If I See The Houses Of Parliament Once More....

[poliphilo]

Bloody Palace of Westminster!

Not content with featuring as the backdrop to every story about British politics in every news programme ever filmed- it managed - last night- to bag itself a starring role in a documentary about Henry VII, even though it wasn't built until nearly 400 years after his reign.

God, but I'm sick of the sight of it!

Comments

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

Did you know that Henry VII was bombed by the Nazis during World War II? No, really! When they bombed Westminster Abbey, the place caught fire and Henry's effigy, stuffed with straw, was soaked as they sought to put the fire out. The straw got very moldy and nasty so the entire body of the effigy had to be discarded, leaving only the death mask, which is certainly a beaut and was almost certainly featured in the documentary.

What was the documentary's name, by the way, and is it new and was it on the BBC? I may fire up Expat Shield and watch it if it's online.

EDIT: Never mind. I see it's something called The Winter King and I can stream it if I go incognito.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I didn't know that. If the presenter had been on his toes he'd have told us. It's a good story.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

I heard it at the Abbey. And yes, they used the effigy repeatedly in the documentary (which I just watched on YouTube, thankyouverymuch). I think, although I'm not entirely sure, that they've used seeds from the hay (not straw, sorry) in other effigies to reconstruct the flora of your average English meadow of the xxxth century.

I enjoyed the documentary despite the presenter hijinks and the repeated use of marginally inappropriate visuals. (I actually didn't mind the Kraken dinghy stand-in for an invading army.) I do know that these guys are on a budget and have a limited amount to spend on permissions to use images, which is why we see the same.damned.portrait of H8 so often etc.

What I really want to know, though, is the location of that de la Pole genealogy. I'd like to see if it's been digitized or, failing that, if there's a microfilm or other photographic simulacrum.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I got very frustrated by their use of the effigy- always the same shot- moving upwards- never showing us the whole thing.

And that arty image of the blade with blood running down it; I got tired of seeing it every time there was a battle.

That's fascinating about the hay....