tudor. Thom- legatees. Elizabeth Potenham (359) said, ‘I as’s eldest son John had clearly been making will and from the deepest of my heart’s desire objections to the amount of land his father require that my daughters ... will be bound by proposed to leave to Edmund: ‘Also I charge my maternal blessing and that neither they John my sonne on my blessing and as thou nor their heirs nor anyone in their name after wilt answer at the day of Jugement thou ne let my death ever disturb ... John Augers, his ne trobell my will ne testament for I myght heirs ... over a messuage in West Brayneford, have geven from the moch more than I have. formerly called le Angell ... which he bought If thou observe my will and breke it not I from me.’ Sometimes the trouble was in store geve the my blessing and if thou breke it I for a member of the family: ‘I leave a noble geve the my curse, for I may goodely depart to the friars preacher, on condition that the

prior does not dishonour my brother for the of an C li. bytwene me and maister William offence, as the prior says, that he with many Davers of Banbury, the which obligation is others took thieves out of the prior’s church forgett by the untrieu meanes of the seid Wil- against their will’ (John Wode, 178). John liam Davers ayenst us’. And John Skyrwith, Wode sought to exert control beyond the leatherseller of London, bore a good grudge: grave in another matter also. He left various ‘I will graunt and foryeve all my dettes that is properties to a John Ernley in restitution of owyng me be pouer men that may be found the £20 he owed him under his mother’s will, and previd that be not of power to pay myn ‘and I leave to the same John all my tene- executours chargeyng them to pray for me ments which Margery, my brother’s wife, has except Thomas Hayward that hath been so on condition he marries my niece Margaret, untrew to me’ (312). but if he declines they are to be distributed in Finally, John Don (14), who gave gener- alms’. The will does not say what Margery is ously to the poor in his will, had ideas of his to do when the tenements pass. Presumably own as to how his legacies should be spent. she is the mother of Margaret, and John Wode The poor should be protected from them- is trying to sort the family out into a neat fu- selves. He left money for the marriage of poor ture, hoping that John Ernley will be persuad- maidens of good name and fame. Each couple ed by the property even if he does not particu- got 40s., to be spent by his executors on larly want to marry the niece. ‘catell or houshold moost to the pleasure and As well as control, rancour could be pur- profite of thaim’, but not handed over in cash, sued beyond the grave. John Crowlond (287) ‘for I deme that if redy money were unto tha- appointed two men to help his wife recover im delyvered shuld be occupied in mete and debts owing ‘as by an obligation that apperith drynke for their weddyng dynere’.

TRANSLATION SERVICE The Society’s Research Officer recently received a request for help with translating two articles from French into English from a Society member who is engaged in research, but who found the rates charged by professional translators prohibitive. This request was forwarded to John Ashdown-Hill, who agreed to undertake the work. If any other members of the Society who are engaged on research need help with material in FRENCH, ITALIAN or SPANISH, John would be happy to translate from those languages into English. For short extracts (one or two sentences) he would be happy to do this free of charge. For longer passages he would ask for a fee to take account of the time expended (but this would bear no relation to the rates charged by professional translators.) If there are any members who might be able to offer a similar service for any of the Germanic languages, would they please contact John. We should also like to suggest to those members making use of this service that, where entire articles are translated, a copy of the original text and of the translation should be deposited in the Society’s Papers Library. Lesley Boatwright is prepared to undertake a similar service for members for Latin, and will also decipher any words in Greek which may be needed. (See inside back cover for contact details.)

On the Horns of a Bosworth Legend Dilemma

RANDOLPH JONES

ne legend of Bosworth Field that you After landing in Wales, John Cheyne was O might have missed can be found hidden knighted by Henry on 7 August 1485. He in Sir Bernard Burke’s monumental work The subsequently fought at the battle of Bosworth General Armory of England, Scotland, Ire- Field, where he had the misfortune to cross land and Wales. It concerns Sir John Cheyne, King Richard’s path in his last desperate who was a member of the Cheyne of Shur- charge to eliminate his rival for the crown. land family, from the Isle of Sheppey, in Polydore Vergil is the only contemporary or Kent. near contemporary writer who tells us what The crest of the Cheyne of Shurland fami- happened: ly was a bull’s scalp. Burke informs us that: King Richerd at the first brunt killyd cer- Tradition records that this crest was tane, overthrew Henryes standerd, granted by Henry VII to Sir John, after- togyther with William Brandon the stand- wards Baron Cheney, KG, in remem- erd bearer, and matchyd also with John brance of his having, on the field of Bos- Cheney a man of muche fortytude, far worth, after a personal encounter with exceeding the common sort, who encoun- King Richard, cut the skull and horns off tered with him as he cam, but the king the hide of an ox which chanced to be with great force drove him to the ground, near, and fixed them upon his head to making way with weapon on every syde.3 supply the loss of the upper part of his helmet.1 It is not known where Burke obtained his information from. Although a great story, the John Cheyne became a man of substance tradition is incorrect. As well as being im- when, in 1475, Edward IV granted him the probable – a bull’s scalp would have been a manor of Faulston, in Wiltshire, and other poor substitute for the top of a helmet – the lands that had formerly belonged to Sir Rob- object had been used as crest by the Cheyne ert Baystoun. Sir Robert had been attainted of Shurland family well before 1485 and can for high treason due to his support of Henry be seen on an impression of John’s grandfa- VI at the battle of Tewkesbury. This is per- ther's seal on a document dated 1435.4 haps surprising, as Sir Robert’s wife, Eliza- As well as being ‘a man of much forti- beth Haute, was a cousin of Edward’s queen, tude’, Sir John Cheyne was said to have been Elizabeth Wydeville. John was also Edward of immense stature. What was left of him was IV’s Master of Horse. When Richard III discovered when his tomb in Salisbury Cathe- seized the throne in June 1483, John lost this dral was removed from the demolished Beau- position to Sir James Tyrrel. In October of the champ chapel during James Wyatt's restora- same year, John participated in Buckingham’s tion of 1789. Appar- ently, ‘his thigh-bone rebellion and was subsequently attainted fol- was found to be four inches longer than that lowing its collapse. However, he was able to of a man of common stature’.5 escape and later joined Henry Tudor in Britta- A suit of his armour was said to have been ny.2 on display at Sir Walter Scott’s residence at

Abbotsford, where it was seen by two broth- Stoke Field in 1487 and died in 1499, without ers on a hiking holiday in the early years of issue.7 the last century: Notes and further reading 1 Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of We saw much armour, the largest suit England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Lon- belonging formerly to Sir John Cheney, don 1884, p. 189. the biggest man who fought at the battle 2 Calendar of Patent Rolls 1467-77, pp. 533-4 of Bosworth Field.6 3 Sir Henry Ellis, Three Books of Polydore Vergil's English History, comprising the Whether the suit is still there today, and reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV and Richard whether it is a genuine one from the late fif- III (Camden Society 1844), p.224 teenth century, is not known. However, con- 4 Catalogue of Seals in the Department of sidering Sir Walter’s romantic view of the MSS, British Museum, (London 1892), Vol. middle ages, as depicted in his works Ivanhoe II, pp. 637-9. and Quentin Durward, need we look any fur- 5 Oliver Wendell Holmes, Our Hundred Days ther perhaps for the provenance of the bull’s in Europe (Boston and New York, 1887). scalp legend? 6 Robert and John Naylor. From John Sir John became a trusted adherent of O’Groats to Land’s End or 1372 miles on Henry VII. He was made a Knight of the Gar- foot. A book of days and chronicle of adven- ter in 1486 and was called to Parliament from tures by two pedestrians on tour (London 1487 as Lord Cheyne of Falstone Cheney. He 1916).7 The Complete Peerage, Vol. III, pp. fought again at Henry’s side at the battle of 191-2.

The Society’s Earliest Members Continued from page 44

Margaret Styles presenting the Mayoress of Peterborough with a bouquet of flowers (see page 44).

Anne Neville, Queen to Richard III: A Critical Review

HELEN COX

he latest publication from Michael standards permitted such relations and indeed T Hicks is everything we have come to regarded them as normal and legitimate’. Fur- expect from this author: another lamentably thermore, in Hicks’ estimation not only is biased, sustained exercise in Richard-bashing, Richard a paedophile, he is an incestuous which should delight all anti-Ricardians as paedophile, even a ‘serial incestor’ (p.206). much as it disappoints and incenses readers Hicks’ justification for these outrageous who prefer their historians to take a more claims rest upon Richard’s ‘abduction’ of balanced and objective approach. In this new Anne from her brother-in-law’s custody in biography of Anne Neville, Hicks misses no 1472, followed by the wedding that occurred opportunity to repeat tired and discredited old some time later, certainly by 1474; and Rich- calumnies, damn every achievement with ard’s (alleged) intention to marry another faint praise, and interpret every action and relation, his niece Elizabeth of York, after pronouncement by Richard, whether as duke Anne’s death. or king, in the most negative light possible. Neither claim holds water. By Hicks’ own It would require a book in itself to expose admission, the age of consent for women was and fully demolish every contradiction, in- twelve years, the age of majority fourteen. consistency and weak argument with which Anne had passed both these benchmarks and Anne Neville, Queen to Richard III is riddled already been married to Henry VI’s son, a – hence this review will be confined to a se- union quite possibly consummated in 1470- lection of its more obvious shortcomings. 71. Why does Hicks not characterise the Lan- Hicks emphasises that ‘we must be careful castrian Prince of Wales as a sex offender and not to assert dogmatically that our own laws statutory rapist? Or for that matter Edmund and conventions (are) … applicable to the Tudor, the twenty-something who caused his past as well as the present’, and, ‘we cannot child-bride Margaret Beaufort to bear her understand their actions unless … we appreci- only son at the tender age of thirteen, to the ate the standards that they lived by and ap- permanent detriment of her health? plied. Nor can we impose our values on the So, Richard was not a rapist, nor was he past’ (p.31) – and then he goes on to commit, perceived as such by his contemporaries or repeatedly, the precise fault he has just con- even the most vicious of his Tudor detractors; demned. and Anne was not a victim of child sex abuse. Perhaps the grossest example of this is She was a woman well into her majority, will- Hicks’ assertion that Richard III was ‘a sex ingly embarking upon a second marriage alto- offender, guilty of … statutory rape’ (p.30). gether unexceptional by the standards of her This is repeated and elaborated a hundred time. pages later: ‘A custodial sentence and regis- The charge of incest can be similarly dis- tration as a sexual offender would result today missed, notwithstanding Hicks’ exhaustive for any man like Duke Richard guilty of sexu- and repetitive commentary on degrees of con- al intercourse with a fifteen-year-old girl’ – sanguinity,1 and has been definitively dealt although he is obliged to qualify the statement with by Marie Barnfield in the last two Bulle- by the final clause, ‘but fifteenth-century tins.2 As for ‘serial incest’: of course, Richard 60

did not marry Elizabeth of York; nor, accord- contradiction reign supreme. According to ing to his own forceful and explicit statement, page 106, it is she who is determined to take did he ever intend to, a rare instance of a me- Richard as her second husband; two pages dieval monarch making a public declaration later she is merely ‘reconciled to remarrying’; on such a personal subject. by page 111 she is ‘permitting her abduction’, We might reasonably ask, ‘Who else was while by page 130, she has become a victim either of them supposed to marry?’ The Duke of sexual abuse. of Gloucester, only four years Anne’s senior, And so it goes on; what is ignored or ex- was one of England’s most eligible bachelors, cused in others is roundly condemned in she one of its greatest heiresses. The couple Richard. To give credit where it is due, when were at the very least acquainted; it is not Hicks is dealing with ‘neutral’ subjects and impossible that they had personal regard for straight historical narrative, he is excellent; one another; theirs was a splendid, eminently when treating of Richard, his relentless, im- suitable and arguably natural, obvious match. placable hostility undermines the credibility So what if Richard cared for her inheritance of his arguments. as much, if not more, than her person? A man in his position would hardly aspire to a love 1. Hicks makes much of the prohibition in match with a dowerless nonentity. Why Leviticus against marrying a brother’s wife – should he not seek to wrest her lands from his conveniently ignoring the later text in Deuter- brother’s clutches as commensurate reward onomy (25: 5-7), which explicitly states that for an impeccable record of loyalty and ser- the duty of a husband’s brother towards the vice to the Crown (in contrast to Clarence’s latter’s childless widow is to take her to wife demonstrable and repeated treachery)? What so that the dead brother’s name ‘be not put is so heinous about wishing to consolidate the out of Israel’. Moreover, any widow whose north under his competent good lordship, to brother-in-law failed to discharge this respon- build for himself and his descendants an unas- sibility was entitled to loose the shoe from his sailable position under Edward IV and in due foot and spit in his face before the tribal el- course, Edward V? Maybe Richard saw him- ders, after which his line would ever be derid- self as fulfilling his duty to God, king, family ed as ‘the house of him that hath his shoe and his erstwhile mentor Warwick to the let- loosed’. ter, whilst simultaneously gratifying his desire, typical of any fifteenth-century magnate, 2. There will also be an article by Marie on for power. the subject in the next volume of The Ricardi- Regarding Anne herself, confusion and an.

