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Tracy Borman OBE

@tracy.borman

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Historian, author and broadcaster. Chancellor and Professor of History at Lincoln Bishop University. Chief Historian at Historic Royal Palaces

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Well that, as they say, is a wrap. I’ve had so much fun on the road with Tudors on the Tour. My tour team - Chris and Beth, and I have travelled thousands of miles and I’ve met thousands of fabulous people, as I’ve covered the length and the breadth of England and over the Solent to the Isle of White.

A massive thank you to everyone @norwelllapleyproductions and Wes, Jus and Fran at @delineatedesign who have helped me create and promote the show, and for everyone we’ve worked with at the twenty-eight venues. And of course, thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who came to join me and dive into the most fascinating royal dynasty in the world (and yes, I am biased!) I do hope you enjoyed the show and that you discovered a different and surprising side to the Tudors… and who knows, maybe I’ll see you on the road again soon. 🙏🏻😜 by @tracy.borman

It’s US paperback publication day! 🎉🎉🎉 @groveatlantic @thesohoagencyuk #elizabethi #jamesvi #tudor by @tracy.borman

It’s a wrap! Thanks so much to everyone who joined me for a very special closing night of Tudors on Tour @theapexvenue And a particularly huge THANK YOU to @400kilometres @scottish_beth for being the best crew mates I could wish for. We’ve spent the past 33 days traversing the length and breadth of England in an oversized transit van and I’ve loved every minute. But despite spending all that time together I completely failed to get a selfie so here’s one from the last tour! 🎭🚐 @norwelllapleyproductions by @tracy.borman

Last day of Tudors on Tour and last book signing - this time in beautiful Bury St Edmunds, which was looking wonderfully festive! 🎄 @waterstonesbse @waterstonesburyst @hodderbooks by @tracy.borman

Thank you so much to the lovely folk at @waterstonescrewe for giving me such a warm welcome on a chilly afternoon 🙏❤️You made my day. Signed copies now available! @hodderbooks by @tracy.borman

Just half an hour from tonight’s venue, @crewe.lyceum, is @gawsworthhall. Dating from 1480, it’s a superb Tudor manor house filled with period sculptures, stained glass, furniture & paintings, set beside a beautiful Elizabethan pleasure garden. A true Tudor treasure.

Gawsworth was once home to Mary Fitton, whom some believe to be the “dark lady” of Shakespeare’s sonnets. Born in 1578, she was the daughter of Sir Edward Fitton & Alice Holcroft. The family reportedly spent vast sums hoping to procure a visit from Queen Elizabeth, and in 1595 Mary became one of the Queen’s maids of honour, after her father placed her in the care of Sir William Knollys, Comptroller of the Queen’s Household.

In June 1600, Mary led a dance in the court masque celebrating the wedding of Lady Anne Russell & Henry Somerset. It is thought this is when she met William Herbert (later Earl of Pembroke). The two became involved & Mary fell pregnant. Herbert was sent to Fleet Prison for admitting paternity but refusing to marry her. Mary’s son, born in March 1601, was reportedly stillborn, though some evidence suggests he survived & was quietly fostered. Both were dismissed from court in disgrace.

Mary retired to Perton, near Wolverhampton, leasing the manor from her second cousin, Vice Admiral Sir Richard Leveson. She later had an affair with him & bore two daughters. After his death she married Captain William Polwhele & had a son with him, he died in 1609, and in 1612 she married John Lougher, a lawyer & former MP.

It is her relationship with Pembroke however that is said to make her a leading candidate for the “dark lady”, a theory first put forward by Thomas Tyler in 1890. Mary died in 1641 & was buried at Gawsworth, though her ghost is said to still haunt the Hall. I’m hoping to visit before tonight’s show!

