I am really enjoying our programme of visits this year and I am especially excited about the venue for our AGM in November. As secretary of the Group I am responsible for booking venues and could not find anywhere suitable actually in Colchester to hold the meeting. Then I remembered the times I sang in St Mary’s Church in Stratford St Mary with John Ashdown-Hill and the problem was solved. I am looking forward to visiting this beautiful church again after our AGM business is concluded and to seeing as many of you there as possible.

Janine Lawrence (Secretary)

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Chairman’s LetterSeptember is upon us again and the Mid-Anglia Group has paid a successful return visit to Clare Priory. In a few weeks’ time, we will be heading for Wingfield, after which our AGM is scheduled for Colchester in November. I have been at Norwich Castle Museum again, trying to follow the footsteps of two unfortunate sixteenth century Suffolk men, although neither of them are likely to have travelled there by train.

We aim to update our blog (https://richardiiisocietymidanglia.wordpress.com/events-schedule-2017/), our Facebook page and our group (Operation Phoenix) on a regular basis, hopefully weekly, during the year with news and other relevant developments when we have any

Stephen Lark********************************************

Group Visit to ClareThirteen members of the Mid-Anglia Group, together with their guest, Marion, from Cheshire, met at 12:30 on Saturday 29 July for a convivial lunch at the Swan Inn, Clare, Suffolk, for their tour of this historic market town in the Stour valley, on the Suffolk-Essex border. Our guide for this tour was our member Zigurds Kronbergs, who had given a talk on Clare and other sites in Suffolk with Ricardian associations to his village’s Local History Society a few months previously.

Our first stop after the excellent lunch was outside the Swan Inn itself, to look at its unusual pub sign, which boasts it is the oldest surviving pub sign in England, a claim no doubt disputed by many other hostelries. Nevertheless, it is of considerable historical interest. It is carved from solid oak, about 3 metres in length, and was most probably once the corbel of an oriel window in Clare Castle (of which more later). At its centre, it bears a chained swan with a crown around its neck (‘royally gorged’), which was the device of the Lancastrian King Henry IV (which he appropriated from the de Bohun family of his first wife, Mary), and had been used as a badge by their common ancestor, Edward III. To its left, as one faces it, are the quartered royal arms of England and France and on its right, arms combining those of the Mortimer and de Burgh families. This is thought to commemorate the marriage in 1406 of Richard of Conisbrough, Earl of Cambridge (c. 1375-1415) and Anne Mortimer (1390-1411), the parents of Richard, 3 rd Duke of York and, of course, therefore grandparents of Richard III. The marriage apparently took place without parental consent and had

Richard III SocietyMid Anglia Group

Newsletter September 2017

to be validated by Papal dispensation in 1408. The inn itself dates from around 1600, but a previous building on the site had an owner who is recorded as having died from (or at the time of) the Black Death in 1349.

About 100 metres further along the High Street is the fascinating Ancient House, one half of which contains the Town Museum (well worth a visit in itself). The House is a splendid example of pargeting, and was restored in the 1950s. Its west wing (which houses the museum) dates from around 1350-1450 but the east wing is of later construction. The house would have been an open mediaeval hall house. Although the end wall facing the street bears the prominent inscription ‘1476’, the significance of this is still unknown, as the earliest written record of the house dates from 1502.

Next to the Ancient House, and our next stop, is the imposing church of SS Peter and Paul. Although it has no known Ricardian associations, the building we see now (a fine example of Suffolk knapped flint) dates largely from the mid-15th century. Of particular interest was what remains of the rood screen. We know that this, together with the rood loft, was made (or reconstructed) during the 1470s and 1480s, as wills from this period leave donations (including one of £10, a large sum in those days) for its construction. The doorways to the stairs leading to the rood loft can still be seen, and show that it would have been of considerable height (nearly 6m above ground level).

