Cornwall’s traditional fishing villages are full of narrow streets, passageways, and delightful little nooks and crannies.
If you’ve ever watched the popular TV sitcom “Doc Martin”, you’ll have seen Dr Martin Ellingham struggling to squeeze his Lexus down the narrow streets of Port Isaac, otherwise known as “Portwenn“.
Lined with whitewashed cottages, or pastel shades like yellow ochre, the picturesque village dates back to the time of Henry VIII, although its centre is mostly from the 18th and 19th century when its prosperity depended on the shipping and fishing trades.
Meaning “corn port”, Port Isaac initially served the trade in corn grown on the surrounding arable lands.
Later, cargoes of coal, wood, stone, and pottery were hauled along its narrow streets to the harbour, then shipped out to sea for export.
“Fore Street” is a name often used in the south west of England to mean the main street of a town or village.
Derived from the Cornish word “Forth”, meaning “Street”, and corrupted to “Fore” in English, there are over seventy examples in Cornwall alone.
English colonists from Cornwall are thought to have named Fore Street in Portland, Maine, in the United States.
Stroll the meandering narrow streets and you’ll pass traditional family-run butchers shops, tucked-away seafood restaurants, and confectionery shops with Cornwall’s famous fudge made from local cream.
Become a stowaway at the Stowaway Tea Shoppe where they also sell delicious Cornish ice cream that some say is the world’s best.
And no trip to Port Isaac is complete without a visit to the Doctor—that’s Doc Martin, naturally.
Famous for the film location of ITV’s Doc Martin comedy-drama series, Port Isaac also played host to the original 1970s version of the BBC’s Poldark series.
Another delightful Cornish village lined with narrow streets is Polperro.
Meaning “Pyra’s Cove” in the Cornish language, Polperro’s tightly-packed fishermen’s cottages, quaint harbour, and beautiful coastline make it a popular tourist destination in summer months.
Dating from the 1700s, a typical old fisherman’s cottage featured a fishing net store on the ground floor with steps leading up to the living accommodation above.
Off-season, when there’s little to no traffic, the locals can have a good old chinwag about the weather in peace.
Don’t forget to buy some postcards and postage stamps at the village Post Office!
Fast disappearing, these icons of the British way of life can still be found in many seaside towns and villages.
Lined with holiday cottages, the “Warren” is a narrow street providing perfect walks along the harbour front.
Tucked away in The Warren is a house covered in seashells called “The Shell House”.
And if you like quirky buildings, why not visit “The House on the Props” restaurant and tearooms which also offers Bed and Breakfast accommodations.
Leading up the hill from the harbour is Lansallos Street which is filled with quaint shops, pubs, and art galleries.
Quaintly named, the little fishing village of Mousehole (pronounced “Mowzle”) is laced with a maze of narrow streets.
Destroyed by the Spanish raid on Cornwall in the Anglo-Spanish war of 1585-1604, the only building to survive any damage was a pub owned by local resident Jenkyn Keigwin who died from a cannonball shot while defending it.
Ringed by lichened cottages and houses, the picturesque harbour reveals a sandy beach at low tide that’s popular with families.
Reminding you of its delightful name and giving you another opportunity to practice how it’s pronounced, The Mousehole giftshop joins galleries, pubs, and restaurants along the harbour front.
Over a thousand years old, the ancient town of Looe in south-east Cornwall straddles the Looe River.
Situated on the east side of the river, East Looe has numerous narrow streets and lanes, one of which is Fore Street—the main thoroughfare—teeming with shops, bakeries, pubs, and restaurants.
Formerly a 15th-century merchant’s house, the timber-framed and painted-stone “Ye Olde Cottage Restaurant” on the tiny alleyway of Middle Market Street features oak ceiling beams and an old oak fireplace lintel.
Only wide enough for single-file traffic, Buller Street joins Fore Street and both are dotted with coffeeshops, pubs, pasty shops, bakeries, and crêperies.
Originally built in 1420 and featuring salvaged oak timbers from a wrecked galleon of the Spanish Armada, the Smugglers Cott is said to have a tunnel leading to the quayside that was used by smugglers bringing their loot ashore.
Now serving loot of the edible variety, the restaurant offers delicious local seafood, steaks, and rib roast carvery.
Just in case anyone is tempted to drive down such a narrow alleyway on Lower Chapel Street, the no-entry sign is a reminder that it’s not a good idea.
Upstairs or downstairs? Many former fishermen’s cottages now offer holiday season lettings.
Set in a quiet traffic-free passageway a few yards from the harbour, Sandpipers is a 150-year-old former fisherman’s cottage, refurbished to offer comfortable accommodations.
If Mevagissey‘s narrow streets were as busy as her little harbour, people might be stuck in traffic for hours!
Nestled in a small valley, tourism may have supplanted a once thriving fishing industry but Mevagissey manages to maintain 63 working fishing boats alongside dozens of pleasure vessels.
Rising up the steep slopes of the surrounding hillsides, the outer areas provide accomodations for local residents while the village centre is filled with eateries and shops aimed at tourists.
Named after two saints —St Mevan and St Issey—in the late 1600s, the village thrived on pilchard fishing and smuggling and there were at least 10 inns, of which the Fountain Inn and Ship Inn remain to this day.
We hope you enjoyed a whirlwind tour of some of Cornwall’s narrow streets and feel inspired to visit one day in the not too distant future.
English country houses are large mansions set in the English countryside, typically owned by the British nobility or the landed gentry of the upper class.
Country houses were important as places of employment for many rural communities with large numbers of indoor and outdoor staff catering to every need of owners who traveled frequently between homes in the city and the country.
After World War I, increased taxation and the loss of family fortunes led to the demolition of hundreds of houses, with those that remained, struggling to survive.
Here are 10 examples of English Country Houses in beautiful condition that are open to the public.
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Built between 1705 and 1733, Blenheim Palace was originally a gift from Queen Anne to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough for his victory over the French in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701 – 1714).
Before Blenheim Palace was even completed, political intrigue between Marlborough’s wife and Queen Anne forced the Duke and Duchess to leave the country in disgrace.
Returning to England on the day of the queen’s death, the Marlboroughs regained royal favour under King George I and moved into Blenheim Palace in 1719.
Designed in the rare, and short-lived, English Baroque style, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the only non-royal non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace.
Born at Blenheim Palace on 30 November 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was a direct descendant of the Dukes of Marlborough.
One of England’s largest country houses, Blenheim was saved from ruin in the late 19th century with funding from American railroad heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt upon her marriage to the 9th Duke of Marlborough.
Burghley House, Cambridgeshire
Reflecting the prominence of its founder, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and chief advisor to Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, Burghley House is one of the leading examples of 16th-century English Elizabethan architecture.
Featured in several period movies, including Pride and Prejudice and The Da Vinci Code, its virtually unaltered Elizabethan facades and historic interiors make it an ideal location for filming.
Famed 18th-century English landscape architect Capability Brown laid out the parkland avenues and 26-acre man-made lake.
Created using traditional ideas of water traps, shell grottos, and a mirror maze in a 21st-century style, the “garden of surprises” was added in 2007.
Known as “prodigy houses”, these extravagant palaces were often built by courtiers and other wealthy families to house Elizabeth I and her retinue as she traveled around her realm.
With 35 major rooms on the ground and first floors, there are over 80 lesser rooms and numerous halls, corridors, bathrooms, and service areas.
Castle Howard, North Yorkshire
Beginning in 1699, Castle Howard would take over 100 years to complete, becoming the home of the Carlisle branch of the noble Howard family.
Descended from the third son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (executed by Queen Elizabeth I in 1572), the Earls of Carlisle have been seated at Castle Howard for over 300 years.
Although not a true castle, the term is often used to describe English country houses built on sites of former military fortresses.
Dominating the fountain in Castle Howard’s grounds is a large bronze globe supported on the shoulders of the figure of Atlas from Greek mythology.
Added to the design at a late stage, the crowning central dome epitomizes the rich decorative Baroque architecture so beloved by the architect and English playwright Sir John Vanbrugh.
With a total of 145 rooms, Castle Howard is one of the largest country houses in England.
Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
Often selected as Britain’s favourite country house, Chatsworth House sits on the banks of the River Derwent within the beautiful hills and valleys of the Derbyshire Dales.
Set in expansive parkland and backed by wooded hills, the house contains an important collection of paintings, furniture, and neoclassical sculptures.
The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth House has been home to the Cavendish family, one of the richest British aristocratic families, since the 16th century.
Anticipating a visit from Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, the 6th Duke constructed an eight-acre lake with the world’s highest fountain reaching almost 300ft.
Decorated with murals from the life of Julius Caesar by French painter Louis Laguerre, the cantilevered Great Stairs lead to a suite of richly appointed staterooms built in anticipation of a royal visit by King William III and Queen Mary that never took place.
Harewood House, West Yorkshire
Employing the finest craftsmen of the day—architect John Carr, interior designer Robert Adam, furniture maker Thomas Chippendale, and landscape gardener Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown—Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood wanted nothing but the best for his new home, Harewood House.
Laying the foundations in 1759, the house was largely complete within six years.
Filled with renaissance masterpieces, exquisite portraits by Reynolds, Gainsborough, Lawrence, and Richmond, and a fine collection of Sèvres French porcelain, Harewood House has featured in both television and film.
Used as a filming set for the TV Series “Victoria”, the gallery and other rooms display some of the costumes used in the show.
Running through the design theme of the Yellow Room is Robert Adam’s meticulous attention to detail.
Echoed in the ceiling, without being a direct copy, he repeats the star and circle motifs of the carpet, and around the frieze and doorways, he repeats the plaques with cupids and seahorses.
Hatfield House, Hertfordshire
Set in extensive parkland and manicured gardens, Hatfield House is a leading example of a Jacobean prodigy house—a large and showy English country house built to accommodate Queen Elizabeth I and her entourage as they toured her realm.
It is here, in 1558, while sitting under an oak tree in the Park of the Old Palace, that Elizabeth first learned of her succession to the throne.
In 1607, King James I gave the original Old Palace to his chief minister Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, in exchange for Cecil’s family estate at Theobalds.
Tearing down three wings and using the bricks to build the present structure, Cecil spared no expense to create an opulent home furnished with fine art and tapestries fit for royal visits.
Hatfield’s showpiece Marble Hall, with its signature black and white marble floor, features the famous Rainbow Portrait, depicting Elizabeth as the “Queen of Love and Beauty”.
Running 170ft along the width of the south front is the Long Gallery housing some clothing items belonging to Elizabeth, including a hat, some gloves, and silk stockings thought to be the first pair in England.
Longleat House, Wiltshire
Noted for its Elizabethan country house, landscaped parkland, and more recently, a maze, and safari park, Longleat is another example of a prodigy house built by wealthy families to entertain Elizabeth I and her retinue on their royal visits.
Regarded as one of the finest examples of Elizabethan architecture in Britain, it was built by Sir John Thynne, steward to the 1st Duke of Somerset, and designed by master stonemason Robert Smythson.
Set in 1000 acres of parkland designed by the 18th century’s leading gardener Lancelot “Capability” Brown, Longleat was the first English country house to open to the public and the first safari park outside of Africa.
Inspired by estates in Genoa and Venice, the interior decoration includes superb Flemish tapestries, 16th-century fine art, and period furniture.
Formerly called the Long Gallery, the 90ft Saloon features a huge Carrara marble fireplace and beautiful coffered ceiling.
Petworth House, West Sussex
Once owned by the Percy family who held the peerage title Earls of Northumberland, Petworth is a 17th-century baroque country house set in a sprawling 700-acre landscaped deer park designed by Capability Brown.
Intended as an occasional second home to their primary seat at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland that borders Scotland, the Percy’s were forced to make Petworth their main residence on the orders of Queen Elizabeth I who suspected the family’s allegiance to Mary, Queen of Scots.
Housing an important collection of paintings and sculptures, the Petworth collection includes 19 oil paintings by J. M. W. Turner, who was a regular visitor, and paintings by Anthony van Dyck as well as sculptures and carvings by Grinling Gibbons.
Decorated with a magnificent series of allegorical murals by renowned French painter Louis Laguerre (1663 – 1721), the Grand Staircase also depicts the story of Lady Elizabeth Percy who, as a two-year-old, inherited four vast estates, including Petworth from the 11th Earl of Northumberland when he died without a male heir.
Stowe House, Buckinghamshire
Dating back to the 16th century when the Temple family bought the manor and estate of Stowe, the house was completely rebuilt in the 17th century and has subsequently been extended three more times over the years to create the 916-foot facade of today.
Considered one of the finest examples of neoclassical architecture in Britain, the south face was designed by Robert Adam and Thomas Pitt, both involved at the highest levels of 18th-century architecture.
Exquisitely decorated by Italian artist and architect Vincenzo Valdrè, the paintings of the elegant Music Room were inspired by those seen on a visit to Pompeii by the 1st Marquess of Buckingham, owner of Stowe from 1779-1813.
The plaster ceiling has gilt molded decoration and seven inset paintings with the central circular painting of The Dance of the Hours after Guido Reni and flanked by rectangular paintings of the four seasons.
Created in three main phases, the landscaped gardens of Stowe were worked on by William Kent who, together with Charles Bridgeman, originated the naturalistic landscape style, and Capability Brown, who became known as “England’s greatest gardener”.
Completed in 1738, the Palladian Bridge was copied from the bridge at Wilton House in Wiltshire but was designed with ramps instead of steps to allow horse-drawn carriages to cross.
Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire
Built between 1874 and 1889 in the Neo-Renaissance style of a French château, Waddesdon Manor was a weekend residence of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild for grand entertaining and to store his art collection.
Embodying an eclectic style based on the châteaux of the Loire Valley, the towers were inspired by those of the Château de Maintenon and the twin staircase towers are based on the staircase tower at the Château de Chambord.
Laid out by French landscape architect Elie Lainé, the gardens at Waddesdon were an important part of Baron Ferdinand’s many weekend house parties.
Planting nearly 19,000 flowers and bulbs each year, the parterre is the formal garden consisting of beds laid out in symmetrical patterns.
Waddesdon’s rooms are exquisitely decorated and filled with English 18th-century portraits by Gainsborough and Reynolds, as well as French 18th-century carpets, tapestries, furniture, and ceramics.
Designed for after-dinner entertainment, the Grey Drawing Room features fine 18th-century French carved paneling, Sèvres porcelain, and three portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Imagine a land where wild horses roam free, where deer forage in ancient woodland and fox cubs play on open fields.
Welcome to the New Forest—a vast region of southern England spanning the counties of Hampshire, Wiltshire, and parts of Dorset.
A land of untamed beauty.
Of pastures, heathland, and ancient woodland, dotted with delightful villages, churches, and country houses.
Join us as we explore the New Forest.
History
Prior to the Norman Invasion of England, the area was colonised by the Jutes from the Jutland Peninsula of what is now Denmark and Northern Germany.
Following the Norman Conquest, King William I, commonly known as William the Conqueror, designated the land as a royal forest, reserved for the private use of the King and invited aristocracy.
Created at the expense of over 20 small hamlets and farms, it was a “new” area and the only forest described in detail in the ancient Domesday Book’s “Great Survey”.
Mysteriously, two of William the Conqueror’s sons died in hunting accidents in the New Forest.
Folklore has it that the deaths were punishment for William evicting locals from his newly acquired lands.
Richard of Normandy, his second son, died in around 1070, while his younger brother, William would suffer a similar fate 30 years later.
Struck by an arrow from one of his own men while hunting in August of 1100, King William II of England died in suspicious circumstances, leading to speculation of murder.
