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| visiting around and about, wandering here and there... |
One of the reasons why I decided to 'throw open' my blog to other authors was because I wanted to hear about different places - and today we start my 'Wednesday' series with somewhere I've not heard of before - so a huge 'tick box' for already achieving my goal!
Discovering Lamphey Palace in Tudor Wales
One of the surprise discoveries made during the research for my new book, ESSEX – Tudor Rebel, was that he spent his formative years at Lamphey Palace, just twenty minutes from where I live in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Originally home to the medieval bishops of St David’s, Lamphey Palace was built by Henry de Gower, who was bishop of St David’s from 1328 to 1347. Some thirty miles from St David’s Cathedral, the bishops used Lamphey as a country retreat, and within the walls were a grand great hall, fishponds, fruit orchards, gardens and a 144-acre deer park.
The western Old Hall and undercroft date to the early thirteenth century, with other buildings constructed throughout the late thirteenth and early fourteenth century, with later alterations.
In the woods on the western edge of the palace are the earthworks of four fish breeding ponds, and between this and the walled eastern court are the remains of a series of substantial fish holding ponds.
For me, the most interesting residents of Lamphey Palace were the early Tudors. The mysterious Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, and father of King Henry VII, used the palace as his base in Wales.
On 1st November 1455, the 26-year-old Edmund Tudor married the twelve-year-old wealthy heiress Lady Margaret Beaufort at Lamphey Palace. It was said she wore a wedding gown embroidered with seed pearls in the shapes of daisies.
Edmund knew he could only secure his young wife’s vast inheritance once their marriage was consummated, so it is possible that his Palace at Lamphey was where the future King Henry VII was conceived.
I found it easy to imagine the teenage Lady Margaret walking in the shaded palace gardens. A devout Catholic, she would have appreciated the opulence of the bishop's chapel, with its vivid wall paintings and statues of saints. Even by Tudor standards she was young to be carrying a child, and her slight build meant the delivery would be a dangerous time for her and her baby.
Earl Edmund never saw his son, as he was captured and imprisoned at nearby Carmarthen Castle. After his untimely death (murder?) he was buried in the Greyfriars Priory and his tomb was moved to St David’s Cathedral by his grandson, King Henry VIII, during the dissolution.
Lamphey Palace became the home of another Tudor noble family, the earls of Essex, through the ill-fated Sir Walter Devereux, first Earl of Essex, and the first husband of Lettice Knollys. Sir Walter’s son, Sir Robert Devereux, was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, yet, as I explore in my new book, he led a ‘rebellion’ against her.
During World War II, Lamphey served as a barracks for American servicemen as they prepared for the Normandy Landings. Today the ruins are a scheduled ancient monument which secured Grade I Listed building status in 1970. Surrounded by countryside, well-tended lawns the site has free parking and admission, with a small visitor centre run by CADW, the Welsh Government's historic environment service.
© Tony Riches
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09246T7ZT
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09246T7ZT
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09246T7ZT
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09246T7ZT
Author Bio
Tony Riches is a full-time UK author Tudor historical fiction. He lives with his wife in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and is a specialist in the lives of the early Tudors. As well as his new Elizabethan series, Tony’s historical fiction novels include the best-selling Tudor trilogy and his Brandon trilogy, (about Charles Brandon and his wives). For more information about Tony’s books please visit his website tonyriches.com and his blog, The Writing Desk and find him on Facebook and Twitter @tonyriches
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