The Medical History portal, about all things medieval and well worth a visit if you haven’t already been there, very kindly invited me to write a guest post for them – which I duly did. It can be found here:
Medieval marriage
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Author Archives: JuliaH
Celia Fiennes in the Peak District
Celia visited the Peak District in 1697 during the homeward leg of her journey. Having sampled the ale at Chesterfield, which she thought very fine, Celia and her two servants continued to Chatsworth.
The Peak District landscape
Celia did not much enjoy the journey from Chesterfield to Chatsworth. According to her the hills were too steep and the landscape barren. However she did pause to consider the minerals that Derbyshire contained and, in good Puritan fashion, looked to find God’s work around her – although she doesn’t use the words ‘sublime’ or ‘awe inspiring’ she infers both ideas which would become increasingly popular with the beginning of the Eighteenth Century.
Alll Derbyshire is full of Steep hills and nothing but the peakes of hills as thick one by another is seen in most of ye County wchare very steepe, wch makes travelling tedious and ye miles Long. You see neither hedge nor tree but only Low drye stone walls round some ground Else its only hills and Dales as thick as you Can Imagine, but tho’ the Surface of ye Earth Looks barren yet those hills are impregnated wth Rich marble stone metals, Iron and Copper and Coale mines in their bowells, from whence we may see the wisdom and benignitye of oer greate Creator to make up the Defficiency of a place by an Equivolent, and also the diversity of the Creation wch Encreaseth its Beauty.
Chatsworth, the Duke of Devonshire and the Glorious Revolution
One of the difficulties of writing about individuals is that it’s easy to get caught up in their lives and ignore what’s happening on the political stage at the time. In this instance William Cavendish, the 4th Earl of Devonshire was one of the so-called ‘Glorious Seven’ who supported the deposition of James II and who invited James’ son-in-law, William and the former king’s daughter Mary to take the throne in his stead. The Glorious Revolution happened in 1688 – so still less than a decade before Celia made her journey. The earl became the 1st Duke of Devonshire in 1694 and Marquis of Hartington. Unsurprisingly he set about turning the family seat into something rather splendid. At the time of Celia’s visit, Chatsworth was being transformed into a baroque palace. It’s possible that Grinling Gibbons was busily carving in the chapel at Chatsworth or elsewhere in the house at the time of Celia’s visit, or else the work was being completed by Derbyshire craftsman, Samuel Watson. Inevitably Ms Fiennes enjoyed her visit, describing the house and ornate seventeenth century gardens in some detail.
Bakewell and Haddon Hall
More hills and steep inclines but Celia found the town both ‘pretty’ and ‘neat’ – adjectives which still apply. By the end of Celia’s journey it is clear that she visited many stately homes – and all without the aid of a National Trust or Historic Houses card. To Celia, Haddon seemed rather old fashioned – which is its appeal these days.
Buxton and St Anne’s Well
Both Chatsworth and St Anne’s Well were described as wonders of the Peak but Celia was not impressed with the latter, nor with Buxton’s beer or the accommodation offered by the Duke at the hotel there:
the beer they allow at the meales is so bad yt very Little Can be dranke. You pay not for yr bed roome and truely the other is so unreasonable a price and yeLodgings so bad, 2 beds in a Roome some 3 beds and 4 in one roome, so that if you have not Company Enough of your own to fill a Room they will be ready to put others into the same Chamber, and sometymes they are so Crowded that three must Lye in a bed. Few people stay above two or three nights its so Inconvenient. We staid two nights by reason one of our Company was ill, but it was sore against our Wills for there is no peace nor quiet with one Company and another going into the bath or Coming out; that makes so many strive to be in this house because the bath is in it. Its about 40 foot Long and about 20 or 30 ffoote broad being almost square. There is 10 or 12 springs that bubble up that are a Little warme, its not so warme as milke from ye Cow, and not a quick spring, so yt its not Capable of being Cleansed after Everybody has been in. Its warme Enough just to Open the pores of ones body, but not to Cause sweat, I was in it and it made me shake, its farre from the heate that is in the Somersetshire baths. Its Cover’d over the top, but not Ceiled and there is an open place in the middle like a Tunnell wch pours the Cold down on ye head, it would in my thoughts be better if it were Exposed all to ye aire and sunn. There is a pavemt of Stone on one side at ye brim to walke on, with benches of Stone to Sitt on. You must have a guide ytSwims with you, you may Stand in some place and hold by a Chaine and ye water is not above yr Neck, but in other parts very deep and strong it will turn you down. About 10 or 12 yards distant is a spring Called St Anns Well wch is for drinking, they have arch’d it up yt its much hotter, it heates ye Cup you take it up in but not or near so hot as ye Somersetshire baths and springs are, the taste is not unpleasant but Rather like Milk, they say its Diaretick – I dranke a part of a Cup full.
