Henry VIII on Tour: Landscape, Communities and Performance
Lead Research Organisation:
Historic Royal Palaces
Department Name: Curators
Abstract
The Tudor period captivates modern audiences. Henry VIII's reign (1509-47) fascinates as much for its architectural magnificence and courtly splendour, its music, masques, tournaments and hunting parties as it does for its political machinations and religious controversies. 2022 marks the quincentenary of Henry's spectacular progress around southern England with Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. It is also the platinum jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II, who in 2019 (in accord with her royal duties) carried out a staggering 295 public engagements around the country. It is an opportune moment not only to assess Tudor royal progresses, but to reflect on what monarchy and its visibility means in the 21st century.
In a personal monarchy, a fundamental questions was the location of the king at any one time, which surprisingly we do not always know for Henry VIII. Building on a one-year AHRC Research Network, Henry VIII on Tour brings together a cross-disciplinary team of scholars and technical specialists from both academic and heritage sectors, who will use close study of archival sources, architecture, archaeology, music and material culture to inform a reconceptualisation of Henry VIII's progresses. We will focus on four key themes: logistics, kingship/queenship, performance, and legacy. By mapping all known progress venues and charting changes in duration, regional location and accommodation through successive phases of the reign, our project establishes a full itinerary for Henry VIII for the first time, significantly enhancing historians' understanding of the purpose of royal progresses and their impact on 16th century political and religious culture. Examining specific progresses from each decade (1511, 1522, 1535 and 1541) we will determine how they can be understood and reinterpreted within the context of the ideals and challenges of statecraft in the early modern period. Wherever possible we consider queenship in parallel with kingship, highlighting Henry's queens as independent actors in the performance of progresses, religious devotions and hunting expeditions. We will also explore how the logistics of 'performing' progresses can reveal hidden histories of understudied groups and communities and how progresses themselves fostered dialogue and circulation of ideas, news, skills, architectural styles and musical repertoire in the localities.
This project comes at a time when heritage organisations, museums and galleries are facing financial difficulties and a crisis of identity following prolonged closure and uncertainty as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. We will therefore use Henry VIII's progresses as a means of connecting heritage sites and exploring with our partners, stakeholders and local history focus groups both the challenges for heritage organisations and the ways they can assist in uniting communities. We will engage with modern-day residents of places once visited by Henry VIII in an effort to assess the legacy of royal progresses and provide opportunities for translational impact through co-creation with our heritage partners using local history networks. We will also engage and inspire the interested public through opportunities for participation in community archaeology at Tudor sites and performances of Tudor music in their original settings.
The digital legacy of the project (from visualisations of 'lost' sites to mobile-enabled progress trails) makes available a remarkable resource for study of Tudor history for all audiences. Henry VIII on Tour will re-engage and inspire educators in schools and museums to use the Tudors across the curriculum through new ways of approaching and discovering the past. We will use digital creativity to bring both landscapes and buildings to life, demonstrating how a coming together of digital heritage and archival research can tell new stories, pose and answer innovative research questions, and inspire greater curiosity about local places.
In a personal monarchy, a fundamental questions was the location of the king at any one time, which surprisingly we do not always know for Henry VIII. Building on a one-year AHRC Research Network, Henry VIII on Tour brings together a cross-disciplinary team of scholars and technical specialists from both academic and heritage sectors, who will use close study of archival sources, architecture, archaeology, music and material culture to inform a reconceptualisation of Henry VIII's progresses. We will focus on four key themes: logistics, kingship/queenship, performance, and legacy. By mapping all known progress venues and charting changes in duration, regional location and accommodation through successive phases of the reign, our project establishes a full itinerary for Henry VIII for the first time, significantly enhancing historians' understanding of the purpose of royal progresses and their impact on 16th century political and religious culture. Examining specific progresses from each decade (1511, 1522, 1535 and 1541) we will determine how they can be understood and reinterpreted within the context of the ideals and challenges of statecraft in the early modern period. Wherever possible we consider queenship in parallel with kingship, highlighting Henry's queens as independent actors in the performance of progresses, religious devotions and hunting expeditions. We will also explore how the logistics of 'performing' progresses can reveal hidden histories of understudied groups and communities and how progresses themselves fostered dialogue and circulation of ideas, news, skills, architectural styles and musical repertoire in the localities.
