Issue 17

In Issue 17 of Tudor Places, we explore Ludlow Castle in Shropshire, the base of the Council of the Marches and the location of the premature death of Arthur, Prince of Wales. This frontier fortress is also one of the stops on our itinerary for a long weekend in the Tudor Welsh Marches, the border area between England and Wales that in the sixteenth century was still ruled over by powerful Marcher Lords on behalf of the English Crown.

We learn about Bacon’s Mount, a pavilion built by Francis Bacon in the gardens of Gray’s Inn in London, investigate the early Tudor origins of Great St Mary’s Church, one of Cambridge’s most recognisable landmarks and a striking example of Perpendicular Gothic architecture, and discover the dramatic changes that Durham Cathedral underwent during the English Reformation, when centuries of Catholic tradition gave way to Protestant reforms.

We speak to Louis Curtis, a master carpenter whose career in historic timber conservation has taken him to some of Europe’s most extraordinary sites, and we have a coffee break with Alison Bird, a volunteer at Packwood House in Warwickshire.

Brigitte Webster offers a fascinating glimpse into her ambitious plan to re-create a Tudor garden at Old Hall, and the Tudor historian and author, Amy Licence, shares her favourite Tudor places with us.