England Week #2—Bamburgh Castle, Lindisfarne, Durham Cathedral, Whitby Abbey and Beverley Minster

by Helen Kain | Oct 22, 2023 | Abbeys, Monasteries and Churches, Castles & Stately Houses, England, Home, Recent

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

by Helen Kain | Oct 8, 2023 | Abbeys, Monasteries and Churches, Beautiful Towns, Castles & Stately Houses, England, Home, Recent

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...

Henry VIII’s Tetrad of Thomases—#4 Thomas Cranmer

by Helen Kain | Jun 3, 2023 | Cathedral Tapestry, England, Tudors (1485–1603)

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...

Henry VIII’s Tetrad of Thomases—#3 Thomas Cromwell

by Helen Kain | Jun 3, 2023 | Cathedral Tapestry, England, Tudors (1485–1603)

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...

Henry VIII’s Tetrad of Thomases—#2 Thomas More

by Helen Kain | May 27, 2023 | Cathedral Tapestry, England, Home, Tudors (1485–1603)

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

by Helen Kain | May 20, 2023 | Cathedral Tapestry, Entertablement Abroad, Tudors (1485–1603)

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...