Britain - Nov Amp Dec 22 Tribute To QEII

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THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
BRITAIN
HISTORY HERITAGE TRAVEL CULTURE
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a stay in
beautiful Royal
Deeside
PAGEANTRY +
& MAJESTY
Ancient traditions Regency
London
BELOVED Explore
Salisbury
BALMORAL
Highland haven
Britain's
ghost towns
ROYAL
VERSES
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through the ages
Final farewell
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EDITOR'S LETTER
As the nation enters a
new, post-Elizabethan
era, this issue we
remember our late
Queen’s life and
remarkable reign. We visit Balmoral in
Royal Deeside, where she spent her
happiest times, and where her 70-year
reign ended (Highland haven, p16); we
explore the post of Poet Laureate, writer
of verses for the monarch at times of
national significance (Royal rhymes, p41);
and following the Queen’s magnificent
funeral, we delve into the traditions
involved in state funerals, and reveal how
the pomp and ceremony has evolved over
the centuries (Pageantry & majesty, p56).
Elsewhere this issue, we step back in
time to Regency London (p27), the
backdrop to much of the romance and
scandal of the era, and uncover the stories 16
behind Britain’s abandoned stately homes
and villages (Lost property, p34). And as
ever, we travel to some of the country’s
Balmoral Castle
41
most scenic spots – including the
beautiful cathedral city of Salisbury (City
guide, p75) and the timeless Test Valley in
CONTENTS
VOLUME 90 ISSUE 6
Hampshire (Passing the Test, p66).
Enjoy the issue!
FEATURES
14 IN MEMORY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II
Natasha Foges As the nation mourns the Queen’s passing, we pay
Editor tribute to her remarkable life and reign
For the best articles straight to your inbox, 16 HIGHLAND HAVEN

sign up to our free BRITAIN newsletter at The Queen spent her final days at Balmoral in Royal
www.britain-magazine.com/newsletter Deeside, a beautiful part of Aberdeenshire whose
royal connections stretch back to Queen Victoria
27
PHOTOS: © VISIT SCOTLAND/PAUL TOMKINS/TRAVELER116/PA IMAGES/ALAMY
@BRITAINMAGAZINE REGENCY LONDON

Where did the Ton, the high-living aristocrats of the
FACEBOOK/BRITAINMAGAZINE late Regency period, spend their time?
@BRITAIN__ MAGAZINE 34 LOST PROPERTY
Britain’s abandoned stately homes and villages
FIND YOUR
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE cannot fail to stir the imagination. And each has its
BRITAIN
HISTORY HERITAGE TRAVEL CULTURE
own human story to tell
WIN
a stay in
beautiful Royal
Deeside
41 ROYAL RHYMES
PAGEANTRY
& MAJESTY
Ancient traditions Regency
+ The role of Poet Laureate was first awarded four
London
BELOVED
BALMORAL
Highland haven
Explore
Salisbury centuries ago, but how has it evolved?
Britain's
ghost towns
Cover image: Queen Elizabeth II’s
ROYAL
VERSES
coffin is carried into St George’s 49 DECK THE HALLS
56
Poets Laureate
www.britain-magazine.com
NOV/DEC 2022 £4.95
through the ages
Final farewell Chapel, Windsor

Soak up the atmosphere of Yuletides past in a stately
Queen Elizabeth II © PA Images/Alamy/Paul Popper/
Popperfoto/Getty home decorated for Christmas
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FEATURES
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
56 PAGEANTRY & MAJESTY BRITAIN is the official magazine of
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The grand state funeral for Britain’s longest-serving BRITAIN is published by
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Assistant Editor Henrietta Easton
66 PASSING THE TEST Advertising
The timeless Test Valley, criss-crossed with chalk rivers Group Sales Director Catherine Chapman
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27
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YOUR LETTERS
Write to us with your thoughts on the magazine and memories of Britain
LAND OF LEGENDS
STAR LETTER THANK YOU MA’AM
I always enjoy BRITAIN, especially the
While watching the beautiful September issue [Vol 90 Issue 4] and the
farewell to our beloved article on King Arthur. ‘Artor’ (Welsh for
Queen Elizabeth II, and ‘the bear’) was the battle name for Owain
seeing your article on Ddantgwyn, a 5th-6th century king of
Paddington [Vol 90 Issue Britain who battled the Saxons and the
5], I painted, during that subject of Graham Phillips’ books, King
incredibly moving weekend, Arthur: The True Story and The Lost
my tribute to a much loved Tomb of King Arthur. Arthur’s father,
Queen. The TV skit brought Uther Pendragon, ‘the Red Dragon’, is
our Queen so alive and remembered today in the flag of Wales
unforgettable. The painting is and the bear as the symbol of the Earls of
called Thank you Ma’am…. Warwick. As my 3rd grade teacher told
for everything. my class in 1955, Behind every myth and
And thank YOU! legend, there is a kernel of truth. So it is
Katherine S. Brown, with Arthur.
Toronto, Canada Thanks again
for a marvelous
magazine that
I always enjoy
Our star letter wins The Shortest History of the Crown by Stephen reading.
Bates, a lively commentary on a 1,800-year story, providing Joan Wickham
dazzling insight into royal custom and ritual (£12.99, Sugg, Tarboro,
oldstreetpublishing.co.uk). North Carolina,
USA
MEMORIES OF THE TITANIC & from our Facebook followers...

Your article on Belfast’s Titanic legacy [Vol 90
...some memories of Queen Elizabeth II:
Issue 5] brought back memories of our Pirrie
Family gathering centred around the 100th I was among the crowd with my parents
anniversary of the launch of the RMS Titanic who saw Her Majesty on the balcony
on 31 May 2011. Lord Pirrie, the grandson of of Buckingham Palace on the last day
Captain William and Eliza (Morrison) Pirrie of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in
and first cousin to my great grandfather, was June. A memory I will always treasure
the head of Harland & Wolff, the world’s and it was the loudest time I’d sung
largest shipbuilding firm. H & W had God save the Queen.
partnered with the White Star Line to build Movingly, at that time all the ships in Belfast Max Beale
the Titanic. His nephew, Thomas Andrews, Harbour sounded their horns to remember
was the major design architect of the ship. both the launch of the Titanic and the I have travelled from California to the
Sadly, Andrews perished in the sinking of the gathering of our family. Today, many of the UK more than any other region in the
ship among 1,517 others, many of whom had family remain in the Belfast area and the rest world. I’ve visited Windsor Castle twice,
been workers at Harland & Wolff. are scattered across the UK, Europe, Canada, Buckingham Palace, and Sandringham
A short service offered our family prayers South Africa, the USA and Australia. in Norfolk, simply to know I am
on the Belfast docks at 7am on 31 May 2011. Sandra Thorne, Rothesay, NB, Canada standing in the homes of the beloved
PHOTO: © MATT JESSOP
Queen Elizabeth II. I wish I had caught a

WRITE TO US! By post: Letters, BRITAIN, The Chelsea Magazine Company, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 3TQ glimpse of her.
Via email: editor@britain-magazine.com FOLLOW US! Twitter: @BritainMagazine Instagram: @britain_magazine
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Polly Curtis
6 www.britain-magazine.com
BRITAIN
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HISTORY / NEWS / REVIEWS / INSPIRATION
The
BULLETIN A glimpse of Roman Britain, Richard III
remembered, and a festive display
OPENING
Rome in a day
One of Britain’s finest hotels, The Newt, a Georgian manor ambitious reconstruction of a Roman villa ever undertaken
PHOTO: © CRAIG AUCKLAND/FOTOHAUS
set in a magnificent 1000-acre country estate, has upped its in Britain. Visitors will enjoy a sensory experience of life in a
offering with the opening of a reconstructed Romano- Roman Britain household, including the sights, sounds and
British villa found on the estate, dating back to 351 AD. Villa smells of its daily rituals, and you can even book a Roman
Ventorum, translating to ‘Villa of The Winds’, is the most food tasting to complete the experience. thenewtinsomerset.
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HISTORY / NEWS / REVIEWS / INSPIRATION
SHOPPING
Garden Pottering
Gardening enthusiasts, animal lovers and
Beatrix Potter fans alike will adore these
charming fine bone china mugs from the
V&A museum shop (£10). Celebrating the
museum’s recent exhibition Beatrix Potter:
Drawn to Nature, in collaboration with the
National Trust, the whimsical watercolour
depicts a group of busy guinea pigs dressed
to the nines, and hard at work in the
garden. Perfect for enjoying a cup of tea
outdoors, just as Beatrix would have done.
ANNIVERSARY www.vam.ac.uk/shop ART
King in the car park Life’s rich tapestry

In 2012, having been lost for more than A set of rare 18th-century tapestries which
half a century, the remains of King Richard had been cut up by their Victorian owner
III, who was killed at the Battle of have recently returned to their historic home,
Bosworth in 1485 but whose body was Tudor mansion The Vyne, in Hampshire.
never found, were finally discovered in a The tapestries are believed to have been
car park in Leicester. Ten years on, a new created by John Vanderbank, the leading
comedy-drama film The Lost King, starring weaver of the time, and reflect the period’s
Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan, tells the romanticised view of Asian art and culture,
story of Phillipa Langley, who took on the with monkeys, wild cats and fantastical
country’s most eminent historians and deities. In the 19th century, The Vyne’s
whose persistence resulted in one of the owner cut up the tapestries to line the walls
most important archaeological discoveries of his new billiard room and, years later, they
in British history. The Lost King also aims were removed from the house when a leak
to tell the story of the controversial King
EVENT threatened to damage them. After extensive
Richard. Villainous or misunderstood – conservation, the tapestries are back in their
that’s for you to decide… Winter wonderland rightful place, showing their vivid colours
The Lost King will be in UK cinemas from 7 and designs more clearly than ever.
October, and in US cinemas later in the year. www.nationaltrust.org.uk
This Christmas, Winchester Cathedral’s
PHOTOS: © GRAEME HUNTER/RAH PETHERBRIDGE/THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES
light and sound show Star of Wonder is

