Windsor Castle was a royal residence since it was first built by William the Conqueror shortly after his accession in 1066, and due to its age, has undergone many changes and renovations since it was first built. These were not only commissioned to maintain existing buildings, but various apartments, towers and precincts were built there from scratch from the early medieval period.

Take a walk around Windsor today and you'll notice that some of the Tudor rooms no longer survive as Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn would have known them. Work on the castle was undertaken by later Tudors, but more extensively by Charles II, who made adjustments to many of the older apartments to make a palatial Baroque-inspired home. Luckily though, some of the Tudor building accounts still survive, which can give us a glimpse into how Anne Boleyn would have lived as queen at Windsor in around 1533, at the height of her influence. 

Anne Boleyn was born in around 1500/1501, and was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn of Hever Castle, Kent. She spent some time in the French court as a young girl, learning royal manners and protocol. When she returned to England in her twenties, as a lady in waiting to the then Queen Katherine of Aragon, she immediately attracted Henry VIII's eye. He saw in Anne a chance to remove himself from his almost twenty-year marriage which had produced many pregnancies but only one living child, a daughter named Mary. Desperately looking to produce a son, he turned towards the younger Anne. Katherine and Henry's marriage, despite the queen's bitter protests, was annulled and Henry broke with Rome, bringing the spiritual health of the realm und his control, instead of the Pope's. Anne and Henry were married and Anne was crowned queen in June 1533, already pregnant with Henry's child. 

Windsor Castle (Jo Romero)

Interestingly, many of the castle's building accounts date to this year, which marked Anne's marriage to Henry, her anointing as queen, and her successful delivery of a daughter, Elizabeth. The previous year she had been at Windsor Castle to receive the title of Marquess of Pembroke, a move that brought Anne into the aristocracy in her own right and paved the way, in the rise in her social status, for marriage to the king.

When Anne was at Windsor she would have resided in  the old medieval lodgings built for the queen which were, up until recently, those of the now-divorced Katherine of Aragon. The queen's 'watching chamber', a reception room for Anne's guests on the first floor, had two chimneys, both of them repaired in June 1533. A 'great wyndow' was also repaired there in the same year, with another three windows referenced in the accounts books. There is another reference to decorators who daubed yellow and white paint on the 'stayers and galary ffrome the Kynges Chapell unto the Quenes Watchyng Chambre' in July 1533. There is also an entry for 'scouring' of a looking-glass 'in the roof of the Queen's Privy Chamber' that June, possibly reference to a skylight. The historian Sir William Henry St John Hope does mention that skylights appear elsewhere in these accounts and so did exist in the Tudor complex at Windsor.

rediAnne Boleyn, head and shoulders, in a roundel; below, a putto holding a torch downwards, Anne Boleyn's head and an axe. Engraving by J. Houbraken, 1738, after H. Holbein the younger. Wellcome Collection.  Source: Wellcome Collection.

Just north of her Privy Chamber, Anne had her own Great Chamber. She would have paused to look out of the grounds of the castle through the same bay window Elizabeth Woodville had gazed out of, built in 1479. Hope, in the early twentieth century, researched the location of Anne's chamber of estate and privy chamber at Windsor and believed they 'probably occupied the range towards the bailey between the watching chamber and the little turret on the west called La Rose'. I have looked at various maps of the castle and visited it often, but still can't place exactly where this would have been. If you do know, leave a comment below and I'll update the post.

Anne had more apartments in the castle, thought by Hope to have been 'contained in the first floor of King Henry VII’s building, and were approached from her dining chamber, through a narrow passage which formed her closet.' She also had access to her own stairs, today the Queen's Privy Stair', which led to the park. This is where she would have walked if she needed access to the Jewel house, which Hope stated was on the upper floor. 

Anne was newly crowned when glaziers set to work on new glass set in lead frames 'by the Closset', and commissioned a religious work too, the 'new settyng in lead the Image off saynt Peter'. In the same room, another 15 panes of glass were cleaned and repaired, all 'of imagery glass'. Anne's own bedchamber had a bay window which looked out towards the castle's bailey, and another bay window which was larger, facing north. From this room, Hope says that a doorway opened out into the armory, not full of swords and helmets but cupboards. More work on these windows was commissioned in June and July 1533. 

