Lord Leycester Exclusive Access
and more in the last newsletter of 2022!
Hi and welcome to the last history newsletter of 2022!
Before getting into this week’s news, I would like to say a huge thank you for subscribing my newsletter and taking the time to read it each week. Your support means a great deal and I simply love sharing British History with you!
This week for you, I have:
Lord Leycester Hospital - New Video!
Behind the Scenes at The Lord Leycester Hospital
I had the privilege of interviewing Heidi Meyer, the current Master of the Lord Leycester Hospital in Warwick ahead of a look around to see how works are progressing with their £multi-million restoration. The Hospital, not a medical facility but a place for retired soldiers, was established by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester in 1571. The buildings however, date back to medieval times.
My interview with Heidi, completed over Zoom as she was about to fly off the USA, is interspliced with footage I took during my visit a few days after the interview.
The Lord Leycester Hospital is closed to the public until Summer 2023. I am currently looking into the possibility of adding a visit here to The Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots tour in September 2023. There are some spaces left - click here for tour details.
Tea Time History Chat Live
In 2023 my Tea Time History Chat will be live-streamed on Instagram and Youtube will take place each Wednesday at 1pm GMT. This is a change from its usual day of Thursday.
Today I finished telling you about the places I have been to in 2022 and why you will want to go too, how to get up close and personal with the gorgeous Georgians and how you can do history with me in person in 2023!
I will be back 4th January.
Gorgeous Georgians!
Tickets to our next Online History Festival are now on sale! Tickets include access to all talks from eminent historians which will take you into the bawdry, hilarious, shocking, and engrossing world of Georgian Britain and the Hanoverians.
All Talks will be available to ticket holders until 30th May 2023!
The first 30 tickets have a 10% discount automatically applied.
The following speakers are confirmed:
Tracy Borman, Gareth Russell, Eleri Lynn, Dr Katrina Marchant, and Antonia Keaney.
There are also 2 live events on Sunday 26th March:
Discussion Panel and the Closing Event, Fun Quiz
Free Prize Draw
All Ticket Holders will go into a draw for one of the following prizes:
Ticket Refund: Get your ticket price refunded (1 prize)
Amazon Gift Voucher worth GBP£15/USD$15 (1 prize)
Tracy Borman signed book (1 prize)
Winners of the Free Prize Draw will be announced live at the closing event and will be contacted directly via email.
Join me in person in 2023!
I would love to welcome you onto a tour in 2023! Our tours have everything a history lover could want, access to historians, guided tours of historical places, special access plus everything is included, all you’ll need money for is lunch and souvenirs! We also operate a small group guarantee and you can have peace of mind that we’re covered by financial failure protection.
There are two tours that have spaces available in 2023, The Private Life of Anne Boleyn Tour in June/July and The Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots Tour in September 2023.
The Private Life of Anne Boleyn
This fully escorted tour, with me as your tour host, is accompanied by tour historian, Gareth Russell, best-selling author and historian.
The tour departs on 29th June for 6 days and 5 nights of history, luxury and fun combined. We follow part of the summer progress of 1535 which Anne took with her husband, Henry VIII, a happy time in her life, and look at what made Anne tick! What did she enjoy, what did she really feel about Henry and how did it all go so wrong?
We visit incredible historical places: Sudeley Castle, Hailes Abbey, Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucester Cathedral, Berkeley Castle, Thornbury Castle and Hever Castle and stay for our first 4 nights in a luxury spa hotel overlooking Tewkesbury and with views to the Malvern Hills before transferring to Hever Castle where we explore ‘Hidden Hever’ and get into the depths of the Castle before eating in the Great Hall (this bit usually behind ropes!) whilst being serenaded by the beautiful soprano voice of Jay Britton, singing authentic Tudor music, much of which Anne would have been familiar with!
Once again we are accompanied for the entirety of the tour by the fabulous Gareth Russell and I will be your host on this fully escorted tour.
We meet on the 15th September and head to our luxury hotel (a favourite of Dame Judy Dench) in Stratford upon Avon, which will be our base for the next 3 nights. From here we will explore Kenilworth Castle, Harvington Hall and Tutbury Castle (with the possibility of Lord Leycester Hospital, tbc). Our private tour of Harvington Hall, which will open especially for us that day, includes an audience with Elizabeth I, the fabulous Lesley Smith, and dinner served in the Great Hall.
On day 4 we transfer to the ever-magical Hever Castle but first visit Peterborough Cathedral, the original resting place of Mary, Queen of Scots. At Hever Castle we will explore ‘Hidden Hever’ after the public have gone home and enjoy dinner in the Great Hall of the castle whilst being serenaded by the captivating soprano voice of Jay Britton. On our final full day we visit Westminster Abbey, where we will see the tombs of Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots (among many others of course) before taking a walking tour of “The lost Palaces of Westminster and Whitehall”. On our return to Hever Castle we will be joined by Dr Estelle Paranque, author of a pivotal new biography of Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici who, with Mary, Queen of Scots, make up the powerful female triumvirate of 16th century Europe. Our final meal is a relaxed luxury BBQ on our private lawns next to the moat with wonderful views of the castle which the public don’t get to see.
All that leaves me to say is I wish you a wonderful, restful, Christmas and a Happy New Year!
See you in 2023!
All the best, Philippa 💕