Chaldon "Doom Painting" or "Purgatorial ladder" , probably the oldest in the UK.

/ St Peter and St Paul's Church, Chaldon/

Chaldon “Doom Painting” has been featured in loads of books, especially chiIdren’s medieval history books and is stunning when you walk into the church and see it for the first time. It is possibly the oldest Doom painting in the UK, painted sometime around 1200 AD. It is unique, there is nothing to compare it with. Some people have suggested that it is part of the original mural but no-one has found any evidence to support this theory and looking around with my amateur eye, I couldn’t see anything that could be interpreted as being even a small bump in the white paintwork that could be concealing a fragment of another painting. The painting is believed to have been produced by an unnamed travelling monk who went from church to church. The painting is over 17 feet wide and 11 feet high. Only red and yellow ochre paints were used in the painting which again, makes it unusual. It is said to have been whitewashed when Cromwell and the puritans were in power and rediscovered in 1869.

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Richmond Palace, much loved home to the Tudors and once a stunning grand palace but sadly only a gatehouse remains today.

/ Richmond Palace /

Richmond Palace, much loved home to the Tudors and once a stunning grand palace but sadly only a gatehouse remains today. You can walk up to this impressive Tudor gatehouse built in 1501 by Henry VII. It started off as a substantial manor house in 1125 and became a royal manor house in 1327. Important events involving key Tudors took place at Richmond Palace. Henry VII died here and in 1603, so did his granddaughter, Elizabeth I. Prince Henry, later Henry VIII nearly lost his life here and his eldest daugther, Mary, spent her honeymoon within its walls.

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The king in the car park 2 : the backstory of the discovery and proof at the Richard III Visitor Centre

/ Richard III Visitor Centre/

A visit to the Richard III Visitor Centre is a must for any medieval history fan. It tells the story of the Wars of the Roses using some amazing graphics and how Richard came to rule England. You are then taken on a path to discover what happened to Richard’s body having lost the Battle of Bosworth Field to Henry Tudor. The great mystery was only recently solved but then the task was to exactly locate the skeletal remains. This was not easy because several misleading sources suggested that either his bones had been removed and buried next to a river or actually thrown in that river. This was not the end of the story because the next step was the monumental task of proving that the remains found were actually Richard III. Historian’s judgements would not be sufficient, it had to be proven by mitochondrial DNA. Finally, you can actually see Richard’s open grave!

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The king in the car park part 1: Leicester Cathedral, Richard III's final resting place.

/ Leicester Cathedral/

The king in the car park, part 1, is about Leicester Cathedral, Richard III's final resting place. In August 2012 there was a media frenzy taking place near an old car park in the city of Leicester. What was going on? The world’s media had just been informed that archaeologists had found skeletal remains which were possibly those of King Richard III of England. Back in August 1485, Richard III had been killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field by the army of Henry Tudor, soon to become Henry VII but there was a mystery about what happened to his body. Leicester Cathedral has become his final resting place. There you can see his amazing tomb, two beautiful stained glass windows commissioned to go with the tomb and the beautiful cloth (pall) that covered his coffin in his funeral. It is also next door to the Richard III Visitor Centre, specially created with audio visual facilities to tell the story of Richard’s life, how his body was discovered and give you a good view of his excavated grave.

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Breaking news; A new discovery that the Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo treasure includes a lyre from Kazakstan.

/ British Museum/

Remember the Netflix movie “The Dig” ? Well, Sutton Hoo is hitting the headlines again. An article soon to be published in the journal Antiquity by Gjermund Kolltveit, suggests that a lyre found in Dzhetyasar, Kazakhstan, dating from the 4th century AD is very similar to one found in the Sutton Hoo ship burial from the 7th century AD. Norwegian, Gjermund Kolltveit states in the journal that the lyre found in Kazakhstan is “barely distinguishable” from the Sutton Hoo lyre. In 2019, Kollveit attended a conference on music archaeology and came across a photo of the Dzhetyasar lyre and it immediately rang bells suggesting similarities with lyres in Germany and Sutton Hoo. “I recognized from the picture immediately, ‘wow, this is very, very similar to the lyres found in Germany and the UK,’ he said.

