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Find places to visit in Britain by name, location, type of attraction, or other keyword. This listings directory of over 950 entries is being phased out, to be replaced with ‘Places to Visit’.  You may find what you are looking for there. Tap/Click ‘find listings’ for a detailed search – or just have a browse.  […]

Britain, places to visit, attractions, heritage
Find places to visit in Britain by name, location, type of attraction, or other keyword.

This listings directory of over 950 entries is being phased out, to be replaced with ‘Places to Visit’.  You may find what you are looking for there.

Tap/Click ‘find listings’ for a detailed search – or just have a browse. 

BUCKINGHAM HOUSE, Portsmouth

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.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
11-12 High Street
Portsmouth
County
Hampshire
Post Code
PO1 2LP
Main Historic Period
Stuart
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Cathedral, Old Portsmouth, Naval Dockyard
Primary Management
Private - not open to the public
EXBURY GARDENS

Exbury Gardens were the creation of wealthy Victorian banker, Lionel Rothschild. There are 200 acres to explore, along the bank of the Beaulieu river in the New Forest. Exbury is famous for its rare trees and, in the spring, its collection of rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias. There is also a 12.25 inch gauge railway to ride on, if you're so inclined.

You will find Exbury on a minor road south of the B3054 between Hythe and Beaulieu.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Exbury
Southampton
County
Hampshire
Post Code
SO45 1AZ
Main Historic Period
Modern
Link to featured article
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Beaulieu and the National Motor Museum
Primary Management
Private - open to the public
HOSPITAL of St CROSS and ALMSHOUSE of NOBLE POVERTY

The The Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty was founded as a hospital for the poor between 1132 and 1136 by Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, grandson of William the Conqueror and younger brother of King Stephen.  Endowments enabled it to prosper and provide. In 1445, another powerful Bishop of Winchester, Cardinal Henry Beaufort, created the Order of Noble Poverty, and added the almshouses to the existing Hospital buildings. It continues to provide homes to twenty five brothers, who wear distinctive black or claret coloured robes.  Visitors are able to see the  Norman style church, Master’s Garden – and there is a teahouse and shop.  The Hospital of St Cross is famous for the  Wayfarer’s Dole - a horn of beer or ale with a piece of white bread given to any traveller that asks for it.

By far the best way to visit the Hospital of St Cross is on foot from Winchester Cathedral Close, through ancient gateways, past No 8 College Street, where author Jane Austen finished ‘Persuasion’, and died, turning right by Winchester College to the water meadows alongside the River Itchen.  The path is wide, well trodden and wonderful.  Keats enjoyed the same walk – it apparently inspired the ode ‘To Autumn’, written in 1819.  To the right are the immaculate playing fields of Winchester College, founded in 1382 by William of Wykeham, Henry Beaufort’s predecessor as Bishop of Winchester.  Its pupils are known as Wykehamists and the college motto is 'Manners Makyth Man' – the same as New College, Oxford, which was also founded by Wykeham.  To the left are the water meadows, cattle-grazed and seeming to lap against the contours of St Catherine’s Hill, site of an ancient univallate Iron Age hillfort and medieval chapel.  It is an immensely peaceful pathway, steeped in history and, somehow, very English. On a still, warm, June day, with the rich earthy scent of the riverbank wafting upward and the water sparkling and lapping nearby, it is almost heavenly. And, eventually, you will glimpse the hospital, like a scene from the past across a field.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
St Cross Road
Winchester
County
Hampshire
Post Code
SO23 9SD
Main Historic Period
Medieval
Link to featured article
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Walk across the Water Meadows from Winchester Cathedral
Primary Management
Other
SOUTHSEA MODEL VILLAGE

Southsea Model Village is a delightful 1:12 scale village built in 1956.  This has all the features you would expect – a church, pub, shops, river, railway – and of course its own castle.  The attraction includes a picnic area and play houses as well as scale models of Portsmouth’s Guildhall and Spinnaker Tower.  The latter are located in the 125 foot long rifleman's tunnel, part of the remains of Portsmouth’s 19th century city defences.  The village is actually built into Lumps Fort, a fortification that began life in the 18th century and which has also been taken over by the nearby Rose Garden.  Southsea Model Village is situated close to the sea front and Southsea’s canoe lake.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Lumps Fort
The Esplanade
Southsea
Portsmouth
County
Hampshire
Post Code
PO4 9RU
Main Historic Period
Modern
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Rose Garden, Canoe Lake, Cumberland House Natural History Museum
Primary Management
Private - open to the public
SPINNAKER TOWER

