Edmund I of England was crowned on 29th November 939 and ruled until his murder, at the age of 24 or 25, on 26th May 946. ​Edmund was the son of Edward the Elder and succeeded to the throne following the death of his half brother, Æthelstan, on 27th October 939.

Edmund's early reign was characterised by military action in which he managed to consolidate his position and the position of England. Following the death of Æthelstan, King Olaf III Guthfrithson, Viking King of Dublin, conquered Northumbria and invaded Mercia and so Edmund was immediately pitted against him in an attempt to rebuild his brother's realm. When Olaf died in 942, Edmund was able to reconquer Mercia, though Northumberland still beyond his grasp. In 943, Edmund became the god-father of King Olaf of York and with his new ally was able to successfully reconquer Northumbria the following year. However, in the same year Olaf lost his throne and left for Ireland, where he became the king of Dublin and continued to be allied to his god-father.
 
In 945, Edmund conquered the British Kingdom of Strathclyde but apparantly ceded the territory to King Malcolm I of Scotland in exchange for a treaty of mutual military support. This established a policy of safe borders and peaceful relationships with Scotland, which would outlast the English kind's reign.
 
​In Europe he played a role in restoring Louis IV to the French throne. Louis, son of Charles the Simple and Edmund's half-sister Eadgifu, had resided at the West-Saxon court for some time until 936, when he returned to be crowned King of France. In the summer of 945, he was captured by the Norsemen of Rouen and subsequently released to Duke Hugh the Great, who held him in custody. Edmund wrote to Hugh, apparently persuading him to release Louis.

During his reign, a revival of monasteries in England also began.

According to his chroniclers Edmund was murdered at a feast in his own hall by Leofa by an exiled thief, who was in turn killed on the spot. A recent article (Halloran, 2015) re-examines Edmund's death and dismisses this account as fiction. It suggests the king was the victim of a political assassination and was killed while attending St. Augustine's Day mass in Pucklechurch, South Gloucestershire.

He was succeeded by his brother, Edred.

​This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on the Kings and Queens of England. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to see them first.

On this day in 1577, Francis Drake set sail from Plymouth on what was supposed to be ​an expedition against the Spanish along the Pacific coast of the Americas. 

The journey was however cut short due to poor weather conditions that threatened his little fleet of five ships. The storm was so strong that the mast of Drake's flagship, Pelican, later to be renamed The Golden Hinde,  had to be cut overboard to save it. Another ship, Marigold, was driven ashore and, according to Francis Petty, one of Drake's Gentlemen at Arms, was left "...somewhat bruised". The fleet was forced to take refuge in Falmouth, Cornwall, from where it returned to Plymouth for repair.

This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on important events in British history; Drake's story is to be continued...  

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On this day in 1100 King Henry I of England married Matilda, daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland. According to historian Warren Hollister, Henry and Matilda were emotionally close, but their union was also politically motivated. Matilda  was a member of the West Saxon royal family, being the niece of Edgar Ætheling, the great-granddaughter of Edmund Ironside and a descendant of Alfred the Great. Marrying Matilda gave Henry's reign increased legitimacy, and and gave future English monarchs a direct line back to the Saxon Royal House. As she was brother to Edgar, who was king of Scotland between 1097 and 1107 and Alexander I who succeeded him, It also bought closer relations with England's northern neighbour, which in the past had often disintegrated into conflict and violence.

Henry was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and brother of his predecessor William II, often known as William Rufus. He was present at his brother's death, which was possibly a murder.

His reign ran between 2nd August 1100 and 1st December 1135. He is reputed to have been an effective ruler, although some consider him harsh. He skilfully manipulated the barons in England and Normandy. In England, he built on the existing Anglo-Saxon system of justice, local government and taxation. He encouraged ecclesiastical reform, but became embroiled in a serious dispute in 1101 with Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury, which was resolved through a compromise solution in 1105.

Matilda was intelligent and resourceful and wielded a level of agency that was uncommon for women of the time, taking an active role in government when her husband was away; many surviving charters are signed by her. She took a great interest in architecture and instigated the building of many Norman-style buildings, including Waltham Abbey and Holy Trinity Aldgate. She also commissioned the building of the first arched bridge in England, at Stratford-le-Bow, as well as a bathhouse with piped-in water and public lavatories at Queenhithe. Her court was one of literature and culture, filled with musicians and poets. She was also pious and sympathetic with the poor, with William of Malmesbury describing her as attending church barefoot at Lent, and washing the feet and kissing the hands of the sick.