set to be a mesmerising experience of
light, colour and music inside the
beautiful and historic cathedral (13-18
December). The award-winning artistic
collaboration Luxmuralis will take
visitors on an uplifting and magical
journey as they immerse themselves in a
sky full of stars, walk through stunning
light projections, and hear bespoke music
installations, filling the sacred space and
transforming the architecture of the
majestic building. What better way to get
into the Christmas spirit?
www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk
BRITAIN
c0376237-aee6-40be-b0db-564dff3ef604
EXHIBITION
Richard, reimagined
Set between the two buildings of the Old Royal Naval College collection of art – including key works by Gainsborough and
To mark the ten-year
in Greenwich, London,anniversary
the Queen’sof the discovery
House of Richard
was England's III’s
first further
Hogarthdisdain
– andhis memory,
original but modern
features, such as scholarship has shown
the Tulip Staircase.
remains, an exhibition
classical building, builtatin the
theWallace Collection
17th-century will explore
by architect Inigohow that in many
If that’s ways heenough
not reason was a capable
to visit, and compassionate
it is likely monarch.
to be the home
Richard
Jones forhasAnne
beenofimagined
Denmark, through history.
as a gift from One of history’s
her husband, mostI.
James The exhibition
of the (until 8 January
historic Armada portrait2023) will useElizabeth
of Queen objects to explore
I (pictured
notorious villains since
Four hundred yearsthe 16th
later, thecentury,
splendid heroyal
has been
villa isportrayed
due to as what weone
above), knowof of
thethe kingiconic
most and why history
images has treated
of any him so badly.
British monarch.
areopen
usurper
onand a murderer,
11 October his physical
following deformities
extensive exaggerated
renovations, whichto www. wallacecollection.org
The painting has been the subject of intensive fundraising
have seen an overhaul to the galleries housing its famous to save it for the nation since it was put up for sale. With the
c0376237-aee6-40be-b0db-564dff3ef604
READING CORNER
Take inspiration for your
British adventures from
these great reads
These little rolls The Game of Hearts:
are perfect for The lives and loves of
Regency women by
using up the flesh Felicity Day (£22, Blink
of a scooped-out Publishing). Follow six
RECIPE leading ladies from
pumpkin lantern
matchmaking to
Pumpkin Rolls matrimony in Regency
London.
Britain’s favourite TV cooking show, The Great British Bake Off (The Great British Baking The Anglo-Saxons by
Marc Morris (£10.99,
Show in the US), returns this autumn. Why not join in with a recipe from A Bake for All
Penguin). The
Seasons (£22; www.littlebrown.co.uk)? The book includes recipes from Prue, Paul and the
renowned medieval
2021 bakers, so you can create your own culinary masterpieces at home. historian tells the
extraordinary history
I n g re d i e n t s : Shape the dough into a neat ball. Lightly oil a of England’s
500g strong white bread flour mixing bowl and place the dough inside. foundations after
Cover and leave in a draught free place at Britain left the Roman
7g fast-action dried yeast room temperature for about 1 hour, until Empire.
doubled in size. Turn out onto a lightly
2 tsp caster sugar floured work surface. Knead lightly for 20 Queens of the Age of
seconds. Divide into 12–14 portions – it Chivalry by Alison Weir
1 tsp salt (£25, Penguin). In the
doesn’t matter if they’re not the same size.
1/4 tsp ground turmeric third volume of her
Shape each into a tight, smooth and neat ball.
history of the
225–250ml whole milk, plus 1 tbsp to glaze medieval Queens of
Lay a length of kitchen string on the work England, Weir uses
150g pumpkin purée surface. Place one dough ball in the middle personal letters to tell
of the string, then bring each end up and a remarkable story.
2 tbsp olive oil cross them over the dough ball as if
wrapping a parcel. Without tightening the Secret Gardens of the
1 egg, to glaze
string around the dough, carefully turn the South East: A private
6–7 walnut halves, cut in half dough ball over. Repeat this wrapping with tour by Barbara Segall
the string so that it marks out 8 sections of (£22, Quarto). A
12–14 pieces of fine kitchen string, each about the dough ball. Tie in a knot to secure and
stunning photographic
60–70cm long (1 per dough ball) tour of the beguiling
place the ball on a lined baking tray with
gardens of Kent,
the knot underneath. Repeat with the
2 baking trays, lined with baking paper Sussex and Surrey.
remaining balls. Cover loosely and leave to
prove at room temperature for about 45 Queen of our times:
Method: minutes, until nearly doubled in size. The life of Elizabeth II
Tip the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer by Robert Hardman
fitted with the dough hook. Add the yeast, Meanwhile, beat the egg with the 1 (£20, Pan Macmillan).
sugar, salt and turmeric and mix to combine. tablespoon of milk and heat the oven to A touching tribute to
Warm the milk until lukewarm and add it to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4. Brush the rolls the inspirational life of
the bowl with the pumpkin purée and olive with egg wash and bake for 25 minutes, Britain’s longest-
PHOTO: © ANT DUNCAN
reigning monarch, by
oil. Mix on low speed until combined, then until risen and deep golden brown. Leave to
the celebrated royal
increase the speed slightly and knead for a cool for 2–3 minutes, then snip off the
biographer.
further 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth string. Press a piece of walnut into the top
and cleanly leaves the side of the bowl. of each pumpkin for a stalk. Leave to cool.
BRITAIN
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In memory of
In memory of
Queen
Queen HM
HM
Elizabeth
Elizabeth As the nation mourns the passing of
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we pay tribute to her
remarkable
As thelife and mourns
nation reign the passing of
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we pay tribute to he
II
II
remarkable life and reign
O
n 8 September 2022, Elizabeth II, reign. A public outpouring of respect for the
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, monarch would follow in 1977 to mark her
sadly passed away at Balmoral Castle. Silver Jubilee.
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Another decade, the 1990s, proved more
O
n 8 September 2022, Elizabeth II, reign. A public outpouring of respect for the
Britain and Northern Ireland for 70 years, Her challenging. In particular, the Queen’s self-
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, monarch would follow in 1977 to mark her Silver
Majesty’s tenure can be defined by a sense of duty proclaimed “annus horribilis” in 1992, which saw
that has made her one of the world’s most respected
heads of state.
Britain and Northern Ireland for 70 years, Her
Born Princess Elizabeth Windsor on 21 April
ER
sadly passed away at Balmoral Castle.
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great II
Jubilee.
Princess Anne divorce and Prince Andrew and
Another decade, the 1990s, proved more
Prince Charles separate from their wives amid
challenging. In particular, the Queen’s self-
tabloid scandal. Then, in November, a fire caused
—
Majesty’s tenure can be defined by a sense of duty proclaimed “annus horribilis” in 1992, which saw
1926ER
1926, she was the first child of the Duke and devastating damage to her favourite home, Windsor
that has made her one of the world’s most respected
Duchess of York. During the Second World War,
heads of state.
II Princess Anne divorce and Prince Andrew and
Castle. The next few years continued in a tragic vein
Prince Charles separate from their wives amid
determined to do her bit, the 18-year-old princess with the death of Princess Diana in 1997 and the
Born Princess Elizabeth Windsor on 21 April tabloid scandal. Then, in November, a fire caused
2 022
—
joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service. loss of her mother and sister in 2002. Yet the Queen
1926, she was the first child of the Duke and devastating damage to her favourite home, Windso
She married Philip Mountbatten at Westminster
Duchess of York. During the Second World War,
Abbey in 1947, then welcomed her first child,
determined to do her bit, the 18-year-old princess
1926 would ride out these storms, charting a course to
Castle. The next few years continued in a tragic ve
smoother waters for a modernised monarchy.
with the death of Princess Diana in 1997 and the
Prince Charles, in 1948, and Princess Anne, in 1950. The loss in April 2021 of Prince Philip, her
joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service.
Her relatively quiet life as a wife and mother came to
She married Philip Mountbatten at Westminster
an abrupt end in 1952 when she learned of the death of
2 022 loss of her mother and sister in 2002. Yet the Quee
beloved husband of 73 years and her “strength and stay”,
would ride out these storms, charting a course to
marked the end of an era. Despite speculation that she
Abbey in 1947, then welcomed her first child, smoother waters for a modernised monarchy.
PHOTOS: © 2021 MAX MUMBY/INDIGO
her father, King George VI, while on a royal tour of planned to abdicate, the Queen continued to reign with the
1950.Famous for
Prince Charles, in 1948, and Princess Anne, in Right: The loss in April 2021 of Prince Philip, her
Kenya. She was crowned at the tender age of 27 in 1953, her brightly grace and humanity for which she was renowned.
Her relatively quiet life as a wife and mother cameoutfits,
coloured to beloved husband of 73 years and her “strength and stay”,
though she became Queen the moment her father died The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022 celebrated
an abrupt end in 1952 when she learned of the thedeath
Queen of
once marked the end of an era. Despite speculation that she
the previous year. her astonishing 70-year reign, making her the longest-
her father, King George VI, while on a royal said,
tour'IfofI wore planned to abdicate, the Queen continued to reign with t
Her family grew to include two more princes – Andrew reigning monarch in British history. She will be dearly
Kenya. She was crowned at the tender age of beige,
27 innobody
1953, Right: Famous for grace and humanity for which she was renowned.
and Edward – in the 1960s, a decade of political and would know who missed by the Royal Family; indeed, by our entire nation,
her brightly
though she became Queen the moment her father died The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022 celebrated
social change that was overseen by Elizabeth II’s diligent I am.' and outfits,
coloured many more the world over.
the previous year. her astonishing 70-year reign, making her the longest-
the Queen once
Her family grew to include two more princes – Andrew said, 'If I wore reigning monarch in British history. She will be dearly
14 BRITAIN www.britain-magazine.com
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and Edward – in the 1960s, a decade of political and
social change that was overseen by Elizabeth II’s diligent
beige, nobody
would know who
missed by the Royal Family;
and many more the world over.
indeed, by our entire nation,
PHOTO:
www.britain-magazine.com 15
c0376237-aee6-40be-b0db-564dff3ef604 BRITAIN
Highland
haven Queen Elizabeth II spent her final days at Balmoral in
Royal Deeside, a beautiful part of Aberdeenshire whose
royal connections stretch back to Queen Victoria
WORDS SALLY COFFEY
PHOTO: © VISIT SCOTLAND/PAUL TOMKINS
PHOTO:
BRITAIN
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ROYAL DEESIDE
O
n 8 September, Her Majesty Queen baronial palace topped with numerous turrets
Elizabeth II passed away peacefully – wouldn’t be here at all were it not for the late
at Balmoral Castle, her beloved Queen’s great-great-grandparents.
holiday home in the Highlands. Queen Victoria made her first visit to
Just two days before she died, serving her Scotland in 1842 and quickly fell in love with it.
nation until the very end, the Queen had held However, it was on subsequent visits, when she
an audience with Britain’s new Prime Minister, explored the enigmatic Highlands, that
Liz Truss, at the Scottish estate. Victoria’s love was cemented. And it wasn’t just
When the Queen’s coffin left Balmoral, it Victoria for whom Scotland provided a sense of
passed slowly through the villages of Royal escapism. Prince Albert was said to have been
Deeside, allowing the thousands that lined the taken with the landscapes as much as his wife,
route to bid a final farewell to the country’s as they reminded him of his German homeland.
longest-serving monarch, and a woman whom Indeed, it may well have been Albert who was
many locals considered a dear neighbour. the driving force behind the purchase of
The Queen had visited the Scottish estate every Balmoral, then a more modest country house,
summer, continuing the traditions of her own which stood within acres of untamed heather-
ILLUSTRATION: © MICHAEL A HILL. PHOTOS: © REUTERS/KEYSTONE PRESS/PICTORIAL PRESS LTD/ALAMY/VISITSCOTLAND/JAKUB IWANICKI

childhood. She and Prince Philip were able to live clad hills and moorland, with views that
some semblance of a normal life here, often seemed to stretch on forever.
surrounded by their children and grandchildren. It is said that Albert first became aware of the
Heading up in late July, it is tradition for the Royal Previous page: property through the paintings of James Giles, who had
Family to stay at Craigowan Lodge on the estate for the first Balmoral Castle been commissioned to do a series of watercolours of the
Above: Queen
week of their visit, before moving into the castle once it is house and the estate.
Elizabeth and her
closed to visitors in August, where they usually stay until son, now King By 1848 the couple had taken out a lease on Balmoral
October. Charles III, walking to – without ever having actually set foot there – and by
Set in 50,000 unspoilt acres, this beautiful expanse of the Balmoral Cricket 1852 they had purchased the estate outright. Shortly after
Scottish Highlands provides what must have been a Pavilion in 2021 buying Balmoral, Victoria and Albert began building a
refreshingly rural contrast to the splendour of the new castle, more befitting their royal status, some 100
Queen’s homes in London and Windsor. She was often yards northwest of the existing building.
seen walking around the estate dressed informally in Work on Balmoral was completed in 1856 and the couple
tweed and headscarves; in fact, so relaxed did she relished their time here, spending their days picnicking with
become at Balmoral that the late Prime Minister their children and exploring the estate and beyond. One of
Margaret Thatcher is said to have sent her a pair of Victoria’s favourite spots for a picnic was the Linn of Dee
washing-up gloves one Christmas after witnessing her at on the Mar Lodge Estate, an area of natural wilderness in
Balmoral washing up with bare hands. the Cairngorms, three miles west of Braemar, where she is
Her Majesty had a strong family connection to known to have stopped to change horses.
Balmoral: her father King George VI and his wife (later Together, Victoria and Albert helped make the Highlands
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) were fashionable, celebrating the traditions – tartan, shooting,
fond of it, and princesses Elizabeth and Margaret spent Highland games, dancing – that the novelist Sir Walter
many happy times here. Scott had begun romanticising several decades before.
But Balmoral as we know it today – a grand Scottish After Albert’s sudden death in 1861, Balmoral became
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ROYAL DEESIDE
Clockwise from top left:

