Ripon Cathedral is inviting visitors to delve into the intrigue, drama, and Yorkshire legacy of the turbulent Tudors with a series of talks headlining this month’s Tudor Month.
Ripon Cathedral has eighteen portraits of Tudor royalty and other key figures which together offer a visual journey through one of the most transformative periods in English history.
The Royal Portraits originated from nearby Newby Hall and were discovered in one of the towers. They date from the reign of James l. Some hang in the library, which is open to the public, while the remainder are in The Dean’s Residence. The cathedral’s portrait of Anne Boleyn is currently on loan to Hever Castle, her childhood home.
Photographs of all the portraits are currently displayed in the north aisle as part of the Tudor month.
Other highlights of Tudor Month include special Tudor tours exploring the cathedral’s connections to the Tudor period and a Tudor Workshop for Adults.
- Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn on June 11 explores one of the most controversial figures in English History. Dr Owen Emmerson is part of the curatorial team at Hever Castle, Anne Boleyn’s childhood home and temporary home to the cathedral’s portrait of this iconic queen. An historical consultant for the BBC adaptation of Dame Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, Dr Emmerson is also the co-author of several books.
- Conspiracy and Plot in Elizabethan England on June 18 explores the shadowy world of intrigue, rebellion and political danger in the reign of Elizabeth I. The talk is given by John Cooper, Professor of History at the University of York; his book The Queen’s Agent, on which this talk is based, was serialised on BBC Radio 4.
- Henry VIII & England’s Accidental Protestant Reformation with Prof Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of History of the Church, University of Oxford, on June 25 explores Henry VIII’s break with the Pope and the political and personal forces that reshaped English identity for centuries.
Entry to the cathedral and exhibition of photographs and Tudor costumes is by donation, while tickets for talks, tours and the Tudor workshop are bookable via the cathedral’s website here.
