In a field opposite the Crooked Billet pub near the village of Saxton, in North Yorkshire, stands the tiny chapel of St Mary’s, Lead. Cross the field over Cock Beck, which was said to run red with blood after the…
Helmsley Castle and a canter through British history
The guy behind me, approaching the rather unwelcoming gatehouse, grumbled, somewhat disparagingly, “Well, it’s just a ruin.” He was evidently a reluctant visitor to Helmsley Castle, poor soul. He was half-right – Helmsley Castle is a ruin – and Britain…
Runnymede and Magna Carta
It is said that Magna Carta, an agreement which is more than 800 years old, helped lay the foundation for our modern freedoms and liberal democracy. The tour ‘bus pulls up with a hiss of brakes next to a nondescript,…
Visiting Alice de la Pole and St Mary’s, Ewelme
I was looking for Geoffrey Chaucer’s Granddaughter – as you do. In the process, I discovered a unique church and the last resting place of Jerome K Jerome. Let’s start with Chaucer’s granddaughter, Alice de la Pole. Alice was quite…
Ightham Mote, medieval, Tudor and American
Tucked neatly away in the Weald of Kent is a little dream medieval moated manor house called Ightham Mote. It is closer to the hamlet of Ivy Hatch than to the village of Ightham. Before we go any further, let’s…
York’s Treasurers’ House
There are so many things to see and do in York; I’d never felt a burning desire to visit the Treasurers’ House. Big mistake – put it on your list immediately. For one thing, it is an outstanding house; for…
Orford Castle – and a merman
There’s not much left of Orford Castle, except for its keep – but that’s absolutely spiffing. At the cutting edge of medieval castle design in its day, the keep has managed to survive for 800 years, still dominates the surrounding…
London’s Temple Bar
Mention the Temple Bar and my thoughts inevitably turn to a pub. It was close by East Lane (or East Street) market in London’s Walworth Road, SE17, where far too many pints of Bass IPA were sunk after work, often…
Balliol College
Peeking past the porter’s lodge is looking through a window into another world; a world of privilege, beauty, tradition, history and at least a thousand stories. Here is a bit about Balliol College, one of more than thirty academic communities…
Baddesley Clinton – medieval manor, murder, mayhem and mellowness
The house at Baddesley Clinton is a neat example of medieval-Victorian style. Fortunately, successive owners were never what you might call filthy rich. Had they been, doubtless another Jacobean or Georgian pile would have been constructed (really, don’t we have…