Side aisle, Tewkesbury Abbey - a photo on Flickriver

            Tewkesbury Visit, May 2022
For the first time in over two years I have been taking a few photos, having spent most of my time reading more than a few books, which I have enjoyed. But the Covid numbers continue to decline,  at least for the time being, so me and a few old mates have been taking advantage, even if our movement is obviously slower. 
“Howard and Peter and Alan (and a few old friends) visited Tewkesbury recently. Tewkesbury is one of several south and west Midland towns which are now peaceful, but in times past have been battle grounds in a series of civil wars. We had already visited Evesham, scene of Simon de Montfort’s last stand in the Second Barons’ war in 1265, earlier in the year. Now we moved onto the site of a decisive battle in the Wars of the Roses, where the Yorkists heavily defeated the Lancastrians in 1471.
The battle of Tewkesbury came at the end of a decade or more or diplomatic and military manoeuvrings. The Lancastrian heir to the throne, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, and many prominent Lancastrian nobles were killed during the battle or executed afterwards. The Lancastrian King Henry VI , who was a prisoner in the Tower of London,  also died or was murdered following the battle. Tewkesbury restored political stability to England until the death of Edward IV in 1483. Not a long period, some might think.
After the battle the Lancastrian Nobles had sought sanctuary in the Abbey, but they were dragged outside and summarily tried and executed – some say on the orders of the Duke of Gloucester, who later became Richard III, who was just 18 years of age at the time. There is speculation that older heads may  have taken the crucial decisions.
It was a savage affair - there is a pasture south of Tewkesbury where it is claimed many Lancastrian soldiers were cut down as they tried to escape across the River Severn, and it to this day known on maps as the Bloody Meadow. 
What had taken place was essentially a family row in a powerful pan European family known as the Plantagenets, who came originally from Anjou in France and controlled the throne of England from 1154 until the death of Richard III in 1485.
The early period of Plantagenet rule had seen certain gains, however – notably the limitation of the power of the monarchy following Magna Carta in 1215 and the establishment of English as the primary language
On this visit we concentrated our photographic efforts around the handsome Abbey, after sampling its fine tea room known as the Touching Souls Café, which we can recommend.”

   

Taken on: May 9, 2022

Tags:

Gloucestershire

Tewkesbury

Church

Interior

Architecture

West

Midlands

Wars

Roses « less

Groups appears in: • UK Flickr users • Church Interiors more » • Gloucestershire • UK Photography Club • Churches and Cathedrals of the British Isles • Church Photography • Tewkesbury • "U.K. Photo Gallery" ( All Welcome ) « less

Camera: Canon EOS 650D, f/5.6, 1/60 sec, 18mm, ISO 1600 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 650D
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	18mm
ISO:	1600
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto bracket
Metering Mode:	Spot
White Balance:	Manual
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Photomatix Essentials 4.2.2 (64-bit)
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