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Anne Hathaway's Cottege
This well preserved example of early domestic architecture with its picturesque
thatched roof was the home of William Shakespeare's wife before her marriage.
Her family the Hathaways lived here close to the Village of Shottery for some
years. Bosworth Field
- Battle of Bosworth
This battle was the last but one of the series
known as the Wars of the Roses. A series of wars between the Yorkists on one
side and the Lancastrains on the other, for the throne of England. The
Battle took place on 22nd August 1485, on one side King Richard III
with an army of 8,000 men and on the other Henry Tudor with an army of 5,000
men. The opening engagement saw Richard occupying the high ground. A
desperate battle ensued before Richard seeing a chance for victory charged down
the hill with over 1,500 mounted knights and men at arms. It was the last great
Cavalry charge of the Medieval age. Richard III was the last King of England to die in battle, Whatever judgements are made of him “He fell on the field of battle a bold and valiant prince”
King Richard III Black Country Museum The Black Country, black by day and red by night, cannot be matched for vast and varied production by any sphere of equal radius on the surface of the globe--American Consul 1868. The sights & sounds of the past are waiting at the museum. A living tribute to the skills and enterprise of the people of the Black Country. Nail making, chain making, glass cutting, baking, boat building, iron working cooking, shopping. Bletchley Park (Code Breaking)
(Known as
Britain's best-kept secret.) This World War Two, code breaking centre was a
working community during 1939-1945-employing close on 12,000 men and women.
Yet so secret they could not talk to even their loved ones about their work.
It was from here that important German and Japanese codes and ciphers were
broken. It is estimated the work done here ended the war 2 years early and
therefore saved countless thousands of lives. The elegant Victorian
mansion also houses an extensive collection of Churchill memorabilia. Burghley House
The largest &
grandest house of the First
Elizabethan
age. Built
between 1565 & 1587 by
William
Cecil.
The
house is still a family home yet full of superb paintings and antiques, a
treasure to feast upon.
The art
collection is one of the most impressive 17th
Century
Italian
painting collections in the world. With over 300 great works on display in the
state rooms, which also includes work by
Gainsborough,
Kneller
and Lawrence. Coventry
Probably owes its
origins to the erection in the 7th Century of an Anglo Saxon convent.
However it was the later Benedictine Abbey founded by Leofric, Earl of Mercia in
the 11th Century that gave the town its impetus to grow. It was granted
its first charter in 1553. The mechanization of the 19th Century brought
the manufacture of sewing machines and bicycles right into the city. The
Daimler company produced the first English motorcar in 1898 and the car industry
increased rapidly, giving rise in turn to aircraft production. It was the
aircraft production Germany came to bomb in 1940, it was a cold November night
in 1940 when much of the city was wiped out by a devastating fire bombing air
raid, thousands of people killed and injured, the Cathedral was also destroyed,
leaving only a tower and a spire standing. Coventry's Priory Undercroft Offers a fascinating glimpse into the best preserved remains of Coventry's original Benedictine Monastery, Dissolved by Henry VIII. Discovered and Excavated by the Coventry Archaeological Team as part of the Pheonix initiative, Stone vaulted rooms, a courtyard, doorways and passages are open for visitors to experience by guided tours. Crown Derby Pottery With a history dating back to 1745, Crown Derby China has a historical and world wide reputation for beauty, quality and excellence which even now is still celebrated by collectors and connoisseurs. The china made today still uses the same skills and techniques handed down through the generations. Each piece of pottery is the accumulation of years of craftsmanship and experience. Enjoy the factory tour as one views at first hand the working of a piece of clay through to firing and eventual hand decoration.Hay - on - Wye
The small marches town
of Hay - On - Wye is the Northern most part for the Brecon Beacons national park
and stands on the Southern side of the River Wye. In local terms, the town
was known as "The Hay", Hay meaning a fenced or hedged enclosure. In
Norman times for administration purposes it was divided up into English Hay and
Welsh Hay. In modern times Hay is known throughout the world as the town
of books. Henley - in - Arden
A delightful old market
town consisting of a High Street 1 mile long with nearly every type of English
domestic architecture represented. Once a stronghold of Plantagenet power,
Henley belonged to the De Mountford Family. When Simon De Mountford was
killed at the Battle of Evesham, Henley was pillaged and burnt to the ground.