Princess Elizabeth
arrives at Balmoral with
her sister, Margaret, and
her parents; Queen
Elizabeth II and Prince
Philip with their children
at Balmoral; the River
Dee flows through
picturesque landscapes
ENGLISH RIVIERA
The fairytale 16th-century Crathes

Castle is a turreted tower house
with glorious gardens to explore
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ROYAL DEESIDE
a haven for the queen, and gradually, being here helped terrible fire in 2015, followed just months later by
ease her grief. It was at Balmoral that she had first met catastrophic flooding, but thanks to King Charles (when
John Brown – the Scotsman had been Albert’s personal he was prince and Duke of Rothesay), who was
ghillie – with whom she formed a strong affection. instrumental in the village’s revival, buildings such as the
Balmoral Castle is still a private home – unlike Old Royal Station, now home to a very good restaurant,
Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, it’s not an have been revived and restored.
official royal residence – which means that much of it is It’s just outside the town of Braemar, to the west of
out of bounds to visitors. However, though you can’t visit Balmoral, a place popular with hillwalkers, that the
the private quarters, it is the location that makes a visit annual Braemar Gathering takes place. Probably the most
here so wondrous. famous of all the Highland games, this event, first attended
A very good audio guide takes you round the castle by Queen Victoria in 1848, is still the one where senior
PHOTOS: © JOHN BRACEGIRDLE/PA IMAGES/ALAMY/DAVID N ANDERSON/SHUTTERSTOCK/GONZALO BUZONNI
exterior and some of the grounds, where red squirrels can members of the Royal Family can often be seen among the
be spotted leaping between the branches of the trees. You spectators; the late Queen was a regular visitor. Even if you
can also enter the Ballroom, which has hosted the annual can’t visit during the games, held on the first Saturday in
Ghillies Ball – a dance for the estate’s staff – since Queen September, the Braemar Highland Games Centre is a great
Victoria’s time. place to learn about this most Scottish of traditions.
En route to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, On the outskirts of the village is the L-shaped Braemar
the hearse bearing the Queen’s coffin passed by Crathie Castle, which has been run by the local community for
Kirk – the small granite church where she worshipped the past 15 years and which is currently undergoing a
every Sunday during her summer holidays in the huge restoration programme to the tune of £1.6m. It is
Highlands. John Brown, Queen Victoria’s friend, is due to reopen in July 2023.
buried in the little churchyard. Another reason visitors are drawn to Braemar is for the Clockwise from far left:
It is easy to see what has drawn the Royal Family to the Fife Arms. Part art gallery, part luxury hotel, since Crathes Castle dates
back to the 16th
area for centuries. The countryside around the estate is opening its doors in 2018 this former Victorian coaching century; the Braemar
wonderfully picturesque. The River Dee from which the inn has become one of the most luxurious places to stay Highland Games are
region takes its name is a magnet for anglers who come in the whole of Scotland. the largest and most
to fish its salmon-rich waters, while pretty villages like Elsewhere in the region, you can take a nostalgic train prestigious in
Ballater and Braemar beckon you to stay awhile. ride on the Royal Deeside Railway in the far east of the Scotland; Queen
Elizabeth II and King
In 1866 with the arrival of the railway station at region, or visit one of the region’s many castles, such as the Charles at the
Ballater, just east of Balmoral, the Highlands village fairytale 16th-century Crathes Castle, a turreted tower Braemar Highland
became a tourist centre. Sadly, the village was struck by a house with glorious gardens to explore. Or drop by the Games; Crathie Kirk
ROYAL DEESIDE
For more on
beautiful Scotland,
see www.britain-
magazine.com
THE PLANNER
GETTING THERE the lounge or feast on
Aside from the heritage wood-fired cooking in the
railway, there is no working decadent Clunie Dining Room.
train station in Royal Deeside. thefifearms.com
Top to bottom: The The best way to reach the
Fife Arms, housed in
region is via Aberdeen, which WHERE TO EAT
a former Victorian
Coaching Inn, is now has an international airport and AND DRINK
one of Scotland’s train links to many parts of the Serving up fine-dining dishes
most luxurious UK. From Aberdeen it’s around using fresh, in-season local
places to stay; the an hour’s drive west to Ballater produce, The Rothesay Rooms
Lochnagar Distillery
– the main entry point to Royal started as a pop-up to drive
was granted a Royal
Warrant by Deeside – while buses from tourism in the village of
Queen Victoria Aberdeen will get you there in Ballater following devastating
just over two hours. flooding. It’s now a mainstay of
Royal Lochnagar Distillery, just a mile from Balmoral, www.aberdeenairport.com; the Royal Deeside dining
which uses age-old techniques to distill its malts. Victoria www.scotrail.co.uk; scene. rothesay-rooms.co.uk
and Albert visited with three of their children in 1848, www.stagecoachbus.com
granting it a Royal Warrant shortly afterwards. FURTHER
i
PHOTOS: © SAM CANETTY-CLARKE/JAROSLAV MORAVCIK
Queen Victoria described Balmoral as her “own dear WHERE TO STAY INFORMATION
Paradise” and it seems that the sense of release away Rooms at the Fife Arms, a For travel advice and inspiration,
from royal duties that she enjoyed here has been passed beautiful five-star hotel built in go to visitabdn.com/what-to-do/
down to subsequent generations of royals. the 19th century, are lavishly history-and-heritage/royal-heritage
Offering an environment in which she could really be decorated with period
herself, it’s no wonder it was at Balmoral that our late wallpaper, antique furniture BUY THE BOOK
Queen sought sanctuary. And it is fitting that it was at and original artworks, while you Sally Coffey’s latest book,
her beloved Highlands home that she spent her fi nal days, can sip on fine single malt Moon Scotland (£15.99, www.
bringing to a close a remarkable and unparalleled reign of whiskies in a fireside armchair in moon.com), is out now.
seventy years.
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ituated on the banks of the River Dee,
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offers guests an experience like no dinner with paired drinks at Poachers, which beloved of the Royal Family, from rugged
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One lucky reader and their guest will win a there is much in the surrounding area to
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ENTRY FORM Aberdeenshire?
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My answer:
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HISTORY
Regency
LONDON
Where did the Ton, the high-living aristocrats of the late Regency period,
spend their time? Discover the London addresses that still tell thrilling
tales of this exuberant era
WORDS FELICITY DAY
Previous page:
George Bryan
'Beau' Brummell
Right: The
magnificent
Great Room at
Spencer House
W
hen it came to recreating the London
habitat of Regency high society for the
smash-hit show Bridgerton, it’s no secret
that Netflix turned to Bath, a city famous
for its pristine, period-perfect Georgian architecture. But
if you want to discover the backdrop to real-life Regency
romances, you might consider turning your carriage
towards the capital instead, dear reader, because if you
know where to look, there are plenty of surviving sights of
the Ton’s London to be discovered in the bustling modern-
day metropolis.
You’ll need to make for the West End, known to its
Regency inhabitants as ‘town’ and utterly distinct from
the commercial hub that was the City. Any aristocrat
worth their salt had a plush pied-à-terre in Mayfair or St
James’s, and on a stroll of the still smart streets it’s
possible to pick out some of their former residences.
The snug townhouse at No. 4 Chesterfield Street was
home to famous dandy and arbiter of gentlemen’s fashion
‘Beau’ Brummell, for example; while the unshowy
It was mansions like Spencer House

that made the most spectacular
venues for the balls and parties that
were the whole point of the ‘season’
brown-brick property at 21 Arlington Street (a few steps

from The Ritz hotel) was the town base of the Earl of
Sefton and his wife Maria, one of the patronesses of the
legendary Almack’s assembly balls. Meanwhile, Albany,
an early apartment complex now tucked away behind two
much newer buildings on Piccadilly (opposite the
upmarket department store Fortnum & Mason) was home
to many a Regency bachelor of rank and riches, including
the notorious Lord Byron.
Of course, plenty of the Ton’s members had London
homes that were more palatial in both size and splendour.
Only a few of the once numerous noble mansions survived
the wrecking ball that swung with increasing fervour
between the 1860s and 1930s, but of those, none offers a
better opportunity to step back in time than the gloriously
restored Spencer House, open for guided tours once a
week. Glimpsed through the trees from Green Park, the
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HISTORY
PHOTOS: © CHRONICLE/ALAMY/JARROLD PUBLISHING/SPENCER HOUSE

PHOTOS:
HISTORY
Clockwise from top left: shop in the world;

