Of late Sarah has found herself more and more drawn to the least famous of the Boleyn siblings and has dedicated much time to reading and researching Mary’s life.

In this guest article Sarah outlines what we do know about Mary and also looks at some of the great mysteries that surround her life.

I hope you enjoy the article!

Mary Boleyn: Fact vs Fiction by Sarah Bryson

It has been proposed that this portrait by Lucas Horenbout, once thought to be Anne Boleyn, is in fact the true face of Mary Boleyn.

If you are interested in Tudor history you have probably heard of Anne Boleyn. She was the second wife of King Henry VIII and Queen Consort of England. Much has been written about the life of Anne Boleyn from debate over the date of her birth, her role in the English Reformation, to the tragic details of her fall and execution. Yet Anne Boleyn had an older sister, Mary. Mary Boleyn was the sister of one of the most famous Queens of England and yet so little has been detailed and recorded about her life. She lead quite a fascinating life, at one point even defying the social norms and the wishes of her father, and her sister the Queen and following her heart to marry for love. In this short piece I will outline some of the facts that are known about Mary’s life and some of the great mysteries that surround her.

Read the full article here.

The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

To celebrate the UK release of the historical thriller ‘The Crown‘ by Nancy Bilyeau, I am delighted to share with you a guest article that Nancy has written about George Boleyn.

I am currently reading The Crown and enjoying every moment of it! I was hooked from the very first line,

“When a burning is announced, the taverns of Smithfield order extra barrels of ale, but when the person to be executed is a woman and one of noble birth, the ale comes by the cartload.”

I relish returning home in the evenings and losing myself in the pages of this truly engrossing story. Here is a little taste…

George Boleyn
By Nancy Bilyeau

On May 15, 1536, took place one of the most sensational trials of the 16^th century. George Boleyn, the brother of Queen Anne, answered charges of high treason—that he had committed incest with his sister and conspired at the king’s death.

Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, had directly before been found guilty of treason. A jury declared that she had committed adultery with her brother and four other men. The Lord Mayor of London said, “I could not observe anything in the proceedings against her, but that they were resolved to make an occasion to get rid of her at any price.”

It would seem impossible that any other verdict than guilty could be reached for George Boleyn. Yet after hearing the evidence, Viscount Rochford defended himself “so well that several of those present wagered ten to one that he would be acquitted, especially as no witnesses were produced against him,” said a contemporary.

Read the full article here.

Chapel Royal St. Peter Ad Vincula

1535 – John Fisher Bishop of Rochester

Executed on Tower Hill 22 June 1535

John Fisher by Hans Holbein the Younger

1535 – Sir Thomas More

Executed on Tower Hill 6 July 1535

Thomas More

1536 – George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford

Executed on Tower Hill 17 May 1536

1536 – Queen Anne Boleyn

Executed on Tower Green May 19 1536

Queen Anne Boleyn

1540 – Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex

Executed on Tower Hill 28 July 1540

Thomas Cromwell by Hans Holbein the Younger

1541 – Margaret of Clarence, Countess of Salisbury

Executed on Tower Green 27 May 1541

Portrait of an unknown woman traditionally thought to be Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury

1542 – Queen Katharine Howard

Executed on Tower Green 13 February 1542

Portrait miniature by Hans Holbein the younger.

1542 – Jane Boleyn Vicountess Rochford (not included on the plaque)

Executed on Tower Green 13 February 1542

1549 – Thomas Lord Seymour of Sudeley

Executed on 20 March 1549

1552 (Actual plaque states 1551) – Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset

Executed on Tower Hill 22 January 1552

Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset

1552 – Sir Ralph Vane

Hanged on Tower Hill 26 February 1552

1552 – Sir Thomas Arundel

Executed on Tower Hill 26 February 1552

1553 – John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland

Executed on Tower Hill 22 August 1553

John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland

1554 – Lord Guildford Dudley

Executed on Tower Hill 12 February 1554

1554 – Lady Jane Grey

Executed on Tower Green 12 February 1554

Lady Jane Grey, engraving published 1620

1554 – Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk

Executed on Tower Hill 28 February 1554

1572 – Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk

Executed on Tower Hill 2 June 1572

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk

1592 – Sir John Perrott

Died whilst in custody in the Tower on 3 November 1592

Sir John Perrott

1595 – Phillip, Earl of Arundel (In 1624 his body was moved to the Fitzalan Chapel located on the western grounds of Arundel Castle. His tomb was moved to the Catholic Arundel Cathedral in 1971 and remains a site of pilgrimage.)

