Question from Peter - Elizabethan wardship

Dear Friends,

Re Wardship

The following is from the Calendar of Elizabeth I Patent Rolls:

"16th May 1587 Grant to Anne Copleys and Robert Bradforde of the wardship and marriage of Jasper Pecke son and heir of Nicholas Pecke with an annuity of £3 from 16 July 26 Eliz. (1584)"

I believe both Jasper's parents were alive in May 1587.Nicholas Pecke died circa 1590. Jasper was born circa 1568.

Q.1 Is it possible one or both of Jasper's parents were living at the time of this wardship in 1587? I know the law on wardship changed over time.

Q.2 What is the likely relationship between Anne Copleys and Robert Bradforde? Would they have been in the same household?

Q.3 What is the annuity of £3 all about? Was this a large sum?

Q.4 What is the significance of the two dates 16th May 1587 and 16 July (1584)

Thank you so much Peter

Question from Tim - De La Warre house in London

The family of Thomas West, Baron De La Warre, of Wherwell, England, lived in London for part of the year.

Where in London did the De La Warres have a house?

Question from Sora - Anne Boleyn story and toast

I read today that Alexandre Dumas père wrote a cookbook dictionary, & that he included this story about Anne Boleyn in his cookbook:

"One day Anne Boleyn, then the most beautiful woman in England, was taking her bath, surrounded by the lords of her suite. These gentlemen, courting her favour, each took a glass, dipped it in the tub, and drank her health. All but one, who was asked why he did not follow their example. 'I am waiting for the toast,' he said. Which was not bad for an Englishman."

Is this true? I never read about Anne taking bath surrounded by men.

I also read that the english namead a toast of 'Anne Boleyn'. It is made os black bread with butter, herring and cinnamon. They eat it with tea, as a snack or as a simple meal. I also never head about this toast, and found nothing on the internet about it...

Question from Michael - Edward IV's children

I am currently watching the television production of the "White Queen", could you please tell me in what order Edward IV's children were born and which ones survived?
Thanks.

Question from Denise - Marriage of Anne Knollys and Thomas Temple

Thomas Temple son of Sir William Temple provost Trinity College married Anne Knollys daughter of Sir Francis Knollys the younger. I cannot find their marriage or birth of any children ESP their daughters Laetitia and Francis. He was a Minister in Ireland then Battersea London. Can any one help?

Question from Trish - Robert Brandon (d. 1591)

Hi I am hoping you can tell me if my Robert Brandon died 30th May 1591 English goldsmith and jeweller to Queen Elizabeth 1 of England married to Katherine Barber and father to Alice Brandon whose husband was Nicholas Hilliard (he was Roberts apprentice of seven years in the 1560s)

Is connected to any of the William Brandons mentioned on your site, as I have failed to find parents for him.

Thank you in anticipation
Kind Regards Trish

Question from Bronwen - Attachment of jewels to clothes

I have read and researched Tudor history for many years now. I cannot find an answer for the following:
How did court dressmakers and tailors attach jewels to clothes, I have read they were sewn on - but how ? surely some would have come adrift and conveniently ended up in someone's pocket.Is it possible they used a form of paste.

Question from Steve - Tudor roofing

Thanks for this opportunity.

I am trying to create a truly realistic Tudor house.
I have researched all I can, but there is one thing I cant find.

On Tudor house roof design, did they use 'V' shaped ridge tiles, or strips of lead ???

Thatched roofing is no issue, as the material did the task, but roofs made from slate or stone ???
Also, if the house was grand enough, and they used tiles, were they shaped, or simply rectangular ??

Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks,
Steve (Sorry, too old to be a student.....)

Question from Mary - Clarification of two pieces of information on Edward VI

I am working on a personal project and need two minor pieces of information on Edward VI. I know this information is found in "The Last Tudor King" by H.W. Chapman, but right now personal access to the book is not an option for me. Also, I was hoping someone may have more detail than is mentioned in Chapman's book.


1) What are the details of Edward getting lost while riding in Wiltshire c. 1553? He came across a child named Dew, from Bower Chalk. This child lived well into the 17th century and told people the story of meeting the king. What are the details of that story (or that story within a story-- who was "Dew")?


2) Years after Edward VI died, one of his desks was opened. What was found inside? I remember something about dog collars-- what else was in the desk? And how many collars? Who opened the desk when the discovery was made, when was this discovery made, and where?

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Sincerely,
Mary

Question from Conor - Katherine Howard's resting place

Hi - I am researching and writing a biography of Queen Katherine Howard and I have just finished reading Elisabeth Wheeler's study of her. Not only does Wheeler suggest that the execution was carried out secretly at night-time, but she argues that Katherine was never buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, near Anne Boleyn - as her body was never found in the Victorian period. She suggests Katherine may have been buried elsewhere.