ANNUAL REPORT of THE RICHARD III AND YORKIST HISTORY TRUST for the year 1 August 2005 to 31 July 2006

During the year, the Trust continued in its mission tofurther education and research related to the history of late fifteenth century England through commissioning and guiding other academics in the preparation of specific sources for publication by the Trust. James Petre resigned as Secretary in November 2005 and Lynda Pidgeon was appointed in his place.

PUBLICATIONS The Trustees continued with their work in liaising with and guiding those academics who had agreed to edit a variety of sources with a view to eventual publication. Progress has been made with a number of projects, and includes: The Herald’s Memoir 1486-1490: Court Ceremonial, Royal Progress and Rebellion, and David Grummit’s research into the Calais Garrison.

MEETINGS OF THE TRUSTEES The Trust’s affairs were discussed and arranged at the AGM of 5th November 2005, and A Man- aging Trustees meeting 22nd April 2006.

TRUSTEES Those serving as Trustees at the outset of the year continued as such without change or interrup- tion.

Mr P W Hammond, Chairman of the Trust Dr A F Sutton, Chairman of the Managing Trustees Prof C M Barron Prof J Boffey Mrs W Moorhen Prof W M Ormrod Mr J O Petre Prof A J Pollard Dr C Th L Visser-Fuchs

Correspondence

Will contributors please note the letters may be edited or shortened to conform to the standards of the Bulletin.

The Wrong Joanna of Portugal Joanna, who was the sister of Portugal’s ex- From António S. Marques, Lisbon, Portugal tremely able and energetic king John II, was a Greetings to all the members from this Portu- very virtuous and strong willed woman, much guese newcomer to the Richard III Society. requested in marriage by foreign princes, Please allow me a few notes from the Portu- among them Louis XI for his brother Charles guese side of matters Ricardian. of Berry, and the emperor Frederick III for his In the Autumn 2006 Bulletin, a letter by son, the king of the Romans, Maximilian, Pamela Hill states the following: ‘Had he not who married Mary of Burgundy. For a period, been killed at Bosworth, Richard III had ten- when her father and only brother departed for tatively considered, after denying any inten- their 1471 African expedition that ended up tion of marrying his niece Elizabeth, taking as with the long-sought conquest of Tangier and his second queen Joanna of Portugal. This Arzila, she was in charge as regent of the might well have been a disaster.’ kingdom. She was the same age as Richard The case is then made that Joanna would and three years older than her brother, with have been a bad match for Richard: ‘Joanna whom she was frequently at odds for refusing of Portugal, meantime, before the English all marriages he arranged for her, in the end proposal could have been thought of, had always having her way. married the unsatisfactory Henry IV of Cas- Indeed, Álvaro Lopes de Chaves, secre- tile, [...]. She bore a daughter who was almost tary to both Afonso V and John II, lists sever- certainly not his but that of her lover, Don al refused crowned pretenders in his notes and Beltran de la Cueva; the girl was known deri- says she had a great desire to marry her sively as La Beltraneja. She had supporters, cousin Charles of Burgundy, to whom she but they lost out in the end to her husband’s had once been promised before his third mar- determined young half-sister, the famous Isa- riage to Margaret of York. He also discusses bella of Castile. [...] Although Joanna of Por- her prospective marriage to Richard III which tugal might well have failed to take a lover if seems to have been looked upon very favour- she was married to Richard III, the line [John ably by her brother and the whole country in of Gaunt’s] is unfortunate. Perhaps this is an 1485. Her own personal opinion is not on rec- additional misfortune which was spared him ord, which may indicate that for once she was by the events of 1485.’ not refusing a marriage project but, of course, Leaving aside the question of the paternity Richard’s death cancelled the whole matter. of Joanna's daughter (La Beltraneja, known to She never married and died in 1490, at 38. her supporters as La Excelente Señora), it She is popularly known in Portugal as ‘Santa should be pointed out that the wrong Joanna Joana’ and has her own liturgical feast in May of Portugal is being considered. Joanna, the 12. Though she was never canonised, she was mother of La Beltraneja, was Edward of Por- beatified. Pope Innocent XI confirmed her tugal’s daughter. She was born in 1438, mar- cult in 1693. Given Richard's own character ried Henry IV of Castile in 1455, and died in and values she might in fact have been a very Lisbon in 1475, ten years before Richard III good match for him. was to consider, after his wife’s death, marrying a different Joanna of Portugal, the daugh- [António’s further notes on ‘matters Ri- ter of Edward’s son and successor Afonso V. cardian’ will appear as an article in the March According to contemporary accounts this Bulletin.] 63

Company of Palm Sunday at Barley Hall the York Minster shop. I bought a White Rose From Helen Cox brooch and my friends a brooch and pendant. On behalf of Company of Palm Sunday 1461, On returning to our hotel, I inspected the I would like to thank the Richard III Society brooch, and inside the box was a card by the for inviting us to appear at the 50th Anniver- White Rose Jewellery Company, which read: sary AGM event at Barley Hall on 1 October. ‘The White Rose of York and the Red Rose It was a great honour for us to be present of Lancaster were the emblems of the Royal on this prestigious occasion, and we all en- Houses of York and Lancaster. First appear- joyed working with such an enthusiastic and ing on armorial bearings and standards during well-informed group, whose many questions the Wars of the Roses 1450-1485. It was after and lively discussions made the day fly the battle of Towton that Edward IV became by. As a comparative newcomer to the Socie- the first Yorkist king. Having two sons Ed- ty and its Yorkshire Branch, I also found it a ward and Richard and the eldest daughter marvellous opportunity to meet other mem- who was Elizabeth. Upon Edward IV’s early bers I had previously only encoun- death, the eldest son Edward V being only tered electronically or through the pages of thirteen years old became king, but before his Society publications (I was the recorder play- coronation he and his brother were murdered er and arrow-fletcher in the pale blue kirtle, in the Tower of London. Richard, Duke of for the benefit of members to whom I did not Gloucester, brother of Edward IV, then took introduce myself). Finally, I would like to the throne, becoming Richard III. It was due thank my COPS colleagues for all their hard to Richard’s love of Yorkshire, spending work and support. They were: Bill Bamford, much of his life in the county at Middleham Paul Bavill, Steve Clegg, Mick Doggett, Stu- Castle, that the White Rose emblem was also art Ivinson (a.k.a. ‘Black-Faced Clifford’ – no adopted to use as the county symbol and thus wonder he needs the armour!) Frances Perry, the Red Rose was associated with Lancaster. Becky Schofield and Mick Weaver. After the defeat of Richard III at the battle of If you would like to see COPS in action Bosworth by Henry Tudor, the Lancastrian again, we shall be commemorating the Battle heir to the throne, he was crowned Henry VII of Wakefield at Sandal Castle on Saturday 30 and married to Elizabeth York, the daughter December, in conjunction with the Yorkshire of Edward IV and sister to the young princes Branch; and the Battle of Towton at Towton who were murdered in the Tower. Thus ended Hall on Palm Sunday, 1 April 2007. the Wars of the Roses.’ My friend in the adjoining bedroom heard The AGM – and a White Rose from the my shriek of disgust! Admittedly it does not Minster actually say that Richard murdered the Princ- From Fiona Price es, but the implication is there. It seems that I would like to say how much I enjoyed the we have some way to go and the battle isn’t members’ weekend in York, especially the over yet, and in York too. events at Barley Hall, the anniversary dinner and Tony Pollard’s lecture. I would also like to thank the person who Sir Thomas More’s Real Opinion? donated the piece of Fotheringhay church From Peter Fellgett glass which I won in the AGM raffle. I have Like, I gather, a number of people, I came to never won anything in Ricardian raffle be- the Richard III Society via Josephine Tey. In fore, and I was terrified that the glass would her novel The Daughter of Time, she has fun not get safely home – but it did. I am delight- getting her characters to identify the one faced to have such a special object. tual element in More’s (or Morton’s) passage On another note, I thought members where he states that Richard openly protested would be amused/annoyed at the following. at the death of Clarence, but ‘men say’ not as During the York weekend myself and two vigorously as if he really wished him well, friends bought some White Rose jewellery at and those that think thus suppose that he had

for a long time planned to make himself king. so unlikely that she should reveal herself as a Is it naïve to suppose that More himself in- champion of Crouchback. He remembered tended his readers to make a similar distinc- that the man had been respected up here, and tion? In Tudor times it would be a quick route his habit of driving himself and his adherents to a painful death to appear to support Plan- was in keeping with her own drive and self- tagenets, and I wonder if More stated his real sufficiency. “Tell me more about him,” he opinion in positive assertions while conceal- said. She told him then of Richard of York’s ing these opinions in ‘men say’ type state- associations with the area, how, as a sickly ments giving the opposite impression. boy, he had been sent up here to train in the Has anyone, which I have not, examined profession of arms, and had made himself not the More manuscript, picking out only those only the equal but the superior of all the other statements that are made as from More him- lads farmed out to learn their trade under the self? It would be interesting to see what im- warlike Nevilles. “He was nine when he ar- pression remains. rived at Middleham, and thirteen when he left,” she said, “but he was a man for all that.” Richard III and the Novelists: “You said he fell in love. It must have been ‘The Last Real King’ calf love?” “Why? Children grew up earlier in From Richander Birkinshaw those days. The more privileged they were the I’m sure that someone else must have spotted less they were coddled. That younger Neville this a long while ago but I found a few and girl, Anne, had a tiresome time of it. She was lengthy references to Richard et al. in R.F. chased from pillar to post, in and out of sanc- Delderfield’s God is an Englishman (the first tuary, and then disguised as a kitchenmaid of his Swann saga). Here is an example. when he eventually found her and married ‘... pointing with the whip to a square out- her.” “Aye,” he said, indulgently, “I remem- crop of stone on their right, all that was left, ber. She was a widow too, for he killed her she told him, of Middleham Castle, once the husband at Tewkesbury, didn't he?” “Oh, he seat of the great Neville Family. “Full of might have, in battle,” she said, carelessly, ghosts, is Wensleydale, and one of them roy- “but it was only a marriage arranged by the al.” “Who was that?” he asked, sensing that French woman, Margaret. Anne had no say in the spell of this countryside, with its open it.” “Did she have in choosing her second sky, chattering rivers, and vast, elemental husband?” “No, but I like to think she pre- loneliness, was in her bones. She replied, ferred him to the son of an idiot. They both lightly, “Ah, now, there’s a tom-fool question spent the happiest years of their life up here, from a man who has earned the Queen’s shil- and came back as soon as they could. I don't ling. The last king we had. The last real king, fancy a man like that would stifle his neph- that is. Richard, the one libelled by that liar ews with a bolster. It’s not in character, some- Shakespeare, and others who shall be name- how”. “That's Yorkist prejudice,” he said, less. King Dick spent the happiest days of his jokingly, but she flashed back, “Oh no it is- life hereabouts and fell in love for good meas- n’t! The Yorkist kings were always prepared ure.” “He was a black-hearted scoundrel, to fight for their crown, like the Stuarts. That none the less, on a par with my father-in-law German line we’ve been saddled with since and the sweep Millward, wasn't he?” “Stuff are a poor lot. Look at our present Majesty and nonsense,” she said, “you’ve swallowed [Victoria], making a cult out of mourning’. all that stinking fish they left lying about. I [Richander supplied several more extracts don’t know as he murdered his nephews, but I from this novel, which we did not have room do know he loved England and died for it. to print.] Which is more than can be said of any of the misers and weaklings who succeeded him.” ‘Everything Starts with Cecily Neville’ Her jocular assessment of history interested From John Trevett him. He saw it as another facet of her charac- In Sovereign, by C.J. Sansom, a thriller set ter and now that he thought about it it was not against the background of Henry VIII’s Pro-

