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The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536
The Pilgrimage of Grace in October 1536 was one of the most dangerous rebellions of Henry VIII’s reign, when over 40,000 men marched on Doncaster. What made this rebellion so dangerous was that the local gentry and JPs, men who should have crushed the first risings and maintained the peace, instead joined with the yeomen…
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Robin Hood and the Huntington Connection
The tale of Robin Hood never fails to intrigue and the historical puzzle is a knotty one. There have been many attempts to unravel the conundrum and identify a person who could be THE Robin Hood. There are some very good overviews of the legend, for instance, the University of Rochester’s exhibition Robin Hood: Development of a Popular Hero…
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The WR Mitchell Archive
In 2013 I had the great pleasure of re-visiting the WR Mitchell Archive, in its homeland of Settle, North Yorkshire, sharing a selection of the digitised recordings with members of the local community. The WR Mitchell Archive was collected by Bill Mitchell, formerly editor of the The Dalesman magazine, as he travelled up hill and down…
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Representing the Past: York’s Guildhall
An interesting discussion took place the other week in one of my Day Schools at York University “Building the Guildhall”. The discussion focused on the Guildhall’s East Window, which depicts 10 individuals selected to illustrate the history of the city of York, and why these particular people, or “Worthies of York” were chosen. The Guildhall in York was extensively damaged in…
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