But even when Henry was dealing with state business, Anne wasn't alone at Windsor. There is evidence through these surviving accounts that her staff had lodgings on the ground floor, with family members also having chambers of their own near Anne. Her mother Elizabeth is mentioned, along with her sister Mary and sister-in-law Lady Rochford, married to Anne's brother George. Her uncle, James Boleyn and his wife also had their own chamber. The Lady Worcester is also mentioned as having a chamber near the queen's apartments. This was Elizabeth Somerset, Countess of Worcester, who would turn against Anne less than three years later and provide information to the king about her alleged treasonous activity. The accounts mention doorways, staircases and connecting rooms around Anne's own lodgings in the castle and it is likely that these saw many of the conspiracies and whispers that eventually brought the power of the queen crashing down in mid-1536. 

Anne's private apartments at Windsor then, according to the accounts of 1533 interpreted and built upon by Sir William Hope in 1913, offer a new look at how Anne might have lived when in residence at Windsor castle early in her reign. She would have reached her chambers via a stone staircase, the walls painted yellow and white. Her rooms were light and airy, with many windows, including large bay windows through which she could look out at the castle precincts. Other windows contained stained glass showing images of saints, including St Peter. There were chimneys and fireplaces to help keep her warm in the colder months, and she would have enjoyed the additions to the castle carried out by her father-in-law Henry VII in the 1490s and early 1500s. 

Tudor wills show that rooms were decorated in bright colours, often gilded and contained a wide range of textures. Anne's rooms would have been decorated in accordance of her rank as queen, with richly-worked tapestries, silk cushions and hangings around her bed for warmth and privacy. 

The Chapel of St George, where St George's Day celebrations and inductions into the Order of the Knight of the Garter were made, was a few minutes' walk from where she resided, and she would have visited the chapel and seen the suns and roses chiselled by stonemasons in Edward IV's reign. She may even have paused at the grave of Elizabeth Woodville, who had served as queen in similarly dangerous years. We also know that she was able to lodge members of her household and family near her, so they could provide advice, comfort and companionship in those early years as Henry's queen. 

Liked this? You might also like What Was Anne Boleyn Really Like?, Who Was Henry VIII's Favourite Wife? and Anne Boleyn's Tudor Apple Pie.

Did you know that Anne Boleyn had an influential female relative who was active during the Wars of the Roses? You can find out all about her and other forgotten women of the period in my book Forgotten Women of the Wars of the Roses published by Pen and Sword Books. It discusses many woman of the fifteenth century conflict that played parts we don't often hear about to day. You can Order your copy here.

Interested in Tudor history? You might also like my second book, Power Couples of the Tudor Era, published by Pen and Sword Books, which explores the contributions couples made to their own times as well as how they influenced our own. Order your copy here. 

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Source: Sir William Henry St John Hope, Windsor Castle: An Architectural History. Volume 1. 1913. via Getty Research Institute, archive.org.

We don't tend to think too much about the city of Kingston-Upon-Hull in East Yorkshire in discussions of the Wars of the Roses. But it was in a strategic place on the east coast of the north of England, and was certainly affected by some of its events. Before the official outbreak of the conflict, there are signs that Henry VI's government attempted to improve local organisation and order. On 24 August 1441 the nineteen-year old king sent a letter instructing the mayor and aldermen of Hull to collect taxation for his war in France. There were also restrictions on their personal lives. In the same year it was stated that during his term of office the mayor was not permitted to sell ale or wine in his house, presumably to promote a public image of modesty, and when he appeared in public had to have the city's sword carried before him. In addition, no aldermen were to keep alehouses or taverns and the mayor was to attend all church services and council meetings wearing his gown of state. 

The medieval church of St Mary's Lowgate, Photo by Robert Stirling on Unsplash

The timing of these changes is interesting, as from the 1440s there was already dissatisfaction among Henry's subjects over his pious and gentle rule. The case of Thomas Kerver in 1444 is one example, when he was heard to complain loudly about the king being a 'boy' in the precincts of Reading Abbey. Soon afterwards he faced an executioner who placed a rope around his neck, surviving only when a rider approached at the last minute with the king's pardon.

The Wars of the Roses had not yet begun - the first official battle accepted as the First Battle of St Albans in 1455. But dissatisfaction and dissension relating to Henry's rule had already begun. Perhaps these commands were made to attempt to preserve order in a realm that the council could see was beginning to fracture into civil war. 

