The first branch meeting of the New Year was held on Saturday, 14 February 2015, at the Sydney Mechanics Institute on Pitt Street, with a very good turnout of members and visitors.

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 Treasurer was happy to announce our branch will be giving gifts of $100 to St James Anglican Church, and $1000 to the Leicester Cathedral Charitable Trust to assist with the costs of the refurbishment in preparation for Richard III’s reinterment at Leicester Cathedral.

Our guest speaker was Mr Almis Simans who spoke about Alfred Wainwright’s classic “Coast to Coast” walk with specific reference to the areas around York and northern England that would be of particular interest to Ricardians. His interesting talk included video footage and illustrations of the topographical features that Richard and his entourage would have had to traverse when travelling between particular places.

After the presentation, the raffle was drawn and we adjourned for afternoon tea. There was ample time for chatting, and catching up, and it was a good start to another exciting year for Ricardians.

Leslie and Doug McCawley

Tags: Leicester, NSW Branch, Richard III, Yorkshire

Sheriff Hutton Castle was one of Richard’s main bases in the north and as Lord of the North, he often stayed at the castle.  In 1484 he established there a royal household for his nephew Edward, Earl of Warwick, the son of George of Clarence, in the care of John, Earl of Lincoln, another of Richard’s nephews, the son of his sister Elizabeth. They were later joined by Edward IV’s daughters as well as Richard’s own illegitimate son, John of Gloucester.[1]

On 20/21st October 2012, the town is planning a weekend of talks, music and drama to reveal more of the story of Richard III, his wife Anne Neville and their son Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales.

On the Saturday evening there will be a concert performance of words and music by the York Waits, playing medieval music on period instruments, and  Deborah Catterall, renowned singer of period music.

The Sunday will start with a morning service of thanksgiving for Richard III and his family.  Presumably this will take place in the local church, St Helen and the Holy Cross.  In the church, there is a small alabaster chest tomb with the monument of a child, dated to the 15th century.  It has often been thought that this is the coffin of Richard’s only legitimate child, Edward of Middleham [2] (and indeed the local website claims that it is).   However, a careful analysis of the style of the monument makes this unlikely.[3]

The service is followed by a demonstration by the Towton Battlefield Society and the Frei Companie.  In the afternoon, there will be presentations. Our friend, Helen Cox of the Richard III Society, will speak on Ricardian connections – she is the author of The Battle of Wakefield Revisited and Walk Wakefield 1460. Professor Anthony Pollard will speak on the Nevilles in Yorkshire.

And for all your shopping needs there will be Ricardian stalls all over the weekend.

For more info and how to book tickets, visit The Press.

Bibliography:

1.    ‘Sheriff Hutton Castle – Acquired 29 June 1471’, The Richard III Foundation.  URL:  http://www.richard111.com/sheriff_hutton_castle__.htm Date accessed: 26 May 2010

2.    Jane Crean, ‘The Sheriff Hutton Monument:  Part 1’, Ricardian Bulletin (September 2009), pp. 37-39

3.    Jane Crean, ‘The Sheriff Hutton Monument: Part 2’, Ricardian Bulletin (December 2009), pp. 39-41

Tags: Richard III, Sheriff Hutton, Yorkshire

Hatfield, Hertfordshire – History in Reverse

This continues my quest to discover a Ricardian or Yorkist connection to places in Hertfordshire.  Hatfield was fairly high on my agenda as I spent a year as a foreign language assistant teaching German at two schools, one of which was in Hatfield, in 1980/81.

After arriving on a Saturday evening in late August 1980, our first visit the next day was to Hatfield House.  As the first thing you see is the latest building on the site, this story will be going chronologically backwards. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Church, Family, Hertfordshire, Yorkshire

Sheriff Hutton Castle, one of Richard III’s main bases in the north, is up for sale.[1]

The first castle was built in 1140 by Bertram de Bulmer, who was then Sheriff of York, as a grand manor house.  Through the marriage of his daughter Emma it passed on to the Nevilles.  The existing castle was built in the 14th century, replacing the original manor.[2]  After Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, was killed at the Battle of Barnet in 1471, the castle came into the possession of Edward IV, who gave it to his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester.[3] Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Castles, Richard III, Yorkshire

From our friends at Barley Hall in York (more info here), or to be precise from the April 2010 issue of Quid Novi?  A newsletter for the friends and supporters of Barley Hall, we learned that the York Archaeological Trust has agreed to take over the Museum at Micklegate Bar and make it one of their attractions.  This means that the Bar joins Barley Hall as the second mediaeval attraction in their portfolio.

Micklegate Bar in York (author’s own photograph)

Micklegate Bar is York’s most important gateway and has served a number of important roles since its construction in the 12th century, including being the main point of entry through which a reigning monarch enters the city.

The new museum will open later in May and an interesting programme of events has been planned.  To celebrate the launch of the new exhibition, the Wars of the Roses will be brought to life in York once more with various Bank holiday events and talks to tie into.

The programme kicks off on 29 May at Barley Hall with the drama of The Queen’s Tale: Margaret of Anjou.  The following day there is a coach tour to Sandal Castle.  31 May sees Helen Cox launching her book The Battle of Wakefield Revisited at Micklegate Bar and at the Mansion House there is a series of talks on Great Battles of the Wars of the Roses.

Later in the (Northern hemisphere) summer there will be a series of guided tours to various battle sites in the area.  For Ricardians the most interesting would surely be the one to Sheriff Hutton on 15 June, and a day at Pontefract Castle and the Wakefield battle site under the heading Dukes, Earls and Nursery Rhymes: Yorkshire at War in the 15th Century, which is led by Helen Cox, on 1 August.  For more information on all these fascinating events check out the website of Barley hall as well as that of the Jorvik Viking Centre (here).

Tags: Battles, Books, Sandal, Yorkshire

Skipton Castle in North Yorkshire (for a map, click here) is of special Ricardian relevance for me because this is where I first heard of the existence of the Richard III Society.  However, that is not the only connection between the castle and Richard III – it actually belonged to him.

Skipton Castle (photograph by Dorothea Preis)

The history of the castle goes back to William the Conqueror, who granted the land around Skipton to Robert de Romille, who built the first wooden castle on this site.  A castle at Skipton is first mentioned in 1130.  The wooden structure was replaced by a stone castle between 1194 and 1241. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Castles, Richard III, Yorkshire