This project comes at a time when heritage organisations, museums and galleries are facing financial difficulties and a crisis of identity following prolonged closure and uncertainty as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. We will therefore use Henry VIII's progresses as a means of connecting heritage sites and exploring with our partners, stakeholders and local history focus groups both the challenges for heritage organisations and the ways they can assist in uniting communities. We will engage with modern-day residents of places once visited by Henry VIII in an effort to assess the legacy of royal progresses and provide opportunities for translational impact through co-creation with our heritage partners using local history networks. We will also engage and inspire the interested public through opportunities for participation in community archaeology at Tudor sites and performances of Tudor music in their original settings.
The digital legacy of the project (from visualisations of 'lost' sites to mobile-enabled progress trails) makes available a remarkable resource for study of Tudor history for all audiences. Henry VIII on Tour will re-engage and inspire educators in schools and museums to use the Tudors across the curriculum through new ways of approaching and discovering the past. We will use digital creativity to bring both landscapes and buildings to life, demonstrating how a coming together of digital heritage and archival research can tell new stories, pose and answer innovative research questions, and inspire greater curiosity about local places.
Description | University of Exeter Open Innovation Platform Collaboration Fund Award |
Amount | £15,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 123810-G-00-2087-1026 |
Organisation | University of Exeter |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2023 |
End | 07/2024 |
Description | Henry VIII on Tour |
Organisation | English Heritage |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | I and my research team at Historic Royal Palaces have provided the intellectual leadership for the collaboration and both chaired meetings with project partners and hosted the initial workshop at Hampton Court Palace. We also organised the international conference on the theme of the project. Since the new funding award we have held further Workshops both online and in-person including one at the King's Manor (University of York) which brought together all the collaborating partners to discuss the research and assisting with its impact. |
Collaborator Contribution | Two of the partners have provided the venue for a meeting (Burlington House, London) and one of the workshops (Grey's Court, Oxfordshire) and input from curators, archivists and policy makers to the meetings/workshops held as part of the project. They have also assisted in the formulation of the larger funding bid by providing recommendations and discussing ideas and priorities for future research and heritage-focussed collaboration. We are working closely with a number of the properties within our partners' portfolio (as progress venues) and undertaking geophysical surveys, archaeological digs and musical residencies there. |
Impact | This multidisciplinary collaboration (political cultural and social history, art, architecture and archaeology) has resulted in the submission of a significant larger research grant to the AHRC. This has now been successful and awarded funding under the title: Henry VIII on Tour: Landscapes, Communitis and Performance. We have held some initial 'town-hall' meetings for local historians, archaeologists and interested residents at Collyweston, Lyddington and Ampthill where we have explained the project and revealed some of our research findings to date. Our discussions with these community groups have been to ascertain what they would like to gain from our research and how we can benefit them most in making it available. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Henry VIII on Tour |
Organisation | Historical Association |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | I and my research team at Historic Royal Palaces have provided the intellectual leadership for the collaboration and both chaired meetings with project partners and hosted the initial workshop at Hampton Court Palace. We also organised the international conference on the theme of the project. Since the new funding award we have held further Workshops both online and in-person including one at the King's Manor (University of York) which brought together all the collaborating partners to discuss the research and assisting with its impact. |
Collaborator Contribution | Two of the partners have provided the venue for a meeting (Burlington House, London) and one of the workshops (Grey's Court, Oxfordshire) and input from curators, archivists and policy makers to the meetings/workshops held as part of the project. They have also assisted in the formulation of the larger funding bid by providing recommendations and discussing ideas and priorities for future research and heritage-focussed collaboration. We are working closely with a number of the properties within our partners' portfolio (as progress venues) and undertaking geophysical surveys, archaeological digs and musical residencies there. |
