Issue 5

Along with great changes in architecture in the Tudor period, there was a corresponding flourishing of gardens. New concepts from the classical and renaissance worlds, and new plants from the old and new worlds, combined to create a distinctive Tudor style of gardening. Bettina Harden considers what these gardens looked like in Wales and what traces remain of them today.

Built c.1540 for the Lieutenant of the Tower, the King’s House witnessed the imprisonment, terror and death for which the Tower of London became synonymous in this period. Many high-status prisoners were held here, and others were interrogated, most notably the Jesuit priest, John Gerard, and Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators. Dr Alden Gregory looks at the history of this fascinating, and often overlooked, building.

Originally established in the fifteenth century as God’s House, Christ’s College was re-founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, its generous benefactor, in 1505. The Tudor roots of this prestigious college remain visible in its striking gatehouse. Julian Humphrys delves into the history of Christ’s College and its Tudor imagery and architecture which can still be seen today.

Eltham, the substantial and luxurious palace of medieval monarchs, was used as a royal nursery in the Tudor period. A young Henry VIII spent much of his childhood there, along with his sisters, Margaret and Mary. Dr Elizabeth Norton explores the remains of this once great palace, which include, most notably, Edward IV’s magnificent great hall.

York Minster, in the northern city of York, sat at the heart of the Yorkist faction’s powerbase in the Wars of the Roses. The city’s Yorkist support and Catholic leanings created difficulties at times with the Lancastrian Henry VII and his Tudor successors. Dr Emma J. Wells looks at the impact of Henrician reform and the changing religious beliefs of the Tudor monarchs on York’s glorious cathedral.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is an award-winning historian, author, and broadcaster, specialising in the early modern period. She is Professor Emerita at the University of Roehampton, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Historical Society, Trustee of the Mary Rose Trust, and a columnist for History Today.