by Helen Kain | Jul 2, 2026 | Act II - Building, Fascinating People, FP Act II — Building The Kingdon, Medieval (1066–1485)
Most medieval chroniclers loved a good story. William of Newburgh preferred evidence. Born in Yorkshire around 1136, William spent much of his life as an Augustinian canon at Newburgh Priory. He never ruled a kingdom, commanded an army, or built a cathedral. Yet his...
by Helen Kain | Jul 1, 2026 | Act II - Building, Carousel Fascinating People, Fascinating People, FP Act II — Building The Kingdon, Medieval (1066–1485)
Most people associate William the Conqueror with England, but his story begins across the Channel in Normandy. A duke known to his contemporaries as William the Bastard inherited a fragile duchy and transformed it into one of the most formidable powers in Europe. Born...
by Helen Kain | Mar 8, 2026 | Act III - The Stress Test, CT Act III — The Stress Test, Medieval (1066–1485)
The conflict known as the Wars of the Roses was not a single war but a long struggle for the English crown fought between rival branches of the royal family. The two houses were House of Lancaster and House of York. Both traced their ancestry to Edward III, and both...
by Helen Kain | Mar 8, 2026 | Castles & Stately Houses, Featured, Medieval (1066–1485)
At Warwick Castle the past does not feel distant. The towers rise solidly above the River Avon, their thick stone walls suggesting permanence and authority. Castles were built to project exactly that impression. Strength. Stability. Control. Yet the history that...
by Helen Kain | Mar 8, 2026 | Medieval (1066–1485)
In the summer of 2012 archaeologists began excavating a small municipal parking lot in the city of Leicester. The site had once been occupied by the medieval Greyfriars Friary, though centuries of urban change had long since erased any visible trace of the monastery....
by Helen Kain | Jun 29, 2025 | Castles & Stately Houses, Medieval (1066–1485)
It was quiet the day we visited Lincoln Castle. The sun bounced off the high curtain walls, the grass in the old motte was lush and soft, and the Victorian prison—now a museum—hummed faintly with the sounds of schoolchildren and subdued commentary. But make no...
