England Week #2—Bamburgh Castle, Lindisfarne, Durham Cathedral, Whitby Abbey and Beverley Minster
Our travel to England revolves around finding unusual places to stay within reach of castles, cathedrals and stately homes we want to visit. At the end of Week #1, we bid goodbye to the Russian Cottage on the Chatsworth Estate. From there, we drove north to Bamburgh...
England Week 1—London to Derbyshire
We've been back from England for a few weeks now and are now fully recombobulated. I was determined to promptly process all the photos I took on the journey and set myself the task of going through all 1693 photos at the rate of 100 a day. That's done (whew). So now...
Henry VIII’s Tetrad of Thomases—#4 Thomas Cranmer
Viewing the behaviour of Thomas #4, Cranmer, from a distance of 500+ years, it's difficult to determine if he was wily or wishy-washy—perhaps both. As part of the double act with Thomas #3 Cromwell, Cranmer played a vital role in ending Henry VIII's marriage to...
Henry VIII’s Tetrad of Thomases—#3 Thomas Cromwell
When Thomas #1, Cardinal Wolsey, fell from grace in 1529 for failure to procure an annulment for King Henry from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, Thomas #3, Thomas Cromwell, succeeded Wolsey as Henry's chief advisor. Details of Cromwell's early life are sketchy,...
Henry VIII’s Tetrad of Thomases—#2 Thomas More
Thomas #2, Thomas More, acted in both legal and spiritual advisory capacities to King Henry VIII. He was born in London in 1478, the son of a lawyer and later judge, Sir John More. He attended Saint Anthony Grammar School in London while also working as a page to the...
Henry VIII’s Tetrad of Thomases—#1 Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
Cardinal Wolsey was born c 1475 in Ipswich, Suffolk, to a butcher and his wife. He attended Ipswich School, then Magdalen College School, before studying theology at Magdalen College, Oxford and graduating at age 15. He was Thomas #1 of Henry VIII's Tetrad of...
The Dissolution of the Monasteries
In April 1536, the 27th year of King Henry VIII's 38-year reign, more than 800 monasteries, nunneries and friaries were nestled across England—communities of prayer and devotion for abbots, monks, priors and nuns, providing sanctuary, tending the sick and employing...
Cathedrals in the 20th Century and Beyond (1900 to present)
New dioceses and their cathedrals continued to appear in the 20th century, though the pace of restoration of earlier cathedrals slowed. And people being people, arguments over preferred styles continued. George Gilbert Scott's grandson, Giles Gilbert Scott, began a...
The Victorians to the Rescue (1820–1900)
As the Industrial Revolution took hold, the general population saw a sustained rise in income and living standards for the first time in history. People flocked to newly-industrialized towns in the North of England, altering the population distribution throughout the...
Dissolution and Decline (1534-1820)
The Norman King William the Conqueror launched the great English medieval Cathedral, and Tudor King Henry VIII wrought its end. Incandescent with rage at the Pope's refusal to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry abrogated Rome's authority over England's...
