This is the brass memorial plaque in the Chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula at the Tower of London, which commemorates the people who were executed at the Tower and buried there.
The Chapel is still a consecrated space, so you can't visit it any time. People are only allowed inside in groups, only with a Yeoman Warder, and not very often. In all my visits to the Tower, I have only managed it once. And I have always wanted a picture of that plaque, but people aren't allowed to take pictures inside the chapel.
So imagine my delight when the Tower's ravenmaster posted it on Facebook! I intend to print it for my writing 'inspiration wall', which is where I collect things that make me remember the thrill I felt when I first started studying the Tudors. The first time I heard about Queen Anne Boleyn...beheaded and buried in an arrow chest. Lady Jane Grey...small and bookish, an unlikely queen who suffered an unlikely fate. Queen Katherine Howard...foolish and empty-headed. I have always found it difficult to sympathize with her. And Thomas Seymour was even worse...criminally selfish and stupidly ambitious.
Yes, it's true, the stories are not always uplifting, but they are always fascinating. What colourful, compelling characters these people were, and what an amazing legacy they left behind. Just looking at their names engraved in brass makes my fingers tingle to write, and bring that era to life once again.
So I'm off to do just that.
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