God’s House: Part I

William and Alice de la Pole’s Foundation at Ewelme[i] – Family Background and Ewelme Manor

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Ewelme and its St Mary’s Church with the adjacent almshouse and school.  This was an experience which has resonated with me since that day.  It was an opportunity to come close to “normal” medieval people, not just the high-status people.

Ewelme is a village approx. 25 km south east of Oxford.  Its name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon “æwelme”, meaning a fresh spring, which refers to the stream which still runs through the village.

580 years ago, on 3 July 1437, William and Alice de la Pole, the Earl and Countess of Suffolk. received a royal licence to found an almshouse supporting a community of two priests and thirteen poor men, which was to be called God’s House.  The priests and poor men were to pray for the King, and the Earl and Countess during their lives and later for their souls, as well as the parents and friends and benefactors of the Earl and Countess.

Forgotten archbishops everywhere

Five archbishops found at St Mary-at-Lambeth

In my last post, I looked at the fate of an archbishop of Cologne, whose forgotten remains had recently been re-found in Bonn Minster.  I thought that losing one archbishop was maybe a tad careless.  However, one archbishop seems irrelevant compared to five.  It was recently revealed that the authorities at Lambeth Palace had managed to do the same with five archbishops.

The Liberei in Braunschweig

a medieval library ahead of its time

Braunschweig in approx. 1550 (Public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The Liberei in Braunschweig is a unique medieval building:  1. It was the first free-standing library building in Europe north of the Alps.  2. It was the southern-most example of Backsteingotik. 3. It was one of the first public libraries in Germany.  4. It was a famous centre for research.  Quite remarkable for a building of just 5 by 5 metres.

Hatfield before Hatfield House, Part 4

Hatfield before Hatfield House –

the 15^th century ‘Old Palace’

In this final part of Hatfield before Hatfield House, we look at the last medieval manor at Hatfield, and the only one of which a part is still standing.[i]

In 1478, a new bishop of Ely was appointed:  John Morton. Morton was a dedicated supporter of the Lancastrians and would be on very good terms with Henry VII, though considerably less so with Richard III.  However, he is not only remembered for political mischief, but also as one of the great builders of his age.  Soon after being elevated to the bishopric of Ely, he set about rebuilding the manor at Hatfield, as well as Wisbech Castle, which also belonged to the Diocese of Ely.  Another project was a great dyke, which was cut through the fens from Peterborough to Wisbech, and is considered a pioneer effort in drainage.  In 1486, a grateful Henry VII had him translated to the see of Canterbury, where he completed the Angel steeple on the cathedral and further buildings of the archdiocese, as for example the gatehouse of Lambeth Palace (also built of brick).[ii]