Henry and Matilda had two children. Their daughter Matilda would become Holy Roman Empress, German Queen and Queen of Italy while their son William Adelin would die in the White Ship disaster of 1120. 

Henry's failure to produce a legitimate son from his second marriage led to the succession crisis of The Anarchy.

​This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on the Kings and Queens of England. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to see them first.

On this day in 1605, Guy Fawkes was discovered in a cellar under the House of Lords with 36 barrels of gunpowder. He was there carrying out part of what is now known as the Gunpowder Plot, a failed attempt to assassinate King James I of England and VI of Scotland. The thwarting of the Plot is commemorated every year on Bonfire Night.

The plotters, who were led by Robert Catesby, were Catholics, who having suffered years of persecution under Elizabeth I had hoped James, who became king in 1603, would be better deposed to them. While initial signs were good, following an earlier failed plot and the need to satisfy the Puritans in his Parliament, in February 1604 the king publicly announced his 'utter detestation' of Catholicism. Consequently, Catholic hopes were not met and the Gunpowder plotters began to draw their plans.

The plan was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of England's Parliament on 5 November 1605, at which James and many other important figures would be present. It would be a prelude to a popular revolt in the Midlands during which James's nine-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, would be installed at the Catholic head of state.

The plotters leased a small house in the heart of Westminster, installing Fawkes as caretaker under the alias of John Johnson. In March 1605 the group took out another lease on a ground-floor cellar close by the house. The cellar lay directly beneath the House of Lords and over the following months, 36 barrels of gunpowder were moved in, enough to completely destroy the chamber above, if ignited. Fawkes, who had 10 years of military experience fighting in the Spanish military, was given charge of the explosives.

The plot was however revealed when an anonymous letter was sent on the 26th October to William Parker, Baron Monteagle, warning  him to avoid the house on the 5th November. He took it to Cecil, Earl of Salisbury who was already aware of certain stirrings, but did not yet know the exact nature of the plot, or who exactly was involved. He therefore elected to wait to see how events would unfold. Searches of the House was ordered on the 5th; the first found a suspiciously large amount of firewood in one of the cellars. The second, at around midnight, found Fawkes and his gunpowder.

Fawkes was arrested immediately, although he gave only his alias. Another plotter,Thomas Percy, had already been linked with the cellar and house, and a warrant for his arrest was also issued. Fawkes was interrogated, however little had been learned by the following day and so James I gave permission to use torture, gradually 'proceeding to the worst'. It took several days to illicit any useful information, however on the 8th November, most of the other plotters were caught, while Catesby, Percy and two others were killed fighting in an attempt to evade capture. The last remaining plotter, Robert Wintour, was captured in the New Year.

At their trial on 27th January 1606, eight of the surviving plotters, including Fawkes, were convicted and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered, which was carried out on the 30th and 31st.

The impact on ordinary Catholics would be immense and last several centuries. New laws were passed preventing them from practising law, serving as officers in the military, or standing or voting in local or Parliamentary elections. They became the scapegoat for many tragic event, including the Great Fire of London of 1666. While penal laws started to be dismantled from around 1766 , it would not be until the Roman Catholic Relief Act on 1829 that the most substantial restrictions would be lifted, including the right to vote. It was not until 2011 that the law barring a British monarch from marrying a Catholic was lifted, while the monarch cannot be a Catholic to this day.

The conversion of James II of England and VII of Scotland to Catholicism in around 1668 and the prospect of a Catholic monarchy in England led directly to the Glorious Revolution of 1688 when William of Orange was invited to take the thrones. This in turn led to the Jacobite Risings, which took place between 1689 and 1746 and were Britain’s last civil wars. The Jacobite Risings are the subject of our big build of 2017, designed to coincide with Scotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology. Last month we unveiled its full 16 metre square extent at the Great Western Brick Show and are pleased to announce that it will soon be on display once more at a venue in Scotland. Stay tuned for the big announcement!
 
This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on British history. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to see them first.

Henry VII was crowned King of England on the 30th October 1485, founding the royal Tudor dynasty. He had become king following the defeat and death of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22nd August 1485, bringing an end to the civil conflict known as the Wars of the Roses. He was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle. He would rule until his death on 21st April 1509.

Henry VII was born at Pembroke Castle, Wales, on 28th January 1457 to Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond. His father Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, died three months before his birth. It was through his mother, who was the great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, fourth son of Edward III, that Henry derived his strongest claim to the throne, though he later cemented it by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and niece of Richard III. By 1483 he had become the senior male Lancastrian claimant, after the deaths in battle, by murder or by execution of Henry VI, his son Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, and the other members of the Beaufort line.

