August 4^th 1460 The Westminster Chronicle Issue 13

England sweltered in the hottest July for ten years. In the city, predictions of a bumper hay harvest drove hay futures up with a knock-on effect boosting investment in later harvests, too.

But not everyone is keen on the weather. The lack of fair winds has prevented many ships from sailing and put those that do sail behind on their schedules.

Father Johannus predicts. [67% accuracy]: "August is the wettest month of the year but also the hottest. If the heatwave breaks, look for sunshine and showers."

Others cursing the poor sailing weather doubtless include the pirates that recently appeared in the Channel. In just two weeks, these marauders have taken many prizes, focusing on foreign shipping though at the detriment of English merchants. In an interview, his lordship the Earl of Nottingham, Warden of the Cinque Ports, said, "I'm sure these pirates see themselves as national heroes, taking French, Burgundian and other foreign hulls but what they fail to realise is that many of these ships carry English cargoes. As well as the direct losses, the piracy is keeping a lot of ships in port. The effect on customs revenue is so far small but the Admiral must do something before the winds pick up or a lot of people, including the King of England and many Crown officers, are going to find themselves severely out of pocket."

The Westminster Chronicle can reveal that Calais is one of the main ports frequented by the pirates. As the Earl of Warwick is both Lord Admiral and Captain of Calais, he would seem to bear a double responsibility for the safety of Britain's sealanes. Though many foreign princes have, in his time, accused him of piracy himself, there is no doubt that the most able seaborn commander of the modern world can rid us of this scourge if he wills it.

Several of the new officers of the Crown took up their duties in earnest, this month. The Duke of Somerset toured Devon and Cornwall in the company of the Earl of Devon to oversee his new responsibilities. 

Lord Stanley similarly commenced a comprehensive tour of the Duchy of Lancaster, though with the previous incumbent remaining in prison and the Duchy being spread over such a wide area, it is scheduled to take until Christmas. 

The King also went on a walkabout, spending July touring the Southeast and the Cinque Ports, in company with the Duke of York, the earls of March, Nottingham, Rutland and Essex, the Bishop of Exeter, the Archdeacon of Richmond, and lords Bolebec, Ferrers de Chartley, Grey de Powys and Hastings. The King paid specific attention to the 23 religious institutions on the way while the Duke of York and the Earl of Nottingham expressed dissatisfaction with the dilapidation the Royal castle at Pevensey. 

All these officials have made a point of enforcing the Finance Bill passed at the recent Parliament. Many peers complain of the hardship the Act will cause though a bare few have spoken of its necessity. Lord Sudeley voluntarily surrendered his manor in Hampshire saying: "Though I regret the loss of my manor in Hampshire, I recognise the necessity for the good of the Royal finances and the common weal. Therefore, I surrender it to the sheriff of the county..."

An embassy to Scotland led by the Duke of Buckingham and the bishops of Durham and Carlisle report total success in their negotiations with the Scots. The Duke of Buckingham said, "We went up there with the intention of allowing no nonsense and of giving away nothing, not an inch of English soil. We were rewarded by a complete retreat on all fronts. King James has dismissed his troops and promised a truce until Easter." "Peace in our time!" commented Bishop Percy. 

Lord Greystoke as Warden of the Western Marches, clearly puts no trust in the latest truce with the Scots. The victor of Longtown has placed warning beacons in many locations in the western marches to improve response times to raids.

St. Asaphs cathedral may be rebuilt! Earlier this month, the Earl of Pembroke joined his brother in inspecting Bishop Tudor's cathedral. Since the town was burnt by Owen Glendower sixty years ago, the cathedral has lain in ruins; succeeding bishops holding their services in parish churches or even in the open air.

St. Asaphs being poor, no bishop of this century has enjoyed the income to conduct even the most basic repairs. With Bishop Tudor's familial connections to the earl of Pembroke, half brother to the King himself, things may be about to change. Bishop Tudor spoke to our correspondent.

