Christmas at Pembroke.

I have just spent a great Christmas at Pembroke South Wales, weather was terrible with 80 mph. gales and torrential rain, but still we had a great time.
Pembroke Castle is a must to visit if you are in the area; it is one of the best castles in Wales, and was the birthplace of Henry Tudor (King Henry VII 1485-1509)
When you are in Pembroke I recommend visiting the famous Dragon Alley at 63 high street.

Saint Thomas Becket.

The Murder of Saint Thomas Becket).
1170 December 29th, Archbishop Thomas Becket murdered at Canterbury Cathedral. How far Henry II was directly responsible for the tragedy which soon after occurred on December 20th is not quite clear. Four knights; Reginald FitzUrse; Hugh de Morville; William de Tracy; and Richard le Breton, came from France demanded the absolution of the bishops. (Thomas Becket would not comply).They left for a space, but came back at Vesper time with a band of armed men. To their angry question,"Where is the traitor?" the saint boldly replied,"Here I am, no traitor, but archbishop and  priest of God." They tried to drag him from the church, but were unable, and in the end they slew him where he stood, scattering his brains on the pavement. His faithful companion, (Edward Grim) who bore his cross, was wounded in the struggle.

Interesting facts

1650 Ann Greene,who had been hanged for infanticide in Edinburgh,wakes up on an autopsy table; she is pardoned. 

- From Twenty Two Turbulent Years 

1495 - Syphilis is first definitely recorded during the French invasion of Naples.

Not sure who started that... but it seems that someone was having a good time.  Speaking of good times...

Also in 1495 - June 1st, A Friar named John Cor was the distiller of Lindores Abbey in the Kingdom of Fife, records the first known batch of Scotch Whiskey. On June 1st 1495, "To Friar John Cor, by order of the king, to make aqua vitae VIII bolls of malt".

1642 September 8th. Colony of Massachusetts: Thomas Granger is executed by hanging at Plymouth, Massachusetts for confessing to numerous acts of bestiality. 

1650 September 29th.Henry Robinson opens his Office of Addresses and Encounters(1st historically documented dating service) in Threadneedle Street, London. 

Anne Boleyn.

April-May 1536, Henry VIII had (m2) Anne Bolelyn investigated for high treason: tried and found guilty, she was beheaded on May19th.; historians view the charges against her, which included adultery and incest, as unconvincing. Following the coronation of her daughter, Elizabeth I as queen,(m2) Anne Boleyn was venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation, particularly through the works of John Foxe. Over the centuries, she has inspired or been mentioned in numerous artistic and cultural works. As a result, she has retained her hold on the popular imagination. Anne has been called "the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had," since she provided the occasion for Henry VIII to divorce (m1) Catherine of Aragon, and declare his independence from Rome. 

- From "A chronology of the House of Tudor"

Anne Boleyn's trial.

April-May 1536, Henry VIII had (m2) Anne Bolelyn investigated for high treason: tried and found guilty, she was beheaded on May19th.; historians view the charges against her, which included adultery and incest, as unconvincing. Following the coronation of her daughter, Elizabeth I as queen,(m2) Anne Boleyn was venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation, particularly through the works of John Foxe. Over the centuries, she has inspired or been mentioned in numerous artistic and cultural works. As a result, she has retained her hold on the popular imagination. Anne has been called "the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had," since she provided the occasion for Henry VIII to divorce (m1) Catherine of Aragon, and declare his independence from Rome. 

- From "A chronology of the House of Tudor"

Twenty two turbulent years 1639-1661.

A Chronological History of the British Civil Wars, in England, Scotland and Ireland, covering all of the battles, events of the first Civil War leading up to the Regicide of King Charles I.
The Second Civil War, the Third Civil War, the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the Irish Confederate War, the Establishment of the Commonwealth and the Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector.
The Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland, the first Anglo-Dutch war, the Anglo Spanish War, the colonizing of the New World, and the death of Oliver Cromwell and the events that lead to the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660.


This book endeavors to provide you with something refreshing and new.
An easy to use interactive ready reference covering the turbulent period between 1639 -1661.
all in chronological order.

Twenty Two Turbulent Years 1639-1661.
The turning point that changed Britain forever, detailing all the events (over 130 battles with the Commanders) during the Bishops War 1639-40, The Irish Rebellions, 1641-49.
The First English Civil War, 1642-46.
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1644-51.
The Second English Civil War, 1647-48.
Events leading to the Regicide of King Charles I on January 30th. 1649.
The Third English Civil War, 1648-51.
The Scottish Civil War 1649-51.
Oliver Cromwell's Conquest of Ireland, 1649-51.
Establishment of The Commonwealth 1649-53, and the Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell. 1653-58.
After Oliver Cromwell's death in 1658, he was succeeded by his son Richard Cromwell, as Lord Protector, his subsequent removal nine months later, leaving the way clear for the restoration
of King Charles II in 1660.

