2016 An "Important" Year?

History Blogs of the future will no doubt make many references to a remarkable (if troubling year). It saw events which felt like massive earthquakes - the British Referendum, which led to a win for the forces seeking withdrawal from the European Union. In November, the shock winner was Donald Trump. Both the UK and US seem destined to be one-party states, at least until the next elections and perhaps for longer. Referenda brought down two European Prime Ministers, and a French President declined to seek a second term.





As this year comes to an end, the questions we need to be asking, are whether these were shooting stars - which may give rise to comments in future history Blogs - or whether they are signs of a seismic shift in world affairs.

But for this history blog, it is too early to be rushing to conclusions. (You might want to visit two of my other blogs - Washminster and jdm_progressive - for tentative conclusions and analysis.

This blog looks further back. During 2016 I had the opportunity to visit some very interesting places, take photographs, and research some of the history associated with them. In 2017 it is my aim to post about these visits and that research. I'm also intending to make further visits. During my pre-Christmas holiday in Rutland, I reviewed Milton Keynes history (which despite its 50th anniversary history in 2017, has a history going back to the Stone Age). I've also been reading up, amongst other things, about Alfred the Great, William the Conqueror and Shakespeare.

I hope you will become a frequent visitor to this blog in 2017. For now, I wish you a happy and prosperous New Year.

The Wonderful Parliament

I just had to share this from te History of Parliament Online website - very relevant 630 years later - as some American's speculate upon whether Donald Trump may end up facing impeachment during his term of office, and the assertion of Royal Prerogative angers MPs and the courts -

The Wonderful Parliament of 1386 (‘Mirabile Parliamentum’, so-called by another writer of the period, Thomas Favent)4 witnessed the most important political crisis in the reign of Richard II thus far, which, in constitutional as well as political significance, even surpassed that of 1376. For, during the session, not only was the King insolently threatened with deposition if he persisted in absenting himself from Parliament, but also the chancellor (Michael de la Pole, earl of Suffolk) was forcibly removed from office, impeached by the Commons and condemned by the Lords.5 Moreover, a parliamentary commission was also established, which, as formally authorized by statute, assumed responsibility for the royal administration, and for the period of its appointment (finally limited to twelve months), effectively governed the kingdom. William Stubbs was right in saying that with this Parliament ‘the clearer and more dramatic action of the reign begins’.6 Indeed, its momentous constitutional as well as political consequences were soon revealed: witness Richard II’s hostile reactions in 1387 to what had been done in defiance of his royal prerogative, and the savage counter-reaction of his opponents among the Lords and Commons in 1388, who inflicted dire punishments upon his most prominent supporters at Court, following the appeals of high treason and impeachments of the Merciless Parliament (called the ‘Parliamentum sine misericordia’, by Henry Knighton).

Billy Fury

The picture on the top left hand side comes from an album I once owned - which was released for the 15th anniversary of the death of Eddie Cochran. [The Very Best of Eddie Cochran - 15th Anniversary Album - United Artists - UK]

It's a very special photo for me - since it was taken on the day I was born. One of the group was Billy Fury. His last public performance was at the Sunnyside Pub, opposite Northampton University, where I worked for many years. I enjoy the music of Billy Fury - and I have his "30 Greatest Hits" album on my iPhone.

Last week I was in Liverpool and found his statue close to the Mersey and between the Royal Liver Building (which I remember from the opening sequences of the Liver Birds) and the Liverpool Museum.



There's an article about him at http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/exhibitions/liverpoollives/billy_fury.aspx

and you can listen to "Halfway to Paradise" at https://youtu.be/9MTXBQp5OgI

The House of Wessex

There is little mystery about the name "Wessex" - it designated the western area on the British mainland where the saxons settled. (Essex - East Saxons; Sussex - South Saxons - and guess where the Middle Saxons were to be found?).

The Saxons began to arrive in the fourth century AD. After Roman government had broken down in Britannia, the country split into tribal area, each with their own chief, or King.


As the other kingdoms of England fell into decline, the Kings of Wessex became recognised as the Kings of England. One of the most well known is Alfred the Great - of whom I intend to post further. Also, towards the end of the line - is Edward the Confessor (English King from 1042 to 1066). His mother, Emma of Normandy, is a fascinating character in her own right. Edgar the Atheling was chosen by the Witenagemot as the successor to Harold, killed at Hastings. He never gained control of the kingdom - and is reputed to have been one of the people who met William at Berkhamsted, to make the final surrender.