"Obviously, nothing is settled. My brother has only just seen the ruins and we are still awaiting an estimate of the costs involved but I am confident that we be able to start basic repair work next Easter and perhaps even enhance the stature of the cathedral. Knowing his interest in ecclesiastical architecture, I am hoping the King himself will contribute."

Despite the negative effect of piracy, overall the city is bullish with many sectors of the economy showing growth.

The shipbuilding industry continues to improve with Calais joining English ports in reporting an increase in construction. "We've just taken an order for an entire squadron of warships." Said the Master of the Calais Guild of Shipwrights.

At home, the building industry is showing clear improvements with a survey of St. Asaphs cathedral and inquiries about new castles. The Masons remain sceptical, however. "I want to see licences to crenellate, then I'll believe in economic recovery."

Estate management may improve declining incomes. Since the Black Death, many landlords have seen demesne farming become unprofitable and rents fall to less than two thirds their 1350 values. Some peers now seek to improve their estates' productivity simply by paying close attention to the account books. Savings are possible but be warned! Estate management leaves little time for other activities and a lord may make himself unpopular with his household and tenants.

Foreign News:

Vive la France!

Ruler: King Charles VII, born 1403, married Mary of Anjou. Children: Louis aged 37, Catherine (dead), Magdalene 17 and Charles Duke de Berry 14.

In 1328, France faced a succession dispute. Of the two main candidates, Edward III of England's claim came via his mother, Isabella, sister of the previous king; Philip de Valois traced his descent through a more distant but entirely male line. Edward's minority, the scandal of his mother's public affair with a courtier and her recent murder of Edward II, her husband, made Philip VI's accession inevitable.

When Edward came of age, there arose the age-old dispute over Gascony, English since 1154. Tension rose until in 1337 Philip confiscated the Duchy. Exasperated, Edward claimed the French crown by right of his mother and started the Hundred Years War.

Actually, he started it slowly due to lack of money and allies but in 1346 he fought and won his first campaign in France, securing Calais as an English possession to this day.

Edward opted for huge scale destructive raids to reduce France piecemeal. When the French fought the English, they lost. Edward paid-off his troops at the end of each campaign: later, the troops stayed in France and extorted a living from the locals in the off-season, too.

Subject to incessant looting and resentful of an inactive government, the provinces turned away from Royal rule. The capture of King John II in 1356 accelerated the erosion of Royal authority.

By the 1380s, France was exhausted and ruled by a minor. In manhood, Charles VI suffered fits of violent madness. The stress of his insanity created two violently opposed factions led by the dukes of Orleans and Burgundy. Murder led to civil war in 1411. State officials plundered taxes and the richest monarchy in Europe slid into bankruptcy.

England had had some troubles in the intervening years but in 1415, Henry V saw the opportunity to renew his great-grandfather's French claims.

People hailed Henry's victory at Agincourt as God-given but Henry had superb strategic and tactical sense and a lot of luck. The French bickered while he systematically reduced the country. No raids for him, he fought campaigns of strategic conquest.

Burgundy stayed aloof, John the Fearless secretly signing the Pact of Calais in 1417, recognising Henry V as the rightful heir to Charles VI, now permanently mad.

Burgundy still fought the Orleanists, in 1418 taking Paris by subterfuge. The citizens, in vengeance for years of Orleanist misrule, murdered the provost, (by flaying him alive), four bishops, the Abbot of St. Denis and three hundred students, before joyously cheering the Duke on his entry.

The economy collapsed and the English closed on Paris; in 1419, the two French factions were driven to negotiate. At Montereau Bridge, the Duke made it clear that he would agree to nothing. At the Dauphin's orders, Duke John the Fearless was murdered!

The Duke's murder drove Burgundy and many Frenchmen into outright alliance with England. Resistance collapsed, in 1420 Charles VI disinherited the Dauphin, marrying his daughter, Katherine, to Henry V and recognising him as his heir. Everything looked set for the birth of an Anglo-French empire.

