Happy Easter fellow history lover!
This week:
Easter, named after an Anglo Saxon Pagan Goddess?
A dive into the history of Treason, and Executions, in one day!
Dr Kat and I discussed our visits to the Treason and Execution exhibitions in this week’s History After Dark. Scroll down for the link.
Plus,
1 Room left for The Anne Boleyn Tour, May 2024!
The Tudors Online History Festival will take place in November. Tickets are on sale now - Click Here
Treason and Execution
Living in the UK and doing to job I do, I am forever aware and grateful for the plethora of historic sights, free museums and incredible artefacts from our rich history, many of which are easily accessible.
For every manuscript or other artefact on permanent display, there are hundreds of thousands more stored in archives and it is via special exhibitions that the public get to see them. I was fortunate enough to visit two such exhibitions this week, ‘Treason’ at The National Archives, and ‘Execution’ at the London Museum, Docklands, with my good friend, Dr Kat Marchant (Reading the Past on Youtube).
I will be writing a dedicated blog with my favourite picks from both exhibitions, in due course, for my paid substack subscribers and members of my Patreon.
Here though, are three from each of the exhibitions. Let me tell you a little about each.
From ‘Treason’
The Treason exhibition was on at The National Archives in Kew, London. The range of documents on display ranged from The Treason Act of 1532 (1531 as they would have known it as the New Year didn’t begin until 25th March) through to 20th century documents relating to the troubles in Ireland.
Here though, I have chosen 3 of my top picks. (see below for pictures, 1-3, left to right)
The trial document of Anne Boleyn. This is the record of the trial of Anne Boleyn, which took place in May 1536 and resulted in the execution, by beheading, of the Queen on 19th May. The second wife of Henry VIII had been tried and convicted of Treason. So what was her offence? Many people assume that it was the accusation of adultery which would have counted as treason but, it was in fact the “compassing and imagining of the King’s death”. Many, so-called, offences had been regarded a treasonous over time but this one had, in-fact, been in the original Treason Act of 1532.
The Monteagle Letter. This is the letter which foiled the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. On 26th October 1605, Lord Monteagle received a letter warning him not to attend the State Opening of Parliament. Monteagle reported the letter, and searches of the entire Houses of Parliament resulted. During these searched Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellars below the House of Lords.
The plot's leader Robert Catesby, suspected latecomer to the conspirators, Francis Tresham, who was Monteagle's brother-in-law, of sending the letter.
A Journal of the trial of King Charles I. This journal was created shortly after the execution of Charles I in January 1649 and describes the trial, in detail.
From ‘Execution’
The Treason exhibition, at the Museum of London, Docklands, covered 700 years of public execution in London. Public executions took place across the country, but London is unique for the concentration of execution sites and numbers of people killed.
One of the first things that hit us when we entered this moving, yet harrowing, exhibition, was “thank goodness this is in our past”. The barbarous waste of life was something Dr Kat and I found in equal measure upsetting and angering.
I have chosen three exhibits from ‘Execution’ to share with you but it is the third one which I warn you, is the most upsetting. (see below for pictures, 1-3, left to right)
The Execution of Anne Askew. The illustration of the burning of Anne Askew from Foxe’s ‘Actes and Monuments’, better known as ‘Foxe’s Book of Martyrs’, accompanies one of the most notorious executions of the Tudor era. After being illegally tortured on the rack at The Tower of London, in an attempt by her persecutors to give up details of other ‘heretics’ (one of which could have been the Queen at the time, Catherine Parr), she was so badly injured that she had to be tied to a chair at her execution by burning. Anne never did give up any names.
King Charles I’s Gloves. These beautifully embroidered gloves once belonged to Charles I and it is possible that he wore these on the day of his execution.
A Reprieve Petition. One single mark contains the most anguish possible in any human heart. The petition pertains to the case of Joseph Harwood, an 18 year old who had been convicted for Highway Robbery, in 1824. It was witnessed by the Mayor, at Mansion House, and pleaded the case that he had been taken advantage of by bad company whilst drunk. On the bottom right, a simple ‘X’ was made by the boy’s illiterate mother, Priscilla Harwood.
A blog with my top picks from the exhibitions will be available in my Patreon soon - click here to join for £5/month.
Where does the name for Easter come from?
The Tudors Online History Festival
Soon, I will be in a position to announce the full speaker line up so keep an eye out here and on my Instagram and Facebook pages.
If you missed The Georgians Online History Festival, you can purchase a bundle of the talks as an add-on to the ticket for The Tudors Festival.
The Anne Boleyn Tour, May 2024
1 room left!
If you have already been in this tour, I have out together a range of souvenirs available to purchase.
History After Dark
This week we discussed what the girls have been up to recently including my visit to the Treason and Execution exhibitions with Dr Kat.
Wishing you a great Easter, may it be full of family, love, peace and guilt free chocolate.
Philippa x