I have also read Weir's "Lady in the Tower" and she suggests that the body identified as Anne Boleyn may actually be Katherine, which I disagree with.

I personally believe that Katherine WAS buried in this chapel, and like Lady Jane Grey, her bones were never discovered as they had dissolved due to her age (both were teenagers).

Can anyone provide me with further info / their own ideas? Thanks.

Question from Courtney - Gates of London

I was wondering if anyone could tell me which gate a group of travelers from Worcestershire would use to enter the city of London in 1558. I've been leaning toward Aldersgate, but it's so difficult to find a legible map of 16th century London (let alone one that illustrates where all of the gates were actually located) that I'm not sure I'm correct. Any ideas? Thanks!

Question from William - Shakespeare's role in Tudor times

Hi, I was wondering about William Shakespeare's role in the Tudor times. Did he really do anything?

Question from Alison - Quote at arrest of Earl of Essex

When the Earl of Essex is arrested by Queen Elizabeth I - the mob cry "Saw, Saw, Saw. Tray" What does this mean.

It also appears in the Benjamin Britten opera.

Question from Roger - Tudor word "Yonker"

I am researching some tudor era words associated with the crew of the Mary Rose warship and found one "Yonker" which I think may refer to a boy sailor who has a specific job e.g. a Gromet who is a boy tasked with turning the ships time keeping sand glass. Is there a definition of what a Yonker is? Many Thanks

Site slow or completely down for some viewers

Again, I'm thankful that I keep this blog on a separate service, since I know it's one of the most popular parts of my site! So my webhost is having issues - again - and the rest of my site (which I was planning to do some work on today!) is down. I've been pretty loyal to my webhost for several years now but I'm starting to think about shopping around for a new one. Moving sites is a huge pain but I might have to seriously consider it if this continues. *sigh*

Question from Shahzeb - How the Tudors influence us today

I was wondering if you could help me with an assignment. I want to present The Tudors in a less traditional way. So I'm looking for some information about The Tudors, today. What have they done in the past that's had an effect on us today? From litterature to technology.

I'm looking forward to your reply :-)

Question from Katie - Sources for research on Tudor women

Hi, I'm doing a dissertation on Tudor Women - could anyone recommend any useful archives, or general places/books/etc. for primary sources they've found useufl?

Site slowness issues...

... and this is why I keep this blog on a separate service from the news blog and website! My webhost is having issues so a lot of sites, including mine, are slow or are having their connections dropped. If you try to go to pages on the rest of the site (i.e. other than queryblog.tudorhistory.org pages) they may be slow, not appear correctly, or won't even come up at all. I know they are working on it so hopefully everything will be back to normal soon.

Question from Dale Rice - Prince Henry William Tudor

We are awaiting the DNA confirmation that our Father is descended from one John Rice 1624...Who is believed to be the son of Perrott ap Rice son of John Rice II and Katherine Perrott. John Rice II is the son of William ap Rice 1521 and Elizabeth Lattimer. William ap Rice aka known as Henry of Newton is according to my father who was 94 at his passing the Son of Beatrice Tudor Gardiner, Rice and Henry VIII. She was the laundress of Field of Cloth of Gold fame and was herself the grandaughter of Jasper Tudor making she and Henry VIII 2nd cousins. Her husband was Groom Daffid ap Rice of Carew fame and both were assigned to the household of Princess Mary Tudor 1519 until her death 1558. While Queen, Mary Granted little Henry William 1521/22 a coat of Arms with the Pommegranite upon the standard acknowledging his birth by her FATHER Henry. The Pomegranite with a cut revealing multiple seeds being the symbole of Katrin of Castile.

All that to say, is it possible that Henry VIII was kept in the dark of Prince Henry William Tudor as punnishment from both Katherine Queen and Mary's Dynastic plans? The DNA we have in hand is quite clearly a TUDOR match for John Rice 1625, and should have my brother's DNA for comparrison by mid June at the latest. Thankyou. 14 GGrandson of Henry William ap Rice son of Beatrice and Henry Tudor King.

Question from Mary Kate - Character of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York

I keep hearing conflicting reports regarding the marriage of Elizabeth of York and Henry Tudor and also regarding their characters. I am very confused. Things really do not add up. I am sorry if this is long, but bear in mind I am very, very mixed up.

One source I have read, Bacon, says he was not "uxorious" towards his wife (uxor in Latin I know means wife, but I do not know if the source means he was not particularly deferential toward her and rightfully asserted his authority over her as husband, or if he genuinely just didn't give a damn what she thought, or if he just wishes to infer Henry was Mama Margaret Beaufort's boy and hers alone.)