Historian Frank Barlow described King William II as:
A rumbustious, devil-may-care soldier, without natural dignity or social graces, with no cultivated tastes and little show of conventional religious piety or morality—indeed, according to his critics, addicted to every kind of vice, particularly lust and especially sodomy.
Marking the spot where the king was shot, the “Rufus Stone” bears the following inscription:
Here stood the oak tree, on which an arrow shot by Sir Walter Tyrrell at a stag, glanced and struck King William the Second, surnamed Rufus, on the breast, of which he instantly died, on the second day of August, anno 1100.
William’s brother Henry was among the hunting party that day and succeeded him as King.
Abanding his brother’s body, he rode straight for Winchester—then the capital of England—to seize the treasury and elect himself King.
Rights of Common
Ancient “rights of common” have allowed local inhabitants to turn horses and cattle out into the forest’s common pasture to graze.
Between September and November, pigs can roam freely to forage for fallen acorns and beechnuts.
New Forest ponies are typically not shy and can be bold enough to seek out a treat.
Wildlife
Abundant with diverse species of wildlife thanks to well-preserved lowland habitats—wetlands, heaths, and deciduous woodland—you’re sure to see some beautiful creatures including several deer populations, of which fallow deer is the most common, but also roe deer, red deer, sika deer, and muntjac.
If you’re lucky, you may see this fine bird of prey—the Northern Goshawk—before it sees you.
And the pretty Dartford Warbler can be spotted flitting around the gorse.
New Forest National Park
Covering about 120 square miles, the New Forest’s National Park and Site of Special Scientific Interest is the largest contiguous area of unsown vegetation in lowland Britain.
Villages and Historical Buildings
As eclectic as it is beautiful, the New Forest district is filled with pretty villages and historical buildings yearning to be explored.
Founded by King John in 1203, Beaulieu Abbey was occupied by 30 monks sent from the Cîteaux Abbey, the mother house of the Cistercian order.
Granted a rich endowment and lands in the New Forest, Beaulieu Abbey became very wealthy, with a scale and magnificence befitting its royal foundation until it was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538 and fell into ruin.
Once the gatehouse to Beaulieu Abbey, Palace House became the ancestral home of the Mantagu family when it was bought from the Crown following the dissolution of the abbey.
Extended in the 16th and 19th centuries, it is a superb example of a Gothic country house and reputedly one of the most haunted places in Britain.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes novels, conducted séances at Palace House and it is claimed he made contact with a ghost.
Reportedly sighted walking through walls and making a lot of noise in the private apartments, a lady in blue is believed to be the ghost of the Countess of Beaulieu, Lady Isabella, who died in 1786.
Founded in 1952 by Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, as a tribute to his father, who was one of the great British automobile pioneers, the National Motor Museum is hosted in the village of Beaulieu.
Filled with around 250 vehicles from the late 19th century through decades of motoring history, the museum also features an exhibit of James Bond cars and a special Top Gear exhibit.
Noted for its fine collection of paintings and furniture, Breamore House is an Elizabethan manor house in Fordingbridge in the New Forest District of Hampshire.
Completed in 1583 by the Dodington family, it was purchased in the 18th century by Sir Edward Hulse, physician to Queen Anne and Kings George I and George II.
It was used as one of the locations for the 2005 film Pride & Prejudice.
Nearby is the parish church of Saint Mary, known for its Anglo-Saxon rood and intriguing historical details such as a Puritan-inspired plaque warning patrons to “Avoid Fornication”.
With its cobbled streets, pretty whitewashed Victorian and Georgian buildings, and proximity to the New Forest, Lymington is a popular tourist destination.
Derived from Old English words “tun” meaning hamlet and “limen” meaning elm tree, Lymington’s history dates back to the Anglo-Saxons.
Lymington also runs a ferry service to the Isle of Wight.
In the countryside north of Lymington, beautiful villages like Boldre and Brockenhurst dot the landscape, once described by author and naturalist William Henry Hudson as “‘a land of secret, green, out-of-the-world places”.
Held annually at the end of July, the New Forest Agricultural Show has been running since 1921 and promotes the development of agriculture, forestry, equestrianism and horticulture in the region.
Attending in 2012, Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh honoured the Show as one of the country’s top ten agricultural Shows, attracting almost 100,000 people over three days.
All that hard work soaking up the gorgeous scenery and atmosphere may make you thirsty and the New Forest doesn’t disappoint, with dozens of old pubs to choose from—as long as you don’t mind the local fauna waltzing by now and then.
The New Forest is a place to experience a way of life that’s been preserved for centuries.
Described as the “Key to England”, Dover Castle has guarded the shortest sea crossing between England and continental Europe for nine centuries.
Never conquered, its strategic importance is equaled only by the Tower of London and Windsor Castle.
To add atmosphere to our journey into history, play the soundtrack.
The Largest Castle in England
Dominating the town’s skyline, Dover Castle’s mile-long defensive curtain wall marks the boundary of this enormous fortification.
According to map measurements using tools like Google Maps, Dover Castle covers an area that is almost 50% larger than Windsor Castle, making it England’s largest castle.
Windsor Castle is, however, the largest inhabited castle in the world and the longest-occupied palace in Europe.
Steeped in History
A fortification has stood on the same site for nearly 2,000 years.
Beginning with an Iron Age hill fort, the Romans later built two 80-ft stone lighthouses, one of which still survives next to the restored Anglo-Saxon church of St Mary de Castro.
When William the Conqueror and his Norman forces invaded England in 1066, they came upon a castle at Dover made entirely of clay.
Collapsing under its own weight after the Normans set fire to it, the castle was rebuilt, using the clay for flooring.
But it wasn’t until the reign of Henry II, father of Richard the Lionheart, that the present-day castle took shape.
Henry built the inner and outer baileys (courtyards surrounded by walls) and the great keep (fortified tower).
After passing through Colton’s Gate to enter the outer bailey and then Palace Gate, with its portcullis and drawbridge, you enter the inner bailey with the massive Great Tower at the heart of the medieval fortifications.
Standing over 80 ft high and roughly 100 feet square, Dover Castle’s Great Tower is the largest and most expensive keep ever built in England.
Incorporating the first internal sanitary and plumbing system ever installed in an English castle, the Great Tower was enormously expensive to build, costing upwards of £70 million ($93,000,000) in today’s equivalent.
Richly furnished with vibrant colours, the Great Tower reflected the importance bestowed upon it by King Henry II.
Wars and Invasions
Invited by a group of rebel English barons, Prince Louis of France invaded England in 1216 in an attempt to seize the English crown from the unpopular King John.
Setting up huge stone-throwing catapults, the French bombarded Dover Castle but the walls held firm.
So the French tried a different tactic—tunneling to undermine the castle’s foundations.
And they succeeded in breaching the North Gate only to be stopped by English soldiers.
Bloody hand-to-hand fighting in front of the Barbican (fortified gatehouse) was all that separated England from defeat.
The English defenders prevailed and Prince Louis called off the siege after another few months.
Resulting from the near defeat, the man in charge, Hubert de Burgh, built Constable’s Tower—the first fortified residential gatehouse in England.
Dover Castle’s defenses were successively updated in response to every major European conflict involving Britain—including those against Napoleon and Hitler.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the first 200,000-strong “French Army of England” gathered at Boulogne in France in preparation to invade England.
Frantically carrying out building works to prepare Dover Castle for the invasion, military engineer William Twist designed some ingenious improvements.
He built underground barracks and the “Grand Shaft”—a giant stairwell 180 ft deep to get troops from the castle to the base of the white cliffs of Dover in a matter of minutes.
Blockaded by the Royal Navy and unable to command the English Channel, Napoleon was forced to cancel the invasion.
British cartoons depicted Napoleon in one of his “invasion barges” trying to cross the channel.
Positioned at Dover during the First World War, this rare type of 3″ twenty hundredweight anti-aircraft gun was used against Zeppelin airships and aircraft threatening Dover port.
Operation Dynamo: Rescue from Dunkirk
It was May 1940.
Facing almost certain annihilation, 400,000 British, French, Polish, and Belgian troops assembled on the beaches of Dunkirk awaiting evacuation.
With its proximity to Dunkirk and secure underground tunnels, Dover Castle was chosen as the headquarters for Operation Dynamo—the massive rescue of allied troops.
Strafed by the German Luftwaffe day in and day out, it would be eight days before 338,226 soldiers had been rescued by over 800 boats and ships.
Not all were lucky enough to make it back to the safety of Dover.
About 40,000 were marched off the beaches and spent the rest of the war in Germany or Poland working as slave labour in mines, fields, and factories.
What a welcoming sight the white cliffs of Dover, with its castle perched proudly above, must have been to those rescued.
Dover Castle remained a military site until the end of World War II.
Claire Burgess, an adjudicator for Guinness World Records, said,
Sherlock Holmes is a literary institution. This Guinness World Records title reflects his enduring appeal and demonstrates that his detective talents are as compelling today as they were 125 years ago.
Created in 1887 by Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes has been played by over 75 actors—besting even William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Which begs the question “who was the best?”
If we could ask Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that question, he would have said, Eille Norwood:
Sir Arthur said those words in the early 1920’s and there have been some truly remarkable performances since.
You will probably have your favorites in mind already, but just to help, we’ve shortlisted eight of the best Holmes of all time—each actor critically acclaimed as Sherlock for their era.
Eille Norwood (1923)
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself admired Norwood’s portrayal, saying: “His wonderful impersonation of Holmes has amazed me.”
Norwood was obsessed with portraying Holmes true to the written stories.
He re-read all the stories published up to that time and even learned to play the violin.
Norwood had a reputation as a very professional actor with an incredible ability with make-up and disguise.
In this 2-minute clip, you get a sense of what it was like to watch a movie without sound.
It may seem ridiculous to us today, but in 1923, moving pictures, even without sound, were still a novelty for most people.
There is a story that asked to do an impromptu screen test, Norwood excused himself to the dressing room and appeared a few minutes later “an entirely new person”.
He had done very little in the way of make-up, and he had no accessories, but the transformation was remarkable – it was Sherlock Holmes who came in that door.
Arthur Wontner (1935)
Allmovie wrote that Leslie S. Hiscott’s 1931 movie “Sherlock Holmes’ Fatal Hour” got the Wontner Holmes series off to a rousing start.”
We’ve moved forward into the era of “talkies”, or “talking pictures”, and it’s easy to see how much more watchable this movie is than the 1923 version.
In the United States, “talkies” helped secure Hollywood’s position as one of the world’s most powerful cultural/commercial centers of influence.
In Europe, they were viewed with some suspicion, where critics feared that a focus on dialogue would subvert the unique aesthetic virtues of soundless cinema.
The New York Times wrote of Wontner in Leslie S. Hiscott’s 1935 film “The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes”, “a mellow, evenly paced British film that renders to Holmes what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have rendered to him: Interest, respect. and affection … Mr. Wontner decorates a calabash pipe with commendable skill, contributing a splendid portrait of fiction’s first detective.”
“The Sign of Four” 1932 Film.
“The Missing Rembrandt” 1932 Film.
“The Sleeping Cardinal” 1931 Film.
Basil Rathbone (1939)
Basil Rathbone is credited with creating the definitive screen interpretation of Sherlock Holmes, his only rival generally conceded to be Jeremy Brett’s interpretation of the fictional detective.
His expert fencing skills earned him a reputation as the greatest swordsman in Hollywood history.
“Sherlock Holmes” by Ouida Rathbone 1953 Stage Play.
“Dressed to Kill” 1946 Film.
“Terror by Night” 1946 Film.
“The House of Fear” 1945 Film.
“Pursuit to Algiers” 1945 Film.
“The Woman in Green” 1945 Film.
“The Pearl of Death” 1944 Film.
“The Scarlet Claw” 1944 Film.
“The Spider Woman” 1944 Film.
“Sherlock Holmes in Washington” 1943 Film.
“Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon” 1943 Film.
“Sherlock Holmes Faces Death” 1943 Film.
“Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror” 1942 Film.
“The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” 1939-1946 Radio (Blue Network & Mutual).
“The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” 1939 Film.
“The Hound of the Baskervilles” 1939 Film.
Peter Cushing (1959)
Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes played alongside long-time fellow Hammer Films actor Sir Christopher Lee in a highly acclaimed production of Hound of the Baskervilles.
Hammer Films was famous in the UK for its gothic horror films from the mid-1950s to the 1970s.
Time Out called it “the best Sherlock Holmes film ever made, and one of Hammer’s finest movies”.
But Peter Cushing’s Holmes received mixed reviews, with Films and Filming calling him an “impish, waspish, Wilde-ian Holmes”, whereas The New York Herald Tribune stated, “Peter Cushing is a forceful and eager Sherlock Holmes”.
Cushing also played Holmes in a BBC TV Series in 1968.
Jeremy Brett (1984)
Inheriting the mantle from the great Basil Rathbone was a tall order indeed, but Jeremy Brett pulls it off with a long-running TV series in the 80’s and again in the 90’s.
Considered to be the definitive Holmes of his era, Brett once said that “Holmes is the hardest part I have ever played — harder than Hamlet or Macbeth.”
“The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes” 1994 TV series.
“The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes” 1991–1993 TV series.
“The Secret of Sherlock Holmes 1988–89” Stage (touring, British).
“The Return of Sherlock Holmes 1986–1988” TV series.
“The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” 1984–1985 TV series.
41 episodes.
Rupert Everett (2004)
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking is a British television film originally broadcast on BBC One in the UK on 26 December 2004 and PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre in 2005.
Holmes used cocaine, which he injected in a seven-percent solution with a syringe and also dabbled in morphine, both of which were legal in late-19th-century England.
This adaptation with music from Johnny Cash highlights Holme’s drug use in the movie.
Reviews of the drama were generally mixed.
I did feel that this peculiar tale was intended to tickle American tootsiesNancy Banks-Smith for The Guardian
Robert Bianco of USA Today remarked,
Everett sticks close enough to the outline created by Arthur Conan Doyle to be recognizably Sherlockian, and yet he deviates enough to create an amusing character all his own.
Brian Lowry of Variety wrote, “The Case of the Silk Stocking is a rather wan addition to the Holmes filmography, yet respectable enough in showcasing the character’s cerebral charms. If push comes to shove, though, when all the revisionism’s done, I prefer my Holmes in black-and-white.”
Robert Downey Jr (2009)
Robert Downey Jr reminded us that in addition to a suave and sophisticated Victorian gentleman, Sherlock Holmes is also, “a brawling, head-butting, fist-in-the-gut, knee-in-the-groin action hero.”
In addition to brawn, Downey brings his “characteristic twitchy wit and haggard insouciance, he has more intelligence than the movie knows what to do with.”
The London scene is given a makeover with “a smoky, greasy, steam-punk rendering of Victorian London, full of soot and guts and bad teeth and period clothes — shows some undeniable flair.”
Ref: NYTimes “Sherlock Holmes” 2009 Review.
“Sherlock Holmes” 2009 Film.
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” 2011 Film.
Benedict Cumberbatch (2012)
Danny Bowes, writing for Indiewire thinks the greatest performance as Sherlock Holmes is that of Benedict Cumberbatch.
“Sherlock” 2010–present TV series (BBC).
15 episodes.
… free the character from what they felt was a paralyzing traditionalism in adaptations. By setting the show in present-day London, they’ve found a way of getting at who Holmes is as a character, giving everyone from the writers to the designers to the actor playing the role the opportunity to focus on who Holmes is, rather than who he has been.
As for Cumberbatch’s performance, his physicality is a delight — he alternates between furious activity and catatonic stillness, seeming to be in motion even when still and to exist in a series of meticulously constructed tableaux when in motion.
Several other actors have played Sherlock Holmes to varying degrees of success, including Roger Moore, John Cleese, Tom Baker (of Dr Who fame), Christopher Lee, Peter Cook, Ian Richardson (House of Cards).