I’m not sure I would describe Buxton water as tasting like milk but Celia was something of an expert.
Poole’s Cavern, Mam Tor, Peak Cavern and Tideswell
Celia who must have read a copy of Thomas Hobbe’s De Mirabilibus Pecci: Being The Wonders of the Peak in Darby-shire, Commonly called The Devil’s Arse of Peak took the opportunity to visit both Poole’s Cavern, Mam Tor and Peak Cavern at Castleton. Her journal describes her scrambling over rocks and wading waist deep in water with a company of other ladies and gentlemen – which rather changes my view of seventeenth century aristocratic women. For some reason I cannot imagine Celia spending her days with embroidery! Although of course, I could be wrong the two activities are not mutually exclusive.
I can definitely see that Celia liked a checklist of places to visit on her adventures (rather like me on my holidays) because she also went to Tideswell to see the well which ebbed and flowed with the spring rains. The tidal aspect of the spring stopped at the end of the Eighteenth Century
Celia and her two servants departed the Peak District by way of Ashbourne having explored the area and taken the waters in the way that tourists would continue to do through the following centuries. These days she might be rather more impressed with Buxton’s spa hotel and swimming pool.
Preparing Tudor Kings and Princes to Rule by Julia A. Hickey
I’ve been a bit remiss in not mentioning my most recent book, published by Pen and Sword. While writing it, I thought of it as Educating the Tudors. It explores how a handful of trusted families were charged with raising royal children, alongside an assortment of tutors—including a lutenist and a master-at-arms.
Henry VII’s own upbringing was very different from that of his children and grandchildren. Early on, his life followed the path of a typical aristocratic child—until he was forced to flee to Brittany with his uncle, Jasper Tudor.
His children, by contrast, benefited from the close involvement of Lady Margaret Beaufort. She ensured that her grandchildren had access to the best tutors, while maintaining traditions inherited from the Plantagenet court. Conveniently, Edward IV had created household ordinances for his heir at Ludlow, which provided a ready-made model for the new royal household. Lady Margaret also had detailed knowledge of Elizabeth Woodville’s nursery at Eltham, where some of Elizabeth of York’s younger sisters remained, along with experienced nursery staff. In many ways, it was simply a matter of replacing Plantagenet princes and princesses with Tudor ones.
Elizabeth Denton, the nurse at Eltham, cared for the children of Henry VII and later for Princess Mary during Henry VIII’s reign. In 1518, she was succeeded by Lady Margaret Bryan, who went on to care for each of Henry VIII’s legitimate children as well as his acknowledged illegitimate son, Henry FitzRoy. It was Lady Margaret Bryan who conducted the famous correspondence with Thomas Cromwell about the state of Elizabeth’s teeth, apparel and inappropriateness of the food she was being served following Anne Boleyn’s disgrace and subsequent execution.
Many of the women featured in the book owed their positions at court to Lady Margaret Beaufort, and the relationships among them are sometimes surprising. For example, Lady Jane Calthorpe, who cared for Princess Mary when Margaret Pole fell out of favor in 1521, was one of Anne Boleyn’s aunts. Although the information about these women is often fragmentary, it offers rich insight into the networks and connections that shaped the Tudor court—and into the sheer number of people required to raise a prince or princess.
