A Tudor Weekend Away in York
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A Tudor Weekend Away in York

In this guide, we travel to York, the capital city and crowning jewel of North Yorkshire. It is one of the โ€˜must visitโ€™ destinations in the North of England, with its history stretching back to the Roman conquest It is among a select handful of English cities to have most of its medieval walls still intact, and within those walls, wonky medieval buildings and higgledy-piggledy streets abound.

The 1502 Progress: Woolaston, Gloucestershire
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The 1502 Progress: Woolaston, Gloucestershire

On 28 August, the Queen’s Chamber Books for Elizabeth of York records, ‘Itm the same day to the mariners that conveyed the Quenes grace over the Severn besides Chepstowe’. The temptation is to immediately conclude that a ferry conducted the King and Queen across the River Severn into England at the point where the current bridge spans the river, close to the foot of Chepstow Castle, where the royal couple had been lodged. While this might be true, further close inspection of a later entry in the Chamber Book (dated 27 September) clarifies that the Queen moved from Chepstow to ‘Walstone’ before arriving at the next stop: Berkeley Castle.

This entry is a retrospective payment made to ‘Robert Alyn for his costes prepayring logging for the Quene from Ragland to Chepstowe by the space of twoo dayes, from Chepstowe to Walstone, ij dayes, from Walstone to Berkeley, ij dayes.’…

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Leeds Castle, Kent
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Leeds Castle, Kent

Leeds Castle sits across two islands in the middle of the River Len in Kent. During the sixteenth century, Henry VIII lavished money on refurbishing apartments in the Gloriette (the castleโ€™s keep and the location of its most privy apartments) for his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. Katherine certainly stayed at Leeds Castle, as did Katherine Parr. Today, the castle offers a range of luxury accommodation.