England
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Sophia of Hanover
Sophia of Hanover was born on 14th October 1630, in the Wassaener Hof in The Hague, where her parents were exiled during the thirty years war. Her father, Frederick of Bohemia and mother, Elizabeth Stuart, only surviving daughter of James VI of Scotland and I of England already had eleven children. During her young years, Sophia was courted by her cousin King Charles II in the hope of a betrothal but nothing became of the courtship. Sophia instead married Ernest Augustus of Brunswick at the age of 27, quite late for a woman of the period. The marriage was successful, although Ernest was known to have a bad temper and…
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Hanging of Mary Dyer
Mary Barret was born around 1611 in England although where exactly isn’t known. A probate document remains from 1633/4 from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury concerning the estate of what appears to be the estate of her brother, William Barret, leaving his assets to Mary and her husband, which suggests that their parents were deceased and that William had no heirs. It could also highlight that Canterbury was close to the area in which Mary and her brother were born or lived. Mary married William Dyer, a milliner, in 1633, original from Lincolnshire, in St Martin in the Fields on 27th October 1633, and a child, William Jr was born…
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Historical Towns Series- Stamford, Lincolnshire
It came to my attention, during casual chit-chat that many people go about their lives, doing the usual things: go to work, take the kids to school, shop. You know the sort of thing. But we seem to go about it half the time with our eyes painted on, as my Nana used to say. So I decided to start a new series, about local history, and the things under our noses that we take for granted or simply hadn’t realised. I’m going to start with a look at a town which is well-known to me, and is steeped in history, more than many people realise. Stamford, in Lincolnshire. Due…
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The Lollard Revolt
The English Reformation is a well-known period in history, when you think of it, you think of King Henry VIII. However, the basis for the English reformation actually originated hundreds of years before The Tudor monarch was even born. In the early 1320’s a man called John Wycliffe was born, he would grow up to be a churchman, theologian and writer. His beliefs and ideas would be the platform on which the later reformers would build their religion. He wanted to make religious teachings more accessible to all and even translated the Bible into English, which naturally the Catholic Church denounced as unauthorised. In 1401, translating a bible would be…
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The death of King Edward IV
During the turbulent years of the Wars of the Roses, Edward IV reigned not once, but twice taking the crown for the Yorkists. His military skills and physical prowess earned him his reputation and fame. He was also an imposing figure reputedly standing 6 foot and 3 inches tall – almost a whole foot taller than the average male of the time. Edward was famous also as being something of a womaniser, allegedly having a number of mistresses. He went against convention and married a woman of his own choice, much to the frustrations of his advisers who were looking to make a politically advantageous marriage for him. His choice…
