The Boleyn Cup

Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII. They married in secret on the 25th January 1533 at Whitehall Palace, after what had seemed a long and passionate (and somewhat drawn out) love affair. According to Edward Hall, the chronicler they had already married in secret previously on the 14th November 1532.

Anne Boleyn, Unknown Artist, NPG, 1533-1536

It is clear that Henry was besotted by her and this can be seen in some of the 17 surviving love letters that he sent to Anne. It is clear to see just how infatuated Henry was from the below letter written in his own hand (we know Henry was not a great fan of writing, and found it tedious) to her on the 21st July 1528:

"The approach of the time which has been delayed so long delights me so much that it seems almost already come. Nevertheless, the entire accomplishment cannot be till the two persons meet; which meeting is more desired on my part than anything in the world, for what joy can be so great as to have the company of her who is my most dear friend, knowing likewise that she does the same. Judge then what will that personage do whose absence has given me the greatest pain in my heart, which neither tongue nor writing can express, and nothing but that can remedy. Tell your father on my part that I beg him to abridge by two days the time appointed that he may be in court before the old term, or at least upon the day prefixed; otherwise I shall think he will not do the lover's turn as he said he would, nor answer my expectation. No more, for want of time. I hope soon to tell you by mouth the rest of the pains I have suffered in your absence. Written by the hand of the secretary, who hopes to be privately with you, &c."

We do not know if Anne was in love with Henry during their initial courtship or whether she was pushed forwards by her family for their advancement as some people have proposed etc. We do know that she managed to prolong his infatuation with her by stating that she would not become his mistress, only his wife and queen. It is believed that Anne took this approach as she had seen her sister Mary Boleyn become a mistress to both King Francis I of France and Henry VIII himself, with them both later discarding her. Also her upbringing in the Burgundian and French Courts under Margaret of Austria and Queen Claude of France provided her with a first hand account of how one's life could be destroyed by becoming a royal mistress.

Mary Boleyn

We know that the couple were fond of giving each other presents (especially on Henry's part). Even when they were married the King still gave Anne gifts, and vice versa. These gifts could be full of symbolism or contain heraldic arms or crests.

We know that a silver and gilt cup was made for Anne Boleyn in 1535 (a year before her execution on the 19th May 1536 at the Tower of London) with her crest on, what we do not is know who gave it to her (if anyone did), or if Henry had it made for her as a gift etc. I however personally believe it was a gift/love-token from Henry.

We do know that the cup survived Anne's legacy (nearly all traces of her existence were erased) and was passed onto her daughter the young princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I, queen of England), who in turn later gave it to her physician Richard Master when she was queen. It has always seemed somewhat alien to me that she would have done that, given the fact she kept the Chequers ring that experts think contains her mothers portrait - perhaps it was because she couldn't conceal this connection, and thought it best not to promote it? Who knows. Richard Master, then gave it to St John the Baptist's Parish Church in Cirencester, Gloucestershire where it has resided ever since.

A wall safe (with seven different locks) was provided for the cup (known as the Boleyn cup, because of it's connection with Anne Boleyn, and the fact it displays her crest) in 1968 where it was then put on permanent display to the public. It is said that when our current queen Elizabeth II visited the parish church, she exclaimed that she had the other cup at Windsor Castle. It seems Henry VIII had one made for himself too.

Boleyn Cup, Authors Image

Boleyn Cup, Authors Image 

Boleyn Cup, Authors Image

Boleyn Cup, Authors Image

Boleyn Cup, Authors Image 

Boleyn Cup, Authors Image

I am fortunate that the Boleyn cup resides in my local parish church, and that I can visit it whenever I like. I implore you to visit the church and the see the cup for yourself if you can. It is so beautiful, and intricate. If you are not able to do so, please enjoy the pictures.

