15 May 2026 Sudeley Castle and Tewkesbury Abbey

 I spent the morning visiting Sudeley Castle in the Cotswolds. It has been around for a long time, and my earliest ancestor associated with it happened in Anglo-Saxon times, when King Aethelred the Unready gifted the castle to his daughter Godgifu "Goda" on her wedding day back in the 11th Century.


When William I the Conqueror became King of England, Sudeley Castle was one of the few pieces of real estate that he actually left to the current Anglo-Saxon owner. The castle remained in the hands of Goda's descendents until the 15th Century, when a new Castle was constructed. It was at this time when the Boteler family acquired it. 


During the War of the Roses in late 1400's, the Botelers sided with the wrong side, and Edward IV gifted the castle to his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later to become Richard III, when he usurped the throne from his brother's two sons, the young Princes of the Tower.

Richard only had the castle until the Battle of Bosworth, when he was defeated by the soon to be Henry VII, who became the owner when he defeated Richard III. Eventually, the Castle became the property of the crown, and King Henry VIII. When Henry the VIII's 3rd wife, Jane Seymour, died after the birth of their son, Edward VI, the King handed over ownership of the castle to her brother, Thomas Seymour.

When Henry the VIII died, his widow, Catherine Parr, secretly married Thomas Seymour, and the castle became hers. This is also where she died 5 days after childbirth. 

The castle is in relatively good shape, and the chapel where Catherine Parr is buried was redone in the 1800's. Catherine's tomb is in the chapel behind the castle, and the castle gardens are fantastic.

 



Off to Tewkesbury Abbey. This was the highlight of my trip so far, and I have 39 ancestors who are associated with this location. Many of them were either executed or died at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. The names of those buried their that I am related to are: De Clare, Despenser, Courtenay, Fitzhamon, and Boteler. I am sure that I have many others buried in the Abbey that I am unaware of, but as I sift through all of the information I acquired there, I am sure to update my genealogy software with my new discoveries.



When I arrived, I was greeted at the entrance by one of the volunteers accepting donations. As we spoke, he mentioned that they had a person who was at lunch who was very knowledgeable about the burials and the history of not only the Abbey, but the Battlefield. I left my business card at the entrance, and asked the volunteer to see if he could track me down in the Abbey when he returned. 

Instead of waiting for him, I started to explore the Abbey myself. I saw many tombs and plaques, and was amazed by the sheer number of things related to my ancestors. I soon noticed someone looking like he was searching for someone, and this was the person I had asked about. His name was Richard Goddard, and he is a Vicar at the Abbey. The next 90 minutes was like finding a treasure chest full of gold. The things he showed me, and the stories he told me, were nearly too many to remember. 

What follows are pictures of some of my ancestors. They were all over the place. To try and remember all of the stuff he told me, I ended up buying 3 books in the Abbey gift shop to read when I return home. These books were about the Abbey, the Banners of the fallen at the Battle of Tewkesbury, and a book I can't wait to read about the 3 De Clare sisters who were the heiresses to the vast de Clare lands and wealth after the last male heir of the de Clare family was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn in Scotland in 1314. 






Some of the tombs are also listed below.








Needless to say, I had a busy day, and came away with tons of information that will take me quite some time to go through. I missed going to the Battlefield at Tewkesbury, but saw so many ancestors who had been killed there, that it didn't seem like much of a loss. I also ran out of time to visit Gloucester Cathedral, but I will find time to fit it in before I move to another hotel in the Wye River Valley between Herefordshire and Wales later next week. Lastly, here are some of the stained glass windows from the Abbey. What makes them unique, and the age of them, and the fact that the knights are my ancestors, as you can tell by the family crests on their armor.



The three red chevrons on a field of yellow are from the De Clare family.




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