Bosworth and other battles: the illustrious career of Sir Gilbert Talbot (d.1517) of Grafton, KG

Dr Simon Payling of our Commons 1461-1504 project explores the career of the early Tudor figure Sir Gilbert Talbot, who in service of Henry VII was rewarded with a commissioned painting from Raphael… When the Tudor antiquarian, John Leland, visited the Shropshire church of Whitchurch in the 1530s, he saw the tomb of Sir Gilbert Talbot, a ‘knight of fame’, and noted, with apparent approval, … Continue reading Bosworth and other battles: the illustrious career of Sir Gilbert Talbot (d.1517) of Grafton, KG

The story of a manor in memorials: the early tombs in the Shropshire church of Kinlet

The Shropshire church of Kinlet stands isolated in parkland, the village it once served re-sited in the early-eighteenth century on the building of the still-extant Kinlet Hall. It contains a fine series of memorials, the two earliest of which mark the end of one Kinlet dynasty, the Cornwalls, and the beginning of another, the Blounts. The first commemorates an early-fifteenth century heiress of the manor, … Continue reading The story of a manor in memorials: the early tombs in the Shropshire church of Kinlet

A disputed election in the wake of the battle of Bosworth: the Shropshire election of 1485

Following the battle of Bosworth and Henry Tudor’s accession to the English throne, the country’s gentry who had sided with Henry seemed destined to be elected to Parliament uncontested. However, as Dr Simon Payling of our Commons 1461-1504 project explores, this was not always the case… Election disputes were rare in late-medieval England. Indeed, it was not until the early fifteenth-century that any legal framework … Continue reading A disputed election in the wake of the battle of Bosworth: the Shropshire election of 1485

A King’s Sister buried in a Shropshire church: Elizabeth of Lancaster, sister of Henry IV, at Burford

For Women’s History Month, Dr Simon Payling from our Commons 1461-1504 project discusses the life of Elizabeth Lancaster, the sister of Henry IV, who demonstrated a degree of independence unusual for an aristocratic woman. It is surprising to find the sister of a King buried in a remote Shropshire church.  Henry IV’s sister, Elizabeth, in marked contrast to her elder sister, Philippa (d.1415), wife of King John I … Continue reading A King’s Sister buried in a Shropshire church: Elizabeth of Lancaster, sister of Henry IV, at Burford

The battle of Ludford Bridge

Today on our new blog page The Commons in the Wars of the Roses, Dr Simon Payling, Senior Research Fellow for the Commons 1461-1504 project, details the Battle of Ludford Bridge which took place on 12 October 1459… In the autumn of 1459 years of uneasy truce between the factions of York and Lancaster ended in dramatic fashion. The Yorkist lords rose in rebellion, motivated either … Continue reading The battle of Ludford Bridge

Medieval MP of the Month: Sir Christopher Talbot

Here’s the next installment in our series ‘Medieval MP of the Month’. Today we here from Senior Research Fellow, Dr Simon Payling about the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Sir Christopher Talbot… THE HISTORY OF PARLIAMENT: THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 1422-1461, edited by Linda Clark, is out now. For further details about the volumes, including purchasing information, visit the Cambridge University Press website, here. Sir Christopher Talbot (1415-43) … Continue reading Medieval MP of the Month: Sir Christopher Talbot