Impact | This multidisciplinary collaboration (political cultural and social history, art, architecture and archaeology) has resulted in the submission of a significant larger research grant to the AHRC. This has now been successful and awarded funding under the title: Henry VIII on Tour: Landscapes, Communitis and Performance. We have held some initial 'town-hall' meetings for local historians, archaeologists and interested residents at Collyweston, Lyddington and Ampthill where we have explained the project and revealed some of our research findings to date. Our discussions with these community groups have been to ascertain what they would like to gain from our research and how we can benefit them most in making it available. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Henry VIII on Tour |
Organisation | National Trust |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | I and my research team at Historic Royal Palaces have provided the intellectual leadership for the collaboration and both chaired meetings with project partners and hosted the initial workshop at Hampton Court Palace. We also organised the international conference on the theme of the project. Since the new funding award we have held further Workshops both online and in-person including one at the King's Manor (University of York) which brought together all the collaborating partners to discuss the research and assisting with its impact. |
Collaborator Contribution | Two of the partners have provided the venue for a meeting (Burlington House, London) and one of the workshops (Grey's Court, Oxfordshire) and input from curators, archivists and policy makers to the meetings/workshops held as part of the project. They have also assisted in the formulation of the larger funding bid by providing recommendations and discussing ideas and priorities for future research and heritage-focussed collaboration. We are working closely with a number of the properties within our partners' portfolio (as progress venues) and undertaking geophysical surveys, archaeological digs and musical residencies there. |
Impact | This multidisciplinary collaboration (political cultural and social history, art, architecture and archaeology) has resulted in the submission of a significant larger research grant to the AHRC. This has now been successful and awarded funding under the title: Henry VIII on Tour: Landscapes, Communitis and Performance. We have held some initial 'town-hall' meetings for local historians, archaeologists and interested residents at Collyweston, Lyddington and Ampthill where we have explained the project and revealed some of our research findings to date. Our discussions with these community groups have been to ascertain what they would like to gain from our research and how we can benefit them most in making it available. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Henry VIII on Tour |
Organisation | Society of Antiquaries of London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | I and my research team at Historic Royal Palaces have provided the intellectual leadership for the collaboration and both chaired meetings with project partners and hosted the initial workshop at Hampton Court Palace. We also organised the international conference on the theme of the project. Since the new funding award we have held further Workshops both online and in-person including one at the King's Manor (University of York) which brought together all the collaborating partners to discuss the research and assisting with its impact. |
Collaborator Contribution | Two of the partners have provided the venue for a meeting (Burlington House, London) and one of the workshops (Grey's Court, Oxfordshire) and input from curators, archivists and policy makers to the meetings/workshops held as part of the project. They have also assisted in the formulation of the larger funding bid by providing recommendations and discussing ideas and priorities for future research and heritage-focussed collaboration. We are working closely with a number of the properties within our partners' portfolio (as progress venues) and undertaking geophysical surveys, archaeological digs and musical residencies there. |
Impact | This multidisciplinary collaboration (political cultural and social history, art, architecture and archaeology) has resulted in the submission of a significant larger research grant to the AHRC. This has now been successful and awarded funding under the title: Henry VIII on Tour: Landscapes, Communitis and Performance. We have held some initial 'town-hall' meetings for local historians, archaeologists and interested residents at Collyweston, Lyddington and Ampthill where we have explained the project and revealed some of our research findings to date. Our discussions with these community groups have been to ascertain what they would like to gain from our research and how we can benefit them most in making it available. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Henry VIII on Tour |
Organisation | York Museums Trust |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | I and my research team at Historic Royal Palaces have provided the intellectual leadership for the collaboration and both chaired meetings with project partners and hosted the initial workshop at Hampton Court Palace. We also organised the international conference on the theme of the project. Since the new funding award we have held further Workshops both online and in-person including one at the King's Manor (University of York) which brought together all the collaborating partners to discuss the research and assisting with its impact. |
Collaborator Contribution | Two of the partners have provided the venue for a meeting (Burlington House, London) and one of the workshops (Grey's Court, Oxfordshire) and input from curators, archivists and policy makers to the meetings/workshops held as part of the project. They have also assisted in the formulation of the larger funding bid by providing recommendations and discussing ideas and priorities for future research and heritage-focussed collaboration. We are working closely with a number of the properties within our partners' portfolio (as progress venues) and undertaking geophysical surveys, archaeological digs and musical residencies there. |
