I am delighted to be hosting day four of Claire Ridgway’s book tour, for her new book Tudor Places of Great Britain. Claire has written a wonderful guest post for us about her favourite quirky Tudor places but before I share with you this entertaining and informative read, some more good news, I have a copy of Claire’s new book to give away. Here’s how to enter!
Conditions of Entry
For your chance to win a copy of Tudor Places of Great Britain, you must be subscribed to On the Tudor Trail’s newsletter (if you are not already, sign up on our homepage where it says ‘Free Enewsletter Subscription’).
Then simply leave a comment after this post between now and 10 December 2015. Don’t forget to leave your name and a contact email. Please note that I have comment moderation activated and need to ‘approve’ comments before they appear. There is no need to submit your comment twice.
This giveaway is open internationally.
A winner will be randomly selected and contacted by email shortly after the competition closes. Please ensure you’ve added natalie@onthetudortrail.com to your address book to avoid missing my email.
Good luck!
Now, more about the author:
Claire Ridgway is the author of the best-selling books GEORGE BOLEYN: TUDOR POET, COURTIER AND DIPLOMAT (co-written with Clare Cherry), ON THIS DAY IN TUDOR HISTORY, THE FALL OF ANNE BOLEYN: A COUNTDOWN, THE ANNE BOLEYN COLLECTION and THE ANNE BOLEYN COLLECTION II, SWEATING SICKNESS IN A NUTSHELL and TUDOR PLACES OF GREAT BRITAIN. Claire was also involved in the English translation and editing of Edmond Bapst’s 19th century French biography of George Boleyn and Henry Howard, now available as TWO GENTLEMAN POETS AT THE COURT OF HENRY VIII.
Claire worked in education and freelance writing before creating The Anne Boleyn Files history website and becoming a full-time history researcher, blogger and author. The Anne Boleyn Files is known for its historical accuracy and Claire’s mission to get to the truth behind Anne Boleyn’s story. Her writing is easy-to-read and conversational, and readers often comment on how reading Claire’s books is like having a coffee with her and chatting about history.
Claire is also the founder of The Tudor Society.
My Favourite Quirky Tudor Places
Researching Tudor Places of Great Britain made me appreciate just how lucky history lovers in Britain are. Wherever you live in Britain, there will be beautiful historic places within easy reach and many of them are breathtakingly beautiful – awesome fortresses, romantic ruins, stately homes in deer parks, quaint cottages with kitchen gardens…. And others are downright quirky, and I love quirky.
Little Moreton Hall in Congleton, Cheshire, is one of those quirky Tudor treasures. It was built for the Moreton family, who were wealthy landowners, in around 1504, with the last building work being carried out in 1610. It’s a moated, timber-framed manor house whose very existence today seems to defy all logic. Just look at the photograph! This crooked house really looks like Mr Wolf could blow it down with one just one big “huff and puff”, yet it’s been standing for over 500 years. It reminds me of “The Burrow”, the Weasley family home in the Harry Potter films, because of its top heavy appearance. There is a reason for its quirkiness: Little Moreton Hall lacks foundations and the weight of its upper floor, with its long gallery and heavy gritstone slabbed roof, has caused the floors below to bow. Rest assured, though, it will still be standing for future generations to visit because it is being cared for by the National Trust – phew!
Little Moreton Hall is well worth a visit. My parents visited it recently – thanks, Dad, for the photos! – and they loved it. Features include:
- Its beautiful Tudor knot garden, which is full of herbs and vegetables that were used for food and medicine in Tudor times
- Its timbered façade, with chevron, lozenge and herringbone patterns
- The 16th century glazing
- The 16th century carved wooden panelling and ceiling, and the bay window and stained glass in the withdrawing room
- The long gallery
- The 16th century furniture which is on display in the great hall and the parlour
- The tester bed in the first floor south chamber.
Copyright Frank Brassington, 2015.
Another quirky Tudor place is Ty Mawr Wybrnant, a 16th century traditional stone-built upland farmhouse on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park. Although “ty mawr” means “big house” in Welsh, it’s definitely not a Tudor mansion and is more of a tumbledown cottage. Walkers enjoying the national park could be forgiven for walking past it without a backwards glance. It just doesn’t look at all important or historic. Yet, it is the birthplace of a very important man. Bishop William Morgan, the first translator of the whole Bible into Welsh, was born at Ty Mawr Wybrnant in 1545, and the house has been lovingly restored by the National Trust to its original 16th century appearance. It is home to a Bible collection, with Bibles in about 200 different languages, including Morgan’s 1588 Welsh Bible. The revised 1620 edition is still used in Wales today.
Highlights for visitors include:
- Bishop William Morgan’s Bibles – the 1588 and 1620 editions
- The pretty stone farmhouse and bridge over the stream
- Walks from the house through woodland, including the 3-mile Ty Mawr Wybrnant and Cwm Wybrnant walk.