The west front of Berry Bros & Rudd
Spencer House; the first started weighing
splendid ceiling in customers on their
Spencer House's coffee scales in 1765,
Painted Room is the as at this time there
earliest complete was a fee to be
Neoclassical weighed by a doctor;
ensemble in Europe; Berry Bros & Rudd, in
Lock & Co on business since 1698,
London's St James's holds two Royal
St is the oldest hat Warrants
PHOTOS: © JARROLD PUBLISHING/SPENCER HOUSE
PHOTOS:
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HISTORY
Palladian residence with 50 rooms and a half-acre garden

was built for the 1st Earl Spencer in the 1750s, and
occupied in the Regency by the 2nd Earl, his wife Lavinia
and four of their children.
It was houses like theirs that made the most spectacular
venues for the balls and parties that were the whole point
of the ‘season’ – the so-called ‘squeezes’ where young
aristocrats went to flirt and find their perfect partner. The
Spencers’ ballroom was the lavishly gilded Great Room on
the first floor, with its beautifully ornate Neoclassical
ceiling; the scene of a particularly splendid event in 1805
to mark the ‘coming-out’ into society of their eldest
daughter Sarah. Then, the state rooms downstairs –
including the Earl’s library – were thrown open to seat the
four hundred or so guests who stayed till the supper at 2am.
From their houses, you can follow the Ton to some of
the places where they purchased the sumptuous evening
attire appropriate for just such an occasion. The red-brick
building with portico entrances at numbers 80-82 Pall
Mall, for instance, was once home to purveyors of fine
fabrics and accessories for the fairer sex, Harding, Howell
& Co. And if you walk up St James’s Street from the site
of the royal palace with which it shares its name, you’ll
find two shops still trading that would be entirely
recognisable to Regency eyes: the bow-windowed frontage
of Lock & Co, who sold beaver hats to the most
fashionable of men, dates from 1810; and the wood-
panelled store of wine merchants Berry Bros & Rudd still
has in situ their famous scales, on which the likes of
Brummell, Byron and esteemed boxer Tom Cribb were
weighed in the early 1800s.
As you wander past the latter shop, you might easily
miss the adjacent alleyway, down which men in the mould
of the rakish Viscount Bridgerton might have sauntered
during the season. Pickering Place, today a neat and tidy
courtyard, then housed the entrance to a ‘gaming hell’ –
an exclusive, underground venue where roulette and
hazard were played for high stakes, all in defiance of the
laws of the land. Certainly, any young Lord would have
been a member of one of the more prominent gentlemen’s
clubs that had their premises further up St James’s Street.
White’s – the oldest and most prestigious – is still a private
members’ club and still occupies the same building at
numbers 37-38, with the very same bow window, where
the most famous dandies of the Regency once sat and
stared down passers-by.
HISTORY
Clockwise from above:

A satirical cartoon
entitled A Peep into
Totenham Street or
Dillitanti Performers in
Training, showing a
group of amateur
actors; Theatre
Royal, Drury Lane; In the evening, you can follow in
St George's, Hanover
Square was a popular the Ton’s footsteps at the Theatre
wedding venue; the
Royal Academy's Royal, Drury Lane, London’s
Summer Exhibition
runs every year oldest working playhouse
By convention, St James’s Street was an all-male enclave theatre in Britain, open for guided tours several days a week.
– certainly so in the evenings. It’s said that the islands in the The most fitting final stop for any Regency romance-
road were first installed in the early 1800s to make crossing inspired tour of London, however, has to be the church of
safer for the inebriated patrons of its clubs and coffee houses. St George’s, Hanover Square – the most fashionable chapel
Other surviving London spaces, however, were places in which to wed in the era, if the season matched you with
for men and woman alike to see and be seen. During the your perfect partner. Its imposing classical facade dates
season, the Ton flocked to see the Royal Academy’s from the 1720s; and while the furnishings have changed a
Summer Exhibition in the Great Room at Somerset House. little over time, the interior structure has not changed at
It has recently been returned to the one large, light-filled all since members of the Ton tripped up the steps to
chamber with high lantern windows that it was then, when exchange their wedding vows, meaning that here, perhaps
the paintings were densely stacked from floor to ceiling. more than any other place in Mayfair, the spirit of real-life
Still to be found on the south side of Hyde Park, Regency romance echoes down through the centuries.
meanwhile, is Rotten Row, where the elite paraded in their
PHOTOS: © CHRONICLE/NATHANIEL NOIR/ALAMY/SHUTTERSTOCK/CHRIS PICTURES
carriages or on horseback at the fashionable hour of 5pm Felicity Day is the author of The Game of Hearts: The
– though it’s now a shorter track than the one that stretched Lives and Loves of Regency Women, published by Blink
from Hyde Park Corner along what is now The Flower Publishing on 29 September
Walk in Kensington Gardens. The Gardens themselves
were another popular place for promenading, and BOOK AHEAD
seemingly also a prime spot for secret assignations
between lovers. Time and again, they cropped up in trials ● Spencer House, the city’s only great 18th-century private palace
for ‘criminal conversation’, the euphemistic term for to survive intact, is open every Sunday, except during August, for
adultery with another man’s wife. guided tours. spencerhouse.co.uk
For evening entertainment, the Ton were supremely fond ● The Great Room at Somerset House is now home to the
of the theatre, and you can best follow in their footsteps at Courtauld Gallery’s collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist
the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London’s oldest working paintings. courtauld.ac.uk
playhouse. The current building dates from 1812, and with ● Guided tours of the newly restored Theatre Royal, Drury Lane last
its interiors recently restored to their Regency-era approximately 1 hour. lwtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/theatre-royal-drury-lane-tours
splendour, it is now the largest and most complete Georgian
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HISTORY
HERITAGE
LOST PROPERTY
PHOTOS: © ENGLISH HERITAGE TRUST/JASON INGRAM
The sight of abandoned houses – whether a palatial mansion or once-idyllic village

– cannot fail to stir the imagination. And each has its own human story to tell
WORDS ROSE SHEPHERD
BRITAIN
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PHOTOS:
HERITAGE
HERITAGE
Previous page: Fountain;

Witley Court's Appuldurcombe
South Front House;
Clockwise from below: Appuldurcombe's
Witley Court's roof was destroyed
Perseus and by a mine in the
Andromeda Second World War
P
rocol Harum’s 1967 hit A Whiter Shade of Pale
is one of the most haunting, enigmatic, elegiac
songs in the history of pop music. Haunting,
too, and enigmatic was the accompanying
video, which shows band members roaming the ruins
of a glorious Italianate mansion. Freestanding walls
that once enclosed French Renaissance-style interiors
shelter emptiness, open to the sky. No water plays in
the magnificent Perseus and Andromeda Fountain.
This is Witley Court, a spectacular monument to
human grandiosity and excess. Built for politician and
ironmaster Thomas Foley, who bought the estate in 1665,
it remained in the Foley family for 180 years, growing
over the generations into one of Europe’s foremost
private palaces. Soaring porticoes were added by the
Prince Regent’s architect, John Nash, a friend of another
Thomas Foley, 2nd Baron, a plump, profligate gambler
nicknamed ‘Lord Balloon’.
The debt-burdened Foleys were succeeded by William
Ward, later Earl of Dudley, and in turn
by Sir Herbert Smith, a carpet Freestanding walls that once enclosed
manufacturer. When fire gutted a wing
in 1937 and the insurers refused to pay, French Renaissance-style interiors shelter
Sir Herbert sold the mansion, with emptiness, open to the sky
scrappers demolishing it piecemeal.
It must have presented a woeful
spectacle when it was first cannibalised,
but time works its magic on ruins. The
religious houses despoiled in the Dissolution of the
Monasteries, once abominable eyesores, have grown over
centuries into ivy-clad beauties. Contemplation of wrecked
buildings invite ‘the romantic and conscious swimming
down the river of time’, as Rose Macaulay wrote in
Pleasure of Ruins (1954); they speak to us of vanished lives.
Few lives are more colourful than that of Seymour
Fleming, promiscuous wife of Sir Richard Worsley, 7th
Baronet, the heir to Appuldurcombe House in Wroxhall
on the Isle of Wight, a Baroque 18th-century masterpiece
in grounds landscaped by Capability Brown. Begun in
1702, it was much extended in the 1770s by Sir Richard,
PHOTOS:© ENGLISH HERITAGE TRUST/IAN TUSTIN/NORTHSCAPE/ALAMY
an avid collector of priceless antiquities, whose lawsuit war, a bombshell no less shattering blew apart the lives of
against one of Seymour’s numerous lovers brought him the residents of Imber, a thriving village on Salisbury Plain,
only public ridicule and a shilling in damages, and who with a pub, a school, a rectory and two churches. It arrived
left the estate mired in debt. in the form of a letter from the Ministry of Defence,
By 1855 the house was vacant, stripped and up for sale. instructing that the area was to be “evacuated and made
Between 1901 and 1907 it was home to Benedictine available for training” by no later than 17 December. “It is
monks, and in the Second World War it served as appreciated that apart from the distress the move will cause
barracks, before, in February 1943, a German bomber you, it must inevitably occasion direct expense for which
dropped a mine that blew the roof off. From a distance, it you have no legal redress against the Department.” Legend
appears intact and perfect, but Appuldurcombe is a ghost has it that the blacksmith, Albert Nash, was found by his
house, an empty shell, haunted, some say, by a phantom wife, slumped over his anvil, weeping like a baby. He
carriage and a brown-clad monk. would die, broken-hearted, within weeks. As for expense,
Nine months after Appuldurcombe became a casualty of the cost of “removal of furniture to your new home”
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HERITAGE
From a distance it appears intact and perfect, but

Appuldurcombe is an empty shell, haunted, some
say, by a phantom carriage and a brown-clad monk
PHOTOS:
HERITAGE
would be met, or storage charges covered, “until the Imber

area is again open for occupation”.
Promises, promises. Never more was Imber ‘open for
occupation’. However, on certain dates it is open to
sightseers, who find the grave of Albert Nash beside the
medieval St Giles’ Church, where the villagers were once
baptised and married and sang of all things bright and
beautiful. Every August a convoy of London Route Master
buses trundles across Salisbury Plain with passengers
fascinated to see the vestiges of Imber. You wait a year for
the 53A, then 25 come at once.
As the residents of Imber were under notice to evacuate,
the 220 residents of Tyneham in Dorset received a letter
from one Major General C.H. Miller, advising them that
the army needed the surrounding land for “the training of
the use in modern weapons of war”, so it must be cleared
of civilians. “The government appreciate that this is no
small sacrifice… but they are sure that you will give this
further help towards winning the war with a good heart.”
Ordered to quit by 19 December, the villagers left a note
on the church door: “Please treat the church and houses
with care; we have given up our homes where many of us
lived for generations to help win the war and keep men
free. We shall return one day and thank you for treating Clockwise from top
our village kindly.” Again, it was not to be. The houses left: The annual
were never returned to the villagers, and today they are convoy of buses
crumbling, empty shells. Reminders of the past can be travelling to Imber;
found in the church and school, which hold exhibitions on an abandoned
house in Imber; the
one-time village life, while a reinforced concrete K1 telephone kiosk at
telephone kiosk, number Kimmeridge 221, is a replica of Tyneham; a plaque
the original installed in 1929 – a dead ringer. commemorates
From Tyneham it is a pleasant drive to Hallsands in South the lost village of
Devon, once home to a small, close fishing community. On Hallsands; the
remains of a house
the night of 26 January 1917, with an easterly gale whipping in Hallsands;
up a freak high tide, Hallsands was swallowed by the sea. Imber Church
This is not, though, so much a story of the wrath of
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HERITAGE
On the night of 26 January 1917, with an

easterly gale whipping up a freak high tide,
Hallsands was swallowed by the sea
Nature, as of human venality and folly. In the 1890s, the