Breathtaking views, stunning architecture, and lazy summer afternoons punting on the River Cam.
Cambridge is a beautiful city full of beautiful minds, where mankind first split the atom and discovered the secret to life through DNA.
Cambridge University
Founded in 1209 by scholars who left the University of Oxford after a dispute with the townsfolk, Cambridge University is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world.
31 constituent colleges with over 100 academic departments have educated scientists like Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Stephen Hawking, philosophers like Francis Bacon and Bertrand Russell, economists like Milton Friedman and John Maynard Keynes, poets like Lord Byron and John Milton, and no less than 95 Nobel laureates and 15 British prime ministers.
Peterhouse was Cambridge’s first college, founded by the Bishop of Ely in 1284.
Founded in 1326, Clare College is the second-oldest college
Clair College is known for its beautiful gardens on “The Backs”—the back of the colleges that overlook the River Cam.
Among the highest in academic performance, Pembroke is Cambridge’s third-oldest college and one of its largest.
Housing a Victorian neo-gothic clock tower, the college library has an original copy of the first encyclopaedia to contain printed diagrams.
No less than ten Nobel Prize winners, seven prime ministers, and twelve archbishops were educated at St John’s College.
English Romantic poet William Wordsworth studied here, as did slavery abolitionists William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson.
Chapels and Churches
Taking almost 100 years to complete, King’s College Chapel is one of the greatest examples of Gothic English architecture.
Seen as a symbol of the city of Cambridge, King’s College Chapel was built in phases during the Wars of the Roses by a succession of English kings.
King’s College Chapel houses Peter Paul Rubens 8 ft by 11 ft masterpiece “Adoration of the Magi” from 1617.
Bought in 1959 for a then world-record price, property millionaire Alfred Ernest Allnatt donated it to King’s College Cambridge in 1961.
Noted for its splendid acoustics, the world-famous chapel choir sings on most days during term and performs concerts, and makes recordings and broadcasts such as those on Christmas Eve for the BBC.
Twenty-four of the twenty-six stained glass windows date from the sixteenth century.
Featuring the world’s largest fan vault, this uniquely English design resembles a fan in which the ribs are all of the same curvature and spaced equidistantly.
Pembroke College Chapel was Sir Christopher Wren’s first architectural project, which his uncle, the Bishop of Ely, asked him to design in 1663.
Wren would become best known for designing St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Designed by English architect Henry Hutchinson in 1831, the Bridge of Sighs of St John’s College is probably Cambridge’s best-known bridge and based on a similarly named bridge in Venice.
Connecting two courts of S John’s College, the Bridge of Sighs is one of Cambridge’s main tourist attractions and Queen Victoria is said to have loved it more than any other spot in the city.
Built in 1640, Clair Bridge is the oldest of Cambridge’s current bridges crossing the River Cam.
It is the only remaining bridge from the English Civil War period.
Crafted from a single block of limestone, carved to give the appearance of masonry, Kitchen or Wren Bridge is the second-oldest bridge and was built to designs by Sir Christopher Wren.
Connecting two parts of Queen’s College, Mathematical Bridge is a wooden footbridge built in 1749.
Built entirely of straight timbers, its sophisticated engineering design gives it a curved appearance.
Designed by English architect James Essex who built portions of many colleges in Cambridge, Trinity Bridge is a triple-arched stone road bridge completed in 1765.
Punting on the River Cam
For beautiful picture postcard views of elegant bridges, green lawns, and graceful willows, what better way to while away an afternoon than punting along the River Cam as it passes through a stretch known as “the Backs” where several colleges back onto the river.
Designed for use in small rivers or other shallow water, punts are flat-bottomed boats with a square-cut bow propelled by pushing against the river bed with a pole.
Parks and Gardens
Leafy green spaces abound in Cambridge, ranging from “the Backs”, which is the name given to the gardens by the river behind various colleges, to larger parks like Jesus Green and Midsummer Common.
The Cambridge Beer Festival held on Jesus Green is the longest running CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) Beer Festival in Britain.
Cambridge has the best of both worlds for those who love to shop.
All the popular brand names can be found in the Grand Arcade on St Andrew’s Street, but venture down the older streets and you’ll discover long-established boutiques, bookshops, and jewellers nestled inside grand Georgian townhouses and half-timbered Elizabethan buildings.
How about this little gem of an Edwardian-era Art Nouveau fronted shop?
Restaurants and pubs are equally at home in gorgeous old structures like the La Tasca Spanish tapas restaurant on Bridge Street.
Rose Crescent is one of several pedestrianized streets connecting to Cambridge’s market square.
Operating since Saxon times, the outdoor marketplace has dozens of pretty stalls selling everything from local produce to works from some of the region’s most talented artists, craftsmen, potters, sculptors, and photographers.
History and culture are never far away in Cambridge.
Stop for a pint at The Eagle pub where Nobel prize winners Crick and Watson sketched the structure of DNA on a napkin.
The Champion of the Thames pub’s name derives from an oarsman who won a sculling race on the Thames before moving to Cambridge in 1860.
Requesting that all his mail be addressed to ‘The Champion of the River Thames, King Street, Cambridge’, the rowing connection continues thanks to the pub’s sponsorship of the “Champion of the Thames” rowing club.
The Cycle-friendly City
Cambridge is the most bicycle-friendly city in the UK.
Relatively flat and boasting over 80 miles of cycle lanes and routes, cycling is the easiest and most eco-friendly way to enjoy the beautiful architecture and open spaces of Cambridge.
Known throughout the world for their beauty, the quintessential English village is a magical escape for urban city-dwellers.
Quaint cottages nestled around a village green or bordering little rivers and surrounded by rolling countryside, there are dozens to enjoy across the British Isles.
Here are 10 of our favorite English villages.
1. Abbotsbury, Dorset
With nearly a hundred structures listed by English Heritage for their historic or architectural interest, Abbotsbury will surprise and delight.
Surrounded by hills and sat within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Abbotsbury is only a mile inland from the English Channel coast.
Abbotsbury’s 11th-century Benedictine Abbey was founded by one of King Cnut’s nobles from Scandinavia.
Abbotsbury comprises a long street called Rodden Row filled with pretty thatched cottages, some dating to the 1500s and built using stone from the ruined 11th-century Abbey.
Notable for its fine coastal views, the road between Abbotsbury and Burton Bradstock reveals an 18-mile section of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site famous for fossil discoveries in the 19th century.
2. Clovelly, Devon
Noted for its steep cobbled main street and stunning views over the Bristol Channel, Clovelly is a privately owned English village with over 800 years of history.
Descending 400 feet to the pier, Clovelly’s main street is too steep for wheeled traffic and uses sleds for deliveries of goods and collection of refuse.
Donkeys used to haul the sleds uphill, but now goods are delivered to the top of the street and the sleds are pulled down the slope by hand, leaving the donkeys free to entertain holidaymakers.
Charles Kingsley’s 1855 British historical novel Westward Ho! which celebrates England’s victories over Spain in the Elizabethan era, mentions this part of North Devon and helped make Clovelly a popular tourist destination.
Captured by artists for its richness of colour, the scenery along the South West Coast Path National Trail from Clovelly to Hartland Quay is particularly spectacular.
3. Dedham, Essex
Formerly a rich wool town and market town, Dedham is a flourishing commercial village, with good old-fashioned shops like a butcher, grocer, delicatessen, and art shop.
Lovely colourful Georgian and Elizabethan timber-framed houses line the High Street.
Nestled along the River Stour on the border between Essex and Suffolk counties, Dedham is frequently rated as having some of England’s most beautiful water-meadow landscapes.
Even on a crisp winter morning, a walk along the River Stour is idyllic, with its rows of evenly-spaced pollarded willow trees.
Dedham is “Constable Country” where famed English Romantic painter John Constable set up his easel to paint iconic scenes.
I should paint my own places best, painting is but another word for feeling.John Constable, 1821
Revered as one of the greatest British paintings and currently hanging in the National Gallery, London, “The Hay Wain” of 1821 depicts a rural scene on the River Stour with “Willy Lott’s Cottage” in Suffolk on the left and the Essex meadows on the right.
You can visit the famous 16th-century cottage today at Flatford in the heart of the Dedham Vale.
Meaning “crooked or irregularly-shaped hill” in Anglo Saxon, Hambleden is a beautiful little village just north of the River Thames about 40 miles west of London.
Hambledon was granted a royal charter in 1315 to hold a market in the village and a fair on St Bartholomew’s Day, August 24, every year.
The brick and flint cottages in the centre of the village have dormer windows topped with red tiles.
Hambleden served as a base for US soldiers in the build up to D-Day 1944 and was depicted as the training ground for Easy Company in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers.
Used as a location for several films including Disney’s 1996 “101 Dalmatians” and Warner Bros. 1998 “The Avengers”, Hambleden also played host to Johnny Depp and Cristina Ricci for a month-long location shoot during filming for Tim Burton’s 1999 gothic horror “Sleepy Hollow”.
Dating from the 14th century, St Mary’s church has an intricately decorated ceiling and a tower with eight bells.
Hambleden’s village post office also serves as the local shop and cafe.
5. Hawkshead, Cumbria
An important wool market in medieval times, Hawkshead in the Lake District sits in a valley to the west of Windermere and east of Coniston Water.
Originally owned by monks of 12th-century Furness Abbey, once the second-wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the country, Hawkshead became prominent in the 18th and 19th centuries.
English Romantic poet William Wordsworth was educated at Hawkshead Grammar School and English writer Beatrix Potter lived nearby, marrying a solicitor from Hawkshead.
Hawkshead’s timeless atmosphere encourages visitors to explore its alleyways, overhanging gables, and medieval squares.
St Michael and All Angels Church in Hawkshead is considered to be one of the best Lake District churches.
Constructed in rubble stone with a slate roof, the 12th-century chapel was extended in 1300 and the north and south aisles added 200 years later.
Listed as a Grade I building of exceptional interest, the interior is thickly whitewashed with five-bay arcades consisting of segmental arches on round piers.
6. Lacock, Wiltshire
Unspoiled and owned almost entirely by the National Trust conservation organization, Lacock’s pristine appearance makes it a popular tourist spot.
Mentioned in the Domesday Book manuscript record of 1086, Lacock was later granted a market and developed a thriving wool industry during the Middle Ages.
Lacock village has been used as a film and television location, most notably the 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, a series of Downton Abbey, and brief appearances in two Harry Potter films.
St Cyriac’s Church was founded in the 14th century and dedicated to the Norman saint, St Cyriac.
Lacock has two public houses and a number of shops in its High Street including a grocery store, a bakery, gift shops and a National Trust shop.
7. Lower Slaughter, Gloucestershire
Built on the banks of the River Eye in Gloucestershire, records exist showing that Lower Slaughter has been inhabited for over 1000 years.
A 19th-century water mill sits at the west end of the village, complete with an undershot waterwheel and a chimney for additional steam power.
Dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin, the 13th-century Anglican parish church was enlarged in 1866, with the spire and peal of six bells benefiting from a recent restoration.
Several small stone footbridges join the two sides of the Lower Slaughter community that is divided by the river.
Honey-coloured Cotswold sandstone adorns the beautiful homes in the village, many with mullioned windows and other embellishments such as projecting gables.
8. Nether Wallop, Hampshire
Derived from the Old English words waella and hop, which together mean “the valley of the springing water”, Nether Wallop was once the site of an ancient battle between Britons and the invading Jutes, in which the Britons were victorious.
Nether Wallop is one of three beautiful villages known as The Wallops, with the other two being Over Wallop and Middle Wallop.
With its many old thatched cottages, Nether Wallop has featured in books and TV as one of the prettiest villages in England.
For over 200 years the village pub, The Five Bells, was the centre of village life and the community social hub, where villagers met to eat and enjoy real ales.
Tightly-packed ancient fisherman’s cottages, a quaint little harbour, and pristine coastline combine to make Polperro a well-loved tourist destination.
The name Polperro is derived from old Cornish “Porthpyra” meaning “harbour named after Saint Pyran”, a 5th-century Cornish abbot and patron saint of tin miners.
Recognised as a fishing settlement as early as the 13th century, smuggling helped local fishermen boost their income from as early as the 1100s.
High taxation of imports caused by Britain’s wars with France and America made it worthwhile for spirits, tobacco, and other goods to be smuggled from Guernsey and elsewhere.
19th-century Coast Guards and the threat of stiff penalties eventually deterred the smugglers.
Typical old fisherman’s cottages in Polperro had storage for fishing nets on the ground floor with steps leading to the living accommodation above.
Polperro legends include the ghost of smuggler Willy Wilcox who disappeared whilst hiding in the beaches’ labyrinthine caves.
The Spirit of the Forest is said to come down from the woods above the village and leave sweetmeats at the homes of the poor during times of great economic hardship and foretells of good fortune for the recipients.
10. Staithes, North Yorkshire
Once a thriving fishing village, Staithes is now a center for tourism within the North York Moors National Park.
Derived from Old English, the name Staithes means “Landing Place”.
Staithes has a sheltered harbour, bounded by high cliffs and two long breakwaters.
More than half of the houses are second homes of outsiders from cities such as Leeds and York.
Villagers still practice local traditions, with many of the local women buying Staithes bonnets and local men singing in the Staithes Fisher Men’s Choir.
In the late 19th century, there were 80 full-time fishing boats putting out to sea from Staithes.
Now there are a handful of part-time fishermen still plying their trade in traditional fishing vessels called cobles.
Staithes’s most famous resident, James Cook worked as a grocer’s apprentice in 1745, beginning a lifelong passion for the sea.
Calke Abbey is an 18th-century country house near Ticknall, Derbyshire, England, in the care of the charitable National Trust.
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty is the largest membership organization in the United Kingdom.
Once the site of a 12th-century Augustinian priory until its dissolution by Henry VIII, a beautiful Baroque mansion was built in its place between 1701 and 1704, taking the name “Calke Abbey”.
Set in the midst of a landscape park, Calke Abbey is presented by the National Trust as an illustration of the English country house in decline.
There are three types of listed status for buildings in England and Wales:
Grade I: buildings of exceptional interest.
Grade II*: particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
Grade II: buildings that are of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them.
Calke Abbey is Grade I—the highest level in terms of its historical importance.
A massive amount of remedial work, but no restoration, has been carried out, and interiors are almost as they were found in 1985.
Although the decay of the building and its interiors has been halted, it has not been reversed.
So visitors get to experience the house with everything in its place, just as it was handed to the National Trust—untouched for over 100 years.
Join me as we take a tour of an English Country House, frozen in time.
While we’re in the library, fancy a game of Happy Families? (called “Cheery Families” in the mid 19th century).
Created in 1626, the Harpur-Crewe Baronetcy, of Calke Abbey, Derbyshire was a title in the Baronetage of England.
Passed down through ten Baronets, the title became extinct in 1924 when the estate went to the female line and then to the grandson of the last Baronet.
Inheritance tax forced the sale after his death in 1981 and in 1985, the National Trust took possession.
Reminiscent of Mr Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Sir Henry Crewe the 7th Baronet, became one of the richest land owners in Derbyshire, with an income of, you guessed it, £10,000.
Described as an “unfortunate connection” by his mother Lady Frances because it breached the social conventions of the time, Sir Henry married his mistress, a lady’s maid called Ann or Nany Hawkins.
The Harpur-Crewe Baronets had a fascination with taxidermy, displaying all manner of birds, insects, game, and even prize cattle around the house, some in glass cases and some mounted on walls.
Hinting at the joys of children’s laughter throughout the house at one time are these high chairs for meal times.