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The London Mithraeum, discovered in 1954 under the bombed out ruins of London and now rebuilt to give you a "memorable, powerful and authentic experience."

/ London Mithraeum/

The London Mithraeum, discovered in 1952 under the bombed out ruins of London, is now rebuilt and open to the public to give you a "memorable, powerful and authentic experience."The London Mithraeum was built 1800 years ago by the Romans and dedicated to the god, Mithras. In 1952 a small section of a Roman building was discovered and on the last day of the dig in 1954 its function was confirmed as a temple devoted to the God Mithras. The evidence on that last day was a sculpted head of Mythras. The temple was first built around 240-250AD and was eventually abandoned in about 380AD and is now open to the public in the Bloomberg building. A further excavation took place between 2012-2014 and discovered more than 14 000 artefacts, together with 63 000 pieces of pottery and 3 tonnes of animal bones. This together with the original finds means that this was has become a highly important site in the history of London. Over 400 pieces of writing tablets have been found and this includes the first known reference to London and the earliest hand written document. Some 600 artefacts are on display as well as the temple itself. Several other key finds are on display in the nearby Museum of London. (20 minutes walk)

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Visiting London? The Museum of London, is one of the best museums in the UK and is free. (Part 1)

/ Museum of London/

Visiting London? The Museum of London, is one of the best museums in the UK and is free. You can see amazing objects from thousands of years of life in London, from a Mammoth tusk to a pilgrims badge representing a visit to St Thomas Becket’s tomb. You can get up close to those objects and see their little details. The displays are bright and informative. There are rooms set out as though they were from a Roman villa placing Roman finds in context. Several models are on display such as London’s Roman forum and Basilica as well as the original gothic St Paul’s Cathedral

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Restormel Castle; Situated in beautiful Cornish countryside and seen as, "one of the most remarkable castles in Britain", English Heritage.

/ Restormel castle/

Restormel Castle is situated in beautiful Cornish countryside and is seen as, "one of the most remarkable castles in Britain", according to English Heritage. It is virtually unique in its design and therefore is rather special in my opinion. There aren’t many shell keeps around and this is one of the best. It is very different from the magnificent castles of North Wales, the amazing Warwick Castle, Dover castle and the beautiful Bodiam Castle.Standing on the wall walk you can see the wonderful curved wall in front and behind you. The skill of the builders to create such curves is impressive. It is quietly tucked away in the glorious Cornish countryside with wonderful views in all directions. Standing on the wall walk you can see the wonderful curved wall in front and behind you. The skill of the builders to create such curves is impressive.

  • It is quietly tucked away in the glorious Cornish countryside with wonderful views in all directions.

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St Michael's Mount; a castle, a monastery and first beacon in the chain to alert Elizabeth I that the Armada was coming.

/ St Michael's Mount/

Why visit St Michael’s Mount? Getting there is an adventure. You can walk at low tide across a causeway or go on a short boat trip. On landing, you then have the challenge of getting to the top. From the mainland it cries out to be visited and from the top you get some great views. Pilgrims have visited it for centuries. It has survived a variety of historic events such as the Wars of the Roses, Spanish Armada and the Napoleonic Wars. It has been altered so many times over the years that each room in the mix takes you to a new part of its history. It has a unique and fascinating collection of artefacts. There is no guessing what you will see in the next room.

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Tintagel Castle and our quest for King Arthur.

/ Tintagel Castle/

This blog will unravel the mysteries of the stories of King Arthur and Tintagel. It describes and explains how the story grew over time and sheds light on the truth about King Arthur. It suggests why you should visit Tintagel Castle. It is the mythical birthplace and home of King Arthur, allegedly the greatest King of Britain. There are an awful lot of legends associated with this place that are outlined below. It is a fascinating ruined to explore. It has beautiful views of the rocky coastline. It is in English Heritage’s top five of most visited places.

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Whitehall Palace; Henry VIII's magnificent palace that has disappeared!

