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Bring history to life with Tudor History
Tours!
 The
Tudor dynasty is the most talked about,
written about and filmed period in over
2000 years of British history. Henry
VII, King by right of blood and conquest
begat the dynasty that saw the two
greatest love stories of the age: Henry
VIII and Anne Boleyn followed by their
daughter Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley,
Earl of Leicester which shaped the
course of the century and British
History.
Our small, select group tours offer an
unrivalled opportunity to bring this
period in our nation’s history to life.
We see some of the most famous and
infamous palaces and castles such as
Hampton Court, Windsor and the Tower of
London but also we experience the life
of the ordinary subject.
Just for you, Tudor History Tours have
assembled a unique blend of events which
allow you to enjoy
the sights, sounds, touch and tastes of
the Tudor period. Compare the simplicity
of a woodland cooked meal to that of a
superb medieval banquet. Quaff a beer in
the very hostelry where Shakespeare met
his fellow playwrights.
During the day Tudor History Tours take
you to sumptuous palaces as well as
places that are off the well-worn
tourist trail. In the evening we stay at
hotels specially chosen for their
historic importance and character. These
are mostly old Coaching Inns with low
oak beams, uneven floors, inglenook
fireplaces and some allegedly have
ghosts! A number have significant
feature rooms such as four poster beds
which can be booked for an additional
supplement.
Tour Details -
Elizabeth I: The Child, Lover and
Warrior Queen - 4 days, 3 nights
Henry VIII: Defender of the Realm - 6
days, 5 nights
Henry VIII: Finding Henry - 8 days, 7
nights
6 Wives of One King - 11 days, 10 nights
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Elizabeth I: The Child, Lover and
Warrior Queen - 4 days, 3 nights
 In a packed, fully escorted 4 day
itinerary, we explore Elizabeth’s long
life from three years old to her death
at
69 years of age. Come with us as we
travel the length of England and relive
the story of the trauma of the execution
of her mother, Anne Boleyn, the wounding
declaration of bastardy, imprisonment in
the Tower of London as a young child and
then as a traitor in her adulthood. We
hear of the hidden abuse at the hands of
Thomas Seymour and the perils of trying
to stay alive in an era of intrigue and
betrayal. Then we enter a glorious age
when she finally became Queen and the
infamous love affair that lasted 30
years and still generates interest 500
years later. We look at her time as an
inspiring warrior Queen and a glorious
victory over a foreign invader.
Day 1
We meet in London and travel straight to
Kenilworth in Warwickshire to wander the
“glorious pleasure house” of Sir Robert
Dudley and see the gardens built solely
to woo Queen Elizabeth, lovingly
restored by English Heritage. No one but
Elizabeth and Dudley were allowed to
walk the gardens but one nobleman of the
time described them in detail in a
letter. It is this source which English
Heritage has used to research and
reconstruct this private area. We spend
the night at an old coaching inn built
around an oak tree.
Day 2
We visit the church in Kenilworth where
Elizabeth and Dudley prayed before
travelling to Warwick to see the Lord
Leycester Hospital, built by Dudley for
Elizabeth’s retired soldiers. We then
visit Dudley’s tomb which is
close by; an example of Gothic
extravaganza - before heading South. We
spend the afternoon at Hatfield House,
in Hertfordshire, Elizabeth’s childhood
home where she saw desperate unhappiness
and glory. If you feel energetic, you
can walk to the spot where she was told
that she was now Queen. In the evening
we are entertained with an Elizabethan
banquet in the Great Hall of the Old
Palace.
Day 3
An early start takes us firstly to the
site of Elizabeth’s most famous speech
“I have the body of a weak and feeble
woman but the heart of a King”,
galvanising the troops at Tilbury in
Essex to take on the Spanish invaders.
We then visit the only castle she had
built to protect England’s shores
against foreign forces at Upnor in Kent
before journeying to the wonderful
Penshurst Place in Kent. A pivotal
property throughout the Tudor period and
used regularly as a film location, it is
here that we see the infamous La Volta
painting. This painting depicts
Elizabeth and Dudley in scandalous
dancing and displayed in the actual room
that the event took place. Penshurst
gardens are delightful. We travel into
London for the night and, in season, see
an evening performance in Shakespeare’s
Globe Theatre.
Day 4
We spend time at the Tower of London,
one of the world’s premier tourist
destinations and where Elizabeth was
imprisoned once as a young girl when she
first met Dudley and again as a traitor
when her sister Mary became Queen.
Westminster Abbey is our final
destination where Elizabeth lies in a
glorious Gothic tomb alongside her half
sister, Mary Tudor.
