Ricardian Bulletin Magazine of the Richard III Society ISSN 0308 4337 June 2009 Ricardian Bulletin June 2009 Contents 2 From the Chairman 3 Society News and Notices 6 The Bosworth Portal Goes Live 7 Bosworth 2009 8 Who Do You Think You Are? The answer is: Ricardians 12 The King Richard III School, Majorca 13 New Exhibition at Barley Hall 14 Beating the Eggheads 15 News and Reviews 23 Media Retrospective 27 The Man Himself: Cashing in on Richard: by David Fiddimore 29 Proceedings of the Triennial Conference 2008: Part 5: Henry VII as Suspect 34 Our Past in Pictures 35 Retrospective on the Quincentenary of the Death of Henry VII: Part 2. Later Opposition 38 Depicting Richard as Founder 39 Richard and Realpolitik: by Gordon Smith 42 A Revised Date for the Dublin Coronation of ‘Edward VI’: by Randolph Jones 45 Miracle in Bedfordshire: by Lesley Boatwright 47 Edward IV’s Precontract of Matrimony: A Clarification: by Marie Barnfield 49 Report on Society Events 51 Correspondence 52 New Members 53 The Barton Library 55 Future Society Events 56 Branches and Groups: Contact Details and Reports 62 Obituaries 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, 2009 From the Chairman here has been a flood of books about Richard III and related subjects recently, and it seems T that even more are coming. Is this all coincidence or is there a reason? Is there an anniversary that I’ve forgotten about? Whatever the explanation, it is a rather nice antidote to the current plethora of celebrations for the five hundredth anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession. I have no doubt that Henry would have been none too pleased by his great uncle grabbing the posthumous historical limelight almost as much as he has. Our summer issue has another mix of informative and entertaining articles, reviews and notices. How does the editorial team do it? While we continue with the proceedings of last year’s Triennial Conference, the pre-contract debate rolls on, and there are articles on Richard III and realpolitik, the opposition to Henry VII and a new look at the Dublin ‘coronation’ of 1487. David Fiddimore provides a fascinating insight into the marketing of Richard III, which includes examples of some of the very unusual forms this can take. Our presence at this year’s Who Do You Think You Are? Live event at Olympia provided much positive publicity for the Society, and, I hope, has attracted some new members. There is a comprehensive review in this issue, illustrated with some nice photos of those who took part. I would like to thank them all, especially our ‘star’ attraction, Josephine Tewson. No-one who was there is likely to forget what it was like to see Jo in action, whether it was chatting-up the prospective new members, selling her autograph or posing for pictures (for a fee to the Society, of course). Once again, it was a joy to behold. In the 2005 winter issue of the Bulletin a debate was held on the merits of historical fiction, and in this issue we have a letter that reopens that debate. Prompted by a work of fiction in the spring Bulletin, the letter raises questions about whether we should have fiction in the magazine at all. As you will be aware, we aim to include a broad range of articles and features to match the interests of readers of the Bulletin. However, we are aware that fiction can be contentious, and it would be interesting to hear your views on this matter. Recently, there have been some changes in the way that the Executive Committee operates and these are outlined in full on page 4. Most significant is the establishment of the Ways and Means Sub-committee, which has been set up to consider issues in detail and to make recommendations to the full Executive Committee. This will enable it to make more informed decisions which is especially important at a time like this, when, like other organisations, we need to be more careful with our resources. We also have some new people in post, and I extend a warm welcome to Diana Lee, our new Business Co-ordinator, and Gillian Paxton, our new Papers Librarian. I wish them well. Looking ahead, there is Bosworth, the Australian Convention and the AGM, which this year is back in London. These events will be reviewed in future issues of the Bulletin, of course, but I do ask all members who can to support them. The Society remains strong, and I look forward to seeing and meeting members at various events during the next few months, but we mustn’t be complacent. In these recessionary times, we must work even harder to keep up our membership numbers, while at the same time continuing to spend our money wisely. Enjoy your summer or, if you are in the antipodes, may your winter be kind to you. 2 Society News and Notices Richard III Society Members’ Day and Annual General Meeting Saturday 3 October 2009 Notice is hereby given that the 2009 Annual General Meeting of the Richard III Society will be held on Saturday 3 October 2009 in Staple Inn Hall, High Holborn, London WC1V 7QJ. The formal business of the meeting will include reports from the Society’s officers, the presentation of the annual accounts of the Society to 31 March 2009 and the election of the Executive Committee for the coming year. Exact timings for the day will be notified in the autumn Bulletin. Nominations for the Executive Committee should be sent to the Joint Secretaries, Susan and David Wells, by post to 23 Ash Rise, Halstead, Essex, CO9 1RD, to be received not later than Friday 18 September 2009. All nominations must be proposed and seconded and accepted by the nominee in writing. Resolutions for the agenda, also proposed and seconded, should reach the Joint Secretaries at the address and by the same date as set out above. If you intend to come to the Members’ Day and AGM, please let us know by completing the form in this Bulletin. Call to Branches and Groups If your branch/group wishes to make a report at the AGM, please let the Joint Secretaries know by Friday 18 September so that it can be included on the AGM agenda. Reports may be made in person by a branch/group representative or, for overseas branches/groups, if no local representative is able to attend the AGM in person, a printed report may be supplied to be read at the AGM. Reports should not exceed three minutes, and should consist of new material not previously reported verbally or in print. Refreshments Light refreshments may be purchased during the informal part of the day. Lunch will be by own arrangements. Information about local facilities will be given in the autumn Bulletin. STOP PRESS. The speaker at the 2009 AGM will be Dr Tobias Capwell, curator of arms and armour at the Wallace Collection and formerly of the Burrell Collection. More details in the September issue. 3 New Society Arrangements and Officers We have a new sub-committee A ‘Ways and Means’ sub-committee has been set up, chaired by our President, Peter Hammond, to look at the funding implications of projects, and ensure that the society receives value for money. The new group will report back to the Executive Committee, so that informed decisions can be made, ensuring that the latter remains as the principal decision-making body of the Society. New projects and proposals may be channelled to the new sub-committee through the Secretariat. This is a new venture, and we hope that it will ensure that our collective energies, and our cash, are concentrated where they will do the most to further the Society’s aims. Diana Lee is our new Business Co-ordinator Further to the changes in the administration of the Society that have come about following the resignations of Jane Trump and Wendy Moorhen from the Executive Committee, we have created a new post, that of Business Co-ordinator. The holder is not a member of the Executive Committee, but will report to it through the Secretaries or the Chairman. The function of the Co -ordinator is to liaise between the Society and the organisations that provide us with a variety of services, such as Royal Mail, Micropress, our printers, and Portland and Pharos, our distribution houses. It is with very great pleasure that we can announce that the first Business Co-ordinator will be Diana Lee. Diana is well known to many, having been a member of the Society for many years. Indeed, formerly Diana Cumber, she met her husband, Peter, through that well-known dating agency, the Richard III Society. Diana has recently resigned from her role as treasurer to the London Branch and so we are very pleased that she is willing to transfer her talents to the role of Business Co-ordinator.