Listings

A Queen Anne house, situated on the south bank of the Thames between the Globe Theatre and Tate Modern, which has a plaque on the wall declaring that both Christopher Wren and Katherine of Aragon lived in it (not simultaneously). Both assertions are false. The plaque is of unknown date. The house is a private residence.

Along a small private road to the south of East Grinstead are the ruins of what was once a fine Jacobean house.  This is Brambletye House.  There had been a Brambletye Manor at the time of the Domesday Survey, on a now deserted moated plot nearby.  This house was built in 1631 by Sir Henry Compton and allegedly destroyed during the civil wars by Parliamentary troops. Of course, there are stories…

The ruins can be viewed from the road, but there is nothing to actually visit – the old house is on private land.  That said, the listing on Historic England suggests the ruins might be viewed by appointment – contact details on their site.

Directions - off the A22 about 2 miles south of East Grinstead. There is very limited parking just inside the entrance to a westbound farm entrance and private road.  From there, you need to walk.

Brightling is a tiny village in the Weald, surrounded by lovely countryside and other tiny villages. There are two reasons you might want to visit. Firstly, it has an attractive church, dedicated to St Thomas à Becket, which was actually mentioned in the Domesday survey.  So, given that Thomas was murdered in 1170, the church was obviously originally dedicated to someone else, possibly St Nicholas.  The current building dates from the 13th century and among its features are some good brasses, 17th century wall paintings (biblical texts) and a rare barrel organ.  The second reason to visit Brightling is to see the large stone pyramid in the churchyard.  This was built as a mausoleum for John ‘Mad Jack’ Fuller (1757-1834), the local squire.  Fuller was an eccentric, drunk, Member of Parliament, plantation and slave owner, philanthropist, patron of the arts and science (he supported JMW Turner and Michael Faraday) and builder of follies.  Local legend was that he had been buried in his pyramid seated at a table in full evening dress with a bottle of claret but, sadly, that was shown to be untrue.  Among his other structures are a ‘temple’ in the grounds of his house, Rosehill (now Brightling Park) next door to the church, an observatory (now a private residence), an obelisk on a local hilltop, ‘sugar loaf’ (no idea, sorry) and a tower – which is easily accessible a short walk across fields south-east of the church.

Buckingham House, Portsmouth, is a former inn where George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, was murdered by a disgruntled naval lieutenant, John Felton, on 23 August 1628. It was on the market for £1.5M in March 2017 and as of October that year was being run as Ye Spotted Dogge guest house - a return to its past. The building possibly dates from the late 15th century and is certainly Tudor in origin. In 1523 it was Le Greyhound Inne. By the time of Buckingham's murder, it was known as Ye Spotted Dogge Inne and owned by a Captain John Mason. Mason was an explorer and credited with naming New Hampshire. Felton was executed in London - his body was brought back to Portsmouth and left to rot near Clarence Pier. The property was later owned by Dr William Smith, who died in 1732 and left a bequest to found Portsmouth Grammar School - now located next door.

Note - the building is not a tourist attraction or generally open to the public. See their website.

Burrow Mump is a natural hill rising out of the Somerset levels, with the ruins of a church, St Michael's, on top, giving the place an evocative feel. There was probably a castle on the site once. Burrow Mump also has possible associations with King Alfred, who hid in the marshes around nearby Athelney to escape the Danes.  It is now a war memorial, dedicated to all those from Somerset who died in the First and Second World Wars.

Post Code is for the nearby King Alfred pub. Small free car park at the foot of the hill.