Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Tuesday, 28 April 2026

Anne Boleyn sat here?


I continue to be surprised by the number of people - mainly women I think - who have a sentimental fascination with Anne Boleyn. Whilst not on a par with the extremes of Ricardian enthusiasts it is somewhere in the same part of the field.

Personally I am more inclined to see her as one of, if not the, most evil women in English history. 

The current exhibition about her at Hever Castle includes a substantial chair which appears to have been made for her in the years she was at the French Court and before she returned to England. If it really did belong to her then it is a rare survival and link to her.

Artnet reports on the chair and what can be deduced about its history in an illustrated article which can be seen at Was This Anne Boleyn's Seat? Rare 500-Year-Old Chair Linked to the Tudor Queen

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