Henry also divided Hull into six wards. Each was to be governed by two aldermen, all of them overseen by the mayor. Aldermen were given significant responsibilities, including trying and punishing crimes, and were commanded to live in the ward they watched over. Medieval Hull had bars and gates which separated each ward, which were named Humber Ward, Austin Ward, Trinity Ward, White Friar Ward, St Mary's Ward and North Ward. Importantly, the town looked out into the Humber Estuary, and Henry made sure to provide a charter allowing them to spend £100 each year to defend it, important both for lingering enemies but also from the strong winds and erosion of the coast. Unsurprisingly, Hull showed gratitude to their king during a visit there in September 1448. He stayed for around three days, and members of the public came out to see the young 26-year-old son of the famous Henry V pass through their streets. 

Hull would have witnessed the effect of the Wars of the Roses for itself in the summer of 1450, as a wagon with a coffin set upon it slowly bumbled towards the Charterhouse. It contained the mutilated body of the murdered William de la Pole Duke of Suffolk, who had lived in Hull when young. His ancestral home was Suffolk Place, which now no longer survives but was a palatial home in the centre of the town, built in the fourteenth century. William had made enemies as a key advisor to Henry VI, with him and his wife Alice Chaucer often accused of influencing the king to achieve their own ends. To try and pacify his angry nobles and his favourite minister Henry sent William overseas to exile, probably hoping to recall him when the heat around him had died down. Instead, William boarded a ship which was intercepted by his enemies, who subjected him to a mock trial and beheaded him on the sea. His body was left on the shore. Hull's townspeople would have seen for themselves how quickly in this period fame and fortune could turn to disaster and downfall. William requested in his will, written early that year, to be buried in the Charterhouse at Hull, with a monument to his memory.

Hull's residents are known to have fought in battle for the king once the Wars began. Its mayor, Richard Hanson, was killed in the Battle of Wakefield in West Yorkshire. This was also the battle responsible for the death of Hanson's key opponent in the fight, Richard Plantagenet Duke of York, who had challenged Henry to the throne. York's son, Edmund Earl of Rutland was also killed. Later, York's head would be set up on a spike on York's Mickelgate Bar.

In an effort to raise money for the Lancastrian war effort, it was said that Hull's residents took down the market cross which had been put up in around 1452. It was dismantled and sold for materials, but as it had been erected by funds provided by former (and now deceased) mayor Robert Holme, the worried residents made sure to observe his anniversary instead by praying in his memory, ringing the church bells and burning candles around his grave. 

In 1461 Henry lost the throne to the eldest son of the Duke of York, Edward IV, who continued his father's fight for the crown. On his accession he removed his father's head from York's city walls. The mid-nineteenth century historian of Yorkshire, James Joseph Sheahan, believed that although Hull showed allegiance to their new Yorkist king, they still retained real faith in Henry VI, who was now in hiding. In 1470 Edward was captured and Henry was once again proclaimed king. This was due to the efforts of Richard Neville Earl of Warwick, often called 'The Kingmaker', as whichever side he was on during the conflict, it tended to successfully seize royal power. Sheahan saw significance in Edward arriving on the coast of Ravenspurn in 1471 to secretly claim back his kingdom, not marching into Hull but from Beverley to York. It is likely, as he argued, that Edward knew he would be resisted in the Lancastrian-allied town.

Although Edward arrived back in England (with troops) initially claiming interest only in restoring his property and not the crown, he was encouraged to gain back his kingship. His soldiers met Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Barnet in April 1471, to a resounding victory, with Richard Neville earl of Warwick killed. With the Kingmaker out of the way, Edward marched to Tewkesbury to meet the forces of Queen Margaret of Anjou, defeating them and capturing Margaret and her ladies who were nearby. Finding prominent Lancastrian knights hiding and claiming sanctuary in Tewkesbury Abbey it was said he ordered them dragged out of the religious building and executed. Henry VI was quietly murdered in imprisonment, so it is said, while he was praying in the Tower of London soon afterwards.

But it was not just a war that could carry off residents of a late fifteenth-century town. Plague raged in Hull during the 1470s, with prominent townspeople such as the magistrate John Whitfield and the mayors John Richardson and Thomas Alcock among its victims. Thousands died, which would have added further heartbreak and adversity to the town's residents. The people of Hull seem to have lived fairly quietly during the rest of Edward's reign, until his death in April 1483.

