We could have used another week on this trip, but I don’t know where I’d have gotten the energy for it! We were down to our last full day in London (Friday) and then it was back to the colonies the next. As the sun came up, it was hard to see how any day could hope to compete with the day before – but this day was a fighter! It started with a “before hours” escorted visit to inspect and photograph the massive Norris Monument (normally not approachable by the public) in Westminster Abbey. This was followed by a tour of Richard Lane’s boyhood school, the Westminster School, which is still in business. Then, we were off to the National Archives in Kew to spend the afternoon going through a long list of documents I’d reserved for viewing. Among these were three original letters to and from Richard Lane in exile during the last few months of his life…
Category: Background on the English Revolution
History of the times that defined the life of Sir Ricard Lane
One of the Most Interesting Days of my Life….
There are days you will remember always. This was one of them!
Yesterday was quite a day. You’d have heard about it last night, but I was simply too tired to do anything but have a glass of wine, savor a bit of chocolate and wonder at the day I’d just had. Just because you put a lot of work into something doesn’t mean it’s going to lead somewhere interesting. Nor does it mean that it will be well received, let alone be referred to as “scholarly”…
Continue reading “One of the Most Interesting Days of my Life….”
Breaking News! I Have Proven the True Identity of King Charles II’s Groom Named “Richard Lane”!
In the first article on the career of Richard Lane’s son, we led up to King Charles II’s invasion of England to restore his throne, and how his new Groom, Richard Lane (the younger), likely joined him in Scotland around the time of his coronation there in January 1651. Of course, the throne the young king really had his eye on was that of England. And the Scottish army now under his command was his means to that end…
Continue reading “Breaking News! I Have Proven the True Identity of King Charles II’s Groom Named “Richard Lane”!”
Passing of the Torch: The Service of Richard Lane the Younger to the King
My research into Richard Lane’s son has been far more successful than I dared hope. What was to have been one article has become four, revealing a fascinating story of survival, drama and ultimate vindication of his exiled father, Sir Richard Lane. Continue reading “Passing of the Torch: The Service of Richard Lane the Younger to the King”
Update on the Trial of Strafford Painting
“Proving” is an ambitious word. How do you “prove” that a mid-1800s painter depicting an important historical scene was aware of and attempting to portray specific actors and their inter-relationships in a drama that was already more than 200 years old at the moment he first stood before his empty canvas? Clearly, Thomas Woolnoth went to pains to realistically portray the principals of the scene in “The Trial of Strafford”, but was he aware of Richard Lane and his role? How much research did he do? How can we assert that he would have been aware of historical research that was being done in his own time? Without corroborating evidence, such assertions must be considered a hypothesis – one based on raw speculation…but, I think we can do better! Continue reading “Update on the Trial of Strafford Painting”
A discovery! The UK Parliament’s circa 1844 painting “The Trial of Strafford”…
The grounds of history around Sir Richard Lane are simply full of rabbit holes! While doing some research into the 1641 Trial of the Earl of Strafford – an event that included the day the historical biographer Lord John Campbell called “the most memorable day in the life of Richard Lane” – I came across a wonderful painting of that trial in the UK parliament’s art collection. What makes it so wonderful is that the painter had endeavored to accurately portray all of the primary actors in the drama of that trial…
Continue reading “A discovery! The UK Parliament’s circa 1844 painting “The Trial of Strafford”…”
Summary Report of Jersey Visit (Part I)
I have found no evidence that Richard Lane visited Jersey before he arrived there with Charles II and his “entourage in exile” on September 17, 1649. Richard Lane could not have been part of Charles II’s entourage during his first visit to Jersey from April 17, 1646 – June 24, 1646. At the time of that earlier visit, Charles I was still alive, and Richard Lane was in Oxford, negotiating with parliamentary forces for the surrender of the King’s forces there. Continue reading “Summary Report of Jersey Visit (Part I)”
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