Issue 1

Anne Boleyn’s brief reign as Queen of England began, and ended, at the Tower of London, where Henry VIII had sumptuous new apartments built for her. Sadly, these are long gone. Dr Alden Gregory looks at what we know of Anne’s apartments – when and how they were built, and how they were furnished when Anne used them.

Tucked away in suburban Weybridge are the remains of Oatlands palace, which served as one of Henry VIII’s wedding venues. Dr Elizabeth Norton explores what this long-lost, spectacular building, with connections to
Henry VIII’s later queens, was like in its hey-day.

In the late 1530s, in response to threats of invasion from the combined forces of Spain, France and Pope Paul III, Henry VIII issued a ‘Device’, or instruction, ordering the building of a network of coastal forts from Milford Haven to Hull. Julian Humphrys explores the history of three of the forts, Sandown, Walmer and Deal, built as part of the defensive barrier on the Kent coast, and highlights what to look for on a visit today.

Nathen Amin argues that the modest seaside resort of Tenby, without which the Tudors may never have reached the throne, stands out, above the more obvious formidable castles and revered cathedrals, with a good claim to being the most important Tudor town – as well as his favourite Tudor location.

Ripon Cathedral and Markenfield Hall, both connected to the Markenfield family, were sites of rebellion in the Rising of the North in 1569. Dr Emma J. Wells tells the story of the rise and fall of the Markenfields and looks at what remains today of them and this historic event, in chapels at Ripon and Markenfield.

Cecily Bonville, born around 1459 and heiress to the wealthy baronies of Harington and Bonville, was one of a group of elite medieval women who commissioned and paid for building works, both secular and religious. Melita Thomas looks at the work undertaken for Cecily at Astley, Shute and Ottery St Mary.