Bosham is a gem on Chichester harbour and reputedly the oldest Christian site in Sussex. The Venerable Bede mentions that “an Irish (ie Celtic) monk named Dicul had a very small monastery in the place which is called Bosanham”, sometime in the 7th century. Bosham was probably settled long before that – the Romans were
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Baddesley Clinton has a very long history, with some fascinating tales to tell. For centuries, it was a perfectly respectful medieval manor. Then, in 1438, it was bought by a wealthy lawyer, John Brome, who got himself murdered – and was avenged. Eventually, ownership passed to the Ferrers family, who called the place home for
St Leonard’s, Chapel le Dale, is a tiny, simple, church, once a chapel of ease for St John’s in Low Bentham, much visited by worshippers and walkers alike. St Leonard’s is an unofficial title, only in use since the last century. The chapel likely dates from the 16th century, though it is probably an ancient
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The small town of Criccieth is dominated by its ruined castle, dramatically perched on a coastal headland, flanked by two beaches. Criccieth Castle was originally a Welsh fortification, begun by Llywelyn the Great in the 13th century, who constructed an enormous gatehouse with two D-shaped towers. His grandson, Llywelyn the Last – added the outer
The Angel of the North, Antony Gormley’s once controversial steel sculpture near the A1 south of Gateshead is now part of the landscape of 21st century North East England. Unveiled in 1998, it is seen by thousands of motorists every day from the busy A1, but can be safely viewed up close from the A167,
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Why is the small Scottish village of Gretna Green famous for marriages? In 1753, Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act declared that all marriage ceremonies in England and Wales had to be conducted by a minister in a parish church or chapel of the Church of England and that anyone under the age of 21 needed the
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Tarr Steps crosses the River Barle in Somerset and is said to be the longest clapper bridge in Britain, in the Exmoor National Park. It is a Grade I listed structure 180 feet (55 metres) long, consisting of 17 spans with each slab weighing from one to 2 tons. The largest slab is about 8
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is an aerial display team flying historic aircraft. They appear at shows throughout the country, on state occasions and at events commemorating the Second World War. The aircraft normally flown are an Avro Lancaster, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane and they are all veterans of the
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Blickling is a large estate and stately home, with walks through 4,600 acres of woodland, parkland and farmland, 55 acres of formal gardens and a splendid Jacobean house and a museum dedicated to a WW2 bomber station. Much is made of Blickling being Anne Boleyn’s childhood home; she is even said to haunt the place,
Burton in Lonsdale is a small village at the western edge of North Yorkshire, close to the borders with Lancashire and Cumbria. At the time of the Norman Conquest, Burton (Borctune) was part of the manor of Whittington and owned by Tostig – who was slain at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Its castle, locally known
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The Katyn Memorial in Cannock Chase is in a peaceful woodland clearing and commemorates 25,000 Poles – mostly men – murdered by the Soviet Union’s security police in 1940. Mass graves were uncovered by the Nazis in Katyn Forest, near Smolensk, in 1943. The victims, many of them with bound hands and still with their
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