Henley has many ancient Inns, among them the White Swan dating from the early
1600s. The most interesting buildings are on the North side of the main
street, the Old George and the Blue Bell inn, part of which is 15th century.
The White House is a good example of a 16th Century dwelling. Hereford
Situated close to the
Welsh/English border on the banks of the River Wye. This cathedral city
was founded in about 700A.D. The original fortifications intended to
protect Saxon Hereford from the Welsh. The area is famous for cider
making, the special bitter sweet apples popular in the region are gathered in
the Autumn and delivered to the factories where the process of fermenting,
filtering and blending takes place. There has been a Cathedral at Hereford
since the city was founded, most of the present building dating from the 11/12th
Centuries. The Cathedral owes much to the patronage of King Offa of Mercia
who built the famous Dyke which runs approx 6 miles to the West of the city and
which defined the border between England and Wales. It was Offa who was
responsible for the beheading of King Ethelbert King of East Anglia. Hidcote manor gardens Designed & established by the great horticulturist Major Lawrence Johnston, this series of small gardens within a whole garden is internationally famous. Each room as one can call each section has a unique character all of is own and is separated from its neighbours by walls and hedges of different species. The garden contains many rare shrubs and trees together with outstanding herbaceous borders, old roses and plant species from all over the world. Kenilworth castle Started as a wooden fortress in 1112 by Geoffrey De Clinton. The Keep which still stands today was built in 1162. King John visited several times during his reign. In 1199 the De Clinton family surrendered all rights to the King. Henry III gave it to his Sister who was married to Simon De Montfort. In 1361 the castle came into the hands of Blanche of the Lancastrian house who then married John of Gaunt. It was John that transformed the building from a fortress to a grand castle. The castle passed from John to his son Henry IV and remained a royal residence till Elizabeth 1st gave it to Robert Dudley. This was the height of influence at Kenilworth. Queen Elizabeth visited many times. But after Roberts death the castle went into slow decline. During the Civil War Cromwell ordered the castle to be dismantled. After the restoration it passed into the hands of the Clarendon family who eventually passed it into the care of the state. A magnificent sight to see, when it’s red sandstone towers, keep and wall glow brightly in the morning sun. Leather Museum
Walsall has been and
still is the leather capital of Britain. This museum is dedicated to the
thousands of people who have made leather making in Walsall a tradition
stretching back through history. A fully working museum where craftsmen
and women demonstrate their skills in this ancient craft in workshops of an
original factory building. Ledbury
Standing on a ridge
running parallel to the nearby Malvern hills. This ancient town is midway
between Hereford and Tewkesbury. The market place is dominated by a
delightful black and white house timbered in herringbone pattern raised on 16
columns of oak timber. It was built between 1617 and 1655. Cobbled church lane connects the market place and the church and epitomises Tudor and
Stuart streets. Its half timbered houses with overhanging upper stories
and a lived in air enhances the beauty of the area. Lichfield
A very pleasant small
very English town. Made famous by the cathedral which sits in a lovely
close just on the edge of town. The close contains some fine buildings,
including the Deanery dating from the time of William and Mary. The
Bishops House and the Palace dating back to 1687 and which is now used as the
Cathedral School. These superb buildings surround the Cathedral and
together with the most attractive lawns provide a wonderful back drop to the
Cathedral architecture. It is said by many to be the most complete close
of any English Cathedral. The town as a cobbled market square, narrow
streets and many links with Dr Johnson, (his birthplace on the corner of
Breadmarket Street) in Beacon Street is the house where Dr Erasmus Darwin lived
(grandfather of Charles). At the far end of market square is a memorial to
Edward Wightman, who was burnt at the stake there for heresy on 11th April 1612,
the last person so to die in England. A commercial town rather than
industrial with strong links with the land. Obvious when its position set
in the midst of rolling countryside is considered.
