Anne of Cleves was the 4th of Henry VIII’s wives and was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540. When the marriage was annulled – divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived – this house in Lewes formed part of the annulment settlement, along with other properties – including Richmond Palace and Hever
Anne of Cleves’ House Read More »
The Folly is the grandest town building for miles, certainly in Settle – worth seeing for its wonderful windows alone. It was built by local lawyer Richard Preston sometime in the 1670s and has variously served as a family home, farmhouse, bakery, warehouse, furniture shop, refreshment rooms, fish and chip shop, bank, salvage business, holiday
The National Memorial Arboretum is a year-round centre of remembrance. It was established on around 150 acres of reclaimed gravel pit at the confluence of the rivers Trent and Tame in Staffordshire. Inspired by visits to Arlington National Cemetery and the National Arboretum in the USA, Commander David Childs RN CBE wanted to establish a
National Memorial Arboretum Read More »
The National Coal Mining Museum of England is located at a former colliery, Caphouse, which was in production for more than two hundred years. There are several museum galleries that showcase the technology of mining and working underground, illustrate what mining was like in the 19th century and tell the stories of the miners, their
National Coal Mining Museum Read More »
Plas Brondanw is the former family home of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, creator of Portmeirion. The house is a small mansion built by John ap Hywel in about 1550. Clough Williams-Ellis inherited it in a run-down state from his father in 1908. He lived there with his wife, Amabel, from their marriage in 1915 until their
Snape Maltings is a complex of shops, holiday accommodation, café and pub centred around the world famous concert hall. The buildings are mainly converted Victorian industrial buildings, originally used for the malting of barley. The venue was created by composer Benjamin Britten and his partner, singer Peter Pears, who lived in nearby Aldeburgh and set
The Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth is a focal point for all Bronte fans. The Bronte family moved to Haworth in 1820, when Patrick Bronte was appointed ‘perpetual curate’ of the parish church. They lived in the Parsonage, where the three immensely talented sisters – Charlotte, Emily and Anne – wrote some of the finest
The International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) is both a memorial and a centre for learning. Situated in 10 acres of grounds with spectacular views over the City of Lincoln, at the heart is the enormous rusted steel spire, 102 feet (31.09 metres) high, the wingspan of an Avro Lancaster Bomber. The location is significant –
International Bomber Command Centre Read More »
Blists Hill is an open air museum, recreating a Victorian town on a 52-acre former industrial site that included mines, blast furnaces and a section of the Shropshire Canal. Some of the buildings are original, others have been relocated and some are replicas. There’s a fascinating range of things to see, from shops, a bank
Blists Hill Victorian Town Read More »
The Battle of Naseby on 14th June 1645 was one of the most important in British history, ranking alongside Hastings and Bosworth. The outcome of the battle – which lasted just a couple of hours – was the defeat and virtual annihilation of King Charles I’s Royalist army by the Parliamentary forces led by Fairfax
Naseby battlefield Read More »
The once great fortified Abbey of St Benet’s, or St Benet’s at Holme, covered an area of 38 acres, had extensive fishponds, owned 28 churches, had property in 76 parishes and the right to dig peat in 12 of them. Now the most visible remains are those of a gatehouse, with a ruined windmill built
Bletchley Park was the home of the top-secret code breakers of World War Two, whose work had a profound impact on the war. It has been claimed that their success in intercepting enemy signals and breaking codes shortened the war by two years. For years, very few people knew about their work, most famously centred
