As part of the John Dryden Lincoln tour, we visited the beautiful Gainsborough Old Hall, a remarkable building which has played host to royalty - Richard III & Henry VIII included. A beautiful gem of a house.

#SteepleSaturday The early C15 church of St Bartholomew, Tong, Shropshire has a “central bell-tower of unusual outline, starting square, turning octagonal … with a short stone spire rising behind a ring of pinnacled battlements” Pevsner.

All Saints Church at Brixworth in Northamptonshire - one of the finest and most complete Anglo-Saxon churches in the country. The original church was founded in 675 AD, with most of the present building dating from the eighth and ninth centuries. 📸 My own. #SteepleSaturday

#OTD in 1553. The Ambassador informed Charles V. As to Jane of Suffolk, whom they had tried to make Queen, she (Mary) could not be induced to consent that she should die.. it had been found that there could be no marriage between her & Guildford, the son of the Duke. #Tudors

The cool Castle of Belœil in Hainaut, Belgium. The castle has been the seat of the princely family de Ligne since the 15th c. It was massively revamped in the 17th c. to reflect the family's influence. Photo: Le Soir.

Thank you to everyone who came to watch us at Hardwick Hall and Stainsby Mill . We had a blast! And what better setting could we all ask for?! Not only did we perform in this stunning chamber that houses the Eglantine Table, we were alongside Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots

"Everyone breath in so I can shut the door!" BL Cotton MS Nero C IV; the Winchester Psalter; f.32r Medieval Manuscripts

Anne Boleyn’s falcon badge at Wethersfield Church in Essex. The falcon was a Boleyn family emblem, and the crown and sceptre were added after her marriage to King Henry VIII as a sign of her royal status. #Tudors #StainedGlassSunday

#OTD in 1585, Antwerp, capital of the revolt against Philip II, surrendered to Habsburg troops led by the Duke of Parma after a 1 year siege. After the siege many Calvinist citizens left the city, once Europe’s trade hub, & moved North where they would power the Dutch Golden Age.

You do wonder about some portraits. Here's Mary with Philip on a charter dated 1st August 1558.

I am so excited to be speaking as part of Tudor Times Royal Marriages Summit this autumn (details on how to buy tickets are in the images). I will be looking at the marriage of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Isabella of Portugal and its impact both personally and on the

Thank you so much Hodder & Stoughton (no longer active) for banishing my post-holiday blues! 🎉🎉🎉 The Soho Agency

The final talk in the 1st summit bit.ly/41mhT1s of our Royal Marriages Summit series will be delivered by Dr Linda Porter She'll be discussing the marriage of James IV of Scotland & Margaret, daughter of Henry VII of England, intended to bring about ‘perpetual peace’.

#OTD 1560 the Estates of Scotland set out a Protestant confession of faith to be adopted by the whole country. This resulted in part from the conversion of many senior nobles to Protestantism, strongly influenced by the charismatic preacher, John Knox. bit.ly/2rOCuMT

Elizabeth Woodville, the first Yorkist queen of England, is depicted in a stained glass window at Canterbury Cathedral.

Messenger:... Buckingham's army is dispersed... he.. wander'd away.. No man knows whither. RICHARD III: my purse to cure that blow of thine...Reward to him that brings the traitor in 📷 site of Buckingham's arrest, on the Soulton boundary Hollow Crown Fans #Shakespearesunday

Fiddling while the world burns 🔥 BL Add 11695; Beatus of Liébana, Commentary on the Apocalypse; 1091CE - 1109 CE; Spain, N; f. 86r Medieval Manuscripts

Good morning from the #WelshMarches. Cyclamen spreading rapidly now in the shrubbery. White with the occasional pink. Lack of rain is fortunately not a problem for them.

#OTD 1553 John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland bit.ly/2v6FjWQ faced trial at London’s Guildhall charged with attempting to put Jane Grey, his daughter-in-law, on the throne in place of the rightful queen, Mary. In defence he pointed out that the Privy Council had agreed.

The final talk in the first summit of Royal Marriages Summit series bit.ly/41mhT1s will be delivered by Dr Linda Porter who will be discussing the marriage of James IV of Scotland to Margaret, daughter of Henry VII of England, a union intended to bring perpetual peace.