Tonight is your last chance to join me on Tour, as tomorrow’s final show, is already sold at . If you want to join me, grab your tickets from link in my bio for more info 🎟 🎟

@norwelllapleyproductions

#Tudors #TudorsonTour #ThePrivateLivesoftheTudors #TheatreTour #GCSEHistory #ALevelHistory #TracyBorman #ElizabethI #MaryFitton #ShakespearesSonnets #GawsworthHall by @tracy.borman

A feast of Tudor treasures in Worcester this afternoon. It was so moving to see the tomb of Arthur Tudor (Henry VIII’s elder brother) and the pomegranate emblem of his wife Catherine of Aragon in @worcestercathedral If he hadn’t died aged 15 the course of history would have been very different. I also loved exploring the historical gem that is @tudorhouseworcs - it was like stepping back in time. And of course, I found time to sign a few books in @waterstones_worcester @waterstonesworcester Definitely in the mood for tonight’s show now! 🎭👑@worcstheatres #tudorsontour by @tracy.borman

I feel so lucky to be visiting such beautiful parts of the country and getting to enjoy historical sites as well as presenting my show. Tonight I’m performing at Huntington Hall for @worcestertheatres and the city is also home to @worcestercathedral, which sits on the banks of the River Severn. The cathedral is considered one of the most fascinating in England, renowned for its remarkable blend of architectural styles. The site’s ecclesiastical history began with the founding of the first cathedral in 680 and is thought to be the very first Anglo-Saxon cathedral church. In 983, Saint Oswald constructed a new cathedral and established a monastery alongside it. The current building was begun by Saint Wulfstan in 1084 and the Anglo-Saxon structure was replaced by the Norman cathedral that stands today.

The cathedral is perhaps most famous to Tudor history lovers for being the final resting place of Prince Arthur Tudor, eldest son of King Henry VII and older brother to Henry VIII. Arthur’s sudden death in 1502 at the age of just 15 changed the course of Tudor history. His body was brought from Ludlow Castle to the cathedral and the place he was buried in is now called Prince Arthur’s Chantry. His beautiful tomb has pride of place in the chapel, but it is believed that Arthur’s bones actually lie beneath the cathedral floor.

The cathedral priory came to an end during the dissolution of the monasteries. Then in the following century the cathedral suffered significant damage during the English Civil War. From the late seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, various restoration efforts were undertaken, culminating in a major Victorian restoration between 1864 and 1875 that helped preserve and revive much of the cathedral’s grandeur.

If you do want to join me for Tudors on Tour, you just have two more chances to see the show: tonight and Sunday @crewe.lyceum, as my final show on Monday at the Apex in Bury is already sold out. Get your tickets via the link in my bio for more info 🎟 🎟 ⬆️⬆️

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@norwelllapleyproductions

#Tudors #TudorsonTour #ThePrivateLivesoftheTudors #TheatreTour #GCSEHistory #ALevelHistory #HistoryTeacher #TracyBorman #WorcesterCathedral by @tracy.borman

Loved being back on my favourite island! Thanks so much to everyone who came to my show at @1leisuremedinatheatre and to @waternewt for the book signing ✍🏻 📚 #tudorsontour @norwelllapleyproductions by @tracy.borman

The stage is set in Ilkley 🎭😍 @officialbradfordtheatres @norwelllapleyproductions #tudorsontour by @tracy.borman

Religion remained a constant source of conflict throughout the Tudor period and Elizabeth’s reign was no exception. In the final video of my series for history students I respond to their questions around the Puritan threat.

Elizabeth was under siege from the Catholics who wanted her cousin Mary on the throne, and at the same time the Puritans put her under pressure to remove any trace of the Catholic religion from the Church of England. Although she was Protestant, Elizabeth liked some elements of the old faith and sought a compromise between Protestants and Catholics. This was achieved through the Religious Settlement of 1559 which established Protestantism as the official religion of England but made some concessions to Catholics.

For more facts and stories about this turbulent period in English history, do join me for my tour, before it ends next week. You can find out more and get your tickets for one of my last shows via the link in my bio 🎟 🎟 ⬆️⬆️

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@norwelllapleyproductions

#Tudors #TudorsonTour #ThePrivateLivesoftheTudors #TheatreTour #GCSEHistory #ALevelHistory #HistoryTeacher #TracyBorman #ElizabethI #PuritanThreat #MaryI #ReligiousSettlement by @tracy.borman

Loved signing some books and having a browse in the wonderful @thegrovebookshop earlier ✍🏻📚 @hodderbooks by @tracy.borman