Impact | This multidisciplinary collaboration (political cultural and social history, art, architecture and archaeology) has resulted in the submission of a significant larger research grant to the AHRC. This has now been successful and awarded funding under the title: Henry VIII on Tour: Landscapes, Communitis and Performance. We have held some initial 'town-hall' meetings for local historians, archaeologists and interested residents at Collyweston, Lyddington and Ampthill where we have explained the project and revealed some of our research findings to date. Our discussions with these community groups have been to ascertain what they would like to gain from our research and how we can benefit them most in making it available. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Acton Court (site visit) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
Results and Impact | Initial site visit to Acton Court to discuss activity planning and a 360-degree imaging visualisation offer from Heritage 360. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Ampthill (Site Visit) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Initial site visit to Ampthill Local History Society to discuss activity planning, how we could best feed into their research, and scoping for an archaeological survey with project partner, Digventures. Sparked questions about archival sources and request for documents. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Beaulieu (Newhall) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Initial site visit to Newhall School (Chelmsford, Essex), site of the former Beaulieu Palace owned by Henry VIII, to discuss activity planning, how we could best feed into their curricula, and scoping for an archaeological survey with Digventures. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Collyweston (Foyle) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk given by Dr Johnathan Foyle, hosted by the Collyweston Historical and Preservation Society on Tudor Collyweston. Included brief presentation on the HoT project and on the community engagement by Kate Giles, Louise Hampson and Keely Hayes-Davies. Impact benchmarking surveys distributed and completed with 63 responses from members of the public and CHaPS members. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Collyweston (site visit) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Initial site visit with the Collyweston Historical and Preservation Society to understand the individual wants and needs of their society. Series of 8 follow-up meetings in 2023 and 2 in Jan 2024 to discuss our comms and engagement strategy and planned activities for the site. Agreed strategy for partnership working and scoping for local history partnership working. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Dissolution Workshop (IHR) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Kate Giles attended the IHR's Dissolutions workshop, and discussed the work of the project and its research to the attendees in a roundtable discussion. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | English Heritage (online meeting) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Meeting with EH curators about potential site selection and collaborative work for the Bloomberg Connect application/online platform. Agreed strategy for partnership working, informed design of the itinerary tool, and the Bloomberg Connect app. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Fulford LHS |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Keely Hayes-Davies (Impact and Outreach Co-ordinator) gave a talk to the Fulford and Heslington Local History Society on the 1541 progress to York and its impact on the local area (Fulford). It particularly sparked amusement about the Fulford Cross where the city met the king which is now dwarfed by an Aldi Superstore. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | HoT (Historic Houses) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | This was an article in the Historic Houses annual magazine discussing the Henry on Tour project and featuring some of the houses that we are collaborating with in the project. It has generated considerable interest in the project from owners/members, including some who have asked for more information about their property's historical relevance to Henry VIII's Progresses. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | http://historichouses.org |
Description | HoT Project Launch (York) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Launch of the Henry on Tour project in February 2023 at the King's Manor (University of York) which involved a presentation about the aims and objectives of the project and an opportunity for networking amongst the invited guests. It was attended by a mixture of academics, heritage professionals, archaeologists, musicians, local historians and members of the local press. It generated considerable interest in the future engagement activities in the project and offers of assistance and collaboration. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | http://henryontour.uk |
