by Bob King | Nov 19, 2020 | 11th to 16th Century
The Box Archives are a rich source of research for whatever you are looking into. On a recent visit I came across some of the technical plan and section views of the buildings on the Island done by Colonel Christian Lilly of the Royal Engineers for his 1716 survey....
by Bob King | Jan 3, 2020 | 11th to 16th Century
By the reign of Edward VI artillery developments and improved gunpowder meant the deep water channel between the Island and Hoe together with the shallow water channel on the Cornish side would be in the range of cannon on the Island. This made it a key point in...
by Bob King | Dec 19, 2019 | 11th to 16th Century
By 1534 Henry VIII had enacted legislation making him Supreme Head of the English Church of England over the Pope. The Pope a tad miffed at the loss of church revenue and his own political power retaliated by excommunicating Henry effectively sealing Henry’s very own...
by Bob King | Dec 12, 2019 | 11th to 16th Century
By 1280 but most likely earlier St Nicholas Island was granted by someone in the Valletort family to the Priors of Plympton. The Priors also controlled much of Sutton which would later become Plymouth when it was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1439 during the reign...
by Bob King | Dec 6, 2019 | 11th to 16th Century
The ownership of lands in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest in 1066 is difficult to pin down. We do have some definitive dates from Royal Charters and the other main reference is John Leland’s Itinerary of England and Wales written between 1535 and 1543. These were...
by Bob King | Nov 28, 2019 | 11th to 16th Century
St Michael’s Chapel is the first recorded building on Drake’s Island. Its earliest mention is in 1135 during the reign of Henry I. What we don’t know is who built it, why and when? Unfortunately there are few contemporary written records and we are reliant on later...