Another source I have read states that Henry was just a mean, miserly, and nasty personality who spent the remainder of his life post-1485 killing off members of the House of York, and his meanness extended to his wife, using her as a baby factory while he and Mama Beaufort ruled England. And still other historians, some just after mentioning the above, emphasize them clinging to each other when Arthur died. I have even read one account where Henry VII is alleged to have had very low near asexual desire, something about low testosterone or some psychiatric disorder....and the man somehow managed to father many children (how did any historian come to this conclusion?!)


So, what gives?!! Was Henry Tudor really so vicious of an SOB that nobody liked him while he was alive, not a single friend; was he basically so foul that even his pet monkey had to be kept on a chain to keep from running away from him if afforded the opportunity?! ( I ask this in part because the curious thing is that pet monkeys require a lot of attention and fail to thrive without affection, yet no historian looks to this as potential evidence that there might be more to the popular image of Henry as a latter day Ebenezer Scrooge.) Did Henry have any redeeming qualities? ( I keep hearing lots of reports of there being much music at his court and we know his son and both daughters had some skill in this area. No report of Elizabeth of York ever playing a note-did they inherit the gift from dear old Dad's side of the family?) It is true he would have had a very busy schedule-did he ever get time away long enough to be with the rest of his family?

It is clear that Elizabeth and he were married for dynastic reasons, but even the wikipedia article says it is presumed that she had a happy marriage with Henry. She is also said to have had a sweet temperament. Question-how does a sweet tempered lady like that manage to have a good relationship with a sour ill tempered old goat and why is it that historians presume such an outcome is feasible?

Question from Ryan - Prince Arthur and archery

I've read online (on google books) that Prince Arthur was an expert at archery, that whenever he was in London he would join the archers on Mile End and practice with them. He came to be so good, that whenever there was a great archer he was nicknamed "Prince Arthur" the book I read was over a hundred and fifty years old, and I've never come across this in any modern biography, I was just wondering if anyone had come across this and if it was true? Or it was mistake from the Victorian age? I was under the impression Arthur was no athletic and that he was weak

Question from GregP - Greenwich Palace waterfront

I am a lover of late medieval and Tudor architecture, though by no means any kind of expert.

For years I had thought that the odd appendage jutting out from the Thameside facade of Greenwich, was some sort of watergate, as was used at Westminster, Whitehall, Hampton Court, and others.

Now as I have been looking closer at numerous prints, it definitely seems to have been more of a porte-cochère.

From what I have been able to determine, it sat right in front of the Sovereign's bedchamber and privy chamber on the second floor. On the ground floor there seems to have been a small doorway into a wardrobe (guardroom?) Then adjacent to that on the NW tower of the Donjon was spiral to second floor privy chambers.

Then supposedly on the second floor above the porte-cochere, was our royale privye closet. Apparently Henry wanted his best view of the Thames to be the view from the "throne"

Interesting thing is that the porte-cochere is offset from the Donjon. It half overlaps the privy chamber and half the privy bedroom.

Does anyone know if there is history of the Donjon predating the rest of the architecture?

Thurley says that H7 left nothing of Gloucester's Bella Courte when he rebuilt Greenwich in 1501. But the central Donjon seems to be significantly medieval, with towers, turrets and crenelation. The "towers" of the rest of the facade are faux fascia, bay windows on the interior, as had been becoming common. The York's had done the same at Nottingham lower ward.

Also, if everything was rebuilt in 1501, the odd angularity of the different ranges seems odd to me. Richmond was extremely rectilinear. With the Burgundian sensibilities taking such currency, it seems odd for 1501 to have such angularity, if it was built from ground up.

Rambling.... babbling...... Comment as you will.

Question from Madison - Henry VIII's spare time activities

Hello. I'm Maddie, a year 8/ 13 year old student at Guernsey Grammar School. Recently, in history, we were set the task of writing an essay on How the Royal Job Description changed between the 1500s and the 1800s. We were told that we had to compare a monarchs reign, so I chose three different monarchs. The monarch from the Tudor period that I chose was Henry VIII, as I thought that there would be a lot to find out about him. I was wondering if you could give me any pointers as to what he did in his spare time or possible links to good websites for information? Thanks.

Question from Laura - Impact of Katherine Parr on Henrician court

I'm a second year history student at University and I am starting to think about my third year dissertation. My question for my dissertation is "What impact did Katherine Parr have on religion and politics in the Henrican court?" But I seem to have hit a stumbling block.

The sources about Katherine Parr seem limited compared to the other tudor Queens and I was wondering if someone could suggest good books, articles, primary sources I could use.

I thought the Act of Six Articles was useful to look at but my tutor said it wasn't.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Question from J - English in the Tudor era

I've always been interested - how exactly did language work in the Tudor era? I know a few - "prithee" meant "pray thee", people used thou, spelled "queen" as "quene" and "king" as "kyng", but I don't know much more than that. Thanks for any help on old(...er) English spellings!

I'd like to use this information for a story I'm writing, to have the language somewhat accurate as the characters speak.