Henry also made some political capital out of his Welsh ancestry, for example in attracting military support and safeguarding his army's passage through Wales on its way to the Battle of Bosworth Field. He came from an old, established Anglesey family that claimed descent from Cadwaladr (in legend, the last ancient British king), and on occasion Henry displayed the red dragon of Cadwaladr. In reality, however, his hereditary connections to Welsh aristocracy were not strong, with his most immediate ancestors having had their lands forfeited due to their support for  Owain Glyndŵr’s revolt in 1400.

Following his father's death Henry's uncle, Jasper Tudor, the Earl of Pembroke, undertook to protect his siater-in-law and her son; she was 13 years old when she gave birth to Henry. When Edward IV became King in 1461, Jasper went into exile abroad. Pembroke Castle, and later the Earldom of Pembroke, were granted to the Yorkist William Herbert, who also assumed the guardianship of Margaret Beaufort and the young Henry. Herebert was however later captured and killed and when Henry VI was restored in 1470 Jasper Tudor returned. It would not however be long until the Yorkist Edward IV regained the throne in 1471, and Henry was forced to flee with other Lancastrians to Brittany, where he spent most of the next 14 years under the protection of Francis II, Duke of Brittany.

By 1483, Henry's mother was actively promoting him as an alternative to Richard III and in the same year he married Elizabeth of York. Following an early abortive attempt to land in England, and with support from the Woodvilles, in-laws of the late Edward IV, he sailed with a small French and Scottish force, landing in Mill Bay, Pembrokeshire, close to his birthplace. He marched towards England accompanied by his uncle Jasper and the Earl of Oxford and in part playing on his Welsh ancestry, he amassed an army of around 5,000 soldiers. His army met Richard III's at the Battle of Bosworth Field, where they won a decisive victory. Richard III's death at Bosworth Field effectively ended the Wars of the Roses, although it was not the last battle Henry had to fight to keep his throne.

Henry was successful in restoring the power and stability of the English monarchy after the civil war, and after a reign of nearly 24 years, he was peacefully succeeded by his son, Henry VIII. He credited with a number of administrative, economic and diplomatic initiatives. In particular his economic policies, and in particular the reform of the English tax system, restored the fortunes of an effectively bankrupt exchequer. The thrust of his foreign policy was both to maintain peace and to create economic prosperity. Recognising the importance of the newly united Spanish kingdom he concluded the Treaty of Medina del Campo, by which his son, Arthur Tudor, was married to Catherine of Aragon. Following Arthur’s death in 1502, Catherine would become the future king Henry VIII’s first wife. He also concluded the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with Scotland, which betrothed his daughter Margaret to King James IV of Scotland; the marriage would eventually lead to the union of the English and Scottish crowns under Margaret's great-grandson, James VI of Scotland and I of England.

Henry VII died at Richmond Palace on 21 April 1509 of tuberculosis and was buried at Westminster Abbey, next to his wife, Elizabeth, in the chapel he commissioned. He was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII (reign 1509–47).

This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on British history. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to see them first.

Æthelstan was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and then King of the English from 927 to 939. He was the son of Edward the Elder and grandson of Alfred the Great. He is often regarded as the first King of England and has a reputation of being an able and successful ruler. According to the twelfth century chronicler William of Malmesbury  "...no one more just or more learned ever governed the kingdom".

On Edward's death his realm appears to have been divided with the Mercians recognising Æthelstan and the West Saxons recognising his brother, Ælfweard. Ælfweard would however be dead within weeks of his father and Æthelstan was inaugurated as king of all of Edward's lands, being crowned on the 4th September 925, having finally eliminated any remaining resistance to his succession.

He was a talented military leader, in 927 conquering the last remaining Viking kingdom, York, and in doing so becoming the first Anglo-Saxon ruler of the whole of England. His lands may even have extended as far north as the Firth of Forth in present day Scotland. His relationship with the Kingdom of Scotland, known then by the Gaelic name Alba, would be fractious and in 934 he led an army against it, perhaps reaching as far north as Dunnottar and Fortriu in present day Aberdeenshire. No significant battles appear to have been fought and a settlement negotiated, with the Scottish King Constantine II acknowledging Æthelstan's overlordship, on September 13th 934. In 937 he would face an invasion from an alliance of Scots, Britons of Strathclyde and Vikings from Dublin. The resulting battle of Brunanburh—Dún Brunde—is reported in the Annals of Ulster as follows:
​
“…a great battle, lamentable and terrible was cruelly fought... in which fell uncounted thousands of the Northmen.  ...And on the other side, a multitude of Saxons fell; but Æthelstan, the king of the Saxons, obtained a great victory".

