The news cycle is fast, and it’s hard to keep up with our favorite interests and topics! That’s why I regularly I make up this post with the top stories that have caught my attention. This edition – Tudorcon speaker Brigitte Webster is in is in the FT Weekend, a new Henry VIII game, a castle you can buy, the weekend soundtrack, an exhibition at the Mary Rose, and a new acquisition for the National Portrait Gallery.
Grab a cuppa, sit back, and enjoy some Tudor news…
Brigitte Webster featured in this article about moats
Tudorcon speaker (and all around awesome person) Brigitte Webster, of the Tudor & 17th Century Experience, Brigitte Webster is featured in this Financial Times article. “The moat sealed the deal,” says Brigitte Webster about her new, old house. She was not planning to move, but the 16th-century home for sale west of Norwich caught her eye. Its arched and mullioned windows would have beguiled any buyer, but it was the moat that captured her imagination. Webster had wanted one for years. She and her husband move in January.”
https://www.ft.com/content/151f5c58-bdbe-11e9-9381-78bab8a70848
Gamers! There’s a game for you!
Ever wondered what it’s like to be Henry VIII? Well, you need worry no longer, because Fit for a King lets you do all he did and more.
https://www.gamereactor.eu/fit-for-a-king-review/
Entertainment: Britain’s Best Walks episode
If you’re a fan of the show, and can watch ITV, you might go back and revisit the Cotswolds – Cleve Hill episode, which features Sudeley Castle, in honor of Katherine Parr, who passed away this past week. If not, you can always watch a version of it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/EQNwIBsyv4c
Opinion: Pontefract’s role in a Tudor Tragedy
Rob Atkinson writes about the role of Pontefract Castle:
“It’s an eerie thing to walk around our recently refurbished castle on a sunny 21st century day, and reflect upon its occasionally grisly history.”
https://www.pontefractandcastlefordexpress.co.uk/news/in-my-view-pontefract-castle-s-role-in-a-tudor-tragedy-1-9979307
Event
See Alison Weir and Siobhan Clarke talk about their recent book, A Tudor Christmas! More details here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-tudor-christmas-an-evening-with-alison-weir-and-siobhan-clarke-tickets-70254694683
National Portrait Gallery acquisition
“The National Portrait Gallery, in London, has fixed a glaring hole in its Tudors collection with the acquisition of a portrait of Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII, who managed to avoid divorce or beheading but not an early death.”
Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/aug/23/jane-seymour-painting-henry-viii-acquired-national-portrait-gallery
Travel
Visit Neath Abbey
From Wales Online: “It has a fascinating history and has been closed off to the public for years. Many people would describe the site as a hidden gem. And now the secret 800-year-old chamber in Neath Abbey and Gatehouse will soon be open to the public.”
Read More: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/inside-neath-abbeys-secret-800-16834002
The Faces of Tudor England exhibition at the Mary Rose
https://maryrose.org/faces/
” Tudor England – As you never expected it!Just who crewed the Mary Rose? Discover a whole new view of Henry VIII’s navy with our exciting exhibition, using the latest scientific and genealogical research to show us who really crewed the Mary Rose.”
Property
Buy this castle!
A castle that was owned by generations of royals including Henry VIII and his Spanish queen, Catherine of Aragon, is for sale in Wiltshire.
Devizes Castle, in royal ownership for 500 years, was fought over by King Stephen and Empress Matilda during the 12th century. Now the principal part of the Grade I-listed building could be yours for £3.25 million.
https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/luxury/property/devizes-castle-for-sale-historic-gem-in-wiltshire-with-a-grand-royal-history-is-for-sale-for-325m-a132491.html#gallery
Listen to this album! Not strictly Tudor, but still great!
“King Charles II liked to project a strong, stable, divinely legitimated image. Whilst that image had no basis in reality, the scale of his deception and financial skulduggery did not emerge until 19th-century historians discovered secret treaty documents between Charles and King Louis XIV of France. Purcell had no idea of course, and so all of the music on this album celebrates the political triumphs that he and his colleagues thought they had witnessed. It includes the quite brilliant Welcome Songs ‘Welcome to all the pleasures’ (with its superb six-part fanfares to St Cecilia in the final chorus) and ‘From hardy climes.'”
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2NE3zvRycAaVD9HQp5dXvT?si=XJ1wRnmSQM-_rRX1cOHGSQ
Want more Tudor in your life? Join the Tudor Learning Circle - the only social network devoted solely to Tudor History. Sign up free at TudorLearningCircle.com! And why not Tudorfy your YouTube algorithm by getting exclusive videos and content on Heather's YouTube channel!
Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.