Issue 11

Rebuilt twice before its current twelfth-century incarnation, Peterborough Cathedral is a glorious mix of Norman and Gothic architecture. In the sixteenth century, the cathedral became the burial place of two queens, each of whom the reigning monarch wished to forget. Dr Emma J. Wells looks at its turbulent history and splendid architecture.

During the medieval and Tudor period, the Anglo-Scottish border was a contested area where invasion, ambushes, raids and looting were fairly much endemic. Consequently, the fortified residences of the area were very different to the manor and prodigy houses of their southern neighbours. Julian Humphrys takes us on a tour of the dwellings in reiver country.

The Copperplate map is the earliest known map of London. Whilst printed copies of it do not survive, three of the original engraved printing plates do. Matt Brown has undertaken the painstaking task of colouring the usually black and white images of Tudor London we have from the Copperplate map. Here he tells us what he discovered about both the map and Tudor London during the colouring process.

Brooke House in Hackney, East London, one of Henry VIII's smaller and less well-known residences, was the venue for the reconciliation meeting with his elder daughter, Mary. Sadly, nothing at all remains of it above ground. Dr Elizabeth Norton looks at what is known about the 'King's House' and its connections to the Tudor monarchs and their royal cousins.

The iconic image of the statue of Henry VII with his birthplace, Pembroke Castle, as a backdrop, is a familiar one in Tudor circles. Tony Riches explains the story of the statue's creation.

Giles Keating is the owner of Athelhampton, a wonderfully original Tudor manor house in Dorset with a fascinating history, including connections to the Babington Plot and more recently, to the nineteenth-century author, Thomas Hardy. it is also, under his stewardship, the first net-zero building of its kind in Britain. Giles is writing a trilogy, "Anne of Athelhampton", based on the Martyn sisters who lived in the house during the Elizabethan period.