Arundel spent ten years incarcerated in the Tower of London while charges of high treason were investigated but never proved. He died of dysentery on 19 October 1595 and was immediately acclaimed as a Catholic Martyr.

Phillip, Earl of Arundel

1601 – Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex

Executed on Tower Green 25 February 1601

Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex by Isaac Oliver, c. 1597

Tower of London Monument

In the Tower of London a monument marks the site of the scaffold (now understood to be a short distance away from the actual scaffold site) where seven famous prisoners were privately executed. On the 19th May 1536, Anne was the first woman to suffer death by beheading for treason. She was followed by four other women: Margaret Pole the Countess of Salisbury (1541), Katherine Howard (1542), Jane- Viscountess Rochford (1542) and Lady Jane Grey (1554).

The two men were William Hastings (1483) and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex (1601).

Tower Monument

The poem written on the monument reads:

Gentle visitor pause awhile, where you stand death cut away the light of many days. Here jewelled names were broken from the vivid thread of life, may they rest in peace while we walk the generations around their strife and courage under these restless skies.

Katherine Parr's tomb, Chapel of St. Mary at Sudeley

I have just added a new resource to the website called ‘Tudor Tombs and Burials’. In this section I have documented the final resting place of the Tudor monarchs, Henry VIII’s wives and other notable Tudor personalities.

I have included photos of the tombs where permissible and welcome any photos that you might have in your collection, along with suggestions for additional entries.

As well as being fascinated by visiting locations where the Tudors went about their daily business, I am intrigued by the thought of standing close to where their physical remains are interred. There is something very special about this proximity.

I hope you find this resource useful and interesting!

Click here for Tudor Tombs and Burials.

Marguerite d'Angoulême, Queen consort of Navarre, c. 1527.

On this day in 1549, Marguerite de Navarre (also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre) died aged 57.

Marguerite married Charles IV, Duke of Alencon in 1509 and after his death became the Queen Consort of Henry II of Navarre. Her brother became King of France, Francis I in 1515.

Some historians have interpreted Anne Boleyn’s service at the French court to mean that she must have been close, not only to Queen Claude whom Anne served for 6-7 years (the wife of King Francis I) but also to Marguerite d’Angouleme. The fact that Marguerite was a noted supporter of religious reform only served to further cement this assumption.

Eric Ives notes that even ‘careful’ scholars like Herbert of Cherbury ‘took it as a fact that Anne served in the household of the Duchess of Alencon, sister to Francis’ (Pg. 32) although Ives believes this is highly unlikely:

‘When reporting Francis I’s complaint in January 1522 about Anne leaving France, the imperial ambassadors described her quite unequivocally as one of his wife’s ladies, just as she had been in 1515.’ (Pg. 32)

Although it is unlikely that Anne was in service to Marguerite, it is likely that they knew each other.

In June 1519, Thomas Boleyn was Henry VIII’s representative at the christening of Claude’s second child, the future Henry II, Marguerite’s nephew.

Ives believes that Thomas would have taken this opportunity to introduce his daughter to Marguerite. What she thought of her sister-in-law’s lady in waiting is unknown but in 1532, when Marguerite was Queen of Navarre, the English tried to get her to accompany her brother to Calais to meet Henry and Anne, but their efforts were in vain – Francis came alone.

Some historians have concluded that this ‘dismissal’ shows that Marguerite was ‘bitterly hostile to the projected marriage’ (Pg. 32) but there might be another explanation.

"Francis I and Marguerite de Navarre" by Richard Parkes Bonington

It was at around this time that Francis I was trying to negotiate a match between his son Henry and Catherine de Medici – the Pope’s niece… Probably not the best time for it to appear that he was endorsing Anne’s position.

Other indications that Anne favoured Marguerite are:

In 1533, the Duke of Norfolk had two five-hour consultations with her and was convinced that she was ‘as affectionate to your highness as if she were your own sister, and likewise to the queen…My opinion is that she is your good and assured friend.’ (Pg. 33)

In 1534, Anne Boleyn confided to Marguerite that she was expecting a child and so a planned meeting between Henry and Francis had to be postponed, as she could not travel and needed Henry with her at the time of her confinement. Ives suggests that the real reason might have been that Henry feared trouble at home but nevertheless, George Boleyn delivered the message to Marguerite and insisted that Henry was still determined to meet with Francis:

