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Friday, August 13, 2010

Question from Lewis - Places associated with Katherine Parr

I want to visit every place associated with Katherine Parr. Where should I go?

6 comments:

  1. Hello Lewis

    You should start off at Kendal Castle in Cumbria where Katherine was born, but sadly it is now a ruin. She lived at Gainsborough Old Hall in Lincolnshire with her first husband Sir Edward Burgh (Borough) and then moved with him to a house in the village of Kirton Lindsey a few miles away, but nothing remains of the house.

    After he died she married John Neville, Lord Latimer, and lived at Snape Castle in North Yorkshire. The author Linda Porter was denied access here recently when researching her book on Katherine, so whether it is ever open to the public I don't know, although you can see it from the road.

    Next Katherine married Henry VIII at Hampton Court and would spend time in a variety of Tudor palaces, and finally lived at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire with her fourth husband Thomas Seymour.

    There was a question about Katherine’s first husband on this site on 3rd August 2009.

    Have you read Linda Porter's recent book on Katherine?

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  2. Marilyn, I was thinking about this just the other day. If Katherine was actually married to the younger Edward Burgh and not his grandfather, would she still have lived at or spent any substantial amount of time at Gainsborough Old Hall?

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  3. No, I haven't read Porter's. I have Martienssen's and James'

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  4. Kathy

    Local wisdom is that the couple lived at GOH for the first part of their marriage, but moved to Kirton because as a family they didn't get on, and this is the line taken by Susan James in her DNB article. Linda Porter says Burgh (Borough) senior was the father-in-law from hell.

    Susan James DNB - 'About May 1529, however, she took as her husband Edward Borough (c.1508–1533), the son of Thomas Borough, third Baron Borough of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Although few facts about the marriage are known, it is unlikely to have proved a happy experience for Katherine. Her father-in-law was an overbearing bully whose children lived in fear of his temper; moreover insanity ran in the family. But in October 1530, probably under pressure from Maud Parr, Lord Borough was persuaded to allow Katherine and her husband to take up residence at the manor of Kirton in Lindsey, Lincolnshire, where they resided until Edward Borough's death, shortly before April 1533.'

    Why they were all living under the same roof initially is anybody's guess.

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  5. Poor Katherine. At least she lead an interesting life. I hope she's not the "white lady" who purportedly haunts Gainsborough Old Hall.

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  6. Hoped to visit Snape Castle. I had heard that it is a hotel. Am I correct? It looks as if you can at least look at it from the road, but I guess at least the village looks nice. Thanks for the article. Also did Linda Porter call in advance or just turn up? It sounds as if it may be a private home. Well, will find out next week anyhow.

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