gress to the north in 1541, the central charac- William rather than the earl of Derby was re- ter, lawyer Matthew Shardlake, stumbles sponsible for the rebuilding of the chapel and across a copy of Titulus Regius (irritatingly its surroundings. In this I agree with Jones referred to throughout as Titulus Regulus). and Underwood in their book The King’s ‘... the whole thing read like a cobbling to- Mother. I also argue that Henry Tudor, and, gether of whatever reasons could be found to indeed, all the Tudors, never felt safe on the justify Richard’s seizure of the throne after throne as they felt that they had no legal right the fact; he had already been king a year to it as it had been achieved by battle and when this Act was passed in 1484. Revelation were therefore in constant fear that it might of the Titulus now would be an embarrass- be taken away from them in the same way. ment, but not a real threat. I read it through again, carefully. One passage puzzled me, Crying out for a Biography? that description of Richard as “the undoubted From Bev Palmer son and heir of Richard late Duke of York”. Surely the one person who is crying out for a Had someone suggested Richard was a bas- biography to be written about her has to be tard? The child of Cecily Neville and some- Elizabeth of York? one else? I remembered the strange comment I appreciate that Nancy Lenz-Harvey did Maleverer had bitten off when I told him write one years ago but it was part biography about the family tree. “Oh yes,” he had said. and part fiction and as far as I am aware that “Everything starts with Cecily Neville.” Yet is the only one (unless someone can enlighten that made no sense either. If Richard III was me). illegitimate, the Tudors would not have hid- There have been recent biographies of den the fact – they would have shouted it Elizabeth Woodville, Anne Neville and Mar- from the rooftops as another justification for garet Beaufort. Yet although Elizabeth of their usurpation of this throne.’ York was a central figure in events authors Ricardians who read this atmospheric seem to follow the ‘Tudor’ line and ignore novel will find themselves a few steps ahead her. What a shame! I think she deserves bet- of its hero! ter. While I am on the subject of Elizabeth of Yew Trees and Stanley Churches York how about this for an intriguing From Jean M. Gidman thought: the Richard Plantagenet buried at I was interested to read Mark Dobson’s letter Eastwell was actually her brother and she in the Summer 2006 Bulletin. Yew trees have watched, with some satisfaction, while Henry been growing in churchyards for centuries was concerned for years about Perkin War- before Richard II. However, Richard II did beck/Lambert Simnel, all the while knowing use Cheshire archers as his bodyguard, partly her brother was alive and well and not about because Cheshire was governed directly by to make a claim for the throne. Payback in- the king as earl of Chester, as it did not send deed for the way the Tudors treated her. representatives to Parliament, and he therefore felt he could trust them not to betray him. Three small fair-haired boys? As north-east Wales (Flintshire) was gov- From Pamela Hill erned from Chester at this time, this could Two points. The Society may know already have led to the tradition that it was Richard II that there is another portrait of Richard III in who had had the yew trees planted. private possession, thinner and grimmer than To Mark Dobson’s second point, concern- those in the Society of Antiquaries or the ing the Stanley churches in North Wales: the NPG and/or the royal collection. It was re- chapel at Holywell dedicated to St Winifred produced in the current Folio, the magazine has so many emblems and symbols relating to issued to members by the Folio Society, with Sir William Stanley of Holt and his wife Eliz- articles about their recent publications. I had abeth Hopton that I argue in my book Sir Wil- not seen it before. liam Stanley of Holt, A Yorkist Martyr that Sir Secondly, after reading the excellent Bul-

letin Autumn edition I looked back through anyone went to look. (He was afterwards pro- the spring and summer ones to refresh myself moted to falconer, a job that requires certain about the first halves of articles. It seems to expertise.) me there are other mysteries to explore. In other words, the mother of the princes, It is stated that John of Lincoln was pre- who is suspected in any case of some kind of sent at the Irish coronation of ‘Lambert Sim- involvement in the Simnel plot, had managed nel’ and that, therefore, the boy’s identity to catch sight of the boy and realised he was must have been undoubted. Lincoln has been not the one she had expected to see. At that accused of design to end as king himself, but, rate, whom did she expect? Whose absence, if not, he must have been convinced that this or perhaps even presence, would make it child was the genuine article, whether War- worth while to quarrel openly with the king wick or one of the princes. He was of course and to be sent away from court to a place killed at Stoke. When the little boy in ques- where she could do no further harm, namely tion was brought before Henry VII, Henry Bermondsey? She died there in 1492, the ar- burst out laughing. Could it have been the rangement to send her to Scotland to marry its laughter of relief? He would know already widowed king having subsided because of his what the real Warwick looked like, as the murder. child had been brought from Sheriff Hutton – Perhaps experts with the internet would where he had been put by King Richard with care to unearth the various sources. They ex- Elizabeth of York to await the outcome – af- ist, but the present writer is a technophobe. ter Bosworth itself. Elizabeth was then left in As far as I can work it out, there could have charge of her mother, but Warwick was sent been up to three small fair haired boys in- to the care of the new king’s mother, the inev- volved, probably with not much idea of what itable Lady Margaret Beaufort (Stanley). It is was happening to them. after that that he is described as ‘weak of wit’ and sent to the Tower. Then or later, he is Michael S. Bennett – a Ricardian Hero? said to be unable to distinguish the most ordi- From Doug Weeks nary object. Rumours of Simnel apart, the On Saturday 26 August with forty-six others next we hear is that after Stoke, Warwick in the capacity of an invited audience, we himself is produced in the thanksgiving pro- were privileged to attend Michael S Bennett’s cession and if so, seen in public for the last filmed-for-television performance of his one- time before his execution in 1499. I say ‘if man ‘An Audience with King Richard III’. so’ because there has been more than one The venue was Michael Bennett’s usual suggestion that a substitute was produced for stage at Monk Bar, heightened by King Rich- the 1487 thanksgiving. Queen Elizabeth, who ard in the room of this extension, also, so we was present, would know the answer, but we were reliably informed, it was here that Miles do not. We only know that when Henry rode Metcalfe (who in addition to other offices sat off to fight at Stoke, she wreathed his helmet on Richard’s ducal council and later his with jewels with her own hands. This sounds Council of the North) died. As the date of this like a voluntary and affectionate gesture, not was 25 February 1486 this was something of as though she feared for the safety of a young an anniversary. relation or hoped her husband would lose. There is no further need for me to describe Her conduct then and during the ‘Warbeck’ the production as this has already been effec- crisis is either that of someone brainwashed tively performed by Philippa Langley into passivity, or else someone complacently, (Bulletin, Winter 2005), except to say that the even devotedly, accepting the status quo. Her expressions on the audiences faces attested to mother, the erstwhile queen, by then no long- their obvious enjoyment, their comments af- er known as Dame Elizabeth Grey, had a vio- terwards confirming this. lent quarrel with Henry VII after his return Also present was Dorothy Mitchell, with and while ‘Simnel’, whoever he was, would several of her ‘Friends of King Richard III’, be visible turning spits in the royal kitchens if splendidly costumed, as were two members of

the Hull Branch of the society, with we two in brating the fiftieth anniversary of the re- civvies (apologies to anyone I missed). founding of the Society it is right and proper Whilst this was a great success and Mi- to recall the achievements of those who have chael should be given a big vote of thanks for given so much to make our Society a suc- spreading the truth so ably for so many years, cess. Yes, Mr Weeks, these people did volun- without recognition. It is sad that in previous teer for their posts, but, as most members will editions members have thought it necessary to appreciate, voluntary work involves a high criticise what he is trying to achieve. Of degree of personal commitment and ac- course no doubt we could all pick out parts of ceptance of real responsibility, often in addi- the script that we consider to have some inac- tion to a full time job and family commit- curacies, so why not immediately construc- ments. If there were not people like the heroes tively point them out to him? Yes, the cos- and heroines I have written about there would tume, and the wig, could be improved on, but not be a Society for Mr Weeks to be a mem- this takes money (the society should naturally ber of. As for the references to varying de- fund it). One wonders if the critics have heard grees of proficiency the remark is both unnec- of the yobs who smashed the door of the bar, essary and ungenerous. or the pigeon problem? That a member is at- tempting this over a period of several years Alcoholic Tailpieces and in the most suitable of historical settings Battle of Bosworth Shiraz (not to mention the Museum), should be ap- From Bill Featherstone plauded. At present in these pages there is a On page 64 of the last Bulletin, Wendy Moor- series of ‘Ricardian heroes’ running which hen referred to Battle of Bosworth Shiraz merely relates to those past members per- wine. Readers may like to know that this fea- forming the duties of the posts they volun- tures on the wine list at The George, Great teered for with varying degrees of proficien- Oxenden, a village quite near Naseby but not cy. Somewhere our priorities have got mixed a million miles from Bosworth. It is, perhaps, up and wrong? a special-occasion wine at the price of £35 Ending on a positive note Michael Bennett per bottle, but it would be interesting to find has still some further appearances before the out who the UK stockists are, and if it is camera to complete. There is some close up available retail anywhere. work plus various scenes throughout the city to be shot. Barley Hall is to become the An- gel and Royal, for news of Buckingham’s re- Smith versus Smith bellion, with the closing being Michael read- From Nigel Latter ing the city of York’s record of the dread Having read the Autumn 2006 Bulletin page news from Redemore. 39 re the Angel and White Horse pub: this is a Samuel Smith’s, not a John Smith’s public Response house. It might seem a small point, but I as- From John Saunders sure you, if you are a Samuel Smith’s man Mr Weeks makes a barbed comment like myself, this is a very grave statement, as about my series on Ricardian Heroes. It is if you drink one Smith’s, you would not be not too clear what his point is, but I would seen dead in the other Smith’s houses. have thought that in a year when we are cele-

The Barton Library

Announcement of New Library Team Further to my notice in the last Bulletin, there have been developments in the reorganisation of the Library Team and two new posts have been created. The first of these is that of Library Co- ordinator and I am delighted to announce that Carolyn Hammond has agreed to pick up the mantle again and take on this role. Carolyn’s new responsibilities are summarised as follows:

 Ultimate responsibility for the Library and overall control.  To work largely with the Non-fiction Books Librarian and Non-fiction Papers Librarian to ensure that the Library is current. The Fiction Books Librarian and the Audio-Visual Ma- terials Librarian will also report to the Library Co-ordinator.  Regular updates to the catalogue, and collating and presenting Library information and figures from the librarians in the quarterly Bulletins, the Annual Report and at the AGM.  Liaison with the Executive Committee through the Committee Liaison Officer to update them regularly on Library activity and bring to their attention any matters for discussion or attention.