‘Her Grace is now driven to her sheet anchor in this behalf, that is, to the only help of the said Queen of Navarre, and the goodness of the good King her brother, for Her Grace’s sake, and at this Her Graces’ suit and contemplation, to stay the King’s Highness her husband, and to prorogue their interview till a more commodious and convenient time for all parties.’ (Pg. 33)

In 1534, Anne had assured Marguerite that although at the 1532 meeting there had been ‘everything proceeding between both kings to the queen’s grace’s singular comfort, there was no one thing which her grace so much desired…as the want of the said queen of Navarre’s company, with whom to have conference, for more causes than were meet to be expressed, her grace is most desirous.’ (Pg. 33)

A message from Anne to Marguerite in 1535 stated ‘that her greatest wish, next to having a son, was to see you again’ (Pg. 33).

Are these remarks evidence of a close friendship between Anne and Marguerite? Or, as Ives suggests, could these remarks be Anne’s attempts to turn ‘mere acquaintance into a bosom friendship’ (Pg. 33).

Ives also points out that many of the books that Anne collected during her time as Queen, came from authors and printers that had been ‘encouraged by the Queen of Navarre.’ Ives even speculates that Anne would have possessed a copy of Marguerite’s Le Miroir de l’aime pecheresse, published in 1531, and claims that this exact copy might have been the one her daughter Elizabeth would use in 1545, when translating this work for her step-mother, Katherine Parr (Pg. 278).

Ives believes that there are also parallels between ‘Anne expressing her faith in fine illuminated manuscripts and Marguerite doing the same’ (Pg. 278).

It seems likely then that Anne saw Marguerite as a role-model, although Ives does not agree with earlier writers whom assumed that Marguerite was responsible for Anne’s interest in French reform (Pg. 277).

The true nature of Marguerite’s feelings towards Anne and the extent of their ‘friendship’ remains a mystery but what the evidence suggests is that during Anne’s reign Marguerite was ‘favourable to England, and to Anne.’

Jules Michelet wrote of Marguerite, “Let us always remember this tender Queen of Navarre, in whose arms our people, fleeing from prison or the pyre, found safety, honor, and friendship. Our gratitude to you, Mother of our [French] Renaissance! Your hearth was that of our saints, your heart the nest of our freedom.”

References

Ives, E. The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn, 2004.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marguerite_de_Navarre

If you have not yet visited Ashlie’s website, then I urge you to pop over and take a look as she often publishes very interesting articles.

Happy reading and I look forward to hearing your responses.

An Education:

The shaping of Elizabeth I, through childhood events and academic pursuit

By Ashlie Jensen from

Elizabeth I attributed to Nicholas Hilliard c. 1572

Elizabeth I of England is remembered for many reasons, both political and personal. One of the queen’s qualities which was remarked upon as frequently in her own life time as it is today, was her intelligence. Wit and wisdom were important qualities for the early modern educated man and woman to possess, but Elizabeth’s intellect surpassed some of the most brilliant minds of her age.

So how did the young Elizabeth come to be the queen who would one day take the Polish ambassador by surprise by suddenly reprimanding him in fluent Latin? How did she become the woman who was as at ease composing original works on the virginals as she was addressing her privy councilors on matters of state? What was her education, and who were her intellectual influences, and how did she apply her knowledge to her role as queen? And certainly the personal childhood traumas she experienced had to shape the woman she would become, by either consuming her or making her stronger.

Continue reading…

I love having such talented readers who are willing to share their interests and expertise with us all. Thank you Katherine!

Mary Rose: The Princess and The Ship

A guest post by Katherine Marcella

Everybody knows the pride of Henry VIII’s war fleet, the Mary Rose, was named after Henry’s sister, Princess Mary Rose.  Right?  Well, almost, but not quite…

Henry VIII after his coronation in 1509

When Henry VIII came to the throne in 1509, he foresaw a threat to England from the powerful fleets of France and Scotland and immediately began shoring up England’s navy which had not been a priority during his father’s reign. He made a half-hearted attempt to diguise his efforts by claiming his new ships were merely pleasure vessels for the use of his family. It’s doubtful he fooled anybody, but among the first ships to be completed were the Henry Grace a Dieu, Catherine Pleasaunce, Peter Pomegranate — and the Mary Rose.

Her story is as murky as the waters of the Solent that hid her for 437 years. There is no extant documentation of her design.  Construction may have begun as early as 1509 and documents from 1509 and 1510 show authorizations of construction materials for the building (most likely in Portsmouth) of a large ship that was eventually towed to London for final rigging and outfitting before joining the navy as a full-fledged combat ship.  Even this early she or possibly another ship – as I said, it’s extremely murky — was being listed in documents as the Mary Rose (or Maryrose or even Marie Roze).  She saw service as Lord High Admiral Edward Howard’s flagship in 1512 and 1513 in a combined English-Spanish-Empire campaign against the French.

