Places, people or events associated with the Stuart monarchs, or the Stuart period in Britain,
Regular watchers of TV news will be familiar with the scene outside the Houses of Parliament, where journalists interview politicians on a patch of grass opposite Old Palace Yard, against a backdrop of Gothic architecture and the appropriately barbarian howls of protestors. While you’re hanging on every sage sound-bite tripping off the tongues of our […]
London’s medieval Jewel Tower Read More »
London
For some, Lacock Abbey will always be associated with the invention of photography; for others, it is the Tudor-Gothic-Victorian house that gets the juices flowing; for me, the real pleasure was in wandering through cloisters and gardens. It was September and a stroll beyond the inevitable National Trust shop took us past pastel-shaded cottage-garden style
Through cloisters and gardens – a visit to Lacock Abbey Read More »
South West
Trafalgar Square is one of those places that have always seemed to be there. It is so famous, such a focal point, and featured in so many news clips and photographs – including those taken by most of London’s tourists – that it’s easy to take it for granted. Its name commemorates, as most people
Exploring Trafalgar Square Read More »
London
This is an appropriate question, since it is rumoured that couples creep up to the Cerne Abbas Giant at night in order to make babies. As the Giant is cut into a hill with a reasonable degree of slope on it, the mechanics of their actions must be somewhat of a challenge; but each to
Is the Cerne Abbas Giant one of Britain’s most loved figures? Read More »
South West
Constantly keep your eyes open when wandering round the old City of London. Behind the steel and glass and beneath your feet are about two thousand years of history. Reminders of the past are everywhere – some obvious, others not; and some are real hidden gems. One of the finest of those hidden gems is
Dunstan in the East Read More »
London
London’s Bunhill Fields is known as a place for dissenters. Not living ones – though I daresay there are plenty of those too – but dead ones, non-conformist Protestants opposed to the practices of the established Church of England, who were able to be laid to rest here without having the form of service prescribed
The bodies at Bunhill Read More »
London
You can see it from miles away. Stirling Castle stands guard from the top of a massive volcanic plug, with steep cliffs on three sides, towering above the ancient crossing over the River Forth and the route armies take between Highland and Lowland. It has witnessed so much of Scotland’s history, including two of its
A tour of Stirling Castle Read More »
Scotland
It beggars modern belief just how much London – well, pretty much everywhere in Europe, I guess – was once dominated by the Church. Did you know there were more than one hundred parish churches within or just outside the boundaries of medieval London? No, neither did I; staggering, isn’t it? Plus the great religious
The remains of London’s white friars Read More »
London
Some years ago, I was fortunate to be invited to do some work for the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in London. The days I spent there were almost like being in a time capsule; all around were ghostly whispers from our past, of crusader knights, Magna Carta, the Wars of the Roses, the
Secrets of the Middle Temple Read More »
London
There are so many reasons to visit Southwell Minster that it’s a good job someone decided to build it… A few miles north-west of Nottingham, in the English East Midlands, Southwell is neither on a major route to anywhere, nor in traditional tourist-land. So, for most people, going there is a premeditated act; it took
Thank God for Southwell Minster Read More »
East Midlands
Christ Church Greyfriars is one of those places you stumble across in London without meaning to. That’s exactly what I did a few years ago, anyway, drifting in search of somewhere to eat a sandwich after a tedious business meeting. Close to the Stock Exchange, I found myself in a peaceful garden planted inside the
The ghosts of Christ Church Greyfriars Read More »
London
Eilean Donan Castle, ubiquitous star of movies, calendars, biscuit tins and tea-towels, is pretty much a 20th-century creation. Rescued from almost total ruin, it says something for its rebuild, and the success of Scottish tourism, that it is not only one of the most photographed and visited castles in Scotland, but also one of the
Is Eilean Donan Castle a fake? Read More »
Scotland