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Henry VIII: Defender of the Realm - 6
days, 5 nights
This intensive 5 night/six-day fully
escorted tour follows Henry as he
prepares to defend England against the
European forces who see his divorce from
Catherine as the perfect excuse to
invade. The father of the Royal Navy and
instigator of the largest civil
engineering building program of the
century, this tour explores mighty
fortress England and the love that led
to the call to war.
We start our story at the home of the
family who provided the spark to an
explosive desire that led Henry to
declare his repudiation of the Catholic
faith and a lifetime of threats against
his kingdom. We then travel through an
area known as the Garden of England to
inspect three of Henry’s coastal
defenses before experiencing for
ourselves the land craft needed to
survive in Tudor times. We journey
through the landscape
that provided the iron for his cannon
and the vast oak forests needed to build
his ships before reaching the heart of
his emerging Royal Navy. The tour ends
with perhaps the most famous palace in
the world, Hampton Court Palace and the
largest occupied castle in Europe,
Windsor.
 Day 1
We start our journey deep in the heart
of Kent at a delightful old coaching inn
for lunch before we travel through
English countryside to visit Hever
Castle. The childhood home of Anne
Boleyn and once a fortified moated manor
house. Here we explore the life of the
family who led Henry’s descent to
divorce, dissolution and the threat of
invasion. In the gatehouse there is a
display of weapons and armor of the
times. We return to the coaching inn for
the night.
Day 2
Up early to travel to the Kent coast for
the first sight of Henry’s great civil
engineering projects and we see Deal,
Walmer and the stupendous Dover castles.
Deal Castle was built in a hurry by
Henry in 1540 with stone from a nearby
destroyed Abbey. Deal's Tudor heart
beats loudly, with huge bastions and
cannons ready to repel any invaders.
Anne of Cleves took her first steps in
England here before setting off to marry
the King.
Walmer Castle, built by Henry VIII as
the third part of the defenses of this
stretch of coastline and modified over
the centuries to become home of the Lord
Warden of the Cinque Ports.
Dover Castle set on the famous white
cliffs, is one of the premier castles
for the defense of the Realm dating back
to the Romans. Henry VIII stayed here
regularly when supervising the
construction of the coastal defenses.
Imagine life as a medieval soldier under
siege as you explore the atmospheric
medieval underground tunnels, see one of
Europe’s best-preserved Roman
lighthouses and walk the extensive
battlements.
Day 3
As well as spending time in the
important house at Penshurst in Kent, we
can meet with our experts in Tudor life.
Here, numbers permitting, we experience
for ourselves the land craft needed to
eat, live, fight and be merry in Tudor
England, expertly supported by our
colleagues from “Hands on History”.
Following that we travel through the
area known as the Weald which was the
medieval industrial heartland for firing
the iron cannons used for Henry’s
armament build-up, now it is a green and
open land.
On to the ancient county town of Lewes
in Sussex where we see for ourselves the
havoc wrought by the dissolution. This
medieval town is the location of Anne of
Cleves House, Lewes Priory ruins and
site of religious martydom. A few miles
from Lewes we also visit Firle Place,
home of the the Gage family. One
ancestor was the Constable of the Tower
of London and responsible for organizing
the execution of Catherine Howard.
Day 4
At Southsea Castle in Portsmouth,
Hampshire, we visit another of Henry’s
fortifications and stand where Henry
stood, viewing the battle and watched as
the Mary Rose, his flagship, foundered
in the Solent with the loss of 800
lives. A short distance away lies the
Historic Royal Naval Dockyard where we
can relive that moment at the Mary Rose
museum and handle artifacts brought up
from the seabed. The ship itself, in the
ship hall, is closed whilst a major
refurbishment is taking place but there
is a webcam of the ship itself. Whole
forests were planted and felled to build
Henry’s warships and many of them were
based at this dockyard. Centuries of
naval history are on display here with
Nelson’s flagship Victory and other
historic naval treasures.
Next it’s to the top of Spinnaker Tower,
570 ft high with a panoramic view of
this historic naval town and finally a
hearty supper at a tavern on the mouth
of the harbor. We stay at a hotel in Old
Portsmouth near the Hot Walls, a local
landmark and part of the defenses Henry
built to protect the harbor.
Day 5
An early start takes us to Hampton Court
Palace situated on the Thames, 17 miles
outside of central London and arguably
one of the most famous palaces in the
world. The Palace is vast and has been
added to over the centuries yet its
Tudor origins are still clear to see.
