Tag: Mary Queen of Scots

Our romantic royal captive?

On By SteveIn PeopleLeave a comment
The fashionably pale look

When Mary, Queen of Scots escaped from the rebellious Scottish lords in 1568 to find shelter in England, she could not have imagined that she would spend the next 18 years as a prisoner of her first cousin once removed, Queen Elizabeth. The Earl of Shrewsbury had the misfortune to be chosen as her jailer, and he found himself caught between Mary’s complaints about the quality of her prisons and Elizabeth’s (justified) suspicions of her cousin’s intentions. For most of her imprisonment she was kept at his houses and castles in Sheffield, Hardwick, Chatsworth, and Wingfield, with regular visits to Buxton, but initially she was confined in Tutbury Castle, just over the River Dove in Staffordshire.

As it was

Tutbury was seen as a suitable site, being sufficiently remote from both Scotland and the coast, and she arrived there in February 1569. She didn’t travel light, being accompanied by an entourage of 60, including doctors, ladies in waiting, chaplains and cooks, travelling from Yorkshire via Chesterfield and South Wingfield. You wonder how a small village was able to accommodate and feed so many, although it was common at the time to carry household items like sheets, pillows, and cooking utensils in carts from house to house. Shrewsbury was only allowed £45 a week to feed everyone, which added to his difficulties. In addition to complaining about the cold and the draughts, she also plotted with fellow Catholics to escape either to the Continent or Scotland, so he must have been relieved when he found reasons to cut back her followers and take her to the more convenient Chatsworth.

Wingfield Manor, looking into Nottinghamshire

Mary was moved from place to place during her confinement, including Wingfield Manor, until the exposure of the Babington Plot led to her trial and execution at Fotheringay Castle in 1586. The stress of being her gaoler may have contributed to the breakdown of the marriage of Bess of Hardwick with the Earl of Shrewsbury. Today Mary is still often portrayed as a romantic heroine, but it was her scheming that led to the brutal killing of her fellow plotters. Coincidentally, both Tutbury Castle, managed by the Duchy of Lancaster, and Wingfield, run by English Heritage, are both currently closed to the public on rather flimsy excuses, despite their importance in the national narrative.

What’s going on at Wingfield?

On By SteveIn Places2 Comments
The window of the Great Hall

The ruins of Wingfield Manor are an impressive sight, on a hill overlooking the River Amber and above the village of South Wingfield. The manor was only a mile west of the old Roman road known as Ryknield Street, from Derby to Chesterfield and Sheffield, still a major route but now the A61. This road would have been convenient for the second owners of the Manor, the Talbot family, Earls of Shrewsbury, who also owned Sheffield Castle and Sheffield Manor.

The buildings were deliberately ruined during the Civil War to prevent their use by Royalist forces, after a Parliamentary siege in 1644. Since the eighteenth century the structure has been effectively abandoned, although substantial ruins have survived. The most famous occupant was Mary Queen of Scots, imprisoned here for some years from 1569, in the care of the sixth Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife, Bess of Hardwick.

Mary Queen of Scots – all dressed up and nowhere to go

Clearly such an extensive ruin with famous associations should attract flocks of visitors. The Manor is in the ‘care’ of English Heritage (“unlimited access to hundreds of historic places” – website) but is firmly shut up, as it has been for several years. Their web page says:  ‘currently closed for the safety of visitors, and no public access is allowed’.  A meaningless statement that explains nothing.

Over a hundred years ago no such restrictions applied. DH Lawrence paid a visit at Easter 1905 with a group of friends, a visit which he fictionalised in his novel Sons and Lovers:

‘The young folk were in raptures. They went in trepidation, almost afraid that the delight of exploring this ruin might be denied them’.

Back entrance to the Manor

However, despite the best efforts of English Heritage, it is possible to get a good view of some parts of the ruin by following the public footpath around the back. Starting from the village and heading south, follow the track downhill, beside the garden wall of Wingfield Hall. Cross the stream at the bottom and bear right uphill. The ruins of the Manor can be clearly seen on the right.