Admiralty had decreed that the naval dockyard at Keyham
should be expanded, and Sir John Jackson’s company was
contracted to dredge the shingle bank that had protected
Hallsands. By the time the dredging licence was revoked in
1902, half a million tons of shingle had been taken, part of
the sea wall had been washed away, and Hallsands’ houses
damaged. A year later, John Masefield, a future Poet
Laureate, warned that the settlement was “imminently
threatened by the sea… The fishermen are in danger of
utter ruin, and the first gale from the south-east is likely to
sweep the village from sight.”
And so it came to pass, with, miraculously, no loss of life,
and the homeless villagers embarked upon a seven-year
PHOTOS: © SHUTTERSTOCK/STEVE MCCARTHY/GARY PERKIN/ANDREW HARKER/BRIAN HARTSHORN/MARC HILL/ALAMY
battle for compensation. A single house was left habitable,

and here Elizabeth Pettyjohn lived, alone with her cat and
chickens, until her death in 1964, aged 80. From a viewing
platform you can look down on the atmospheric remains
and read on a plaque, words penned by Masefield:
But that its wretched ruins then,
Though sunken utterly
Will show how the brute greed of men
Helps feed the greedy sea.
PLAN AHEAD
● Witley Court, in the care of English Heritage, is open all year
(weekends only in winter). www.english-heritage.org.uk
● Appuldurcombe House is open from Friday to Sunday, April until
October. www.english-heritage.org.uk
● Imber is accessible for only a few days each year. A convoy of
London Route Master buses make the trip on one day each August.
imberbus.org
● Tyneham village is open most weekends and public holidays.
tynehamopc.org.uk
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HISTORY
Rhymes Royal
The role of Poet Laureate – the official writer of
verses for kings and queens – was first awarded four
centuries ago, but how has it evolved?
WORDS NEIL JONES
PHOTOS: © PRISMA BY DUKAS PRESSEAGENTUR GMBH/ALAMY
F
ive days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, a
poem entitled Floral Tribute, reflecting on her life
of service through the metaphor of her favourite
flower, the lily of the valley, was published in
her honour. It was the work of Simon Armitage, who
as Britain’s Poet Laureate was following in a long line
of tradition. Poets Laureate have waxed lyrical about
royal events from birthdays and jubilees to weddings
and funerals for centuries. Yet their role has also much
changed through time.
The title Poet Laureate echoes the Greek/Roman
tradition of honouring achievement with a crown of laurel,
a tree sacred to Apollo, patron of poets. The acerbically
funny actor-playwright Ben Jonson – born 450 years ago
this year – was an early appointee when King James I,
enamoured with the courtly masques Jonson penned,
rewarded him with a pension in 1616, augmented in 1630
by King Charles I with an annual “butt [126 gallons] of
Canary wine”.
The appointment of John Dryden as Poet Laureate in
1668 established the post as a royal office to be held for
life and to be filled automatically when it became
PHOTOS: © STEVEN WYNN/IANDAGNALL COMPUTING/HISTORICAL PICTURE ARCHIVE/ALAMY/HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY
vacant. A master of the classical style, Dryden had

deftly navigated volatile times, whether writing Heroic
Stanzas (1659) on the death of Cromwell, or welcoming
back Charles II at the Restoration with Astraea Redux
(1660) and gilding the royal image in Annus Mirabilis
1666. Duly rewarded with £100 a year and the requisite
butt of wine, Dryden further endeared himself to
Charles while Poet Laureate with satirical attacks
against royal enemies.
When Dryden embraced Roman Catholicism
just as Catholic James II became king, critics
accused the poet of political opportunism.
But his refusal to swear an oath of allegiance
when Protestant William and Mary came to
Rewarded with £100 a year

and a butt of wine, Dryden
endeared himself to Charles II
with attacks against royal enemies
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HISTORY
Henry Pye effused over the

marriage of the Prince of Wales
and Caroline of Brunswick,
though they detested each other
the throne in 1689 showed his convictions were genuine

– and got him the sack from the laureateship; the only
poet (so far!) to be stripped of office.
Dryden’s friend-turned-foe Thomas Shadwell
succeeded to the Laureate’s post and began the custom
of writing an ode to mark the New Year, as well as odes
(often sung) for the sovereign’s birthday, though his
Previous page: Poet's efforts proved somewhat lacklustre.
Corner at Shadwell’s successor, Nahum Tate, is celebrated today
Westminster Abbey
Left to right: John for having penned the popular carol While shepherds
Dryden became watched their flocks by night, but his Laureate poetry,
Poet Laureate in tending to sycophancy, is long forgotten. Writing for
1668; King Charles II; George I’s birthday in 1715, he extravagantly declared:
Queen Caroline of
“When Kings, that make the publick good their care, /
Brunswick; Henry
Pye's appointment Advance in dignity and state, / Their rise no envy can
create…” The Jacobites raised their standard of revolt
PHOTOS:
was likely a reward

for political favours just a few months later.
HISTORY
Lakeland Poet William Princess Caroline of Brunswick, though in reality the

royal couple detested each other. Appointments to uphold
Wordsworth took up the post the political establishment and second-rate verses aimed
only when assured he would not at burnishing royal images were diminishing the prestige
of the Laureate’s role.
be obliged to write official poetry Titan of the literary world Sir Walter Scott, unwilling
to write to order, wisely declined an invitation to
become the next Poet Laureate, yet as the 19th century
Cash-strapped country gent Henry Pye, a one-time MP dawned, a series of poets stepped up who would restore
and supporter of Prime Minister William Pitt, became lustre to the office.
ninth Poet Laureate in line from Dryden and got the Proposed by Scott, Robert Southey accepted the
traditional allowance of wine replaced by a payment of laureateship in 1813 and was glad of the income (he was
£27 a year. He effused over “the smiles of wedded love” caricatured by a contemporary as Mr Feathernest). An
when the Prince of Wales (later George IV) married erstwhile radical, he ignored jibes that the post meant
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HISTORY
Increased fame as Poet Laureate

meant Tennyson found his
privacy constantly invaded, but
his work continued to pour forth
assured him he would not be obliged to write any official
PHOTOS: © TRAVELER1116/ISTOCK/ALEX WEST/HENRY GUTTMANN COLLECTION/GETTY/SHUTTERSTOCK/EVENT HISTORICAL

poetry – which, uniquely, he didn’t.
Most of all, the quintessential Victorian, Alfred, Lord
Tennyson raised the status of the laureateship. The son of
a Lincolnshire vicar (you can follow a trail around his
childhood haunts), he was appointed to the role in 1850,
the same year that he was married and his most enduring
work, the elegiac In Memoriam A.H.H. to his friend
Arthur Hallam, was published.
he had sold out to the Establishment, remained Increased fame as Poet Laureate meant Tennyson
ensconced at Keswick in the Lake District and quietly Clockwise from bottom found his privacy constantly invaded on the Isle of
avoided writing royal birthday and New Year odes – the left: William Wight where he had settled (you can follow in his steps
‘curse’ of so many previous poetic Muses. Wordsworth on a literary trail here, too), but his work continued to
Southey focused instead on poems for public became Poet pour forth: from The Charge of the Light Brigade
occasions or on major events, including the Battle of Laureate at the age inspired by bravery and disaster at Balaclava in the
of 73; Wordsworth
Waterloo (1815) which prompted The Poet’s Pilgrimage was inspired by the Crimean War, to On the Jubilee of Queen Victoria. His
to Waterloo: “a little lowly place, / Obscure till now, landscapes of the magnificent Ode on the Death of the Duke of
when it hath risen to fame, / And given the victory its Lake District; Wellington segues into poignant humility in its final
English name.” Tennyson's poem on lines: “Speak no more of his renown, / Lay your earthly
Following Southey, who held the laureateship for 30 the death of the fancies down, / And in the vast cathedral leave him. /
Duke of Wellington
years, revered Lakeland Romantic poet William is one of his most God accept him, Christ receive him.”
Wordsworth, now nearly 73, would take up his late famous; Alfred, Lord After Tennyson’s death in 1892, the office of Poet
friend’s post only when Prime Minister Robert Peel Tennyson Laureate was left vacant for several years while it was
HISTORY
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HISTORY
pondered who could be a worthy successor. Among those Today the office of Poet Laureate
who followed, seven were incumbents during the reign of
Queen Elizabeth II, from John Masefield (of Sea-Fever is an honorary position offered to
fame) to Simon Armitage, 21st in line from Dryden. The
accessible, wry style of the much-loved Sir John Betjeman
a poet of national significance,
(Poet Laureate from 1972) ensured his poetry reached a approved by the monarch
wide audience, while “royal witch doctor” Ted Hughes
(from 1984) baffled and provoked with nature-infused incumbent – wrote about the 2009 parliamentary
outpourings like Rain-Charm for the Duchy celebrating the expenses scandal in Politics. West Yorkshire-based
occasion of Prince Harry’s christening. Armitage captured the experience, shared by many, of
PHOTOS: © NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/JOE CORNISH/PA IMAGES/ALAMY
Today the office of Poet Laureate is an honorary position being separated from a loved one in hospital during the
offered to a poet of national significance. There is no Left to right: pandemic in his poignant The Song Thrush and the
requirement to write about royal events, although many Tennyson Down on Mountain Ash (2020).
incumbents do. The appointment is approved by the the Isle of Wight was Modern Laureates have also used their role to promote
named after the
monarch acting on the advice of His Majesty’s poetry on the public stage. Armitage donates his
poet, who lived on
Government, and since Andrew Motion (1999) the post is the island for nearly Laureate’s Honorarium of £5,000 each year to support his
for a ten-year tenure. From 1984 the Laureate’s ‘butt of 40 years; Queen Laurel Prize for the best collection of eco or nature poetry.
Canary wine’ has been reinstated in the modern form of Elizabeth II presented Alongside this broadening of scope of course there still
720 bottles of sherry per tenure: a goodwill gift from the Simon Armitage remains a strong need for works like Armitage’s poem
with The Queen's
Sherry Producers of Spain. Floral Tribute, to draw the country together in
Gold Medal for
Recent Laureates have reinvigorated their role by Poetry upon his commemoration of royal occasions and national life:
writing about contemporary issues such as homelessness, appointment as “The country loaded its whole self into your slender hands,
while Dame Carol Ann Duffy – the first female Poet Laureate Hands that can rest, now, relieved of a century’s weight.”
48 BRITAIN
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Deck
the halls
PHOTOS: © HOLKHAM ESTATE
There’s nowhere better to soak up the atmosphere of Yuletides

past than in a stately home decorated for Christmas
WORDS SANDRA LAWRENCE
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STATELY HOMES
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STATELY HOMES
T
hat festive scene in every historical drama: our Previous page, left to
hero and heroine enjoying Christmas right: Holkham's
celebrations at the Big House: feasting, Marble Hall, decked
out in spectacular
dancing, a sparkling tree, presents for everyone fashion; Holkham
and Blind-Man’s Bluff. How true is the fantasy? As with Hall runs festive
anything historical, it depends. Christmas has swung in tours at Christmas
and out of fashion with the British gentry, but regular folk This page, left to right:
have never forgotten how to celebrate. Powis Castle will be
celebrating its Tudor
The winter solstice (21 December) was important past this Christmas;
enough for ancient people to align great monuments like Packwood House in
Stonehenge with the sunset. The Romans celebrated Warwickshire
Saturn, god of agriculture and plenty, at the raucous
winter festival of Saturnalia, and feasting gave country
people an excuse to eat the meat of any animals that
would not survive a long winter. There was little work to
do in frozen fields so labourers could take a well-earned
rest and let off steam with games and merrymaking.
The early Church did not want such pagan-influenced
traditions to continue but knowing there would be riots if
they stopped the fun, turned the celebrations towards
PHOTOS: © NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/PAUL HARRIS/ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL
Christianity, designating a midwinter ‘Christ Mass’ to