The second new role is that of Committee Liaison Officer. This role is purely a communication role so that the Library Co-ordinator can update the Executive Committee regularly (as stated above). I have agreed to take on this role. Keith Horry took custody of the Non-Fiction Books Library in November. He will be responsible for the day-to-day upkeep and organisation and will work closely with Carolyn to ensure that the Non-Fiction Books Library is kept up-to-date and suitably stocked.

The Library Team is now as follows:

Library Co-ordinator: Carolyn Hammond Non-Fiction Books Librarian: Keith Horry Non-Fiction Papers Librarian: Rebekah Beale Fiction Books Librarian: Anne Painter Audio-Visual Librarian: Geoffrey Wheeler Committee Liaison Officer: Jane Trump (Contact details for all the team are in the back of the Bulletin.)

I should like to welcome both Carolyn and Keith and to wish them and the whole team the very best going forward. I have enjoyed my time as Librarian and would like to thank Rebekah, Anne and Geoff for their support, dedication and hard work – and for the fun we have had too. I am sure they will continue to support Carolyn with the same diligence.

Latest Additions to the Library Listed below are a selection of books and articles that have been added to the Library. All the books are hard back unless otherwise described.

Non-Fiction Books BERTRAM Jerome (editor) The Catesby Family and their Brasses at Ashby St Ledgers (Monumental Brass Society 2006, paperback) This volume presents important new research on the Catesby family, Ashby St Ledgers church and brasses spanning the period 1404 to 1553. De- tails of lost components are recorded in hitherto unpublished seventeenth and eighteenth century 69

antiquarian notes transcribed in full in the volume. The book shows how the Catesbys used heraldry and long genealogical compositions, like other ‘new families’ to assert status and blood- lines. Beautifully illustrated.

PIDGEON Lynda J A Family ‘made by maryage’: Sir Richard Wydevile and Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford (MA Dissertation, September 2005, paperback) This dissertation begins with a brief biographical overview of Richard Wydevile and Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, to give the background to their marriage and their position within the society of their day then charts their rise in affluence and influence gained by landholdings obtained through Jacquetta’s dower and royal favour. A series of appendices and maps provide a breakdown of the various lands held along with income where known, giving a picture of their holdings county by county and their potential income in each county from rents as well as income from offices.

QUINTON Eleanor JP The Drapers and Drapery Trade of Late Medieval London c.1300-c.1500 (PhD Thesis, Royal Holloway & Bedford New College, University of London, 2001, paperback) This thesis explores the political, economic and social fortunes of London’s drapers in the Late Middle Ages and the city’s developing role in both the domestic and export trades in cloth. The first section considers the early development of the drapers’ guild in the context of political and economic pressures. The next section discusses London’s emerging role as the distributive centre of an expanding trade in English cloth. The final section, based on particular accounts of custom and subsidy, supplements what is known of London’s expanding role in the cloth export trade with an analysis of the various mercantile interests behind these exports. It also charts the development of the drapers’ import and export trade in the face of growing competition.

SUTTON Anne F The Mercery of London: Trade, Goods and People, 1130-1578 (Ashgate Pub- lishing Limited 2005) This book gives a comprehensive and close analysis of the mercers’ trade from the twelfth to the sixteenth century. The variety of goods sold by the mercers gave them an edge over other trades but it was the import and distribution of linen in England that gave them prominence and enabled them to take control of the Merchant Adventurers and the export of English cloth to the Low Countries. This book follows the fortunes of the early mercers, their unification of these trades in the London neighbourhood of Cheapside, how they developed into a wealthy and powerful Company and finally how they survived the wars and religious changes in the sixteenth century. There are also many references to King Richard.

Fiction Books GRAEME-EVANS Posie The Beloved This is the third book concerning Anne de Bohun. Anne, once mistress to Edward IV, has found safety in Flanders with their son and now Edward himself is a fugitive, with Henry VI back on the throne of England.

Audio Visual Library Update The additions to the audio section of the library this quarter include the four episodes on medieval children from Michael Morpurgo’s Radio 4 series: ‘The Invention of Childhood’, and the challenging modern musical interpretation of ‘Gloucester’ from Hans Werner Hense’s ‘Royal Winter Music’, part of his ‘First Sonata on Shakespearean Characters’ (1975-6) with David Tanenbaum (guitar). The sleeve notes reveal that ‘Gloucester is the only portrait associated with one speech, being a setting of the famous opening monologue of Richard III that begins “Now is the winter of our discontent”’. Geoffrey Wheeler

Should you wish to borrow from the Barton Library, please contact the relevant librarian. Con- tact details are given at the back of the Bulletin.

Letter from America: An American Member’s View of the York AGM

PAM BUTLER

ork is always a great town to visit, so entertainingly. Even though his views are less Y the extra enticement of celebrating the friendly to Richard than our own, his humor- 50th anniversary of the re-founding of the ous way of talking was appreciated. Tony had Society during Members’ Weekend was irre- once believed that everything which could be sistible. I arrived a day in advance to become said of Richard had been said already, yet better acquainted with the entire St Mary’s towards the end of the presentation, he con- Abbey area and specifically to locate the ceded that this might not be the case. 14th-century Hospitium, which once housed He described the friendly-yet-intense guests of St Mary’s Abbey. In my wander- competition with Charles Ross and Keith ings, I discovered that there is indeed a pedes- Dockray and joked about ‘stealing their work’ trian crossing of the Ouse River alongside the in his more ‘ruthless days, when he was hun- railroad tracks on Scarborough Bridge which gry for power and recognition.’ (Later, dur- serves as a shortcut from the northern part of ing the Q & A session, a member of the audi- town to the railroad station. ence referred to this ruthlessness and asked if The next day, September 29, while wan- Tony had any nephews.) He related that he dering around St Helen’s Square, I saw a sign had debated against Jeremy Potter and that advertising a ‘Festival of Food’ going on in Jeremy ‘always won.’ Other topics included the Guildhall. I went into the Guildhall to the increasing interest in studying Ricardian check out the architecture – and the food – issues and his own viewpoint of ‘the Coup of but it was too early for the food. (See Stony Stratford.’ http://www.yorkfestivaloffoodanddrink.com He spoke of a curious event in which for more information.) Shopping and visiting George Neville, newly-made Archbishop of the Jorvik Viking Centre took up the after- York in 1465, hosted a banquet wherein he noon. place John de Vere, Earl of Oxford to his left That evening at 6 p.m. in the Hospitium, and John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, to his the Members’ Weekend got started. I looked right in a futile attempt at reconciliation. forward to seeking out familiar faces while Tiptoft, as Constable of England, had con- making new acquaintances from the U.K. demned Oxford’s father to death in 1462 and Refreshments were served in the lower level, later cruelly condemned many Lancastrians. and we had a choice of coffee or tea, and bis- In 1470, during Edward IV’s exile and War- cuits/cookies. Fellow Americans attending wick’s ascendancy, the younger earl of Ox- were Eileen Prinsen, Mary Ellen (‘Ellie’) ford got his revenge by condemning Tiptoft to Pierce, Jonathan Hayes, and American Ri- death. cardian Tour Coordinator Linda Treybig. Tony mentioned that without new docu- After a half-hour of meeting old friends mentation, it will be difficult to obtain new and new, everyone went upstairs to listen to insights about Richard, and that some of what Professor Tony Pollard’s lecture about his was discovered in the past was found by peo- ‘intellectual journey’ in learning about Rich- ple researching topics other than Richard. ard III. Tony, of Teesside University and a C.A.J. Armstrong was studying Burgundy 20-year member of the Society, spoke very when he made his discovery of Mancini. 71

After the lecture was concluded, many who had met during a Ricardian event and attendees walked to Barley Hall for a candle- later had a Ricardian-influenced wedding. I lit get-together in the Great Hall, where a haven’t seen their whole story, which I under- variety of drinks was available. I was wary of stand was featured in a 2003 Ricardian Bulle- walking that distance in my heels, as well as tin. ready for a regular meal, so regretfully had to After lunch, it was time to attend the decline in favour of having dinner with Linda workshops: we had a choice of taking two of Treybig at a nearby restaurant, the Café Con- these sequentially: music, Latin, paleography, certo, near Bootham Bar. We were able to and costume. catch up on events which occurred since the I attended the costume workshop taught Ricardian Tour ended in late June. by Lynda Telford of the Yorkshire Branch, who brought along two ladies to model some September 30, The Big Day of the clothes. One of the models, Angela When I reached the Merchant Adventurer’s Moreton, represented a wealthy matron in Hall at 11 a.m. on the Piccadilly Street side, I Italian costume, while the other represented a encountered Eileen Prinsen and Ellie Pierce young girl of marriageable age. Lynda com- by chance. A sign prominently proclaimed pared the fifteenth-century costumes of differ- that the Hall ‘was closed to the public due to ent countries (England, France, Italy, and a private event’. It felt empowering to be able Germany), using drawings of familiar por- to walk past a sign like that. traits as well as extra costume samples to help Inside, in the undercroft, we found mem- demonstrate her points. The richness of the bers of the York group taking care of registra- fabrics used and the excessive length of dress- tion. Tables were set up around the perimeter es helped to flaunt one’s wealth. of the lower level, and many chapters were One sample, an ‘Elizabeth Woodville’ selling original books by Ricardian authors style dress (as I call it) with fur along the V- and/or secondhand hardcover books, Ricardi- neck, gave me a new understanding about the an pins and scarves, and many other arts and ‘cuffs.’ This dress made it apparent that the crafts items. I bought a copy of Pauline Pog- cuff was merely the lining of an overly-long more’s Who’s Who in the Wars of the Roses, sleeve which had been turned up; when I’d which she autographed on the spot. I also made such a dress for the Joint Canadian- bought a book about the Stanleys of Holt. American AGM in 2004, I’d merely added While some shopped at the table displays, the cuffs separately and sewed them onto the others listened to a presentation given by a end of the sleeve. man in armour, accompanied by his ‘squire.’ Lynda also displayed and discussed vari- He discussed various aspects of medieval ous hat styles, and talked about the loop on warfare. the forehead beneath henins and abbreviated There was barely time to take in every- henins which was used to pull the hat for- thing before the AGM commenced upstairs. ward. Keeping hats anchored on shaved fore- The UK AGM is conducted traditionally, like heads was a problem; it is hard enough with a shareholder’s meeting, and business is effi- plenty of hair and hair grips (bobby pins). ciently completed within the hour. By com- After the workshops, members were of- parison, the American Branch meeting usual- fered tours of York Minster. Three different ly starts while everyone is finishing up a groups were taken through on a staggered meal, so everyone is sitting at tables the schedule to accommodate that large number whole time. The advantage of the U.S.-style of participants. It was hoped that the Vellum, meeting is that there is a convenient place to presented to the Minster by the Society in put notes and books, and the disadvantage is 1966, would be on display; this is a record of that some people are facing away from the ‘Richard’s first visit to the city as a king and speakers when the meeting begins. the investiture of his son Edward as Prince of During lunch in the undercroft, I met Lon- Wales.’ don-based members Peter and Diana Lee, I heard much praise of the tour afterwards,