Many notable features include the maze,
gardens, a Tudor real tennis court and
the Chapel Royal used for prayer for
over 450 years.
Then we journey to Windsor Castle, the
largest and oldest occupied castle in
Europe and still home to the present
Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II. St
George’s Chapel Windsor is the last
resting place of 10 royal Sovereigns
including Henry VIII and his favorite
wife Jane Seymour. You can attend
evensong at the Royal
chapel and may well sit alongside the
simple marble slab marking Henry and
Jane’s graves. We stay at a marvelous
riverside hotel in the shadow of the
ramparts of the Castle.
Day 6
After breakfast transport is arranged to
return you to a mainline railway station
or other hotel destination in London.
The Guards march through Windsor and
into the Tower at 11.00am every other
day during the spring and every day
during the summer apart from Sunday. You
may, if you wish, view this wonderful
spectacle before journeying on. |
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Henry VIII: Finding Henry - 8 days, 7
nights
 Henry VIII was not born to be King yet
acceded to the throne before his 18th
birthday. History sees Henry as a tyrant
and a bully but he was also a builder,
philosopher, musician, linguist,
Defender of the Faith and international
sports superstar of his age. A
Renaissance Prince when young, his
divorces and subsequent orders to send
two of his wives to the executioner’s
block made him the most notorious King
that England has ever witnessed. This
packed 7 nights, 8 day fully escorted
tour follows a journey to find the real
Henry through a Grand Progress of
Southern England. We visit his boyhood
home to explore the loving yet intensive
upbringing that made him the Renaissance
Prince that he was. We see his palaces,
castles and inns, sampling the life of
Tudor times on the way. And we seek out
the events that changed him into the
bloated tyrant that he became.
Day 1
We meet at an old coaching inn at midday
before travelling through the English
countryside to the beautiful home of the
Boleyn family. The love story of the age
which led to divorce, excommunication
and the threat of war is reflected in
this moated manor house. Both of the
Boleyn sisters were lovers of the King,
with one laying with him whilst married
to another, and the other, Anne, laying
with Henry only when she became Queen.
It took Anne seven years to achieve her
aim to become Queen and change forever
Henry’s position and the course of
English history.
Day 2
So what was he like as a boy? To find
out, we travel to Eltham Palace, his
boyhood home. Then onto Greenwich where
we change to a Thames River boat to the
Tower of London. We see Traitor’s Gate
as Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard
would have done on their way to custody
in the Tower.
The Tower of London is over 1,000 years
old, steeped in the nation’s history and
the scene of some of the bloodiest
events during the Tudor period. It is
the execution site of two of Henry
VIII’s wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine
Howard.
A magnificent exhibition of Henry VIII’s
suit of armor and horse armor are on
display in the White Tower, a
breathtaking sight. Afterwards we walk
along narrow cobbled London streets to
see the Golden Hinde, a full size
working replica of Sir Francis Drake’s
flagship that sailed around the world
1577-1580.
After a fish and chip supper at the
George Inn, the oldest galleried pub in
London which Shakespeare frequented, we
walk just a few more yards along the
Thames to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
The season opens on Shakespeare’s
birthday, 23 April, and it is a sheer
delight to see one of Shakespeare's
plays performed in the setting for which
it was written. Out of season we have a
tour of the Globe.
Our Hotel for the night is close to the
Globe Theatre along the Thames riverside
walk.
Day 3
We leave London to visit Henry’s premier
fortress, Dover Castle in Kent. Here he
left England for his glorious trip to
France and the Field of Cloth of Gold,
and later watched as construction of his
coastal defenses went apace following
Henry’s excommunication. 40 miles inland
we find Leeds Castle, near Maidstone,
often described as the most romantic
castle in England. Many visitors are
perplexed to find that Leeds Castle is
nowhere near Leeds! It was originally a
Saxon manor house Esledes, (pronounced
Ez Leedees) and after the Norman
conquest became a fortified castle.
Henry VIII regularly stayed here as did
Catherine of Aragon.
Day 4
As well as spending time at the
important house at Penshurst in Kent, we
can meet with our experts in Tudor life.
Here, numbers permitting, we experience
for ourselves the land craft needed to
eat, live, fight and be merry in Tudor
England, expertly supported by our
colleagues from “Hands on History”.
Penshurst is used regularly as a film
location as it is so evocative of the
Tudor period.
Then on to the Sussex county town of
Lewes where we see for ourselves the
havoc wrought by the dissolution.