For some, these roles meant lasting fortune. For others, like Lady Shelton (another of Anne Boleyn’s aunts), it proved to be a far more uncomfortable experience.
Preparing Tudor Kings and Princes is available on special offer at the moment at Pen and Sword as well as other sites – e.g. the one associated with a South American river! It’s also going to be available at the Talk Radio Europe bookshop following my interview with Selina Mackenzie this afternoon.
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Preparing-Tudor-Kings-and-Princes-to-Rule-Hardback/p/51762
Celia Fiennes visits Ripon
Celia travelled extensively from spa town to spa town but enjoyed exploring country towns and stately homes. In 1697 she visited Yorkshire as part of her Northern Journey to take various spa waters.
Her views on Ripon
A pretty Little market town mostly built of Stone, 8 mile (from Knaresborough I think), a Large Market place with a high Cross of severall Stepps; we were there the Market day where provisions are very plentifull and Cheape.Â
In the Market was sold then 2 good Shoulders of veal, they were not very fatt nor so large as our meate in London but good meate, one for 5d the other for 6d , and a good quarter of Lamb for 9d or 10d , and its usual to buy a very good Shoulder of Veale for 9 pence, and a quarter of Beefe for 4 shillings; Indeed it is not large ox Beef but good Middling Beasts: and Craw ffish 2d a Dozn -so we bought them.
Notwithstanding this plenty some of ye Inns are very dear to Strangers that they Can impose on. The town Stands on a hill and there is a good large Stone built Church well Carved, they Call it a minster. There is very fine painting over the alter, it Looks so natural just like Real Crimson satten with gold ffringe like hangings, and Severall rows of Pillars in jsles on Either side wch looks very naturall. There are two good Bridges to the town, one was a rebuilding, pretty large with Severall arches Called Hewet bridge-its often out of repaire by reason of the force of ye water that Swells after great raines, yet I see they made works of wood on purpose to breake the violence of ye Streame and ye Middle arche is very Large and high.
There are Severall good houses about ye town and Severall Gentlemens Seates about a mile or two distance’…She went on to describe Newby Hall which she thought was the finest country house in Yorkshire at the time.
Celia’s interests
Celia was nothing if not practical. She was interested in what she saw, the lives people led and the sights that she might see. She always wrote about town markets, describing how busy they were and whether they were thriving or not.
Celia was also very enthusiastic about stone built houses, wide streets and cleanlinesss. Rather than looking to the past her writing suggests she was in favour of modernity. Interestingly, many of Ripon’s buildings were rebuilt from brick by the time of Celia’s visit – or at least old timber framed buildings were being record in brick to make them look thoroughly modern. Obviously brick was less expensive that stone – by the end of the Georgian period it was the building material of choice and reflects the changing social status of town dwellers as well as the increasing wealth of the urban and mercantile classes.
Inevitably my pictures of Ripon town are locked up on my faulty external hard drive – but at least its an excuse to go back…
Celia Fiennes – England from a Side Saddle.
Audley End in the eyes of some of its early visitors.
Notable Diarists and Journal Keepers
The diarist, John Evelyn visited Audley End in 1654 describing it as something between ‘ancient and modern’. He added that it was one of the ‘stateliest palaces in the kingdom’. He and Celia Fiennes who visited at the end of the seventeenth century commented on the river that ran through the park. Samuel Pepys was more interested in the quality of the wine and the prettiness of the landlord’s daughter at the inn where he was staying.
Pepys visited the home of the Earl of Suffolk at Saffron Walden on 27 February 1659. He was shown around by the housekeeper there – who was a man… ” the stateliness of the ceilings, chimney-pieces, and form of the whole was exceedingly worth seeing. He took us into the cellar, where we drank most admirable drink, a health to the king.” He visited again in 1667 and ‘mighty merry’ he was – which comes as no surprise to his readership.
