Historians on Tour - Runnymede & Ankerwycke

Runnymede holds a lot of history as well as a few historical myths. It was on this site that the Magna Carta was signed and sealed, an old Benedictine Priory church once stood here and it's also supposedly the site were Henry VIII proposed to Anne Boleyn. Now I can add myself to the history. 

The site around Runnymede is all along part of the River Thames and is mostly made up of forests, which is full of walk ways. The main road runs through the middle and on either side of the road there are memorials to the Magna Carta and even a metal work depiction of how it would have been when it was signed. There are also memorials for J.F. Kennedy and the Commonwealth Air Forces. We walked past this in the hope of going back to look, but other events happened that meant we didn't. Instead we walked on the other side of the river, on the part that it seemed not many people used or knew about.

We walked through a cow field and followed the path round and ended up on a wet muddy path. It was at this point that we had to look at Google maps as Jordan thought we were lost. We carried on till we found a clearing that had a massive tree within it. I walked up to see plaque that explained the tree was supposedly the oldest in the country and was under the protection of the Queen. Jordan told me to go have a closer look at the tree, he then proceeded to tell me more history about the tree. But when a couple of dog walkers arrived he stopped talking, making me look at him in confusion. As he carried on I turned around to get a better look at the trunk. The last fact Jordan told me was that this tree was the sight Henry VIII supposedly proposed to Anne Boleyn. When I turned back round he was down on one knee. 

I immediately started crying and told him to get out the mud as I was more concerned about him getting dirty then saying yes. Once I said yes we carried on walking around the area, this was when we found the ruin of an old church, once we had a look at the remains, we decided to walk back to the car and head back to the hotel, where we then proceeded to tell everyone before we went to the cinema.

The History - Magna Carta

Not long after King John became King, he lost the hold that the English had on France, this led him to try and regain what he had lost. It caused him to try and get more money, he raised the taxes in England, which caused everyone in the country to become annoyed and turn against him, so much so that there were plots to have him killed and to be replaced by Prince Louis, the son of the King of France. After a while everyone in England soon started to get annoyed with him and something had to be done. The Baron's rebelled against the King, but were defeated. Because of this defeat it lead to the Magna Carta being produced and the meeting being held at Runnymede. The Magna Carta was a list of demands and negotiations that were to be settled between the King on one side and the Baron's on the other. The document was made up mostly by the barons and was written up with the help of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It laid out protection for the church, barons, justice and payments to the crown. It was meant to make the King and the Barons' on the same level and neither were above the law. King John also couldn't exploit the power that he had and a limit was placed of royal authority by making law it's own power. But within three months of King John signing the Magna Carta and it being issued he had gone back on his word and reverted back to his old ways. The charted was then annulled by Pope Innocent III and the Barons' renounced their homage to King John and even invited Louis to come take the throne. 

This 800 year old document helped change the face of democracy all over the globe. Even though a the start it was some what ignored it was never forgotten about. The Magna Carta helped to write the American Constitution and would go on to help organisation like NATO. 

The History - Ankerwycke

This is meant to be the oldest tree in England, the tree is said to be 2,500 years old. This tree has seen and has been apart of hundred of years of history. Even though Runnymede is said to be the site that the Magna Carta was signed and sealed, its believed that the sealing actually took place underneath the tree. This tree is also said to be the site that Henry VIII courted his second wife Anne Boleyn and it is believed that he proposed to her in the tree's shadow. Although there is a tree in the grounds of Hampton Court that also has the same claim. Just down the path from the tree there used to be St Mary's Priory, this was a nunnery that was built during the reign of Henry II. It was dedicated to St Mary Magdalene, but when the dissolution of the monasteries took place it passed into private hands and over the years was patched up. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries it fell into disrepair and was left to become a ruin with only a few walls left standing.