Pontefract Castle is free entry, for all! But it hasn't always been that way... 🏰 In the 1800s, the ruins were reworked into a Victorian 'pleasure park'. Entry was by subscription. This ticket, giving a family entry for a year from August 1881 cost £1. That's around £70 today! 🤯

@canuckofthenorth.bsky.social thanks for following. You might be interested in to know that both our Canadian and American branches also have accounts. @richardiiisocca.bsky.social & @r3-society-usa.bsky.social

Enjoying the replay of a talk from the @richardiiisociety.bsky.social this evening, on the history of the Bosworth Heritage Centre, and the battlefield itself. I do love these lectures, and at some point, should really get to Bosworth... #history #RichardIII

The @ihr.bsky.social has brought all its online resources - journals, @vch-home.bsky.social, OA book series, @bho.bsky.social, BBIH, @layersoflondon.bsky.social, and more - into one section of its website for easier access bit.ly/4cCrpUD. Much of this content is free to use online #Skystorians

18th February 1478 the death by execution of George duke of Clarence, brother to King Edward IV, who had Parliament charge him with treason. richardiii.net/george-duke-...

17 February 1461 The 2nd Battle of St. Albans. The Earl of Warwick and the Yorkists faced the Lancastrian army. It was a defeat for the Yorkists.The Lancastrians regained control of Henry VI who was found in a tent nearby.

Imagine your documents were marked up for editing with this guy. Terrifying! MS.B.2.25 mss-cat.trin.cam.ac.uk/Manuscript/B... #marginaliamonday #medievalsky

With reports of a clear sky today, we feel it is time to show Edward IV’s rose noble with a sun in splendour in the centre. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Ah! the romance of the middle ages 💘 St Valentine's Day 1450: John de la Hyde seized Ballyburley, Co. Offaly, from Geoffrey, Bishop of Kildare. King Henry VI ordered John to give it back. Offaly romantic, no? www.virtualtreasury.ie/item/PROI-PU... @offalyhistory.bsky.social

#OTD in 1457, Mary of Burgundy was born at the grand Coudenberg Palace in Brussels. She would become one of the richest rulers in 15th c. Europe ruling one of the wealthiest and most urbanised areas - the Low Countries - in Europe.

It was lovely to chat all things Lady Margaret Beaufort with @historylauren.bsky.social and @charlesxhistory.bsky.social for Historic Royal Palaces' latest podcast - www.hrp.org.uk/listen-to-th... - out today.

2/11/1466 & 2/11/1503 The birth & the death of Elizabeth of York. Daughter of Elizabeth Woodville & Edward IV, wife to Henry VII. Image from the Beaufort Hours,owned by Margaret Beaufort, Elizabeth's mother-in-law. In the margins it says 'This day wher decessed Quene Elizabeth i the Tower of London

#HistParl's Dr Hannes Kleineke was a recent guest on the History Hit podcast Gone Medieval! Dr Kleineke discussed the Parliament of February 1426, which saw some members take up bats and clubs to defend themselves against the threat of violence... Listen to the episode here:

Teaching the Wars of the Roses to 6th Formers? Our online schools conference is coming up quickly. Book now! Historians such as Prof John Watts, @jllaynesmith.bsky.social & @seanc1509.bsky.social will talk on Late Medieval Kingship, Margaret of Anjou, etc. www.warsoftheroses.com/schools-onli...

Our thanks to Richard Knox for a through look at the history of the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre, now celebrating 50 years!

Last week @mappingthemarch.bsky.social held a launch for my new book and a new book by the brilliant @mattlampitt.bsky.social in the atmospheric crypt of The Mount Without. It was so much fun to celebrate with friends, family, and colleagues who have supported us along the way! #medievalsky #newbook

Nearly 566 years ago, this gentle field saw one of the most decisive military encounters of the Wars of the Roses - the (4th) Battle of Northampton. I was privileged to receive a guided tour from Graham Evans, chair of the Northamptonshire Battlefield Society last week, in suitably rainy weather.

This Saturday, 7 February, members of the Richard III Society will be treated to a talk by Richard Knox. Knox, by training an archaeologist, is the Museum & Heritage Access & Interpretation Manager at Leicestershire County Council. Space is still available, check the latest RIII Mailing to members.

2nd or 3rd February, the Battle of Mortimer's Cross. A young Edward Earl of March thought quickly when a parhelion showed up the day before, convincing his army that it meant God was on their side. And it was a victory for the Yorkists. Read more about the battle: richardiii.net/richard-iii-...

If you want to escape from thinking about current crisis by thinking about past crises 🤔, Paul Dryburgh and I are giving a @ihr.bsky.social seminar paper on Friday 13 February. Come for embezzlement scandals, stay for Paul's thoughts on the Mortimer family. www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

Our annual Online Schools Conference for those studying the Wars of the Roses is a big hit each year. And there is still time to register! It is on 3 March 2026. Details here: www.warsoftheroses.com/schools-onli... @iandawson51.bsky.social #HistoryEducation #HistoryTeachers #HistoryTeacher

February, and the Labour of the Month is the practical and much needed chopping firewood. And who would blame the woodcutters for using some of it themselves? (Image: University of Manchester MS 164 2r)

February, and the Labour of the Month is the practical and much needed chopping firewood. And who would blame the woodcutters for using some of it themselves? (Image: University of Manchester MS 164 2r)

Nearly at the deadline for registering for the schools online wars of the roses conference - not to be missed if this is on your A Level syllabus!

