Something important happened on this very day many years ago…
Introduction Imagine losing the last piece of your empire in just eight days. On 20 January 1558, this nightmare became reality for England when French forces under Francis, Duke of Guise, captured Calais after a swift siege that shocked Europe. The fall of this strategic port city didn’t just mark the end of a 211-year … Read more
Introduction Imagine walking into your local parish church on a Sunday morning in 1549 and hearing the familiar words of worship spoken in English for the first time in over a thousand years. The Latin phrases that had echoed through stone arches since time immemorial were suddenly replaced with the vernacular tongue of ordinary English … Read more
Introduction In the flickering candlelight of Essex House on a cold January evening in 1601, one of England’s most celebrated war heroes was plotting the downfall of his own queen. Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, once the darling of Elizabeth I’s court and her rumoured favourite, had fallen so far from grace that he … Read more
When the Pope Declared War on England’s Queen: The 1570 Papal Bull That Changed Everything On a cold January day in 1570, a document that would reshape the religious landscape of England was secretly distributed throughout the realm. Pope Pius V’s papal bull Regnans in Excelsis didn’t merely criticise Queen Elizabeth I; it declared her … Read more
Introduction Picture this: on a crisp May morning in 1569, crowds gathered at the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, not for worship, but to witness the conclusion of England’s very first state lottery. The great lottery wheel had been turning since January, and now, after nearly four months of anticipation, the final draws … Read more
