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The Dambusters Memorial in Woodhall Spa commemorates members of 617 Squadron Royal Air Force who lost their lives in World War Two.
617 Squadron was formed at RAF Scampton in 1943, specifically for attacking dams in the Ruhr Valley using the ‘bouncing bomb’ designed by Barnes Wallis. The Dams Raid, Operation Chastise, took place over the night of 16/17 May 1943 and was led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson (1918-44) flying modified Lancaster bombers. Two dams were breached, the Möhne and the Eder, at a cost of eight Lancasters, with fifty-three of the participating crew being killed and three becoming POWs. The raid also killed an estimated 1600 German civilians and Russian POWs.
617 had a distinguished record after the Dams Raid, which included precision bombing based on targets being marked by low-level flying Mosquito aircraft. From RAF Woodhall Spa, 617 Squadron began dropping the 12,000lb Tallboy and, later, 22,000lb Grand Slam bombs. The squadron also supported D-Day by the precision dropping of ‘window’ to spoof enemy radar. Between them, IX and 617 Squadrons, both employing Tallboys, sank the German pocket battleship Tirpitz.
The memorial at Woodhall Spa was erected in 1987 on the site of the former Royal Hydro Hotel and Winter Gardens which were destroyed in a Luftwaffe bombing raid in 1943. Shaped to depict a dam the memorial features a slate slab which represents water flooding through a breach, upon which the Squadron's crest and battle honours are engraved. It commemorates 204 aircrew of 617 Squadron who died in the Second World War.
A newer memorial to 617 Squadron in Royal Square commemorates members of the Squadron who have lost their lives in service since World War Two.
Après moi le déluge.
Woodhall Spa
East Lindsey
Empingham is an attractive village, with a striking looking church, on the road between Stamford and Oakham. It sits in the Gwash Valley at the dam (eastern) end of Rutland Water and there has been a settlement there since at least Saxon times (the name means something like ‘the settlement of the followers of Empa’.) The church, St Peter’s, is mostly 15th century, but dates from the 13th century; its impressive tower is 14th century. Most of the village’s buildings date from the late 18th/ and 19th centuries.
To the north east near Tickencote is the site of the Battle of Empingham, also known as Battle of Losecoat Field, which was fought on 12 March 1470 during the Wars of the Roses. It was a very short battle and a victory for the Yorkists.
Exton in Rutland is one of those villages that could be described as ‘quintessentially English’. It probably isn’t, because it is too picture-perfect, with a large number of chocolate-box cottages much loved by Instagrammers, an attractive tree-planted village green with a pub, the Fox and Hounds, and an interesting historic church dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, which dates from the 13th century. Nearby is a large country estate, Exton Park, and Barnsdale Gardens, created by Geoff Hamilton of the BBC television series Gardeners' World. Exton is also very handy for Rutland Water.
The village has an interesting history going back before the Norman Conquest, and is mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086, but the current buildings are mostly Victorian.
Haddon Hall dates from the 11th century, was formerly the seat of the Duke of Rutland, and is currently the private home of Lord and Lady Edward Manners. The Manners acquired Haddon through marriage and can therefore claim to have owned it for its entire existence; the hall is one of the oldest houses in the country.
From the 1700s, the family preferred their main seat at Belvoir Castle, so Haddon was empty for two centuries. Unaltered by Georgians or Victorians, venturing into Haddon Hall has been described as like stepping back in time. The Medieval Banqueting Hall remains furnished with its original Dais table, behind which hangs a tapestry gifted to the family by visiting Henry VIII. The Parlour boasts its glorious Tudor painted ceiling of Tudor roses and marvellous heraldic panelling. Exquisite and rare 15th century frescos adorn the walls of the Medieval Chapel. In contrast to the Tudor and Medieval Rooms below, the light and airy first floor Elizabethan rooms culminate in the spectacular 110ft Robert Smythson designed Long Gallery; reputed to be one of the most beautiful rooms in England.
Outside, the terraced Elizabethan Walled Gardens cascade down to the River Wye and provide spectacular views over ancient parkland to the Peak District beyond.
Haddon is a favourite film location, featuring in no fewer than three different film adaptations of Jane Eyre, as well as Mary Queen of Scots, The Other Boleyn Girl, Pride & Prejudice and various documentaries.
