Project blog

A sketch depicting 16th century musicians on a gallery playing wind instruments.

Sovereign 2023: Entertaining Royalty in 1541 - Ceremony and Spectacle

1st August 2023

Royal progresses were an opportunity for ceremony, music and performance. How successful was Henry VIII’s visit to York as a piece of theatre and royal propaganda?

An extract from a painting depicting Henry VIII on horseback surrounded by people on foot.

Sovereign 2023: The Royal Progress of 1541

1st August 2023

What was a royal progress, and why did Henry VIII come to York in 1541?

The corner of a courtyard shows two-storey stone buildings with tree branches in the foreground.

Sovereign 2023: The King's Manor - a short history

1st August 2023

The King’s Manor is a key site in C.J. Sansom’s novel Sovereign. We explore the history of the building and its connection to Henry VIII.

A promotional graphic for the play 'Sovereign'.

Sovereign 2023: Sovereign and the King’s Manor

1st August 2023

Find out more about the production of Sovereign by the York Theatre Royal, hosted in the King's Manor in 2023.

A dark stone effigy of a Tudor nobleman holding his hands in prayer.

Henry Marney’s Final Progress

3rd July 2023

On 1 June 1523 a solemn cortege set off from St Swithin’s in present-day London’s Cannon Street bearing the body of Lord Henry Marney, whom Henry VIII had visited during his progress of 1522. Read more about Henry Marney and the grand manor house of Layer Marney in this blog piece.