The Antiquary - Issue 9, April 2023 - printed copy. 28-page A5 magazine
I give you a real mix of articles and features this month, on both saints and sinners. I introduce you to a delightful church in the countryside near Berkshire in south-east England, that has glorious medieval wall paintings and the tomb of a man and of his wife, who may have had blue blood. Then an article on a fascinating cave complex in the wilds of Derbyshire that also has strong royal connections and may have been the hermitage of a deposed Anglo-Saxon king over a thousand years ago. Dick Turpin the highwayman was no king, but a scoundrel, and in the next article, I look at his life and wicked exploits I explore how his reputation was altered and somewhat improved by the novelist’s pen. Lastly, an article about Christian iconography, looking at the mysterious legend of the girdle of the Blessed Virgin Mary, how it originated and the surviving relics of Mary’s belt. I do hope you enjoy the issue.