Brancepeth Castle is a historic medieval fortress located in the village of Brancepeth, County Durham. It stands on the site of a former Norman motte-and-bailey castle and has a rich history dating back over nine hundred years. It has a recently renovated flat for up to three guests to stay in.
After travelling for around four weeks, and lodging for a week at Raglan Castle, Elizabeth of York and Henry VII began their homebound journey.
Bordering Wales and England, Chepstow Castle sits atop of the cliffs overlooking the River Wye in Monmouthshire’s Wye Valley. it was the next stop on the 1502 progress.
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Nestled by a small stream in a woodland clearing, Hole Cottage is the remaining fragment of a late medieval timber-framed hall house. Its rural, peaceful location is the perfect base for exploring the county of Kent, which is brimming with Tudor places to visit.
Medieval Tomb:
Name and Title: Sir William ap Thomas
Born: Sometime in the 1380s.
Died: 3 May 1445, London.
Buried: St Mary’s Priory, Abergavenny, Wales.
Read more and see images of the tomb here…
Hotel Indigo offers luxury accommodation in an original sixteenth century building, with views of Shakespeare’s New Place, his residential home. In the heart of the town, the hotel is the perfect place from which to explore many nearby Tudor places.
Raglan Castle: Arrival and Family Ties
When Elizabeth and Henry left Troy after five days of hospitality, they had only a short seven-mile journey in a south-westerley direction to reach their next destination, Raglan Castle (or ‘Ragland’ as it was known until at least the early nineteenth century).
An 1801 account of the road from Monmouth to Raglan describes the scenery the royal couple would have encountered as they began their journey, ‘On leaving Monmouth the road leads for near two miles thro’ a pleasant enclosed valley, skirted by gentle swellings, clothed or cultivated to their summits but gaining the higher ground at Wonastow. The view unfolds itself in a beautiful and extensive manner, over a rich and fertile country…’
The royal party arrived at Raglan Castle on or around 19 August. Their stay there was the apex and, in many ways, the centrepiece of the visit with its incumbent lord, the King’s loyal and erstwhile brother-in-arms, Sir Walter Herbert, playing host…
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From palaces to beaches, castles to cathedrals and churches to Elizabethan houses, with underground tunnels thrown in for good measure, Pembrokeshire is rich with Tudor connections and makes for a fantastic long weekend break.
Tudor Tomb:
Name and Title: Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Born: 24 June 1532
Died: 4 September 1548.
Buried: The Beauchamp Chapel, St Mary’s Church, Warwick.
Read more and see images and a video of the tomb here…
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 castle’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.
Venturing out of the city of London, we travel to Cambridge. The city flourished as a centre of learning through the medieval and Tudor periods (when most of the colleges were founded or completed), some of them by behemoths of the Tudor age, including Henry VII, Margaret Beaufort and Henry VIII. We discover the places associated with Tudor royal visits, and summarise where to go and what to look out for when visiting the city today.