We then crossed a small bridge over the River Stour to enter the grounds of Clare Priory through an ancient wooden door. The priory, the first house in England of the Augustinian (or Austin) Friars, was founded in 1248 at the invitation of Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, whose family owned Clare Castle, and is replete with Ricardian associations. After the priory’s dissolution in 1538, the Priory Church fell into ruin, but its south wall is still largely intact, as is the holy water stoup by the south doorway, and the east wall of the cloisters. The church was long (just over 51 metres or 168 ft), and had a bell tower. It is known as the burial place of several of Richard’s ancestors: Joan of Acre* (1272-1307), Countess of Gloucester and daughter of Edward I and (the bones and heart of) Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence (1338-1368), third son of Edward III. As all Ricardians will know, it is through its descent in the female line from Lionel that the House of York based its claim to the throne. Also believed to be buried here are other of Richard’s ancestors and relatives: Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March (1391-1428) and Lady Margaret Neville (1398-1463), Richard’s aunt as half-sister of Cicely, Duchess of York. Lady Margaret’s son Sir Alexander, by her second marriage, to William Cressener of Sudbury, was twice Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk during the reign of Edward IV. The Society erected a plaque on the inside of the south wall commemorating these burials in 2002.

Happily, the Augustinians were able to purchase the Priory House and grounds from its then owner in 1953, at 15% of its market value, and thus returned to the priory from which they had been forcibly evicted over 400 years previously, where a small religious and lay community still thrives. We next visited the current Priory church, which is dedicated, as was the original, to Our Lady, Mother of Good Counsel, in the former infirmary. After the Dissolution, the building was used as a barn and later as a school. The second floor of the infirmary housed the novices’ dormitory, one of the windows of which can still be seen above the old west door. A modern extension houses the new church, which won the RICS prize as Building Conservation Project of the Year 2015. We also paused at the shrine of Our Lady, Mother of Good Counsel, housed in one of the oldest parts of the Priory. We all agreed that the Priory remains a very spiritual and profoundly peaceful place.

Our final stop was at the adjacent ruins of Clare Castle, which form part of the Clare Castle Country Park. The castle was built around the motte, which is 30 m tall and 19m wide at its summit. The castle was considerably expanded by Elizabeth de Clare (1295-1360), a great heiress in her own right, founder of Clare College, Cambridge, and grandmother of Lionel of Clarence’s wife, Elizabeth de Burgh. An idea of her great wealth and status can be gained from the fact that her household at Clare alone numbered 250, and her income is estimated at £3,500 a year. The inner bailey was demolished when the Stour Valley railway was built in 1867, but part of the keep and the outer bailey earthworks still stand.

However, the castle has more immediate links with Richard. Ownership eventually passed to the Crown, and on 1 June 1461, as one of his first acts as King, Edward IV gifted the Manor of Clare and all its appurtenances

to his mother, the Dowager Duchess of York. We know that Cicely lived at Clare, as well as at her other properties, and that Edward visited her there in 1463. Her steward of honour there was Sir John Howard, later named Duke of Norfolk by Richard III, and who died leading the King’s vanguard at Bosworth.

A further, fascinating link, is the mediaeval gold reliquary cross set with pearls, which was found in the castle grounds in 1866, as the railway was being excavated. Ownership was first attributed to Philippa, Countess of March (Lionel’s daughter), but research by John Ashdown-Hill has produced strong evidence that it may have belonged to Cicely herself. Whoever was its true owner, John had a copy of it made and had it attached to the rosary, which was interred in Richard’s coffin at the reinterment. Before it was laid to rest with Richard’s remains, it was blessed by the Father Prior of Clare, which closes the circle neatly.

After climbing up to the motte, from which a grand view of Clare and the surrounding countryside to the north and east can be seen, some of us enjoyed a pleasant tea at the new tea shop in the station house at Clare, some 200 metres from the castle.

* Joan of Acre was the mother of Elizabeth de Clare (also known as Elizabeth de Burgh) and wealthy owner of the castle. Her daughter, Elizabeth de Burgh, we now find is buried at Bruisyard (according to research of Dr John Ashdown-Hill) and should therefore not be on the plaque. MAG member, Anthony Foreman kindly furnished this information after speaking with of the Priory’s clergy.

Thanks to Zigurds Kronbergs for the words and to Anthony Foreman for the family tree

Flemish tapestry of circa 1490 – a surprise treasure on the Jurassic coast

In May 2017 during a week’s holiday in Lyme Regis on the Jurassic coast, I found myself in the parish church, St Michael the Archangel, most famous as the burial place of the famous 19 th century fossil hunter Mary Anning.

To my amazement, as I studied the small walk round guide, there was mentioned a tapestry woven in Brussels circa 1490 to 1500. Almost hidden at the top of the north wall of the nave in the gloom was a large courtly looking tapestry. The space was inhabited by a large number of sumptuously dressed courtiers interacting in an elaborate spectacle.