mark the birth of Christ. It was mainly a religious affair,
but workers needed rest after the long harvest, so
Christmas became a twelve-day festival, ending with
boisterous fun and games on Twelfth Night. Medieval
halls hung evergreen decorations and ‘kissing boughs’ of
greenery, fruits and, later, mistletoe, quietly forgetting any
pagan roots.
Henry VIII was a huge fan of Christmas, dancing,
feasting, and decorating his castles for the full twelve days.
His daughter Elizabeth celebrated no less joyfully and the
great Tudor houses of England followed her lead, inviting
PHOTO:©
travelling players, musicians and storytellers to entertain

their guests.
STATELY HOMES
For more stories of

stately homes,
see www.britain-
magazine.com
Left to right: Powis Packwood House in Warwickshire will be delving into its from the countryside to the cities, there was less time to
Castle's Long Gallery
Elizabethan past for this year’s decorations. Each room will celebrate. Factories did not shut down and there was no
was once a place for
Tudor ladies to be decorated differently, down the ages to the present day. longer a natural period of rest before Plough Monday, the
promenade; the In the 1930s, Packwood’s last owner, Graham Baron Ash, traditional start of the agricultural year following
Morning Room at started celebrating ‘Tudor’ Christmas again. The family Epiphany. Twelfth Night diminished, surviving mainly
Standen House visitor’s book proves that Packwood was ‘Open House’ at through the spiced ‘Twelfth Cake’. This tasty treat, the
decorated for this
Christmastime, and Ash even burned a traditional Yule Log spectacle of many a baker’s shop window, has come down
year's 1930 theme;
Chatsworth House in his ‘Great Hall’, created from a derelict barn. to us in much-reduced form as Christmas cake.
decked out for Christmas suffered a severe setback during the At Powis Castle in Wales, the family did not go in for
Christmas Commonwealth (1649-1660), following the execution of Christmas. Eleven-year-old Charlotte, daughter of Lady
Charles I, when Puritan laws forbade any kind of fun. It Henrietta Herbert and Edward Clive, does not mention
would take a couple of hundred years for the festival to Christmas once in her diary. The only time she records
recover. At Dyrham Park near Bristol, the focus of anything on 25 December, the entry merely reads
celebrations are on the wedding of William Blathwayt and “Colonel Close and a party dined with us.” Sugar plums
Mary Wynter that took were certainly not dancing
place after the Restoration Whether through Dickens, in her head.
PHOTOS: © NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/PAUL HARRIS/CHRIS LACEY/LAURENCE PERRY/DPC PHOTOGRAPHY

of Charles II, at Christmas Everything changed in the
1686. The house will be Prince Albert or just a general 19th century. Whether
decorated with evergreens to through Charles Dickens,
recall both celebrations.
change of mood, the Victorians Prince Albert or just a
Christmas Day still very became obsessed with Christmas general change of mood, the
much focused on church Victorians became obsessed
services, though the end of with Christmas. ‘Ancient’
the twelve-day period saw an opportunity for estate traditions were re-adopted and reinvented. Medieval ‘plum
owners to hold parties for their tenants. They presented porridge’ became Christmas pudding. Mince pies morphed
‘Christmas boxes’ (tips) to apprentices, servants, tradesmen from meat with a little dried fruit and sugar to the exact
and the poor. The gentry themselves, however, found opposite. The only ‘minced meat’ that survives in today’s
Christmas rather ‘common’ and celebrated less, preferring pies is suet.
small parties for friends, recitals, a little carol singing, card By the 1890s Christmas was in full swing and George,
games and home theatricals. Dyrham will be recognising 4th Earl of Powis, spent every Christmas at the Castle. He
this difference by decorating the kitchens with wreaths and started a new Powis tradition: a Christmas Day shooting
greenery, as though preparing for the estate feast, while in party which, of course, meant that everyone on the estate
the newly redecorated Great Hall, there will be a selection now had to work on Christmas Day. At least they got to
of 17th-century harpsichord music. decorate a large Christmas tree in the castle courtyard, a
In the 18th century, as labourers increasingly moved tradition continued to modern times. On Boxing Day,
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STATELY HOMES
STATELY HOMES
Top to bottom: The seems to have been the 1930s, despite what was, for many,
Great Hall at Ham the beginning of the end for the grand country house
House in Richmond;
lifestyle. Estate children at Powis were invited to the castle
visitors to Holkham
Hall this Christmas for a tea party, hosted by Mervyn, Viscount Clive. Gathered
will be treated to in the ballroom, they waited excitedly for Father Christmas
festive scenes in the to arrive with a giant cracker on a sledge.
Old Kitchen This year, Standen House in West Sussex will be
celebrating a 1930s Christmas as celebrated by the Beale
family. Built in 1894, the house remained in the same family
until it was passed to the National Trust in 1972, and there
are many first-hand accounts of the people who lived or
worked there. The Trust even has the original present lists
made by Mrs Beale for her children and servants. Standen’s
festive decorations are based on specific memories, including
the story of Mr Beale (the grandfather) dressing as Father
Christmas and ‘coming down’ the chimney. The children,
herded in the hall, listened with mounting excitement to a
dreadful clattering coming from the fireplace next door.
“We rushed in and there he was just as expected standing
by the big Christmas tree, and gruffly presenting each one
with splendid presents,” remembered one overawed child
many years later. The suit ‘Grandfather’ Christmas wore
that magical day will be on display.
The children, herded in the hall, Standen is lucky in that it has documentary evidence of
listened with excitement to a Christmases past. Most old houses do not come with such
riches. At 17th-century Ham House, Richmond, there is no
clattering from the fireplace specific reference to what must have been many Christmas
celebrations. Sticking rigidly to 17th-century decorations
estate workers and their families were invited to the castle would mean missing out many features modern visitors
to see the tree, and the Earl presented the children with would miss – not least our adored Christmas trees, which
gifts. The staff had to wait until New Year’s Day, however, were only popularised in Victorian times – and Ham have
for their party in the Servants’ Hall. Servants’ gifts were chosen to create a more general festive feel. This allows
generally small – children might expect an orange or a both swags of traditional foliage in the house and a
small toy, while servants might receive a dress length, selection of sugar treats that would have formed the classic
woollen jumper, piece of meat or an umbrella. Sometimes Twelfth Night celebrations. After all, these houses have
such presents were randomised into a ‘lucky dip’ tub filled seen all these joyful traditions – and more – across many
with bran beside the twinkling tree. centuries, and modern celebrations are as important as any
One of the best times to have been staff at Christmastime that may have gone beforehand.
THE BEST DISPLAYS OF CHRISTMAS PAST
Powis Castle, Wales The castle’s Long Gallery, staircase and giant baubles dangle from the
decked out in greenery and scented with dried ceiling. Christmas candlelit tours of the house
oranges and cinnamon, will revisit its Tudor are magical. www.holkham.co.uk
past as a turnabout promenade for ladies. Moseley Old Hall, Staffordshire The year is
www.nationaltrust.org.uk 1652 and Oliver Cromwell has banned Christ-
PHOTOS: © NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/CHRIS DAVIES/HOLKHAM ESTATE
Chatsworth House, Derbyshire This year, mas, but Moseley is celebrating regardless, with
Chatsworth is celebrating a Nordic Christmas, board games in the Parlour and 17th-century
with pieces from the Devonshire collections sweet treats to taste too. www.nationaltrust.org.uk
woven into the displays. www.chatsworth.org Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire This grand
Chastleton, Oxfordshire The house will Regency castle will be kitted out with Regency-
be dressed for a 1960s country Christmas, a style decorations, its state rooms adorned with
reminder of the parties hosted by one-time festive lights. www.belvoircastle.com
owners the Clutton-Brocks. The Vyne, Hampshire Transformed for a
www.nationaltrust.org.uk Victorian Christmas, The Vyne’s rooms will
Holkham Hall, Norfolk The columns of 18th- be filled with decorations and Christmas trees
century Holkham’s Marble Hall are wrapped dripping with beads, candles, cornucopias and
in fairy lights, while Christmas trees line the cherubs. www.nationaltrust.org.uk
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Experience you can Trust
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Pageantry &
MAJESTY
The grand state funeral for Britain’s longest-serving monarch drew on royal
traditions and ceremonies that date back centuries
WORDS ROSE SHEPHERD
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PHOTO:
HISTORY
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“H
istory is now and in England”, wrote
T.S. Eliot in ‘Little Gidding’, last of his
Four Quartets. And who could not
have felt it, watching the funeral of
Queen Elizabeth II in the hallowed 12th-century space of
Westminster Abbey? The pomp, the pageantry, the livery
and plumes, the heroic, scarlet-clad Grenadier pallbearers,
the heralds and pursuivants, the trumpets, the lone
bagpiper’s lament…
For ninety-six minutes, on the minute, in the Elizabeth
Tower, the tenor bell had tolled. Ninety-eight Royal Navy
Ratings of the Sovereign’s Guard had pulled the gun carriage
bearing the lead-lined coffin; 40 came behind. They were
flanked by service equerries, members of the King’s Body
Guards of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms,
the Yeomen of the Guard and Royal Company of Archers.
Behind walked Charles III and the Royal Family, while
ahead went 200 pipers and drummers from Scottish and
Irish regiments, the Gurkhas and Royal Air Force.
Previous page: The
Nothing so connects us to our past as the monarchy. Queen’s funeral
Dynasties have come and gone. The Houses of Denmark, cortège makes its
Normandy, Blois, the Angevins, Plantagenets, Tudors, way along The Mall
Stuarts, Netherlanders, Hanoverians, Sax-Coburg-Gotas, during the
in a dazzling succession broken only by Oliver Cromwell’s Lying-in-State
procession on 14
dreary interregnum. September 2022
State funerals are part of a centuries-long tradition, Clockwise from left:
deriving from heraldic royal funerals, deeply emotive, 98 Royal Navy
charged with symbolism, changing with the times. Many sailors pulled the
of those who lined the Mall had never witnessed a state gun carriage
carrying the
funeral; very few remember four. Queen's coffin after
St George’s Chapel, Windsor, where the late Queen now her funeral; Sir
lies with her ‘strength and stay’, Prince Philip, hosted the Winston Churchill's
state funerals of George V and VI, in 1936 and 1952. On funeral procession
30 January 1965, Sir Winston Churchill’s state funeral was on 30 January 1965;
King Charles III
conducted at St Paul’s Cathedral. Normally the preserve of followed behind his
the sovereign, state funerals have been granted to such rare, mother's coffin with
towering figures as Sir Isaac Newton, Horatio Nelson and his siblings and sons
Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington.
Some 300,000 people came to pay Henry III, Richard II, Henry V, James
State funerals are part of a centuries-
PHOTOS: © 2022 GETTY IMAGES/LEON NEAL/NARIMAN EL-MOFTY/THE PRINT COLLECTOR/SOPA IMAGES LIMITED/ALAMY
their respects as Sir Winston lay in I, Charles II, Mary II, Queen Anne,
state in stupendous Westminster Hall, long tradition, deriving from heraldic George II, and numerous consorts,
Parliament’s oldest edifice. Built in dukes, princes, princesses. Inimical in
1097, in the reign of William Rufus, it royal funerals, deeply emotive and life, united in death, the Catholic Mary
has been the scene of feasts and jousts I shares a tomb with her half-sister, the
and coronation banquets, and of the charged with symbolism Protestant Elizabeth I; their half-
fateful trials of William Wallace, Sir brother, the boy king Edward VI, is
Thomas More and Charles I. interred before the altar. Among effigies displayed are those
The funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, and of of Edward III, his face a death mask; Mary I, Elizabeth I,
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother in 2002, though held James I, Charles II, and a seated Queen Anne. Time, like an
in Westminster Abbey with the full panoply of state, were ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away.
‘ceremonial’. Prince Philip, wanting none of the ‘fuss’, Royal funerals of the 16th and early 17th centuries were
declined the razzmatazz for his funeral in 2021, at St elaborate affairs, reaching their apogee in 1625 with James
George’s, with a green Land Rover ‘hearse’, modified to VI and I, whose body lay in state in Denmark House (now
his own specification. Somerset House). Chief mourner Charles I accompanied a
A place of worship and celebration, of coronations and hearse designed by Inigo Jones to the Abbey, where the
royal weddings, Westminster Abbey is, too, a royal Bishop of Lincoln gave a two-hour sermon.
mausoleum, “a frozen requiem, with a nation’s prayer ever After the Civil War, royal funerals became more low-key
in dumb music ascending”, as American author Mary and private. The exception was that of Mary II, who died
Elizabeth Wilson Sherwood expressed it. The sombre roll of smallpox in 1694, and lay in state in Banqueting House
call of royalty buried here includes former reigning in Whitehall, before a ceremony in the Abbey with music
monarchs, among them Edward the Confessor, Edward I, composed by Henry Purcell. Both Houses of Parliament
HISTORY
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HISTORY
attended; Mary’s inconsolable husband, William III, did