Source

• https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/anne-boleyn-treasures-uncovered/ [accessed 20th September 2017]
• https://kateshrewsday.com/2013/02/06/the-other-boleyn-cup/ [accessed 20th September 2017]
• https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/25-january-1533-henry-viii-marries-anne-boleyn-whitehall/ [accessed 20th September 2017]
• http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol4/pp1980-1987 [accessed 20th September 2017]
• Cirencester Parish Church Information Poster [accessed 20th September 2017]
• http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw00142/Anne-Boleyn [accessed 20th September 2017]

Ultimate Tudor Dream Guest Blog: Lissa Bryan

I am super excited to introduce you all to my first guest writer on 'The Tudor Bucket List', author, blogger and fellow Tudor enthusiast Lissa Bryan. 

Lissa Bryan (Owned by Lissa)

She has written about Anne Boleyn previously in her blog (http://www.lissabryan.com), has published nine books altogether, they are: 'Ghostwriter', 'Dominion', 'Tales from the end', 'Under these restless skies', 'The golden arrow and the butterfly', 'The end of all things (1-3)', 'The land of the shadow', 'Shadows have gone' and 'The end of all things', (which can be purchased using the following link: https://www.amazon.com/Lissa-Bryan/e/B009N6CFTQ), and she is a regular contributor on The Tudor Society. Lissa Bryan will be sharing with us all what her ultimate tudor dream would be. So without further ado, over to Lissa...

The crypt below the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London is on my “bucket list.” I was at the Tower in 1999 and paid my respects to Anne at her marble marker, but I wasn’t aware at the time there was a “secret” crypt tourists rarely visit.

The door leading to it is off to the side of the chapel.

Photo of door to crypt: https://maryvictrix.com/2011/03/07/saints-martyrs-and-more/tomb-st-thomas/

The Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula is one that’s on the “bucket list” of many Anne Boleyn fans. It’s where she was laid to rest after her execution in 1536. Today, around the altar at the end of the tiny chapel is an elaborate marble pavement featuring the names of many who were laid to rest beneath its floor. Anne Boleyn may have been buried there, but she’s not there today.

By the Victorian era, the chapel had fallen into disrepair, and the floor was sinking so badly that some feared the chapel might actually collapse. Queen Victoria gave the order for the chapel to be repaired, including laying a new foundation. Knowing that this would disturb the graves of those who were buried there, she ordered that an attempt be made to identify the remains and that they be treated with the greatest respect.

How the chapel looked before restoration:  http://onthetudortrail.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/anne-boleyn-resting-gallery-300x200.jpg

This proved to be a greater undertaking than the restorers expected. Once they’d pried up the floor and began to dig, they discovered upwards of fifteen hundred burials within the small chapel. Over the years, the residents of the Tower and the surrounding neighbourhood had come to regard the chapel as a parish church, and so multitudes had been buried within its walls. When a new burial occurred, the bones of the grave’s previous occupant were shoved to the side, their coffins broken up, and the newly deceased person buried in that spot. The restorers feared that the graves had been “universally and repeatedly desecrated.”

When they reached the altar area, where many of the famous figures buried during the bloody reign of Henry VIII had been interred, they found a similar situation. In the spot where Anne Boleyn was supposed to rest, they discovered the lead casket of a woman who’d died in 1750. Nearby, a pile of bones lay, representing a partial skeleton of a woman between 25 and 30 years of age, matching Anne’s age if you agree with the 1507 birthdate. (Historian Allison Weir, who claims Anne was 35 when she died, believes they were the bones of Jane Parker, Anne’s sister-in-law.) 

A photo of the restoration work:  http://viewfinder.historicengland.org.uk/search/reference.aspx?uid=80863&index=144&mainQuery=Stepney&searchType=all&form=home

Other graves were discovered, including a tall female of advanced age — Countess Margaret Pole — and the bones the restorers identified as Jane Parker. Katheryn Howard was not located, but the restorers thought that the large quantities of lime in her grave explained why her bones hadn’t survived. Nor was George Boleyn, whose grave appears to have been moved, possibly to an area the restorers hadn’t excavated.