How many hours of happiness did this cheerful rocking horse provide?
And at one time, a child’s imagination would be set alight by the magical miniature world of dollhouses.
Sitting patiently on a window ledge, a Piggy Bank waits for its stored change to be used to buy more toys for a rainy day.
To keep the grounds looking immaculate, a host of equipment was needed, including manual mowers, lawn rollers, edge trimmers and other garden tools—all stored just how the gardener left them 100 years ago.
Like the immovable sundial in the grounds, the clock stopped for Calke Abbey. It is locked in a time capsule.
Inhabited by privilege it was, but it was built and cared for by ordinary working folk like you and me.
We need to preserve our heritage because it is our story too.
Steeped in history and legend, Winchester is a reminder of Britain’s mythical past.
Soak up the gothic splendor of Winchester Cathedral, stroll along ancient river walks, laugh at street theatre, or relax over wine or a fine ale.
Winchester is an adventure in time.
Here are 10 reasons you’ll fall in love with Winchester.
1. Ancient Capital of England
Honored by a huge statue 17 feet high, Alfred the Great stands watching over the city he built on top of the old Roman settlement of Venta Belgarum.
Today it is known as Winchester—the Anglo-Saxon capital of England before London.
Venta Belgarum means “Town of the Belgae”—a confederation of tribes mostly living in present day Belgium, but some living in southern England.
Following the Roman invasion of Britain, the Romans founded the settlement in around 70 AD and developed it into a major trading center with city walls, before withdrawing from Britain some 340 years later.
During diggings at the corner of Little Minster Street and Minster Lane in 1878, a beautiful Roman mosaic was discovered.
Depicting a dolphin, you can see the mosaic on display at the Winchester City Museum.
But Winchester’s history goes back much further to the Iron Age (1200 BC – 1 BC), with the remains of three hill forts all in the nearby vicinity—Oram’s Arbour, St. Catherine’s Hill, and Worthy Down.
One day in 2000, a retired florist was out in the fields of Winchester hoping to get lucky with his metal detector and perhaps find something interesting.
Striking one of the most important Iron Age gold hoards for fifty years and valued at £350,000 ($457,000), he was a little more than lucky.
Housed in the British Museum, the Winchester Hoard is thought to be a lavish diplomatic gift dating from about 75-25 BCE.
2. Winchester Gothic Cathedral
Having the longest nave and overall length of all Gothic cathedrals in Europe, it comes as little surprise that Winchester Cathedral is the major landmark of the city.
Originally founded in 642 and known as the “Old Minster”, it was demolished by the Normans in 1093 and a new cathedral built in its place.
Squat and square, the tower is 150 ft tall which pales in comparison with Salisbury Cathedral’s 404 ft spire—just 25 miles to the west of Winchester.
Some speculate that Winchester Cathedral may have later had a spire if funds had been available since spires were highly desirable.
But the current tower is the second after the first collapsed in 1107—an accident blamed on the impious William Rufus (William the Conqueror’s heir) who was buried in the Cathedral.
It’s possible this “bad omen” halted any plans for a spire that would reach to the heavens—which might have looked like the image below.
Honored as a beautiful statue, Saint Joan of Arc stares in vain at the Chancery Chapel of Cardinal Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, a man who helped condemn her to death by burning at the stake in 1431.
Spire or no, Winchester Cathedral is beautiful inside and out, and whether out for a stroll in the grounds or a guided tour, the setting is absolutely magical.
3. Winchester Castle and King Arthur’s Round Table
Arthur increased his personal entourage by inviting very distinguished men from far-distant kingdoms to join it.
At one time, Winchester had a castle, of which only the Great Hall still stands, but it houses one of the greatest artifacts from Arthurian Legend—The Round Table.
Symbolizing equality since a round table has no head, by the close of the 12th century, it came to represent the chivalric order of King Arthur’s court and the Knights of the Round Table.
Normal poet Robert Wace said that Arthur created the Round Table to prevent quarrels among his barons, none of whom would accept a lower place than the others.
In Celtic lore, warriors sit in a circle around the king or lead warrior.
British cleric Geoffrey of Monmouth says that after establishing peace throughout Britain, Arthur “increased his personal entourage by inviting very distinguished men from far-distant kingdoms to join it.”
4. Winchester College
Claiming the longest unbroken history of any school in England, Winchester College was established in 1382 by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester and chancelloer to Edward III and Richard II.
Founded in conjunction with New College, Oxford, it was meant to prepare students to attend Oxford University.
Eton College and King’s College, Cambridge would later follow the same model.
Be sure to pop into the Wykeham Arms pub for a bite to eat and a pint of delicious local ale.
You can even sit at old school desks from the college, complete with ink wells.
An independent boarding school for boys in the British public school tradition, according to Tatler Magazine, 35% of leavers in 2015 had places at Oxford or Cambridge; most of the rest attended other universities, including those in North America.
Performance like that doesn’t come cheap, with fees of £38,100 per year (almost $50,000 per year).
5. Jane Austen’s House
Living in Chawton, Hampshire, about 18 miles north-east of Winchester, Jane Austen started feeling unwell early in the year of 1816.
When her uncle died leaving nothing of his fortune to his relatives, her condition deteriorated and by mid-April she was bed-ridden.
Suffering agonizing pain, her sister Cassandra and brother-in-law Henry brought her to Winchester for treatment in May.
She lived here, at 8 College Street, Winchester for the last few weeks of her life.
On 18 July, at the age of 41, Jane Austen, one of the most prolific writers of the Regency Era, passed to another place free from pain.
She is buried in the north aisle of the nave of Winchester Cathedral.
6. Ancient City Walls, Streets, and the River Itchen
When you enter Winchester through one of the medieval arched gateways, you get a buzz—a feeling that this is going to be special, that you are traveling back in time to a land of Anglo-Saxon Kings, Knights, Bishops, and peasants.
In short, Winchester has atmosphere.
Parts of the medieval city walls still stand, strong and imposing, forever protecting the city inhabitants.
Sat here, time stands still, allowing your mind to wonder how many travelers passed this way on pilgrimages to the magnificent cathedral.
Fortunately, advances in city architecture have left Winchester largely free from blight.
It’s a city with relatively few brutal buildings from the 60’s and 70’s and has remained beautiful for hundreds of years.
The town clock still reminds you what time it is regardless of how many carry mobile phones.
There’s time to enjoy the simpler things in life.
The Victorians appreciated aesthetics—their gothic revival architecture blended with the medieval to keep the mythical past alive.
Powered by the River Itchen, the old City Mill is probably the country’s oldest working watermill, with over a thousand years of history.
7. Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty
Founded in the 1130s by Henry de Blois—the Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Winchester, and grandson of William the Conqueror—the Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty is the oldest charitable institution in the United Kingdom.
Built on the scale of an Oxbridge college, the almshouses are the largest medieval examples in Britain.
Since at least the 14th century, and still available today, a ‘wayfarer’s dole’ of ale and bread has been handed out at the chapel.
The sustenance was supposedly instigated to aid pilgrims on their way to Canterbury.
8. Street Theatre, Fairs, and Farmers Market
Just as our medieval forebears enjoyed street entertainments, so too do Winchester residents who gather on the cathedral lawns or the High Street to celebrate street theatre during the summer festival season.
Winchester hosts one of the UK’s largest farmers’ markets, with about 100 stalls of fresh locally grown produce.
During the Christmas holiday season, hundreds of children holding paper lanterns process along the High Street to the Cathedral Close to mark the opening of the Christmas Market and Ice Rink.
9. Walking, Cycling, and Surrounding Countryside
Whether you’re working off a big evening meal with a pleasant stroll or engaged in a more active pursuit, Winchester’s walks are a delight for the senses.
From the City centre, there is a lovely 20-minute walk along the riverside footpath to the ancient Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse.
How much more enjoyable does it get to soak up Winchester’s sights than on a bicycle made for two?
Hampshire’s countryside, towns, and villages are some of the prettiest in Britain, with fields of green and bright yellow stretching for miles.
An ancient Roman road that is now a footpath will take you on an adventure from Winchester Cathedral to Salisbury Cathedral—this is “Pillars of the Earth” country.
Hampshire is one of the best counties to see gorgeous thatched cottages.
Winchester boasts some of the oldest pubs in Britain.
From debating the best way to grow prize roses to who will win the county cricket championships, there’s not much beats a glass of wine al fresco.
Delightful pubs and restaurants abound in Winchester.
Whether you’re looking for a delicious lunch at the Chesil Rectory—Winchester’s oldest house—or something French for evening upscale dining at the Hotel du Vin, Winchester is sure to be one of your best and favorite memories.
One of the most famous university cities in the world, Oxford is steeped in history, with beautiful honey-coloured college buildings dotted throughout the city.
Wander the cobbled streets and peaceful courtyards and admire the famed spires reaching to the heavens as you contemplate the enormous wealth of human talent Oxford has given the world over the centuries.
Here are 10 of our favorite things to love about Oxford.
1. The “City of Dreaming Spires”
So beautiful were the views of Oxford from nearby Boar’s Hill that 19th-century poet Matthew Arnold was inspired to write a poem called Thyrsis in memory of his close friend and fellow poet Arthur Hugh Clough who lived in the city of dreaming spires.
And that sweet city with her dreaming spires,
She needs not June for beauty’s heightening Matthew Arnold
Today, those spires are best appreciated from atop St. Mary’s Church or Carfax Towers in the city center, or from South Park.
2. History
On this spot, where the Folly Bridge crosses the River Thames, basking in the golden glow of the evening sunlight, there was once a ford.
It was no ordinary ford. It was a ford to be crossed with a valuable cargo of oxen—”Oxnaforda” in Anglo-Saxon, from which Oxford derives its name.
Oxen were the haulage lorries (trucks) of the Middle Ages, used for hauling carts and wagons and also for ploughing.
They were a form of wealth comparable to money, and Oxford might have been a major crossing point on a cattle “drove road”, along which they were driven for long distances.
Another theory about the origins of Oxford’s name is that “Ox” derives from the Celtic word for river.
Either way, for history buffs, Oxford will not disappoint since centuries past remain to explore and enjoy.
It’s nice to know that in this world of change, some things don’t change.
The carriages may be different, the people dressed differently, but Oxford High Street looks the same now as it did at the end of the 18th century.
And that’s reassuring—some things are worth preserving.
3. University of Oxford
Evidence of teaching at Oxford dates as far back as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world.
Banned from attending the University of Paris by King Henry II, students flocked to Oxford instead and the university grew rapidly from 1167.
But in 1209, disputes between students and townspeople led some faculty to move north-east and establish Cambridge University.
The two universities became known as “Oxbridge” and are frequently cited in the top five in world rankings, with Oxford currently rated #1 by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2016-2017.
Oxford University has 38 constituent colleges and has educated many notable alumni, including 28 Nobel laureates, 27 British Prime Ministers, and many other heads of state.
Christ Church alone has produced 13 British Prime Minsters—more than any other Oxbridge college.
Known as the Bridge of Sighs because of its supposed similarity to the famous Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Hertford Bridge is, however, closer in appearance to the Rialto Bridge in Venice.
Built as a skyway over New College Lane, the “Bridge of Sighs” joins two parts of Hertford College and has become a city landmark.
All Souls College was founded in 1438 and is unique in having only Fellows as members of the college, and no undergraduates.
All Souls College features a magnificent quadrangle, with striking twin towers designed in the 1720s by Nicholas Hawksmoor in the Gothic style to harmonise with the medieval college chapel.
There are lots of old doors like this one all over Oxford and one thing is for certain: there’s a lot of scholarly things going on behind each one.
4. Architecture
Demonstrating noteworthy examples of every English architectural period since the late 11th century, the historic buildings in Oxford make it an ideal location for film and TV crews.
Occupied by the Carfax Tobacco Company and a branch of Lloyds Bank since first opening in 1901, the ornate Rennaissance Revival building marks the start of Oxford High Street.
Further down the adjacent Cornmarket Street on the corner of Ship Street is a 14th-century timber-framed building originally built as the New Inn and now owned by Jesus College, which restored it in 1983.
Jesus college was founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1571.
The Sheldonian Theatre was built for the University of Oxford between 1664 and 1669 after a design by Sir Christopher Wren who also designed and built St Paul’s Cathedral.
Named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the University from 1667 – 1669 and the project’s main financial backer, it is used for music concerts, lectures and University ceremonies.
But since 2015 has it also been used for drama, with the Christ Church Dramatic Society staging a production of The Crucible.
5. Museums
Established in 1683, the Ashmolean Museum was the world’s first university museum and is the oldest museum in the United Kingdom.
Originally housing a “cabinet of curiosities” give to the University of Oxford in 1677, it now holds significant art and archeology works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Turner, and Picasso, as well as treasures such as the Scorpion Macehead, Parian Marble, the Alfred Jewel, and “The Messiah” Stradivarius violin—regarded by many as the world’s finest.
Housed in a large neo-Gothic building in Oxford University’s Science Area, the University Museum of Natural History boasts skeletons of a Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops, and the most complete remains of a dodo found anywhere in the world.
Founded in 1884, the Pitt Rivers Museum contains over 500,000 items from the University’s archaeological and anthropological collections.
6. Cafes, Pubs, and Restaurants
According to the famous 17th-century politician and diarist Samuel Pepys, the first English coffee house was established on the precise site of the Grand Café on Oxford’s High Street in 1650.
This is where some of the great luminaries of the Enlightenment would meet to exchange ideas, acting as a supplementary sphere to the university.
The absence of alcohol created an atmosphere more conducive to serious conversation than an alehouse.
Coffeehouses also played an important role in the development of financial markets and newspapers, and political groups frequently used them as meeting places.
Oxford’s pubs overflow with enough character and atmosphere to stimulate the minds of some of the best fiction writers of all time.
Meeting here every Tuesday morning between 1939 and 1962, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and other friends, popularly known as the “Inklings” would drink beer and discuss the books they were writing.
The Head of the River Pub is adjacent to Folly Bridge which crosses the River Thames at the point of the ancient ford for which Oxford is named.
For light refreshment, why not try Gee’s Restaurant and bar, serving a uniquely rustic, Mediterranean dining experience set in an iconic Glasshouse.
7. Religious Buildings
The University Church of St Mary the Virgin is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew.
With an eccentric baroque porch, designed by Nicholas Stone, its spire is claimed by some church historians to be one of the most beautiful in England.
Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and constructed in 1854–60, the chapel at Exeter College, Oxford, was heavily inspired by the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.
8. Footpaths, Waterways, and Cycle Lanes
Oxford has 28 nature reserves within or just outside the city ring road, making it one of Britain greenest cities.
Whether you prefer a leisurely walk along one of Oxford’s many footpaths, a relaxing punt ride down the river, or an invigorating cycle ride, Oxford is a magical place for all.
While away the hours in the peace and tranquility of Oxford’s Botanic Gardens.
Oxford is second only to Cambridge in the popularity of cycling.
22% of Oxford’s residents ride three or more times per week.
9. Books, Books, and more Books
The University of Oxford maintains the largest university library system in the UK.
With over 11 million volumes housed on 120 miles (190 km) of shelving, the Bodleian group is the second-largest library in the UK, after the British Library.
Entitled to a free copy of every book published in the UK, the Bodleian is growing its collection at a rate of over three miles (five kilometres) of shelving every year.
Visitors can take a guided tour of the Old Bodleian Library to see inside its historic rooms, including the 15th-century Divinity School, medieval Duke Humfrey’s Library, and the Radcliffe Camera.
Designed by James Gibbs in the neo-classical style and built in 1737–49, the Radcliffe Camera (Camera, meaning “room” in Latin; colloquially, “Rad Cam” or “The Camera”) was built to house the Radcliffe Science Library.
