Issue 23

The Westminster Abbey we see today is predominantly that built for Henry III in the thirteenth century, with the addition of the spectacular Lady Chapel in the sixteenth century. However, its role and governance changed fundamentally in the Tudor period. Dr Emma J. Wells examines the abbey’s transition from Benedictine monastery to Royal Peculiar at the ceremonial heart of monarchy and Protestant England.

The introduction by Edward VI of a new Book of Common Prayer, in which the traditional Latin Mass was replaced with English, was the catalyst for widespread rebellion amongst the religiously conservative counties of Devon and Cornwall. Julian Humphrys explores the resulting series of armed conflicts between the Government’s loyalist forces and those of the rebels during the summer of 1549.

In 1512, Katherine Courtenay returned to Tiverton Castle in Devon, establishing it as her chief residence. Though reduced in scale today, the castle still commands a dramatic cliff-top position overlooking the River Exe, approximately fourteen miles from Exeter. Dr Rachel Delman examines how a Yorkist princess came to call a mid-Devon castle her home, and the remarkable journey she took to get there.

Hever Castle in Kent provides the atmospheric backdrop to Professor Tracy Borman’s latest novel, 'The House of Boleyn', tracing the rise and fall of the ambitious Boleyn family. In this article, she reflects on her research of the castle, its fascinating history and her reasons for setting the Boleyn’s story there.

Baynard’s Castle, which sat close to the River Thames near Blackfriars, is now entirely vanished. In its heyday, it was the residence of both kings and queens, as well as serving as an oversized royal wardrobe. Dr Elizabeth Norton explores the medieval and Tudor history of this once-splendid riverside palace.

Chatsworth’s richly varied archive, which includes Bess of Hardwick's will and letters written by Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, reveals relationships and revelations alongside the everyday running of the estates of the influential Cavendish family – as Janine Sterland discovers in meeting its Head of Archive and Library, Fran Baker.