At home Æthelstan centralised government, increasing control over the production of charters and summoning leading figures from distant areas to his councils. These meetings were also attended by rulers from outside his territory, especially Welsh kings, who thus acknowledged his overlordship. More legal texts survive from his reign than from any other 10th-century English king. They show his concern about widespread robberies, and the threat they posed to social order. His legal reforms built on those of his grandfather, Alfred the Great.

He was also known for his piety, collecting many relics and founding many churches. His household was the centre of English learning during his reign, and it laid the foundation for the Benedictine monastic reform later in the century. No other West Saxon king played as important a role in European politics as Æthelstan, and he arranged the marriages of several of his sisters to continental ruler

Æthelstan died at Gloucester on 27 October 939 and was buried at Malmesbury Abbey. He had no legitimate children and was succeeded by his by his half-brother Edmund, then aged 18. His empire collapsed in little more than a year after his death when the Viking chief Olaf Guthfrithson sailed from Ireland and seized Northumbria and the Mercian Danelaw. Edmund would rule between 939 and 946 and his brother Eadred between 946 and 955; most their reigns would be spent attempting to regain control of the lost lands. This would not be achieved until 954.

​This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on British history. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to see them first.

Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 874 to 899 and by the time of his death, the dominant ruler of England. He is one of only two English monarchs to be given the epithet "the Great", the other being the Scandinavian Cnut the Great. He was the first to style himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons and so is often identified as the first English King in many regal lists.

During his reign he had to repeatedly deal with Viking invaders, including the struggle with the Great Heathen Army, which he inherited on his succession to the throne on 23rd April 871. He would win some significant military victories in doing so, including the Battle of Edington in 878.

Alfred had a reputation as a learned and merciful man of a gracious and level-headed nature who encouraged education, proposing that primary education be taught in English rather than Latin, and improved his kingdom's legal system, military structure and his people's quality of life.

Alfred died on 26 October 899. He was originally buried in the Old Minster in Winchester but was moved to the New Minster four years later. In 1110, the monks were transferred to Hyde Abbey along with Alfred's body, which was presumably interred before the high altar. He was succeeded by his son Edward the Elder, who ruled until 924.

Much of what we know of Alfred comes from his biography by Bishop Asser, which Alfred himself commissioned. It is therefore unsurprising that this work emphasised the king’s positive aspects. Later medieval historians, such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, perhaps influenced by this text, also reinforced Alfred's favourable image. Alfred’s promotion of English rather than Latin meant that he continued to be viewed positively during the time of the Reformation. Consequently, it was writers of the sixteenth century who gave Alfred his epithet as 'the Great' rather than any of Alfred's contemporaries. The epithet was retained by succeeding generations of Parliamentarians and empire-builders who saw Alfred's patriotism, success against barbarism, promotion of education and establishment of the rule of law as supporting their own ideals.

This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on British history. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to see them first.

On this date in 1727 George II was crowned King of Great Britain and Ireland. Hanoverian by birth, he was the last British monarch to be born outside of the British Isles. He was also the last British monarch to lead an army in battle when in 1743 he participated in the Battle of Dettingen, an engagement in the War of Austrian Succession.  

In 1745 supporters of the Stuart claim to the throne, led by Charles Edward Stuart ("The Young Pretender" or "Bonnie Prince Charlie"), rose up in what would be the last Jacobite Rising. In this doomed attempt to depose George of his throne the Jacobites would win battles at Prestonpans and Falkirk and capture cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester. It would be George’s son, Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, who would finally quash the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, the last pitched battle to be fought on British soil. In the wake of the rising Cumberland's reprisals would be brutal, earning him the epithet of “The Butcher”.
 
The Jacobite Risings were the subject of our big build of 2017, designed to coincide with Scotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology. You can find out more about this enormous model on this webpage:
 
www.bricktothepast.com/jacobite-risings.html

This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on British history. Follow us on  Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first.

Here at Brick to the Past we take our inspiration from a variety of sources, including field trips, a range of literature and art. Art can be particularly useful because it can not only provide a view point to the past but can also be the source of scenes and stories to work into a model. So it’s been wonderful to find out that we’ve been able to provide inspiration that others have drawn upon.

