Ricardian Bulletin Magazine of the Richard III Society ISSN 0308 4337 September 2010 Ricardian Bulletin September 2010 Contents 2 From the Chairman 3 Society News and Notices 12 News and Reviews, including 12 Compline at Fotheringhay 14 The Leeds Medieval Congress 15 The American Visit 2010 16 Great Battles of the Wars of the Roses: Mansion House, York, by David Johnson 18 Book Review: The Battle of Wakefield, by Helen Cox, reviewed by Lynda Pidgeon 19 A New Home for Jeremy’s Boar 21 ‘Re-enactment’ at Stony Stratford, by Iris Day 22 Blood and Roses at Christ Church, Oxford, 2011 23 Stop Press: new Society Papers Librarian wanted 24 Media Retrospective 29 The Man Himself. The Other Yorkshire Homes of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, by R.J.A. Bunnett 32 Anne Mowbray, Duchess of York: her place in history, by Bruce Watson 34 Not the royal wedding of 1486: a medallic misidentification, by Frederick Hepburn 36 Tips from our beauty consultant: the Duke of Buckingham, by Tig Lang 38 The Asthall Hoard, by Peggy Martin 43 All Saints, Aldwincle, Northants, by Lynda Pidgeon 44 The Coventry Pageants, by Peter Lee 45 Correspondence 47 The Barton Library 48 Reports on Society Events 57 Future Society Events 58 Branches and Groups: contact details 60 Branches and Groups: reports 63 New Members and Recently Deceased Members 64 Calendar Contributions Contributions are welcomed from all members. All contributions should be sent to Lesley Boatwright. Bulletin Press Dates 15 January for March issue; 15 April for June issue; 15 July for September issue; 15 October for December issue. Articles should be sent well in advance. Bulletin & Ricardian Back Numbers Back issues of The Ricardian and the Bulletin are available from Judith Ridley. If you are interested in obtaining any back numbers, please contact Mrs Ridley to establish whether she holds the issue(s) in which you are interested. For contact details see back inside cover of the Bulletin The Ricardian Bulletin is produced by the Bulletin Editorial Committee, Printed by Micropress Printers Ltd. © Richard III Society, 2010 From the Chairman ere, in the United Kingdom, we have a new government and, of course, it is very scornful H of the record of the previous one. In this context, one newly-elected MP, the historian Tristram Hunt, notes that, ‘Ever since the scribes of the Renaissance branded the Middle Ages as “the Dark Ages”, propagandists have deployed history to codify the future. You rubbish the past as a lost opportunity of waste, indecision and stupidity and you celebrate the present as a blessed release from such hopelessness.’ How appropriate this is for the post-August 1485 scenario too. In other words, plus ça change ... It never ceases to amaze me how, every three months, the Bulletin editorial team comes up with a fresh range of articles and reviews. This issue is no exception. We have reviews of Society outings and our important presence at the Leeds Medieval Congress, reports from our active and busy branches and the always interesting Media Retrospective. The article on beauty tips from the duke of Buckingham is a must! There is a distinctly Yorkshire zest to this issue and, since this year the Yorkshire Branch celebrates its fiftieth birthday, why not? On behalf of us all, I congratulate the Branch on this great achievement. As well as a short history of the founding of the branch, there is a review of a new Wars of the Roses exhibition in Micklegate Bar, and we devote The Man Himself to God’s own county with an article written many years ago by a doyen of the branch, R. J. A. Bunnett, who became a Society vice-president and died at the age of ninety-six. Mention of Mr Bunnett’s age reminds that one of our current vice-presidents, Kitty Bristow, will be ninety on 18 September this year. Congratulations, Kitty, we wish you many more happy returns for the day. I must take this opportunity to thank John Ashdown-Hill and everyone involved with arranging the annual Requiem Mass for King Richard and Queen Anne Neville. Much commitment and hard work goes into organising such events and many members have appreciated the opportunity of attending them over the years. Sadly, John and his team have decided to relinquish the task, but we hope someone else will take up the mantle – or is that the cope? – so that the Mass can continue in future years (see p.49). I write this hot foot from a visit to Fotheringhay, where the Wakefield Historical Society and ourselves hosted the final event in a commemoration of the transfer from Wakefield to Fotheringhay of the bodies of the father and brother of Edward IV and Richard