By early 1514 the political winds had shifted.  King Ferdinand of Spain and the Emperor Maximilian conspired behind Henry’s back to arrange a separate treaty with the French against England. Henry was livid. He started immediate negotiations with the newly-widowed Louis XII of France for a marriage between Louis and his own beloved younger sister, Mary Tudor, then around seventeen.  By July, 1514, the agreement with Louis was secured, and Henry was ready to break Mary’s long-standing engagement to Prince Charles of Castile, the grandson of both Ferdinand and Maximilian.  Securing Mary’s agreement to this was another matter.

Mary Tudor by unknown artist

Mary Tudor was an unusual princess in an age that cared little for the personal feelings of royalty, male or female. As a child, she was betrothed to the younger Charles in 1507, a betrothal firmly anchored in politics.  The negotiations waffled on for years: They should marry now. No, they should wait. The terms aren’t good. Perhaps this isn’t the best match we could get. Perhaps we should discuss this further.  The result was that Mary wasn’t married off early as her older sister Margaret had been. She remained in England and had free reign at her brother’s court.

She shone brightly there.  As her brother’s preferred dance partner in court frivolities, she came to the attention of virtually all the ambassadors to the English court whose collective description of her was middling tall, blonde, stunningly gorgeous, and unbelievably charming.

Mary was not unduly unhappy at the dissolution of her betrothal, but neither was she interested in marrying the elderly king of France. Apparently she was won over when her brother promised her that after Louis’s death, she could marry as she pleased.

But the marriage to Louis was short-lived, lasting only about ten weeks.  In poor health even before the marriage, he died on January 1, 1515.  His new widow’s immediate concern was to avoid being married off by either the new French king, Francis I, or her brother.  Both were eager to use her as a pawn in the chessboard of European politics.  Tudor that she was, Mary played them off against each other.  To Henry she merely promised she would not let Francis choose a husband for her.  To Francis, she was a bit more forthcoming, admitting that the man she was in love with — the only man she would ever marry — was Henry’s close friend, Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk.

Francis was disappointed, but somewhat mollified by the thought that Henry was going to be equally thwarted.  As for Henry, he very conveniently sent Charles over to negotiate the return of the dowry and escort the widow home.  It’s hard to know for certain what Charles and Mary had planned beforehand, but they secretly married almost immediately in Paris.  I’ve always thought they decided it would be easier to obtain forgiveness than permission, and presenting Henry with a fait accompli would take away any temptation on his part to try to change Mary’s mind about another royal marriage.

Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon

By April of that year, they had resolved the dowry issue and obtained permission to return to England. Henry met with the newlyweds near Dover and, just to make certain there could be no legal objections raised over a marriage in France, he arranged for them to be married again at Greenwich on May 13, 1515.

If the Mary Rose had indeed been named after Mary Tudor, it would have been only natural for that ship to take Mary and her entourage to France or Mary and her new husband back to England.  But that doesn’t seem to have been the case, and after early 1514 there is no mention of the Mary Rose until the autumn of 1518 when she and several other ships were laid up for caulking.

During this time another ship came to be associated with Mary Tudor Brandon.  On October 29, 1515, this ship was sailed to Greenwich where amid many prayers and much music, Katherine of Aragon christened her the Virgin Mary.  The Venetian ambassador, who was present and described the ceremony, stated that everybody immediately began referring to her as the Princess Mary in honor of Henry’s sister who also attended the ceremony. A royal banquet on deck followed, and Henry, a gold whistle around his neck, then proceeded to personally steer the ship down the Thames.

I find it odd that there would be two ships named after the same person, especially in such a short time span.  That more than anything else leads me to believe the Mary Rose was not named after Mary Tudor — at least initially.

The Mary Rose as depicted in the Anthony Roll

I think there is an outside chance that the ship known as the Princess Mary may actually have been the Mary Rose which isn’t recorded as having ever had a christening.  Christening rules seem to have been very loose, with no set time frame in which the ceremony should be conducted, so it’s not out of the question that Henry might have decided to hold a splashy ceremony for one of the largest ships in his navy and honor his sister at the same time.

