East Midlands

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Bramley Apples, large, green and great for cooking

The Bramley apple originated from a pip planted by a young girl, Mary Ann Brailsford, in Southwell in c1809. There is an annual Apple Festival in Southwell, in October. Bramley apple trails are available all year round.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Tourist Information Centre
Minster Chambers
Church Street
Southwell
County
Nottinghamshire
Post Code
NG25 0HD
Main Historic Period
Georgian
Link to featured article
Tip/Nearby
Southwell Minster, Southwell Workhouse
Primary Management
Local Authority
BURGHLEY HOUSE

Burghley is a grand 16th century house and estate on the edge of the charming East Midlands town of Stamford. The house was built by Elizabeth I's chief advisor and Lord High Treasurer Sir William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, and is still lived in by his descendents. The house contains an extensive collection of artwork and painted murals, including Verrio's 'Hell Staircase' (seen in 'The Da Vinci Code') and the hall has a magnificent hammerbeam roof. There are extensive gardens, statues and a fine park. Burghley is also famous for its annual Burghley Horse Trials, held in the autumn (best avoid visiting then!).

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Stamford
County
Lincolnshire
Post Code
PE9 3JY
Main Historic Period
Tudor
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Stamford is a peach
Primary Management
Independent – Historic Houses member
CALKE ABBEY

Calke is a mansion and estate on the site of a 12th century Augustinian abbey. The present Palladian style mansion is a consequence of reconstruction work dating from 1701, built around an Elizabethan house. The estate ultimately came into the hands of the Harpur-Crewe family and was acquired by the National Trust in a state of decay. The Trust has preserved the house pretty much in the condition it was found, packed full of artwork and stuffed animals, with an appearance largely unchanged since the late Victorian period - including the children's' nursery. It is a curious and fascinating time capsule. Outside are gardens, outhouses and extensive grounds, including a nature reserve.

Note: Entry to the house is by timed ticket.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Ticknall
County
Derbyshire
Post Code
DE73 7LE
Main Historic Period
Victorian
Tip/Nearby
Sudbury Hall. Handy for Nottingham.
Primary Management
National Trust
CHATSWORTH

Chatsworth is one of Britain's great stately houses. It is the palatial home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, whose family, the Cavendishes, has owned the 35,000 acre estate since the 16th century, when the first house was built. The house is famous for its magnificent Baroque interiors and works of art from ancient Egypt, Rome, the great masters - and more modern artists. Outside, there are acres of parkland and lovely gardens to explore, including a maze to get lost in.  It is famous for its cascade, a large water feature with water tumbling down a long series of steps - which dates from the 17th century. It is also famous for its Emperor Fountain. Events are held throughout the year, including concerts and outdoor theatre.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Nr Bakewell
County
Derbyshire
Post Code
DE45 1PN
Main Historic Period
Stuart
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Between Bakewell and Chesterfield
Primary Management
Independent – Historic Houses member
CORK STONE

The Cork Stone is one of a number of natural stone pillars on Derbyshire’s Stanton Moor. It is a well-known landmark, a piece of weathered sandstone that has stood for thousands of years, eroded into a mushroom shape resembling an enormous cork.  It is covered in graffiti dating from at least the 19th century and has step holes cut out of one side to facilitate climbing to the top.  Metal rods were added later, possibly in Victorian times according to a nearby information board.  There is a hollow bowl on top of the stone.

There is no postcode.  The address is for guidance only.  The Cork Stone will be found a short distance from a lay-by and information board on the east side of Birchover Road.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Birchover Road
between Birchover and Stanton in Peak,
W of the A6
County
Derbyshire
Post Code
DE4 2BN
Main Historic Period
N/A
Primary Management
National Park
Crowland Abbey

Croyland, or Crowland, Abbey was a monastery first founded in the early 8th C by Ethelbald, King of Mercia from 716-757, on the site of the hermitage of St Guthlac.  It was destroyed by the Danes in 866 and re-founded as a Benedictine abbey in the mid-tenth century. From the 10th to the 15th centuries the monastic buildings were extended and rebuilt and the abbey was one of the wealthiest in East Anglia. It was dissolved in 1539 and the monastic buildings demolished, with the exception of the nave and aisles of the abbey church which were taken into use as the parish church. During the 17th C Civil War, the church served as a Royalist stronghold, defended by earthworks.  The nave and south aisle of the church fell into disrepair in the 18th C and parish use became restricted to the north aisle, which remains the case today. Both the existing church and ruins have some fascinating features.  As well as the visible remains, the site is also important as that of a pre-conquest monastery, the buried remains of the Anglo-Saxon hermitage and monastery, the medieval monastic buildings and the Civil War defences.