This month we were contacted by artist George Brady, who has been working on a lead and glass mosaic. The inspiration for the mosaic comes from our model The Wall: Rome’s Northern Frontier, and in particular a photo of it that shows it’s fort, milecastle and rolling landscape.

The result is an incredible mosaic that is alive with life. According to George, the model took over 3,000 hours to make and contains over 30,000 pieces of lead. He is hoping that this is a world record for a mosaic of this kind and is currently awaiting the decision of the Guinness Book of Records. If you would like to see the mosaic in person, then it go on display at the Harris Museum in Preston over December and January.

George is available for commission and you can send any enquiries you have to gbradyarts@hotmail.co.uk

At the outbreak of the war in 1215, Louis and the Barons' position looked strong. They controlled most of south and east England and had the support of the Scottish and Welsh rulers in the north and west. Furthermore, when King John died in October 1216 Henry was just 9 years old and yet to reach his majority. This could be enormously problematic for medieval monarchies, however John had had the foresight to leave behind a group of very able people to administer the Kingdom, including William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, to act as regent.
 
On May 20th 1217 Marshal led a royalist army to victory at the Battle of Lincoln. This proved a significant blow to Louis as it significantly reduced his operational ability and removed many of his supporters from the field. Following the battle Louis attempted to come to terms with his opponents, however negotiations broke down and hearing that Eustace the Monk would soon be sailing from France with reinforcements and supplies, he resolved to fight on.
 
Eustace appears to have been a remarkable character. Born into minor nobility in the French county of Boulogne, he is said to have studied black magic in Toledo, Spain, then become a Benedictine monk at St. Samer Abbey near Calais, left the monastery to avenge the murder of his father and then become a mercenary pirate, selling his services to both English and French monarchs at different times. Between 1205 and 1208 he had been in the employ of King John and with the sovereign's blessing had seized the Channel Islands. In 2012 he switched sides and became instrumental in Louis’ successful capture of London and the Cinque Ports at the start of the Baron’s War.

On 24 August, in clear weather, Eustace and his fleet set out from Calais. With him were approximately 80 ships, around 10 of which were large and equipped for combat. Eustace's own vessel, the Great Ship of Bayonne, led the French squadron; aboard were some 36 knights under the command of Robert de Courtenay. All told, between the first four ships, including Eustace's flagship, were some 100-125 knights, while the remaining six troop ships carrying Men-at-arms.
 
Marshal had heard of Eustace's fleet and on the 19th August he arrived in New Romney to summon the sailors of the Cinque Ports. The sailors were hard to persuade, having been poorly treated by King John, however they were persuaded to fight with the promise of rewards should they defeat the French. With the exception of a large cog supplied by Marshal himself, the English ships were generally smaller than those of the French. They numbered around 40, with around 16-18 larger vessels and 20 smaller ones. Marshal was persuaded to remain a shore and the fleet was led by Hubert de Burgh. One ship was even commanded by King John's illegitimate son, Richard FitzRoy.
 
When the French fleet sailed past Sandwich, de Burgh ordered the English ships to leave port. As the French sailed towards the Thames Estuary it held the advantageous windward position, however perhaps overconfidently and against Eustace’s advice, Robert of Courtenay decided to engage the English fleet. However when the French shortened sail, the English ships were able to gain the windward position and attack. Aided by their position, the English archers were able to inflict considerable damage on the enemy before the French bowmen were able to respond. The English also opened pots of lime which blew in the French faces blinding them to the oncoming attack.

The Great Ship of Bayonne engaged FitzRoy’s ship early in the battle and as more English ships approached they would join the fight against the French flagship. The other French ships maintained a tight formation but failed to intervene. The Great Ship of Bayonne found itself caught between Marshal’s cog and FitzRoy's ship and after a one-sided melee, Robert of Courtenay and the French knights were captured for ransom, while the French sailors and common soldiers were massacred. Eustace was found hiding in the bilge and, seen as a traitor, beheaded on the deck of his ship. With their flagship taken, what was left of the French fleet headed back to Calais. They were pursued by the English who captured and plundered most of the fleeing French supply ships.
 
With supplies low and his connection with the continent severed Louis lost all hopes of a victory. The Treaty of Lambeth was signed in September and Louis returned to France, having renounced his claim to the English throne.
 
This model was built by Brick to the Past's James Pegrum as part of a series of scenes on important events in British history. Be the first to see them by following us on Twitter or Facebook.