This medieval town is the location of
Anne of Cleves House, Lewes Priory ruins
and site of religious martydom. You
should have time to stroll around the
steep narrow streets and soak up the
atmosphere of this ancient town. We also
visit Firle Place, home of the ancestor
who was Constable of the Tower and in
charge of the execution of Henry’s fifth
wife, Catherine Howard.
Day 5
At Southsea Castle on the city island of
Portsmouth in Hampshire, we stand in the
same place where Henry stood, watching
the battle as the Mary Rose, his
flagship, foundered in the Solent with
the loss of 800 lives. Only a mile
distance away is the Historic Royal
Naval Dockyard where we can relive that
moment at the Mary Rose museum and
handle artifacts brought up from the
seabed. Centuries of naval history are
on display here with Nelson’s flagship
Victory and other historic naval
treasures.
Next it’s to the top of Spinnaker Tower,
570 ft high with a panoramic view of
this historic naval town and surrounding
sea. We finish with a meal at an old
tavern dating from 1700 overlooking the
mouth of this busy harbor.
Day 6
It’s an early start as we head off to
see the largest and oldest occupied
castle in Europe at Windsor. Still home
to our present Sovereign we should
arrive to see the Changing of the Guard
and then spend time in the Glorious
State Apartments. We can visit St
George’s Chapel where we see Henry’s
grave and that of his beloved wife Jane
Seymour who gave him a male heir. You
may attend evensong in the Chapel if you
wish.
We spend the night in a wonderful hotel
in the shadow of the castle ramparts.
Day 7
Our last full day is at Hampton Court
Palace, taken from Thomas Wolsey by
Henry. The Tudor building has been
wonderfully conserved, a celebration of
Henry’s accession to the throne over 500
years ago. A recent addition is the wine
fountain in the centre of the courtyard,
an exact replica of the one seen on the
painting of the Field of the Cloth of
Gold. For a small fee you may have the
chance of supping a glass or two.
Costumed actors perform vignettes
throughout the day and during the season
there are special events. We may be
fortunate to be there when they fire up
the huge kitchens and recreate the meals
that would have been served during the
Tudor period or be guests at one of
Henry’s wedding parties. We finish the
evening at an opulent hotel in London
and attend a sumptuous Tudor banquet
complete with entertainment.
Day 8
The previous evening was a fitting
finale for our Grand Progress. After a
leisurely breakfast we arrange transport
back to a London mainline railway
station or London airport if agreed when
booking. For those who have later
journeys, we can arrange additional
trips to sites in London
if these have been agreed prior to
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6 Wives of One King - 11 days, 10 nights
We take you on an evocative journey to
explore the lives of all of Henry’s six
wives. Divorced, Beheaded, Died,
Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. Or even
The Betrayed wife, the Temptress, the
Good woman, the Ugly sister, the Teenage
bad girl and the Mother figure. All six
have a different story to tell.
How did these six different women live
and how did they become consorts to the
most notorious King that England has
ever seen? We visit their childhood
homes, divorce settlements and take you
on a pilgrimage to their final resting
places. This fully guided tour takes you
to the famous sites that should not be
missed but also those off the beaten
track. We have specially commissioned
private tours and take you to sites away
from the tourist trail for your own
unique insights into their lives.
 Day 1
We meet at an old coaching inn situated
in south west London and go to Syon
House right on the Thames. Originally an
Abbey and much favored by Catherine of
Aragon, this house weaves in and out of
the Tudor story. This is where the nuns
were chastised by Anne Boleyn for their
‘wonton behavior’. It was the place
where Catherine Howard was taken after
her arrest and held in custody before
her journey to the Tower of London and
execution.
Day 2
Hampton Court Palace 17 miles south west
of central London is perhaps the most
famous Palace in the English speaking
world. It is the only surviving palace
out of the 60 that Henry VIII built or
confiscated. Henry married two of his
wives here and we might even see one of
his wedding days being played out by
actors. After time spent exploring these
magnificent buildings we travel to
Windsor where we can attend evensong at
St George's Chapel within the walls of
Windsor Castle. Henry VIII and his
favorite wife, Jane, are buried here.
Day 3
After watching the Changing of the Guard
at 11.00am there will be time to wander
around Windsor and visit the Castle.
Windsor Castle is the largest inhabited
castle in Europe and home of our present
Sovereign. There are many exhibitions to
see here and the glorious State
Apartments hold many original portraits
of the Tudors. We then travel to Oxford,
the city of the dreaming spires to see
Magdalen College, where a young master
Wolsey was a student. Christchurch
College and it’s magnificent chapel
originally called Cardinal College and
St. Johns College all have cloisters to
explore. Also in Oxford is the oldest
museum in the world, the Ashmolean, or
you may like to wander at your leisure
around this ancient university city.