The sudden deaths of Charles VI and Henry V in 1422 slowed English expansion but Dauphin Charles remained in the south. He proclaimed himself Charles VII, but attacked Burgundy rather than the English.

Charles' mother, Isabella of Bavaria, liked men. With an insane husband, she had embarked on a series of very public affairs. Inevitably, the paternity of her sons came into doubt. In 1417, rumours spread that the Dauphin Charles was a bastard. Charles believed these rumours and, thinking himself unworthy of the throne, let the English walk all over him.

Despite Burgundy cooling towards England over the years, the French made no headway towards throwing us out. The Duke of Bedford proved a gifted and able regent for the young King Henry VI and in 1427 Verneuil joined Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt in the list of French military disasters.

In 1429, the English besieged Orleans; utterly demoralised, the French looked on the point of complete collapse but that infamous witch, Joan of Arc, saved the city. She used her sorcerous arts to inflame the French knights into relieving Orleans and went on to crown Charles VII in Rheims and inflict defeats by unnatural means for over a year. Finally, she was caught and tried for her crimes, burning at the stake, unrepentant, on the 30^th May 1431.

Her reign of terror was over but the damage had been done. The French slowly pushed us back. 1435 saw Bedford's death and Burgundy signing the Treaty of Arras, becoming French again. Charles VII took Paris in 1436. In 1439, his ordinances invented the concept of the modern army.

Through irresolution and incompetence, England steadily lost ground and eventually sued for peace. Henry VI's marriage in 1444 to Margaret of Anjou, Charles VII's niece, came with a truce; hostilities would cease and England offered Maine and Anjou in return for assurances for Normandy and Gascony.

Things might have gone very differently with a competent English King but Henry dithered over handing back the agreed territories until Charles VII lost patience; in 1448, he took Maine. The Duke of Somerset simultaneously broke the hard won truce and alienated England's last ally, Brittany. In 1450, England renounced all title to other French estates in return for guarantees for Gascony but Charles, realising the lack of opposition, took Bordeaux in June 1451. England intervened but with the death of the Earl of Shrewsbury at Chatillon in 1453, Charles held all France save for Calais.

Charles dreams of ruling all France, but he has some strong opponents. First is his own son, Dauphin Louis: the two both think the other means to kill him. When Charles sent an army against him in the Dauphine, Louis fled to Burgundy. Duke Philip greeted him warmly and granted asylum. Charles seems not too concerned over his son's refugee status but fears Burgundy. Duke Rene of Anjou and Lorraine, father of our Queen also troubles Charles. Useful as an ally against Burgundy, his long outstanding claim to Naples and Sicily aggravates many Italian princes and Aragon, who is another dangerous enemy on France's Pyrenean border.

Charles supports the Duke of Orleans' claim to Milan via the Visconti family, naturally upsetting Duke Francesco Sforza. Charles occupies Genoa on the invitation of a warring noble faction.

The only other major 'player; in the French scene is Brittany, viewed by those in Paris as another back door entry point for the English thanks to Duke Francis II's preference to play both Kingdoms off against each other.

[Thanks to Sir John Hotspur for extra material.] 

[Next issue: The Papacy]

To the Westminster Chronicle,

We have chosen to ignore the ill-mannered references made by to ourselves by the restored Duke of York. As we have previously commented, those who make ignoble statements tarnish only their own renewed nobility. What provokes our letter is the shameful behaviour of the King's current advisors. The recent Act of Resumption is both spiteful and unnecessary.

As has been previously stated, the Crown is already on a sound financial footing with only the expense of dealing with unwarranted civil strife straining its purse strings. Much has been written in your journal of the loyalty owed by the King to his subjects. Surely, the greatest sign of loyalty is in the giving of lands in reward for services rendered to the Crown. In encouraging the reversal of these grants, the King's bad advisors have fomented resentment, which shall be long evident. Who now shall be rewarded by the Crown without the knowledge that the gift is only temporary, to be withdrawn by the King's greedy courtiers without any offence having been caused to the Crown?