not. Their wax effigies are displayed in the Queen’s
Diamond Jubilee Galleries high above the abbey floor, a
crown between them signifying their joint monarchy.
Responsibility for state funerals falls to the Earl
Marshall, a hereditary position held by the Dukes of
Norfolk, descendants of Edward I, who, since the 16th
century, have had authority over the kings of arms, heralds
and pursuivants at the College of Arms. However,
Clockwise from left:
monarchs themselves make their own plans.
The Queen's coffin is
In accordance with Queen Victoria’s wish to be buried carried into St
with full military honours “like a soldier’s daughter” for George's Chapel;
her funeral on 2 February 1901, her white coffin was Queen Victoria's
carried on a gun carriage. She was clothed in a white dress funeral procession;
the Queen's corgis
and her wedding veil, and in the coffin with her were laid a
had a part in her
dressing gown belonging to the late Prince Albert, a plaster funeral procession;
cast of his hand, and a lock of hair from John Brown, Emma, the Queen's
former ghillie, Victoria’s friend and confidant. fell pony, stood by as
Proceedings descended into farce when the eight white her hearse drove
past; a note on the
horses from the Royal Horse Artillery, who were to draw
Queen's coffin reads
the carriage, panicked and broke their traces. Captain 'In loving and
Prince Louis of Battenberg, Prince Philip’s future devoted memory.
grandfather, saved the day, offering the Royal Navy, who Charles R.'
were lining the route, to pull the carriage to St George’s
Chapel, and so a tradition was born. As Victoria was
buried at the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, beside Prince
Albert, her dreams of an all-white funeral were fulfilled,
as, outside, the sleet turned to snow.
The custom of the sovereign lying in state in
Westminster Hall was instituted for Edward VII in 1910.
Thousands queued in the rain to see him (“They’re givin’
’im back to us!” a young woman cried), and over three
days a half a million people passed through. For the
cortège, on Friday 20 May, a Highland soldier walked
behind the coffin, while in front trotted the king’s devoted
fox terrier, Caesar (nicknamed ‘Stinky’), ahead of the
largest ever gathering of European royalty, to the ire of
Kaiser Wilhelm II.
The advances in broadcast media
allowed for wider public involvement
As Victoria was buried, her dreams
in the funeral of George V, while of an all-white funeral were fulfilled
George VI’s funeral procession was
the first to be televised. as, outside, sleet turned to snow
Elizabeth II ordained that her
funeral be held in Westminster Abbey, where she married
and was crowned, instead of the far smaller St George’s
Chapel. The late Queen’s funeral was the first of any British
monarch to be televised, and the live streaming of these
events was watched by 4.1 billion people of the world’s 7.9
billion population.
The late Queen is said to have been involved in every
PHOTOS: © THE PRINT COLLECTOR/PA IMAGES/ALAMY
aspect of the planning. As well as the pomp and pageantry

to be expected at a state funeral, there were also some deeply
affecting personal moments. Next to the Crown Jewels on
the Queen’s coffin lay a wreath of flowers including rosemary,
for remembrance, and myrtle cut from a plant which was
grown from the Queen’s wedding bouquet. Many of the
pieces of music chosen were first heard at her wedding and
coronation. And as a deeply affecting personal touch, at
Windsor her two corgis, Sandy and Muick, and favourite
horse, Emma, awaited her return for a last goodbye.
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WEEKENDER
SANDWICH
One of Britain’s best-preserved
H
ome to what is thought to be the the Roman amphitheatre, and take a closer
longest unbroken stretch of look at the hundreds of curious Roman
timber-framed properties in medieval settlements, this artefacts uncovered during the site’s
England, the small medieval town of pretty Kent town has a excavation. The fort, in the care of English
Sandwich in Kent attracts visitors from all Heritage, is at the end of an extensive
over the world. fascinating history restoration project and is due to reopen in
The town’s connection with the food item WORDS HENRIETTA EASTON 2023 with a brand-new revamped visitor
has undoubtedly given the town a fair experience. The Sandwich Riverbus runs
amount of fame. It was supposedly invented place of the Roman invasion of Britain in daily boat trips to Richborough Roman
by John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, in AD 43 and perhaps the most symbolically Fort from the town.
around 1762. As the story goes, not important of all Roman sites in the country, Although it now lies two miles from the
wanting to interrupt his gambling for a witnessing both the beginning and the end sea, Sandwich was once a major port. An
meal, the Earl ordered his valet to bring of Roman rule here. important place of trade and production
him a snack of meat between two slices of Once a large, bustling settlement, right up until the end of the Roman
bread – and the rest is history. But the town visitors can now admire the fort’s mighty occupation, it was later a stop-off for
PHOTO: © PEARLBUCKNALL/ALAMY
has a fascinating story of its own that dates walls and surviving foundations, explore medieval pilgrims on their way to
back much further than the 4th Earl. Canterbury and travellers to London. It
Sitting evocatively amongst the was one of the Cinque Ports: a medieval
Above: Sandwich is famous for its assortment of
atmospheric Kent marshes, just up the river medieval and historic architecture Next page, from left:
confederation of English Channel ports
from the town, lie the remains of the Richborough Roman Fort; a rare Deptford Pink created to provide ships and men for the
Roman fort of Richborough, the landing flower at Pegwell Bay Nature Reserve; the Quay king’s service.
WEEKENDER
Sandwich has also been the site of some Elizabeth I granted Flemish settlers the
pivotal moments in British history. In right to settle in Sandwich, and they TRAVEL ESSENTIALS
1194, King Richard the Lionheart landed brought with them many skills in
here on his return to England from the architecture and market gardening. In fact, GETTING THERE
Third Crusade. Less than 20 years later, in the late 16th century Sandwich was the Trains from London to Sandwich take
Prince Louis of France invaded here during only town in England that housed more around 1hr 45min and leave from Blackfriars,
a great sea-battle known as the Battle of so-called ‘strangers’ than Englishmen. Victoria, London Bridge and St Pancras stations.
Sandwich, in support of the English barons For more on the town’s rich history, the www.thetrainline.com
against the unpopular King John. Sandwich Guildhall Museum is well worth
The French invaded again in 1457, sending a visit, housing Roman relics, ancient coins WHERE TO STAY
a raiding party of 4,000 men to Kent. and an original copy of the Magna Carta, The Bell Hotel dates to Tudor times and
Sandwich was pillaged, with much of the found in 2015. It is thought that this still retains many of its original features, with
PHOTOS: © WWW.JIMHOLDEN.CO.UK/NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/RICHARD ALLEN/DAVID ASKHAM/ALAMY

town burned to the ground and the mayor, medieval document could have inspired the plenty of modern luxuries. With an enviable
John Drury, murdered. Ever since, according young political activist Thomas Paine, who location on the Quay overlooking the River
to tradition the Mayor of Sandwich has lived in Sandwich in 1759 and became one Stour, the hotel boasts an outdoor terrace which
worn a black robe in mourning for this of the most influential writers during the provides the perfect spot for a drink after a day
ignoble deed. American Revolution. exploring. www.bellhotelsandwich.co.uk
A picture-perfect hodgepodge of As for Kent’s superb natural offerings,
medieval, Tudor and Georgian buildings tell Pegwell Bay Nature Reserve is just a short WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
the town’s fascinating story. The impressive drive away, or about an hour’s walk along Having been a ‘dwelling house’ since 1491
Fisher Gate on the Quay dates back to 1384 the Kent Coast Path. As well as a beautiful and a pub since the 18th century, the Crispin Inn
and is the only one of the original medieval beach to explore, the reserve is known for embodies Sandwich’s medieval history and serves
town gates to survive the fire. The nearby its migrating waders and wildfowl. traditional pub fare made using local ingredients, in
Barbican, with its distinctive chequered Whether or not the tale of the Earl of a cosy setting. For something more contemporary,
facade, is worth a look too. Dating from the Sandwich’s sandwich is really true, visitors The Toll Bridge on the riverside serves fresh and
15th century and standing at the end of the to this pretty and historic town will surely delicious seafood and regularly hosts music
bridge over the River Stour, it was once agree on one thing: it’s the best thing since evenings. thecrispin-sandwich.co.uk; thetollbridge.co.uk
used as a tollhouse. sliced bread.
Those clued up on their Flemish FURTHER INFORMATION
architecture may also notice a smattering of  For more on what to see and do in the historic www.visitkent.co.uk
distinctive curly Dutch gables. In 1561, county of Kent, see www.britain-magazine.com
BRITAIN
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• REGENCY CASTLE •
• FORMAL GARDENS • WOODLAND WALKS•
• AFTERNOON TEA • EVENTS •
• ENGINE YARD SHOPPING VILLAGE •
• CAFE & GIN BAR •
BRAND NEW ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND
Email groups@belvoircastle.com for exclusive discounts
@belvoircastle | www.belvoircastle.com
Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, NG32 1PE
©VisitBritain/Sarah Smith
See the whole world in one place at

