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CHIDING STONE

The Chiding Stone is a block of smooth sandstone which allegedly (but probably not) gives the village of Chiddingstone in Kent its name and which has a mysterious past. One story is that it was used as a place of judgement in ancient times - hence 'chiding stone'. The village is a peach - most of the buildings are owned by the National Trust and are over 200 years old.

Chiddingstone is located on a minor road between Edenbridge and Tonbridge; the River Eden flows just to the north.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Chiddingstone
Nr Edenbridge
County
Kent
Post Code
TN8 7AH
Main Historic Period
Prehistory
Link to featured article
Tip/Nearby
Chiddingstone Castle, Penshurst Place, Hever Castle
Primary Management
National Trust
Cissbury Ring

Cissbury Ring is the largest hillfort in Sussex, covering an area of c60 acres. Flint has been mined there since Neolithic times, open mining giving way to the digging of numerous shafts and tunnels. It was used as a burial ground in the Bronze Age and was fortified in the Iron Age, in around 400 BC. It is a univallate fort - one with a single rampart and ditch. The fort was in use for about 300 years, was abandoned, and then resettled in the late Roman period - possibly in defence against Saxon raids. It was fortified again during WW2, when an anti-tank ditch was dug round it, an AA battery based there and, during the run up to D-Day, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders were camped there. Now, it's just a pleasant place to walk, with great views over the Downs and nearby coast. If you're lucky, you may spot some wild ponies grazing there.

Location/Address
Nr Findon
County
West Sussex
Post Code
BN14 0HT
Main Historic Period
Prehistory
Tip/Nearby
Chanctonbury Ring, Bramber Castle
Primary Management
National Trust
CLAN MACPHERSON MUSEUM

A small, but fascinating, museum dedicated to the history of the Macpherson clan, though also relating to the Highlands in general. There is a surprising amount to see. Learn about one of the last Jacobites and the story behind Macpherson's lament…

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Main Street
Newtonmore
County
Highland
Post Code
PH20 1DE
Main Historic Period
Georgian
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Highland Folk Museum, Highland Wildlife Park
Primary Management
Other

Clava Cairns is a prehistoric complex not far from the Culloden battlefield. There are actually two parts to it. At Balnuaran are three well-preserved burial chambers, two with entrance passages, each one surrounded by standing stones. The cairns are of a type of which around 50 examples have been found in the Moray/Inverness region. They were built c2000BC, almost certainly for high standing individuals, and appear to align with the midwinter sunset. The cemetery was reused about 1,000 years after it was built. A split stone at the site is thought to have been the inspiration for Craigh Na Dun in the 'Outlander' book by Diana Gabaldon.

At Milton of Clava, down the road, is the remains of a medieval chapel, the site of another cairn and, possibly, standing stones.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Nr Culloden
County
Highland
Post Code
IV2 5EU
Main Historic Period
Prehistory
Link to featured article
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Culloden Battlefield, Fort George, Cawdor Castle
Primary Management
Historic Scotland
COOMBES Church


Coombes Church is perched on the side of a hill on the edge of the small farming hamlet of Coombes. Mentioned in Domesday, both the church and tiny community date from Saxon times. The name may be older. Apart from the charming location, the church is famed for its astonishing medieval wall paintings, dating from 1130, which were discovered in 1949. It is a real treasure, set in the South Downs National Park and not far from Shoreham

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Coombes
County
West Sussex
Post Code
BN15 0RS
Main Historic Period
Saxon
Tip/Nearby
St Botolphs, Cissbury Ring, Arundel
Primary Management
Local Authority

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
COVENT GARDEN MARKET

London's famous fruit and vegetable market relocated to Nine Elms in 1974. The district, which had been congested and run-down, has been redeveloped and now offers a range of facilities - two extensive areas of market stalls, selling artwork, hand-made jewellery, unique gifts; plus a range of high-end shops, pubs, bars and restaurants. Covent Garden is also famous for its street performers and includes the Royal Opera House, Theatre Royal Drury Lane and the London Transport Museum. In the Middle Ages, it was the garden for Westminster Abbey, developed into a fashionable Italian-style square in the 17th century - and then became a place of ill-repute!

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Covent Garden
County
London
Post Code
WC2E 8RF
Main Historic Period
Stuart
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Nearest tubes Covent Garden or Charing Cross. Easy walk from Trafalgar Square.
Primary Management
Local Authority
CROSSBONES GRAVEYARD

An urban garden of remembrance has been created on the site of Crossbones Graveyard, a burial place for paupers, prostitutes and the unwanted. It developed from a late medieval 'single women's churchyard' - a resting place for the 'Winchester Geese', prostitutes licensed by the Bishop of Winchester to work in London's pleasure quarter, outside the confines of the City of London. The graveyard was closed on health grounds in 1853. An estimated 15,000 people are buried there in unmarked graves.

Staffed by volunteers, limited opening.

The post code is for the Boot & Flogger wine bar opposite.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Redcross Way
Borough
County
London
Post Code
SE1 1TA
Main Historic Period
Georgian
Link to featured article
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Borough Market
Primary Management
Other
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
CS LEWIS Nature Reserve

Small community nature reserve, formed from part of the garden once owned by author and academic Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963). It is said the woods and pond helped inspire his books that featured the imaginary land of Narnia. The nature reserve is adjacent to Lewis' home for more than 30 years, The Kilns.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
5 Lewis Close
Risinghurst
Oxford
County
Oxfordshire
Post Code
OX3 8JD
Tip/Nearby
The Kilns
Primary Management
Other

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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