III. Since Richard of Gloucester led the cortege as it headed south it was fitting that the present Duke of Gloucester, our patron, was in the procession into the church and later gave a short address during the service. Afterwards, he met members of both Societies. We thank him for his continued support and interest in our work. (For more about this event, see pp. 12-13) As this Bulletin goes to press, the sad news has come from the American Branch of the death of Carole Rike, a stalwart member of the Branch who did much for the Society in the States, including being editor and distributor of their magazine, The Register. We send our sympathy to Carole’s family and friends. There will be a full appreciation of her in the December Bulletin. We will be in Leicester on 2 October, the anniversary of King Richard’s birth, for this year’s AGM. As well as the business side of things, there will be many other interesting and exciting things to do and, most importantly, there is the opportunity to meet and talk to other Ricardians. I do hope that as many of you as possible will support the AGM. It is particularly important that we do so when they are held outside London. I look forward to seeing you there. 2 Society News and Notices Subscriptions Due Subscriptions for the forthcoming membership year fall due on 2 October 2010. See renewal form in the centrefold and Membership Matters below. Richard III Society Members’ Day and Annual General Meeting Saturday 2 October 2010 As is the established practice, Saturday 2 October is both the AGM and a day for members to meet each other and get involved and, although using a new (to us) venue, the event will follow a similar pattern to those recently held in London and York. At the time of writing this article, mid July, only one motion has been proposed by the Executive Committee – referred to elsewhere in this edition of the Bulletin - and no individual motions have been received by the Chairman or the Joint Secretaries. All members are reminded that motions and resolutions for the AGM agenda, proposed and seconded by Society members and signed, should be sent to the Joint Secretaries, in hard copy, by no later than Friday 17 September 2010. Similarly, nominations by Society members for membership of the Executive Committee, proposed, seconded and accepted by the nominee and duly signed by all, should also be sent to the Joint Secretaries by the same date. Forms for this purpose may be obtained from the Joint Secretaries – by electronic or hard copy means or downloaded from the Society’s website. The Annual Report is to be found in the central section of this Bulletin. It contains much of the material formerly reported by officers at the AGM. This means that officers’ reports will provide attendees with any relevant updates which will enable the focus of the meeting to be on the future and members’ issues. As with other years, there will be an Open Forum/Question Time to enable members to raise questions and issues. These can be submitted by email or in writing to the Joint Secretaries (contact details on the inside cover of the Bulletin). If you wish to submit a question in advance, it would be helpful if it is received by Thursday 30 September. You will also be able to put questions on the day and ‘post-it’ notes will be available for you to place on a board within the hall. Queries and questions may be submitted anonymously, but, if they cannot be answered on the day, questioners may be asked to give their contact details to a Society officer to enable an answer to be provided at a later date. Please remember that this is your day. Please try to attend and take the opportunity to raise any question that you have, to meet old friends and to make new ones. Further to the official notification in the June Bulletin, set out below is the proposed programme for the day: Programme: 10.30 Doors open; members arrive, time to visit stalls etc. 12.00 Lecture – Susan Ronald: (further details below). 13.15 Lunch and short tours of ‘Historic Leicester’. 14.45 Annual General Meeting and Open Forum/Question Time followed by raffle. 16.15 (estimated) Conclusion of Members’ Day and dispersal 3 Details of the venue and how to get there are given below: Venue: Leicester Adult Education College in Wellington Street, Leicester LE1 6HL. Public Transport: Nearest station is Leicester (National Rail) and the College is within easy walking distance (15 minutes – about 700 metres) from the station. Bus routes include: 47, 47B, 73, 84, 84A, 85, 86, 87, 88, 88A and X40. Parking: There is limited on-street parking in Wellington Street and this is short -stay only.