On the accession of Richard III, the north of England took centre stage. Richard's base had been traditionally in the north, and among his properties was Middleham Castle in North Yorkshire. Many Yorkshiremen gained an advantage under Richard, who rewarded their previous loyalty by giving them grants and positions of power in the south. On 17 October 1483 a proclamation was read out in the town, declaring the Duke of Buckingham and his adherents traitors to the crown. Buckingham had devised an uprising in the south in an attempt to undermine or unseat Richard. Many of his supporters, after the failure of the plot and Buckingham's execution, fled overseas to join Henry Tudor in Brittany. Taking the properties and lands of traitors into the hands of the crown, Richard redistributed many of them to his northern lords, which caused some to grumble, according to the Croyland Chronicler. The writer reported that bitter complaints were made against the new power of Richard's northern supporters, 'whom he planted in every spot throughout his dominions, to the disgrace and lasting and loudly expressed sorrow of all the people in the south, who daily longed more and more for the hoped-for return of their ancient rulers'.

Despite Hull not seeing battle in its streets, like in St Albans, or fighting on its borders, it had a strong presence during the Wars of the Roses. Allied to Lancaster, it switched outwardly to York on Edward's succession, but celebrated on Henry's return in 1470. Its residents saw the aftermath of rebellion, and citizens taking the law into their own hands, during Henry VI's weak rule as William de la Pole's coffin was led solemnly along its streets. Soldiers, wives, daughters and others waited for the return of soldiers who did not come home, and tried to lead a community beset with plague and adversity. 

You might also enjoy The Kings of the Wars of the Roses, The Queens of the Wars of the Roses and the Warrior Women of the Wars of the Roses.

Liked this? You might also like my book Forgotten Women of the Wars of the Roses, which discusses forgotten stories of women's roles in the conflict, from those who took up arms to innkeepers, midwives and negotiators working in the undercurrent of national events.  Order your copy here. 

Source: 

Sheahan, James Joseph. History and Topography of the City of York, the East Riding of Yorkshire, and a portion of the West Riding. Beverley, 1857

There's this old money trend, and then there's 'olllddddd money', as in what it was like to live as a Tudor person in the sixteenth century. I've done my fair bit of poking around historic homes and digging through Tudor wills and inventories so I think I can help you out. If you're interested in exuding historic vibes and enjoying a bit of Tudor-inspired decor then look no further... 

Photo by Katie Puzatova on Unsplash

Opt for a variety of textures

Think leather and wool, tapestry and silk, wood and linens. Faux fur throws or blankets will add a bit of warmth and fluffiness, while a wooden floor would look perfect with a sheepskin rug. Tapestries added even more range, and could be woven to depict everyday scenes or those with themes of romance. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has a display of a number of early sixteenth century tapestries showing hunt scenes and a unicorn. Henry VIII once paid a fortune for tapestries showing Biblical legends. The weave and colour will also complement other textures in the room and add pops of colour. 

Get yourself a wall painting or two

Wall paintings were sometimes religiously-themed, especially pre-Reformation. In churches they sometimes painted scriptures on the wall, or further back to the medieval era more images of saints and Biblical scenes. But wall paintings served practical reasons too. Sometimes they were painted to look like tapestries or curtains on the wall, like in Ledbury. It was actually cheaper to pay someone to paint a wall with colour and repetitive patterns than it was to buy tapestries. There are similar paintings in The White Horse Hotel in Romsey, Hampshire. These were painted onto walls and made to look like carvings - one was in the shape of a Tudor rose, painted in browns, greys and whites to look as if it had been chiselled into the wood. If you do decide on a wall painting, I can help you with that. 

Go big on colour

Beds often were four-poster beds with curtains that could be drawn for privacy and warmth. They were hung with material in primary colours like blues, yellows and reds. A merchants house in Newcastle in the 1570s had black pillows, and green carpet. The medieval period was even more brightly-coloured. Aim for red, green, blue and yellow in various shades - Tudor decor wasn't like you see in the movies and period dramas, it was far brighter and much more colourful.

