Monday, June 18, 2018. Sudeley Castle and English Football.

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs, we set off for Sudeley Castle and Gardens, just 14 miles away, Sudeley has been associated with several royal families, the first of which was the Saxon king, Ethelred the Unready. Coincidentally, Abby and I have been listening to an audio book about Ethelred’s wife. In 1002 Ethelred ordered the massacre of all the Danes in the kingdom, which led to a Danish military invasion and Ethelred’s replacement by King Canute. Sudeley was inherited by Ethelred’s daughter, Princess Goda.

Later, at the time of the Norman Conquest, the estate was owned by Earl Harold de Sudeley. The estate was mentioned in the Domesday Book and its rate of taxation was listed as “12 hides.” The tourist guide to the estate drily notes, “These days, the assessment is somewhat higher.” The de Sudeley family took Matilda’s side in the 12^th-century civil war, and the estate was confiscated by the rival claimant to the throne, Steven. The estate was restored to the de Sudeley family after the war ended.

In 1461 the estate was owned by a family member named Ralph Botelier who backed the Lancastrians in the War of the Roses. When the Yorkist Edward IV took the throne he seized the estate and gave it to his brother, the future Richard III. The castle remained in royal hands until Queen Mary granted it to Sir John Chandos and elevate him to a peerage as Baron Chandos of Sudeley. The Chandos family backed the crown in the English Civil War, which led to the castle being “slighted” by Parliament, meaning the castle was made indefensible and its roof was removed.

In 1830 the estate was purchased by the Dent family, wealthy glove makers. This family had enough money to restore the castle several times since then and now makes money by selling tours of the estate and books that describe it for 5 pounds each.

The estate’s biggest historical claim to fame is that Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s last wife, died and was buried there. She is to this day the only Queen of England to be buried in a private residence. In the 18^th century her coffin was discovered by the wall of an old chapel, and she was then re-interred in a fine sarcophagus in the estate’s St. Mary’s church. The church contains some brilliantly-colored stained glass windows, including one depicting Katherine Parr, Henry VIII and Thomas Seymour.

The estate’s biggest artistic claim to fame is an Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) oil portrait of Rubens. Van Dyck worked for Rubens in his studio and created a very lively portrait of him looking downward with a pleasant expression on his face, which is lit from above. The portrait is in the family’s private rooms, which we were allowed to view, but were not allowed to take pictures of.

The estate has some interesting artifacts in its collection, including a robe worn by the future Queen Elizabeth I when she was christened as a baby. They also have a collection of memorabilia of the Duke of Wellington, including a clipping of mane from his horse, Copenhagen. The estate is surrounded by beautiful set of formal gardens. In one of them a documentary about roses was being filmed for a show called Better Homes and Gardens. The knot garden contains a hedge in the shape of a Celtic knot. Also in the gardens is a "living statue" of Queen Elizabeth I.  We ate lunch in the estate’s restaurant and then returned to the Mill Stream Cottage in Lower Slaughter.

At 6:00 p.m. we went to the Kingsbridge Inn, a pub in Bourton-on-the-Water to have a pub supper and to watch the England v. Tunisia world cup soccer game on television. There were England flags, also advertising Carlsberg Lager, in the windows. England scored early and the pub erupted in cheering. Later in the first half, Tunisia got a penalty kick that I thought was rather strictly called. The announcers at half time and after the game pointed out that the referee did not call a similar foul on Tunisia at the other end of the field. We were so disappointed by the call that we left the pub and went back to the Mill Stream Cottage to watch the second half. Toward the end of the game, during stoppage time, England scored the winning goal to make the final score 2-1. It was a satisfying day.