Leicester
The history of this City in the heart of England
goes back over 2,000 years. Long before the Romans came the Celtic people lived
in the area. Traces of roads they built are still being found. The most
impressive surviving memorial to those Roman times is the Jewry Wall believed to
date back to 130AD. A massive fragment remains 73 ft long and 20ft high.The hub
of the City is the clock tower, a gothic structure erected in 1868.
Leicester Castle dates back to 1088 but the red bricked frontage added in 1690
has sadly spoilt the structure. Ludlow
The castle was built in
1085 by either the Earl of Shrewsbury Robert
Montgomery or Roger De Lacy. Built to ward off those marauding Welsh
natives. The massive structure stands today much as it did when it was
built and seen by Edward IV, Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII's brother Prince
Arthur who died here.
The massive structure
stands today much as it did when it was built and seen by Edward IV, Catherine
of Aragon and Henry VIII's brother Prince Arthur who died here. The parish
Church of St Laurence is one of the largest parish Churches in England.
Largely 15th Century. Interesting Misericords in the church choir. The
East window in the Chancel is 30ft high by 18ft wide and depicts the life,
history and miracles of the patron Saint in 27 separate scenes containing approx
300 figures. The finest thoroughfare in Ludlow is broad street where every
building dates back to the 14/15th Centuries. Tucked into a yard off Church Street is the Rose and
Crown first licensed in the 16th century. The Feathers Hotel in the bull
ring is a lovely 17th Century half timbered building. it is believed the
entrance door is more than 300 years old. Few towns in England have as
much to show for their history as Ludlow. Enjoy it in the time you have. New Art Gallery, Walsall
Opened in February
2000, this new Millennium Gallery was made possible by a grant of nearly 16
million pounds from the National Lottery. Built to contain the wonderful
Garman-Ryan collection donated in 1973 to the people of Walsall by Lady Kathleen
Garman widow of the sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein. A superb collection
containing works by Matisse, Modigliani, Picasso, Augustus John, Epstein himself
to name a few, plus many more items donated by friends of the sculptor.
Lady Epstein was always anxious that the collection should find its home
somewhere in the West Midlands where she had been born. not in London which she
considered already had enough cultural riches. Walsall therefore became
the proud caretaker of this important collection Peterborough A prosperous City and an important market town. In its centre is the market place where the Guildhall built in 1671 dominates. Nearby is St John the Baptist’s church built in 1402. The best Georgian Houses are in Priestgate on the corner of which is the three storied Angel Hotel. The Town Hall in Bridge Street was built in the 1930s in a mock Georgian style. Peterborough:first mentioned in a document of 750 as Medeshamstedi. Anglo Saxon settlement probably meaning homestead by the Whirlpool. Two hundred years later the settlement was destroyed by the Danes but was rebuilt in the 10th Century. In the Doomsday book the place was simply known as Burg. However a document of the 12th Century defines the name as Medeshamstede Qui Modo Burgdicitur (taking the meaning to be Medeshampstead which is now only called Buirg) By 1333 the city became known as “Petreburgh” Repton
One of the most ancient
places in England. Very important during the 8th Century when it was the
principal home of the Kings of Mercia. The first recorded documentation of
a village was in 674. Recent excavations in the Churchyard have also
uncovered the existence of a mass grave of something like 150 warriors. It
is believed they may have been part of the Anglo Saxon army defeated by the
Vikings in 874A.D. when they set up winter quarters here. The village now
famous for its school (three Archbishops of Canterbury this century are
connected with the school) William Temple, Geoffrey Fisher were both headmasters
& Michael Ramsey a pupil. The first view of the school is dominated by the
local church and close by the Augustinian Priory built in the 12/13th Centuries.
Shrewsbury Is one of the best preserved Medieval towns in the country, probably dating back to the 5th Century when the residents of Wroxeter (Roman-Viroconium) were looking for a more easily defended position during the uneasy years after the Romans left. It was just 5 miles from their town to this near island situated in a loop in the River Severn. It is thought they carried the stone from their village and built a new village here. The name Shrewsbury is thought to have come into use during the 8th Century when the town became part of the Kingdom of Mercia. Scrobbesbyrig, the Anglo Saxon name probably meant the fortified place of a man called Scrobb. The town grew in importance during the Middle Ages as an important crossing of the river and is rich in history as many of its buildings will testify.