If the National Trust want a tenant then I’d be happy to move in. I could definitely spend my days learning different languages from the Bible and walking in the beautiful surroundings – bliss!
Image: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/598006 © Copyright Keith Evans and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Thank you so much, Natalie, for having me on your blog!
My pleasure, Claire!
I loved Claire´s other books, so I´m really looking forward to this one!
Hello. That was a very interesting read. I would love to win a copy. Probably be the nearest I will get to it… since I live in the USA.
SINCERELY Marilyn Holley
MERRY CHRISTMAS
I can not wait to read it but it will probley take a while to find in australia. Its sometimes hard to find tudor books here. Not that you can tell by looking at my bookshelves
I would love to win one of your books for my daughter
She is right into the history of Henry viii and all his wife’s
I wish I could of been over there so I could take my daughter on your tour
Little Moreton Hall looks fascinating! I visited many Tudor places in August this year: Hampton Court Palace, Windsor Castle, Kimbolton, Buckden, Kenilworth, Leicester hospital, Peterborough cathedral, Sudeley Castle, Cambridge, Anne of Cleves house in Lewes, Tower of London & Westminster Abbey. Loved visiting Hever Castle which was a long planned-for “dream” – beautiful grounds & artwork and just magical walking around the castle, albeit acknowledging that it has been fully renovated by the Astors! Thank you for your website & for your writings! Laureen in Canada
Would love to win this for my next visit to England!
This looks like an excellent read! Thank you for hosting this giveaway Natalie!
Oh I would just love to win this! I’ll have to add Claire’s books to my to-read pile!
Looks like a very interesting book.
Everything about this book is music to the Tudor explorers ear. A little bit of heaven to take in and then take to the road…….or just to sit back with the book and a cuppa hehe
What a great book! Thanks for the opportunity to win it. raquel36m(at)gmail(dot)com
It is surprising how many beautiful houses remain in England which the passing of time hasn’t destroyed. I’d love to do a tour of bed and breakfast visiting them.
Claire is such a fantastic author and all her book belong on the shelf of any Tudor effinado.
Personally I am so fascinated by England’s history that I hope to one day visit the sites in this book.
I would love to visit all these places in person, but for now I will have to let Claire be the tour guide. This would be a great read for the arm chair traveller.
denannduvall(at)gmail(dot)com
Excellent article. I look forward to having this book as a guide to many more places.
I would love to read more from Claire. I always enjoy her approach and would love to explore some Tudor places
Thank you for the
Opportunity! Have been a fan of your page for a long time!
I live in France and really desire this book so that when I visit The UK I can see as many Tudor places as possible. I already have “In the footsteps of Anne Boleyn” (or my AB bible as my husband calls it which has been wonderful as we actually stayed in a hotel on a road that Anne must have travelled down on her way to the Staple Inn in Calais!
So take pity on me as I have to cram in my AB fixes as much as possible in very short bursts of time less than once a year and do not have the luxury of browsing for books in UK book shops.
My husband and I are traveling from Canada to England next summer, this book would be perfect to guide some of our wanderings while we’re there!
My fiancé and I will be traveling to the UK for our honeymoon. He is a huge Tudor fan and I know we will be spending a lot of time looking at Tudor places ( he is looking forward to visiting hever castle)
I agree about Little Moreton Hall, it is a fascinating place. I live about 45 minutes away and I visit it at least once a year.
Looking forward to pouring through the books before my trip next summer! What a resource!
I love English History, and extremely interested I. The Tudor Period . Can’t get enough of it. I loved reading this Article.
Hi I would love to win a copy. I’m really excited to have found your blog. I’m trying to subscribe, but when I click on your link it doesn’t go to a subscribe page, it goes to a bunch of computer codes. Thanks so much! Caitlin
I would love to do a tour of Tudor castles! Great post; lots of places to add to my “bucket list”. Thanks for entering me in the contest.
My grand hope is to visit all the delightful places in your amazing book! Until that time, this will be a huge source of comfort and envy to read. 🙂
This book looks wonderful! Thanks for entering me in the contest!
I wish I could visit all Tudor and even more!! 🙂 ?hank you for the giveaway!
What stories only a tudor building can reveal!!Sounds very exciting……top of my christmas wish list !
i am an avid reader of all things Tudor and of British History, I would love love love to add this fabulousness to my ever-growing collection!! 🙂 Thank you ladies for all the research and sharing you do to help bring the Tudor times alive for us!
I would love to win this book! I have been reading about Anne Boleyn since I was about 10 years old and I am over 50 now.
I just found this site and I am so delighted to have another Tudor resource. Thank you!
A great collection of places to see when I make it to England.
I do love books like these. Full of lots of different places to learn about. Some you have heard off, plenty you haven’t. Many are out of my reach now living up in Scotland, so this book would transport me to them. Smashing post.
I am passionate about history and read everything I can from Ancient Greek to present day. I love visiting historical houses and your book sounds fascinating. Delighted to have found this site ….. Merry Christmas x