Tudor History with Claire Ridgway

August 4 - Rebels fight most valiantly

On this day in Tudor history, 4th August 1549, in the reign of King Edward VI, the Battle of Woodbury Common, part of the Prayer Book Rebellion, took place on Woodbury Common, near the village of Woodbury in East Devon. 
 
The battle was between the rebels and the crown troops commanded by John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford. Although the rebels fought valiantly, they were defeated.
 
Find out more about the battle and what caused the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549 in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of "On This Day in Tudor History". You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/6QIawR0O1ME
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 4th August 1540, thirteen men were executed in London - 12 by being hanged, drawn and quartered, and one by being hanged. Find out why these men were attainted and executed in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/KQ3wZVtYgCk 

August 3 - A notorious Tudor rake!

On this day in Tudor history, 3rd August 1562, Essex magnate and notorious rake, John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford, died at his home, Hedingham Castle in Essex.
 
Oxford served four Tudor monarchs and was great chamberlain at the height of his career, but he had a rather colourful reputation. Find out more about the life of this Earl of Oxford and what gave him his reputation in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society.
 
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/G2qJlcragRY
 
Also on this day in history, 3rd August 1553, the newly proclaimed queen, Queen Mary I, processed through the streets of London with her half-sister, the future Elizabeth I, after having been greeted as queen. It must have been a sight to see as the citizen of London celebrated the accession of Mary I, after the rather short reign of Queen Jane. Find out more about it in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/TP-an_ebQ7A

August 2 - Spaniards land in Cornwall and cause trouble

On 2nd August 1595, as part of the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585-1604, four galleys containing somewhere between 200 and 400 Spanish soldiers landed at Mount's Bay on the coast of western Cornwall. 
 
The local militia fled and so the Spaniards went on to cause devastation in the area.
 
Find out exactly what the Spaniards did in Cornwall in today's talk from historian Claire Ridgway, who shares primary source accounts. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/fI-N7zVgYR8
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 2nd August 1581, an English Protestant named Richard Atkins was burned for heresy in Rome. What had led this Englishman to his end in Rome? What had he done? And why was he tortured on his way to his execution? Find out in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/8HhUzVFVuNg

August 1 - A young blind woman is burnt for heresy

On this day in Tudor history, 1st August 1556, a blind woman named Joan Waste was burnt in Derby for heresy after she refused to recant her Protestant faith.
 
Joan was just twenty-two when she died and had learnt the New Testament by having people read it to her. 
 
Find out more about Protestant martyr, Joan Waste, her short life and her sad end, in today's talk from historian Claire Ridgway. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/BUmhF-nFVUE
 
Also on this day in history, 1st August 1555, Sir Edward Kelley, apothecary, alchemist and medium, was born in Worcester. Kelley was a fascinating man. He worked with Dr John Dee and the men believed that they communicated with angels. Kelley also claimed that he was an alchemist and he wrote a treatise on the Philosopher's Stone. You can find out more about him in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/s6pCLEyHex8 

July 31 - Henry Grey, father of Lady Jane Grey, is released from the Tower

On this day in Tudor history, 31st July 1553, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was “discharged out of the Tower by the Earle of Arundell and had the Quenes pardon.”
 
Suffolk had, of course, been imprisoned after Mary I had overthrown his daughter, Queen Jane, or Lady Jane Grey, and his release was down to his wife, Frances, interceding with the queen and begging for mercy.
 
But who was Henry Grey and how did he go from being pardoned to being executed in 1554? 
 
Find out in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/pIwWLcPt6w4
 
Henry Grey's execution and the story regarding his head? - https://youtu.be/xkyb5qTHSBU 
 
Also, on this day in Tudor history, 31st July 1544 and 1548, the future Queen Elizabeth I wrote letters to her stepmother, Catherine Parr. The letters were written at very different times in Elizabeth's life, the first when Catherine was queen and Elizabeth had been separated from her for a while, and the second after Catherine had actually removed Elizabeth from her and Thomas Seymour's household. Find out more about these letters and their context in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/6jSr01gFj0Y 

July 30 - Elizabeth leaves Somerset House to meet Mary

On this day in Tudor history, 30th July 1553, Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, left her new home, Somerset House, to ride to Wanstead and greet her half-sister, Mary, who'd been officially proclaimed queen on 19th July.
 
Somerset House was Elizabeth's new London residence and you can find out more about how Elizabeth acquired it and who built it originally in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of "On This Day in Tudor History". You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/8sFnsNPybJ8
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 30th July 1540, in the reign of King Henry VIII, men of both the Catholic faith and the reformed faith were executed in London. Find out more about them in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/ZUvIWF51n_Q 
 

July 29 - England's clever tactics against the Spanish Armada

On this day in Tudor history, 29th July 1588, the English naval fleet attacked the Spanish Armada in a battle known as the Battle of Gravelines.
 
England defeated Spain and it was down to the new tactics they'd learned from previous encounters with the Armada and from capturing a Spanish ship, as well as weather conditions.
 
What were these new and successful tactics and what happened at the Battle of Gravelines?
 
Find out in today's talk from historian Claire Ridgway. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/IbT8ZwoxV_s
 
Video on the Spanish Armada - https://youtu.be/OcnS-lmbN00 
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, Sunday 29th July 1565, twenty-three-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, queen regnant of Scotland, married her second husband, nineteen-year-old Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, at Holyrood Palace. Find out all about the wedding and how their marriage turned out – spoiler: it wasn’t good – in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/0ewKrNxNoRQ

July 28 - A botched execution for Thomas Cromwell

On this day in Tudor history, 28th July 1540, the same day that Henry VIII married Catherine Howard, Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, the king’s former chief advisor, was beheaded on Tower Hill having been found guilty of corruption, heresy and treason.
 
Find out about Cromwell's botched execution and his execution speech in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/vPSl-CrGg4g
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 28th July 1540, the very same day, Henry VIII married for a fifth time, marrying Catherine Howard. You can find out more about that in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/xXk0luHfeX4