Crowland is also known as the likely home of the Croyland Chronicle, a unique primary source for English medieval history.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
46 East Street
Crowland
Peterborough
County
Lincolnshire
Post Code
PE6 0EN
Main Historic Period
Medieval
Link to featured article
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Don't miss Trinity Bridge in Crowland
Primary Management
Church Authorities
DAMBUSTERS’ Memorial, Woodhall Spa

The Dambusters Memorial in Woodhall Spa commemorates members of 617 Squadron Royal Air Force who lost their lives in World War Two.

617 Squadron was formed at RAF Scampton in 1943, specifically for attacking dams in the Ruhr Valley using the ‘bouncing bomb’ designed by Barnes Wallis.  The Dams Raid, Operation Chastise, took place over the night of 16/17 May 1943 and was led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson (1918-44) flying modified Lancaster bombers. Two dams were breached, the Möhne and the Eder, at a cost of eight Lancasters, with fifty-three of the participating crew being killed and three becoming POWs.  The raid also killed an estimated 1600 German civilians and Russian POWs.

617 had a distinguished record after the Dams Raid, which included precision bombing based on targets being marked by low-level flying Mosquito aircraft.  From RAF Woodhall Spa, 617 Squadron began dropping the 12,000lb Tallboy and, later, 22,000lb Grand Slam bombs. The squadron also supported D-Day by the precision dropping of ‘window’ to spoof enemy radar. Between them, IX and 617 Squadrons, both employing Tallboys, sank the German pocket battleship Tirpitz.

The memorial at Woodhall Spa was erected in 1987 on the site of the former Royal Hydro Hotel and Winter Gardens which were destroyed in a Luftwaffe bombing raid in 1943. Shaped to depict a dam the memorial features a slate slab which represents water flooding through a breach, upon which the Squadron's crest and battle honours are engraved. It commemorates 204 aircrew of 617 Squadron who died in the Second World War.

A newer memorial to 617 Squadron in Royal Square commemorates members of the Squadron who have lost their lives in service since World War Two.

Après moi le déluge.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Royal Gardens
Woodhall Spa
East Lindsey
County
Lincolnshire
Post Code
LN10 6QL
Main Historic Period
Modern
Tip/Nearby
Woodhall Spa is a pleasant little place, worth exploring, and has a cottage museum. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is not far away.
Primary Management
Local Authority
ELEANOR CROSS, Hardingstone

One of three surviving Eleanor Crosses from the 12 ordered by Edward I to commemorate his deceased wife, Eleanor. Eleanor died at Harby in 1290 and a cross was subsequently erected at every point where the cortege carrying her body rested on its journey to Westminster. The other three surviving crosses are at Geddington and Waltham Cross; the final cross was at Charing, London.

The Hardingstone Cross is on the eastern side of London Road (the A508) very close to the junction and roundabout with the A45. There is parking in a residential area opposite. Post code is approximate.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
London Road
Northampton
County
Northamptonshire
Post Code
NN4 8AX
Main Historic Period
Medieval
Link to featured article
Tip/Nearby
Brixworth, Althorp
Primary Management
Local Authority
ELEANOR’S CROSS, GEDDINGTON

Eleanor's Cross in Geddington is the best preserved of the 3 remaining 12 Eleanor Crosses that Edward I had erected to mark the resting place of his beloved wife's body on its journey to London after she died at Harby, near Lincoln, in 1290.  The cross is in the centre of the village. The other two crosses are at Hardingstone and Waltham Cross. The most famous of the 12 is Charing Cross, London.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Geddington
County
Northamptonshire
Post Code
NN14 1AD
Main Historic Period
Medieval
Link to featured article
Primary Management
English Heritage
EMPINGHAM

Empingham is an attractive village, with a striking looking church, on the road between Stamford and Oakham.  It sits in the Gwash Valley at the dam (eastern) end of Rutland Water and there has been a settlement there since at least Saxon times (the name means something like ‘the settlement of the followers of Empa’.)  The church, St Peter’s, is mostly 15th century, but dates from the 13th century; its impressive tower is 14th century.  Most of the village’s buildings date from the late 18th/ and 19th centuries.

To the north east near Tickencote is the site of the Battle of Empingham, also known as Battle of Losecoat Field, which was fought on 12 March 1470 during the Wars of the Roses. It was a very short battle and a victory for the Yorkists.

Region/Nation
County
Rutland
Post Code
LE15 8PS
Main Historic Period
Victorian
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Rutland Water, Barnsdale Gardens, Stamford
Primary Management
Local Authority

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