16th Century 1500-1599
King Henry VIII and the Catholic Church (Part 1)
How did King Henry VIII and the Catholic church come to so completely at odds over the nullity of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon? Such marriages had been nullified before, so what made Henry’s different?
Read MoreThomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell, the black clad lawyer who rose to power after the decline and death of the red clad Cardinal Wolsey. King Henry’s advisor and who figaratively wielded the axe across the neck of many Tudor conservatives.
Read MoreCrossbones Graveyard
Crossbones graveyard in Southwark is adorned with colourful ribbons, a tribute to those Winchester Geese and others who exist on the margins of society. This burial ground has been in existence since Medieval times.
Read MoreEdward Coke 1552 – 1634
Edward Coke, supreme barrister and politician of the C16th and C17th, whose belief and work in Common Law became part of the English and US Constitution whose name should be known by every child in the UK.
Read MoreWitchcraft Act 1562
The Witchcraft Act of 1562 replaced an earlier act to deal with the fear people had that witches were prevalent in society. They took the blame for all manner of ills in society.
Read MoreRoyal Arms In Church
Royal Arms can be found in many English parish churches but are easy to overlook. The question is what was their purpose and what can we learn about English history by studying them?
Read MoreHampshire ‘Feet of Fines’
‘Feet of Fines’ documents for Hampshire date back to 1199 and give surnames and placenames of people living in Hampshire in the Medieval period. These are important resources for Hampshire History and help to build a picture of community and settlement…
Read MoreFreehold, Freeholders and Leaseholders
Freehold and leasehold what are the historic connections and origins of these termms and do they relate to origins of Copyhold Tenure and Feudal Law…
Read MoreCopyhold Tenure what does it mean?
If you were a Serf, you had no rights of appeal to a court outside that of your Manor, where your elied upon the biased and often harsh law of your particular lord, who might only be goverened by local custom. Copyhold tenure lifted you out of such servitude and established increased legal rights which were only abolished in 1926. Whilst the Land Registry was established in 1862, it did not record all transactions, find out how you can explore copyholders relevant to you and your history project for connections and insights that date back well before the 1837 BMD Registers…
Read MoreTemple Church London 1185-2012
The spirtual centre in the UK for the Knights Templar, how much is fable and what are the facts? From Temple to the Inns of Court, the significance of the Round, the importance of the effigies and a most extraordinary knight William Marshall together with the reason and consequence for Heraclius’s presence in London…
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