Monument status for site where Henry was told of wife’s execution
THIS giraffe certainly stuck his neck out when it came to giving his feathered friends a feed.
The oxpeckers specialise in landing on large mammals including zebras, hippos, buffaloes and rhinos – and feasting on ticks, larvae, insects and parasites.
They get a meal and their host gets a bit of pampering.
Some oxpeckers also roost on their big friends overnight. This may protect them from predators while letting them stick with their
AN ANCIENT burial mound from where Henry VIII is said to have watched for a signal that Anne Boleyn had been executed was yesterday given legal protection.
King Henry’s Mound still has clear views from Richmond Park in south-west London to St Paul’s Cathedral, Whitehall and Windsor Castle.
It is thought to be a round barrow funerary monument dating from as early as 2400 BC. For centuries it was also used as a viewing platform during royal hunts.
It was given protection as a scheduled monument yesterday alongside a second mound dating back to 3800 BC, in the west of the park. This is thought to be a long barrow funerary monument very rare in Greater London.
Listed
The two monuments were listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England.
King Henry’s Mound gets its name from a legend that he waited there on May 19, 1536 for a signal from the Tower of London that his wife Anne Boleyn had been executed for treason.
Her death meant that he was then free to marry his latest love, Lady Jane Seymour.
The story is now believed to be apocryphal but the royal connection is not in doubt.
The park was used for royal hunts from the 14th century and a royal palace was built there, says Historic England.
Among royals known to have hunted in the area are Henry VII, who named it Richmond after his earldom in Yorkshire, his son, host. Rather than roosting in a tree and waking to find him long gone in the morning, they are able to start feeding as the sun rises.
But the starling-sized birds can be a little troublesome. They sometimes open up wounds and drink their host’s blood.
Perhaps this giraffe by the Sand River in Kenya’s Masai Mara was oblivious to his guests – but that’s stretching it...
Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I. The mound appears on a 1630 map named “Kings Standinge” – a viewing platform for royal hunts.
Heritage minister Nigel Huddleston said: “While part of its story may only be legend, it is fitting we are protecting the site for future generations.”
Historic England chief executive Duncan Wilson said: “King Henry’s Mound is a rare feature of London’s prehistoric landscape. It once overlooked trees and grassy plains where today the whole city lies before you from its summit.
“It illustrates both change and continuity and has been a special place for thousands of years.
“It clearly merits the protection being conferred on it today.”
Round barrows represent the burial places of Britain’s early farming communities and are amongst the oldest field monuments visibly surviving.