Celia Fiennes, who completed her journeys riding side saddle, often with only two servant to accompany her, visited in 1697. Her journal described the building in more detail – “built round three courts. There are thirty great and little towers on the top, and a great cupola in the middle. The rooms are large and lofty, with good rich old furniture, tapestry, et cetera, but no beds in that part we saw. There are 750 rooms in the house. The canal in the midst of the park looked very fine. It’s altogether a stately palace, and was built for one of the kings.”
Thomas Audley, Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor from 1533 until 1544 shortly before the 1st Baron Audley’s own death built the house on the proceeds of his service to the Crown. I’ve enjoyed researching Colchester’s former recorder for my A-Z of the city. He was created Baron Audley in 1538 and acquired the land at Saffron Walden with the dissolution of the monasteries.
Audley’s only surviving child, Margaret Audley, was married to Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk. Their son, Thomas Howard, became the first of the Howard earls of Suffolk – hence the ownership of the property from that time onwards. Thomas Howard was born at Audley End in 1561. He inherited the house in 1564 after Margaret’s death. Just as an aside, Margaret was a cousin of Lady Jane Grey.
Royal Connections to Audley End
King James, who was fond of Margaret’s grandson, visited twice in 1614 by which time the earls of Suffolk had modified Thomas Audley’s original house. The improved grand design was based on the premise that royalty would make the most of the hospitality that the earl could provide. Which brings me to the Stuarts and the royal connection mentioned by Celia Fiennes. Charles II liked the house so much that he purchased it in 1668. James Howard 3rd Earl of Suffolk was not so enamoured of the Stewart kings that he wanted to ruin himself during the English Civil Wars – instead he lived quietly at Audley. After the Restoration he sold the house and the park to Charles II who renamed it New Palace and stayed there when he wanted to watch the races at Newmarket.
In 1701 the earls of Suffolk were restored to their former home in return for not demanding more of the £20,000 that Charles II promise but apparently never paid for the property.
And that as they say is that.
The History of Audley End, Richard Lord Braybrooke, (London: Samuel Bentley, 1836)Â
From 17th Century Travel in Great Britain to John Betjeman and Arthur Lee
Setting aside civil war and plague, the end of the seventeenth century saw the start of what can only be described as the UK’s tourist industry with the likes of Celia Fiennes making long journeys to improve her health. Her work wasn’t published until the eighteenth century. It was also forgotten for a long time before being rediscovered. Daniel Defoe’s Tour Through The Whole Island of Great Britain, the first volume published in 1724, was second only in popularity to Robinson Crusoe.
Less well known today are the works of John Taylor who made a journey in 1618 from London to Edinburgh on foot in 1618 and followed it up with a published account – oddly enough I don’t feel the need to replicate his journey.
John Ogilby published the first modern road map in 1675. I love the roads with their mountains and lakes looking remarkably like something from The Hobbit but without the dragons. Travel couldn’t be described as straightforward even with a map. The roads were often terrible and there were highwaymen of the non-romantic variety not to mention the vagaries of accommodation and the weather. Rather like Betjeman I’m more enthused by train journeys and car travel – not to mention a lovely hotel or holiday cottage.
One of the reasons I enjoy Betjeman’s poetry is because of his description of towns and other places he visits – though I think he may have been a little unfair on Slough. The Shell Guide to Cornwall, written in 1934, heralds the age of cheaper motor transport and modern tourism. I will admit to preferring Arthur Mee’s King’s England series. I love the detail contained in them, although they are very much a product of the period in which they were written – I’m not sure that you’d be encouraged to provide quite so much moral critique today – although its a tone the series shares in common with Daniel Defoe and Celia Fiennes. And to be honest, they’re not really guide books as such – more something for the reader to dip into, although I will admit that if I’m planning a journey I always looks to see what the King’s England for a particular has to say about local churches.
Then of course there are the modern histories and travel guides. The number of them reflects changing leisure time as well as ease of transport. I used to love Letter from America with Alasdair Cooke when I was a teenager. And, if I’m going to broaden the field – it’s impossible to think of travelogues without mentioning Bill Bryson. And I haven’t even ventured that deep into the realm of travel writing.
