The Middleham Jewel, how can a King be executed for treason and ask a historian your questions about Elizabeth I!
4th February History Travel Newsletter
Hello Fellow History Lover!
I hope this finds you well and enjoying your Sunday! Although I’ve been in touch with the weekly ‘History Tea Time Chat Live’ podcast and monthly historian interviews you may have noticed that this weekly history news has been absent for a couple of months. I suffered an accident which severely damaged my hand in November which necessitated that I reduced my workload, especially anything with a lot of typing, for a while while I recovered.
I’m back though and with some great things to tell you about with a backlog of other interesting finds, travels and events to share with you over the coming weeks.
This week:
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 beloe 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’)
As a taster, next week I’ll be covering:
The killing of Margaret Clitheroe and how it could be linked to the Gunpowder Plot
Get a place on The Anne Boleyn Tour 2025!
An evening of historian talks - my review of the Papyrus event at Southwark Cathedral
Killing a King
Treason was first defined in English law with The Treason Act, 1352. When it was written, the king was the embodiment of his kingdom, an attack on the king, real or imagined, was an attack on the state. So how was a king tried, convicted and executed for Treason only 300 years later? This is the topic of my latest blog for paid Substack subscriber and members of my Patreon.
Did this belong to Richard III’s queen?
The Middleham Jewel
The history world owes a lot to amateur metal detectorists. Go to any museum and you are bound to find an incredible find, unearthed by someone who invested their own time and money to scour the English countryside in the hope of finding…well…something!
In 1985 a metal detectorist (who’s name sadly was not displayed on the information panel about his find) was searching a field near to Middleham Castle, once the home to King Richard III.
The pendant is made of gold with an impressive and beautiful blue sapphire. The pendant opened up and inside was space for relics, small pieces of silk, possibly from a Bishop’s cloak were found inside. The religious scenes and words call upon God for a safe delivery of child and mother during childbirth. So, it is certain that this would have belonged to a woman and it has been speculated that Richard III’s queen, Anne Neville, herself could have been the owner. It was certainly a women of great wealth. Other possibilities are his mother, Cecily Neville or his mother-in-law, Anne Beauchamp.
The Middleham Jewel is on display on The Yorkshire Museum, York.
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
British History is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Historian Interview coming soon! Submit your own questions
Click Here to visit my Patreon and submit a question for Dr Nicola Tallis about the subject of her latest book (released soon), Elizabeth I. Nicola’s upcoming book ‘Young Elizabeth. Princess. Prisoner. Queen’ which provides an in-depth biography of Elizabeth in the years before she became Queen.
I do 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