Latest news with #Royalists
BBC News
21-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Wingfield Manor in Derbyshire 'helped shape modern England'
A manor that imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots was also home to an advisor to Henry VI and a scientist who had a major influence on modern astronomy during its near 600 years of existence. campaigners are calling for English Heritage to carry out urgent repairs to the palatial ruins of Derbyshire's Wingfield Manor so people can visit the home once again and learn about its "fascinating history".Dr Nigel Hunt, who is writing a book about the manor, said its inhabitants included nationally important one of the home's most interesting tales involves owner George, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, who found himself as the reluctant jailer of Mary Queen of Scots. "He had a really rotten time," said Dr Hunt."George was torn between three powerful women. He had a lot of hassle from Queen Elizabeth I, who was worried about his loyalty to her over Mary Queen of Scots."Mary also constantly complained about her treatment at Wingfield Manor and said it was dirty. "Then his wife, Bess of Hardwick, was jealous of Mary as she thought he was having an affair with her, which I don't think was true." Knights of the Garter However, Dr Hunt believes the Mary Queen of Scots era was not the most important time in the manor's is estimated the grand house was built during the 1440s for Ralph, Lord Cromwell, Treasurer of England, although the site is thought to have been occupied from the 12th Cromwell, from Lambley in Nottinghamshire, fought at Agincourt - a significant battle in the Hundred Years' War - and held a number of government roles, which included being a member of the council which advised Henry VI before he came of his death the manor passed to the 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, who fought in the bloody War of the Roses, where he eventually died during the Battle of Northampton in 1460. "Some of the manor's inhabitants were nationally important figures... they helped shape modern England," Dr Hunt said."The earls of Shrewsbury were Knights of the Garter, they fought in France and Scotland and demonstrate the importance of the manor."He said the manor also played an important part in the English Civil War."It was besieged by Royalists in 1642 and then Parliamentarians in 1644 and you can still see damage caused by cannonballs on the manor today," he said."Some of the trenches have never been dug out, so there's still potentially a lot to discover there." Influence on astronomy Dr Hunt said another of the manor's inhabitants, Immanuel Halton, had a major influence on modern astronomy and mathematics."He discovered John Flamsteed, who became Astronomer Royal and wrote a scientific paper on a partial solar eclipse he witnessed from the manor in the 1670s," he said."Then two of the daughters who inherited the manor from their father Gilbert, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury, both wrote books on how food could be used to cure diseases and were scientists in their own right."Barry Joyce, vice chair of the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust said the manor needed to be open to the public once more. "My concern now is to try to encourage English Heritage... to put it back into a decent state, so that the public can enjoy it again and learn about its fascinating history," he Joyce said the manor had even been mentioned in books including DH Lawrence's Sons and Lovers and Alison Utley's A Traveller in Time."It really is a magnificent building and was up there with Haddon Hall, Chatsworth and Hardwick Hall."People could visit it easily because of the nearby railway." Full conservation project In a statement, English Heritage said Wingfield Manor has "long been largely ruined and roofless and modern agricultural use has concealed parts of the historic complex".It added: "The two edges of the site are in the guardianship of the state and managed by English Heritage while the central section remains in private ownership."With it being originally conceived and built as a whole, this makes it a relatively complicated site on a number of levels, not least in terms of maintenance and conservation."We have previously discussed options for reuniting the site as a whole with the owner, but unfortunately we were not able to arrive at a consensus."Since English Heritage became a charity, we have spent more than £100,000 on repairs and maintenance work and we are developing a full conservation project for those elements of the site in our care."However, there are major challenges and costs involved with securing its future," a spokesperson said.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Flats which spoil castle view to be demolished
Four blocks of 1960s flats in Pontefract town centre are to be demolished because they spoil the view of the town's 955-year-old castle ruins. Wakefield Council has given the go-ahead for Violet Pritchard House, Silkstone House, Francis Lane House and Warren House - part of the Horsefair Flats complex - to be bulldozed. The council's conservation officer said: "The scale and form of the flats abruptly contrasts with the historic context of the area, and in particular undermines the significance of the castle." The social housing provider plans to replace the buildings with new housing projects, according to documents submitted to the local authority. Approving the proposals, a planning officer's report said it was accepted the flats "contribute little from a visual perspective to the local area" and their demolition would be "beneficial". A heritage statement said the buildings are within the Pontefract Castle conservation area and less than 300m from the medieval monument. According to the statement, the buildings make a "negative contribution" to the area and their demolition would be a "minor enhancement". The castle was built in about 1070 by Ilbert de Lacy on land granted to him by William the Conqueror as a reward for his support during the Norman Conquest The deposed King Richard II was captured in August 1399 and initially imprisoned in the Tower of London, before he was moved to Pontefract Castle where he died in February 1400 Royalists controlled Pontefract Castle at the start of the English Civil War and Oliver Cromwell led the final siege of the site which finally fell to his Parliamentarians in 1649 Parliament decided the castle should be demolished, preventing it from being used against them in the future. Many of the buildings in the local area are made from stones recycled from the castle Source: Duchy of Lancaster Wakefield District Housing (WDH) submitted an application to knock down the buildings in December last year. The flats are currently vacant after former residents were housed elsewhere. The demolition phase is expected to take about 40 weeks to complete and the site will then be grassed over until redevelopment takes place. WDH said it intended to submit a separate planning application for a new housing project on the land. Planning permission was granted with a condition that a full archaeological recording takes place at the site before further development is carried out. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Flood concerns over large housing development Housing plans near Norman castle spark concerns Development would 'ruin' castle views - objectors Wakefield Council Wakefield District Housing