Book lovers, be warned—you might be here a long time.
Blackwell’s Bookshop has the largest single room devoted to book sales in the whole of Europe—the cavernous 10,000 sq ft Norrington Room.
10. Literature and Film
Oxford was mentioned in fiction as early as 1400 when Chaucer referred to a “Clerk of Oxenford” in his Canterbury Tales.
Oxford University’s hallowed halls have been a source of inspiration for several authors of classic children’s literature.
It was July of 1862 and a slightly eccentric young man named Charles Dodgson rowed up the river Thames with a colleague and the three daughters of the Dean of Christ Church college where Dodgson taught mathematics.
Better known today as Lewis Carroll, the young man told a story to keep the children amused during the five-mile journey to Godstow.
Star of the adventure was Alice Liddell, the ten-year-old middle sister, who, as Dodgson began, had followed a rabbit down a hole.
Much inspiration for Dodgson’s story came from Christ Church.
The long-necked “firedogs” that held the logs in the fireplace gave him the idea for Alice’s neck to stretch.
When Alice Liddell’s father, the dean, descended a narrow spiral staircase, it reminded him of a rabbit disappearing down a hole.
And a cat perched on a mulberry tree outside the library was the inspiration for the Cheshire cat.
Studying English Literature at Oxford University when World War One broke out, J. R. R. Tolkien finished his degree before enlisting in the Oxford University Officer’s Training Corps.
It was the experience at the Battle of the Somme, where one million men were wounded or killed, that helped him describe the evil barren landscape crossed by the hobbits on their way to Mordor.
Here nothing lived, not even the leprous growths that feed on rottenness. The gasping pools were choked with ash and crawling muds, sickly white and grey, as if the mountains had vomited the filth of their entrails on the lands about.J. R. R. Tolkien, The Two Towers
Christ Church college’s dining hall was used in the filming of the movies of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series
The “Inspector Morse” and “Lewis” TV series were both set in Oxford as were “Brideshead Revisited” by Evelyn Waugh and the trilogy “His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman.
That’s a reality for 770 lucky children aged between 13 and 18.
Once a country home of the landed gentry, Stowe House is now a private school in the beautiful Buckinghamshire countryside.
It may not teach witchcraft and wizardry like Hogwarts, but it certainly is a magical place nonetheless.
A New Vision for Education
Founded in 1923, Stowe School’s first Headmaster J.F. Roxburgh said that Stowe focused on the individual, instilling an ethos of liberal learning enthused with beautiful surroundings so that every pupil would know beauty when they saw it throughout their whole lives.
Roxburgh wanted pupils and staff to relate in a civilized and open way, addressing each pupil by their first name, and instilling confidence and respect based on Christian values.
Did it work?
Well, consider that by 1939, nearly 60% of pupils went on to Oxford or Cambridge Universities—higher than any other private school in Britain.
And what did Stowe’s schooling methods do for pupils’ career prospects you may wonder.
Known as Old Stoics, former pupils of Stowe include: multi-billionaire Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group; Baron John Sainsbury, the President of J Sainsbury’s, Britain’s second largest supermarket; Dalton Philips, CEO of Morrisons, the fourth largest supermarket in Britain; Baron Alistair McAlpine, treasurer for Margaret Thatcher’s government, founder of his own publishing company, and director of the McAlpine construction business at age 21; David Niven, actor and novelist who won an Academy Award for Best Actor; and Baron Michael Grade, TV executive for the BBC and ITV, and life peer in the House of Lords.
The Greatest Debtor in the world
Originally owned by Sir George Gifford, Knight and Member of Parliament, Stowe House was later leased to English politician Sir Peter Temple who also served as High Sheriff of Buckingham (1592 – 1653).
Sir Peter’s son, John Temple, bought Stowe House in 1589 and it stayed in the Temple family until it was acquired by the governors of Stowe school in 1922.
The Temple family name became somewhat extended to Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville by a succession of marriages to wealthy heiresses.
And not all Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenvilles were good at managing their finances.
Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos managed to rack up debts of almost £1.5m—equivalent to about $170m today.
Called the “Greatest Debtor in the world”, the dashing rogue—imagine Jane Austen’s Mr Wickham having Mr Darcy’s fortune and squandering it all—had to flee the country in 1847 to escape his creditors, who were forced to sell the family silver, literally and figuratively.
Besides the family’s London home of Buckingham House on Pall Mall, the family estates in Ireland, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Cornwall, Oxfordshire, and Northamptonshire were sold.
How many estates does one family need you may wonder?
Then there were paintings and other works of art, 21,000 bottles of wine, and 500 bottles of hard liquor.
Reduced to the bare bones of “just” 10,000 acres, the estate of Stowe House even had to cut gardening staff from 40 to 4.
This was austerity on steroids, and yet the Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenvilles were still wealthier than most people are today.
The Medici Lions
Dating from the late 1700s, the Medici lions stand proudly guarding the main entrance of Stowe House.
Commissioned by Ferdinando I de’Medici, they were originally created for the Villa Medici in Rome and purchased by Richard Temple for Stowe House.
Sculpted by John Cheere, an English sculptor specializing in lead statues for gardens, they were originally painted a golden yellow to match the limestone of Stowe’s buildings.
Stowe has one of the largest concentrations of grade I listed buildings in England.
Here are some examples of these beautiful buildings and structures that adorn Stowe Gardens.
Placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, there are three types of listed status in England and Wales:
Grade I: buildings of exceptional interest.
Grade II*: particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
Grade II: buildings that are of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them
The Palladian Bridge
Designed to mimic the bridge at Wilton House in Wiltshire, the Palladian Bridge at Stowe is lower, with shallow ramps to allow horse-drawn carriages to cross as they ferried visitors on a tour of the grounds.
Flanked by pedimented pavilions with attached columns framing semi-circular arches, three of the five supporting arches have carved keystones.
The Temple of British Worthies
Built to honour eight of the greatest Britons known for their actions and deeds, and eight for their thoughts and ideas, this curving stone wall has six busts either side of a central pier.
Two further busts are at either end and two more on the rear.
Influenced by the Whig politics of the Temple family, the 16 “British Worthies” are:
Sir Isaac Newton—English mathematician, astronomer, and physicist widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and a key figure in the scientific revolution. Sir Walter Raleigh—English landed gentleman, writer, poet, soldier, politician, courtier, spy and explorer, known for popularising tobacco in England. John Locke— English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the “Father of Liberalism”. John Hampden—English politician who was one of the leading parliamentarians involved in challenging the authority of Charles I of England in the run-up to the English Civil War. He became a national figure when he stood trial in 1637 for his refusal to be taxed for ship money. Sir Francis Drake—English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Drake carried out the second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition. King William III—widely known as William of Orange (a feudal state in Provence, in the south of modern-day France), he was chief magistrate of several Dutch provinces, and King of England, Ireland, and Scotland from 1689—1702. Queen Elizabeth I—Queen of England and Ireland from 1558—1603. Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, the Elizabethan era was a period of flourishing English playwrights and seafaring adventurers. The Black Prince—the eldest son of King Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, and the father of King Richard II of England. His exceptional military leadership and victories over the French at the Battles of Crécy and Poitiers made him very popular in England during his lifetime.
King Alfred—King of Wessex, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from 871 to 899. Sir Francis Bacon—English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, and author. Called the father of empiricism, his works argued for the possibility of scientific knowledge based only upon inductive reasoning and careful observation of events in nature. William Shakespeare—English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet, and the “Bard of Avon”. John Milton—English poet, polemicist, man of letters, and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell. Best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost, he wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval. Alexander Pope—English poet best known for his satirical verse, his translation of Homer, and his use of the heroic couplet—a traditional form for English poetry. Sir Thomas Gresham—English merchant and financier who founded the Royal Exchange in the City of London and acted on behalf of King Edward VI and queens Mary I and Elizabeth I. Inigo Jones—English architect and first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings, prompting the rebirth of Classical architecture during the Renaissance. Sir John Barnard— British Whig politician and Lord Mayor of London. Whig politics was central to the beliefs of the Temple family, with its origin lying in opposition to absolute monarchy and support for the constitutional monarchy we still enjoy today.
The Rotondo
Designed by the English architect Sir John Vanbrugh (best known for his work on Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard), the circular temple of ten unfluted Roman columns is raised on a podium of three steps.
Standing at its centre on a tall decorated plinth is a gilt statue of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity and victory.
Landscaped Gardens
Stowe is said to be the first English garden for which a guidebook was written.
Evolving from an English Baroque garden influenced by Versailles into a landscaped park blending with the natural contours of the terrain and allowing nature to dominate manmade structures.
Stowe Gardens were the largest and most elaborate example of an “English Garden” in Europe.
Among the outstanding designers and architects who worked on the gardens during the 18th century was Lancelot Brown, remembered as “England’s greatest gardener” and more commonly known as Capability Brown because he would say to clients that their gardens had “capability” for improvement.
In Brown’s hands the house, which before had dominated the estate, became an integral part of a carefully composed landscape intended to be seen through the eye of a painter, and its design could not be divorced from that of the gardenHoward Colvin, British Architectural Historian.
Despite celebrating British imperial conquest and artistic achievement, the 18th-century designers of Stowe Gardens sent future generations a cautionary warning.
That although the great nation of Britain liked to emulate the ancients, it was important to remain humble, and to remind ourselves that all manmade monuments eventually succumb to the mighty forces of nature.
And that’s exactly what Britain’s canals provide with their idyllic tranquility, natural beauty, and over two hundred years of history.
Whether you’re boating, walking, cycling, or fishing, Britain’s canal network will delight and surprise at every turn.
Here are 7 reasons to fall in love with Britain’s canals.
1. The fascinating history
Although the first canals were built by the Romans for irrigation and land drainage, the canal network we know and love today is largely a product of Britain’s industrial heritage.
As the epicenter of the Industrial Revolution, Britain needed a more efficient “mass transit” system to bring raw materials to factories and take finished goods to coastal ports for export.
And so Britain became the first country to build a nationwide canal network.
Horse-drawn narrowboats with a towpath alongside for the horse to walk along were standardized across the British canal network.
Before the canals, transport of goods was mainly via coastal shipping and horses & carts struggling along mostly unsurfaced mud roads.
What do afternoon tea and canals have in common?
If you were running a pottery factory like Josiah Wedgwood (1730 – 1795), making fine china tea sets for export all over the world, the method you used for transporting such fragile and expensive goods was very important.
Gliding along the water had advantages over the jarring, bumpy ride of packhorses or horse drawn carts, not to mention the sheer weight of goods carried by barge making the economics much more favorable.
Unsurprisingly then, the pottery manufacturers of Staffordshire were amongst the first promoters of canals.
Often called the “Golden Age” of British canals, the period from 1770 – 1830 saw rapid industrialisation of the Midlands and the North of England.
But from about 1840, a new type of network was being built—one that threatened the canals and would lead to their eventual demise: the railways.
Fortunately, after a long period of neglect, Britain’s canals were renovated and returned to their former glory—this time as byways for leisure craft on lazy Sunday afternoons or as relaxing canal cruise vacations.
2. The prettiest boats you ever saw
Economic and engineering constraints of the 18th century kept canals narrow, with many locks built to just 7 ft 6 in wide.
This narrow gauge limited the beam (width) of the boats, which became known as narrowboats.
Competition from the railways forced boat operators to live on board, converting the rear portion into ingenious tiny living spaces complete with hot stove, steaming kettle, brightly painted decorations, fancy lace, and polished brass.
By the late Victorian era, it was common to paint roses and castles on the narrow boats and their fixtures and fittings.
To this day, owners still personalize their narrowboats with their own unique touches.
3. The freedom to move about the country
Navigable in its entirety in a narrowboat of 7 ft wide by about 56 ft long is a network of some 2,200 miles of inland waterways just beckoning to be explored.
Narrowboating transports us back to a time without road rage when travelling at 4 mph was considered hurried.
Once the highways of the 18th century, the canals are now corridors of green best enjoyed at a leisurely pace.
4. The spellbinding Victorian ingenuity
As the Industrial Revolution took hold at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, the technology allowed canals to be improved.
Early canals contoured round hills and valleys, whereas later ones went straighter.
Locks took canals up and down gradients, aqueducts spanned valleys, and tunnels went directly through hills.
At 1000 ft long, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal spans the River Dee Valley in Wales and is Britain’s longest aqueduct.
The 18-arch stone and cast iron structure took ten years to build.
Opening in 1805, it is the oldest and longest navigable aqueduct in Great Britain and the highest in the world.
With its 52-foot span, the Engine Arm Aqueduct near Smethwick in the West Midlands is much smaller, but its ornate cast-iron Gothic arches and columns make a splendid sight nonetheless.
Over three miles long, the longest and deepest canal tunnel in Britain is the Standedge Tunnel on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in Northern England.
Since March 30th 2009, boats have been allowed to pass through Standedge Tunnel under their own power accompanied by a trained “chaperone” from the Canal & River Trust.
Built without a towpath, before motorized boats the only way to get through the tunnel was by “legging” it.
Lying on a plank across the bows of the boat, and holding the plank with their hands, two people would propel the boat with their feet against the tunnel wall.
It was dangerous work, leading to many deaths for the “leggers” until safety was improved.
The horse would take a well-earned break and be led over the hill.
5. The countryside and nature surround you
Britain’s canal network passes through not only historic cities and pretty towns and villages, but also the magnificent open countryside.
You’re guaranteed to see some stunning wildlife on a daily basis in and around the canals.
If you don’t spot the brightly coloured Kingfisher perched on the canalside, you’ll almost certainly see one darting across the water as a characteristic “blue streak”.
And you’re bound to see one of these guys—a Grey Heron—the patient fisherman, waiting motionless for the right moment to wade in the shallows and show us what a master angler can really do.
6. The city’s never far away
Passing along the Grand Union and Regent’s canals, to the Docklands and Limehouse Basin, the London Ring lets you travel around London by narrowboat through Little Venice, Regent’s Park, London Zoo, Camden Lock, Kings Cross, Islington and Victoria Park.
Birmingham has more canals than Venice.
Extending to just over 100 miles, the Birmingham Canal Navigations include two long tunnels and several aqueducts.
7. There’s a vibrant community of enthusiasts
Escape into the country for some much-needed peace and tranquility or socialize with the big network of canal enthusiasts—it’s up to you.
Britain’s canal community is growing by leaps and bounds.
According to the Residential Boat Owners Association, as many as 15,000 people call Britain’s waterways home.
Citing freedom, economic advantages, a strong sense of community, and a closeness with nature as reasons for making their home on the water, many “liveaboards” can’t imagine returning to a life on land.
In 1215, Archbishop of York, Walter de Gray ordered the construction of a Gothic structure for the north of England to rival Canterbury Cathedral in the south.
Gothic style was about soaring to the sky, and therefore Heaven, with pointed arches, lots of light and ornamentation.
Instead of starting from scratch, the new Gothic form was built on and around the existing Norman Minster dating from 1080—the foundations of which can be seen today.
Declared complete and consecrated in 1472, York Minster has survived wars, plague, political upheaval, structural crisis, and local rebellion … and lived to tell the tale.
To this day, the most significant building rising above York is the 800-year-old medieval Minster.
The term “minster” is given to churches established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches. Today, it’s used as an honorific title.
Developed during the Gothic period (12th—16th c.), “flying buttresses” were arched structures used to support the walls of medieval cathedrals.
The Largest Expanse of Medieval Stained Glass in the World
When it comes to stained glass, York Minster is in a class of its own, with some of the finest examples of medieval stained glass in the world, dating as far back as the 12th century.
Completed in 1408, the Great East Window in the Lady Chapel is the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world.