Winchester was the capital of the kingdom of Wessex - and a palace existed there. Many of these kings and their Queens (Emma of Normandy included - and her other husband, King Canute) were buried in the Old Minister. Their bones were reinterred in the current cathedral.

Roman Winchester

The area around Winchester was occupied for many centuries - but the first city grew with the arrival of the Romans. The local tribe were the "Belgae" a celtic tribe from the area we know today as Belgium. The word "Venta" was often given to settlements which arose primarily as market places serving the surrounding area. ( for example Venta Icenorum is Caistor, near Norwich - the market town of the Iceni tribe; Venta Silurum is modern Caerwent). The modern name of the city is Winchester - from Venta (Win) and chester - a name often given to fortified roman places.

The River Itchen (which meets the sea at Southampton) flowed through the centre of the site of the Roman town, but was diverted outside the roman wall. While most of the Roman city is not visible to visitors, roman remains have been discovered across the current city centre and in some peoples' basements. The current High Street follows the original main street of the Roman city. The walls, built in the 3rd century, formed the boundary for the later city, and roman remains can be seen in the existing walls.

Winchester

Last week, I spent a few days in Winchester - a beautiful city which almost overflows with history. It was a Roman town (Venta Belgarum); the capital of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex - forever associated with the only English King to be known as "the Great" (Alfred) and St Swithun - and I was there on St Swithun's Day - and sadly, it did rain. (The story is that if it rains on St Swithun's Day, it will rain for a further forty days and forty nights!). William the Conqueror built a palace there - and  a Castle was built that dominated the city in the medieval period. The only remaining building of the castle has on its wall - the so-called Round Table of King Arthur. Modern tests have proved that it is of medieval construction  to celebrate the legend of King Arthur. The Cathedral is the longest in Europe, and stands next to the site of the original cathedral in which the Kings of Wessex and England were buried. There bones are now in the current cathedral - as is the burial place of Jane Austin.
 
Over coming days, I'll be posting about the different phases of the city's history.

For information on visiting Winchester - http://www.visitwinchester.co.uk

240 years ago

A happy Independence Day to all our friends from the USA. To celebrate the day the text of the Declaration is set out below - it's always worth reading and reflecting on - because it is founded on so many important ideas - which remain important today.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. 
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. 
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: 
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. 
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. 
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Be a part of British history TODAY

The polls are open today (Thursday 23rd June) from 7.00am until 10pm. 

Do use your vote in what must be the most important decision the British people have had to take for decades.

If you have any problems - The officials at the polling station (who are independent of either campaign) can advise you.

Where is my designated polling station? 

You can find the address of your polling station on your polling card. You can only vote at your designated polling station.  If you can not find your polling card you can contact us and we will be able to provide that information. You do not need your polling card with you to vote because your name will be on the register at the polling station.

How do I vote at the polling station? 

If you are on the register of electors you should have received a poll card a few weeks before an election. This will tell you how, where and when to vote.

This card is for information only so don't worry if you lose it or forget it. (You can still vote without the poll card but it is easier if you have it with you).

You will be assigned to a polling station in your area, for example, at a school or village hall. On election day you should go to the polling station during the times it is open - this will be stated on your polling card.

At the polling station you will be given a ballot paper which is stamped with an official mark.

Take the ballot paper to one of the polling booths and put a cross in the box next to the option you are voting for. Do not write anything else on the ballot paper, otherwise your vote might not count. Once you have voted you must fold the ballot paper and show it to the clerk before you put it in the locked ballot box. You don't have to tell anyone what you voted for.

Do I need to take my polling card to the polling station to vote? 

No, you do not need your polling card to vote. This card is for information only so don't worry if you lose it or forget it. (You can still vote without the poll card but it is easier if you have it with you).

How long will polling stations be open on 23 June 

Polling stations will open at 7am and close at 10pm, if you are still queuing at the polling station at 10pm you will still have the opportunity vote, you will be invited into the polling station or given a ticket that will identify you as being eligible to cast your vote. Find out more information about polling stations on the gov.uk website

Can I still register to vote for the EU Referendum?

No, it is now too late to register for the EU Referendum. If you have registered to vote for any other election at your current address then you will automatically be registered to vote for this referendum. You cannot check if you are registered to vote online. If you have a polling card in your name at your address then you are registered to vote.

