A key element of the Henry on Tour project’s Legacy theme is the exploration of sites that Henry VIII visited during his royal progresses. What preparations were necessary? What was it like when Henry arrived? What, and who, could we expect to see during these occasions? These are questions closely tied to our other research themes of Logistics, Performance and Kingship/Queenship, but the Legacy theme outputs draw this research together to create resources that can help everyone understand what phenomenal feats of organisation – and displays of power – the progresses were.
The project has been working on two digital visualisations that show different progress situations. One examines St Mary’s Abbey and the King’s Manor in York, a recently-decommissioned monastery site in the urban context of York (more to follow on this shortly). The other focuses on Lyddington, a small village in Rutland – explored here.
The context
Both visualisations are set in 1541 during the only major northern progress of Henry’s reign. During this four-month journey to York and back, Henry and his entourage – which likely numbered between 4000-5000 individuals – stopped at over 30 locations. The organisation of logistics, food and lodging was understandably monumental.
1541 was a time of major political and religious upheaval. The recent Dissolution of the Monasteries and the increasing suppression of the Catholic church across the realm in favour of Henry’s Church of England, of which he had made himself head in 1531, was met with resistance in many quarters. York was to be the venue for a much-anticipated meeting between Henry VIII and James V of Scotland, where discussions over Scotland’s continued ties to Catholicism would take place.
Events in Henry’s personal life had also not stood still. Only a year before in 1540 his marriage to Anne of Cleves had been annulled and he’d married Catherine Howard - a bride 32 years his junior. However, after less than two years of marriage she would be beheaded on grounds of adultery.
Setting the scene
It is unclear in what way these pressures were evident when the royal progress passed through Lyddington, although the seismic nature of England’s religious shift was undoubtedly felt throughout the land. However, this is not the narrative chosen for the Lyddington visualisation. Instead, our focus has been the scale of progress itself and what that would mean for a small community in the midlands of England.
Lyddington was not, however, a village without means. It was home to a palace of the Bishops of Lincoln, which brought a not-insignificant amount of wealth and prestige to the area. The palace had fishponds and orchards, a great tithe-barn and a large walled precinct between the church and market place. Henry VIII had likely visited the palace before (possibly shortly after his coronation in 1509), but the visit in 1541 was on another scale altogether. This time the visit would be across three days and require lodgings for Henry’s courtiers and official retinue, encampment space for the thousands of soldiers and staff that made up the entourage, care for hundreds of horses, and of course enough food and drink to sustain them all – a huge task.
But royal progresses also represented opportunity. Whilst resources in the local area, including food, drink, fuel, etc, could be officially requisitioned – often at unreasonably low fees (the ‘King’s Price’) – many local traders would have been able to do good business on a scale likely never seen before. The village market place was undoubtedly a lively scene during these days!
Likewise, members of the local elite also saw considerable social and political opportunity. Many were central in preparations and entertained the King and his retinue on their arrival. Presiding over a successful (or at least uncomplicated!) visit represented a sought-after political ‘leg-up’ and could instantly boost a local noble over their peers in royal estimations.
The visualisation’s narrative is therefore one of anticipation and activity as the progress arrives. It deliberately does not show Henry VIII himself (who largely arrived once everything was in place), choosing instead to focus on the village itself as a ‘participant’ in the progress, which had descended upon it and was happening all around.
The visualisation - building a landscape
Thorough research needs to underpin everything when creating historic visualisations, and before focusing on the minutiae of the village buildings we must establish the details and form of the landscape in which it sits.
Our first route of enquiry is historic maps. Few mid-16th century maps exist that can provide the necessary accuracy and detail, especially in rural areas. However, landscape features such as roads, waterways, field boundaries and even buildings can persist through the centuries, so even much later maps can still provide useful insight. Our research also drew upon aerial photography, which was used to establish the length and orientation of ridge and furrow ploughing that could provide indications of local field layout. This, coupled with the excellent existing research on the Lyddington Manor in Buildings and People of a Rutland Manor, meant we were before long able to construct an informed basemap of the local area.
Lyddington’s surroundings are not flat, so LiDAR-derived height data provided a digital elevation model (DEM) upon which our basemap could be projected to create an accurate surface that took into account the surrounding hills and waterways. The addition of grass, hedges, fencing and trees then provided a more visually-representative view.
Critical to the setting of the visualisation is the vast encampment of tents and services that would house and sustain the entourage. There is no specific documentary evidence to pinpoint exactly where this was. Local belief suggested that a likely location would have been to the east / southeast of the village on raised land. However, while raised land offered good visibility and drainage when wet, there is evidence to suggest that these hills were heavily wooded in the 16th century. It was more likely that the progress utilised existing agricultural land and pasture. In Lyddington this land lay predominantly to the south and west of the village. The visualisation shows the encampment in the process of construction, with Henry’s large red royal pavilion in front of a service area to the rear.
The visualisation - building the village
Importance was given to several key areas of the village:
- The church and Bishop’s Palace precinct lies at the centre of the village and is perhaps the most visible feature. Today, only a portion remains (known as the ‘Bede House’), but archaeological excavations have revealed that a large hall once existed, and there was also a large enclosed precinct with service buildings and a gatehouse. Thought also needed to be given to the large tithe barn that existed at the time, and also to the different kinds of trees and plants that would have existed in the palace’s orchards and gardens.
- Today’s village green was once the site of an important market place . A stone ‘market cross’ was present, and due to encroaching development over the centuries the market place in Henry VIII’s time was larger than today’s green. The visualisation shows the market as a busy place with many stalls and activities such as bear-baiting (still a common practice in Tudor times) and a mummers (an acting troupe).
- A significant, but perhaps less obvious, component of the view is the many domestic properties that existed. Fortunately, a few houses with 16th century elements still exist in Lyddington today, and these have been researched in detail. But many houses needed to be created from scratch and it was important that local building styles, such as cruck-framing and thatched roofing, were represented.
Other specific buildings are also worthy of mention:
- The house at 24 Main Street was constructed immediately before the visit of Henry VIII, and there is good evidence to suggest that it was built to lodge members of Henry’s close retinue.
- In 1541, the prebendary house next to the church belonged to Edward Watson - a wealthy up-and-coming member of the elite who likely saw Henry VIII’s visit as an important opportunity. We’ll share more on his story soon!
- The Old White Hart in Lyddington today is a pub of 17th century origin, but it was probably preceded by a similar establishment at this central location, which is reflected in the visualisation.
Exploring the visualisation further
The visualisation represents the culmination of over a year of collaboration between Heritage360 at the University of York, the Lyddington Manor History Society and members of the local community. Special mention should be made to Rosemary Canadine and the other authors of the Buildings and People of a Rutland Manor publication, whose research lay the solid foundations for our work.
An interactive version of the visualisation will be made available soon, which will allow the public to explore the stories and places visible in more detail… watch this space!
