The first branch meeting of the new year was convened on Saturday, 8 February 2014, back at the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts building on Pitt Street, after a year of meeting at a venue in the Rocks. There was a very good turnout of members, including a young visitor interested in learning more about Richard for their HSC studies.

Welcoming remarks were offered by our Chairperson, Judith, followed by very brief remarks from the Treasurer, Secretary, and Sales Officer each reporting that all was well in their particular area of responsibility. The Webmaster advised that the branch website had been upgraded and was now working better than ever.

Our guest speaker was the former Member for Strathfield, Mr Bruce MacCarthy, with an in-depth review of the Angevins and Plantagenets, including the dramas between cousins Stephen and Matilda, the marriage of powerful Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, two of whose sons – Richard and John – both became Kings. He explained that his interest in the Plantagenet dynasty had begun when he was only 5 years old, when his father obtained a copy of his family tree. It had originally been prepared as evidence in an application to the House of Lords for a vacant peerage, sadly unsuccessful. At the top of this family tree he had seen the name of a king – King Edward III. He told us that the claim was not proven, as there was an area of doubt in the late 1600’s; but the idea of having a King as an ancestor had fascinated him. He and his wife paid a visit several years ago to Fontevraud Abbey in France’s Loire Valley, where King Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and (parts of) King Richard the Lionheart are buried, and he was able to tell us a great deal about the beauty of this place and how much it meant to him. The text of his talk is on our website.

After the excellent presentation, the raffle was drawn with prizes including many fine books kindly donated to the branch by Kevin from his personal Ricardian collection. We then had a lovely afternoon tea augmented with food generously shared by the Australian Chinese Women’s Association, which was meeting in the next room. There was ample time for chatting, and catching up, and it was a good start to another exciting year for Ricardians.

The 12 April 2014 meeting will feature the Dean and CEO of the Sydney College of Divinity and formerly University of Sydney’s Senior Lecturer in Middle English Studies, Dr Diane Speed, on the topic of ‘Medieval storytelling and illustrations’. It is sure to be a wonderful talk, and we hope you will be able to join us.

On Monday, 3 February 2014, BBC 1 broadcast a programme in the UK on what has gone wrong since it was revealed a year ago that the remains found in Leicester are indeed those of Richard III.  It investigates how a High Court hearing will affect the king’s final resting place.  Both parties, Leicester University and Plantagenet Alliance, were interviewed.  While we in Australia cannot watch the programme easily on the BBC iPlayer, some excerpts are available here.

Our Next General Meeting – Saturday 8 February 2014 – 2:00 PM

Our guest speaker will be former Member for Strathfield, Mr Bruce MacCarthy (above), speaking on ‘The Angevin Kings and Queens’. His interest in the Plantagenet dynasty was sparked at the age of 5 when his father was given a copy of their family tree, which was originally prepared as evidence in an unsuccessful application to the House of Lords for a vacant peerage. At the top of this family tree he saw the name of a king – King Edward III.

Bruce explains that the claim was not proven, as there was an area of doubt in the late 1600’s; but the idea of having a King as an ancestor fascinated him as a boy, and sparked his avid lifelong interest in genealogy. In 2010, he and his wife paid a visit to Fontevraud Abbey in France’s Loire Valley, where King Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine (above), and King Richard the Lionheart are buried.

PLEASE NOTE: The meeting will be at the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, Level 1, 280 Pitt St, Sydney.

A local Leicester artist, Brad Cooke, has been commissioned to create a stained glass window for the visitors’ centre, currently under construction in the building of the former Alderman Newton’s School in Leicester, next to spot where Richard was originally buried in the church of the Greyfriars in 1485.

The window, 2.8m high and 2.3m wide, will feature Richard III, Anne and their son Edward, all life-sized.  As Richard died in battle, he will be shown in a full suit of armour, probably in silver and gold, clutching his sword and crown.

To make the piece “thought provoking” Richard will be slightly separated from his wife and son.  The plan is to display Anne in the colours she was married in and to drape Edward in the national flag of that time.

The window will be back-lit with three lights, which would go off one by one in the order in which the three family members died to relate to the story.

Stained glass has been used in churches since the 7th century, so this craft which Richard would have known in his lifetime is very suitable for a depiction of him and his family.

More information:

‘Richard III Visitor Centre to get life-sized window of King’, BBC News Leicester (18 January 2014).
Peter Warzynski, ‘Richard III: Knighton artist Brad creating stained glass window of king for visitor centre’, Leicester Mercury (24 January 2014).

Please note that the Victorian Branch of the Richard III Society has a new website and a new address.

We wish their webmaster Gillian lots of success with their new project.

BBC News just announced that Richard Buckley, the lead archaeologist of the Greyfriars Project, has been awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours for his contribution to archaeology.

Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition!

Heritage Daily recently published its ‘Top 10 archaeological discoveries for 2013’.  In first place is the archaeological discovery, which interested all of us the most:  The Grey Friars Dig in Leicester, where archaeologists found the remains of Richard III.  It is a great pity that the euphoria we all felt on 4 February 2013 has soured with all the controversies about his reburial.

Don’t stop reading after first place though, the other discoveries are also fascinating.  At No.9 there is a beautiful 1500 year-old Byzantine mosaic, and for me personally the discovery of a henge in Hertfordshire was also of great interest.

Current Archaeology magazine celebrates every year archaeological projects with awards, which are entirely voted for by the public.  The 2013 award for Research Excavation of the Year went to the Grey Friars Dig, after receiving a record number of votes from the public (including quite a few from the NSW Branch of the Richard III Society).  One of the nominees for the 2014 award of Archaeologist of the Year is Richard Buckley, who led the archaeological team who found Richard’s remains.  The vote is still open and you can make your voice count here.

The University of Leicester Alumni Lecture 2013 – “The Search for Richard III” was given by Mathew Morris and Dr Turi King.  Both are graduates of the University of Leicester and of course leading members of the Greyfriars project, as Fieldwork Director and Project Geneticist respectively.

The lecture is available to listen to over the internet, which is for us at the other end of the world a fantastic opportunity to hear the scientists involved in the project actually speak about the archaeological search for the King and the process of identifying the skeleton.

Some of the content is also contained in the book published by the University of Leicester Archaeological Services, Richard III: The King under the Car Park.  However, hearing Mathew Morris and Turi King actually speak about the dig brings it much more to life.

An opportunity not to be missed!  Click here.

The last meeting of the year of the New South Wales Branch of the Richard III Society was held on Saturday, 14 December 2013, the last meeting held at the Harry Jensen Centre. As of February 2014 we will once again, by popular demand, be meeting at the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts at 280 Pitt Street, in the central CBD.

The meeting was opened with remarks made by our Chair Judith with a warm welcome extended to the several new members and visitors present, one of whom, Joseph, came all the way from Armidale to attend! Treasurer Judy was away, but had given Judith her report and assured us of the good financial status of the Branch. Dorothea reported on the very lively branch website that has many international visitors, and can always use more contributions from members. Congratulations had been sent by Dorothea on behalf of the Branch to Sally Henshaw for winning the 2013 Robert Hamblin Award for work of outstanding service to the Richard III Society.  Our branch is grateful to Sally for keeping us  up to date with eye witness reports during the Greyfriars Dig in 2012.  Sally had thanked the NSW Branch and wished all its members a happy Christmas. Lynne reported on Sales, and her success in obtaining new supplies and showed the attractive red pens, which had been introduced for the Australasian Convention and replace the prior style. The Branch Secretary had nothing to report and Angela was unable to attend. The Branch wishes Angela a full recovery, and hopes to see her at meetings again in the New Year. The 2013 volume of our branch journal, The Chronicles of the White Rose, was distributed to all attending.

Our featured speaker was our own member Lynne, who presented a fascinating program illustrated with slides, about exquisite, intricate medieval jewellery of which she clearly knew a great deal and enjoyed sharing her enthusiasm with the branch.  We hope to be able to share her talk here in the near future.

Following the raffle, which had exceptionally nice prizes this month, we had the challenge of a delightful quiz sent by our erstwhile secretary Julia who has recently retired to the coast north of Newcastle, but is still contributing to the fun we always have at the holiday meeting. The quiz had retitled popular and traditional Christmas hymns and carols, which had to be identified by players by the correct name. Our visitor Bruce, who will also be our February speaker, scored 14 out of 15, thereby amazing the rest of us whilst winning a lovely prize. Runners up also received prizes. We enjoyed the mental challenge, and thanked Julia in absentia for such a clever activity.

A lovely afternoon tea was then held with special offerings from members’ kitchens, the last to be presented by our tea-lady Rosemary who has been involved for many years helping to make our meetings enjoyable. As of next year Joan will be taking over the role, with Moya as backup.

Our next gathering will be on 8 February 2014 when our guest speaker will be Bruce speaking on the topic of the Angevin Kings and Queens. Don’t forget to go to the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts next year!