Lastly, we must write in support of our Earl of Lincoln, who held no office of state but still stood loyally beside the King's banner. He is now persecuted for his loyalty, solely due to his lack of influence and the Duke of York's lack of culpable prisoners. Margaret Regina. 

Editor - Obviously our Queen feels strongly about the Finance Bill, as do many of her subjects. The concept of an Act of Resumption is well established; a monarch must have the right to repeal grants as well as make them and the Great Council passed the Act, so the majority of peers support it and it is quite legal.

Which brings us to the question of when they are to be tried: but that remains firmly in the hands of the government.

Mr Caxton,

This is an open letter addressed, via your esteemed organ, to all those who are indulging in the ridiculous and petty 'movement' of sheep between the estates of my Welsh neighbours.

The epidemic has reached such proportions that upon my return from Parliament I discovered that even some of my own shepherds had been indulging in the sport. Upon being taken in for questioning, they freely admitted who was to blame in sponsoring their activities, but in the interests of relations between my neighbours - some of whom hold senior positions in Wales and beyond - I shall decline to mention names here.

I would like to assure all concerned that I shall come down very heavily indeed upon anyone found in possession, either in transit or in situ, of illicit sheep, whether for personal use or for sale. In faith, William Lord Herbert. 

Editor - The Westminster Chronicle joins with the noble lord in condemning the lawlessness widespread in our times. The new government came to power on its manifesto promises to restore good governance. Now that it has established itself, perhaps it is time to deliver. It is up to the officers of the Crown to enforce the King's Peace so perhaps the recently ennobled Lord Herbert should be writing to the Justiciar of Wales, the Earl of Pembroke. It is he who bears the responsibility for defending the King's Peace in South Wales.

Dear Mr Caxton,

The last parliament held was a disgrace to the name of England. Lords awarding themselves titles and lands whilst in the House of Commons we have men who adopt the language of horses. 'Neigh, Neigh and Thrice Neigh": a truly addled Parliament. I believe our blessed King should take personal charge and consign all those who oppose his will to the dankest dungeon. John Saddleworth of Tunbridge Wells 

Editor - Oops! Evidently, Master Saddleworth hasn't heard of the scandalum magnate laws. For the benefit of any legal eagles among our readership, the Westminster Chronicle does not pretend to agree with any of the sentiments expressed by correspondents to the 'letters' column.

Dear Mr Caxton,

I believe the cause of all our troubles was when King William the Conqueror forced us into the new Christendom at the point of a sword.

Since then, we have had to put up with French poetry, Papal Interdicts, strutting Scottish Kings and the Black Death. I believe our future lies outside Christendom and that we be free to negotiate treaties and commercial arrangements elsewhere. I am willing to provide letters of introduction to these Kingdoms I know exist: Island of Brazil, Kingdom of Prester John and Empire of the Great Khan in the East. Count Conrad Schwartz of Peterborough (resident Alien). 

Editor - The Westminster Chronicle utterly condemns the sentiments expressed by the Count. England is a god-fearing realm; it is clear why the Count is a refugee from his own country, why is he polluting ours? Not only is he a pagan, he's not even historically correct. England has been loyal to the Church of Rome since the Synod of Whitby in 664, long before the reign of William I. If the Archdeacon of Colchester seeks evidence of things even worse than heresy, perhaps he could do worse than look in Peterborough.

The King spent July touring the Southeast, visiting Dartford, Rochester, Canterbury, the Cinque Ports, Lewes, Bramber, Chichester, Portchester, Southampton, Winchester, Alton, Farnham, Guildford, Dorking, Croydon and Southwark.

The King will be at home to visitors in the Royal chambers at the Tower of London until further notice.

