aBurntShip

                      An interview with Mark Beattie- Edwards  Was pleased to interview Mark Beattie-Edwards of the Nautical Archaeology Society ( NAS) by email as a follow up to my earlier  Save the London appeal  post. From my original piece : The 'London' had taken on board men and provision ready for fighting, then moored near Southend  when its magazine  suddenly exploded on 7th March 1665. Samuel Pepys' Diary entry for the following day describes casualties of "above 300" , which is still the accepted figure, and reported the "ship breaking all in pieces" . The latter claim is not quite accurate, the blast impact caused a major part of the ship  to split away and sink 2 miles from its moorings,  The wreck of  the 'London' was re-discovered in 2005 lying in the mud of the Thames Estuary. The London never got to fight in the Second Anglo-Dutch War.  1) It has been a year since this bl...

                                      Book Review  'The King's Revenge' , about Charles II attempt to punish those that he held responsible for the execution of his father Charles I, was first published in 2012. The first book devoted wholly to the regicides appears to be Mark Noble's 'The Lives of the English Regicides;And other Commissioners of the Pretended High Court of Justice. Appointed to sit upon their Sovereign, King Charles I' from 1798. Since 2012 Charles Spencer's .'Killers of the King ' (2015)  and James Hobson's ' 'Charles I Executioners' (2020) have been published. Following a discussion in The British and Irish Civil Wars Facebook group on this subject, thought that it was time to highlight 'The King's Revenge' .  Kings had been removed from power and killed before 1648, in both England and Scotland. This book shows that the trial of Charles I, opening on 20th J...

                   Montague ('Monty') Rhodes James (1862 - 1936) , renowned Medieval Scholar, one time provost of King's College Cambridge, is probably best known as M.R.James, the writer of ghost stories. His tales are regularly dramatised for television and radio. M R James' fiction has also become a major influence on the modern day 'Hauntology' movement.       'George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wems 'Attributed to William Wolfgang Claret, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons                                            The M.R.James  ghost story 'Martin's Close ' concerns a murder committed in 1684 , and dominated by a London trial featuring Judge Jeffreys before he became so  notorious. Jeffreys is most known as the 'hanging judge' who was let loose on the wretched rebel prisoners and support...

                                  The missing trial of John Wintour  By Unknown (printed for P. Brooksby, I. Deacon, I. Blare, I. Back.) - http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/20990/citation, Public Domain, In a previous post published on 1st October 2021,   The Third Wintour Brother I looked at  the participation of John Wintour,  younger half brother to the leading conspirators Thomas Wintour and Robert Wintour. in the Gunpowder Treason,  All three brothers were executed for treason in 1606, facing the full penalty. Surprisingly little has been written about John Wintour.  In fact a mystery surrounds where his trial took place. To recap, John Wintour born either 1586 or 1587, was not connected to the planned attack on Westminster, but was convicted for treason due to taking part in the doomed West Midlands  rebellion organised by some of the key Gunpowder Treaso...

                                  First broadcast by the BBC on 1st November 1980  The Discovery of the Gunpowder Plot and the Taking of Guy Fawkes  (c. 1823) by  Henry Perronet Briggs . In the Public Domain, courtesy of 'Wikipedia'  At time of writing the Play is  available to  Listen Here   Michael Bully, 27th October 2025 . 'Gunpowder, Treason & Plot; Radio Drama, was part of the 'Saturday Night Theatre' series, written by A.J.Walton, with Michael Spice, Christopher Scott and John Moffat. Produced by Margaret Etall. Said to be influenced by Francis Edwards 'The True Story of the Gunpowder Plot' ( 1969). A description of the play read .... But what if the legend is based on a deliberate plan to deceive the country and discredit the Catholics? Why Guy himself was a voluntary participant, only on condition that he would reprieved.  The play starts with G...

        Book 2 in the War of the Three Kingdoms 'Rebellion'  Series  Delighted to have a chance to review Mark Turnbull's new novella featuring Royalist soldier Maxwell Walker. I have done my best not to present any 'spoilers'.  And the tale begins on 4th October 1645, with the Royalist cause, post the defeat at Naseby, in desperate straits, and their chances of victory are looking quite hopeless by May 1646 when the novel ends.  The author presents  the more enjoyable and  familiar strands of fiction quite well.  Maxwell Walker fights his own private battles,  being continually confronted  with his nemesis, Gervase  Harper , who is nominally  fighting on the same side. The contrast between the two is well shown. Walker  uses his intelligence to persuade Parliamentarians who are trapped into surrendering to avoid pointless bloodshed, tries to ensure prisoners are treated fairly. Harper is just a master of li...

                      John Wintour , executed Redhill, April 1606 As we are now entering the Gunpowder Treason Season, thought that would share some of my (inconclusive) research of the life of John Wintour, the younger half brother of Thomas Wintour and Robert Wintour, who were both executed for their involvement in the Gunpowder Plot .I have used the spelling 'Wintour ',  though 'Winter' or 'Wynter' are sometimes used for the family name. For this piece, have broadly taken the official 'King's Book' version of what happened at face value, though quite understand why others choose not to.        The Scene at the Execution of the Gunpowder Plotters. Date: 1606   Nikolaus Visscher  (1597–1651) Following the 400th anniversary of the Plot in 2005,  a new wave of books documentaries, TV dramas have emerged, The downfall of the two elder Wintour brothers was well portrayed and sometimes embel...