by David West | Jul 6, 2023 | News
On this day in 1685, James II’s army defeated the Duke of Monmouth’s forces, at the Battle of Sedgemoor. Monmouth’s rebel army, largely comprised of discontented peasants and Protestant supporters, faced off against the well-trained and disciplined forces of...
by David West | Jul 2, 2023 | News
Today we visited Antony House, the home of the Carew family. There is a painting of Charles I at his trial displayed in the main hall. John Carew was one of the 59 men who signed King Charles I’s death warrant. When Charles II took the throne, he vowed to execute all...
by David West | Jun 30, 2023 | News
I use the onthisday.com website to inspire many of my posts. Sometimes I see something on my travels which gives me an idea. Yesterday my walk to Plymouth Hoe triggered my post about the Spanish Armada. I explained that there were three armadas, and that Sir Anthony...
by David West | Jun 29, 2023 | News
The statue of Sir Francis Drake stands on Plymouth Hoe looking out to sea. Drake played bowls while waiting for the Armada. Of course he was probably waiting for the tide too. Actually there were three armadas, but we tend to focus on the first one of 1588. The 2nd...
by David West | Jun 28, 2023 | News
Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife Sophie, on this day in 1914. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and Gavirilo Princip was a Bosnian Serb nationalist. The assassination triggered a series of...
by David West | Jun 25, 2023 | News
I saw this unusual pub sign in Falmouth today. Apparently there was a prison called Pennycomequick in Plymouth. Pen y cwm coet means the head of a wooded valley in Cornish, and that would fit quite well with the pub’s location. The unusual pub sign made me think about...
