Elizabeth I at Shaw House

I am delighted to share with you a write up of my recent visit to the Elizabeth I exhibition at Shaw House in Berkshire, England. This beautiful Tudor mansion house completed in 1581 has a very special place in my heart as it is where I attended school between the ages of 11-16. There is no doubt that studying, socialising and playing in this historical environment really fuelled my love of The Tudor era and history in general.

Shaw House

The exhibition itself is to highlight the importance of the Queens visit to the mansion while on her summer progress. Not many of the places visited on the 1592 progress have survived, Shaw House is a rare and little known example of a Tudor mansion, that if the people on the royal progress saw it today, they would still recognise it.

Queen Elizabeth I made 23 progresses during her 44 year reign usually in late summer and early autumn. It was a time when the Queen could be seen by her subjects, reward loyal service and give and receive gifts. The progress was not all fun and relaxation. The Privy Council met regularly, one of these important meetings was held at Shaw House, riders regularly brought news from London to the Queen and messages were relayed back to the capital. It was ‘Business as usual’ for the many workers of the court.

The 1592 progress

The Queen and her train set off from Nonsuch Palace Surrey, on 9^th August and travelled through Middlesex, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire ending at Hampton Court 61 days later. It was one of the last major progresses of her reign and one of the longest.

A Royal progress on the move was an impressive site with hundreds of people, horses and carts in one long baggage train. The luggage would have been carried by horse drawn cart which included, jewel chests, furniture, tapestries, clothes, food, beer and other items carried from house to house. We can assume the Queen liked to feel ‘at home’ wherever she went. Elizabeth a keen rider would have ridden some of the time on horseback, but usually in a carriage with the ladies of the court.

An eye witness account from 1592 reported seeing the train leave from Reading Berkshire with at least 300 carts. A fun recreation of what the train may have looked like can be seen here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00tb63c

The progress could only travel slowly due to its sheer size so would often stop for meals at private houses or inns. One such inn the Queen stopped at in 1592 is the Ostrich in Colnbrook which still stands today.

The Queen arrived at Shaw House in Newbury Berkshire in late August. She was welcomed by the prominent Newbury clothier Thomas Dolman and his family who built the house. She stayed for 2 nights in the best room the mansion had to offer. A first floor triple aspect chamber, with its own privy closet. This chamber afforded views on 3 sides of the property, most prominently the front gardens and sweeping lawns down towards the river Lambourn. The room still retains its original wood panelling. 

The Queens Bed Chamber

View the Queen would have seen

I was able to spend some time alone in the room and soak up the atmosphere, it has a lovely homely feel and the huge leaded windows allow the light to flood in. I was hoping for a visitation, but sadly nothing happened! I am sure Elizabeth found it very comfortable with pleasing vistas. Although some servants and ladies were also accommodated in the house, the majority of servants camped in the grounds in specially erected tents and in lodgings in Newbury town itself.

Side Elevation

Entertainments were organised to impress the Queen and these took place at nearby Donnington Castle. An outdoor stage was erected where speeches, dramatic scenes, music and songs were performed. This was an opportunity for the Dolman family to show their wealth to the Queen and their continued support to her. Although this was an extreme honour to be chosen to accommodate the Queen, it was at huge expense and no doubt the family hoped they would be rewarded and recognised by the Queen sometime in future.

Donnington Castle - Chris Collard

 Many hosts along the progress used the opportunity for further advancement. At Bisham Abbey Lady Russell must have entertained the Queen well, for she honoured her 2 daughters by making them maids of honour at her court after the visit.

The famous 1592 progress is remembered in the painting known as ‘The Ditchley Portrait’.

Commissioned by Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley Oxfordshire whom the Queen stayed with in September 1592.

Ditchley Portrait - WikkiCommons

Small ships can be seen bobbing around the South of England, these may refer to the defeated Spanish armada and show the achievements of Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh. The Queen has her back to a storm and faces the sun showing that unsettled times are over and England is at peace again. She holds a glove or gauntlet the symbol of a champion and wears white indicative of her unmarried virginal state.

The queen is depicted standing on Oxfordshire, with her feet near to Ditchley the home of her host. But this is a fabrication. The style of the Queens gown would have hidden her feet but the artist has included them to point out the location of the visit, no doubt at the request of his proud commissioner.

Shaw House went on to welcome many more Royal visitors in the years that followed. Not least Charles I who used the house as his Royalist headquarters during the second battle of Newbury. Hand to hand combat was fought in the grounds and the fabric of the house bears some battle scars. A bloody siege was held at nearby Donnington Castle where the Queen had frolicked only years earlier. Three years after the restoration, Charles II and his brother James Duke of York were shown around the grounds in a more peaceful setting where their father had fought.

1581 Mark

Today Shaw House is no longer a private home but an authority owned community facility used for meetings, education and weddings. A multi-million pound project has insured its future for us all to enjoy as the royals did 500 years ago. I feel very lucky to have been a part of its colourful history and have thoroughly enjoyed bringing you this post about an otherwise unknown little place in the Berkshire countryside.