The Queen remains abroad, visiting relatives. Her ladies in waiting: Lady Scales, Lady Dacre, Lady Rivers, Lady Scrope of Masham, Margaret Roos and Margaret Longueville have retired to the country pending her return.

Robert, heir to Lord Greystoke, is to marry Elizabeth, daughter of Viscount Grey at Ruthyn castle September 1st. It will be a small ceremony, family only, but gifts are welcome.

Sir Richard Percy is created Lord Egremont; the Earl of Northumberland granting the estates to support his new title.

'The Ballad of Lord Devon's Escape': a song and dance for all the family. Laugh heartily and weep as you listen to Piers Chancey Material's ballad about the Earl of Devon's escape from justice.

(Piers Chancey Material is also available for hangings, weddings, tournaments and banquets.)

Rosewar Widows: if your loved one fails to return from a battle or tavern brawl, don't be left on the shelf or dispatched to a nunnery by grasping relatives. A well-endowered widow is a desirable widow. So make sure you have your finances in order and don't let your erstwhile Sir Galahad squander your inheritance. Take out a policy with 'Rosewar Widows Provident'. P.O. Box 214

England's Jesters, tumblers, fire-eaters and other assorted court entertainers wish it be known that they have asked for Papal permission to form a Guild to be known as the Licensed Clowns, Acrobats and Allied Trades Guild (L.C.A.A.T.G). We have combined to prevent the unfair dismissal of well-laboured jokes, tumbling routines and funny ballads that have stood the test of time.

Holy Water: fresh from the River Jordan and blessed by the Holy Father in Rome, available now by the Queen Eleanor Cross, Cheapside, London. Measured by the bottle, flask or leather pouch; also comes in scents for the Ladies: rose, daffodil, camomile or alcohol. Works every time - ask for Billy Neville, the one with the squint and cleft forehead.

Fear Not Dragons, Basilisks or the Cockatrice. You have heard of travellers' stories and they are ALL TRUE. Don't face certain death without pre-paying a set of 10 Holy Indulgences before you travel. Try our new SINWIPES and at least you will escape the eternal flames before your earthly form is devoured by beasts. P.O.Box 101

Christendom Pilgrimage Route Planner. Don't leave home without this. A simple book for simple people, it gives you a one in four chance of returning home again.

Ducking Stool: only one previous owner (drowned). Can be adjusted to take men as well. Also comes with the Nag's Harness and the patented York Iron Ball Breaker "will bring tears to your eyes". Ned Hagger - expert inquisitor and ex-confession extractor to Pontefract Castle).

Lady Anna De Wintour, editor of 'Illustrated Courtly Love Magazine' wishes to beg forgiveness from her readers for publishing 'Sonnets for Sore Lovers' in last month's issue. Thanks to the new technology of printing, this article appeared in our magazine instead of our brotherly title 'For Varlets'. "I apologise for the lewd content and drawings in the article and have already punished those who missed this before we went to press. I of course will be doing penance for this mistake at Westminster Abbey."

Recent events have thrown a bevy of eligible catches on to the marriage market. All the following are in addition to those published in issues 01 and 02 of the Westminster Chronicle.

Top of the bill are the Exeter heiresses. Dowager Duchess Anne lost a manor to the Act of Resumption but she's still worth £322 and at 21 is a superb prospect. Her daughter, Lady Anne Holand is only 5 but she's worth a stunning £1029. Apply to the Earl of Northumberland for details.

Next come the Bergavenny Nevilles, father (53) and son (37), both called Edward, worth £773 with a legacy from the Earl of Salisbury and a gift from the Earl of Warwick. Talk to them direct or go through their cousin, the Earl of Warwick.

Staying with the Nevilles, Sir Thomas Fauconberg also benefited from the will of the Earl of Salisbury. At 22, he's worth only £69 now but as the only child, (albeit illegitimate) of Lord Fauconberg, he's sure to be worth a packet one day.

Among the ladies, Elisabeth Wenlock comes in at £426 and still only 28, a great catch.