The size of a tennis court, the Great East Window was created between 1405 and 1408 by master glazier John Thornton and shows intricately detailed scenes from the book of Genesis.
In the below detail, Saint John (bottom left) is instructed by an angel to write down what he saw in his vision and send it to the seven churches of Asia.
John Thornton’s clever design combines all seven churches into one image, each represented by an archbishop standing in a shrine-like building.
Commemorating the union of the royal houses of York and Lancaster following the Wars of the Roses, the Rose Window in the south transept dates from about 1500.
The Five Sisters Window in York Minster’s North Transept is the only memorial in the country to women of the British Empire who lost their lives during the First World War. Each lancet is over 52 feet (16 m) high.
Dating from the mid-1200s, the window was removed during the First World War to protect it during German Zeppelin raids.
The Great West Window contains a heart-shaped design colloquially known as ‘The Heart of Yorkshire’.
Built between 1338 and 1339, it shows the hierarchy of the Church as you look up the window.
At the base level are eight Archbishops of York, with their Apostles above, followed by panels showing the life of Christ and the Virgin—the Annunciation, Nativity, Resurrection, and Ascension. The top panels show Mary sitting beside Christ in Heaven.
The window is known as ‘the heart of Yorkshire’ due to the shape of its upper stonework.
The Widest Gothic Nave in England
York Minster’s nave is the widest Gothic nave in England and has a wooden roof (painted so as to appear like stone) and the aisles have vaulted stone roofs.
The Chapter House
Windows cover almost all of the upper wall space of the highly decorated Chapter House, filling it with light.
Innovative design and a light wooden roof meant that the buttressed walls could support the ceiling without the need for a central column, creating a beautiful open space.
Grotesques
Grotesques are fantastical or mythical figures used for decorative purposes. Gargoyles are forms of grotesque that include a drainage spout to help prevent heavy rainwater running down the face of the building.
York Minster is covered with grotesques inside and out.
Current stonemasons working on the finishing touches of the York Minster restoration have carved sometimes amusing grotesques doing unusual things.
This chap will eventually be baring his derriere to all and sundry from a lofty position above the city, affixed to York Minster.
The 11-ton Great Peter Bell
The clock bells ring every quarter of an hour during the daytime and Great Peter strikes the hour.
Great Peter is the name of the northwest tower’s bell, weighing in at almost 11 tons. The six other bells that ring every quarter of an hour weigh 3 tons each.
Before Evensong each evening, hymn tunes are played on a baton keyboard connected with the bells, but occasionally anything from Beethoven to the Beatles may be heard.
Reformation and Restoration
The English Reformation led to the looting of much of the cathedral’s treasures and the loss of much of the church lands.
Queen Elizabeth I was determined to have all traces of Roman Catholicism removed from the cathedral. Tombs, windows, and altars were destroyed.
During the English Civil War the city was besieged and fell to Oliver Cromwell’s forces in 1644, but York Minster was spared damage thanks to the influence of parliamentary general Thomas Fairfax.
In the 1850s services were suspended as the cathedral slumped deeply into debt.
To date, tens of millions of pounds have been spent on restoration work, but the results speak for themselves. York Minster will continue to reach to the skies for millennia to come.
Without reservation, the answer is To Be, for Stratford-upon-Avon is not only the birthplace of Shakespeare—the greatest playwright of all time—but a beautiful medieval market town with lots to see and do.
Here are 10 of the best.
1. Shakespeare’s Birthplace
Described as “a Mecca for all lovers of literature”, this restored 16th-century half-timbered house on Henley Street is where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and spent his formative years.
Considered a substantial dwelling for the time, it was divided into two parts: living accommodations and a separate area for Shakespeare’s father to conduct his business as glove maker and wool dealer.
Over the centuries, changes were made to the original façade, and so in 1847, with the aid of luminaries like Charles Dickens, the house was purchased and restored to its original 16th-century appearance.
At the back of the house, the walled garden has been specially planted with flowers and herbs known to be from Shakespeare’s time.
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.William Shakespeare
2. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
About one mile west of Stratford-upon-Avon sits a beautiful 12-roomed farmhouse where Anne Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare, spend her childhood.
Known as Hewlands Farm in the 16th century, it had more than 90 acres of land and is about three times the size of a typical cottage.
3. Mary Arden’s Farm
Owned by Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Shakespeare, née Arden (c. 1537 – 1608), this working farmhouse in the village of Wilmcote, about three miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, gives visitors a good idea of what 16th-century farm living was really like.
Included in the rare animal breeds kept at the farm are Mangalitza and Tamworth pigs, Cotswold sheep, Long Horn cattle, Baggot and Golden Guernsey goats, geese, and even a Hooded Vulture.
4. Hall’s Croft
Housing a collection of 16th- and 17th-century paintings and furniture, Hall’s Croft was once the home of William Shakespeare’s daughter, Susanna Hall, and her husband Dr John Hall.
The impressive walled garden contains plants that Dr Hall may have used in his obscure medical practices—about which there are further exhibits inside the house.
5. Holy Trinity Church
Known as the place of baptism (1564) and burial (1616) of William Shakespeare, Holy Trinity Church is Stratford-upon-Avon’s oldest building, dating from 1210.
Buried next to him are his wife Anne Hathaway and eldest daughter Susanna.
Just one month before Shakespeare’s death, his son-in-law was found guilty of fathering an illegitimate son by a woman who died in childbirth. The shame of such an incident would have brought great distress to the family and may have hastened William Shakespeare’s demise.
In modern English, the inscription reads:
Good friend for Jesus sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.
6. Nash’s House and New Place
Converted into a museum that traces the history of Stratford-upon-Avon from the earliest known records, Nash’s House on Chapel Street sits next to the ruins and gardens of Shakespeare’s last residence, known as New Place.
Shakespeare died at New Place in 1616, leaving the house to his daughter, Susanna, who moved in with her husband Dr John Hall.
7. Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Home to the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), the recently redeveloped theatre complex sits on the banks of the River Avon and is dedicated to the life and works of William Shakespeare.
Going back to its roots, the “one-room” theatre brings actors and audience closer together, with a stage that reaches out into an audience on three sides—creating a more personal, traditional Shakespearean theatre experience.
The redeveloped theatre takes design inspiration from the first Victorian memorial theatre complex, with the observation tower providing the same commanding views of the River Avon and environs.
8. Walking the beautiful Tudor-lined streets
The name Stratford derives from a combination of the Old English strǣt, meaning “street”, and ford, where a road forded the river Avon.
As you walk Stratford-upon-Avon’s streets, you are immersed in the timber-framed Tudor architecture of Shakespeare’s era.
Until around the late 19th century, sheep from the nearby Cotswold Hills were brought to slaughter in Sheep Street.
One of the oldest buildings in Stratford-upon-Avon, a resident of Shrieves House on Sheep Street (below) is said to have been the inspiration for the character Sir John Falstaff—appearing in three of Shakespeare’s plays.
Military and political leader Oliver Cromwell, who beheaded King Charles I of England, is thought to have stayed here in 1651.
Just off Sheep Street is Shrieves walk, a very quaint walkway with several small independent stores, including a Vintage Clothing shop.
With its many al fresco cafés and street entertainers, Henley Street is a pedestrian tourist and shopping precinct.
9. Sightseeing Tours
From “hop-on hop-off” open top buses, to relaxing canal and river cruises, there are lots of ways to see and experience Stratford-upon-Avon’s many delights.
Centrally located between the main shopping streets and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre is Stratford Canal Basin, a bustling mooring center for Canal and River tours.
Whether you prefer a leisurely 45-minute cruise or lunch, dinner, or cream tea aboard the “Countess of Evesham” luxury restaurant cruiser, you’ll find it here, along with a large selection of snack and ice-cream vendors.
10. Pubs, Restaurants, and Hotels
Whether you prefer cozy pubs with a fireplace or the opulence of a Victorian mansion, Stratford-upon-Avon has a wealth of options for accommodations and dining.
Garrick Inn is reputedly the oldest pub in town. Although the precise date of construction is not known, it is considered to be built in the late 16th century, with parts dating back to the 1300s.
Alas, poor Yorick! I knew Stratford. A place of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. Alas, can it be time to leave already?
Noted for its architecture and long association with the royal family, Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. Here are 10 fascinating facts about this magnificent castle, some of which you may find surprising.
1. Windsor Castle was part of William the Conqueror’s plan to subjugate Saxon Britain
The year was 1066. William, Duke of Normandy had just accomplished the unthinkable by defeating the last Saxon king of England, Harold Godwinson, at the Battle of Hastings.
Now he could implement his strategy for conquest by building a series of castles to consolidate his power.
He marched inland, first to Dover, securing a strategic position with a motte and bailey castle, then onto London itself.
Blocking the city with three mighty castles, including the Tower of London, he sought to suppress any opposition completely.
It was his ring of nine castles, each about 25 miles apart and a day’s march from London, where our story begins.
The most impressive of these is Windsor Castle—an immense citadel rising from the banks of the River Thames as it passes through the county of Berkshire.
2. Inside the castle walls is the Mother Church to English chivalry
Considered by the historian John Martin Robinson to be “one of the supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic”, St George’s Chapel was the creation of Edward III, founder of the Order of the Garter—the highest order of chivalry in the United Kingdom.
Every June, members of the order meet at Windsor Castle for the annual Garter Service. After lunch at the State Apartments of Windsor Castle, the knights don their robes and insignia and proceed on foot down to St George’s Chapel where the service is held.
The Order of the Garter is the oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry in Britain, established by King Edward III nearly 700 years ago.
Members of the Royal Family attend the Most Noble Order of the Garter Ceremony at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, west of London on June 13, 2016. From left: Queen Elizabeth II; Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; Prince William, Duke of Cambridge; and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
3. Windsor Castle is the longest-occupied palace in Europe
Used as a residence by monarchs since the reign of Henry I, the castle has undergone many changes during its long history, often at colossal expense.
Born at Windsor Castle, Edward III spent lavishly on an expansion. His military victories in France at Crecy, Poitiers, and Calais helped pay for “the most expensive secular building project of the entire Middle Ages in England”.
Henry VIII enjoyed Windsor as a royal playground for shooting, dancing, wrestling, tennis, and even songwriting. He is purported to have spent the equivalent of £295 million in 2008 terms ($420 million) on work that included hiring Italian architect Benedetto Grazzini to convert the Lady Chapel into an Italian Renaissance design.
Windsor Castle was one of Elizabeth I’s favorite residences and she spent more money on it than any of her other residences.
Charles II liked to imitate Louis XIV of France, creating “the most extravagantly Baroque interiors ever executed in England”.
Another £100 million ($142 million) in 2008 terms was spent by George III on Gothic restyling work, which paled in comparison to the £817 million ($1.2 billion) in 2008 terms lavished by his son and successor George IV.
The sumptuous State Apartments were described by the art historian Hugh Roberts as “a superb and unrivaled sequence of rooms widely regarded as the finest and most complete expression of later Georgian taste”.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made Windsor their primary home and hub for all the diplomatic and state visits of the rapidly expanding British Empire.
4. Prince Albert died at Windsor Castle in 1861
Despite ill health, Albert had taken over most of the royal duties while Victoria grieved the death of her mother.
One pressing concern was that Edward, Prince of Wales had been carrying on an affair with an Irish actress named Nellie Clifden, causing some upset in the royal household over the potential for scandal or even pregnancy.
As if that worry wasn’t enough, Prince Albert had to intervene to prevent war with the United States over the Trent Affair.
Having suffered stomach cramps for two years, Albert’s health finally gave out on the night of 14 December, 1861 in the Blue Room at Windsor Castle.
Although diagnosed as having typhoid fever, modern scholars believe his stomach cramps may have been due to a chronic disease such as abdominal cancer.
5. Queen Victoria became known as “the Widow of Windsor”
Victoria kept the castle in a state of mourning for many years, becoming known as the “Widow of Windsor”, a phrase popularized in the famous poem by Rudyard Kipling that pays tribute to the “poor beggars in red” who fought around the globe to expand her empire.
‘Ave you ‘eard o’ the Widow at Windsor With a hairy gold crown on ‘er ‘ead? She ‘as ships on the foam—she ‘as millions at ‘ome, An’ she pays us poor beggars in red.
Shunning Buckingham Palace after Albert’s death, Queen Victoria used Windsor Castle as her main residence for conducting official duties near London.
Despite major technological advances of the era, like electric lighting, Queen Victoria preferred candles and kept the castle famously cold and drafty.
Victoria’s later portraits are of a sad, stately old lady, staring into space. What was she thinking?
Perhaps, she was dreaming of a beautiful sunny day at Windsor Castle with Albert and their firstborn, Victoria, Princess Royal.
6. Inspired by Windsor Castle, the Royal Family changed their last name to Windsor in 1917
Believing that their dynastic German name of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was bad for British morale during the First World War, King George V decided to take a new name after the castle.
On 17 July 1917, the Royal Family lineage changed from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the House of Windsor.
7. Windsor Castle was a royal air-raid shelter during World War 2
While Londoners headed for the Underground railway to escape the horrors of Luftwaffe bombing in World War 2, the royal family used Windsor Castle as a refuge.
In 1939, when war with Germany was announced, Windsor Castle was readied for wartime. Security was tightened, windows were blacked-out, and staff were relocated to Windsor from Buckingham Palace.
The roof above the children’s room, where Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were staying was strengthened, chandeliers were lowered to floor level to prevent damage in a bombing raid, and important works of art were removed for safekeeping.
Driving daily to London and returning to Windsor each night was a closely-guarded secret for the king and queen. It was considered good for morale to report that the king was staying full-time at Buckingham Palace.
8. Windsor Castle has seen its fair share of fire, the most recent being in 1992
Windsor Castle endured serious fires in 1296 and 1853, but the most damaging was in 1992.
It was 20 November 1992, and renovations were being carried out on the Private Chapel of the State Apartments. Near the altar, a curtain is thought to have been too close to one of the spotlights used for the work, setting it alight—the fire quickly spreading to the staterooms.
Whilst 200 firefighters battled to control the blaze, castle staff hurriedly rescued precious artworks. Fortunately, many rooms had been emptied as part of the renovation work, so most of the collection was saved.
Lasting for 15 hours, the fire was eventually brought under control with more than 1.5 million gallons of water—causing additional damage to the castle structure.
Exactly who should pay for repairs was a controversial issue at the time. Since George III, profits from the monarch’s estate have been passed to the government in return for a fixed payment. To save money, the castle wasn’t insured and headlines ran in British newspapers calling for the Queen to pay from her private income. In the end, a deal was struck whereby the government paid for repairs in exchange for the opening of Buckingham Palace to the public.
Taking five years to complete at a total cost of £67 million ($95 million) in 2015 terms, the damaged rooms were restored using modern methods to recreate the appearance before the fire.
9. Windsor Castle has a 2.65-mile approach road
For such a spectacular castle, one would expect an equally spectacular approach, would one not?
At 2.65 miles long and 240 ft wide, this double-lined avenue of trees called “The Long Walk” runs through The Home Park—an area once set aside for deer hunting and mentioned in Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor.
Adjoining the larger Windsor Great Park, The Home Park has some of the oldest broad-leaved woodlands in Europe.
10. Windsor Castle is the largest continually inhabited castle in the world
Today, more than 500 people live and work in Windsor Castle – the largest inhabited castle in the world.
It is the preferred weekend residence of Her Majesty The Queen, whose standard flies from the Round Tower to show when she’s at home.
References
Wikipedia
Windsor Revealed by Brindle and Kerr, 1997.
Hauntingly beautiful, the ruined abbeys of England, Scotland, and Wales stand majestically defiant against the elements—a reminder of a medieval past governed by work, study, and prayer.