but did not go through myself, as I had to ber spend an entire hour discussing the vari- return to my hotel to try to coordinate getting ous aspects of armour manufacture and use, a taxi for that evening. We American mem- various swords and knives and how they were bers had all made independent arrangements used, and the different types of bows and ar- and were staying in different hotels, and I had rows. He talked of arrow speeds and distances no idea how to reach everyone by phone. I and the process of ‘fletching.’ He also let me should have obtained those numbers earlier, try on various pieces of armour to get the feel but it was not even certain who would call for of its weight, strength, and flexibility, then he the taxi. Eventually I was able to reach Linda showed me how the lower half of the helmet Treybig, who had the number for Eileen and could be moved down in order for the soldier Ellie, and after a bit of calling around, we to eat and drink. Apparently Lord Dacre was were able to arrive together at the Merchant taking a moment to drink (or eat) when he Adventurers’ Hall soon after 7 p.m., where was killed by a chance arrow. many had already gathered for the Gala Din- Soon after this, I met up with Marjorie ner beginning at 7.30 p.m. The majority of Hodgkinson of the Yorkshire Branch. We attendees were in modern ‘black tie’ formal talked extensively to the leatherworker who wear, and only a few were dressed in fif- was displaying his goods in the upper level, teenth-century costume. (I had brought a then it was time to gather in the Great Hall to 14th-century costume in honour of Richard’s see Michael S. Bennett’s one-man play ‘An ancestors. Really.) The fifteenth-century Audience with Richard III.’ dresses were very well done, as was the cos- I am not sure whether Michael’s presenta- tume of a woman in male fifteenth-century tion has altered with time, but it kept every- garb, who made (in my opinion) a perfect one’s attention for the seventy or so minutes representation of Richard. One gentleman which it lasted. In an entertaining fashion he was dressed in an opulent archbishop’s cos- related the treatment of his character in the tume. Towards the end of the evening, those modern and not-so-modern media, saying that in costume paraded around the room behind Al Pacino was ‘looking for him.’ His use of the musicians, then gathered together for a humour kept the presentation lively and inter- ‘photo op’ on stage (actually, a raised dais.) esting. The meal was exquisite, the meat tender, and This concluded the AGM and everyone wine glass refills were frequent in coming. began to disperse. To console myself, I went Beautiful medieval music accompanied ani- to see the Constantine exhibit at York Muse- mated conversation for three hours and we um and spent two hours immersed in Roman, were not ready to leave until 10.30 p.m. Viking, and medieval history. Then it was time to transition into 2006 and current-day Sunday, October 1, 2006 reality. Barley Hall was open at 11 a.m. for a display I want to thank everyone involved in put- of arts and crafts, with many tempting materi- ting this wonderful AGM together, especially als. In the upstairs room which overlooks noting the efforts of Wendy Moorhen and Coffee Yard and the ‘Alley Cats Restaurant,’ Jacqui Emerson. Can we do this again? members of ‘COPS,’ or ‘The Company of Palm Sunday 1461’ were discussing various Response: aspects of arms and warfare with anyone who Do it again? No! Well, maybe, in a couple of wanted to talk. One was flamboyantly dressed years, what do you think Jacqui? up as ‘Lord Clifford.’ Wendy It was my good fortune to have one mem-

Report on Society Events

Cheshire Visit

Friday 7 July 2006: Little Moreton Hall On leaving London the coached headed north to Cheshire, a county that is noted for its black- and-white houses, startling now in the landscape, where they stand like symbols of human domi- nation; yet in earlier times they were softer presences, with their oak timbers allowed to weather to a pale silver-grey and the plaster work painted a pale ochre. Little Moreton Hall, near Congle- ton, is probably the best-known such house in the country. You approach it from one side, screened by trees, till the sight of it bursts upon you in its hallucinatory splendour. When I first saw it, I quite simply didn’t believe my eyes. Not only is it patterned with relentless zigzags, there isn’t a straight line in its whole drunken construction. But you enter by little bridge over the little moat, where a mother duck shows her ducklings the way down to the water, and into a small, charming courtyard, where inscriptions set up by the owner, William Moreton, and the carpenter, Richard Dale, in sixteenth-century spelling as idio- syncratic as the architecture, set the date of construction of this part of the hall at AD 1559, a time of optimism, in the first few years of the reign of Elizabeth I. The Hall was not built to be crooked, it had crookedness thrust upon it. The South Wing has hardly any foundations, and when the Moreton family decided it would be nice and fashionable to have a Long Gallery (even if they couldn’t at first afford window glass or a fireplace for it), this was built upstairs and capped with a heavy stone roof, which did nothing for the building’s stability. When we visited, there was an art exhibition in the Long Gallery, which was enjoyable; but as we moved from picture to picture, the floor sloped this way and that, and the warping of the walls deceived our sense of balance. In the adjoining Upper Porch room, the guide showed us a fireplace and overmantle that seemed wildly out of true, but was in fact the only true vertical in the place. In 1976 restoration work was done in the Parlour downstairs, and sixteenth-century wall- paintings came to light under the Georgian panelling. They are not now in very good nick, but are being worked on. The story they tell is that of Susanna and the Elders, with explanatory Bible texts. Elizabeth’s reign was a time of prosperity and home-improvement for the Moretons. A stone-flagged floor replaced the beaten earth, and windows were glazed. Not so the seventeenth century. In the earlier 1600s, William Moreton had five sons, all of whom needed financial support at University and in their less-than-successful careers in the law, or at sea, and then came the Civil War, when the family suffered finan- cially as Royalists in the Parliamentarian county of Cheshire. Land was sequestrated, and soldiers billeted in the Hall. After that, it wasn’t a question of making fashionable improvements to the Hall, but struggling to maintain what was there. Parts were let to tenants; the chapel was used to store coal in. The Moretons would have hated all this at the time, but it has had the result that what we see today is basically a sixteenth- century house, without later tarting-up. The family itself, although impover- ished, kept going. The first building on the

site had been a Saxon farmstead, and prospered in Edward the Confessor’s reign. William the Conqueror did the north of England a great deal of punitive harm, and by the time of the Domes- day Book in 1086, the estate’s annual value had diminished to a mere two shillings. Sir Richard de Moreton began to build the present Hall about 1450; his last descendant was Elizabeth, an Anglican nun, who in 1892 left it to her cousin, Bishop Charles Thomas Abraham, on condition that it was never sold. Her condition was adhered to: the bishop and his son joined in leaving it to the National Trust. It is a coherent place, with its own rather sombre beauty, once you are past the amazing zigzags of the exterior. It is a comfortable place, small enough to comprehend, to imagine living in. After this came a visit to the gardens. Most of us in true Ricardian fashion enjoyed a meal break in the excellent restaurant, before departing to our accommodation. Our visit was a most enjoyable start to the Cheshire weekend. Denise Price

Saturday 8 July 2006: A day in Chester – nature, geology and, of course, history Armed with the copious notes supplied by Marian Mitchell, Lesley Boatwright and I chose to spend our day walking the City Walls starting at Newgate, built as part of a traffic improvement scheme in 1937. Here we photographed six (once nine) charming 19th-century almshouses, the oldest in Chester. Overall, we passed too many towers to name but our first one was the Watch Tower, a sniper position during the Civil War. We climbed the romantically-named Wishing Steps of 1785 – one made a wish, ran up and down without taking breath and the wish came true. The Recorder Steps, built 1720, allowed access between the two fashionable promenading areas. From the Round Tower (base of a medieval watch tower) we viewed the weir and salmon steps – constructed to help salmon cross the weir to reach their spawning grounds. Here we watched a swan in full aggressive mode charge after another, neck right back and wings raised and ruffled. They disappeared under the Old Dee Bridge but five minutes later we saw the aggressor wad- dling across the narrow bridge with a long line of cars following as he was guided by anxious pedestrians to turn right, away from the patient traffic and eventually back to the weir. Presuma- bly he had been protecting his patch! Further, on the other side of the river, we noted a red sandstone outcrop with pale bands – a classic cross bedding associated with Chester’s position nearer to the equator almost 250 million years ago. We eventually came upon the ruins of Chester Castle and attempted to enter the Agricola Tower but it was closed: then we paused to view one of the oldest racecourses in Britain. Further along, two more towers which had originally stood at the riverside, one from 1322, are now iso- lated as the river silted up. At Northgate Locks we saw train and road bridges crossing over the canal with a view of the Welsh hills in the distance. The romantically-named Bridge of Sighs was quite a disappointment, crossing the deep sandstone ravine through which the Shropshire Union Canal flows through parts of Chester. On our travels, we had noticed various Ricardians enjoying views of Chester from open-topped buses. We now approached the cathedral past the Deanery Fields below which are the remains of Roman barracks. Here we linked up with another Ricardian and lunched together in the refectory before exploring the cathedral itself. Although we were given an audio guide, every time we reached a point of interest the organist struck up and made it near impossible to hear the commentary. As ever, it is often the insignificant things which catch the attention – on the tomb of St Werburgh, a Mercian princess, the carving of a dog scratching himself. To commemorate the anniversary of the London bombings a year ago, there was a very moving memorial consisting of a bedspread with a collage and a teddy bear tucked under the cover. We also photographed some of the fascinating misericords and pew ends in the choir, a beautiful sculpture in the central courtyard, and then found our way out to the walls, determined to complete the course. We soon reached Westgate and viewed the busy main street of Chester below us as we passed under the famous clock commemorating Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. Approaching New-

gate where we had begun, we examined from a distance the excavations of Chester’s Roman Amphitheatre and also explored briefly St John’s Church. With a largely Norman interior, it is thought the original close proximity to the amphitheatre might link with the deaths there of the early Christian martyrs. At the nearby Chester Visitor Centre we linked up with other Ricardians, many of whom had explored completely different areas of Chester, and I was able to catch up on the Ladies’ Wim- bledon Final score. This is only a brief resumé of a fascinating day in Chester – there is too much to explore in one day. Jean E. Nicholls Anderton Boat Lift This lift was built in 1875 to connect the Trent and Mersey Canal with the fifty-foot-lower river Weaver. It consisted of a massive iron framework containing a pair of water-filled wrought iron tanks, each capable of holding a pair of standard narrow boats. Steam-powered hydraulics was used to raise and lower the 250-ton tanks on pistons. In 1976, the lift received ‘Ancient Monument’ listing, but owing to deterioration the structure was permanently closed to traffic in 1983. Its importance as a marvel of Victorian engineering led to a successful campaign to restore it with electrically powered cable operation, and it was re- opened after two years of work in 2002. We visited the lift on the sunny but breezy morning of Sunday, 9 July 2006, boarding a pas- senger boat on the river Weaver and cruising for a few miles upstream and back to view the areas where underground salt was extracted and loaded into barges. We then entered the lift, the gates behind us shut and our tank and boat were slowly raised to canal level. When the gates in front opened we moved forwards, over the 162-foot aqueduct and into the canal. There we disem- barked, inspected the Visitor Centre and had lunch. In all a most fascinating experience. Peter Lee Two Cheshire churches Our last morning was bright and sunny at first: ideal for viewing two lovely black and white churches. Sadly, by the time we reached the second, it had begun to rain, but as ‘they’ say, one cannot win them all. Besides, it was only a short shower and soon dried out again. St Oswald’s, Little Peover, is, as the guidebook states, at the end of a long cobbled lane and as such, it is easy to miss, which would be a shame as it is a fascinating place. Once the key had been located, we were made very welcome by our guide who answered our questions and then let us loose to explore. Begun in the thirteenth century and enlarged, several times, it has a massive timber frame and much Jacobean furnishing. The tower, built of sandstone in 1582, is quite in keeping with the rest of the church. It is a delight and well worth the walk on the cobbles. Access to St James and St Paul, Marton, is much easier – it even has its own car park. Again we were made very welcome, this time by one of the church wardens. Begun as a chantry chapel in 1343, the church is said to be one of the oldest wood and plaster buildings still standing in Europe, though this does not explain why the east end is actually made of brick. The tower is supported by a solid timber frame, which takes the weight of bells and a small spire. Inside, there are two ecclesiastical gems: eighteenth-century paintings of Moses and Aaron with the Deca- logue flank the west door, whilst above it is Marton’s principal treasure – a fourteenth-century(?) Doom painting. Rather fragmented, partly by time and partly because of the timber frame which divides the panels, it shows a yellow-haired Christ and a number of other figures, together with what may be Instruments of the Passion. Plastered over, it was only rediscovered in 1930. These were two fascinating and delightful churches to complete our visit to Cheshire - the next stop, in Congleton, was only long enough for lunch and then we were on our way home again. On behalf of us all, my thanks to Marian Mitchell for organising another really most enjoyable and interesting trip. Long may these events be part of the Ricardian year. Phil Stone