I could find nothing in the known history of the Mary Rose to contradict this possibility.  Nor could I find any further mention of a ship known as the Virgin Mary or the Princess Mary.  This would be an interesting project for anybody with better access to Tudor maritime records than I currently have to investigate.  I would love to see what turns up.

Even if they aren’t the same ship, it’s possible the elaborate ceremony and the similarity of names may have blurred in the public mind and created an association of Mary Tudor with the Mary Rose where one had never really existed.

The Cowdray Engraving, depicting the Battle of the Solent.

Through the years the Mary Rose eventually saw further action against the French and possibly against the Scots until her sinking in the Solent at Portsmouth Harbor on July 9, 1545.

As for Mary Tudor Brandon, she died in 1533, her association with the ship already firmly established by her death.  But was her name really Mary Rose?  No.  Middle names were almost unheard of in Tudor times and were completely unheard of for royalty.  There is no reference or documentation during Mary Tudor’s lifetime that would even suggest a possibility she had a middle name.

I haven’t been able to determine exactly when she was first called “Mary Rose”, but I believe it is a 20th-century phenomenon.  The earliest biography I have of Mary is Mary Croom Brown’s Mary Tudor, Queen of France, published in 1911, which does not call her Mary Rose nor does it even mention a possible connection between the Princess and the ship. Other biographers also seem to have been careful in this respect, but popular literature is another matter.  I haven’t read every romance novel about Mary, but I just gathered together all the ones I do have and checked them.  Every last one of them calls her “Mary Rose”.

I can’t say I really blame them.  It’s a very pretty name that they would certainly want to associate with a pretty princess.  Combine that with the serious attempts to salvage the Mary Rose that began in the 1970′s and brought the ship into the public consciousness and the renewed interest in the Tudors that has shown itself in numerous books, television programs, and movies.  The result is almost inevitable. In addition, the name is very practical. It serves to distinguish Mary from Mary Tudor, her niece and namesake. Google “Mary Rose Tudor” and you will get numerous questions and discussions on Tudor sites that refer to her by that name.

For better or worse, where once there was a 16th-century ship that came to be associated with a princess in the popular mind, now there is a princess who is being renamed after that ship in the 21st-century mind.

On the Tudor Trail is trying to raise much needed funds for the Mary Rose Appeal and needs your help! Read full details of how you can contribute here.

The Mary Rose Appeal

Queen Anne Boleyn

This is the fourth of a series of letters that I will be publishing written by Anne Boleyn to Cardinal Wolsey between 1528-1529. Read all the letters here.

Anne Boleyn to Cardinal Wolsey c. 1529

My Lord,

After my most humble recommendations, this shall be to give unto your grace, as I am most bound, my humble thanks for the pain and travail that your grace doth take in studying, by your wisdom and great diligence, how to bring pass honourably the greatest wealth that is possible to come to any creature living, and in especial remembering how wretched and unworthy I am in comparing to his highness. And for you, I do know myself never to have deserved by my deserts that you should take this great pain for me; yet daily of your goodness I do perceive by all my friends, and though that I had no knowledge of them, the daily proof of your deeds doth declare your words and writing towards me to be true.

Now good my lord, your discretion may consider as yet how little it is in my power to recompense you, but all only with my goodwill, the which I assure you, that after this matter is brought to pass you shall find me, as I am bound in the mean time, to owe you my service, and then look what thing in this world I can imagine to do pleasure in, you shall find me the gladdest woman in the world to do it. And next unto the kings grace, of one thing I make you full promise to be assured to have it, and that is my hearty love unfeignedly during my life; and being fully determined, with God’s grace, never to change this purpose, I make an end of this my rude and true-meaning letter, praying our Lord to send you much increase of honour, with long life.

Written with the hand of her that beseeches your grace to accept this letter as proceeding from on the is most bound to be

Your humble and obedient servant,

ANNE BOLEYN

ERITudor during her "Elizabeth Addresses the Troops at Tilbury" program.

As you may be already aware, this year I added a new section to the site called ‘Tudor Talk’ where I share my interviews with people who are experts in various fields of Tudor history and/or who on a daily basis are immersed in the sixteenth century for work or pleasure.

Today I am delighted to share with you an interview with Ashlie Jensen, who runs a website called ‘Being Bess‘ dedicated to the celebration of the life and reign of Elizabeth Tudor, Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Ashlie is employed in Museum Education and regularly performs first-person interpretations of Elizabeth Tudor. She has dedicated her life to bringing Elizabeth and her legacy to modern audiences and is incredibly knowledgable and passionate about her work.