Here’s our list of 10 of the best medieval abbey ruins in Britain.
1. Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire, England
Overlooking the North Sea on the East Cliff above Whitby in North Yorkshire, England sits the ruined Whitby Abbey.
Disestablished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII, Whitby Abbey is a Grade I (building of exceptional interest) Benedictine abbey in the care of the English Heritage Trust.
2. Rievaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire, England
Founded in 1132, Rievaulx Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in Rievaulx, near Helmsley in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, England.
Once one of the wealthiest abbeys in England, it was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538 and is now owned and maintained by the English Heritage Trust.
3. Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire, England
One of the largest and best preserved Cistercian monastery ruins in England, Fountains Abbey is about 3 miles south-west of Ripon in North Yorkshire.
Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for over 400 years, until Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries.
4. Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire, Wales
Founded by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow, in 1131, Tintern Abbey sits on the Welsh bank of the River Wye, between Monmouthshire in Wales and Gloucestershire in England.
Falling into ruin after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1548, the abbey has been a favorite haunt of poets and painters from the 18th century onwards.
5. Kirkstall Abbey, West Yorkshire, England
Set in a public park on the north bank of the River Aire, Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery near Leeds in West Yorkshire, England.
Founded in 1152 and dissolved by Henry VIII, the picturesque ruins have been the subject of works by artists J.M.W. Turner, Thomas Girtin and John Sell Cotman.
6. Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire, England
Buildwas Abbey is located along the banks of the River Severn in Buildwas, Shropshire, England, about two miles west of Ironbridge.
Founded in 1135 by Roger de Clinton, Bishop of Coventry (1129–1148), the Cistercian Buildwas Abbey was originally a Savignac monastery inhabited by a small community of monks from Furness Abbey.
The abbey has a storied history, with intrigue to rival the famous “Name of the Rose”. Frequently raided by Welsh princes who also kidnapped the abbot, there was a case where a monk murdered his abbot and, having evaded arrest, petitioned for reinstatement into the Cistercian order.
7. Byland Abbey, North Yorkshire, England
Founded as a Savignac abbey in 1135, Byland Abbey was absorbed into the Cistercian order in 1147.
Described in the late 14th century as “one of the three shining lights of the north”, it wasn’t always so for Byland Abbey. Its early life was marked by disputes with other abbeys and the whole abbey community had to move five times before settling on Byland.
Now in the care of the English Heritage Trust, Byland has some impressive features including the lower half of a huge rose window and a stone lectern which is the only one of its kind in Britain.
8. Bolton Abbey, North Yorkshire, England
Nestled in the rolling landscape of the Yorkshire Dales sits the 12th-century ruins of an Augustinian monastery.
The Bolton Abbey estate includes many miles of public pathways through beautiful countryside.
The Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway terminates at a nearby village.
9. Melrose Abbey, Roxburghshire, Scotland
Founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks on the orders of King David I of Scotland, Melrose Abbey was built in the Gothic style in the form of a St. John’s cross.
In 1921, an amazing discovery was made below the Chapter House of Melrose Abbey.
Held inside a lead container was believed to be the embalmed heart of Robert the Bruce.
Confirmed in records of his death, the rest of his body is buried at Dunfermline Abbey.
Alexander II and other Scottish kings and nobles are buried at Melrose.
Maintained by Historic Scotland, the partly ruined monastery is a museum open to the public.
10. Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, Scotland
“Rood” being an old word for the cross of Jesus Christ, the name Holyrood means “Holy Cross.”
Founded in 1128 at the behest of King David I, Holyrood Abbey was home to the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Lying adjacent to Holyrood Palace at the eastern end of the Royal Mile, the Abbey lost prominence following the Scottish Reformation and has been ruined since the 18th century.
Tea’s rise in popularity in Britain coincided with a flowering of intellectual and creative thought that we call the Enlightenment.
By the middle of the 18th century, tea had replaced ale & gin as the people’s favorite beverage.
Is tea a magical elixir?
You decide as we look at 10 fascinating facts about the history of tea in Britain.
1. Tea was first offered in London coffeehouses in 1657
Chinese green tea was first introduced into the London coffeehouse scene in around 1657.
It was down these narrow alleys that the mercantile class of London would meet to discuss business in coffeehouses.
Opposite the Royal Exchange on Cornhill, there is an entrance to a network of alleyways called Change Alley (formerly known as Exchange Alley).
Nestled beside makers of fine wands, there was something else magical for sale: tea.
The owner of one establishment created a pamphlet and advertisement to explain the new beverage as an early form of health drink:
How did the introduction of tea impact the city of London? It became the most powerful city in the world for 200 years.
Today, London vies with New York as the world’s most influential city.
2. Samuel Pepys wrote about drinking tea in 1660
Samuel Pepys (1633 – 1703) was an English Member of Parliament and naval administrator who is famous for keeping a detailed diary for a decade as a young man.
Trivia: his work as Chief Secretary to the Admiralty would help position Britain’s Royal Navy as the world’s most powerful in years to come.
3. A Portuguese Princess made tea popular in Britain
Catherine of Braganza (1638 – 1705) was Queen Consort of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1662 to 1685, as the wife of King Charles II.
Although Catherine didn’t actually introduce tea into Britain, she was instrumental in making it fashionable. Her use of tea as a court beverage, rather than a medicinal drink, influenced its popularity in literary circles.
Trivia: Queens, a borough of New York City, is thought to be named after Catherine of Braganza since she was queen when Queens County was established in 1683.
4. These could be the earliest British directions for how to make tea
In 1672, Edward Herbert, 3rd Baron Herbert of Chirbury sent directions for tea making, and warming the delicate cups, to Shropshire;
5. Tea may have been instrumental to the English Enlightenment
It was a summer afternoon in 1665 and Sir Isaac Newton was taking tea under the apple trees in the family gardens at Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, England.
By chance, an apple fell from an overhanging branch, hitting him on the head and sparking the “a-ha” moment for his law of gravitation.
Whether precisely true or not, is it a coincidence that a flowering of intellectual thinking in Britain occurred at around the same time that tea was fast becoming the nation’s favorite drink?
By 1720, black tea had overtaken green tea in popularity and was generally taken with milk and sugar.
Could this magical potion be the brain stimulant of Newton, Locke, and Hobbes?
6. Did tea power the British Industrial Revolution?
Not only was tea powering the massive minds of some of history’s greatest thinkers, but some scholars suggest that tea played a key role in the British Industrial Revolution.
The stimulants in the tea, coupled with the extra energy from sugar and milk would act like today’s energy drinks and give workers a boost—helping them work longer hours.
Even today, “builder’s tea” is a favorite for anyone doing physically strenuous work as part of their job. A colloquial term for strong tea, builder’s tea is typically brewed in a mug, always has milk, and two (or more) teaspoons of sugar.
Furthermore, because water has to be boiled for tea, water-borne diseases like dysentery, cholera, and typhoid were killed.
7. Chelsea porcelain manufactory produced the first British teaware
Fashionable 17th-century tea drinkers used small porcelain tea bowls that were sometimes shipped with the tea itself.
Established in 1743, the Chelsea porcelain manufactory produced the first successful porcelain equipages and were quickly imitated.
During the 1770s and 1780s, tea was sometimes drunk from saucers. Deeper than today’s, they were similar to the Chinese bowls of the 17th century. It is thought the practice came from Russia, where samovars kept tea very hot and strong. Pouring from cup into saucer was a quick way to cool the tea.
8. Victorian tea rooms helped women win the right to vote
During the Victorian era, tea rooms may have helped the women’s suffrage movement.
Tea rooms were popular and fashionable social gathering places, especially for women.
British historian Sir Roger Fulford argued that tea rooms provided neutral public spaces to help women strategize political campaigns.
9. Thomas Twining opened the first known tea shop in London
Thomas Twining opened the first known tea shop in 1706.
Twinings holds the world’s oldest continually-used company logo and has occupied the same premises at 216 Strand, London, since inception.
A division of Associated British Foods since 1964, Stephen Twining now represents the company’s tenth generation.
Celebrating its 300th anniversary in 2006, Twinings launched a special tea and associated tea caddies.
Appointed by HM The Queen, Twining’s is a Royal Warrant holder.
10. Take a tea break—it’s the law!
In a working shift of six hours, British workers have the right in law to a minimum of a 20-minute break.
Described in government guidelines as “a tea or lunch break”, it is sometimes called “elevenses”, because 11 am is a good time to take a break, leaving two hours before the traditional lunchtime of 1 pm.
In Britain, where there is tea, there are usually biscuits too—it’s really hard to have one without the other.
Dunking biscuits in a “cuppa” (cup of tea) is a custom that Brits have exported around the globe.
McVitie’s biscuits are the most popular biscuits in the UK to “dunk” in tea, with McVitie’s chocolate digestives, Rich tea and Hobnobs ranked the nation’s top three favorites.
References Wikipedia.org Victoria & Albert Museum Metropolitan Museum of Art Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Telegraph
British Dames and Knights are part of an honour system whose roots can be traced back to the medieval concept of chivalry and the honorific orders of the Crusades.
The modern-day British order of chivalry is a visible honour awarded by the Queen, typically in recognition of individual achievement and service.
Created in 1348 by King Edward III, the first order of chivalry was the Order of the Garter.
At the Queen’s pleasure, it is still awarded as a personal gift to a limited and exclusive membership. Male members of the Order are titled “Knights Companion,” and female members are called “Ladies Companion.”
However, the modern honours system has evolved and adapted to recognise various forms of service to the United Kingdom, rewarding contributions to the arts, sciences, and work with charitable organisations.
King George V created the “Most Excellent Order of the British Empire” in 1917 to fill gaps in the British honours system and recognise service in a variety of non-combatant roles in World War One.
There are 5 classes, with civil and military divisions. For our purposes, we will focus on the rank of Knight/Dame Commander, which entitles the recipient to use the title Sir for men and Dame for women before their forename.
The performing arts is a widely recognised category for recipients of the Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) and Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).
Here are 10 actresses who have been awarded British damehoods for their contributions to performing arts.
Watch the video clips, read the summaries of their careers, then vote for your favorite at the end of the article.
Dame Maggie Smith
Spanning sixty years in stage, film, and television, Dame Maggie Smith’s career includes over 50 films and began with the Oxford Playhouse in the 1950s.
A breast cancer survivor, she has played alongside some of the world’s most prominent actors and been nominated for an Oscar six times, winning twice for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and California Suite (1978).
Dame Maggie Smith is best known for her role as the caustic Lady Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the British TV period drama Downton Abbey.
Dame Maggie Smith quotes:
“One went to school, one wanted to act, one started to act, and one’s still acting.”
“When you get into the granny era, you’re lucky to get anything.”
“I’ve won two Oscars and I still don’t begin to understand film acting.”
Dame Judy Dench
For twenty years from 1957, Dame Judi Dench established herself as one of the best British theatre performers, working with both National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare companies.
Breaking into television in 1981, she found success in romantic sitcoms “A Fine Romance” and “As Time Goes By”.
Following a supporting actress role in “A Room with a View (1986)”, she found international recognition as M alongside Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in GoldenEye (1995).
Her long list of awards includes six British Academy Film Awards, four BAFTA TV Awards, seven Olivier Awards, two iScreen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globes, a Tony Award, and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Shakespeare in Love (1998).
Dame Judi Dench quotes:
“I’m more comfortable on stage, where there is an audience to tell a story to, as opposed to a film set where you are not in charge at all. On stage, you can hear an audience’s reactions. Within two minutes of a play starting you know how the evening will go. On film, you’re more reliant on the director. The moment he leaves you, you’re like a child learning to walk.”
“You should take your job seriously but not yourself. That is the best combination.”
Dame Julie Andrews
Dame Julie Andrews appeared on the West End at the age of 13 and Broadway at 18. At 21, her television role in the musical Cinderella was watched by over 100 million viewers.
Best known for Disney’s Mary Poppins and Rogers and Hammerstein’s sweeping musical The Sound of Music, by 1967, Julie Andrews was the most successful film star of the mid-sixties.
Julie Andrew’s extraordinary voice produced notes that only a dog could hear until a botched throat operation in 1997 ruined her singing voice.
Dame Julie Andrews quotes:
“Singing has never been particularly easy for me.”
“A lot of my life happened in great, wonderful bursts of good fortune, and then I would race to be worthy of it.”
“I am first and always English, and I carry my country in my heart wherever I go.”
Dame Helen Mirren
Beginning her career with the Royal Shakespeare Company at age 22, Dame Helen Mirren is one of a select few to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting: Academy Award for Best Actress (the Queen, 2006), the Tony Award for Best Actress in a play (The Audience, 2013), and several Emmy Awards (Prime Suspect, 1991-2006).
Her paternal grandparents were Russian. Her grandfather, Piotr Vasilievich Mironoff, was a Tsarist aristocrat who was in London negotiating an arms deal during World War I when the 1917 Russian Revolution stranded him there.
Dame Helen Mirren quotes:
“If you wanted to teach someone who knew absolutely nothing about the British people, it would be very good to guide them to Shakespeare. You could see the foolishness, the humour, the brutality – it’s all in almost every play.”
“All you have to do is to look like crap on film and everyone thinks you’re a brilliant actress. Actually, all you’ve done is look like crap.”
“The trick in life is learning how to deal with it.”
Dame Angela Lansbury
The movie clip is from Angela Lansbury’s iconic Oscar-nominated performance in The Manchurian Candidate (1962).
Dame Angela Lansbury’s 70-year career includes several award-winning film roles, but she is best known for the character Jessica Fletcher in the television series Murder, She Wrote.
When Lansbury was nine, her father died from stomach cancer; she retreated into playing characters as a coping mechanism. In 2014, Lansbury described this event as “the defining moment of my life. Nothing before or since has affected me so deeply.”
Dame Angela Lansbury quotes:
“Providing I can put one foot in front of the other, I will continue to act.”
(In 2013) “I absolutely do not have a retirement age… I’m only 87 – which today is nothing. It’s just like 60 a few years back. I believe age should not stop you from keeping on.”
Dame Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was considered one of the last, if not the last, major star to have come out of the old Hollywood studio system.
Born in London to wealthy American parents, she moved with her family to Los Angeles at age seven. Just three years later, she debuted in the Universal Picture’s “There’s one Born Every Minute (1942)”.
Signing with MGM in 1944, her role in National Velvet made her one of the studio’s most popular teenage stars.
In 1951, she received critical acclaim for her role in A Place in the Sun, playing alongside Montgomery Clift, going on to become the first actress to earn $1,000,000 for a movie (Cleopatra, 1963).
The American Film Institute named her the seventh greatest female screen legend in 1999.
Dame Elizabeth Taylor quotes:
“I’ve come through things that would have felled an ox. That fills me with optimism, not just for myself but for our particular species.”
“I, along with the critics, have never taken myself very seriously.”
“One problem with people who have no vices is that they’re pretty sure to have some annoying virtues.”
Dame Diana Rigg
Swinging Sixties sex symbol Diana Rigg was voted the sexiest-ever TV star by TV Guide in the United States.
Best known for her role as Emma Peel in the iconic 60s TV series “The Avengers”, her other performances led critics to proclaim her one of the greatest actresses on the British stage.
Dame Diana Rigg quotes:
“If I meet a woman who is immaculately groomed, I really admire her discipline. I grew up admiring out-of-this-world screen goddesses, such as Ava Gardner and Rita Hayworth.”
“I think I was quite daring. I was once escorted out of a restaurant because I was wearing a trouser suit. It wasn’t considered good breeding for a woman to go around in trousers after 6:00 pm.”