Show off some silver or gilt, but do it sparingly 

Families liked to show off a bit of bling to show that they were wealthy or influential locally. They might have had a display of silver in a cupboard to casually show guests. While we don't show off our silver plate today, we can evoke the Tudor equivalent by having a few goblets made with gold gilt, or a salt-cellar in silver. This was placed at the table next to the head of the household, and was sometimes beautifully carved or decorated. 

Keep your valuables in a wooden chest

Wooden chests were safe, sturdy and portable, and Tudors stored anything in them from money to documents to table linen. A couple of big wooden chests (extra points for metal or ironwork reinforcements at the hinges) will give you that Tudor look as well as store away valuables or household stuff. 

Go natural 

The sixteenth century pre-dates the use of polyester or nylon, so go natural. Sheepskins, linen, tapestry work, faux fur throws and wool are the way to go here. Wealthy Tudors also used silk in the their homes - Mr Jenison in Elizabethan Newcastle had a pair of silk curtains hanging up at a window. Opt for wooden furniture over modern flat-packed or plastic items, which will look lovely alongside these natural fabrics. Got some fresh foliage? Make up a wreath using rosemary, thyme, spruce or other plants from the garden and use it as a table centrepiece or hang it on your door. 

 Liked this? You might also like my book Forgotten Women of the Wars of the Roses, a look at the roles of women - royal and non-royal - during the conflict. Order your copy here at the Pen and Sword website.

Interested in Tudor history? You might also like my second book, Power Couples of the Tudor Era, published by Pen and Sword Books, which explores the contributions couples made to their own times as well as how they influenced our own. Order your copy here. 

Never want to miss a post? Subscribe to my newsletter here: 

 The village of Aldermaston is a few miles away from Reading in Berkshire on the A4 coaching road towards Bath. It has a medieval church and some beautiful old brick buildings, some of them with tall Tudor-style chimneys. One Saturday we decided to go for a drive and we popped into Aldermaston's oldest pub, The Hind's Head. 

The pub is said to date from the 1600s, and like many older establishments it looks fairly small from the outside but once you enter there's loads of room. There are lots of little nooks and areas you can sit, and on the walls there's memorabilia from Aldermaston's history. There are photographs, cricket collectibles and some drawings from the 1700s and 1800s showing different aspects of the life of a coaching village. It even received a mention in a book from 2002 named Strangest Pubs in Britain, although I think that was more to do with the unusual addition in the garden, which I'll come on to later. 

One really interesting part of the pub is called The Vault, a small closed-off area a bit like a tiny cellar, which dates to around 1645. It's used for larger dining groups of between 6-8 and you can book it specially. Outside near the garden is a small cell (probably why it ended up in the 'Strangest' book) which was used in the nineteenth century for someone who was drunk and disorderly but is now out of use. The current owner told us that a man in the mid-1800s who was placed in there one night, began a fire to keep himself warm and unfortunately accidentally set fire to himself along with the jail. That's a sad story so I'll move on to the lunch... 

We sat down and ordered our lunch - I had the fish and chips and my husband had the chicken supreme. Both meals were really lovely, the service was great and the staff were amazing. The menu has a lot of 'British classic' type dishes including steaks, a burger and some starters. My husband also had a pudding and ordered the chocolate brownie and ice cream which was one of the best brownies we'd had, a secret recipe created by the pub's owners. 

I've read some reviews online, but honestly I found the meal reasonably priced in consideration of the beautiful historic atmosphere and the quality of the food served. They also have rooms that you can stay in, and the table next to us had a dog who slept under the table while the family ate. The Hind's Head is really a quirky and interesting pub that just seems really well-run and put together, perfect for us history fans. They do a good roast Sunday lunch too, so I've been told. 

After lunch we decided to take a look at the local medieval church of St Mary's just outside the village (historic lunch and a church, what a day, right), but when I tried to open the door I found it locked. It was a nice stroll around the churchyard though, and I found an old eighteenth-century gravestone and some Norman carvings. Oh, and a giant gnarly yew tree which I reckon is probably as old as the church itself. 

Liked this? You might also like my book Forgotten Women of the Wars of the Roses, a look at the roles of women - royal and non-royal - during the conflict. Order your copy here at the Pen and Sword website.

Interested in Tudor history? You might also like my second book, Power Couples of the Tudor Era, published by Pen and Sword Books, which explores the contributions couples made to their own times as well as how they influenced our own. Order your copy here. 

Never want to miss a post? Subscribe to my newsletter here: