Issue 14

Carlisle Castle, a medieval fortress located in Cumbria on the Anglo-Scottish border, was frequently under attack in an area where invasion, ambushes, raids and looting were commonplace for centuries. Julian Humphrys explores the Tudor history of the castle and its two most famous prisoners, Mary, Queen of Scots and Kinmont Willie Armstrong.

Following Henry VII's victory at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, Lady Margaret Beaufort set up a splendid new principal residence at Collyweston in Northamptonshire, that was befitting of her elevated status as the king's mother. Dr Rachel Delman considers why she chose Collyweston and what is known of the plan, structure and decoration of this long-gone magnificent palace.

Whilst the religious changes that buffeted the country during the reigns of Henry VIII and his children had a profound impact upon the fixtures and fittings of the parish church, those changes were not experienced uniformly or universally. Dr Emma J Wells explores how the colourful later medieval church interiors changed and evolved over the course of the sixteenth century and what can still be seen of them in the parish church today.

Gainsborough Old Hall in Lincolnshire, the seat of the Burgh family, is a rare survival, late fifteenth-century building with Elizabethan modifications. The Hall's connection to Queen Katherine Parr is well-known, but that to Rose Hickman, the London merchant's daughter, Protestant exile and author, is less so. Sharon Bennett Connolly looks at this splendid manor house through the lives of these Tudor women.

The small and little-known Chobham Park manor in Surrey was frequently visited by Henry VIII, who enjoyed the hunting opportunities and privacy from court which the manor provided. Dr Elizabeth Norton explores the history of Chobham Park and its connections to the neighbouring Chertsey Abbey.

Leonie Seliger is Director of the Stained Glass Studio at Canterbury Cathedral, where she oversees the care and preservation of one of the world's finest collections of medieval stained glass. This includes the remnants of the Royal Window with its depictions of King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth Woodville, and their young sons and daughters.