2 February – The death of Sir Francis Bryan, the Vicar of Hell, and the Feast of Candlemas

| February 2, 2022

2 February – The death of Sir Francis Bryan, the Vicar of Hell, and the Feast of Candlemas

On this day in Tudor history, 2nd February 1550, Sir Francis Bryan, died suddenly in Ireland. He was a rather colourful Tudor character, known as much for his drinking, gambling and all-round bad behaviour, as his diplomacy, royal favour and gift for poetry. Find out more about this one-eyed courtier and his nickname, “the vicar […]

7 February 1526 – Francis Bryan loses an eye and Henry VIII has a new love

| February 7, 2016

7 February 1526 – Francis Bryan loses an eye and Henry VIII has a new love

On this day in history, 7th February 1526, the traditional Shrovetide joust took place at Greenwich Palace. The joust’s theme was unrequited love. Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exeter, and his team of men wore green velvet and crimson satin embroidered with burning hearts. Above these hearts, a lady’s hand was depicted coming out of a […]

5 May 1536 – More interrogations and arrests

| May 5, 2015

5 May 1536 – More interrogations and arrests

By 5th May 1536, two other men had been imprisoned in the Tower of London and another courtier had been ordered to London for questioning. In 1538, Robert Hobbes, Abbot of Woburn, made a declaration “as touching the accusations of his adversaries proposed against him unto the King’s most honourable Council” and mentioned Sir Francis […]

5 May 1536 – More Men in the Tower of London

| May 5, 2013

5 May 1536 – More Men in the Tower of London

By 5th May 1536, two further arrests had taken place: courtier, poet and diplomat Sir Thomas Wyatt, and Sir Richard Page, a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber. Neither man was named in the indictments of May 1536 and they were subsequently released. You can find out more about Page in my article Sir Richard Page […]

Sir Francis Bryan, the Vicar of Hell

| February 2, 2012

Sir Francis Bryan, the Vicar of Hell

On this day in history, 2nd February 1550, Sir Francis Bryan died suddenly at Clonmel in Ireland. He had settled in Ireland after marrying Joan Butler, dowager countess of Ormond, and had travelled to Tipperary as Lord Justice “to check the incursions of the O’Carrolls”. In “The Tudors”, Sir Francis Bryan is a one-eyed rake […]

5 May 1536 – The Poet, the Friend and the Vicar of Hell

| May 5, 2011

5 May 1536 – The Poet, the Friend and the Vicar of Hell

News has just reached us here at The Anne Boleyn Files that the celebrated poet, Sir Thomas Wyatt, has been arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London1. He is not the only one to be taken to the Tower, Sir Richard Page, a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber and a former favourite of Thomas […]

Sir Richard Page and Sir Francis Bryan

| May 5, 2010

Sir Richard Page and Sir Francis Bryan

Sir Richard Page is mentioned, along with Sir Thomas Wyatt, as being imprisoned in the Tower in a letter from Sir William Kingston to Thomas Cromwell, which is undated and badly damaged by fire but which is thought to have been written on the 5th May1. But who was Sir Richard Page and how did […]

Mastodon