Expansion of the English Navy, with the First Anglo Dutch War 1652-54.
The Anglo Spanish War and conquest of the Caribbean colonies 1654-60.
English Commonwealth Navy in the Caribbean. ( Barbados).
The Americas: June 9th.1650 The Harvard corporation Colony of Maryland and the English Civil War.
Colony of Massachusetts.
Rhode Island passes the first law in North America making slavery illegal. May 18th. 1652.
New Haven Colony, Connecticut. Virginia Colony (1653). Influence on the American constitution.
The Barbary Corsairs, sometimes called Ottoman Corsairs or Barbary Pirates.
Civil War Commanders. Parliamentarians.
Civil War Commanders. Royalists.
Commanders Irish and Covenanters.

Paperback ISBN: 9781780356600
Kindle ISBN: 9781780351759
e-Pub ISBN: 9781780351766

The Chronology of the House of Tudor.

The Chronology of the House of Tudor 1485-1603.

A Chronological History of England, Scotland and Ireland, covering the period between the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 through the
reigns of Henry VII, Henry VIII, 
Edward VI, Lady Jane Gray, Queen Mary I, and finally Queen Elizabeth I's reign which ended in 1603.

The events of this period cover the turmoil during the reign of Henry VIII with his six wives, and the first moves towards the Reformation of the Church of England and Edward VI’s completion of the Reformation, followed by Queen Mary I's reversal taking England back to the Catholic religion.

Over 300 martyrs were burnt at the stake for their religious beliefs in the

Marian burnings before Queen Mary I died.

After Mary I's death Queen Elizabeth I ascended the throne in 1558.

This book endeavours to provide you with a new approach to history reference books where everything is in chronological order providing something refreshing and new.  It includes interesting facts that are not usually taught in history lessons!

The Chronology of the House of Tudor 1485-1603 is the second book of the Chronology Series to be published.

The Chronology Series will eventually cover the thousand years from 1001 to 2001.

The first published book is Twenty Two Turbulent Years 1639-1661.

The next book will be about the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans from 1001 to 1215 and will be followed by a book about the Plantagenets from 1215 to 1485.

.

Paperback ISBN: 9781780357386

1495 Henry VII of England commissions the world's first dry dock at Portsmouth.The first early modern European and oldest surviving dry-dock still in use was commissioned by Henry VII of England at HMNB Portsmouth in 1495 This dry-dock currently holds the world's oldest commissioned warship, HMS Victory. 

1st. English Civil War

January 1642, a few days after his failure to capture five members of the House of Commons, fearing for his own personal safety and for that of his family and retinue, Charles I left the London area. Further negotiations by frequent correspondence between Charles I and the Long Parliament through to early summer proved fruitless. As the summer progressed, cities and towns declared their sympathies for one faction or the other: for example, the garrison of Portsmouth under the command of Sir George Goring declared for the King,but when Charles I tried to acquire arms for his cause from Kingston upon Hull, the depository for the weapons used in the previous Scottish campaigns, Sir John Hotham, the military governor appointed by Parliament in January, initially refused to let Charles I enter Hull, and when Charles I returned with more men, drove them off. Charles I issued a warrant for Sir John Hotham to be arrested as a traitor but was powerless to enforce it. Throughout the summer months, tensions rose and there was brawling in a number of places, with the first death of the conflict taking place in Manchester. At the outset of the conflict, much of the country remained neutral, though the Navy and most English cities favoured Parliament, while the King found considerable support in rural communities. Historians estimate that between
them, both sides had only about 15,000 men. However, the war quickly spread and eventually involved every level of society, areas attempted to remain neutral, some formed bands of Clubmen to protect their localities against the worst excesses of the armies of both sides, but most found it impossible to withstand both the King and Parliament
.

A Chronology Series

Hello, I am the author of the Chronology series of books, which I am slowly releasing.  These books will provide a detailed timeline of events of British History (With a few interesting titbits from outside our isles) which will provide a useful reference for both amateur and professional historians.  My two books so far are...

Twenty Two Turbulant Years 1639-1661
- Covers the English Civil Wars and the Commonwealth period.

A Chronology of the House of Tudor
- Covers the years from 1485 and the battle of Bosworth Field, to 1603 and the death of Queen Elizabeth I.

The Anglo Saxons (1001-1066). and The House of Normandy (1066-1154). The next to be published early in 2014.

With this blog I will be sharing interesting facts from either my previous works or my upcoming works as I discover them.  For example, Today's interesting fact is...

In 1526 Gunsmith Mastro Bartolomeo Beretta establishes the Beretta Gun company which will still be in buisness in the 21st century, making it one of the worlds oldest corporations.