Following the daily requiem Mass in Blyth Priory the procession would have formed up to convey the Ducal remains south-east along the line of the later Great North Road to the next stop at Tuxford - or to give it its full name, Tuxford-le-Clay.
The gently rolling countryside of north Nottinghamshire was probably relatively easy going unless the clay soils around Tuxford impeded animals, vehicles, and individuals as they made their way along the roads.
Tuxford itself, like Blyth, had developed in part as a staging post on the north-south route and in later centuries boasted a decent number of inns. In default of that, and not having a religious house to offer hospitality I imagine tented accommodation would have been required.
The church of St Nicholas in the centre of the town was undergoing a major programme of rebuilding in the years around 1476. The nave clerestory is usually dated to about 1475, so it may have been brand new, or yet to be built. It is difficult to think that if the nave was a building site the cortège would have stopped at the church at all. The chancel was to be rebuilt in 1495. As a result we can safely say that the tower and spire and the nave aisles are all that certainly survive from what the mourners saw in 1476.
Tuxford Church
Image: Wikipedia / Richard Croft
Image: Wikipedia / Tikkat3
After the usual Dirige maybe the mourners got something to eat and found somewhere to sleep, and anticipated a wider variety of lodgings the following night in Newark.
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