At the heart of the scene is a couple, a marriage or betrothal. This is not any wedding scene but clearly represents royalty; the favourite candidates are Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York. The courtly setting features men and women dressed in luxurious drapery of rich crimson and the royal bride wearing a lavish crown and an ermine trimmed robe.

This display of conspicuous consumption was commissioned by a new dynasty, emerging from an old, Medieval to Renaissance, but at the same time, one that was desperately trying to justify itself and assert its power. This is not an ordinary wedding party; the King and Queen are represented at the centre of the European continent, being surrounded by ambassadors, merchants and nobility.

Raimondo di Soncino, ambassador of the Duke of Milan, wrote of the intellectual and political advisors whose knowledge of foreign affairs was so impressive that he fancied himself in Rome (Penn, p 31, 2011).

However, there is another interpretation of the tapestry as that of the marriage of Catherine of Aragon to Prince Arthur in 1501. In 1980 the Spanish Ambassador, an art history author, on seeing the tapestry felt that it had to be the Infanta due to the presence of the turbaned dignitaries and the Pomegranate fruit, her symbol. Turbans in the tapestry feature as one type of headwear of many which were seen across Europe during this period.

Is it not worth noting though that the pomegranate is also a potent and powerful symbol of marriage, fertility and abundance? Henry Tudor established a court and culture imbued with the new learnings of the Renaissance sweeping in from Europe during the late 15th century. It was a learning based on classical sources and study of Greek texts. In the Classical world, the pomegranate features in the myth of Persephone who was abducted to the Underworld by Hades. Her mother Demeter and father Zeus managed to compromise a deal for Persephone to return to the world at spring only to return again to the Underworld at seed time – she had eaten of the Pomegranate seeds which sealed her fate. Tudor would wish to commission a work which would display not only wealth and power but of a dynastic union that would be fertile and fruitful – what better way to interpret this but through classical symbolism of the pomegranate.

What do you think? The tapestry, an object of power and dynastic ambition by a usurping king or does it represent the almost mythical but doomed union of his son, Arthur, to Catherine of Aragon?

Moira Walshe

Sources, Thomas Penn, Winter King: The Dawn of Tudor England 2011

Alison Weir, Elizabeth of York: The First Tudor Queen 2013

The Lyme Tapestry by Jo Street (undated)

Norfolk Branch Study Day, 4h November 2017

The study day is entitled Harnessed for Life: Knightly Conduct, Chivalry and Warfare and will take place in the Assembly House in Norwich.

Anyone interested in attending should contact Annmarie Hayek direct on annmarie@talktalk.net for further details or consult the Ricardian Bulletin where there is a booking form.

MAG AGM, Stratford St Mary, Colchester

This year we will be meeting at The Black Horse, Lower Street, Stratford St Mary CO7 6JS for lunch at 12:30 followed by the AGM. This is YOUR chance to suggest places to visit for the coming year, so get your thinking caps dusted off.

There is good reason to hold the meeting here: it is close to Colchester and there is also the beautiful St Mary’s church to visit. This is of particular interest to Ricardians, not least because the Ricardian Churches Restoration Fund (RCRF) gave funds towards the restoration of the de la Pole window. This is what the Society publication ‘Ricardian Britain’ has to say:

STRATFORD ST. MARY Parish Church Connected to the de la Pole family. The church windows feature white roses and Yorkist sunbursts. The window at the west end of the north aisle preserves fragments of fifteenth century glass, includes royal and the de la Pole arms, and proves that the sunbursts and white roses did form part of the original scheme of decoration. The Society assisted the church in the restoration of this window..

Once the AGM business is concluded we can explore the church and the village which has many old houses as well as strong links to John Constable.

Trying to stop 'That Play'!

When I heard that Leicester Cathedral were putting on two performances of Shakespeare's Richard III right

in the cathedral where he is supposed to be lying at rest, I was moved to start a protest about it. I thought long and hard because I knew it would give them free publicity, but in the end I couldn't let it pass.

So first of all I set up the petition on Change.org and publicised it on Facebook (and Twitter - automatically posted from Facebook). I wrote a piece about it for my blog and also got it posted on the Murray and Blue blog. I messaged friends and emailed nearly everyone I know individually as well as collectively to try to get more signatures and sent them news updates at regular intervals.

