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All Hallows by the Tower was founded in 675AD - it is the oldest church in the City of London. An arch from this original church remains and, beneath that, a fragment of Roman pavement. The church has looked after the bodies of those beheaded on nearby tower hill, including Thomas More's and, from the tower of the church, Samuel Pepys watched London burn in 1666. The founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, was baptised here and notable weddings included those of John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the USA, and Judge Jeffries, famous for his 'bloody assizes' in the aftermath of the Battle of Sedgemoor of 1685. All Hallows survived the Great Fire, thanks to the efforts of Pepys' friend Admiral Penn, but was fairly comprehensively bombed during WW2 and rebuilt in the 1950s. A long-serving vicar of the church was 'Tubby' Clayton, founder of 'Toc H', the rest and recuperation centre for troops in Belgium during WW1.

All Souls College, Oxford, was founded by Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Henry VI in 1438.  It doesn’t have any students.  Its purpose is to allow graduate fellows to undertake further studies and pray for the souls of all the faithful departed.  The entrance exam is said to be one of the hardest in the world and is followed up with an interview.  Past fellows include Christopher Wren, TE Lawrence, Leo Amery, Cosmo Lang, AL Rowse, Keith Joseph and John Redwood. Many college buildings, including the chapel, date from 15th and 16th centuries. The Codrington Library was completed in 1751.

Every hundred years, All Souls holds the ritual of 'hunting the mallard', in commemoration of the chase after a huge wild duck which flew from a drain during 15th-century building works. Archbishop Chichele is said to have had a premonition about the duck in a dream - as you do. The last commemoration took place in 2001, late at night and allegedly after much drinking and eating, when some of the finest minds in the world marched around their college behind a wooden duck held aloft on a pole.

Anne of Cleves' House formed part of Anne’s annulment settlement from Henry VIII in 1540. Anne of Cleves was Henry's 4th wife - divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived. The house is a fine example of a late medieval timber-framed Sussex building, dating from the late 15th century with additions and improvements made over the next 200 years. Some of the rooms have been furnished in contemporary Tudor style. The house also contains the Museum of Lewes History and the Wealden Iron Gallery. There is a small garden, also inspired by the Tudor period, and a cafe. The house and museum is managed by the Sussex Archaeological Society.

Begun in the early 18th century as the seat of the Worsley family, Appuldurcombe was once the grandest house on the Isle of Wight. Sir Richard Worsley, the 7th baronet, gained notoriety for a 1782 court case in which his wife, Seymour, admitted to having had 27 lovers.  Appuldurcombe was a masterpiece of English Baroque architecture. Following war damage, it is now a graceful shell, but still retains some of its former dignity and many fine architectural details. The celebrated landscape designer 'Capability' Brown enhanced the rolling grounds in the 1780s. Now, they're a great place for a picnic.

Photo via Pixabay

Arbury Hall is an Elizabethan manor house, originally built on the ruins of a 12th century Augustinian Priory and transformed into the Gothic style by Sir Roger Newdigate during the second half of the 18th century.  It has been the seat of the Newdegate family for over 450 years and is the ancestral home of Viscount Daventry.  The house stands in the middle of acres of 18th century landscaped gardens, within even more acres of lakes and parkland.  Inside, the house is renowned for its fan vaulted ceilings with plunging pendants and filigree tracery.

Arbury’s main claim to fame is that George Eliot, aka Mary Ann Evans, was born at South Farm on the estate in 1819.  Arbury Hall was immortalised in her book 'Scenes of a Clerical Life'.

The hall and gardens have limited opening to the public and are also available for corporate events and filming.  Film credits include the film Angels and Insects starring Mark Rylance, Patsy Kensit, and Kristin Scott Thomas and the BBC TV series Land Girls.

The wider Arbury Estate includes most of Astley village and Astley Castle, which is available for hire through the Landmark Trust.

Image credit: Historic Houses