Outside the chapel, others had been buried. Four of the men executed with Anne Boleyn had been placed in two graves. Henry Norris shared his grave with Francis Weston, and Mark Smeaton shared his with William Brereton. Those bones were disinterred when the Waterloo Block was constructed after a fire in 1841. It wasn’t possible to individually identify those burials.

The bones were carefully placed in oak boxes that had name plates affixed to the top when the identity was known. The chapel restoration report says that they were re-buried in their approximate locations, but they were actually placed in a “secret” location to deter ghoulish souvenir hunters. That “secret” place was the crypt.

It was constructed after the 1841 fire when the new Waterloo Block was being built. It’s actually part of the old ordinance storage. Interior photos show it to be a vaulted brick room, Gothic in style, with whitewashed walls, and a stone floor.

This photo of the crypt was taken by the Ravenmaster at the Tower.

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13254618_1725853074298292_3720656999056903684_n.jpg?oh=666878880c4fc5052a9e6c0abab48729&oe=5A1B3713

 Lead plaques on the wall identify the people interred within each niche.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Crypt of St Peter ad Vincula. <a href="http://t.co/hHO9MG7LyE">pic.twitter.com/hHO9MG7LyE</a></p>&mdash; Caroline Webb (@CaroLetters) <a href="https://twitter.com/CaroLetters/status/566524144050003969">February 14, 2015</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

A cenotaph tomb dedicated to Thomas More is also located there.

http://frcoulter.com/pics/london/tower/IM003258.jpg

A plaque installed after the chapel’s restoration notes that the remains were placed here.

https://www.historyofroyalwomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Anneboleyn11-550x410.jpg

Anne is no longer in the “great obscurity” Henry wished would obscure her memory forever, and her name is recorded with her rightful title of “queen” on her marker. Thousands of visitors pay their respects at her original grave site every year. But it would be especially wonderful to be able to do so near the place she really rests.

Thank you Lissa, what a great article! I can see why you would want to visit the crypt so much, to be so close to the remains of Anne Boleyn would be a truly remarkable experience.

The Start of Something New...

Hello Everyone!

My name is Rachel McNeil and I have been nutty about the Tudors since the summer of 2010 (admit it you hoped I was going to say 69 then), when I first caught an episode of the Tudors on TV. Anne Boleyn was so charismatic and mesmerising to me back then, I just had to know more about her, and all the other people within Henry VIII's court. This in turn led me to pick up my first Tudor book on Henry's wives, and well as they say the rest is history.

I dabbled at almost everything Tudor related. I attended author talks and book signings, collected books, went on educational courses, dressed as a Tudor, tried my hand at creating Tudor clothing, gave talks/presentations and I ran a Tudor Facebook page called 'The Tudor Diaries' with over 8,000 followers (I still run it to this day).

During this time though I have had some amazing experiences, made some great friends, and have been fortunate enough to have achieved my ultimate dream (I will talk about this in another post - I would make yourself comfortable for that one, I imagine it will be quite a long post), which is something I never thought that I would have been able to achieve.

Now I admit, I have been pretty useless over the last year and a bit in relation to my Tudor escapades, in between saving for a house with my fiance, completing a CIPD course in HR, and completing my ultimate dream, my mojo was a little lost. I knew in my heart I still liked the Tudor period, but what was there left to do having completed my ultimate dream? I pondered on this a good while.

Well, you see I am a massive believer in having a bucket list, because life is short, and you never know when the grim reaper might be coming for you. I knew that I wanted a full life, and then it dawned on me... Yes, I have completed my ultimate dream, but if I died tomorrow would I die happy knowing that there were still Tudor related sites I could have visited, authors I could have met, or original documents I could have seen. No, I don't think I would!

And so my Tudor Bucket List was born!

I sat down and wrote everything I wanted/still wished to do. Like a normal bucket list it will expand and decrease, as I complete things, or think of new things I would like to complete, but it is all Tudor related. This blog will be my pledge to both you and I of what I wish to do, and it will be my journal/diary of everything I have experienced on this journey/path.

I hope you enjoy this blog, and my journey...

Let me know what your ultimate Tudor dream would be in the comments below. I would love to hear them.