Southwell Minster
The Manor of Southwell was given to the Archbishop of
York
in 956. It was not long before a college of Canons was formed and as a
collegiate church served as a outpost of York until 1840, when it was reduced to
little more than a Parish Church. However in 1884 it became the See for a
new Diocese covering both Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Eventually
Derbyshire became a separate Diocese but Southwell had now become a Cathedral in
its own right. The earliest church on the site was Saxon but nothing
remains of this building except a small area of tessellated pavement in the
South Transept. The Western Towers, Nave, Central Tower and Transepts
remain very much as they where built in the 12th Century. The
early English Quire was completed about 1250 and replaced an earlier Norman
original. The Chapter House is exceptional. It is octagonal and only 31ft
in diameter, no central pillar and the vault is a remarkable star design.
If one looks outside one will see massive buttresses taking the strain of this
wonderfully unsupported vault. The Minster is set in a lovely grassed
churchyard and is remarkably well preserved for a mostly Norman building.
The Minster is well loved by the community and serves both as a busy Parish
Church and Diocese Stratford upon Avon
Situated on the West
bank of the River Avon. Many 15th and 16th Century timber framed houses
still exist and in many of its streets the essential character of a thriving
market town still purveys. However it can not be denied that it is justly
famous because on or about 23rd April 1564 William Shakespeare was born here and
a few days later baptised at the Parish Church of Holy Trinity. There is
however evidence of a Bronze age settlement in the area and a Romano British
village. A Monastery was founded in Anglo Saxon days and by the year 1196
the town was granted the right to hold a weekly market.
The town name means
ford by a Roman road. In this case over the River Avon and the Roman road
is the one joining the Roman settlements of Alcester and Tiddington. The
ford was actually at the point where Bridgefoot Crosses the River now.
The name was recorded as Stretford approx 700 years ago. Shakespeare Birthplace Museum
The Cottage was the childhood home of William
Shakespeare. The cottage is authentically furnished throughout with both
original and replica items from this time period of his life. To the rear
is a lovely garden and adjoining is a superb exhibition charting his
professional and private life including a first edition of his colleted plays
published in 1623. Stamford
This quiet town
built largely of mellowed local stone has a long and historic background.
In
Danish
times it was the selected capital of the
Fens
area and one of the original five
Boroughs
of the Danelaw.
The
town charter was granted by
Henry
III
in 1254 but received quite allot of damage during the
Wars
of the Roses
in the 15th
Century.
The town
does have the finest collection of
Medieval
Churches
of any small town in
England
and really does try to keep them all open;
St
Mary,
St
George,
St
Martin
and All
Saints
together with excellent examples of
Queen
Anne
Houses
and Georgian
Mansions. Churches of Stamford
Stamford is blessed with no less than 5 Medieval Churches still open, (there
were 17 originally). The largest concentration of Medieval Churches in the UK. Waddesdon Manor Built at the end of the 19th Century for Baron Ferdinand De Rothschild to entertain his guests and display his vast collection of art treasures. The French renaissance style Chateau Houses possibly one of the finest collections of French 18th Century decorative arts in the world, carpets, porcelain, tapestries, furniture, portraits, gold boxes, buttons and a superb choiseul sevres dessert service. Landscaped Victorian gardens surround the house and add a touch of elegance to the whole landscape. Walsall
The town has a long
history with its first Charter awarded in 1159. The roll of town mayors
goes back to 1377 and its association with the Earls of Warwick depicted by the
towns coat of arms which incorporates the Warwick crest of the bear and ragged
staff. The crypt of the church on the hill St Matthews dates back to the
early 13th Century. Originally the town grew up around the base of the
hill with the church the dominant feature. Famous for centuries as the
centre of the leather industry the street market again on the hill has stood
there for nearly a thousand years and is still held on three days of the week,
it is one of the best open air markets in the country. Walsall is also
famous for its connections with John Wesley and of course Bishop Francis Asbury
(founding father of the American Methodist Church) who was born and lived just a
few minutes from the town. Now a thriving Black Country town with diverse
industry and commerce, during the 19th Century it was known as a town with a
thousand chimneys. Warwick
The town stands on a
North rise from the River Avon which is crossed by two bridges, Castle Bridge
and the old bridge in the castle grounds. It was this dominant situation
that accounted for its early importance. Apart from the castle the most
impressive piece of architecture left in the town is the lovely 14th Century
Church of St Mary with its 174ft tower and pinnacle. Situated on the site
of an early Norman church. A number of the Beauchamp family who held the
title Earls of Warwick are buried here, the Beauchamp Chapel is incomparable.
