A CHANCE visit to a medieval castle turned a woman who hated history at school into a leading amateur historian.

Susan Ingham, 45, of Finsbury Place, Ewood, Blackburn, who admits she found the subject 'boring' at school, has brought the War of the Roses back to life in a guide about to go on sale in English Heritage properties throughout Yorkshire.

The mother-of-three fell in love with Warwick Castle during a visit to see her daughter, Joanne.

During further visits, she became fascinated by a central figure Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, who supported the White Rose before switching to the Red Rose of Lancaster for the last two years of his life and who was featured in an exhibition entitled 'The Kingmaker.'

She said: "I hated history at school. It was the first subject I dropped, but something just intrigued me about this period of history."

"There have been books written about Warwick, but they are aimed at highbrow people, who know a lot about history already. I wanted to write a guide in an easy-to-read style which people like myself would enjoy reading." .

Susan spent 12 months researching Warwick's life and even traced her own family tree, which revealed that one of her ancestors died in a Battle of Edgecote in 1469 during the War of the Roses.

Susan, a community correspondent for the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, said: "Most people believe supporters of different houses during the War of the Roses did so because of where they lived. This is not the case. Even my ancestors supported different houses."

She printed her booklet entitled 'A Laypersons Guide to Historical Figures: Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, Maker of Kings,' at Thomas Briggs Ltd, Blackburn and it will form part of English Heritage's 1998 book list.

Susan, who is married to Neil and has three children Joanne, 23, Lyndsey, 20, and son Chris, 18, said: "It hasn't sunk in yet. I never expected English heritage to accept it as a guide for people to buy at properties across Yorkshire."

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