Places, people or events associated with the Tudor monarchs of England, or that period generally in Britain.
It couldn’t decide whether to shower or shine, the day we went to Montacute; so it compromised and did a little of both. A tour of the grounds was on offer, which started well enough until rain stopped play. Our party initially huddled together by mutual agreement, near the café, sheltered from the weather; but […]
A visit to Montacute House Read More »
South West
Is Berry Pomeroy one of the most haunted castles in Britain? It seems that either the white or the blue woman-spirit will get you. The White Lady is reputed to be the ghost of the beautiful Lady Margaret Pomeroy, imprisoned by her jealous (and less attractive) sister Eleanor for the crime of being in love
Berry Pomeroy Castle Read More »
South West
Little Moreton Hall is an extravagant puzzle of Tudor timber framing near Congleton in Cheshire. Like a child’s drawing, it sits higgledy-piggledy, the horizontals and verticals not quite making the grade. It really could be the crooked house that belonged to the crooked man in the nursery rhyme. That black and white colour scheme that
Little Moreton Hall Read More »
North West England
Normally, I avoid clichés like the plague. However, Lacock is one of those places that are almost frozen in another time; it really is. In this small Wiltshire village of about 350 souls, there are few overt trappings of the 21st century: no satellite dishes or TV aerials, very few yellow lines, and only a
This is Leeds Castle, nowhere near the city of Leeds in Yorkshire, but located some 240 miles to the south, in Kent. It was once described as “the loveliest castle in the world” by historian Lord Conway and understandably, but slightly tediously, Leeds Castle ensures his words have not been forgotten – even if most
The Loveliest Castle in the World? Read More »
South East
There was trouble at St Mary’s Abbey in York. Some of the monks felt that monastic practices had strayed too far from the original values set out by the blessed St Benedict. In 1132, influenced by a band of Cistercians passing through the city, thirteen of St Mary’s monks rebelled. However, Archbishop Thurston sympathised with
Fountains in Yorkshire Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
Durham’s story is a fascinating piece of the story of England. It is partly a tale of saints and kings and moving bones, and it begins back in the 7th century. The founding of Durham Cathedral Actually, it was mostly Cuthbert’s fault – with some help from the Danes, a lost cow and perhaps a
Here is Clifford’s Tower, probably the most significant remaining part of the medieval castle of York. Once at the centre of government for the north of England, Clifford’s Tower was looking a little worse for wear when I last visited. Since then, English Heritage has installed a roof deck, giving wonderful views over York’s skyline
My chum Dave was at it again. Like me, Dave is tickled by the past and finds there’s more and more of it each day. “You must visit Swinbrook,” he said over a pint at The Olde Ruptured Duck one Friday. “Fettiplace memorials in the church. Amazing. Would go well on A Bit About Britain.”
Mitfords, Fettiplaces and P514 Read More »
South East
The River Alun trickles through the neat Cathedral Close, between the Cathedral Church of St Davids and the majestic ruins of the 14th century Bishop’s Palace. In this little green valley, tradition says that St David, son of King Sant and St Non (sainthood ran in the family) and Patron Saint of Wales, established a
St Davids, too much beer and the lost apostrophe Read More »
Wales
There are few things more agreeable than pootling around and about a medieval cathedral. I found Lichfield’s reflected in the Minster Pool, a small reservoir which has been used by the city since the 11th century. You’d think it couldn’t get any better, wouldn’t you? Then you wander up the Cathedral Close, past Erasmus Darwin’s
Ladies of the Vale Read More »
West Midlands
There’s something calm and peaceful about the ruins of Egglestone Abbey. They huddle on top of a small hill above the River Tees, just outside the old market town of Barnard Castle, in County Durham. The location feels almost as secluded these days as it must have been when the abbey was founded eight centuries
