Sunday Stamps II - A-Z 'T' USA and Great Britain again,

At school many years ago I studied American history but only the War of Independence. So in checking my stamps for today I never knew that Texas was once a part of Mexico and even existed for a short while as the independent Republic of Texas. It was only in 1845 that Congress approved it to become a member of the United States.

USA Texas State Centennial - 29 October 1945
Flags of USA and Texas

During the American Revolution a group of Green Mountain Boys lead by Ethan Allen  and Colonel Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 from the British. A commemorative stamp was  issued ii 1955.

Map of Fort Ticonderoga, Ethan Allen and Artillery - 18 September 1955

But when it comes to historic buildings Great Britain has - 

Great Britain - 1 March 1978
The Tower of London 

The White Tower was built by William the Conqueror in 1078.

Even older is the discovery made by Howard Carter in 1992 in the Valley of the Kings.

Great Britain - 26 April 1972
Statue of Tutankhamun

For other 'T' stamps visit Sunday-stamps-t. where there will be others to admire.

Weapons, hunting or war - Sunday Stamps II

My stamps this week come from North Africa and Great Britain.

This Egyptian stamp from 1953 shows and Egyptian soldier in uniform, tin hat and with a rifle on his shoulder.

Egypt

The Libyan Revolution of 1 September 1969 which led to the overthrow of the Kingdom of Libya (King Idris) was carried out by the Free Officers Movement with the rebel officers led by Colonel Muammer Gaddafi. I'm sure you know what happened to him.

Libya - 1970

The Royal Mail commemorated the 50th Anniversary of D-Day with a set of five stamps. This is the one I have:

Great Britain - 6 June 1944

One of the earliest poems I learnt at school began:

William the Conqueror 1066

Said to his captains

I mean to affix

England to Normandy

So go out and borrow

Some bows and some arrows

We're starting tomorrow.

This set was issued in 1966 to commemorate the 900th Anniversary of  the Battle of Hastings.

Can you see where Harold got one in the eye in these battle scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry?

For other bellicose offerings check out the links at Sunday Stamps-ii-20.

Nottingham Castle and the gentle Mortimer.

 A-Z Challenge 2012 - N

Nottingham Castle

In the legends of Robin Hood Nottingham Castle is the scene for the showdown between the Sheriff of Nottingham and the outlaw. However there is much more to the history of the castle than its ‘connection’ to Robin Hood.

Reconstruction of Nottingham Castle - 1896

The castle held a commanding position on a promontory known as “Castle Rock”, with 40m cliffs to the south and west. At various times it has been a major fortress and royal residence. After the execution of Charles I it was largely destroyed. The Ducal Mansion now occupying the site was built in the late 1600s.

Nottingham Castle - 2005

Built by William the Conqueror in 1067, the wooden structure with a motte and bailey design was replaced by a stone castle in 1170 by Henry II. In 1194 Richard the Lionheart regained the castle from Prince John with siege engines Richard had used during the crusades at Jerusalem - the only time that an occupier of Nottingham Castle was defeated.

In 1212 King John held sons of Welsh nobles as hostages in the Castle before ordering their execution. The boys’ cries rang round the Castle as they were taken one by one to the ramparts and hanged. Their ghostly pleas for mercy are still said to be heard within the castle precincts.

More drama occurred on the night of 19^th October 1330, when the lovers, Roger Mortimer, 1^st Earl of March and Queen Isabella were in residence. The pair were acting as Regents for the young Edward III following their murder of his father Edward II. The young king and his supporters entered the castle by the secret tunnel now known as Mortimer’s Hole and burst into the lovers chamber. Despite Isabella pleading ‘Fair son, have mercy on gentle Mortimer,’ Edward imprisoned him I the castle. Sir Roger was taken to London and executed there as a traitor; hung drawn and quartered on 29^th November his remains were stuck on spikes and left to rot on traitors gate at Tyburn.

Ghostly echoes from the time may still be heard in the Ducal Mansion now occupying the sight. Footsteps are heard pacing to and fro in the subterranean chamber where Mortimer was held. Sometimes in the castle a woman’s voice pleads, ‘Bel fitz, eiez pitie du gentil Mortimer!’

Charles I raising his standard at Nottingham Castle 1642

In August 1642 at the start of the Civil War Charles I raised his standard outside the castle walls but for most of the war the castle was held by the parliamentary forces. After the execution of the King in 1649, the castle was razed to the ground.

The site was bought by the 1^st Duke of Newcastle in the 1660s; the Ducal Mansion was completed by his son in 1678. The building was attacked and burn down by rioters in 1831. Later a local architect was appointed to adapt the Castle into a building to be used as a museum and art gallery.

The Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, opened Nottingham Castle in 1878 and Nottingham celebrated being the first municipal museum and art gallery outside London.

Nottingham Castle Gatehouse 2005

Manorbier Castle, Pembrokeshire was Hilary Melton-Butcher's castle for M on Saturday.

Attributions:

• Reconstruction of Nottingham Castle 1896; Source Mackenzie, James D. (1896) The Castles of England: Their Story and Structure, Vol II. New York: Macmillan. Author James Mackenzie (1830-1900) PD
• Nottingham Castle. Nottingham Castle 2005; author Rob Bradford; Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license
• Painting by Henry Dawson 1847 of King Charles I raising his standard at Nottingham Castle 24 August 1642 public domain
• Nottingham Castle's Gatehouse 2005; author Rob Bradford; Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license

Chilling Corfe Castle

A headless white lady wandering in the ruins chills the blood of those who encounter her at Corfe Castle, Wareham in Dorset.

Corfe Castle

 (by Robert Goulden - Geograph Project Collection - CC A-S A 2.0 license)

Is she the spirit of the young woman who betrayed the Castle to Cromwell’s Parliamentary troops during the Civil War?

The castle dates back to the 11^th Century although some form of stronghold predated the Norman Conquest. The reference to Wareham Castle in the Domesday Book is thought to refer to Corfe rather than the Wareham timber castle. William the Conqueror himself may have been the responsible for it being built.

Towers, halls and walls were added during the reigns of Henry I, King John and Henry II. In 1210 Maud de Braose and her eldest son William were walled alive in the castle dungeon where they starved to death. Eleanor the "Fair Maid of Brittany" the rightful heir to the throne was captured in 1203 and taken to Corfe Castle where she remained a prisoner until her death in 1241.

The castle remained a royal fortress until sold by Elizabeth I to her Lord Chancellor. In 1635 the castle was bought by Lord Bankes, Attorney General to Charles I. During the Civil War while Bankes was away the castle was besieged twice by the Parliamentarian forces. The Parliamentarians withdrew after the first six week siege. The second siege lasted two months until it was betrayed by one of Lady Bankes’ (“Brave Dame Mary”) own garrison.

After its capture the castle was undermined and blown up to ensure that nothing remained– it could never be used again as a royalist stronghold.

Subsequently there has been talk of ghostly encounters, flickering lights on the ramparts at night and the noise of a child sobbing in a cottage abutting the grassy knoll on which the castle stands. The most enduring spectre remains the castle’s headless white lady – was it she who betrayed Brave Dame Mary in those Civil War days?

Corfe Castle

 (By Robert Brook - CC Attribution 2,0 generic license)