Issue 25

Elite Tudor women were active participants in hunting, falconry, creating and managing deer parks, and sustaining networks through the exchange of game and hunting-related gifts. Dr Rachel Delman examines the many ways that elite women shaped landscapes that reflected their status and authority, and experienced the culture of the hunt.

Guildhalls stood at the heart of medieval and Tudor life, bringing together worship, government, trade and association in a single building or complex. Although the upheavals of the sixteenth century transformed the fraternities, guilds and corporations that commissioned them, many guildhalls survived. Dr Emma J. Wells looks at their varied forms, functions and enduring legacy.

The roots of the picturesque Surrey village of Shere stretch back beyond the Norman Conquest. Connected to both the House of York and the wives of Henry VIII, it passed into the ownership of the Bray family in the mid-sixteenth century. Julian Humphrys delves into the history of Shere and takes us on a short tour of its Tudor highlights.

Today, Leez Priory survives only in part, yet the remaining buildings still hint at the scale of Richard Rich's ambition. Sarah Morris explores the history of the former monastic property, its transformation into a magnificent country house and the fragments that endure.

Situated on the south bank of the River Thames, Winchester Palace was the London residence of the wealthy and powerful bishops of Winchester. Dr Elizabeth Norton traces the history of this once great palace from heyday in the medieval period to riverside ruin today.

Sarah Morris, The Tudor Travel Guide, leads us on a three-day perambulation through the stunning scenery of North West Wales, from the windswept coast of the Irish Sea, via the birthplace of the Tudors on the island of Anglesey, to the coastal town of Conwy, finishing at Gwydir Castle.