THE romantic legend of Katherine Parr's birth at Kendal Castle was laid bare by historian David Starkey during a sell-out evening at the Brewery Arts Centre.

The Kendal-born academic, who signed a £2 million "golden handcuffs" deal with Channel 4, told his captivated audience: "It's perfectly clear she has absolutely nothing to do with Kendal; she never comes to Kendal. I doubt very much if her father ever came to Kendal, and certainly her mother never came to Kendal."

Katherine's father Thomas Parr married heiress Maud Green, and family life alternated between Northamptonshire, the royal court and their London house, said Dr Starkey.

He said Victorian writer Agnes Strickland "a sucker for romance" was wrongly convinced Katherine had links with Sizergh Castle after being shown what was claimed to be her "school room" there. "There it is all written up and there's not a scrap of evidence for it."

Former Kendal Grammar School boy Dr Starkey said his latest book Six Wives the Queens of Henry Vlll had taken "two hard years" to write because he had started "from scratch" by examining original documents and secret archives. His aim was not to "debunk" but to establish the facts.

Sipping red wine, he explained: "We see the women as stereotypes, as mannequins in a shop window." For example, Katherine of Aragon was the "saint", Anne Boleyn the "sexy, manipulative sinner", and Katherine Parr sounded "the boring one, the bluestocking".

But careful re-reading of the sources showed the picture was not so clear cut.

Asked by an audience member which of Henry's wives he would invite for a meal, Dr Starkey picked the "most amusing", Anne Boleyn, and Katherine Parr for her conversation.

In his introduction, Kendal Civic Society chairman John Satchell said Dr Starkey knew all about "the particular spin on Tudor life that has been presented in Kendal" for years.

"I'm referring of course to that masterly piece of DIY history which has Katherine Parr born at Kendal Castle," said Dr Satchell, adding: "I'm happy to say that particular story has, if not totally been buried, been confined to the collective subconscious."

Meanwhile, Dr Starkey has agreed to become president of the Kendal branch of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society.

Branch chairman Anne Hillman said: "It's been a tremendous evening. We start by losing Katherine Parr as Kendal's only celebrity, and suddenly we have another celebrity, with proper documentation."

She said beneath Dr Starkey's fame was "an enormous amount of hard graft" and also "that little bit of caring about human reality and tiny bits of people's lives" which made all the difference.

May 16, 2003 10:00