Exterior of Hardwick Hall
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Hardwick Hall: ‘More Glass Than Wall’

In this episode, I head to the county of Derbyshire to visit Hardwick Hall. One of the best-known and most magnificent Prodigy Houses in England, Hardwick Hall was built by Bess of Hardwick. A remarkable figure in the sixteenth century, we discover more about Bess and the story of this Tudor treasure trove.

I’m joined by Liz Wearing, Property Curator at Hardwick Hall as we explore this jewel of the late Elizabethan age.

Close up view of Katherine Parr's tomb at Sudeley Castle.
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KATHERINE PARR, QUEEN OF ENGLAND

Name and Title: Katherine Parr (she signed her letters Kateryn Parr), Queen of England.

Born: Blackfriars, London, c.1512.

Died: 5 September 1548.

Buried: Sudeley Castle Chapel, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire.

In this blog we explore the life, death and burial of Queen Katherine Parr…

Sketch of Gloucester from the west.
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The 1502 Progress: The Vineyard at Over, Gloucestershire

The 1502 Progress fo Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, continued…
Having stayed overnight in Coberley Hall, the royal party was again on the move. As we read in the above quote, their destination was the Abbot of Gloucester’s fine manor house, which stood on a raised plateau west of Gloucester. The house was known as ‘The Vineyard’ because of the ancient vines cultivated on its terraces since at least the thirteenth century…