Woodstock Manor: An Ancient Pleasure Palace and Doleful Prison
Recently, I visited Blenheim Park in North Oxfordshire; the site of the once magnificent Woodstock Manor, the most ancient, royal palace in England. Standing next to a solitary plinth, which is all the remains to mark the spot where this historic palace once stood, I felt a deep sadness. This was not only for its … Read more
Tudor Macarons: A Christmas Treat
Welcome back to The Great Tudor Bake Off. For our last Tudor bake of the year, our resident chef here at The Tudor Travel Guide, Brigitte Webster, shows us how to make macarons, a Tudor Christmas treat. Advent was a time for fasting in Tudor England, meat was taken off the menu and fish was eaten instead. For … Read more
Busks, Busk-Points, Courtship and Sexual Desire in Early Modern Europe
Please note: THIS BLOG CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT AND EXPLICIT SEXUAL REFERENCES I have long been fascinated by Tudor dress, from the magnificent gowns worn by queens and courtiers to the garments worn by women of the mercantile classes. The fashions of the Tudor dynasty communicated status, power and femininity; dress was a form of political … Read more
Tudor Pear Pie: An Autumnal Treat
This blog contains affiliate links Welcome back to The Great Tudor Bake Off. This month at The Tudor Travel Guide, our resident chef, Brigitte Webster, cooks up an autumnal treat: Tudor Pear Pie. With little means of storing food, ingredients in Tudor times were often eaten when they were fresh and seasonal, or preserved by pickling or placing … Read more
The Mary Rose: Splendour, Sinking and Salvage
Welcome back to The Tudor History & Travel Show. In this episode, I visit the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth for a guided tour, led by two experts: Dr. Alexzandra Hildred and John Seager. Alex is Head of Research and Curator of Ordnance and Human Remains at the Mary Rose Trust. She joined the project in … Read more
‘Palaces of Revolution’: Life, Death and Art at the Stuart Court.
This post contains some affiliate links Confession time: I am not a fan of the Stuart monarchy. In fact, if you press me, then privily I will admit that although my interest in English history stretches way back to our Anglo-Saxon forefathers, it stops around 24 March 1603 with the death of Elizabeth I, the … Read more
Travel Essentials: Winter & The Christmas Season In The UK
Welcome back to the Tudor History & Travel Show: Travel Essentials! The final episode in the 2021 series of Travel Essentials, today’s episode will get you in the festive spirit. As your one-stop shop for all things Tudor Travel, we make sure you have all of the information you need to make the most of your … Read more
Tudor Syrup
Welcome back to The Great Tudor Bake Off. As the autumn approaches for us in the UK, Brigitte Webster, our resident chef here at The Tudor Travel Guide, has got a recipe packed full of nutrients to keep your immune system boosted. The Tudors considered food to be a type of medicine provided by nature, often relying … Read more
Travel Essentials: Glorious Gloucestershire!
Welcome back to the Tudor History & Travel Show: Travel Essentials! Travel Essentials provides inspiration for planning your next Tudor trip. For those of you who like to touch your Tudor history, we share all the information you need to get out on the road to see and experience Tudor places. Our top tips help … Read more
Knole House Revisited & The Tudors in Love: Featuring Julie Milner and Sarah Gristwood
There are affiliate links in this blog In this month’s episode of The Tudor Travel Show, I talk to the author, Sarah Gristwood, about her new book The Tudors in Love: The Courtly Code Behind the Last Medieval Dynasty. I also meet with Julie Milner, tour and house guide at Knole House in Kent. Together, … Read more
Sutton House & Tudor Hackney: Ralph Sadler’s Nouveau-Riche ‘Bryk Place’
This post contains affiliate links. In this month’s blog, I am going to introduce you to a Tudor house that is utterly unique. You will simply not find another like it anywhere: Sutton House in Hackney. It was created by a Tudor courtier on the rise; not yet wealthy enough to build a grand country … Read more
The Very Best Of Typically English Things To Do When Visiting the UK: Travel Essentials
Cover Image: Seckford Hall, courtesy of Seckford Hall Hotel and Spa, Suffolk. Welcome back to the Tudor History & Travel Show: Travel Essentials! Here in Travel Essentials, we cover those all important things to consider when you’re planning your next Tudor trip. For those of you who like to touch Tudor history in person, Travel Essentials … Read more
Otford Palace: Rivalry, Glory and Ruin in the Tudor Age
Otford Palace, in Kent, was once acknowledged as being the most magnificent house in England. The man who was singularly responsible for its aggrandisement, William Warham, then Archbishop of Canterbury, was locked in rivalry with the Thomas Wolsey. At the time, Wolsey was in the ascendant, fast becoming the second most powerful man in the … Read more
Salad In Tudor England And Europe
Welcome back to The Great Tudor Bake Off. This month at The Tudor Travel Guide, our resident chef, Brigitte Webster, tells us about salad in Tudor England and Europe. Salads were quite common in the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries in England but by the time the Tudors came to power, they had more or … Read more
Tudor Stepney & Thomas Cromwell’s ‘Great Place’
Cover Image: Worcester House with Tudor Stepney in the background. Image courtesy of MOLA Anyone who knows me will be aware that Anne Boleyn is my historical heroine, but lately, I admit to having developed a growing fascination for her nemesis: Thomas Cromwell, his protégés, such as Sir Richard Rich and Sir Ralph Sadler, as … Read more
Your Guide To Getting Around the UK: Travel Essentials
Cover Image: Ravens at the Tower by Bob Collowan/Commons/CC-BY-SA-4.0 via Wikimedia Commons Welcome back to the Tudor History & Travel Show: Travel Essentials! Travel Essentials is your go-to guide for your next Tudor trip. From the best places to visit, what to bring with you, or where to stop for a bite to eat, we share our … Read more
Temple Newsam: A Scottish Enclave in the North
On 7 December 1545, a son was born to Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox and Matthew Stuart, 4th Earl of Lennox at Temple Newsam in Yorkshire. This boy would grow up to be king consort of Scotland, his future wife being Mary, Queen of Scots. Having lived an eventful life at the English court as … Read more
‘Gold and Glory’ at Hampton Court Palace
The Field of Cloth of Gold was one of the most spectacular events of its age. Feted for the ostentatious display of power and wealth on both sides, its principal architect, Cardinal Wolsey, provided a glittering stage upon which two young, alpha males of Europe, Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England, might … Read more
Henry VIII: The Man Behind the Mask
What if you could meet King Henry VIII of England? What questions would you be dying to ask him? How do you think you would feel about the encounter? Do you think your feelings towards him might change if you could get behind the mask? Well, on your behalf, I was granted an audience with … Read more
Floral Vinegar: An Essential Ingredient In The Tudor Kitchen
Welcome to this month’s Great Tudor Bake Off here at The Tudor Travel Guide. Our resident chef, Brigitte Webster, introduces us to an essential cooking ingredient in Tudor times: vinegar. In this blog, you’ll learn how to make Tudor floral vinegar, and discover how it was used in Tudor times to the present day. The … Read more