The Earl of Northumberland has made the new Lord Egremont one of England's most eligible bachelors with a gift of £215 worth of estates. At 29, he's ripe for the plucking.

Down in the basement there's still some bargains around. For example, Sir Henry Vernon, only 27, worth £25 and his own man. Elisabeth Bourchier aged 22 and estimated at around £35, apply to Lord Scales.

The Tourney:

The gauntlets thrown down to English knighthood last month by the bastards of Bourbon and Burgundy have been taken up by the cream of the English lists: Sir Anthony Grey, eldest son of Lord Rivers, and Sir Thomas Fauconberg, bastard son to Lord Fauconberg.

The only questions remaining are 'when?' and 'where?'

Rumours abound that the Earl of Warwick is planning to organise an event at Warwick castle for Michaelmas on the 29^th of September. The Earl was unavailable for comment but, if the tourney goes ahead, it will be the foremost event of the year in all of Europe. The two continental rivals are at the top of the current ratings, while the English pair may lack their continental stature but have awesome reputations in the English lists.

If confirmed, a Michaelmas tourney will attract young knights from all over Christendom. As well as fame, a young man can gain wealth, as the winner of any contest has the right to claim either his opponent's horse or his armour. It is also usual for the winner to receive a great prize from his host and devotees of the sport expect the Earl of Warwick to offer something spectacular, as befits his international standing.

Pig Racing from Scarborough Fair: the 'High on the Hog' meet. [Reporter Julian O'Hooligan.]

2.30: 1^st 'Saturday Night Carlisle Swine Fever', 2^nd 'Beaufort's Streaky Bacon', 3^rd 'Grey Sties at Night'. Lord Oxford's 'King Oink VI' ran the wrong way and 'The Norfolk Hogwasher ' refused to start.

3.30 1^st 'Ricardo's Prize Porker', 2^nd 'Grey Gammon Surprise', 3^rd 'Ham Rues the Day'. (Winner ran off before rosette could be awarded but stewards say result stands.)

4.00 1^st 'The Welsh Boar', 2^nd 'Squealing Stan', 3^rd 'Warwick's Cruel Trotter'. 'Penny's Lucky Pig' disqualified and spit roasted.

4.30 1^st 'Best Devon Crackling', 2^nd 'Cured Tudor', 3^rd 'Grand Old Duke of Pork'. 'Who Framed Roger Bacon', 'Sow by Sow West' and 'Pigging in the Rigging' disqualified for taking performance enhancing truffles.

A golden "Snouts in the Trough" trophy was to be awarded to the winning owners but some left and escaped over the Scottish Border to ferment treason and weak beer.

Several people have asked about building castles so here's the gen. Don't be too intimidated by the costs involved; remember they will normally be spread over many years, usually ten to thirty, but they can be built more quickly if you can afford to pay the money up front.

Cost depends on how big a castle you want but the materials you build in and where it comes from are also factors. So you must regard these costs as minima based on where you build.

A class I castle costs £3750, class II £7500 and class III £15000! Brick reduces the costs by 2 in those places with the available clay. (Most 15^th Century castles were brick built.) You can also cut costs by going for a house that looks like a castle. Finally, you will need to purchase a 'license to crenellate' from the King; this should probably cost about £100, maybe cheaper if you've a 'friend in high places'.

The curse of 13 struck three players this turn. Hammy and Penny both decided that other pressures were preventing them from participating in the game as much as they would like and have therefore dropped out. Jim's new job means he can no longer handle a major position like York. After some shuffling, what happens is that Jim takes over as Roos from Hammy while Steve Bealing, (the artist previously known as Sir John Hotspur) and Peter Williams become the new York and Bourchier, respectively.