And why am I posting this? Well, I’ve just completed and sent off the ms for The Little History of Nottinghamshire. On Monday I’m beginning a four week class on Celia Fiennes. It’s not too late to sign up if you’d like to join me exploring various locations with Celia and her two servants.
Stuart heirs – the children of Elizabeth of Bohemia
Finally, as promised – Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England, and her husband Frederick V of the Palatinate had thirteen children but she outlived most of them.
Elizabeth denied that she was pregnant with her first child, Frederick Henry, named after her husband and her brother who was born on 1 January 1614. As his father’s heir Frederick Henry went with his father to Prague when the elector accepted the Crown of Bohemia in 1618. When Prague was threatened by the Holy Roman Emperor’s armies, Frederick Henry went to safety with his Uncle Louis – and his mother’s jewels – in Holland but he didn’t rejoin the rest of his family until the Spring of 1621 in exile in The Hague.
Frederick Henry set up a court for their children at Leiden and it was there that the prince was educated before being sent to Leiden University. By 1629 he was coming to the end of his studies. He expressed a wish in January of that year to see the captured Spanish treasure fleet which was at Amsterdam. The prince and his father, who was home from campaigning to try to regain the Palatinate, travelled there on the 7 January. By the time they arrived darkness was falling, it was both foggy and cold. As they crossed the Haarrlemmermeer there was an accident with a barge and Frederick Henry drowned.
Elizabeth’s second child, Charles Louis, born in 1617, became heir to the Palatinate. Charles Louis and is mother had a difficult relationship after Charles regained the electorship in 1648. First of all, he supported Parliament during England’s Civil War – possibly because he blamed the king for not supporting Frederick and his family earlier. Secondly, he refused to pay his mother’s jointure and she was deeply in debt by that time . There were other irritations for Elizabeth to bear, so the relationship was strained. He was unhappily married to Charlotte of Hesse-Kessel and took the decision to divorce her. It was her children who inherited the Palatinate.
Elizabeth, born in 1618, was left with her grandmother, Louise Juliana, as was Charles Louis, when Frederick became king of Bohemia. It was Louise who fled with her grandchildren to Brandenburg in 1621 when the Holy Roman Empire invade the Palatinate. She only joined her mother in Holland in 1627. Elizabeth enjoyed an extensive classical education as well learning music, dancing and painting. She wrote letters to Descartes from 1643 until his death; refused a proposal because it would have meant changing her faith to Catholicsm and became an abbess at the Lutheran convent at Herford in Germany in 1667.
Rupert of the Rhine was born in 1619 while Elizabeth was Queen of Bohemia. When the family fled Prague he was discovered in his cradle in the royal nursery, on the verge of being forgotten.
Maurice of the Palatinate. Maurice is closely associated with his brother Rupert. He served in his uncle’s army during the English Civil War. He died in 1652, when as vice-admiral of his brother’s fleet, he was court in a hurricane and went down with his ship.
Louise Hollandine was born in 1622. It is said that she was in love with James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose. In 1657 she fled to France, converted to Catholicism and became a nun. She went on to become the Abbess of Maubuisson Abbey. Her mother attempted to have her arrested before she lief Holland and never recovered from her daughter’s decision. She received no mention in Elizabeth of Bohemia’s will.
Edward, who was educated in France, married Anne Gonzaga who was a French aristocrat. She had claimed to be married to her cousin, the Duke of Guise, but he denied it. The pair married when Edward converted to Catholicism and lived comfortably on her inheritance. He died in 1663 after fathering three daughters.
Henritte Marie was born in 1626 and married, in 1651, into the Hungarian royal family. She died unexpectedly at the end of the same summer.
