On This Day 19th January 1403 Joanna of Navarre, Duchess of Brittany, sailing to England to marry King Henry IV, was blow off course by storms and landed in Falmouth. Henry was expecting her somewhere further east. They met in Exeter where they gave thanks for Joanna's safety in the Cathedral.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. A bright hellebore spot on another damp morning.

On This Day 18th January 1425 died Edmund Mortimer Earl of March at Trim in Ireland from plague. His heir Richard Duke of York, the son of his sister Anne and the Earl of Cambridge. Trim Castle, inherited through Johanne de Geneville, wife of the notorious Roger Mortimer 1st Earl of March

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. This witch hazel is always an early flowerer, usually February, but this year is exceptional, and how splendid in a grey and damp garden.

Now that I have seen one group of snowdrops in the shurbbery, now I have seen quite a few in varous shady spots with the rather twee statues. Even though it's still only January, it does hold out hopes of spring.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Sunrise. This morning was just a little lighter. 😊💕

Dropped into Ludlow yesterday, just up the Marches, for a change of scene. The River Teme was high and in good form as it rushed beneath Ludford Bridge.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Magical layers of mist across the pasture and in the valley.

On this day 14th January 1476 died Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter, the first child of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville. She was the eldest sister of Kings Edward IV and Richard III. Brass of Anne with her second husband Thomas St. Leger, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Cold! A white frost and a glorious sky over the orchards where the fieldfares are waking up.

On this day 13th January 1403 Joanna of Navarre set sail, in 5 terrible days of storms, from Brittany to England to marry King Henry IV. Henry had sent his two Beaufort half-brothers, John and Henry, to accompany her as well as the Earl of Worcester and Lord Camoys. They arrived safely in Brixham.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Another of these mornings and I don’t hold out much hope for the rest of the day.

Today is Plough Monday, the day when traditionally the agricultural year began. Ploughing with four oxen in the 14th century Luttrell Psalter

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Discovered this little clump yesterday when the snow had gone from the shrubbery. Such a delight.

The interior of Dartington Hall, built by John Holland Duke Exeter, executed today for his part in the Epiphany Rising. I enjoyed talking there about Exeter and his wife Elizabeth of Lancaster at the Literary Festival some years ago when I had just written The King's Sister.

On this day 10th January 1400 (or perhaps yesterday the 9th) John Holland, Duke of Exeter and Earl of Huntingdon, was executed at Pleshey Castle for his role in the failed Epiphany Rising against King Henry IV. He had attempted to flee to Europe but storms drove him back to land.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Snow mostly gone but ice and frost have a grip. Bird feeders busy with the usual bluetits, great tits and woodpeckers .

In the aftermath of the Storm, a medieval snow scene painted in 1608. Hendrick Avercamp a Dutch painter specialising in winter scenes. A joyful painting of a day in Holland, when the river froze over and everyone strapped on their skates.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Not exactly a white out. There has been much melting since last night.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. All green and grey before the storm hits. Will it be rain or snow?

Indoor occupations for medieval women when the weather was cold. Carding and spinning the wool. Detail from the Luttrell Psalter.

The aftermath of the Revolt of the Earls 1400. A bloody end by execution for the rebels who had planned to assassinate King Henry IV and his sons. The Tower of London provided a safe haven for the royal children. By February, King Richard II was also dead in Pontefract Castle.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. All the drama of early sun and cloud.

On this day 6th January 1367 was born Richard II in Bordeaux. Second son of Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince, and Joan Countess of Kent. The death of his elder brother Edward of Angouleme left him the heir to the English crown. Richard from the Wilton Dyptich

Today 6th January the Feast of the Epiphany The Dream of the Magi carved in Autun Cathedral. The angel gently wakens the crown-wearing magi with the touch of one finger and points out the guiding star to the only one who has opened his eyes. Marked by the sculptor 'Gislebertus hoc fecit.'

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Much like yesterday. Cold and frosty but quite beautiful .

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A wintry scene from a 16th century Book of Hours. It looks just as cold as it is here today. My door is quite definitely closed!

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. The snow passed us by again but very cold and a sharp frost. Love the long shadows from the oaks.

On This Day 4th January 1400 King Henry IV was told of the plot to kill him and his 4 sons in the Epiphany Rising when gathered for the tournament at Windsor. Henry rode like the wind to London, sending his sons to the Tower of London for safety. Then he began to collect an army...

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. All is still and quiet. Sun just creeping into the garden as the Wolf Moon sets.

On This Day 3rd January 1437 died Catherine de Valois in Bermondsey Abbey after being afflicted by a long illness. She was only 35 years old, eife of Henry V and then Owen Tudor, mother of Henry VI and grandmother of Henry VII. The wooden funeral effigy of Catherine in Westminster Abbey.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Cold and frosty but the early sun is illuminating the tree skeletons .

'Ingenious intertwined stories of two remarkable women surviving the Wars of the Roses. My thanks for bringing them out of the shadows.' And my thanks for this recent 5* Amazon Review of 'The Queen and the Countess.' www.amazon.co.uk/Queen-Counte...

Celebrating once more the arrival of January 2026. A beautifully illustrated January page from a Book of Hours made c. 1500

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Threatened with snow showers but the clouds have gone and all is sunshine. But nippy!

Happy New Year 2026. Opening from the magnificent Hours of Catherine of Cleves, c. 1440, with Catherine kneeling before the Virgin and Child. Opposite is the start of Matins in the Little Office, illustrated as the start of a long cycle of the Life of the Virgin.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. A Happy New Year. We made an apple tree with windfalls for the birds. The bluetits and blackbirds have discovered it. 😊💕

From the Archives. On 30th December 1461, one year to the day after the fatal Battle of Wakefield, Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, held a 'year's mind' requiem mass in tribute to her husband Richard Duke of York who had died in the battle. It was held in old St Paul's in London.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Frost and a glorious sky. All is silent in the lane.

#OnThisDay 30th December 1460 the Battle of Wakefield. In the fighting and aftermath the Yorkist leaders York, Salisbury and Rutland were killed, their heads displayed on Micklegate Bar, York by tradition with a paper crown and the words: 'Let York overlook the town of York'.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Memories. A year ago when all was dramatic under snow looking over towards Powys. Today it’s just another grey day.

An appropriate picture for this time of year. The Blessed Virgin reads in bed while Joseph looks after the baby. All watched over by the ox and the ass. From the 15th century Besancon Book of Hours. A woman, with a book to hand for that moment of leisure, after my own heart!

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Sheltering beneath a rockery wall. Perfect on a grey day.

On this day 28th December 1461 Sir Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, died in Rouen. He was the first husband of Joan of Kent. Sir Thomas was buried in the church of the Friars Minor at Rouen, his body later moved at Joan's bequest to the Church of the Greyfriars at Stamford in Lincolnshire.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. All is grey. Now that it’s light the rooks and crows are out in force and a buzzard sitting on a telegraph pole.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. Cold with a stiff breeze but a dramatic display of clouds.

Signing out for Christmas. Thank you all for you company through 2025. My best wishes to all followers and lovers of historical fiction. May you enjoy a few good moments of reading over the Christmas and New Year Holiday.

Good morning from the Welsh Marches. So dark and grey this morning. Looking forward to this, when the snowdrops begin to appear in my garden. Not long now ...

#onthisday 22nd December 1476 died at Warwick Castle Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence, daughter of the Earl of Warwick. Her new-born son Richard died shortly afterwards. She 25 yrs old and buried in Tewkesbury Abbey. She was outlived by 2 of her children, Margaret and Edward