A reminder that my latest article is available through Open Access. If you are interested in late medieval or early modern English warfare then be sure to give it a read or share.

❤️

Our annual Online Schools Conference for those studying the Wars of the Roses is a big hit each year. And there is still time to register! It is on 3 March 2026. Details here: www.warsoftheroses.com/schools-onli... @iandawson51.bsky.social #HistoryEducation #HistoryTeachers #HistoryTeacher

A caricature of Henry VII from 1508 in the Archbishop Registers York Abp_Reg_26_f1_r

Our great thanks to Professor Caroline Barron giving the Anne Sutton Memorial. We think that Anne would have appreciated the scholarship and the new information, very much.

We are looking forward to this talk today.

For #NationalHandwritingDay, some of Richard III's. From www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-...

A mermaid on a misericord at Ripon Cathedral for #WoodenWednesday. Mermaids symbolized vanity, hence the mirror in her hand.

3 Mar 2026 - our Online Schools Conference.Register Now! Excellent speakers with analysis of key documents for the Wars of the Roses. www.warsoftheroses.com/schools-onli... @historylauren.bsky.social @1972shp.bsky.social @davidgrummitt.bsky.social @seanc1509.bsky.social #Medievalsky #HistoryTeachers

24 Jan 2026, the Anne Sutton Memorial Zoom Lecture will be given by Prof Caroline Barron speaking on 'The Precinct of St Bartholomew's Hospital in the 15th & 16th centuries' Members of the Richard III Society can register for this free talk by following the instructions in the new RIII Mailing 1/2

When #IMC2026 Registration opens on 🎊 Tuesday 10th February 2026🎊 , the IMC will be offering excursions for IMC delegates to buy and enhance their IMC experience.🥳 This year we have: Sandal Castle/Battle of Wakefield Middleham Castle Leeds Walking Tour Beverley Minster Kirkstall Abbey

Can *anyone* be described as in one word?

So for important present giving reasons I need to find out more about fifteenth century livery collars in England. I have read Mathew Ward's book is there anything else I should look at?

As I'm new to the platform, what sort of presence does #WW1 #LivingHistory or its cousin, #Reenactment have on BlueSky? Any #GreatWar #Museums on here?

Hello and welcome to the Irish Historic Towns Atlas BlueSky page! The IHTA is a long-term research programme housed by @ria.ie with the aim to record the topographical development and history of towns across the island of Ireland. To date, 32 atlases have been produced with many more in the works.

Repost with your home river. River Soar, Leicester. The river that Richard III wasn't thrown into after the Battle of Bosworth.

Hello Bluesky!

One of the more unique items in our collections is this lock of hair of from Edward IV. After the discovery of King Edward IV’s tomb during the restoration of St George’s Chapel, Windsor, in 1789, the lead coffin was opened & skeleton of the deceased monarch revealed. He was buried there in 1483.

Very exciting to see @medievalgeorgie.bsky.social in the programme. She'll be giving a condensed version of the paper at Borders, Boundaries, and Barriers in April. It'll be brilliant, so go to both!

3 March 2026 - our Online Schools Conference. Register Now! So many good speakers with analysis of key documents for the Wars of the Roses. @teachmedwomen.bsky.social @htenuk.bsky.social @kriiicentre.bsky.social @danlyndon.bsky.social @1972shp.bsky.social @histassoc.bsky.social #HistoryEducation

Interested in the late 15th C and the Wars of the Roses? Here are a few books to get you started. They present a variety of views. www.warsoftheroses.com/adult-educat...

For our first #CoffeeWithACodex of 2026, on January 15 (12pm Noon ET, on Zoom) Curator @leoba.bsky.social#CoffeeWithACodexwill bring out Ms. Codex 2265, an illuminated 15th c. psalter arranged in eight sections. #medievalsky Register here: https://bit.ly/4psLcbU

Before the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross, 3 suns were seen. Edward IV assured his men that it was a sign that they would be victorious, and when they were, he adopted the ‘sun in splendour‘ as one of his emblems. richardiii.net/richard-iii-...

In case you missed it - there's a preliminary report of the intriguing findings by scholars creating an interactive digital transcription and translation of the fabulous Edward IV Roll: riiiresearch.blogspot.com/2025/12/impo...

Birkbeck is hiring a Lecturer in Medieval Studies (c.1300-1500), full-time and open-ended. They will be formally based in English but expected to be able to contribute about 0.5FTE to History, including teaching and supervision. Closing date Feb 23rd: cis7.bbk.ac.uk/vacancy/lect...

Welcome to all our new Followers! If you are in the US or Canada you may also want to follow @r3-society-usa.bsky.social or @richardiiisocca.bsky.social