Image credit: Historic Houses
The small village of Harby in Nottinghamshire is just a few miles west of the City of Lincoln. Harby's main claim to fame is that it was where Eleanor of Castille, wife of King Edward I of England, died on 28 November 1290. There is little to see. The site of the house of Richard de Weston where she died is behind the Victorian church of All Saints, but the only visible remains of it are some bumps in the grass where the moat was. A chantry chapel was set up in 1294 to hear prayers for Eleanor, but this was destroyed in the 16th century. The church replaced an earlier chapel of ease. There is a statue of Eleanor on the tower of the church and the local primary school is named for Queen Eleanor.
Hardwick Hall is one of the most impressive Elizabethan Houses in Britain, built in the late 1590s for the remarkable Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury (c1527-1608). Her initials, ES, are proudly on the turrets. It was designed by the architect Robert Smythson to replace Hardwick Old Hall, which stands next door, and is renowned for its windows – ‘more glass than wall’, so it is said. Set in attractive gardens, inside is what the National Trust claims to be the “finest collections of Elizabethan tapestries and embroideries in Europe.” Much of the furniture and other house contents are listed on an inventory that dates from 1601.
Hardwick Old Hall in next door, in ruins and as of 2021 closed. Although just a stone's throw from the back garden, the National Trust may insist you walk right round the grounds to get to it, rather than through a convenient gateway.
Nr Chesterfield
Hardwick Old Hall is the roofless, ruined, refurbished, birthplace of Bess of Hardwick (c1527-1608), one of the richest and most remarkable women of Elizabethan England. Bess married four times, increasing her wealth and status on each occasion. She bought the estate of her birth in 1581 and reconstructed an elegant home around it. She then built a new house – Hardwick Hall – next door. Although ruined, it is possible to appreciate the affluence that once was at Hardwick Old Hall, which has the remains of some fabulous decorative plasterwork clinging to its walls.
Note: As of 2021, Hardwick Old Hall was undergoing significant conservation work and was closed to visitors. You must check the English Heritage website before visiting.
Nr Chesterfield
The Richard III Visitor Centre tells the story of Richard III, including the background to the 15th century civil war known as the Wars of the Roses. But, mostly, it tells the incredible story of the search for and discovery of Richard's remains under a car park, where they had lain since being buried hastily more than 500 years earlier, the identification of those remains and how the king died. This is a museum that is as much about amazing science as it is amazing history.
Leicester
Leicester Abbey was an Augustinian House, founded by the 2nd Earl of Leicester, Robert le Bossu, in 1143. It is famous for being the place where Cardinal Wolsey died on 29 November 1530, on his way south to face the wrath of his king, Henry VIII, and a charge of treason. Wolsey was also buried in the abbey, but his remains have never been found. The abbey was dissolved on Henry VIII’s orders in 1538 and the stones were re-used to construct what became Cavendish House, a mansion acquired by the Earl of Devonshire, William Cavendish, where Charles I lodged before the Battle of Naseby in 1645. Cavendish House was plundered and destroyed by Royalist troops after the battle. Though a massive complex in its heyday, the exact location of the abbey was lost until the 1920s/30s. The lines of its walls are now marked by low stone walls and there is a memorial to Wolsey near what would have been the high altar of the abbey church.
Leicester
Leicester Cathedral is dedicated to St Martin, a 4th century Roman soldier, and possibly stands on the site of a Roman temple and Anglo-Saxon church. The first Bishop of Leicester was Cuthwine, in 680AD, but the last Saxon bishop fled from the Danes in the 9th century and, for a thousand years, Leicester had no bishop - until the church of St Martins was made Leicester Cathedral in 1927. The Cathedral is probably best known since 2015 as the burial place of Richard III and there are a number of exhibits (as well as his tomb) relating to the king in the church, including modern stained glass windows depicting his life in St Katherine's Chapel. Other features include the medieval north porch and the new cathedra and cross. Though the original church of St Martin's was built by the Normans, most of the current building, including the 220 foot high spire, is Victorian. Keen and helpful guides...it's almost dangerous on your own.
Leicester
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