I would like to thank Ashlie for being a part of On the Tudor Trail and for responding to my questions in such a detailed and sincere manner. Her enthusiasm and love of the sixteenth century are clear.

Read our full interview here.

Debbie recently visited two gems – Haddon Hall and Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire and was kind enough to share some information about her trip with us.

I devour books about the Tudors in the hope of getting to know them better but I have never felt closer to them as when I am walking in their footsteps!

Haddon Hall

Haddon Hall. Photo by Rob Bendall

Visiting Haddon Hall is the closest thing you can get to going back in a time machine. It is one of the most unaltered houses to survive from the medieval age. This is due to the fact that it lay dormant for over 200 years. This has been the Halls saviour; its decoration and contents remain largely the same. Saved from the fashions of the Georgians and Victorians!

Haddon Hall is a fortified medieval manor house dating from the 12th Century, and is the home of Lord and Lady Edward Manners whose family have owned it since 1567.

I visited on a lovely sunny day and the house was bathed in sunlight throughout. This highlighted the wooden panelling, giving the rooms a haze with shafts of light bursting through the diamond shaped panes of the windows.

It is because of the authenticity of the house that you get such a sense of how life used to be walking around the Hall. The rooms felt so atmospheric to me, and surprisingly homely.

Now, the Anne Boleyn connection! Margaret Dymoke had close connections with the Hall. She was Anne’s bedfellow (and Cromwell’s spy) when Anne was imprisoned in the Tower. With this in mind I knew Anne would have been discussed many times within the rooms of the hall, not just for her marriage, but also her untimely end.

There is much to see at Haddon including, the finest example of a Tudor kitchen, and a beautiful chapel with early 15th century frescoes. All this set within the rolling hills of the Peak District. The Hall also featured in the film The Other Boleyn Girl, and is soon to be seen in the new film Jane Eyre.

Hardwick Hall

Hardwick Hall

The next day the weather took a turn for the worse, and I made the short car journey to Hardwick Hall. This is a house I have wanted to visit since I was a small girl. Its vast height, huge windows and grand appearance have always intrigued me, and I was not disappointed.

Bess of Hardwick, a great Tudor personality and a friend of Anne’s daughter, Elizabeth I, for over 40 years, built the Hall in the 1590’s. She was also close friends with the Grey sisters, Mary, Katherine, and of course Jane. After Jane’s execution Bess kept a portrait of her on a table beside her bed for the remainder of her life. She reached the grand old age of 80, unheard of for the time.

Bess and her 4th husband the Earl of Shrewsbury had the uncomfortable task of guarding Mary Queen of Scots for many years during her imprisonment, but that is another story.

Bess was obsessed with building, and Hardwick has to be her greatest temple, with Chatsworth a close second. If Chatsworth was the comfortable home, then Hardwick was the party house! With six great towers and a High Great Chamber reputed to be the most beautiful in Europe. A fabulous entertaining venue fit for a Queen.

Hardwick Hall's Long Gallery in the 1890's

The muslin curtains were drawn on the huge windows on the day I visited to keep out the damp. The dim light in the house along with accompanying chamber music being piped into the rooms made for a wonderful atmosphere. The house is impressive throughout with grand rooms that are more and more breathtaking as you ascend the huge stone staircase and rise to the top of the house to the Long Gallery. A staggering 51 metres long, and 8 metres high, a real jaw dropper for me!

Again, Hardwick has been largely unaltered so it is easy to be transported back in time to the wonderful Tudor age. The house was built with royalty in mind, in the hope that Bess could entertain and impress her friend Elizabeth the Queen, and also that the house would be fitting for her Granddaughter, Arbella Stuart, who Bess hoped in time would claim her right to the English throne. Sadly for Bess neither of these dreams were realised, but thank heaven for her building projects, still inspiring us 400 years later.

These two properties do not spring to mind when you think of a Tudor pilgrimage, but if you are lucky enough to find yourself in Derbyshire they are a must see for all Tudor fans.

By Debbie Fenton

Watch an interesting video about Bess of Harwick Hall.

Fast Tube by Casper

Thank you to Debbie for these wonderful photos!

Hardwick Stone Staircase

 

Hardwick Long gallery

 

Hardwick High Great Chamber

 

Haddon Hall Tower

 

Haddon Hall - The Solar

 

Haddon Hall - Exterior

 

Haddon Hall - Engraving

 

Haddon Hall - Courtyard

 

Haddon Hall- Banqueting Hall

 

Haddon Hall

Hardwick Hall