BBC News
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Shakespeare sonnet copy from 17th century found by Oxford researcher
A rare hand-written copy of one of the most famous love poems ever written has been discovered after hundreds of Leah Veronese uncovered the version of William Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 tucked away in a 17th-century poetry collection at the University of manuscript was found among the papers of Elias Ashmole, founder of Oxford's Ashmolean Emma Smith, an Oxford expert in Shakespeare, said the "exciting discovery" would help researchers understand the Bard's popularity in the decades following his death. Dr Veronese found the sonnet featured in a miscellany - a type of manuscript which contains a selection of texts from different authors on various subjects - stored at the Bodleian Library."As I was leafing through the manuscript, the poem struck me as an odd version of Sonnet 116," the university researcher explained."When I looked in the catalogue (originally compiled in the nineteenth century) the poem was described, not inaccurately, as "on constancy in love" – but it doesn't mention Shakespeare." In Ashmole's version, parts of Sonnet 116 - also known as Let me not to the marriage of true minds - have been altered, and additional lines Veronese said she thought the changed first line and the lack of mention of Shakespeare were the reasons "why this poem has passed un-noticed as a copy of Sonnet 116 all these years".The sonnet sits in the miscellany alongside "politically charged" works from the 1640s - the decade of the English Civil War, fought between Royalists and was a strong supporter of the monarchy, and the lines added to the sonnet could be read as an appeal towards religious and political loyalty. The added lines "potentially transform" the sonnet from "a meditation on romantic love into a powerful political statement", researchers Smith said: "Let me not to the marriage of true minds is now one of Shakespeare's most famous sonnets, but it doesn't seem to have been very popular in his own time.""What Dr Veronese shows in her investigation of this new version is that the sonnet being understood in the context of Royalist politics – a long way from its role in modern weddings," she added. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rare civil war siege coin to be sold at auction
A rare coin minted by Royalists during the English Civil War is to be put up for auction. The lozenge-shaped coin is said to offer an insight into a pivotal moment of history, when the Nottinghamshire town of Newark was held by forces loyal to Charles I. Three sieges took place in Newark between 1643 and 1646 during the conflict with Parliamentarians, which left Royalists cut off and in need of a form of currency, which was created using silver items people of the town were forced to donate. A shilling depicting a crown, the initials CR and 'Newarke 1645', which was part of a private collection, will be auctioned by Anderson & Garland in Newcastle in March. Fred Wyrley-Birch, auctioneer and director of Anderson & Garland, said: "Newark was under siege three times during the civil war and the longest period was for about six months. "The main reason for minting these coins was to pay the soldiers to keep them fighting. "They would go into people's houses and anyone who had any silver was pressed into giving over whatever they had." The coin is expected to fetch between £1,000 and £2,000 at auction. The same auction will feature a George III 'Northumberland' shilling from 1763. It was produced by the Royal Mint among an of issue of 100,000 coins, £100 worth of which were distributed to people in Dublin when Hugh Percy, the 2nd Earl of Northumberland, was installed as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Mr Wyrley-Birch said: "They were distributed in the same way as Maundy money. "But only about 800 of the 100,000 coins minted were distributed in this way, the rest would have been sent off to various banks. "These coins do survive, but they are relatively rare, as many examples of them wear down over the years and you cannot tell what they are." Both coins came from a collection of shillings owned by a long-term customer of the auctioneers, who has died. The auction will take place in Newcastle and be broadcast live online on Thursday 6 March. Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Rare civil war siege coins sold for £9,800
BBC News
28-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Rare Newark shilling from civil war to be sold at auction
A rare coin minted by Royalists during the English Civil War is to be put up for auction. The lozenge-shaped coin is said to offer an insight into a pivotal moment of history, when the Nottinghamshire town of Newark was held by forces loyal to Charles I. Three sieges took place in Newark between 1643 and 1646 during the conflict with Parliamentarians, which left Royalists cut off and in need of a form of currency, which was created using silver items people of the town were forced to donate. A shilling depicting a crown, the initials CR and 'Newarke 1645', which was part of a private collection, will be auctioned by Anderson & Garland in Newcastle in March. Fred Wyrley-Birch, auctioneer and director of Anderson & Garland, said: "Newark was under siege three times during the civil war and the longest period was for about six months. "The main reason for minting these coins was to pay the soldiers to keep them fighting."They would go into people's houses and anyone who had any silver was pressed into giving over whatever they had."The coin is expected to fetch between £1,000 and £2,000 at auction. The same auction will feature a George III 'Northumberland' shilling from 1763. It was produced by the Royal Mint among an of issue of 100,000 coins, £100 worth of which were distributed to people in Dublin when Hugh Percy, the 2nd Earl of Northumberland, was installed as Lord Lieutenant of Wyrley-Birch said: "They were distributed in the same way as Maundy money. "But only about 800 of the 100,000 coins minted were distributed in this way, the rest would have been sent off to various banks. "These coins do survive, but they are relatively rare, as many examples of them wear down over the years and you cannot tell what they are." Both coins came from a collection of shillings owned by a long-term customer of the auctioneers, who has died. The auction will take place in Newcastle and be broadcast live online on Thursday 6 March.