Oxford - brimming with 'history'

Last weekend was spent in Oxford. Although I spent a lot of time in coffee shops, I was working (amongst other things, planning for some of the series I will be running on JDM's History Explorer); and I attended a couple of meetings about US Law and History - I did spend some time exploring the great history that is to be found in the city.

One of the oldest remaining buildings is pictured above. St Michael at North Gate is now part of the very busy shopping street, we now know as Cornmarket Street. It's name derives from the fact that it stands adjacent to the site of Oxford's original North Gate. It was built in the first half of the Eleventh Century, the tower dating from 26 years prior to the Norman conquest - and it has distinctive Saxon features.

It's well worth a visit - and more details of the church, its tower and the rest of its historic heritage can be found on the church's website.

Le Château des Ravalet

On my recent visit to Cherbourg, I made a short trip to the beautiful château pictured above. It has some wonderful gardens and a great tearoom. It's worth a visit - especially at this time of year - just to enjoy these gardens which were laid out by René Clérel de Tocqueville. If the name sounds familiar - it is because he was the  nephew of Alexis de Tocqueville - who wrote "Democracy in America". It was Alexis' father who bought the château (and began to restore the manor house).

The château is also famous for other reasons. At the end of the sixteenth century the manor was lived in by the Raval family which included eleven children. Two of them were very close, Julien (b 1582) and Marguerite (b 1586) - to the extent that their parents separated them, and married off Marguerite to a thirty year old, when she was just fourteen. It was an unhappy marriage and she fled to her brothers home near Paris (he was 21 by this time). Her father had the two arrested and they were tried for adultery and incest. They were both executed on 2nd December 1603.

There was also a murder at the château. In 1661 Charles de Franquetot was killed by five masked men, two of whom were his valets.

Today the Château is owned by the town of Cherbourg. The (French language) website can be found at http://www.ville-cherbourg.fr/themes/culture/patrimoine/le-chateau-des-ravalet/ 

Brittany Ferries also has a brief description on its website - http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/guides/france/normandy/cherbourg/attractions/chateau-des-ravalet 

Portsmouth

Last week I went on a short "holiday" to Cherbourg (more of that in posts to come) - but in order to catch the early morning ferry (I live in Milton Keynes which is 120 miles from the ferry port), I had to go down the day before to Portsmouth. In fact, I've visited Portsmouth many times in recent weeks.

While I'm in the city, I enjoy exploring the history, of which it has so much. For many centuries it was the major centre of Britain's naval defences. The dockyard houses Nelson's flagship, the Victory, on which he died at the Battle of Trafalgar; the Mary Rose from the Tudor period - and so much more. I haven't visited on any of my recent visits - but I hope to soon.

The defences for the city itself are worth a visit. From just south of Gunwharf Quays (and the Spinnaker Tower - pictured above) the walls can still be walked around. That is pleasant in itself, but there are also interpretation boards which tell the visitor more about the history. Southsea castle is also worth a visit.

During our visit we bought some of the "Portsmouth Papers" which are short booklets about various aspects of Portsmouth's history. I'll be writing pieces based on some of them, once I've read them!

We also visited the birthplace of Charles Dickens, which I also indeed to write about in coming posts.

So - keep an eye on this blog - and together we can explore Portsmouth (and other places)

Milton Keynes History

Does Milton Keynes have any history? The general impression of Britain's newest city is that its "history" only covers the last 50 years. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. As well as making an excellent base for discovering key sites in British History (fast rail link to London - and the slower trains stop at Berkhamsted : almost the mid-point between Oxford and Cambridge ; Close to Buckingham and Aylesbury) - MK has plenty to see within its boundaries.

Now known across the world - Milton Keynes is where Bletchley Park is to be found. Perhaps you've seen the film "The Imitation Game"? Some of it was filmed there - but if you visit you can see Alan Turing's office - and the mansion itself.



The Roman road which we now know as "Watling Street" runs through the city. In fact it runs at the end of Furzton - and through the town of Stony Stratford. There are the remains of a large Roman villa in the estate of Bancroft (which I love visiting) - not very far from the concrete cows. Other villas have been unearthed as archaeologists gained the opportunity to discover the city's ancient history before the developments went ahead. I live just yards from an iron age settlement and bronze age; iron age; Roman; and medieval remains have been uncovered across the city.