Obviously, this means that two of the most important PCs have changed hands at a difficult time, not least because I'd just activated two new PCs, (before I knew of the dropouts, I hasten to add). The newbies are Ian Beal as Lord Stafford of Southwyk and Rebecca Lyman as the Earl of Shrewsbury. I'm sure you'll all extend a warm welcome to our latest recruits.J

With all this hassle, I'm keen to get at least two turns completed by Christmas. To achieve this ideal, I need two things: orders on time and subs paid promptly.

I'm not going to harp on about punctuality, you all know the arguments. Just get me the orders and you'll get your results.

Subs are something else again. Without giving you a breakdown of my finances, just trust me that it costs money to run this game. If you don't send me your subs, I'll just have to find players who will. Can all new players and those old one with reminders please send me cheques as soon as possible. Ta!

Don't let anyone say otherwise, #13 is definitely jinxed. Aside from it taking almost five weeks after the deadline to receive the last set of orders, there's been two dropouts, one near dropout and the Post Office managed to mislay Simon's turn 12 results and Ian's starter pack. In fact, the PO now says my file of complaint forms is the largest active in the office! These and a couple of other items that went missing in the last two months mean that the Post Office is tracking all turn 13 results to their destination. Let's hope this solves the problem.

Claire and I had a brilliant holiday touring the West Country. Salisbury Cathedral is truly awesome, definitely my favourite to date. There's a modern stained glass East window over the Trinity chapel and this gives an amazing colour backdrop to the view from the opposite end, which is unobstructed since they removed the rood screen. Salisbury also has a model portraying the building of the cathedral and Claire found this totally absorbing. She said she found it made the cathedral feel human, as well as awesomely magnificent. I can see what she means.

Old Wardour is the type of castle that Claire loves - a romantic ruin with enough masonry to really give you a feel for how people lived in it. I was pleased to find I'd given it to the right bod in Rosewar, Lord Lovel.

Corfe castle is much larger than I had thought. Chris, you've got to see it. There's still enough of it left to spark the imagination but it's a pity that Cromwell was so destructive. It once had a function when Wareham was one of the most major ports in the land and the gap in the Purbeck hills gave access. By the 15th C, the port was silting up, now it's just a backwater.

Athelhampton House is brilliant, an early Tudor house dating from before 1500. Many parts are basically as they were then yet it's still lived in. Well worth a visit, it's about 2 miles NW of Dorchester. (Dorchester is boring; don't go there!)

Glastonbury is awash with New Age weirdness but the Abbey is worth a visit.

Wells cathedral is full of light and air. Alas, it might have been built post WWII for all the sense of history it gives you. There's no medieval tombs, stained glass, etc; it feels very clean and new. On the other hand, the Bishop's Palace is excellent. Spacious grounds house the home of the Bishops of Bath & Wells, [baby eating? the very same! J ].

Someone interested in the history of clothes might like to examine the pictures of bishops dating from around the early 16th Century to the present.

Bath - a beautiful town with an awesome traffic problem: it has a park and ride: use it! Once in the town, it's unbelievably lovely. We enjoyed a pleasant hour just walking about at twilight. The cathedral, alas, had shut early to rehearse an organ recital but we will return.

Berkeley Castle is still lived in by the family; although fitted with many modern conveniences, it remains in essence 12th Century, no thanks to Cromwell.

One thing that impressed me on this tour was that Cromwell was as big a vandal as Henry VIII. I see why his troops wrecked castles; they were fighting a war. But the damage they did to the cathedrals was criminal. At Winchester they rode in and camped, with their horses, up to the altar. After using the furniture for cooking, they smashed tombs, glass, etc in a puritan frenzy. The locals saved the glass from the East window and it was rebuilt after the Restoration but as there were no pictures of the original and no one could recall what it looked like, the 'picture' is just a sea of abstract colour but the glass is original.

Worcester cathedral - not as spectacular as those we visited before, it is perhaps the most steeped in history. King John is buried there!

I apologise to the Coltmans for an error in the last issue. Steve's 'daughter' is in fact a young man by the name of Sam. Sorry Sam! A bad case of the tabloids not checking their facts. J