Tudor

Topic description and stories

Thomas Cromwell painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1532-3. The Frick Collection

Trinity College prayer book belonged to Thomas Cromwell, new research suggests

09 Jun 2023

The Hardouyn Hours, a jewelled fifteenth-century prayer book in Trinity College Library belonged to Thomas Cromwell, chief minister to King Henry...

Henry VIII statue on the Great Gate of Trinity College Cambridge

Katherine Parr did not persuade Henry VIII to found Trinity College Cambridge

17 May 2022

King Henry VIII had already made up his mind to found Trinity College Cambridge and Christ Church Oxford before Cambridge lobbied his queen, a re-...

Queen Elizabeth I by unknown continental artist (c.1575), NPG 2082. Image: The National Portrait Gallery, London

Queen Elizabeth I would tell Boris to tax the rich rather than cut universal credit, a new book argues

11 Oct 2021

A new book about how Covid-19 rocked the world argues that Elizabeth I would have supported the poor in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Dinner time in St Pancras Workhouse, London, 1911. Workhouses, established under the Poor Law Amendment Act, were part of a Victorian programme that cut universal welfare support and stigmatised many poor people as “unproductive”.

Cutting welfare to protect the economy ignores lessons of history, researchers claim

02 Dec 2016

Amid ongoing welfare cuts, researchers argue that investment in health and social care have been integral to British economic success since 1600.

King’s College Chapel: A History and Commentary by John Saltmarsh

King’s College Chapel: an architectural masterpiece and the man who told its story

16 Dec 2015

Five hundred years ago the masons working on one of the world’s most famous buildings completed the stonework of a chapel conceived some 70 years...

Detail of one of the triumphal arches built for the entrance of James I to London in March 1603, devised by Stephen Harrison and engraved by William Kip. Photograph by Michael Fleming.

Wondering what to pack for university? A guitar, perhaps, for the “refresshynge of the witte”?

24 Sep 2015

What to take to university is a question foremost in the minds of thousands of freshers up and down the country. Christopher Page’s latest book ‘The...

Left: The Mary Rose as depicted in the Anthony Roll. Right: one of the cod bones used in the study.

Cod bones from Mary Rose reveal globalised fish trade in Tudor England

09 Sep 2015

New analysis shows warship’s dried fish provisions were sourced from as far away as Icelandic and possibly even transatlantic waters. Researchers...

Going to the dogs: the 500-year old greyhounds of King’s and in the fight against cancer

15 Jul 2015

The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, G is for...

Queen Elizabeth in procession the day before her coronation in 1559. College of Arms MS M.6, f.41v. Banner image: Rachel Duffield as Elizabeth I, credit: Antonella Muscat

A ‘rare and merveleous’ guest: Elizabeth I samples life in Cambridge 450 years ago

05 Sep 2014

In August 1564 Queen Elizabeth I made her only visit to Cambridge - and found fault with some of the elaborate arrangements. A pageant on 13...

Portrait of Elizabeth I, by Marcus Gheeraerts, 1562-1635. Trinity College Oil Paintings, P 62.

A royal extravaganza comes to town

30 Aug 2014

Don’t miss the fun happening in the centre of Cambridge on Saturday, 13 September when Elizabeth I will be in town with a retinue of courtiers and...

Heart-Breaking History: Voices of sick children from the past

25 Apr 2012

A new study into the grim and frequently heart-breaking history of childhood sickness and death has opened a window on to a surprisingly tender world...

John Speed's proof map of Cambridgeshire

Mapping the origins of a masterpiece

21 Apr 2011

Published 400 years ago, the first comprehensive atlas of Great Britain is being celebrated by Cambridge University Library, home to one of only five...