Bosworth The Bosworth commemoration this year returned to its ‘traditional’ format, after two years away, with the church service in Sutton Cheney, village hall lunch, visit to the Battlefield and tea. The two wreaths – provided by the Canadian and Australasian Branches – were hung by Virginia Chanda, visiting American member, and Marian Mitchell, Visits Officer. For the first time in my recollection not all those who had booked for village hall lunch in fact attended to eat it, occa- sioning loss to the village, and future arrangements for this amenity will need to differ (see below). We then departed for the battlefield, variously visiting the ‘medieval village’ and battle re- enactment, the well and death stone, and the Visitor Centre exhibition. We noted the developments to the Visitor Centre – the new Tithe Barn restaurant and the centre’s meeting room, but will have to wait until next year for the new exhibition, information on which was provided. Members assembled for tea and the Chairman, Phil Stone, gave his customary ‘few words’ greet- ing overseas visitors, including a couple from Belgium, and thanking participants and organisers. Next year – 2007 – the Bosworth commemoration will be to the Battlefield, to visit the new exhibition, which we hope will encourage more members to attend. To ensure full take-up of village hall lunch, we shall ask members to book and pay for this in advance – as a ‘ploughman’s plus dessert and drink’ it is good value, supports the church and is a great convenience for members who do not wish to, or cannot, bring a packed lunch. Elizabeth Nokes

Visit to Romney Marsh Twenty-nine Ricardians gathered on Victoria Embankment in order to take the coach down to Kent. We had mercifully been blessed with a fine sunny day and the journey down seemed to take no time at all. Our first stop was for coffee and biscuits, which had been pre-arranged by Kitty Bristow, our organiser for the day. This was taken at the Royal Oak, Brookland, and a right royal place it turned out to be, the owner being one Mr Rhys-Jones, brother of the Countess of Wessex. We were made to feel very welcome at the picturesque old inn, particularly by the owner’s black Labrador. Is it compulsory to own a dog of this breed in royal circles, I wonder? We were then introduced to Joan Campbell, our commanding and very knowledgeable guide, who accompanied us out into the flat marshlands to St Thomas Becket Church, Fairfield. Stout footwear is definitely the order of the day for anyone wishing to visit this remote and atmospheric survivor as it can only be reached on foot through a field, in the company of some fine examples of Romney Marsh sheep, not to mention many sheep’s ‘doings’. The church stands on an artificial mound. Built in the late twelfth century and subject to regular flooding, it was originally constructed to provide a ‘temporary’ place of worship for the scat- tered community in the newly drained area of Walland Marsh. Internally the eighteenth-century white box pews with their black painted trimmings and triple-decker pulpit initially command one’s attention but then the eyes wander upward to the fine fifteenth-century timber-framed roof. Also noteworthy are the seven-sided fifteenth-century Kentish ragstone font and the Laudian communion rails, which were introduced by order of Archbishop Laud to try and prevent dogs from fouling the altar area. We then retraced our route back to Brookland as our guide had insisted that the two churches should be visited in that order so as to appreciate fully the story of their building. Built on land drained in 1160, St Augustine’s is totally dominated by its twelfth-century wooden bell tower, the only one of its size and scale in the country. Built separately due to the instability of the ground, the bell tower stands beside the delightful church. Originally open to the elements, the tower’s cladding was only added in the fifteenth century when it was doubled in height to some sixty feet. The building of the church itself began in the early twelfth century and upon entering we were greeted by a profusion of flowers, as we were lucky enough to coincide with a flower festival. Actually, we had managed to coincide with quite a few local events that day for veteran air-

craft taking part in the nearby Lydd Air Show buzzed us intermittently. We were also accompanied everywhere by participants in the popular annual bike ride around the churches of Romney so we never felt alone. Also dominated by box pews, this church has many treasures and contains Kent’s own version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in the form of amazing leaning arcades which are so out of true as to convince the viewer of their imminent collapse. A rare thirteenth-century wall painting depicts the Becket Martyrdom. Close by is the altar tomb of John Plomer, Baron of the nearby Cinque Port of New Romney, who, as the inscription informs us, was present as a canopy carrier for James the First’s coronation. The beautiful late-twelfth-century lead font at the west end of the nave is one of only thirty left in this country and is decorated with two tiers of arcading which enclose the signs of the zodiac and the labours of the month. Our guide was convinced that it was English-made even though similar ones are to be found in Normandy. Now running late, we departed Brookland to find lunch in Tenterden. Travelling through some of the most picturesque countryside this lovely county has to offer and passing picture- perfect cottages, inns and the occasional oast house, we arrived in Tenterden and dispersed for a rather hurried lunch in order to be at our next destination on time. Smallhythe Place is an exquisite timber-framed dwelling built in the early 1500s and is famous for being owned by the actress and Dame of the British Empire Ellen Terry. On arrival we said farewell to our excellent and indefatigable organiser Kitty Bristow, who, lucky lady, was fortunate enough to be in possession of a ticket to the Last Night of the Proms at the Albert Hall that very evening. Our gallant Chairman was on hand to whisk her away by car to catch the train to London so that she could attend this glorious event as well as organise and escort us around Kent. How does she do it? We gave her our thanks for a well-organised, lovely day and said goodbye, promising to try and spot her in the audience on TV that evening. The story of how Dame Ellen came to own the house goes as follows. In the late 1890s she and her friend and stage partner Henry Irving were taking a country drive around the marshland between Tenterden and Rye when they came upon the house. At once she leapt to her feet, despite her advancing years, and declared that this was the house in which she wished to live and die. And so it was that, after a little negotiation with an incumbent shepherd, Ellen Terry took up ownership. Now in the care of the National Trust, Smallhythe was set up by her daughter Edy as a museum dedicated to her mother’s life. The Barn Theatre located in the gardens was only used for private performances but this is now open to the public. Other greats such as Edith Evans and Peggy Ashcroft came to perform here in Ellen’s memory. Smallhythe House itself contains many treasures from her long acting career and one is transported back to the era when she graced the stage with her portrayals of Portia and Beatrice. The costume collection is apparently too vast to be shown in the house but the selection on display gives one a glimpse of that bygone age. Passing death masks of David Garrick, Henry Irving and a painting of Edmund Kean’s portrayal of Shakespeare’s Richard, I chanced upon a small painting of a house called Fallows Green in which Ellen had lived during her marriage to Edward Godwin, her second husband and by all accounts the love of her life. It was located in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, which is where I myself have lived for some twenty-five years. After a little local research I discovered that this Arts and Crafts gem was demolished some years ago but upon making further enquiries I discovered a nearby building called the Red House where she had also lived for a brief time. This still exists as a small hospital within the town. Continuing my interest in a little local history, I took myself along for a glimpse of the outside of the house and was amazed to see, at the top of the tallest chimney, a truly magnificent golden weather vane in the familiar shape of a running boar. I have no idea of the significance of this but will endeavour to find out and would welcome any information from fellow Ricardians. Many thanks again to Kitty for an interesting and inspiring day. Diana Powell

Future Society Events

Bookable Events

Annual Requiem Mass and Anne Neville Commemoration, Saturday 17 March 2007 In 2007 the Society’s annual requiem mass for Richard III and Queen Anne Neville returns to St Etheldreda’s Church, Ely Place. The Mass will take place as usual at 12 noon in the beautiful fourteenth-century upper church — formerly the palace chapel of the bishops of Ely. This venue has connections with at least three well-known personalities of the Yorkist era, for Cardinal Bourchier (who crowned Richard III and Anne Neville), Bishop Alcock (tutor to Edward V) and Cardinal Morton (eminence grise of Henry VII) all worshipped in this church. During the afternoon a short wreath-laying ceremony will be held at Queen Anne Neville’s tomb at Westminster. This will be at 3.45 p.m. However, members attending might also like to attend the service of evensong, which will precede the wreath-laying ceremony and which will start at 3 p.m. Those attending evensong may wish to meet in the cloisters from 2.30 p.m. on- wards where it will be possible to buy a cup of tea or coffee. This year no group lunch has been organised, and those attending will be free to make their own lunchtime arrangements. The cost of this event is £10 per person. This sum is to cover the costs of the professional choir and organist, administrative expenses, and a donation to Westminster Abbey. If you would like to attend this very special annual event, and remember Richard III and Queen Anne Neville in the manner in which they themselves remembered their friends and relatives, please complete the booking form on the central pages.

Study Weekend – 13-15 April 2007 in York Next year’s study weekend has been arranged for Friday evening to Sunday lunchtime, 13 – 15 April 2006 (one week after Easter), at the College of St John’s, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York. This is the College’s main campus, just outside the city walls opposite the Minster. Accommodation will be in single study bedrooms. The college does not have any en-suite facilities or car parking on site. Following the success of the seminar held at the Tower of London ‘Troops and Tactics’, the military theme will be repeated for the study weekend and will be extended to include the pag- eantry of warfare. The weekend will begin with a short introduction by Peter Hammond on the more general subject of chivalry and warfare and this will be followed by a talk from Graham Turner, the artist, on medieval jousting. Graham specialises in military paintings, and, in particular, medieval battle scenes and he carries out a great deal of research in order for his paintings to be authentic. A couple of years ago Graham took that research a stage further by ‘donning a complete suit of armour and taking to the lists’ (see Bulletin, Autumn 2004). Please note I am wait- ing for final confirmation from Graham. On the Saturday we will be examining two local battles, Wakefield and Towton. Archaeolo- gists Helen Cox and Mick Doggett will be looking at the former, which will be illustrated, and this will be followed by a talk on Towton, speaker to be advised. After lunch there will be a visit to the site of the battle of Towton and Helen and Mick will be our guides across this, the bloodiest battlefield of the Wars of the Roses. The programme will conclude on Sunday with a presentation from Graeme Rimer of the Roy- al Armouries in Leeds, who will examining medieval arms and armour, and the final presentation will be from James Petre who will be talking about castles and fortifications. 79

The Great Hall in Barley Hall will once again be the venue for our traditional medieval banquet with medieval-style food and live music from Trouvère. The wearing of medieval costume is encouraged but it is not mandatory. The cost of the weekend will be £157 and this includes the cost of the tour to Towton. The supplement for the banquet will be £40. The cost for non-residents is £93, again this includes the tour, and Friday night dinner, lunches and refreshments. The banquet cost for non-residents is £54.50. Inevitably costs have risen since our last weekend. Please note that the Towton tour will be across fields, possibly muddy in April, and there is a climb down to the Cock Beck. Sensible footwear will be a necessity. If you would like to attend please complete the centrefold booking form and send to Mrs Jacqui Eerson, 5 Ripon Drive, Wistaston, Crewe, Cheshire CW2 6SJ. Joining instructions will be send out in March. Wendy Moorhen

Brixworth and Grafton Regis, Saturday 28 April, 2007 Our first visit will be to the ancient All Saints’ Church at Brixworth. The church was probably built around AD 680 as an outpost for the monastery at Peterborough. It is famous for its Rom- anesque tiled arches and ring crypt. It has a unique round stair turret which was probably added when the tower was raised in the tenth century. Other items of interest are a reliquary discovered in 1821 and the ‘Brixworth Eagle’, which can be seen engraved into a stone near the entrance. We will stop in Stoke Bruerne for lunch and travel to Grafton Regis for the afternoon. Grafton Regis is well known to Ricardians as the place where the young and dashing King Edward IV first set eyes on the beautiful Elizabeth Woodville. We will stroll through this sleepy Northamptonshire village, accompanied by a guide, and will meet the villagers and hear tales of life through the ages. The tour will take approximately 75 minutes. Tea with homemade cakes is included in the tour. The cost of tour is £24 per person. The coach will leave as usual from Embankment station at 9.00 a.m. sharp. Booking forms (together with cheque and s.a.e.) should be returned to Marian Mitchell, 20 Constance Close, Witham, Essex CM8 1XL. (Tel: 01376 501984; or email: [email protected].) by 28 March 2007.

Angels, witches and Richard too! Richard III Society tour of King’s Lynn, Norfolk, 6-9 July 2007 Kings Lynn was a member of the Hanseatic League as well as being a beautiful medieval port and town with real Ricardian links. From here Edward and Richard sailed to Holland. With its two Guildhalls, a gatehouse and the largest chapel in England there is plenty to see. You can also find the grave of Robinson Crusoe. If the castle was not enough for Castle Rising it also has the Hospital of the Holy and Undi- vided Trinity and Almshouses for twelve ladies, which was founded in 1616 by Henry Howard, brother of the fourth Duke of Norfolk. (Richard as a young man stayed at Castle Rising.) Oxburgh Hall (NT) is a moated manor house (with gardens) built in 1482 by the Bedingfeld family, with rare needlework made by Mary Queen of Scots, who was a prisoner there for some time. We are to visit St Wendreda Church famous for its Angel Roof. John Betjeman said it was ‘worth cycling forty miles in a head-wind to see’. We are also going to Walpole St Peter Church, said to be the model for the church in The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers. The Manor of Hemingford Grey is a gem of a place built in 1130 and one of the oldest houses in Britain. It was made famous as ‘Green Knowe’ by Lucy Boston. As for the witch - you will need to join the trip to find out… We are staying in the three-star Duke’s Head hotel in Tuesday Market Place which is in the

centre of Kings Lynn. The hotel is Elizabethan with 21st-century facilities. All the rooms are en- suite, and have tea-and-coffee-making facilities. There are lifts to all floors. There are 17 single rooms bookable on a first-come first-served basis. The cost will be £260- £290 per person (based on two people sharing) plus £10 per night (£30 in all) for the single rooms. The cost includes travel from London Victoria by luxury coach and all entrance fees (except for National Trust and English Heritage properties), dinner on Friday and Sunday night at the hotel, a Gala Dinner on Saturday night, and light lunch on Monday. (Newspapers, drinks and afternoon tea on Sunday are not included.) Please send a deposit of £100.00 per person to: Rosemary Waxman, 37 Chewton Road, Wal- thamstow London E17 7DW, by the closing date of 31 January 2007 and an s.a.e. for an immedi- ate acknowledgement. Please also send a further s.a.e. for further information, with your booking form. Tel 0208 521 4261, email: [email protected]. Cheques should be drawn in favour of the Richard III Society, and marked on the back ‘Kings Lynn’. For any other enquiries, about the visit, please contact Ros Conaty on 0115 827367. If you wish to attend, but do not wish to start from London, or if you are local and would like to attend some of the events, please contact Ros Conaty for further information. Ros Conaty

Medieval Recipes

For the second recipe in this series we have chosen something slightly Christmassy, gingerbread. Recipes for this occur fairly frequently although none of them is very similar to what we now think of as gingerbread. One fairly simple version, simple in medieval terms that is, starts by telling the cook to take good honey and clarify it on the fire then take paynmain (that is the best white bread) or, if you wish, wastel bread, also a good quality white, and grate it and throw it into the boiling honey. The mixture was stirred fast with a spatula (a ‘sklyse’) so that it did not burn or stick to the pan. Ginger, long pepper (a form of pepper) and saunders, red wood used for colouring, were all added and mixed together by hand. The sticky mixture was then put in a flat box, sugar sprinkled on it and cloves placed around the edge and in the middle. This sounds very reminiscent of a Christmas gift box. This recipe is relatively simple to prepare and is not totally different to our modern gingerbread. Other recipes would make something much more like toffee. All involved honey, in one case two pints were boiled until it was like liquid wax and then a pound of ginger and a quarter of an ounce of pepper added. Then while it was still liquid it was wound round a thin rod and left to set, when ginger was sprinkled over it. This sounds rather too powerful for modern tastes. Peter Hammond

Branches and Groups

The Thames Valley Branch goes West Until September the Thames Valley Branch had had a fairly quiet year. Vicki Senior had given a talk on the earl of Oxford, several of us had attended the Research Weekend again, and we had held a successful Garden Party. And then we threw caution to the wind and decided to invade Wales! Our invasion plans had been formulated for over a year but in a desperate attempt to stop us in 2005, a go-slow was staged on the M4. This year we were in Carmarthen before anyone realised what was afoot. We settled ourselves in base camp and then set off immediately for Kid- welly Castle. According to the guidebooks Kidwelly, with its walls-within-walls fortification, is an outstanding example of late-thirteenth-century castle design and one of the finest castles in South West Wales. We heartily concur. Originally built to secure the new conquests of South Wales and defend the road to West Wales, the castle was always being changed to keep up to date with the latest ideas in military science. The gatehouse was still unfinished when Owain Glyndwr’s Welsh troops attacked in 1403, yet the castle’s two dozen archers and townsmen managed to hold out behind the improved defences. Richard Grey was granted the lordship of Kid- welly in 1482 but the last addition to the castle was at the end of the fifteenth century, probably by Rhys ap Thomas who was granted the castle by Henry Tudor. On Saturday our drivers went completely mad and decided to take us all the way to the coast to St David’s and work back. The views of the coastline as we approached this, the smallest city in the United Kingdom, were breathtaking when available. We so regretted the farmers’ decision to have high hedges. If we were seeking peace and tranquility at our destination, we picked the wrong day. The cathedral was hosting a very successful family day. We paid our ‘respects’ at the tomb of Edmund Tudor whilst a puppet show was going on in the next-door choir stalls. The Bishop’s Palace by comparison was almost deserted. As indeed two of our party were when they started to delve into the mysteries of the Welsh language by comparing the Welsh and English translations on the information boards. The rest of the party sidled away quietly. The palace was largely the work of Bishop Henry de Gower (1328-47) who spared no expense in creating a residence fit for a major figure of both church and state. The palace included two complete sets of staterooms, private chambers, a grand hall, chapels and a kitchen. The parapets of chequered stonework and the still-complete wheel window are the impressive sights that one sees first and last. On to St Anne’s Head with its stunning views of Milford Haven oil refinery. Using the Gra- ham Turner painting of the coastline as a reference, we were trying to establish which was Mill Bay, the landing place of Henry Tudor. It took a fair bit of tramping through fields but we think we worked it out successfully and managed to escape before we were joined by a large herd of inquisitive cows. We lunched at Solva with its hidden inlet, once a hiding place for pirates, and then had a paddle in the sea at Dale. We then went on to Pembroke and its magnificent castle. Pembroke started life as a wooden fortress in 1093. The stone castle was largely the work of Wil- liam Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, who held the castle until his death in 1219. By the Middle Ages Pembroke had become strategically important. It was one of the main ports for travelling to Ire- land and the seat of the earls of Pembroke, with a castle that was one of the strongest in the kingdom. Jasper Tudor became Earl of Pembroke in 1454 and he was the first owner to make the castle into something approaching a home. Arriving within an hour of its closing time meant we had the castle to ourselves, which added to the atmosphere. We will gloss over the comments made at the tableau of the birth of Henry Tudor (in the Henry VII tower) – suffice it to say that none of them was terribly complimentary. Having walkable corridors that actually linked the various towers gave us an amazing perspective on what it was really like to live in a medieval castle. One

thing is for sure – they must have had strong calf muscles to cope with all those stairs! The most surprising and amazing find was the Wogan - a huge natural underground cavern over which the castle is built. The cave overlooks the river and there is a spiral staircase that goes up into the castle, making for easy access to both river and sea. Before we left Car- marthen on Sunday we visited St Peter’s The tableau at Pembroke Castle: church, the original Mother and Child aka Margaret Beaufort and the future Henry VII. parish church of Car- Is that any way to hold a baby? Alternative captions welcome. marthen and the oldest building in the town still in use for its original purpose. Although the stewards were preparing for a Battle of Britain service they made us very welcome and showed us around their lovely church. It houses the reconstructed tomb of Rhys ap Thomas who fought for Henry Tudor at Bosworth. Was this really a Ricardian trip? Our last stop was Laugharne – apparently the inspiration for Un- der Milk Wood. On a clear day you can see Kidwelly Castle, which would have rounded off the weekend perfectly, but Morton finally managed to send us a shower of rain to accompany our visit to the castle ruins. Laugharne castle stands on a low ridge overlooking the Taf river estuary and has been the inspiration for both artists and authors. One of a string of fortresses controlling the ancient road along the South Wales coastline, the castle also started out as a Norman construction in the early twelfth century. From the mid thirteenth century until the end of the fourteenth century the castle belonged to the de Brian family. In Tudor times the castle passed to Sir John Perrott, said to be the illegitimate son of Henry VIII. He did not find the medieval castle to his taste and built a mansion on the site. Luckily the weather had brightened up by the time we decided to swap history for literature and visit the grave, writing shed, and boathouse of Dylan Thomas. Our final visit was to a local hostelry to enjoy our last taste of Welsh food and, over our meal, we agreed that we would be returning to Tudor country in the very near future. Sally Empson

Worcestershire Branch As we recovered from the immense effort that went into our Anniversary Banquet and our very successful two days at the Tewkesbury Festival in July we settled down to a more normal pace of life with a fascinating evening in August exploring two of Worcestershire’s wonderful ancient churches with Ralph Richardson. Our branch being twenty years old, we are now finding it difficult to fill our busy programme with items strictly Ricardian, since Richard only visited Worces- tershire for two or three days in August 1483, so our interests of necessity spread to other periods. In the village of Norton near Evesham we went to St Egwin’s to learn about three magnificent sixteenth- and seventeenth-century tombs commemorating the Bigge family. These tombs are grand, reaching as high as the roof of the north transept and record the family’s advancement, esquire for the first lord, knight for his son and baronet for the last lord. The central tomb depicts 83

Sir Thomas and Lady Ursula as good Protestants kneeling in prayer at a prie-dieu. Open-eyed, they stare at their prayer books that carry painted Latin text, too high up for us mortals to read. Ralph raised the point ‘Why Latin text for Protestants?’ Samuel Baldwin, whose workshop was in Gloucester carved these tombs. He also carved the tombs in the next church at Wickhamford. This is a pretty village near the edge of the Cotswolds with a number of half-timbered houses including the wonderful Manor House. The Lords of this village were Sandys in the early seventeenth century and suffered family tragedy with three deaths in as many years, two lords and a wife. The surviving wife, Lady Penelope Sandys, commissioned Samuel Baldwin to make a double tomb. It was too large for the tiny church, which has no transept, so the tomb was placed in the sanctuary, taking up more than half the space. The quality of the work and design of these monuments makes them well worth a visit, especially with such a knowledgeable guide. We concluded a lovely evening with an appropriate visit to the Sandys Arms. Our September outing had to be cancelled due to so few members being able to attend. This is the first time we have had to abandon a meeting. On 14 October we had another excellent guided tour, this time around Gloucester Cathedral with one of their own guides. It is a magnificent building with a wealth of interest particularly around the medieval period and our guide concentrated on that period. It would be impossible to detail all that we saw in a short report, suffice it to say that we really enjoyed both the tour of the cathedral, the crypt and the choir practice taking place in preparation for a specially event. Of particular interest was the shrine-like tomb of Edward II, the earliest Perpendicular work in the country in the South Transept, the great east window c.1350, the refurbished cloisters completed in 1412 and the huge Lady Chapel, built by Edward IV, with white rose motifs in the side windows and a wealth of medieval glass in the east window. After an excellent tea we walked to the city ‘Cross’ where the North, South, East and West gates meet to see the Arms of Richard III placed on the East face of the tower by the Society. On 11 November we had a talk entitled ‘Richard III and His Inheritance’ by a new member, Richard Thompson, at Belbroughton Village Hall.

Forthcoming Events 9 December We celebrate a very good year for our Branch with a Bring and Share Fes- tive Tea at Upton Snodsbury Village Hall. Visitors welcome: please bring a small contribution for the food table. Our programme for 2007 is nearing completion with most meetings arranged and rooms booked. 13 January Will be a talk by Trevor Anthill about the Monarchs Way. The meeting will be at St Saviours Church Hall, Hagley. 10 February Our speaker will be Eric Greenwood whose subject will be Medieval Mon- asteries. The venue will be Inkberrow Education Centre, Inkberrow. 10 March We are pleased to welcome Phil Stone to our Branch. His subject will be the ‘Marriage of Margaret of York in Bruges’. Upton Snodsbury is the venue for this meeting. 14 April AGM, which will be at Claines Church Institute, Worcester. We will also have an opportunity to look around this beautiful little church. 12 May The first of our outdoor meetings with a visit to a ‘Lost Medieval Village’ with Ralph Richardson. Details will be available later.

Indoor meetings all begin at 2:00 pm unless otherwise stated. There is a charge of £2.00 including refreshments. All of the above events will be reported in our excellent Branch publication Dickon Independ- ent, edited by Pam Benstead. We are always pleased to welcome friends and prospective members at any of our meetings. Details can be found on our branch web site www.richardiiiworcs.co.uk or please contact our Secretary, Val Sibley, for further information on 01564 777329.

Yorkshire Branch On 20 August members of the Branch visited Middleham for our annual Bosworth commemoration at St Alkelda’s church. The brief act of remembrance included a reading of King Richard’s Prayer and the placing of a basket of flowers – as usual, a lovely arrangement by Margaret Moor- house – below the window dedicated to Richard, Anne and their son and contributed by the Soci- ety in the 1930s, after which we were able to spend some time sitting in the sun at the castle before sudden rain dispersed the party. Bad weather caused us to shut up shop (or rather, never open it) on one of the days we were at Middleham castle with our stall. This was on Bank Holiday Monday, so maybe nobody should have been surprised. On the Saturday and Sunday of that weekend the special visitor attraction at the castle was a short play about Anne Neville, performed twice each day and moving around various areas of the building. It led on occasion to some less than agreeable exchanges between the director of the piece and Branch members, since our presence, and conversation with interested visitors, was apparently a distraction. The Yorkshire Branch committee for 2006/7 includes a new Vice-chairman, Ralph Taylor from Bradford, a Branch member for many years and the designer of some of our notelets and Christmas cards, and a new committee member, Pauline Pogmore from Sheffield, author of our best-selling Who was Who in the Wars of the Roses. John Audsley continues as Chairman, Moira Habberjam as Secretary and Christine Symonds as our Treasurer and Librarian. I am sorry to report that some disappointments have struck the Branch this autumn. Although we have continued with our local meetings, the proposed trip in September had to be cancelled even after its destinations had been revised, and we were unable to hold our biennial Boar Dinner at the end of October due to the sudden closing of our chosen restaurant - after the date had been fixed and menus and booking forms sent out. I thought Morton was only in charge of the weather, not the transport and catering as well! This year the Branch’s commemoration of the Battle of Towton will be a joint event with the Towton Battlefield Society (TBS) at Sandal castle, on Saturday 30 December. The TBS will be holding a day of activities at the castle, and the Branch will also have a presence. As a result, the wreath-laying at the Duke of York’s statue in Manygates Lane (just down the road from the castle) will take place this year at 10 a.m. and not in the afternoon as formerly. Our annual Spring Lecture in 2007 will probably not be held in spring, as our usual venue at the Leeds City Art Gallery is being refurbished and will not be open until later in the year. I hope to be able to give further details in due course, but one suggested topic is medieval music (with live demonstrations). On Palm Sunday, 1 April, the Branch will again be at Towton Hall with the TBS. Angela Moreton

PALAEOGRAPHY BY POST

Would you like to be able to read original documents yourself? Can you read this?

This script should not be too difficult the read because it is computer generated but the Society can help you read the real thing. The Society offers a correspondence course for beginners or near beginners who wish to read fifteenth-century handwriting. The emphasis will be on private and business hands - the kinds of script to be found in government and family records - rather than the formal book hands employed in copying literary texts. The full course will consist of eight lessons which can be paid for in two groups of four if desired. Each lesson will include sample texts with a commentary drawing attention to such matters as abbreviations and characteristic letter shapes and to any particular problems. Part of the sample material will be fully transcribed; the student will be expected to transcribe the remainder and return it for correction and comment. As the course progresses the amount of commentary will decrease, and the texts set for transcription increase in length and difficulty so that the final lessons will be in effect an occasion for supervised practice. Any participants undertaking the course in order to be able to read a particular document may, if they wish, replace one or two of the final practice lessons with photocopies, (supplied by them), of a text of their choice. Transcripts of such texts would be corrected in the usual way by the tutor - allowing the student to receive specialist help with their own work. Students can work at their own speed and no deadlines will be imposed. When one assignment has been completed the corrected version will be returned with the next lesson. The course can therefore take as much, or as little, time as the student feels able to spare. ***

The cost of the course is £27.50 for each group of four lessons, payable in advance. There is an additional cost for overseas postage. To enrol or obtain details of overseas postage costs please write to the Research Office, Wendy Moorhen, 2 Field Hurst, Langley Broom, Langley, Berkshire, SL3 8PQ. Cheques should be made payable to the Richard III Society.

New Members

UK 1 July – 30 Sept 2006 Miriam Bell, London, W12 Jacqueline Mcdonald (family), York Barry Burkhill, Wilmslow David Morries, Birmingham Denys Carden, Bexhill-on-Sea Robert Morton, Belvedere, Kent Christina Cremin, Houghton Regis, Beds Andrew Murphy, Maldon, Essex Terence & Mrs V Cresswell, Leicester Helen Murphy, Bottle, Merseyside Teresa Deeney, Lytham St Annes Robert Naylor, Market Bosworth Barry Donovan, Edinburgh Scott Newport, Thatcham, Berks Janet Fisher, Birmingham Deborah Parkes, Brentwood, Essex Jean Foley, Beverley Anita Patton, South Harting Chris Gordon, Stockport Janine Pepper, Truro David & June Greenwell, Nottingham Jane Phillips, Torquay Karen Hanley, Slough Heather Pitt, Penrith Janet Hardware, Norwich Peter Preston, Blackburn Philip Harris, London Luisa Rampin, Edinburgh Su & Mark Harrison, Ashton Under Lyne Barry Seniscal, Scunthorpe, North Lincs Helen Holland, Ketton Judith Shepherd, London, NW4 Nancy Howard, Wolverhampton Lena Simmons, London, SE15 Hayley James, Willenhall Andrew Summers, Chelmarsh, Shropshire Julian Jennings, London, W2 Mark Tomlinson, Leicester Steve Jones, Bristol Matthew Turner, Reading Ross Kempsell, Baldock, Hertfordshire Cynthia Waterman, Whitbourne, Worcs Mark Lewis, Birmingham Diana Winny, Oxhey, Hertfordshire Jonathan Lyons, Castle Cary, Somerset Thomas Wright, Bristol Neil Marshall, Warnham, West Sussex

Overseas 1 July 2006 – 30 Sept 2006 Loren Bell, California, U.S.A. Judeth Materna, Bundeena, N.S.W. Craig Bosworth, St Kilda South, Victoria Anne Morley, Lane Cove, N.S.W. Debbie Burnett, Chatswood, N.S.W Kate Pardey, Sydney, N.S.W. Gillian Curtin, Kapunda, South Australia Noriaki Sato, Reservoir, Victoria Lynne Foley, Redhead, N.S.W. Serials Department, New York, U.S.A. David Gray, Christchurch, Barbados Patricia Stuart, Lake Oswego, Or.,U.S.A. Deborah Green, Brunswick, Me.,U.SA. Susan Vaughn, Conyers, Ga.,U.S.A. Antonio Marques, Lisbon, Portugal Ralph Williams, La Bakeme De Sillingy, Fr.

US Branch 1 July 2006 – 30 Sept 2006 Kimberly Barnes, California Mary F. Lynk, Indiana M.C. Cain, Washington James Joseph Maksel, Pennsylvania Beverly Connor, Tennessee Jim Middleton, California Anne Frankel, Maryland Dr Michael Myers, Illinois Welene Worthington Goller, Maryland William Narey, Pennsylvania Christopher Graham, Virginia Timothy Mimz, Colorado Alice Hendershot, Virginia John Powell, Texas Linda Lettieri, New York Barbara C. Walter, New Jersey Alison Lowery, Illinois Kristine Williams, Rhode Island

Calendar

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

Date Events Originator

2006 16 December Fotheringhay Nine Lessons and Carols, and Lunch Fotheringhay Co-ordinator 2007 17 March Requiem Mass for King Richard and Queen Anne, at St Etheldreda’s church, Ely Place and wreath- laying at the queen’s tomb in Westminster Abbey

13 - 15 April Australasian Convention, to be held in Greater Wellington area, New Zealand e-mail: [email protected]

13 –15 April Study Weekend in York Research Officer

28 April Visit to Brixworth and Grafton Regis Visits Committee

6-9 July Norfolk Weekend Visit based at King’s Lynn See page Visits Committee

8 September Visit to Lydd - New Romney [completing a trio of Visits Committee visits themed to Romney Marsh and the south-east coast]

11 November Norfolk Branch Study Day: The House of Lancaster Norfolk Branch

3 December Scottish Branch Christmas Lecture at Edinburgh Scottish Branch Castle. Subject: The 1482 Invasion

2008 Early May Visit to Provence Visits Committee