/ Whitehall/

Henry VIII loved building and designing palaces to the extent that when he died in 1547, he left 55 palaces that he could call his own. The biggest was Whitehall Palace but surprisingly, very little is left to see of the magnificent palace and you have to be a spy of some sort to see it because the only remains are underneath the Ministry of Defence! Photographs of Henry VIII’s wine cellar look impressive but it is hardly representative of what used to be above ground.

This is rather surprising considering its enormous size. The mighty Hampton Court occupies 6 acres of land, however, in comparison, Whitehall Palace is nearly four times as large, occupying 23 acres! Hovering over it today with a drone would show an area from Trafalgar Square to almost Big Ben. Under Henry, it was to contain 1500 rooms and physically portrays the might of the Tudors. No castle or manor house came anywhere near it for size, setting Henry VIII way above any potential rival. Henry married two of his wives at the palace, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour and in 1547 he even died there! From 1532 onwards, Whitehall became Henry’s most visited residence although he preferred to celebrate the great feasts of the year such as Christmas at one of his other palaces such as Greenwich or Hampton Court.

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Launceston Castle, an unusual castle once owned by some fascinating people.

/ Launceston Castle/

Launceston Castle, a “must visit” for all castle fans. Originally a “motte and bailey” type of castle, it is almost unique in design. The shell keep sits on top of a motte with a central tower rising up above it. Standing on the staircase and looking over at the motte, it is easy to see why this style of castle was built. It is almost impossible to attack it by riding up the motte because it is far too steep for horses. It is also very steep for foot soldiers to charge up trying to defend themselves and attack with appropriate weapons. It is easy to see how such a design can be defended by shooting arrows at the enemy trying to clamber up the steep motte and making rather indefensible targets. Looking from the top of the tower gives an amazing view of the surrounding town and countryside. Such a view would give an early warning of an advancing army. The masonry of the keep, thin pieces of local shale stone is very different from most castles which are usually made of large oblong blocks of limestone or sandstone. Building with this thin stone seems to me to be a lot harder than using big stone that make up the Tower of London or Bodium Castle.

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England in peril. Why Henry VIII built Pendennis and St. Mawes Castles.

/ Pendennis Castle/

Why was Henry VIII’s England in peril? The short answer to this is that in Henry’s desperate bid to get a son, he made three big enemies, France, Spain and the Pope. In 1538 they all ganged up against him.Henry’s response was a plan known as the “Device of the King”, which proposed to build castles, forts, defence embankments etc to protect the south coast of England. One of those castles was Pendennis Castle in Cornwall. Potential landing points and vulnerable ports were to be protected against any French and/or Spanish attack. These were the last castles built in England except for “mock” castles harking back to the past but were still part of Britain’s defences in World War two. Henry’s daughter, Queen Elizabeth I was able to use this line of defences at the time of the Spanish Armada in 1588. and for two subsequent but smaller armadas in 1596 and 1597.

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Hever Castle, the home of Anne Boleyn; victim or "gold-digger"?

/ Hever Castle/

Why visit Hever Castle? You can walk around and go inside a beautiful medieval castle built in 1271. See the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife and queen for only 1000 days. Visit the place where Henry VIII made frequent visits, at first to see his mistress, Mary, Anne’s sister and later to “court” Anne herself. Wander through rooms that would have been familiar to Anne as well as restored rooms that have been furnished sympathetically according to the wishes of the Aster family from America. Marvel at one of the best collections of Tudor Portraits in the country after the National Portrait Gallery according to the renowned historian, Dr David Starkey.

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How did Lord Sandys try to impress Henry VIII?

/ The Vyne/

The Vyne, originally a Tudor mansion but now showing 500 years of development and set in 13 acres of beautiful gardens. On a typical wet winter’s day, the walk from the car park to the mansion is still beautiful. Inside, are a whole variety of fascinating objects to observe in a series of rooms from various periods. We particularly liked the Tudor sections and discovering references to Henry VIII and his first wife Katherine of Aragon. What is ironic is that the house has numerous emblems of Catherine of Aragon in the “Long Gallery” and in the chapel and yet Anne Boleyn visited it twice and must have seen them! In the Long Gallery, you will see emblems or heraldry of numerous Tudor notables and it is fun discovering and recognising as many as you can. Another high point of the Vyne is the beautiful chapel and its stained glass windows.