Description | Layer Marney 500 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk given as part of History Festival weekend celebrating 500th anniversary of the death of Lord Henry Marney held at Layer Marney Tower (Essex). It highlighted the visit of Henry VIII on royal progress to Layer Marney in 1522, the building of the house and the arrangements made for Marney's funeral. Interest in the Henry on Tour project was stimulated and requests for further information both on substantive knowledge and especially related to future engagement activities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | http://henryontour.uk |
Description | Luxury Banquets (Paris) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This was a presentation entitled 'The Diplomacy of Feasting at the Court of Henry VIII' held in Le Tour Jean Sans Peur (Paris, France) in February 2024 as part of a series of workshops on the history and material culture of luxury banquets organised jointly by the Universities of Prague, CNRS Paris and Tours. Discussion was prompted on the national and cultural differences, similarities in contexts and the broader implications across medieval and early modern periods. The organisers would like to arrange some online sessions for the Society of Court Studies and consider further funding/workshops. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Luxury Banquets (Prague) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This was a presentation entitled 'A Feast for a King? Preparing Banquets for Henry VIII' held in Karlstejn Castle, near Prague (Czech Republic) in January 2024 as part of a series of workshops on the history and material culture of luxury banquets organised jointly by the Universities of Prague, CNRS Paris and Tours. Discussion was prompted on the national and cultural differences, similarities in contexts and the broader implications across medieval and early modern periods. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Lyddington (LMHS) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Series of talks for the LMHS on the history of Henry VIII's relationship with Lyddington, Tudor liturgy and the Bede House, the 1541 progress and the visualisations and the legacy strand. Questions and discussion about nature of the progresses and the significance of some of the other local venues. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Lyddington (site visit) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Initial site visit at the Lyddington Bede House with attendees from English Heritage, the Lyddington Manor History Society to discuss the individual wants and needs of these stakeholders to inform our activity planning and impact benchmarking. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Music & Ceremony (Malaga) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This was a presentation entitled 'Music and Ceremony during the Progresses of Henry VIII' arising from research on the project to an audience of predominantly musicologists and music historians as well as social and urban historians (particularly those specialising in civic ceremony). My paper sparked wide ranging questions (including on the nature of links with Continental courts and musicians) and discussion relating to sources. I also received a request from the organiser to come to Malaga to hold a follow-up session and speak to her students. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Petworth (site visit) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Site visit and workshop with the National Trust team at Petworth and regional partners. A series of planning meetings with senior curators and estate managers to plan for the dig and associated activities for July 2024. 12 curators, volunteers, property and estates managers attended the initial meeting to co-design project activities, engagement strategies and archaeological activities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | http://digventures.com |
Description | Research Seminar (HRP) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This was a presentation on the scope and nature of the project and how the research is intended to provide a broader reach to HRP's research and public engagement. It has subsequently sparked discussion about how our communications and marketing teams can ensure this and aim to extend the project to schools and break down barriers with other heritage organisations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | SAL (York) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk by Keely Hayes-Davies for the Society of Antiquaries York branch on the 1541 progress and the project's research plans. Kindled interest in its further research and engagement activities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Sovereign (YTR Performance) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Kate Giles attended the York Theatre Royal "Sovereign" Press Night Performance, promoting the work of the project on the production and our work more broadly (which was also showcased in the programme notes). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Sovereign (YorkTheatreRoyal) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Tours of King's Manor and talks on the 1541 progress to York to the cast and crew of YTR's Sovereign. Over 70 cast and crew attended talks over two days, informing their decisions for staging and performance with historical knowledge. Talks from HoT team on Tudor York, the 1541 progress and the history of King's Manor to the Friends of York Theatre Royal, donors to YTR's community theatre projects. Sovereign Press Night Performance was attended by members of HoT team, promoting the work of the project on the production and our work more broadly. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | http://henryontour.uk |