500th Anniversary of the Accession of Henry VIII

This Letters Patent in the Harvey collection [Ref.HY1] shows a flatteringly slender portrait of Henry VIII. The document grants the Manor of Ickwell Bury ‘late parcel of the possessions of the Hospital or Priory of St John Jerusalem now dissolved’ with all property in Ickwell and Northill to John Barnardiston of Ickwell and his wife Joan. The document is dated 1543, shortly after the dissolution of the monasteries. Look out for more information about Henry VIII and his connections with Bedfordshire in the next newsletter.