Dame Kristin Scott Thomas
Dame Kristin Scott Thomas is best known for her roles in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), for which she won the Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award, and The English Patient (1996), for which she was nominated Best Actress in the Academy awards.
Dame Scott Thomas is the great-great-niece of Captain Scott, who died in the race to reach the South Pole in 1912.
Dame Kristin Scott Thomas quotes:
“Just because you have a few wrinkles does not mean you do not have anything meaningful to contribute. As you get older, it all becomes richer and the implications of everything you do become so much more complicated – and therefore more interesting. Your life as a woman does not end because you are 35 or 45.”
“Unlike most actresses, I don’t lie about my age (55) but I’m liking this bit. I love it. I wouldn’t swap it for a million years.”
Dame Joan Collins
Born in Paddington, West London, Dame Joan Collins made her stage debut at the age of nine in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.
After training with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she starred in a series of British and Hollywood movies,
Best known for her part as the vengeful ex-wife of an oil magnate in the 1980s TV soap opera Dynasty, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe six times, winning once in 1983.
Dame Joan Collins Quotes:
“Dynasty (1981) was the opportunity to take charge of my career rather than walking around like a library book waiting to be loaned out.”
“Age, in my opinion, has no bearing at all, that is unless, of course, one happens to be a bottle of wine.”
“The problem with beauty is that it’s like being born rich and getting poorer.”
Dame Barbara Windsor
Dame Barbara Windsor has been acting on screen and stage since she was 13 years old.
Her sixty-six-year career includes nine Carry On films—iconic British comedy of the 60s and 70s—and 22 years as Peggy Mitchell on BBC soap opera EastEnders.
Known for her “chirpy cockney” personality and infectious giggle, Barbara Windsor has also starred on Broadway, the West End, and was the voice behind the Dormouse in Tim Burton’s adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.
Barbara Windsor quotes:
“We didn’t get a lot of money (for the Carry On movies) and we did always seem to be doing outside shots in winter, but it paid the mortgage and I loved it.”
“I am not like my image; I take my work so seriously. Everyone thinks I just bounce in, but I study and everything has to be just right.”
Dame Joanna Lumley
From swinging sixties supermodel to television icon, Joanna Lumley’s career has been a kaleidoscope of sparkles and grit.
Television catapulted her to stardom with roles like the kickass Purdey in “The New Avengers” and the unforgettable Patsy Stone in “Absolutely Fabulous,” whose champagne-swilling antics forever etched her in pop culture.
But Lumley’s depth shines beyond comedy. Dramas like “Sapphire & Steel” showcase her versatility, while her voice work for characters like Aunt Sponge in “Corpse Bride” highlights her vocal range.
An avid traveler and humanitarian, Lumley’s documentaries and advocacy for indigenous rights reveal a dedication to social justice. In five decades of captivating audiences, she’s become a cultural icon, proving that the greatest adventure truly is to live, leaving a trail of laughter, wonder, and inspiration in her wake.
Joanna Lumley quotes:
“Learn from nature. Stuff lives and stuff dies all the time, you know. Animals and birds and flowers. Trees come and go, and we come and go. That’s it. So we should all seize life and make the most of what we have while we can.”
“I never mind scrubbing floors, vacuuming or bending and carrying stuff. Each time I do it I think, this is instead of going to the gym.”
Dame Penelope Wilton
Penelope Wilton’s career is a dazzling tapestry woven across theater and film. While Olivier nominations for “John Gabriel Borkman” and “Taken at Midnight” solidified her stage prowess, it’s television and film where she truly captured hearts.
Her comedic brilliance shone in “Ever Decreasing Circles” as the witty Ruth, while “Downton Abbey” catapulted her to global fame. As Isobel Crawley, the progressive Dowager Countess, Wilton embodied both steely pragmatism and fierce compassion, her chemistry with Maggie Smith pure magic. ✨
Films like “Shaun of the Dead” (shotgun-wielding grandma!) and “The BFG” (a surprisingly regal Queen) showcase her versatility. Reflecting on her diverse roles, she mused, “I don’t think I’m typecast. I just play women who haven’t got the memo on how to behave.”
With impeccable timing and understated brilliance, Dame Penelope Wilton continues to grace screens and stages. Age is just a number; true talent never fades. In her own words, “Acting is all about pretending to be somebody else, and there’s no limit to who you can be.” And what a journey it is to witness her be them all.
Penelope Wilton quotes:
“The greatest adventure is to live. And live I have, leaving a trail of laughter, wonder, and inspiration in my wake.”
“Laughter is the best medicine. It’s the one thing that can make you feel better instantly, no matter what’s wrong.”
Seen as a promising, upcoming British actor in the 1980s and labeled as one of the “Brit Pack”—British actors who achieved success in Hollywood, Colin Firth’s career skyrocketed after he appeared in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Many believe he truly IS Mr Darcy …
Colin Firth’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy is widely regarded as one of the most iconic performances in the history of period dramas. Firth’s interpretation of the enigmatic and brooding Mr. Darcy has left an indelible mark on both fans of the original novel and newcomers to Austen’s world, solidifying his status as a quintessential leading man in the realm of British period dramas.
Capturing the Essence of Mr. Darcy
Colin Firth brought a unique blend of charisma, sophistication, and vulnerability to the character of Mr. Darcy. In the early scenes of Pride and Prejudice, Firth perfectly encapsulates Darcy’s aloofness and reserve, making the character seem distant and proud. However, as the narrative unfolds, Firth skillfully reveals the layers beneath Darcy’s exterior, gradually exposing the character’s depth and inner conflict.
One of the most memorable scenes is Darcy’s first proposal to Elizabeth Bennet, played by Jennifer Ehle. Firth’s portrayal during this pivotal moment is a masterclass in conveying complex emotions. The intensity of his feelings, veiled by societal norms and personal pride, is palpable as he struggles to articulate his emotions. Firth’s performance makes the audience empathize with Darcy’s internal turmoil, adding a layer of complexity to the character that goes beyond the pages of Austen’s novel.
The Infamous Wet Shirt Scene
No discussion of Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice would be complete without mentioning the now-legendary “wet shirt” scene. This moment, in which Darcy takes a plunge into a lake on his estate, became an instant cultural phenomenon. Firth’s chiseled jawline and brooding expression, combined with the soaked white shirt clinging to his form, created an iconic image that has since become synonymous with romantic heroism.
The wet shirt scene not only showcased Firth’s physical appeal but also underscored the vulnerability and authenticity he brought to the character. It was a departure from the traditional stoicism associated with period drama heroes, allowing audiences to see a more human side of Mr. Darcy.
Impact on Pop Culture
Colin Firth’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice has transcended the boundaries of the small screen, becoming a cultural touchstone. The character has been parodied, referenced, and reimagined in various forms of media, with Firth’s performance serving as the definitive template for future portrayals of Darcy in popular culture.
Firth’s legacy as Mr. Darcy is so enduring that he even reprised the role in the 2001 film Bridget Jones’s Diary, a modern-day adaptation of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. This self-aware nod to his iconic character further solidified Firth’s place in the hearts of fans worldwide.
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Trivia
When Helen Fielding, author of “Bridget Jones’s Diary”, created the character Mark Darcy, she had both Mr. Darcy from this production and the actor Colin Firth in mind. Colin Firth played Mark Darcy in the “Bridget Jones’s Diary” movie.
Hard to believe today, but Colin Firth initially declined the role of Mr. Darcy.
The china used for tea by the Bennett family is Royal Crown Derby Royal Antoinette.
The original plan for the Lake Scene, as written by Andrew Davies (House of Cards, Bridget Jones’s Diary), was for Colin Firth to be completely naked. But both Colin and the BBC were too prudish to entertain the idea.
Lyme Park in Cheshire, England, was the location used for the exterior of Pemberley, Mr. Darcy’s estate.
On April 26, 1607, an expedition sent by the Virginia Company of London arrived at the entrance to what is now Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, in the United States.
The First Landing
Among those of the first landing party was Captain John Smith, who described the bay in his book The Generall Historie of Virginia, New England & the Summer Isles,
No matter which side of the Atlantic you hail from, those words probably look a little alien. That’s because the settlers spoke an earlier version of English called “Early Modern English”—a kind of transitional stage between Middle English and the Modern English of today.
Early Modern English was the language of Shakespeare and the King James Bible—both highly revered, then as now, but neither offered much advice on how to negotiate with the Native American population.
Adapting to the New Landscape
So the 17th-century settlers naturally set about adapting the language to suit their new environment. Many words were borrowed from indigenous languages, either directly or through intermediate Spanish, French, and other settlers.
Describing the American flora and fauna required new words. For example, sequoias are named in honor of Sequoyah, a Cherokee leader; squash derives from Narragansett, an extinct Algonquian language formerly spoken in what is now Rhode Island; Hickory comes from the Powhatan people of Virginia, and Chipmunk originates from the Ojibwe language, once spoken in Canada and the United States from Michigan to Minnesota.
Other words came from French, Dutch, German, and Spanish: levee, portage, and gopher from French: cookie, cruller, stoop, and pit (as in fruit) from Dutch; angst, kindergarten, sauerkraut from German; barbecue, stevedore, and rodeo from Spanish.
Initially, the changes were criticized by purists on both sides of the Atlantic. But after the Revolution, Americans began to take pride in their own form of English.
Webster’s Dictionary
Noah Webster (1758-1843) published the earliest American dictionary, which championed American meanings and spellings over British ones. Since then, language differences have continued to evolve, giving added credence to George Bernard Shaw’s observation that Britain and America were two countries divided by a common language.
Creative New Names
In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville observed that where European aristocracies preferred precision and stability in language, democratic America yearned for exuberance and innovation.
In the early 19th century, new words began to appear to give an air of respectability to some undesirable jobs. Grave-digger became undertaker, and later, a series of related terms came into being: funeral director, mortician, mortuary science, memorial park. Elegant words displaced less pleasant-sounding ones: cockerel became rooster;comfort station replaced toilet, and limb substituted for leg.
With the building out of America’s towns and cities came the need for new words to describe buildings, infrastructure, and industry: lot, waterfront, subdivision; log cabin, adobe, apartment, tenement, shanty; project, condominium, row house, backyard, clapboard, siding, baseboard; back road, freeway, parkway, sidewalk, railroad; boxcar, caboose; canned goods, gasoline, sidetrack, make the grade.
Pronunciation
American English retains a particular characteristic of 17th-century English that British English has largely lost—the pronunciation of “r” after a vowel. Most of the US is “rhotic”, meaning that “r” is pronounced in words such as hard and weather. British English is largely non-rhotic, so hard sounds more like “hahd”. Ireland, Scotland and the West Country (Devon, Cornwall) have retained rhotic pronunciation, so the waves of immigrants from these areas only bolstered rhoticity in the US.
Other differences include pronouncing consonants that are silent in British English, for example, schedule, which sounds like “shedule” in Britain.
Differing Conventions
Some conventions differ in American English compared to British, with American usually being simpler: flavor replaced flavour; aluminum instead of aluminium; catalog for catalogue. American English also simplified the francophile words of Victorian England: check instead of cheque; program replaced programme.
A number of words in American English come from business, sports, and entertainment: bottom-line, breakeven, merger, downsize; ballpark, gameplan, cheapshot, pass the buck; disc jockey, movies.
There are more examples than you can shake a stick at!
Two Countries Divided by a Common Language?
Well, we’re divided by a “big pond” for sure. Transatlantic crossings in the 17th and 18th centuries were hazardous and long—taking six weeks or more. So for some 200 years prior to the advent of steamships, communication between Britain and America was severely challenged. That’s a long time for language to change, adapt, and evolve.
Today, we celebrate the nuances that separate our versions of the English language—the differences are fun and entertaining.
Sources Wikipedia.org Library of Congress. Speaking American: A History of English in the United States by Richard W. Bailey.
A very odd thing happens when a lady sees men in kilts.
She stoops, she crouches …
… and there’s a burning question at the back of her mind.
You guessed it—where can I buy some of this fine cloth?
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A kilt is a type of pleated skirt originating from the 16th-century dress of men in the Scottish Highlands.
Kilt is a Scots word that has Scandinavian origins—derived from the Old Norse word kjalta, meaning “fold of a gathered skirt”, or “lap”.
The first kilts were belted plaid, which was essentially a large blanket that was wrapped around the body and belted at the waist. A part of the plaid formed the kilt, and the rest was gathered up, thrown over a shoulder and secured in place—ready to be used as a cloak when needed.
In around 1720, following the suppression of the first Jacobite rebellion, an enterprising English Industrialist named Thomas Rawlinson built an ironworks in the Scottish Highlands.
He noticed that the belted plaid was “a cumbersome unwieldy habit to men at work …” and decided the solution was to convert the lower part into a separate item of clothing that was more convenient to wear at work.
The “little kilt” was born, which formed the basis of today’s modern kilts.
When Rawlinson’s partner—chief of the McDonell Clan of Inverness—started wearing the new kilt, its use spread like wildfire among the highlanders.
When the ban was finally lifted in 1782, there was a groundswell of interest in all things Highland.
Wearing a kilt became more than a tradition. It was a symbol of Scottish national pride, of freedom, and identity.
To all those who were forced to flee Scotland and establish roots in other countries, Scottish poet Robert Burns had some words for them.
Thyrsis
by Matthew Arnold
How changed is here each spot man makes or fills!
In the two Hinkseys nothing keeps the same;
The village street its haunted mansion lacks,
And from the sign is gone Sibylla’s name,
And from the roofs the twisted chimney-stacks—
Are ye too changed, ye hills?
See, ’tis no foot of unfamiliar men
To-night from Oxford up your pathway strays!
Here came I often, often, in old days—
Thyrsis and I; we still had Thyrsis then.
Runs it not here, the track by Childsworth Farm,
Past the high wood, to where the elm-tree crowns
The hill behind whose ridge the sunset flames?
The signal-elm, that looks on Ilsley Downs,
The Vale, the three lone weirs, the youthful Thames?—
This winter-eve is warm,
Humid the air! leafless, yet soft as spring,
The tender purple spray on copse and briers!
And that sweet city with her dreaming spires,
She needs not June for beauty’s heightening,
Lovely all times she lies, lovely to-night!
Only, methinks, some loss of habit’s power
Befalls me wandering through this upland dim;
Once pass’d I blindfold here, at any hour,
Now seldom come I, since I came with him.
That single elm-tree bright
Against the west—I miss it! is it gone?
We prized it dearly; while it stood, we said,
Our friend, the Scholar-Gipsy, was not dead;
While the tree lived, he in these fields lived on.
Too rare, too rare, grow now my visits here!
But once I knew each field, each flower, each stick;
And with the country-folk acquaintance made
By barn in thresting-time, by new-built rick.
Here, too, our shepherd-pipes we first assay’d.
Ah me! this many a year
My pipe is lost, my shepherd’s-holiday!
Needs must I lose them, needs with heavy heart
Into the world and wave of men depart;
But Thyrsis of his own will went away.
It irk’d him to be here, he could not rest.
He loved each simple joy the country yields,
He loved his mates; but yet he could not keep,
For that a shadow lower’d on the fields,
Here with the shepherds and the silly sheep.
Some life of men unblest
He knew, which made him droop, and fill’d his head.
He went; his piping took a troubled sound
Of storms that rage outside our happy ground;
He could not wait their passing, he is dead!
So, some tempestuous morn in early June,
When the year’s primal burst of bloom is o’er,
Before the roses and the longest day—
When garden-walks, and all the grassy floor,
With blossoms, red and white, of fallen May,
And chestnut-flowers are strewn—
So have I heard the cuckoo’s parting cry,
From the wet field, through the vext garden-trees,
Come with the volleying rain and tossing breeze:
The bloom is gone, and with the bloom go I.