Some most delightful pre 1694 houses are to be found in Castle Street.
Outstanding is the isolated timbered house of Thomas Okam which carefully
restored is now the doll museum. Most famous of all the remaining Medieval
houses is Lord Leycester`s Hospital, pre 14th Century, situated by Warwicks West
Gate, originally the Guild House of St George. Certainly one of the most
unspoilt county towns in England. Warwick Castle
Warwick must compare
favourably with any of the great fortress houses of Europe. The outlines
of the original motte or keep with its bailey which included the domestic
buildings are still visible. None of the present buildings however date
back before the 13th Century. The outstanding buildings are Caesar's
Tower, the gatehouse or clock tower, Guys Tower which is 128ft high and the
South range living quarters dramatically set above the winding river. The
gardens were laid out by Capability Brown who began work in 1753. The old
bridge across the Avon was built late in the 14th Century and has romantically
overgrown arches. Wedgwood Founded in 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood. In time Wedgwood would revolutionise the pottery industry the world over. The Wedgwood visitor centre brings together all the developments from the stunning early works in the museum right through to the modern methods used today but still based on crafts passed on through the centuries. Take your time on the factory tour, spend sometime in the demonstration area, see the artistic designs of yester-year then maybe a special purchase in the shop.
Wellingborough
A residential
town first mentioned in the
Doomsday
book and granted market rights by
King
John
in 1201. Sheep
Street
and High
Street
have many old buildings and a 15th
Century
tithe barn. The two old inns are the
Hind
and Golden
Lion.
Cromwell
stayed at the Hind
on his way to the Battle
of Naseby
during the Civil
War.
Woburn Abbey
Built on the site of a
Cistercian Abbey, this superb 18th Century mansion stands in 3,000
acres of parkland where some 1,000 deer roam. Since 1574 it has been the
home of the Dukes of Bedford. It is presently occupied by the Marques &
Marchioness of Tavistock and their family. The house is complete with many
works of art in a collection consisting of Canaletto, Rembrandt, Van Dyck,
Reynolds and Gainsborough. In the Canaletto room are 21 views of Venice by
Antonio Canale. The collection is further enhanced by English and French
period furniture together with English, continental and oriental porcelain.
14 state apartments are on view and some private apartments when not in use by
the family. Worcester Worcester a city with a river, cathedral, famous pottery and history around every corner. Situated in the centre of the county and built on the banks of the River Severn. The area has known many marauding armies using the town as a base and river crossing. Romans, Anglo Saxons, Danes and the Welsh have all contributed to its colourful history. The Civil War inflicted terrible damage, it was the first city to declare for the King and the last to surrender in 1646. It also saw in 1651 the final battle for Cromwell when Charles I was completely defeated. The Cathedral was started in 1084 and is a beautiful place of worship. Many interesting houses are situated in the city some dating back over 500 years, however today the cities main claim to fame must surely be the home of the Royal Worcester Porcelain works situated near the Cathedral right in the centre of the city. Worcester Porcelain Famous for its bone china since 1751 when its founder Dr John Wall promised, "porcelain so precise as to be easily distinguished from other known English Porcelain". the company has been in continuous production ever since. The Dyson Perrins museum houses the worlds largest collection of Worcester Porcelain including pieces made during the first year of production. A feast for the eyes to feed upon whether a connoisseur or just a lover of fine artistry. |
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