Day 4
We travel to Sudeley Castle, in
Gloucestershire. It is a grand manor
house and the family home of Thomas
Seymour, who married Catherine Parr,
Henry VIII's last wife, after Henry
died. Catherine is buried in a peaceful
setting in St Mary's church within the
grounds. We will have a connoisseur tour
of this splendid castle. We travel
through Stratford-upon-Avon and visit
Shakespeare’s birthplace before we head
off to Warwickshire.
Day 5
Today we see Buckden Towers, a Bishop’s
Palace in Cambridgeshire. Here Catherine
of Aragon lived before she was forcibly
taken to nearby Kimbolton Castle.
Kimbolton, where Catherine died, is not
generally open to the public but a
special guided tour for Tudor History
Tours has been arranged by appointment.
After Kimbolton we travel to the
wonderful Peterborough Cathedral, where
Catherine of Aragon is buried. Even in
death Henry was unkind to her: she was
buried as Dowager Princess of Wales. Not
until the 19th century was a more
fitting memorial established. All women
called Catherine were asked to make a
donation to pay for it.
Day 6
We remain in the Eastern counties and go
to Cambridge to see the Kings College
Chapel. This building has the largest
fan vaulted roof construction still
standing in the world. Two of the wives
can be found here. Anne Boleyn's
initials are carved in the Provost stall
and it has a tantalizing image of
Catherine Howard on a stained glass
window placed here. Her initials are to
be found high up on the great East
window above the red Dragon of Wales.
There will be time to wander around the
centre of Cambridge to view some of the
other famous colleges, like Queens
College which is associated with
Catherine of Aragon.
Day 7
We visit the Tower of London, steeped in
the nation's history for 1,000 years.
Two of Henry's queens, Anne Boleyn and
Catherine Howard were executed in the
Tower, interred under the alter of St
Peterad- Vincula church. There are many
exciting exhibitions in the Tower and we
might even see the trial of Anne Boleyn
take place.
Westminster Abbey, the coronation site
of England’s Kings and Queens follows.
Ten of England’s Royal Sovereigns are
buried here including Elizabeth I and,
somewhat hard to find, is the tomb of
Anne of Cleves. Anne of Cleves was
perhaps Henry VIII's least favored wife
although she outlived them all and a
grand funeral took her to her last
resting place here at the Abbey.
From 23 April we can see an evening
performance in Shakespeare's Globe
Theatre. Before then a guided tour of
the Globe will take place. We enjoy a
fish and chip supper at the last
galleried pub in London where
Shakespeare met his friends and
colleagues.
Day 8
We travel south out of London to visit
Hever Castle in Kent, the childhood home
of Anne Boleyn. Perhaps the most
notorious woman in English history and
responsible for one of the most famous
love stories in history. Thanks to her
influence Henry broke from the Catholic
church and the Reformation followed, a
schism that exists to this day. This is
followed by a stop at nearby Penshurst
Place, an important place during the
Tudor dynasty, given to Anne of Cleves
as part of her divorce settlement from
Henry. Here, group numbers permitting,
we will have a re-enactment of life in
Tudor Times. You can experience a
typical mid-day meal which would have
been common in the Tudor period.
Day 9
The medieval county town of Lewes in
East Sussex is our next port of call,
where we see Anne of Cleve's House. It
was also part of her divorce settlement
from Henry VIII. Close by are the Priory
ruins, victim of the Dissolution and
particularly singled out by Henry for
destruction. There will be the
opportunity to see other notable
landmarks like the medieval Lewes Castle
or Southover Grange, built with the
stones of the Priory and the monument to
the Protestant martyrs burnt at the
stake by Mary Tudor.
Day 10
We go to Firle Place, ancestral home of
Sir John Gage, Constable of the Tower
and responsible for organizing Catherine
Howard’s execution. Our final historic
site is Arundel Castle, ancestral home
of the Howard family. The 3rd Duke of
Norfolk was uncle to both Catherine
Howard and Anne Boleyn. He was also due
to meet the block but Henry died the
night before so he kept his head.
Arundel is the second largest inhabited
castle in Britain.
To finish off our tour in grand style we
attend a sumptuous Tudor banquet in
London.
Day 11
After leisurely breakfast, transport is
arranged to mainline London railway
stations or other London destination
hotels. For those whose flights are
later in the day we can arrange other
events in London if requested in
advance. |
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