Hampton Court Palace: the Lost Dress of Queen Elizabeth I

On display at Hampton Court Palace since 12 October is the Bacton Altar Cloth, kept for centuries in the small village church, St Faith’s, Bacton, Herefordshire, England. Bacton was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite gentlewoman and life-long confidente, Blanche Parry. There is a memorial to Blanche in the church, but she is actually buried at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster. This is a … Continue reading Hampton Court Palace: the Lost Dress of Queen Elizabeth I

HistorianRuby28/10/20198 Comments

History, Postal History

Blue Plaques: a Present from London

Today, I needed to reach a conference centre in London. Nice and easy you’d think, I use the rail network to get into a mainline station and then the Tube to get closer to my destination. I still needed to walk, but Google Maps was not working . . . phone gremlins or ‘the powers that be’ trying to halt the Extinction Rebellion protests that … Continue reading Blue Plaques: a Present from London

HistorianRuby17/10/20197 Comments

History, Women's History

In the News: Jane Austen Letter to go on Sale

On 16 September 1813, novelist Jane Austen wrote a letter to her sister Cassandra – 216 years later it is to be sold at auction! A surviving Jane Austen letter is a rare object, many letters were destroyed by her family after her death. She is believed to have written approximately 3,000 letters in her lifetime, of which, only around 160 survive and 95 of … Continue reading In the News: Jane Austen Letter to go on Sale

HistorianRuby09/10/201909/10/20192 Comments