I messaged likely celebrities on Twitter as well, but got no replies although Robert Lindsay had already commented that he thought it was wrong. I posted on Leicester's page on Facebook, entering into frequent arguments with those who couldn't seem to understand what was wrong with it. Frequent responses were: "It's just a play!" Yes, but it portrays a real person in a false and defamatory way."Everyone knows it's just fiction." Actually they don't, as many see Shakespeare as so revered they believe he wrote fact, especially when a historical figure is the subject."He won't care, he's been dead 500 years." This isn't the point - many people are offended and upset about it and the amount of time someone has been dead is surely irrelevant. "Why don't you complain about the other cathedrals it is being performed in?" Er, because he isn't buried in those!"Why don't you complain about other kings being defamed by having Shakespeare's play about them performed in their vicinity?" Well, as a Ricardian, it is Richard I am concerned with, although I don't think it's right to perform any defamatory play where the real person is buried.

So I made a video to explain why I thought it was wrong and posted and shared that as well (long and short versions!). I still kept sharing the petition site as well and posted the videos on there as an update. The American branch of the Richard III Society pinned the petition post to the top of their page.

I wrote to: The Dean of Leicester Cathedral, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, the Duke of Gloucester and the Queen. Actual letters, not emails.

I contacted my local radio station and got an interview about the petition on there. I also contacted the media in Leicester and surroundings to inform them when we were going to deliver the petition. I downloaded and printed every signature and comment, so the Dean would know how strongly everyone felt.

I arranged with the Cathedral when the date would be to deliver the hard copy, making sure they had enough time to change the venue if they were persuaded by our arguments. I rolled the pages into a scroll and sealed it with sealing wax. The Dean was on holiday, but a very nice verger received it. I was interviewed both by Leicester Radio and East Midlands BBC TV and was (mis)quoted in the Leicester Mercury!

I continued to collect hard copy signatures and electronic ones to forward to the Dean later. I even managed to get the signature of the 'King' himself at Middleham's Richard III Festival. He signed his own petition: Ricardus Rex Angliae! (see attachment).

Since the plays still went ahead, Sue Lamb and I went to Leicester on the days in question and laid flowers on Richard's statue and lit a large candle for Richard, which we left in the Cathedral. It was still alight the next day, so had been burning throughout the performances, a comforting thought, and would have lasted for the second performance too. Apparently, they had been expecting us to stage some sort of disruptive and/or violent protest as we were asked, while in the Cathedral, if we had heard about the 'Hundreds of dissenters' who would be descending on them with placards and shouts during the evening! Sue told the man in no uncertain terms that there would be none of that from us as 'we understand the meaning of respect'! The second day, we repeated our flowers and the candle was still burning, but as we stood by the tomb, a prayer was said and we were all asked for a couple of minutes silence. Sue and I stood one each side of Richard's

tomb and said the Lord's Prayer along with them - it just felt right and was another fortuitous and poignant moment.

While we were doing all our signature collecting we had some strange things happen. Firstly, at Bosworth, we were exiting when my foot kicked something - it was single white rosebud. Not a real one but an artificial bud, which seemed odd as there was absolutely nothing else lying around, no rubbish or petals or anything, nor had there been anything similar in the gift shop. Then, on the way back from Middleham, we saw a word written in the clouds above us - the word was 'THANK' and beside it was the shape of a sword. I like to think he was thanking us!

Joanne Larner

Wars of the Roses Gifts

MAG member, Sass Morgan, designs and sells Ricardian mugs, t-shirts, hoodies, place mats, clocks etc. Go to her Facebook page (Wars of the Roses Gifts) to view the catalogue. She is now taking orders for Christmas.

And Finally, Some Exciting News.....Joanne Larner has been accepted as one of the authors of a new anthology out soon, edited by a bestselling author! There is a link to pre-order it and they are all trying to get people to pre-order it so that it can be number one when it is released. Kindle users can pre-order it for 99p. The stories are 'scary' themed and Jo’s is a version of a story she posted online a couple of years ago, about William Stanley and his haunting experiences! The link is for pre-orders, but not everyone's name is on the list yet.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Box-Under-Bed-Dan-Alatorre-ebook/dp/B075C9D7L1/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1504650713&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Box+Under+The+Bed%3A+an+anthology+of+scary+stories+from+20+authors

What’s On – Diary Dates

23rd September – Group Visit to Wingfield.

30th September - Richard III Society AGM, London

4th November – Norfolk Branch Study Day

25th November – MAG AGM, Stratford St Mary, Colchester

16th December - Christmas at Fotheringhay

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