Who was Eleanor and why does she have a cross in Dunstable - town's probus club reveals all

Spoiler alert - courtesy of Dunstable Town Guide Kay Kempster, members of the Dunstable Probus Club are now privy to that information, following Kay’s fascinating talk on Queen Eleanor of Castile at the recent club meeting.

Following yet another delicious lunch at Tilsworth Golf Centre, Kay introduced her talk on “Queen Eleanor and her Crosses” by firstly giving us intriguing background information on who Eleanor was and how she came to be Queen. We were taken back to the middle of the 13th century and it was all down to politics of course - well we should have guessed.

Henry III was King of England at the time and England’s possessions in France were almost gone - Gascony being the only remaining province, but even that was on dodgy ground. This was secured, however, by the arranged marriage of Henry’s son Edward to Eleanor, the half sister of Alphonso, the King of Castile.

Sounds a bit like a soap opera doesn’t it? When we learnt that the couple were the ripe old ages of 15 and 13 at the time, and that Eleanor gave birth to 16 children during her life, only 6 of whom survived into adulthood, many eyebrows were raised.

However, the marriage of convenience actually became a partnership of love and when Edward succeeded his father as King, Eleanor travelled everywhere with him, even to the Crusades, some going considering she would have been almost perpetually pregnant!

This brief report cannot do justice to the full content of Kay’s talk, so we jump to the conclusion. In the winter of 1290, in her 49th year, Eleanor became ill while travelling. She died in November that year in the tiny village of Harby, near Lincoln.

Edward wanted her to be buried in Westminster Abbey, so a funeral procession was planned, following a route that took in important monasteries and places that had a special meaning to the couple. As a demonstration of his love, Edward arranged for 12 memorial crosses to be erected, marking the stopping points of the funeral procession.

And Dunstable was one of those 12! Although the exact location is not known, a spot close to the middle of the crossroads is most likely, not too far from the shopping precinct bearing her name.

A vote of thanks was given on behalf of the Club. Thank you very much for an excellent talk Kay!

Dunstable PROBUS Club meets on the second Monday of the month and membership is open to retired or semi-retired professional and business women and men.

The Club’s main purpose is the promotion of good fellowship and if you would like to come along, please contact us on 01582 662462. The next meeting will be held on Monday 10th February 2025 when lunch will be followed by entertainment from a mystery guest speaker!