The Angel and Royal in Grantham is reputedly the oldest inn in England. Situated on the Great North Road, the principal route north-south connecting London with York and Edinburgh, it was originally simply named ‘The Angel’. Some say it began as a hostel built by the Knights Templar in 1203 and run by the order
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The historic site of the decisive Battle of Bosworth on 22 August 1485 is where King Richard III was killed and the victor, Henry Tudor, started a new dynasty as Henry VII. Bosworth was the last significant armed encounter of the so-called Wars of the Roses, the medieval dynastic struggle between the houses of York
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Belper North Mill, also known as Strutt’s North Mill, is one of the Derwent Valley Mills, which were granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2001. The original North Mill, completed in 1786 by Jedediah Strutt, was destroyed by fire in 1803. The current building was constructed in 1804 by his son, William Strutt, and is
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 displayed on the turrets. Designed to impress, it was designed by the architect Robert Smythson to replace Hardwick Old Hall, which stands next
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
The National Civil War Centre is a relatively small, but absorbing, museum dedicated to the so-called English Civil War of 1642-1651, mapping out the causes, course and consequences. Newark is an appropriate location. The town was held in the Royalist cause during the War and besieged three times by Parliamentary forces, in 1643, 1644 and
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Eyam Hall, built in 1672, just six years after the tragic plague in Eyam, is a wonderfully unspoilt example of a small Jacobean Manor House. It was built as a wedding present by Thomas Wright and has been the home of the Wright family for eleven generations. The house has limited opening (so check before
Southwell Palace is the mostly ruined former Palace of the Archbishops of York. It stands on the site of a Roman villa, next door to the Minster and adjoining the current official residence of the Bishop of Southwell. The building dates from 14th century, was wrecked during the Civil War of the 17th century and
Today’s Nottingham Castle is mainly a preserved 17th century ‘Ducal Mansion’ built on the site of the city’s medieval castle, only parts of which remain (some of the walls and the gatehouse, for example). The castle towers over the city centre on a natural mound known as castle rock, which is riddled with caves. The
Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem is one of several pubs in Britain that sometimes claims to be the oldest – but it probably isn’t. Known locally as ‘the Trip’, it is built into the sandstone rock beneath Nottingham Castle and reputedly dates from 1189. The Olde Trip is apparently connected to the Castle via a
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The Cathedral Church of Southwell Minster, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the Seat of the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham. There has been a church on the site since the 7th century, believed to have been founded by Paulinus, the first Bishop of York, and adjacent to the location of a Roman villa.
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
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