Tudor Places

Tudor Places An independent magazine exploring the sites, buildings and interiors of the Tudor world
(1)

25 May 1553 John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland hosted a triple wedding at his London residence, Durham House, on the ...
25/05/2026

25 May 1553 John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland hosted a triple wedding at his London residence, Durham House, on the Strand. His son, Guildford Dudley, married Henry VIII’s great-niece, Jane Grey; Jane’s sister, Katherine, married Lord Henry Herbert, son and heir of William Herbert, the Earl of Pembroke; and Northumberland’s own daughter, Catherine, married Henry Hastings, heir of the Earl of Huntingdon. All three weddings were part of Northumberland’s plans for the Crown, and he proclaimed Jane Grey as queen following Edward VI’s death on 6 July 1553, to the considerable cost of all parties – not least himself.

Durham House was one of the thirteen great houses built for bishops and courtiers during the medieval and Tudor period on the Strand, the main route from the city of London to royal Westminster. Owned by the see of Durham, and, for a time, the Crown, it is connected to many of the most prominent members of the Tudor court. In Issue 22, Dr Elizabeth Norton explores the history of this once magnificent, and now long-gone, episcopal and royal mansion.

https://bit.ly/4swnv4c

18/05/2026

🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♀️This Bank Holiday weekend is the 5th Medieval Murder Mystery at Raglan Castle, run by the Beaufort Companye. Someone is trying to kill Henry VII. There's plenty of suspects. Can you find the culprit?

☀️ An excellent family day out, and it's going to be sunny as well.

More information: https://cadw.gov.wales/medieval-murder-mystery

18/05/2026

Thanks to everyone who attended the Historic Houses guided tour last Thursday. We really appreciate your support at Pitchford Hall and your positivity about the restoration. There's so much more to do but your energy really helps.

18/05/2026

Ever wondered how we got our name?

It traces back to the 14th century, and a knight and courtier named .

From the county of Hainault, now in modern day France (part of the Holy Roman Empire at the time), Manny was an influential figure. During the Black Death, he leased the land that is now Charterhouse Square from neighbouring Augustinian monastery St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield to serve as an emergency burial ground.

Later, he helped found a monastery for the order on the site, which became the London Charterhouse. The name is actually an English take on "Chartreuse," the region in France where the order first began.

Today, Sir Walter's grave lies in our Chapel Court. It is positioned exactly where the high altar of the medieval monastic church once stood—marking the very heart of the legacy he left behind.

Photo (c) Nick Guttridge

13 May 1515 Mary Tudor, younger sister of Henry VIII, married Charles, 1st Duke of Suffolk at Greenwich Palace. This w...
13/05/2026

13 May 1515 Mary Tudor, younger sister of Henry VIII, married Charles, 1st Duke of Suffolk at Greenwich Palace. This was Mary Tudor’s second marriage, the first of which was to Louis XII of France. Mary and Suffolk had four children together. Notably, their eldest daughter, Frances Brandon, went on to marry Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset, and was the mother of Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for a matter of days.

Mary and Suffolk were married previously in secret in France, in the presence of ten witnesses, some time in February 1515. To prevent any attempts to have the match annulled they had, as Suffolk wrote to Cardinal Wolsey in early March, ‘lain together, in so much I fear me lest she be with child’. The news was not initially well received by the King but his attendance at their Greenwich wedding with his wife Katherine of Aragon was considered a blessing of the marriage.

Suffolk Place, built as a London residence for Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and his new bride, Mary Tudor, was briefly one of the most magnificent houses in the city. The couple’s son, Henry Brandon, was christened with much pomp and splendour in the great hall at Suffolk Place in March 1516.

In Issue 08, Dr Elizabeth Norton looks at this splendid, short- lived palace, of which nothing now remains on site above ground.

Explore Greenwich Palace and Suffolk Place, along with eight other palaces, in our special issue - The Lost Palaces of Henry VIII.

, 4 May 1535, three monks from the Charterhouse in London were hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn after refusing to ...
04/05/2026

, 4 May 1535, three monks from the Charterhouse in London were hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn after refusing to recognise Henry VIII as head of the Church of England.

The Charterhouse, which had been a Carthusian monastery since the fourteenth century, changed radically in the 1530s when Henry VIII broke with the Church in Rome. Its head, Prior John Houghton, refused to sign the 1534 Oath of Succession and was briefly sent to the Tower of London. In 1535, Houghton and other monks refused to accept the Act of Supremacy, recognising Henry VIII as Head of the Church of England and, consequently, Houghton was arrested, tried for treason and suffered a hideous death by hanging, drawing and quartering at Tyburn. His quarters were displayed around London, and, most gruesomely, his arm was nailed to the Charterhouse Gate. Other monks also refused to accept the Act and were put in Newgate Prison, where they starved to death. John Houghton and seventeen of the Charterhouse monks became known collectively as the Carthusian Martyrs. Following their brave, but ultimately futile, resistance, the last Prior, William Trafford, surrendered the Charterhouse to the king in 1538.

Monastery, Tudor mansion, school and almshouse – this quiet haven amidst the hustle and bustle of central London has a long and colourful history. In Issue 04, Deborah Roil explores its remarkable medieval and Tudor heritage and eclectic mix of architecture.

https://bit.ly/48XYg10

, 2 May 1536, Anne Boleyn was arrested at Greenwich Palace and taken to the Tower of London. She was imprisoned in the ...
02/05/2026

, 2 May 1536, Anne Boleyn was arrested at Greenwich Palace and taken to the Tower of London. She was imprisoned in the sumptuous apartments that Henry VIII had built for the occasion of her coronation in 1533. Her trial took place at the King’s Hall within the grounds of the Tower of London with a jury of nobles including her own uncle Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. The charges brought against her included adultery, and in**st with her brother George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford, who was also arrested and, ultimately, executed. Having been found guilty of treason, Anne was executed on 19 May 1536.

Anne left behind her a young daughter, Elizabeth, who was herself destined to be a prisoner of the Tower and later, to begin her own coronation procession from its palace in the very same apartments. As the sixteenth century wore on the Tower’s ranges of grand buildings first housed prisoners and then fell into disrepair, eventually to be swept away in favour of ordnance stores and warehouses. Today almost nothing can be seen of the palace that was so lavishly rebuilt for Anne Boleyn. Only the stone base of the Coldharbour Gate, where her maids slept in 1533, can be seen on the lawn that surrounds the site.

In Issue 01, Dr Alden Gregory looks at what we know of Anne’s apartments – when and how they were built, and how they were furnished when Anne used them.

https://bit.ly/3Kgp3vx

Address

London

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Tudor Places posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category