The 1502 Progress: Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire
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The 1502 Progress: Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire

The next significant stop on the 1502 progress after Woolaston was Berkeley Castle, where the royal couple stayed for five days from 29 August to 4 September.

Berkeley Castle still stands largely untouched since it was set in stone during the eleventh, twelfth and fourteenth centuries. 

Berkeley Castle is highly distinctive in appearance. Built on a typical Norman motte and bailey design during the early and mid-medieval period, it has been constructed from local pink, grey, and yellow Severn sandstone, with its roofs mainly made of Cotswold stone, slate, or lead. 

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Hatfield House: Tudor Day Trips From London
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Hatfield House: Tudor Day Trips From London

We visit the Old Palace of Hatfield, one of the most significant places in the life of Elizabeth I. It was here that the 3-month old princess was brought from London to establish her first household under the watchful eye of Sir John and Lady Shelton, the uncle and aunt of Anne Boleyn. Some twenty-five years later, it was reputedly while sitting under the gnarled oak tree in the Great Park at Hatfield that Princess Elizabeth heard of the death of her sister, Mary, and therefore of her accession to the throne of England.

John and Margaret Beaufort, 1st Duke and Duchess of Somerset.
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John and Margaret Beaufort, 1st Duke and Duchess of Somerset.

Name and Title: John Beaufort and Margaret Beauchamp, 1st Duke (also 3rd Earl of Somerset) and Duchess of Somerset (also Lady St John and Lady Welles).

Born: John Beaufort b.1404; Margaret Beauchamp c. 1410

Died: John Beaufort Died: 3 May 1444, London. Margaret Beauchamp Died: before 3 June 1482.

Buried: Wimborne Minster, Dorset.

Read more and see images of the tomb here…

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 ‘must visit’ 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.

Arundel Castle: Tudor Day Trips From London
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Arundel Castle: Tudor Day Trips From London

We visit Arundel Castle, a historic castle and stately home located in the town of Arundel in West Sussex, England. It is one of the country’s most iconic and well-preserved medieval castles, boasting a rich history that spans over a thousand years. Arundel Castle has been the ancestral seat of the Howard family, the Dukes of Norfolk, since the sixteenth century. Today, Arundel Castle is open to the public.

Hever Castle: Tudor Day Trips From London.
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Hever Castle: Tudor Day Trips From London.

Today, Hever Castle is a quintessential fortified medieval manor house, nestled in the bottom of an idyllic, gently sloping valley. The setting makes the picture-perfect English postcard; sculpted lawns with pretty lily-covered moats; all around you, immaculately tended flower and herb gardens abound. We discover how the castle looked in Anne Boleyn’s day as we travel back to the sixteenth century…

The Tomb effigy of Lady Eleanor Verney, Chief Lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth of York.
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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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St David's Cathedral, Pembrokeshire, Wales.
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St David’s Cathedral, St David’s Pembrokeshire.

In this episode, I visit St David’s in Wales to commemorate St David’s Day on March 1. The cathedral dates back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and is the most important religious site in Wales. Pilgrims have visited the cathedral for centuries, and the building boasts impressive architectural features, including a stunning painted ceiling, examples of fan vaulting, the aforementioned Bishop’s Palace ruins, and the medieval cloister.