King Edgar established Hertfordshire with Hertford as its County town. The town is now a blend of old and new and set in delightful countryside. The War Memorial, dating from November 1921, has a bronze stag standing on a Portland stone plinth. Some of Henry II’s walls of 1173 have survived, James I demolished the […]
Worthing began to develop as coastal resort in the late C18th. The town had the benefit of the sea air without the hustle and bustle of Brighton. By the end of the century the town had just two shops. The first theatre opened in 1796, and in 1797 the hot and cold saltwater baths opened. […]
The modern city of Hereford, on the boarder between England and Wales, is a treasure trove of historic buildings and artefacts. While the Old Market is an up-to-the-minute, and buzzing, shopping destination. Hereford Cathedral The see of Hereford dates from AD 676, and the present Cathedral from C11th-C12th. The columns and arches in the nave […]
Modern Woking has grown up close to the medieval village known today as Old Woking. Here Henry VIII had a Palace and its ruins are a Scheduled Ancient Monument. By the C17th the village was a prosperous market place and some buildings and street layout remain to this day. Buildings In Woking In the heart […]
In early September the doors will be open on hundreds of unusual and exceptional historic and iconic properties. We start you off with some ideas of where to visit around the country.
Roger Montgomery built Arundel Castle in the C11th, and it is now one of the oldest and most complete castles in England. It stands in superb grounds which look over the River Arun in West Sussex. And this year it celebrates the 950th anniversary, and today is the family home of the 18th Duke of […]
Grantham is a market town in Lincolnshire dating from Saxon times or earlier. In the heart of England, it was the birth place of our first female Prime Minister. History of Grantham The town has always been in the thick of things! The Royal Manor belonged at one time to Queen Edith, wife of Edward […]
Referred to as the Cornish Riviera, St Austell is an old market town not far from the beautiful South Cornish coast line. It is the largest town in Cornwall and overlooked by the white peaks of the China Clay industry. Holy Trinity (above) is an ancient Grade I Listed church and is unusual as parts date back to […]
Southwold near Aldeburgh in Suffolk has always had a strong connection with seafaring and shipbuilding. As long ago as 1512 the town sent six shipwrights to help build Henri Grace a Dieu for Henry VIII. The town saw action during the C17th Anglo Dutch wars. In the third Dutch War the town was the headquarters […]
Recent excavations at Warwick have found evidence of Neolithic people living in the area. Since then, it was a Saxon settlement, afforded protection to William the Conqueror and his army, and survived The Great Fire of 1694. The town boasts buildings from every period of the last thousand years, even though the Great Fire of […]