Spinnaker Tower is a 560 foot (170 metres) high viewing tower, constructed as part of the redevelopment of Portsmouth Dockyard. It opened in 2005 and is included within a waterside retail and restaurant complex, Gunwharf Quays. Modelled on a billowing sail, the Spinnaker Tower has changed Portsmouth's skyline and is visible for miles. It offers 360-degree views from the high viewing platforms across Portsmouth Harbour and the surrounding sea and landscapes, apparently to a distance exceeding 20 miles. You can also take tea in a high-level cafe, get married there, or abseil down the tower.

The attraction is managed under contract to Portsmouth City Council.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Gunwharf Quays
Portsmouth
County
Hampshire
Post Code
PO1 3TT
Main Historic Period
Modern
Tip/Nearby
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
Primary Management
Local Authority
St BARTHOLOMEW’S, Hyde

St Bartholomew's Hyde is the 12th century parish church of Hyde, once a village now a suburb of Winchester. The church is situated opposite the remaining gatehouse of Hyde Abbey, founded in 1110 and dissolved in 1538/9. The church stands within what were the abbey’s precincts to serve the needs of its tenants and lay officials. It is a flint and stone building with a tower built in 1541 using stones from the demolished abbey; the church was much restored in the 19th century. A collection of capitals from the abbey is on display inside. Outside, at its eastern end, is a plain slab grave marking a collection of bones from six medieval individuals once thought to have included King Alfred of Wessex, Alswitha and their son King Edward.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
King Alfred Place
Hyde
Winchester
County
Hampshire
Post Code
SO23 7DN
Main Historic Period
Medieval
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Hyde Abbey, Hyde Abbey Gardens, just north of Winchester
Primary Management
Church Authorities
MODEL VILLAGE, Bourton-on-the-Water


The model village at Bourton-on-the-Water is a replica of the real village, built in the 1930s at 1/9th scale using real local materials, such as Cotswold stone, by local craftsmen. It now has Grade II listed status and even includes a model of itself. It is located at the rear of the Old New Inn, whose owners had the idea of creating the village to attract custom.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
The Old New Inn
Bourton-on-the-Water
County
Gloucester
Post Code
GL54 2AF
Main Historic Period
Modern
Link to featured article
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Cotswold Motoring Museum, Bibury, Lower Slaughter
Primary Management
Private - open to the public
GLASGOW NECROPOLIS

Glasgow Necropolis - the city's most famous Victorian cemetery contains 50,000 burials and an exotic array of over the top memorials to those that could afford them. It is an intriguing place to visit, with great views over the city.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Castle Street
County
Glasgow
Post Code
G4 0UZ
Main Historic Period
Victorian
Link to featured article
Tip/Nearby
Glasgow Cathedral
Primary Management
Local Authority
St Mungo's Chapel

The ruins of St Mungo’s Chapel in Culross is a place for the real history enthusiast. There is very little to see and, although on a main road, the place is easily missed. The chapel was built in 1503, by tradition on the birth site of the legendary St Kentigern, or Mungo, founder of Glasgow. It is therefore highly likely that the chapel was built on the foundations of an earlier church. It is a simple, roofless, rectangle on an east-west orientation, with a partially stone-slabbed floor and a reconstructed stone altar. The eagle-eyed will spot the remains of a doorway, and stone rood screen. It was excavated in 1926, when the remains of additional altars were found.

It can be found on the north side of the road about half a mile east of Culross. Post code is approximate.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Low Causeway
Culross
County
Fife
Post Code
KY12 8AH
Main Historic Period
Tudor
Link to featured article
Tip/Nearby
Culross
Primary Management
Unknown
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE

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.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Brambletye Lane
Forest Row
County
East Sussex
Post Code
RH18 5EH
Main Historic Period
Stuart
Tip/Nearby
Ashdown Forest
Primary Management
Private - not open to the public

If your favourite attraction is not listed yet, and you have a good quality digital photograph of it that you are able to freely send, please get in touch. 

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