John Philip John Philip was educated at the French court along with his brother Edward. When they took Charles Louis prisoner, the pair were sent back to The Hague at their mother’s request. In 1646, John Philip killed a French exile and refused to answer for his actions in front of a Dutch court. it was said that Jacques de l’Epinay had boasted of a romantic liaison with John Phillip’s older sister, Louise, and also with Elizabeth of Bohemia. He chose to become a mercenary, in the service of the Duke of Lorraine. he was killed in 1650 at the Battle of Rethel.
Charlotte was born in 1628 and died at the beginning of January 1631.
Sophia married Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover. Her son George became George I of Great Britain after her death. From 1701 onwards she was heiress to the throne under the Act of Settlement. Charles II courted her but she thought he was after her mother’s political support.
Gustavus Adolphus was born in 1632. He was Elizabeth and Frederick’s last child. Frederick died the same year. Gustavus died in 1641 when he was 8-years-old.
The Little History of Derbyshire – a talk.
The tragic tale of Elizabeth of Bohemia’s eldest son
Frederick Henry of the Palatinate was born on 1 January 1614. His birth was celebrated by cannon fire in Heidelberg and bonfires in Scotland. Elizabeth of Bohemia was James VI/I’s daughter and at that time, soon after the death of her brother Prince Henry, the succession did not look as secure as it once had. Elizabeth’s surviving brother, Charles, was a sickly child and it was not certain that he would live to adulthood. The birth of Frederick ensured that there would be a male heir to the Scottish and English thrones. King James was so pleased that he granted his daughter 12,000 crowns per year.
In 1618, when his father became King of Bohemia, Frederick Henry accompanied his parents to Prague for their coronation and in 1620 went on a royal progress through Bohemia and part of the Palatinate. Within two years, the Holy Roman Emperor made war on the Bohemians who had chosen to elect a Protestant king rather than a Catholic overlord. Frederick was sent with his uncle, Louis, and bags containing his mother’s jewels to safety in Holland. It was May 1621 before the prince was reunited with his parents who were now exiles without a kingdom.
As the number of the prince’s siblings increased, a royal nursery was set up at Leiden, known as the Prince’s court. Frederick’s education continued at Leiden University while his parents suggested possible matches for him that would see the Palatinate returned if not to their hands, at least to the Prince Palatinate.
The prince had finished his education when the West India Company, of which Elizabeth was a shareholder, captured a Spanish treasure fleet. The teenager expressed a desire to see it. He and his father, who was not campaigning against the Holy Roman Empire at that time, travelled to Amsterdam. They approached the port as darkness fell. It was cold and foggy. While crossing the Haalemmermeer there was an accident. The Elector was rescued but his son was not. Despite Frederick’s attempts to locate his heir, the body, which had become tangled in rigging, was not found until the next day.
Frederick Henry was privately buried at the Kloosterkerk in The Hague.
Bayeux stitch – laying and couching with wool thread.
It’s also called laid and couched work and it was something I looked at when exploring the development of Opus Anglicanum. I have grown to like the stitch very much.No thread is wasted on the back of the design unlike satin stitch which uses as much thread on the back as the front. I’m less keen on the wool which unravels if you pull it too hard – though that might have more to do with me than the wool.
The most famous example of this type of work is the Bayeux Tapestry, hence the name but it was used for household items and to decorate clothes. My example, is taken from Tanya Bentham – and if you check you will notice that I have not yet embroidered little scales made from stitched circles on the dragon’s leg – mainly because it turns out I’m not good at circles. I also have some pressing to do- so I’d probably be lucky to be allowed to sweep the floor in a medieval embroidery workshop. However, I’ve enjoyed doing it and am pleased with the end product.
With the passage of time different kinds of stitches became popular. Crewel work also uses wool threads but it is much simpler than the intricate style of Opus Anglicanum. As with everything, it goes through phases of popularity. I rather like this modern take on crewel work -designed by Nichola Jarvis. It took a lot less time to complete that the laid and couched work although it potentially looks as though it should have taken longer… and yes this one needs pressing as well.
And that leads me to Beverley Minster. When I visited last year there was a set of embroidered panels on display telling the story of St John of Beverley. I rather liked the combination of fabric and stitched patterns.