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Why did Henry VIII build Southsea Castle and what has it to do with his wives and the Mary Rose?

/ Southsea Castle/

Why did Henry VIII build Southsea Castle and what has it to do with his wives and the Mary Rose? All these questions and more are answered in this blog. Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon caused him grave problems with the Pope and Kings of France and Spain. To save his throne from disaster, he built Southsea Castle to a new revolutionary design. Only a year after it was completed, a French fleet was present in the solent ready to attack and disaster struck. Henry based at Southsea Castle saw his premier ship, the Mar Rose, sink in front of his eyes without a shot being fired. Post Tudor history of Southsea Castle is also covered along with information and photos of what visitors to Southsea Castle can expect to see on a visit.

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Explore Salisbury Cathedral and also see the best preserved copy of Magna Carta.

/ Salisbury Cathedral/

See a beautiful, gothic cathedral with the tallest spire in the country and see the best preserved of the four surviving original copies of Magna Carta, one of the most important documents in the world. The cathedral stands alone in its own beautiful grounds so that you can have an unimpeded view all the way around and even enjoy a picnic. The cathedral that John Constable loved to paint. Go on a tower tour and climb stairs to over 200 feet above ground level. Stroll around the biggest cloisters in Britain. See a beautiful interior and, as it lacks an interior screen, you can see from one end to the other. See the oldest working medieval clock in the world. If you are there when the choir is rehearsing, you will experience mindfulness and be at peace with the world.

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Salisbury has the best doom painting in Britain. A mind blowing piece of medieval art in the Church of St Thomas a Becket.

/ St Thomas's church/

St Thomas’s houses the largest, most complete and best preserved Doom painting in the UK. It is a great representation about what was going on in the Medieval mind, especially with regard to religious views and teachings. The painting is huge and probably totally different from what you would expect to be on a church wall. It is absolutely stunning or to use a modern overused phrase, awesome. To put it simply, it is a wonderful piece of medieval art and is in excellent condition. The detail and story will entice you to stay studying it for quite some time.

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Bones, stones , pots and relics, one of the best museums to get close to your ancestors at Corinium museum in the Cotswolds.

/ Corinium museum/

Bones, stones , pots and relics, one of the best museums to get close to your ancestors at Corinium museum in the Cotswolds. It is , by far, one of the best museums to get see prehistoric, Roman and Saxon remains. There are so many things to see and so many information boards that it is impossible not to learn a huge amount about our ancestors. It gives visitors an opportunity to handle replicas such as in the two photos above. You will be able to get a close look at archaeological discoveries that are regularly discovered with great excitement on tv programmes but then are taken off to be studied in private at universities. The Neolithic and Beaker people pottery are good examples of this, whilst at this museum, you can see all the decoration on their pots and begin to see how different decorations show different periods of prehistory. You can see various graves that have been reconstructed and appreciate the work of archaeologists carefully uncovering such finds to get the full picture and maximum information from their dig.

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Butser Ancient Farm, five thousand years of history.

/ Butser Ancient Farm/

Where did our ancestors live when they came down from trees? Where did Cave men live if there weren’t any caves about? They had to build them. At Butser Ancient Farm, you will see an amazing collection of reconstructed houses from the Neolithic period, five thousand years ago to the Saxons in the early medieval period. You can look closely at the building techniques, styles and materials from the different time periods. It is one thing to see artist versions in books but it is a very different thing to see a reconstructed building based on actual examples and then walk inside it. At Butser you can also see how the interiors were furnished and decorated. There is even an amazing reconstructed Roman villa for you to wander through. Butser Ancient Farm is full of exceptionally friendly and helpful staff who love the place, are very knowledgeable and are very keen to tell you all about it. You will come away with an improved knowledge of living spaces over thousands of years, an enhanced love of history and some excellent stories.

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