When Edward IV died, the crown was inherited by his young son. It was in Stony Stratford that he was met by his uncle, who was to become Richard III, and taken into "protective custody". A sign on a house commemorates where
 they met. Stony itself is full of historic buildings.

The area played a key role in the transport history of England - and as well as a Roman road; there is the canal and the railway. Wolverton works was an important place for building and repairing railway stock.

The villages that sat in the countryside which was used for the new city remain - though are hidden from the hidden roads. Loughton; Milton Keynes (the original village); Shenley Brook End and Shenley Church are just some of the delights to be discovered.

Newport Pagnell played an important role in the English Civil War of the Seventeenth Century.

Over this summer I will be revisiting many of these places - and along with book research - will have lots of materials to post on this blog.

Joan of Arc

Over the weekend I watched the silent classic "The Passion of Joan of Arc". It is currently available on the BFI player at https://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-the-passion-of-joan-of-arc-1927/. It is regarded as one of the greatest films of the silent era - and relies purely on the gestures and facial expressions to convey the feelings of the characters. It is very powerful. It was based on the transcript of the trial of Joan of Arc, held in Rouen in 1431.

This prompted me to read Helen Castor's excellent book about this incredible character from medieval history. I've almost finished the book, and will probably post some pieces about her life, and the places associated with her. I've made many visits to Poitiers, where she was sent to be questioned after turning up to tell the Dauphin that she had been sent by God to restore him to the French throne and throw the English out of France. Chiron is one of my favourite towns in the world - it is where Joan first met the Dauphin (and has many other important historical connections).

American History in the comfort of your home (or on headphones at the coffee shop)

I have a professional interest in C-SPAN, as a researcher into the US Congress. But that network is not just about live broadcasts of proceedings in the House of Representatives and Senate. When Congress isn't sitting C-SPAN still broadcasts - and much of their output concerns history. In bed this morning - using the C-SPAN App on my iPad, I enjoyed "Unrest and Reform in the Gilded Age".

This app (which I have on both my iPhone and iPad) is called "C-SPAN Radio". Despite its name - the app allows you to listen to the live audio feeds from C-SPAN Radio: C-SPAN 1: C-SPAN 2: and C-SPAN 3. You can also look at the day's schedules. You can also chose podcasts of programmes already aired.

On C-SPAN2 and C-SPAN3 there are programmes at the weekend which go into greater detail about books or focus on history. There are a couple of websites which tell you more (and feature previous broadcasts)

Book TV

American History TV

Welcome to JDM's History Explorer

This week I am relaunching four of my blogs (strictly speaking three - a new one joins the family tomorrow). If you are a former reader of JDM's History Explorer - welcome back. If this is your first visit - a very warm welcome.

History has always interested me. As a child living in the English West Midlands, two of the delights of visiting my grandparents in South Wales were to stop at Raglan Castle on the way down, and Carreg Cennen Castle when we arrived. Local history always attracted - so I read a lot about the places I have lived in: Aldridge; Sheffield; Northampton; Rugby and now Milton Keynes.

A few weeks after we arrived in Britain's newest city, an American friend visited - and told me that while they were thrilled that we clearly enjoyed the delights of MK, for an American it was a disappointment. Old English towns and cities were great, but "Milton Keynes has no history". It was like a red rag to a bull - and in the last seven years I've spent a lot of my spare time finding out about the history of the area covered by MK. One of the advantages of a new-build city is that the archaeologists went in first - and excavated the areas before the builders moved in. As a result there is a wealth of information about the city's ancient past. I live only yards from an iron age settlement - and the Roman Watling Street runs at the eastern end of Furzton, the estate in which I live.

In my spare time, I love to visit historic sites - last week I visited both Waddesdon Manor (near Aylesbury) and the Tower of London. Reading about people, places and events in history is a delight for me.

JDM's History Explorer will share that with you. I will regularly include hyperlinks to web sites about the topics being discussed (just click on the highlighted words). I have also been building up a library of photos and information. My aim is to entertain and inform you.

Do send your comments and suggestions to jdavidmorgan@googlemail.com

Are you ready?

JDM's History Explorer has seen the occasional post in the past - (do scroll through and see what has already been published)

but it is about to undergo a revival and professional overhaul!

Do return to this blog on Tuesday 26th April


See you soon

David