A selection of contents from the Autumn 2008 Ricardian Bulletin

NEWS AND REVIEWS

Would you like to buy Sheriff Hutton Castle?
The Sheriff Hutton Castle estate is on the market at a guide price of £1½ million. The now ruined Yorkshire castle was one of the administrative centres for the Council of the North, which Richard III established in 1484. The advertisement refers to a theory that the castle was also where the Princes in the Tower were held during their uncle's reign.

If you can't afford Sheriff Hutton, what about Nappa Hall?
Another Yorkshire property with Ricardian connections is also on the market, for as low as £500,000. Nappa Hall, a Grade 1 listed fortified medieval manor house was once the home of the Metcalfe family, who were among Richard III's most loyal supporters.

Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre - new status as a Museum
The Bosworth Centre has used a Heritage Lottery Fund award to build a re-constructed medieval, re-vamp its exhibition and generally enhance its facilities. The success story continued in May when the Centre received official UK accreditation as a museum form the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), having met the required standard. This will enable the Centre to arrange exhibit loans form other museums. The Centre has further exciting plans for the future - watch this space!

A Flag for Yorkshire: It's official
Richard Van Allen reports that Yorkshire now officially has its own flag, approved by the Flag Institute. The flag consists of a white rose on a royal blue background.

ARTICLES

Proceedings of the Triennial Conference 2008: Part 2 - Suspects
The 2008 Triennial looked at the possible fate of the Princes in the Tower. A series of digested versions of the talks given at the Conference continues with a look at some of the suspects. Anne Crawford's considers the dukes of Buckingham and York, while Lesley Boatwright speculates on the role of Richard III.

The Man Himself - Or in this case, Edward, The Son Himself
Peter Hammond examines the little we know about the brief life of Edward of Middleham, Richard III and Anne Neville's only known child.

York or Lancaster: Who was the rightful heir to the throne in 1460?
In 1460 Richard, Duke of York challenged Henry VI's right to the throne and claimed the crown for himself. At the time, York's claim was rejected on a number of grounds and he in turn challenged these objections. Ian Mortimer considers the background to the claims made by both sides.

Alvaro Lopes de Cheves: A Portuguese Source
Further to previous articles in the Spring 2007 Bulletin, Portuguese Society member, Antonio S Marques, further discusses some notes on English events written in 1488 by Alvaro Lopes de Cheves, secretary to the Portuguese kings Alfonso V and John II. These include a record of a friendly meeting between John II and Sir Edward Woodville in 1486 or 1487, when Sir Edward was passing through Portugal.

Richard loses a precious jewel
One of the most notable jewels in the Imperial State Crown is the Black Prince's Ruby (in fact a red spinel) which is prominently positioned on the front of the crown. Legend has long suggested that Henry V wore this jewel at Agincourt and now Robert Stephenson investigates a tale that Richard III may have worn it at Bosworth.

Margaret of York: A Genuinely Scandalous Dispensation? - A Defence
Marie Barnfield responds to Mark Ballard's comments on her article.

More Research - Exploring Further Afield
Toni Mount is continuing her research on the fifteenth century 'Physician's Handbook' in the Wellcome Library, by seeking to broaden her knowledge of other fifteenth century medical texts. She has recently been to the library at Gonville & Caius College in Cambridge, where she has found some well-thumbed medieval texts, which genuinely appear to have been used as handbooks.

REGULAR & OCCASIONAL FEATURES

Correspondence
The mailbag for this issue includes letters on such subjects as: Richard III as a failure (a definite no no), Carola Hicks' novel The King's Glass, medieval marriage dispensations and Dafydd Llwyd's poems to Henry Tudor

The Barton Library
Fiction Librarian, Anne Painter, gives a reminder about the fiction book auction and lists a couple of new items.

Report on Society Events

Avignon 14-19 May 2008
The Society's first visit to Provence since 1994 included not only Avignon, but Arles, Nimes and other places of interest in the area. Some of the participants report the highlights of the trip.

Peasantry, Gentry & Nobility - East Midlands Study Day - 21 June 2008
Jane Trump reviews this event, which included talks on peasants, the Pastons, silk weavers and Warwick the Kingmaker's sisters.

Visit to Thaxted and Saffron Walden - 19 July 2008
Elaine Robinson looks back at some of the highlights of this visit to East Anglia.

Future Society Events
There are full details of the Fotheringhay Carol Service (13 December) and of the long weekend visit to south west Wales (10-14 July 2009). There is also a reminder about the Norfolk Branch Study Day on the theme of Inspirational Monarchs, Inspirational Leaders (15 November) and a notice about the Scottish Branch Lecture on War and Peace in the Fifteenth Century (2 November). There are early notices of the Requiem Mass for King Richard and Queen Anne Neville (14 March 2009), the Commemoration at Anne Neville's Tomb (21 March 2009) and the York Study Weekend (24-26 April 2009) on research for beginners.

Branches and Groups
Reports are in from the Gloucester Branch, Penrith / North Lakes Group, Worcestershire Branch and Yorkshire Branch. There is also an update on the branch and group contact details.

Obituaries
John Barton, Douglas Coyne, Ralph Taylor and Jan Verrijzer are remembered.