Mid Anglia Group AGM

The Mid Anglia Group AGM took place at the Grand Old Duke of York, Ipswich on Saturday 14th November with 8 members attending.
Stephen Lark was elected as Chairman and Janine Lawrence as Secretary. Jo Larner has kindly agreed to act as Librarian and Murray Brunning is ‘Keeper of the Purse’!
Meetings for 2016 have been agreed and are as follows:
26th March – Stowmarket and Gipping Chapel
21st May – Framlingham Castle and Church
2 or 16 July – Wingfield Church and Otley Hall (In reserve Castle Rising in case the Hall is unavailable)
September – Colchester. Date TBA
19th Nov – Bury St Edmunds AGM, venue to be decided

Anyone wishing to join our Group should contact the secretary, Janine Lawrence for further details.

Our AGM

Thankyou to all of those who attended today’s AGM, including our new officer team (Janine Lawrence,Joanne Larner, Murray Brunning) and Peter Fletcher, Melanie Darke, Jill and Zigurd (our debutants).

Stephen.

Draft programme 2016-7

26 MARCH: Stowmarket Church and Gipping Chapel visit.

21 MAY: Framlingham Castle and Church visit.

July: Otley Hall visit (or Beccles and Wingfield)

10/17/24 SEPTEMBER: Colchester Castle visit

19 (20) November: AGM, Bury St. Edmunds

Spring 2017: Ely Cathedral visit

More TV catch up

Astley Castle was featured on TV last night between 8 and 9pm on Channel 4 in the programme Restoring Britain’s Landmarks.

The ruins have had an amazing holiday home built into them by the Landmark Trust and I stayed there earlier this year – it is truly fabulous. The castle is associated with Elizabeth Woodville, Elizabeth of York and Lady Jane Grey, though whether any of them actually visited is a moot point. Do watch it if you can!

Meetings in Leicester Cathedral: now online

The series of four meetings in Leicester Cathedral, known as ‘Dean’s Discussions’ are now available to listen to on-line.

The people ‘interviewed’ are

Jacqui Binns, who made the pall that covered King Richard’s coffin,

James Elliot, who carved the tomb,

Thomas Greenaway, who made the pietra dura Plantagenet arms on the tomb, and

Tom Denny, who is making stained glass windows to be set near the tomb.

The discussions, each about an hour long, can be found at

http://leicestercathedral.org/deans-discussions-volume-iv/

Notice for all members in America:

The DVD of the events of the Reinterment week, made by Leicester Cathedral, which has been available for a few months in the UK, is now available to purchase in a format suitable for the USA.

Please note: The film does not contain footage from either the Reception or Reinterment service broadcast on British television although there are still images from both.

To purchase a copy, please go to

http://kingrichardinleicester.com/…/us-version-dvd-with-di…

A new blog

One of the Worcestershire Branch’s members, Ashley Mantle, has just started a new blog about medieval history in the Midlands (of England).
Have a read and enjoy!
https://medievalmidlandsblog.wordpress.com/

Ideas for 2016

A visit to Stowmarket in March, on 12th, 19th or 26th, to include the Parish Church. We can finalise the date at the AGM.

Visits to:
Framlingham Castle and Church,
Otley Hall (privately owned so we would need to book it),
Wingfield Church (the tombs of the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk),
Colchester again but in a different way.

Columbine Hall is being discussed by the Visits Committee as it would need more people and a significant fee.

Speakers?

Feel free to comment or make your own suggestions.

Possibly not too late to watch this:

Thanks to Jacqui Emerson for this information:

From Sue and Dave Wells – information on a programme ( in Welsh) on Sir Rhys ap Thomas

Just a short note to remind you that a special programme on Sir Rhys ap Thomas, the Welshman who killed Richard III was shown on Sunday Evening on S4C at 20:00. Dr Iestyn Jones presented a programme of battles, blood, conspiracy and more – all a part of the story of a man that history forgot, until now.

*S4C can be viewed in Wales on Freeview – 4, Virgin TV -166, Freesat – 104, Sky – 104, Sky (without subscribing) – 134*

*S4C can be viewed outside Wales on Freeview – not available, Virgin TV – 166, Freesat – 120, Sky – 134*

—
Jacqui Emerson
Branches and Groups Liaison Officer
Richard III Society

PS S4C usually has English subtitles!

Some new Ricardian music

Hi

Just to let you know that the new Richard III cd by The Legendary Ten Seconds can be purchased via this website:-

http://www.lordzar.co.uk/LTS/part-with-your-monies.html

Anyone who purchases the album via this website prior to the end of December 2015 will also receive a free Christmas Ricardian special cd by The Legendary Ten Seconds.

Please could you share this information with your Ricardian friends to help me donate money to the scoliosis charity S.A.U.K.

Best wishes

Ian Churchward

A new play

Ian Dixon Potter sent me the following info about a play he has written about Richard and asked me to share it with members of the MAG:

I’m a member of the Richard III society and a playwright. I’ve written a new theatre play about Richard III which opens in London on December the 8th and I would be grateful if you could bring it to the attention of members of your branch.

‘Good King Richard’ is the culmination of many months of research going back to contemporary sources and presents a revised view of Richard III, the events which propelled him onto the throne of England and two years later, caused his downfall.

This play proposes answers to a number of historical questions: What happened to the ‘Princes in the Tower’? What was the cause of the sudden death of Edward IV at only 41? Why did he order the execution of his own brother George, The Duke of Clarence? What was at the root of his increasingly bitter estrangement from his wife Queen Elizabeth? Why did Lord Hastings and The Duke of Buckingham turn against Richard? And what was the source of the various negative rumours that were spread about Richard, including his deformity, his murder of the Princes and his intended incestuous marriage to his niece, Elizabeth of York.

What emerges is a tale of deceit, treachery and murder but not at the hand of Richard who emerges as a noble, just and honourable figure, a man of great intelligence and deep principle. The real villains of the piece are two women united in their determination to see the throne of England occupied by their sons, Edward V and Henry VII and entirely careless of how much innocent blood is spilled to that end.

Good King Richard will be performed at the White Bear Theatre in Kennington from 8th to 20th December. The times of the performances will appear on the theatre website a few weeks before the opening night. : http://whitebeartheatre.co.uk/