The killing of Margaret Clitherow, 'Tales of Youth - The History Big Night In' Event, and The Anne Boleyn Tour 2025
11th February History Travel Newsletter
Hello Fellow History Lover!
Holbein at the Tudor Court Exhibition at Buckingham Palace, the Temple of Mithras, the Old Operating Theatre, ‘Tales of Youth’ at Southwark Cathedral, and the Churchill War Rooms were all places I visited over this past Friday and Saturday (yes, I did get more than my 10,000 steps in per day).
More on all these, including the podcast/youtube episode I filmed at the Churchill War Rooms, coming up over the next few weeks, but this week:
The killing of Margaret Clitherow and how it may be linked to the Gunpowder Plot
An evening of historian talks - the ‘Tales of Youth. The History Big Night In’ Papyrus event at Southwark Cathedral.
The working Royals - how the news about Charles III affects the pool of working royals and who are they?
Express interest in a place on The Anne Boleyn Tour 2025!
Get your tickets for this Spring’s Online History Festival, The Stuarts - Click Here for tickets. £21.50 (£18 for members of my Patreon, ‘British History’)
If you missed last week’s newsletter, here is what you can find in it. Read it by clicking here.
The Middleham Jewel - did this belong to Richard III’s queen, Anne Neville?
Killing a King - Latest Blog for paid subscribers.
Submit your question for historian Dr Nicola Tallis about the subject of her latest book, Elizabeth I. See below for more details.
The Stuarts Return this Spring! Online History Festival: - 6 talks, a live Q&A with all 6 speakers, a live quiz, exclusive discounts and entry to a free prize draw are all waiting for you at - Click Here for tickets. £21.50 (£18 for members of my Patreon, ‘British History’)
The Killing of Margaret Clitherow
and how it may be linked to the Gunpowder Plot
The northern English City of York has one of the most photographed streets in the country. York’s famous medieval street looks much the same as it did in medieval times, except less dirt and more Harry Potter inspired shops.
In 1586, a lady called Margaret lived with her husband, John Clitherow, who was a butcher, and their children at no. 35 the Shambles. Elizabeth I was on the throne and despite her original wish to tread a less controversial line on religion than her half-siblings and predecessors had done, the queen and her council had taken an increasingly hard line against her Catholic subjects. The split with Rome, instigated by her father Henry VIII, meant that religion had now become a matter of state. To be a Catholic meant having loyalty to the Pope, and to be Anglican meant loyalty to the head of the church of England, who was the reigning monarch. Catholics, who made up approximately 1% of the 4 million population, therefore, were held in great suspicion of treachery, even treason. In 1570 Pope Pius V issued a Papal Bull excommunicating Elizabeth, releasing English Catholics from their allegiance to the queen and calling for her forcible removal. This did not help the situation for English Catholics and Elizabeth’s government retaliated with higher fines for anyone who didn’t attend Anglican services and, in 1585, a blatantly retrospective piece of legislation was passed stating that any priest who’d been ordained abroad since 1559 was automatically a traitor if found in England! A person harbouring a priest was also condemned as a traitor, and treason carried the death sentence. Approximately 130 priests and 60 lay people were executed under these laws during Elizabeth’s reign; 29 year old Catholic convert Margaret Clitherow would be one of them.
Margaret, a mother to three children, had converted to Catholicism in 1574. In order to hear Mass, which was now against the law, Margaret harboured priests. She also set up a small school to teach the Catholic faith to children. When she sent her eldest son abroad, suspicions were raised. He had, in fact, gone to train as a priest. Soon Margaret’s house was searched by authorities who found priest hides and she was arrested. Knowing that if she made a plea, the case would be brought to trial and witnesses would be called, including her own children, she decided not to. The penalty was horrific (please skip this part if you think you may be upset at the details of Margaret’s execution).
On 25th March 1586, Good Friday and the Feast of Annunciation, Margaret was brought to the Toll Booth on the Ouse bridge. For refusing to plea her punishment was death by crushing. This particularly cruel method saw the 29 year old women, pregnant with her fourth child, stripped naked, lay face up with a rock the size of a man’s fist placed in the middle of her spine, her own front door lay on top of her and weights placed on top of it to crush her to death. The city’s usual executioners refused to do it, instead paying some desperate beggars to carry out the sentence for them. She died after about fifteen slow, excruciating minutes, although her body was left there for six hours.
The was widespread shock at the execution of this young mother and the injustice of it only hardened some catholics against those who were, surely, carrying out the devil’s work! In the crowd that day, watching Margaret’s martyrdom, could have been a 16 year old boy, who lived only a few streets away from the Clitherows, in Stonegate, by the name of Guy Fawkes.
The Working Royals
Although not history, I thought this major news about King Charles III was worth covering for my audience in this week’s History Tea Time Chat Live. This is a developing story so this is based what was known during filming on Wednesday 7th February. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
You can catch me live on Youtube, Facebook and Instagram each Wednesday, at 3pm (UK time).
Tales of Youth. The Big History Night In
in aid of Papyrus
Last night I attended a night of talks from 12 historians, at Southwark Cathedral. The ‘Tales of Youth. Big History Night In’ event, put together by historian Dr Nicola Tallis (who I am interviewing about her new book, this Wednesday) in aid of Papyrus, a charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide and the promotion of positive mental health. When the tickets went on sale I bought them regardless of the fact I wasn’t sure how I was going to get there or who I was going to go with, such is the clear importance of charities such as this one, with suicide being the number 1 cause of death in people under the age of 35.
Previous guests on my Podcast and Youtube channel, Tracy Borman, Gareth Russell, Joanne Paul, Matt Lewis and Helen Carr were among the 12 speakers who took to the stage to speak to youth voices, within their area of expertise. The incredible line up also included Janina Ramierez, Greg Jenner, Lara Maiklem, Jonathan Healey, Kate Williams, Steve Cross and Nathen Amin.
Each speaker had 15 minutes, except Matt Lewis and Nathen Amin who took to the stage together to debate who killed the princes in the tower, in their 15 minutes - safe to say they didn’t solve it but some great evidence and talking points were put forward by each of them.
A few of the speakers spoke to personal experience of youth suicide, including event organiser Dr Nicola Tallis, who lost her cousin to suicide.
If you would like to donate to Papyrus you can go to their website Papyrus-uk.org and click ‘Donate’.
The Stuarts Return this Spring!
Talks at The Stuarts Online History Festival
Gareth Russell: The Life of a Stuart Queen. Anna of Denmark
Prof Alice Hunt: Oliver Cromwell and the English Republic
Andrea Zuvich - Mistresses at the Stuart Court
Julian Humphrys - A Hunted King: The Escape of Charles II after the Battle of Worcester
Katie Wignall - The Great Fire of London. Virtual walking tour of the city of London following the story of this harrowing event.
Philippa Brewell - Gunpowder, Terrorism and Betrayal. The Gunpowder Plot
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The Anne Boleyn Tour 2025!
Click here to request your name be put on the waiting list and to be informed when tickets go on sale. Please note that members of my ‘British History Patreon’ get 7 days early access to tickets - you can join quickly and easily by clicking here.
I hope you’ll catch my weekly show on Wednesday at 3pm (UK time) live on Facebook, Youtube and Instagram but don’t worry if you can’t because you can always catch up on those channel or on the podcast. If you’re subscribed to me here you will receive a notification when a new podcast is available.
Have a great week!
Philippa