Westminster Abbey, formally the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is close to being the national church. It has been at the centre of English, and British, state occasions – coronations, weddings, funerals, services of commemoration – since William the Conqueror was crowned there on Christmas Day 1066. Indeed, 40 monarchs have been crowned
For years, Apsley House was simply known as ‘No 1, London’ – it being the first house of any note encountered when arriving from the west. No other address was needed. These days, its location is more forlorn, one of the busiest traffic roundabouts in London, Hyde Park Corner. It was, famously the London home
Ironbridge is the town and gorge named for the world’s first cast-iron bridge. The latter was constructed across the Severn in 1779, took two years to construct, has a span of 100’ (30.5m), a unique part in the story of the Industrial Revolution and, to many, is a symbol of it. It was in Coalbrookdale,
Broadhalfpenny Down (brawdhaypenny) was home to Hambledon Cricket Club between c1750-87, which drew up the modern rules of cricket in the pub opposite, the Bat and Ball (then called ‘The Hutt’). Among other things, they determined the size of the bat and introduced the third stump. The captain of HCC was one Richard Nyren (1734-97),
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The National Portrait Gallery does what it says; it was founded in 1856 to collect portraits of famous British people. Its collection includes over 200,000 portraits from the 16th Century to the present day, created in a wide variety of mediums. These include drawings, miniatures, negatives, paintings, photographs, prints, sculptures and many more. It can
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Clachan Bridge, popularly known as Atlantic Bridge, or the Bridge over the Atlantic, joins the Island of Seil with the mainland on the B844, about 10 miles south of Oban. Seil is the most northerly of the Slate Isles. The Bridge over the Atlantic was constructed in 1792 across a narrow channel in the Firth
Eskdale Mill is a rare survival of a traditional watermill and drying kiln and the last remaining working water-powered corn mill in the Lake District National Park. The title deeds for the mill go back to 1737, when Edward Stanley of Haile sold it to Edward Hartley of Miterdale Head and many original features and
Calke is a mansion and estate on the site of a 12th century Augustinian abbey. The present Palladian style mansion is a consequence of reconstruction work dating from 1701, built around an Elizabethan house. The estate ultimately came into the hands of the Harpur-Crewe family and was acquired by the National Trust in a state
Eilean Donan simply means ‘Donan’s Island’. Donan was a 6th-7th century Celtic saint, a contemporary of St Columba, who is said to have built a church there. Much of the history of Eilean Donan is wreathed in the mists of elusive legend and violence. The castle was built in the 13th century and was the
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The Glenfinnan Monument marks the place where Prince Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, raised his father’s standard at the head of Loch Shiel and began the 1745 Jacobite rebellion that ended in defeat at Culloden a year later. The monument was built in 1815, is 59 feet (18 metres) high and has a lone,
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The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is the longest aqueduct in Britain, its highest navigable aqueduct and part of a World Heritage Site. It was designed by Thomas Telford (1757-1834) and carries the Llangollen Canal 126 feet (38 m) over the valley of the River Dee. The Aqueduct was built between 1795 and 1805 is 1,008 yards (307
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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