the Old Royal Naval College, London
visitbritain.com
RURAL BRITAIN
Passing
THE TEST The timeless Test Valley, criss-crossed with chalk rivers and
dotted with quaint villages, sits in a landscape that’s long been
revered for its pastoral beauty
WORDS BRENDAN SAINSBURY
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RURAL BRITAIN
RURAL BRITAIN
Characterised by flower-filled
water meadows, elegant weeping
willows and gin-clear streams,
the surroundings are as distinctly
English as cricket and cream teas
C
halk rivers, their clear, sparkling waters gliding
over flinty gravel beds, are extremely rare.
There are barely 200 of them worldwide, the
lion’s share in southern and eastern England.
Characterised by flower-filled water meadows, elegant
weeping willows and gin-clear channels crowded with
darting trout and grayling, their pastoral surroundings are
as distinctly English as cricket and cream teas.
Hampshire’s River Test is arguably Britain’s finest chalk
river, and the valley through which it flows stretches from
the chalk uplands of the Hampshire Downs to
Southampton Water on the cusp of the English Channel.
Within its watershed lies a patchwork of landscapes
replete with the quintessential motifs of rural Hampshire:
thatched cottages, flint-stone churches, curiously named
pubs, and somnolent villages whose population counts
haven’t changed much in a thousand years.
While the region’s narrow lanes are navigable by car, the
main villages are conveniently linked by a long-distance
footpath, the Test Way, which parallels the eponymous
river from Longparish down to Eling just outside
Southampton, some of it along the old Andover to
Redbridge railway line.
As you follow the river, its unique characteristics slowly
reveal themselves. Timid deer on the river banks, attentive
kingfishers atop low overhanging trees, and a smattering of
red-bricked watermills that once produced corn, silk and
paper but, more recently, have been reinvented as
residences, distilleries and museums.
Nestled in a dell in the manner of many English villages,
Hurstbourne Tarrant lies on the southern reaches of the
North Wessex Downs, a designated Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty. As befits any self-respecting Hampshire
village, it supports a tea-room, a primary school, a pub,
timeless country cottages, and a traditional red phone box
turned into a book exchange.
The small local church, St Peter’s, is a classic English
hybrid: walls from the 13th century, windows from the late
medieval period, bells from the early 1700s and a wooden
tower dating from 1897. The result is a diminutive but
dashingly handsome whole.
Pretty St Mary Bourne, three miles to the southeast, goes
one better. The square-towered flint church (also named St
Previous page: Dawn
Peter’s) guards a rare Tournai-style baptismal font from the over the Test Valley
12th century. Originally crafted in Belgium, it’s one of only Opposite, top to
seven left in Britain. bottom: Wherwell is
Stretched out alongside the Test near its confluence with home to the finest
the Bourne chalk stream, Longparish is made up of four collection of
thatched cottages in
conjoined hamlets. The cricket team was once one of the Hampshire;
best village sides in the country and the local pub, an old a riverside pub does
coaching inn, is called The Cricketers in honour of a sport booming business
that traces much of its early development to Hampshire. near Stockbridge
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ILLUSTRATION: © LAURA HALLETT. PHOTOS: © STUART BLACK/ALAMY/JON ARNOLD/TRAVEL PIX COLLECTION/AWL IMAGES
c0376237-aee6-40be-b0db-564dff3ef604
69 BRITAIN
RURAL BRITAIN
The local fishing club is the oldest
in the country. Membership is
restricted to 25 people; it helps if
your name is prefixed with ‘lord’
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RURAL BRITAIN
Clockwise from bottom On a lazy summer weekend, follow the sound of leather
left: Mottisfont's rose balls cracking against willow bats to Longparish Cricket
garden is at its best in
Club, where the wooden player’s pavilion is embellished
June; Mottisfont is
an 18th-ccentury with a thatched roof.
building with a Nearby, on the fringes of the former royal hunting
medieval priory at its grounds of Harewood Forest, some careful sleuthing
heart; the River Test through woodland will reveal Dead Man’s Plack, a mossy
runs straight
and haunting monument shrouded by tall trees.
through Stockbridge
Comprising a 70ft-high stone cross atop an inscribed
pedestal, it was raised in 1825 to commemorate an event
that took place 862 years earlier, in 963, when the Saxon
English king Edgar I allegedly slayed his rival in love, an
East Anglian nobleman named Æthelwold, by stabbing
him in the back.
Edgar also has connections to Wherwell, a small village
four miles southwest of Longparish, where his wife Queen
Elfrida founded an abbey for Benedictine nuns in 986 as
penance for her husband’s crime. Outlasting wars and
plagues, the abbey survived until Henry VIII dissolved the
monasteries in the 1530s. The site today is occupied by
Wherwell Priory, a large house and estate with an
affiliated fishery. Wherwell also possesses what is,
possibly, the finest collection of thatched cottages in
Hampshire. A row of terraced dwellings here perfectly
reflects the vernacular country style: whitewashed walls,
wooden crossbeams, ‘eyebrow’ windows and simple
ornamentation atop a curved gabled roof.
Genteel Stockbridge is an anomaly: a town with a
wealthy, upmarket air whose population is smaller than
most of the surrounding villages. Arranged on either side
of a single broad High Street, the place oozes refinement
and class. This is a great spot to get more closely
acquainted with the braided channels of the River Test
teeming with trout as they flow through town. Of all the
fishing spots on the river, Stockbridge is the most
exclusive. Local institution the Houghton Fishing Club,
founded in 1822, is the oldest in the country. Membership
is restricted to 25 people, and it helps if your name is
prefixed with ‘lord’.
PHOTOS: © NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/JAMES DOBSON/JONATHAN BUCKLEY/MAURITIUS IMAGES GMBH/ALAMY
The High Street counts a town hall, a hotel where you

can partake in afternoon tea, and a steady stream of
well-heeled window-shoppers.
From Stockbridge, the Test Way pitches due south to
Mottisfont, known for its grand mansion, a former priory
now run by the National Trust. The house contains a
small art gallery but is mostly known for its sweeping
grounds that include woodland and a famous rose garden
that’s at its most exuberant in June.
Romsey, the second largest Test Valley town after
Andover, is one of southern England’s great
understatements; its glories are often overshadowed by its
proximity to the nearby cathedral cities of Salisbury and
Winchester. Bisected by the Test – wide and serene at this
point in its course, but still crystal-clear – its watermills
were mentioned in the Domesday Book while its Norman
abbey dates back even further. The church is free to visit,
and custodians will enthusiastically impart the details of
its long history. Earl Mountbatten of Burma is buried in
the abbey, where he was once a regular member of the
RURAL BRITAIN
Top to bottom: The

abbey at Romsey
was founded in AD THE PLANNER
907 when it was the
church of a GETTING THERE
Benedictine South Western Railway services from London Waterloo
nunnery; the abbey
was rebuilt in stone connect to Romsey (1hr 30min) and Andover (1hr). Local buses
between AD 1130 serve outlying villages, although connections can be sporadic.
and 1140 Alternatively, you can hire a car or a bike or – even better – walk
along part of the Test Way. It’s approximately 26 miles from
Hurstbourne Tarrant to Romsey. www.southwesternrailway.com
WHERE TO STAY AND EAT

The White Horse, Romsey is a gorgeously restored
14th-century coaching inn in Romsey’s main square. This
PHOTOS: © JON ARNOLD IMAGES LTD/ALAMY/DOMINIC BRENTON
congregation. Nearby Broadlands, his former home, where historic heirloom has cosy warped corridors and small but
the late Queen and Prince Philip spent their honeymoon, comfortable rooms. The adjoining restaurant serves up
has sweeping lawns that kiss the banks of the River Test. substantial English breakfasts and delicate afternoon teas.
It’s open for guided tours in April and August. The Grosvenor Hotel in Stockbridge is a recently refurbished
From Romsey, the Test meanders slowly towards the sea, boutique hotel on Stockbridge’s smart High Street. Aside from
where it becomes tidal and merges with the River Itchen in chic rooms, it has a secluded garden, restaurant, library, bar
Southampton. It was from here that the Titanic set sail on and fabulous wood-panelled lounge with eclectic furnishings.
its fatal voyage in 1912. Surrounded by ships and industry, www.whitehorsehotelromsey.co.uk; www.thegrosvenorstockbridge.com
the busy, wide estuary feels a long way from the trickling
chalk stream 40 miles to the north. FURTHER INFORMATION
www.testvalley.gov.uk/communityandleisure/tourism
For more on Hampshire see www.britain-magazine.com
BRITAIN
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• See the Kirk where

Adam Smith’s story
began with his

baptism as a baby
• Climb the 15th Century
tower for panoramic
views of the sea
side town where he
wrote “The Wealth of
Nations”, and ring the
ancient bell first cast
in 1553.
• Take the guided
heritage tour of Adam
Smith’s Kirkcaldy and
learn about life in a
bustling mediaeval
Scottish seaport.
• Take in a play about
Smith’s life and how
his thought has
influenced economics
Visit Kirkcaldy Old Kirk to the present day,
or a concert by
2023 Adam Smith’s Tercentenary one of his musical
contemporaries
Experience 1000 years of heritage inside
from Mozart to
Kirkcaldy’s oldest building. Trace your Robert Burns, all in
Scottish ancestors and view the beautiful the Old Kirk.
stained glass windows by famous artists.
Tour the historic grave-yard for stories
from stones of those who are buried there.
Birth place and Burial place of Rev. George
Gillespie, 17th century Covenanting
statesman and orator - view the exhibition!
Maintained by Kirkcaldy Old Kirk Trust for
the community. Within easy reach from
Edinburgh – take train or coach ride along
fantastic Fife coast over one of the three historic Forth bridges.
www.kirkcaldyoldkirktrust.org.uk
+44 (0)1592 265499
c0376237-aee6-40be-b0db-564dff3ef604
One Day & Multi-Day Tailor Made
Private Tours for the Discerning
www.bhctours.co.uk | info@bhctours.co.uk | +44 (0)1303 258193
74 BRITAIN
c0376237-aee6-40be-b0db-564dff3ef604 www.britain-magazine.com
CITY GUIDE
SALISBURY
Home to the tallest cathedral spire in Britain and the world’s best-preserved
Magna Carta, Salisbury is a historic treasure trove
WORDS DAVID ADAMS
M
ost English cathedral cities are much older Sarum, although it would have been difficult to fire an
than the cathedrals themselves, with arrow two miles, even with the north wind blowing a gale.
histories reaching back into the Roman The subsequent course of events led to the creation of
era or earlier. Salisbury is the exception one of the most magnificent sights in the British Isles:
that proves the rule: a medieval ‘new town’ laid out on a the dizzying spire of Salisbury Cathedral. Built in 1320,
grid of streets alongside the cathedral in the 13th century. 404 feet high, it is the largest spire in Britain and taller
But one of the best views of city and cathedral is from than any other spire built before 1400 that is still
the ramparts of Old Sarum, on a hillside not quite two standing anywhere. Drive or walk over the hills that
miles to the north. Once an Iron Age surround Salisbury and it is this
hillfort, it was later the site of a According to legend, the location of majestic stone structure that you see
medieval castle and the original before anything else.
cathedral, until the 13th century,
the new cathedral was determined But there is much more to Salisbury
when Bishop Richard Poore led the by the fall of an arrow fired than its cathedral. At the heart of the
clergy down into the valley to build city, the market square has been the
the present cathedral. This windy from the hilltop of Old Sarum city’s focal point since a market was
hilltop, now home only to some first held here in 1227 and the streets
picturesque ruins, is where the centre of this cathedral around it are full of good places to eat, drink and shop.
city really ought to be. There are as many historical buildings and sights as
Old Sarum was abandoned for several reasons, you’d expect to find in a cathedral city, including the
ILLUSTRATION: © LIZ KAY
including a lack of space, the difficulty of obtaining fresh gates through the remaining stretches of the old city wall
water and a dispute with the garrison of the castle. into the Cathedral Close; while in the historic Close
According to legend, the location of the new cathedral itself, you’ll find an array of architectural styles ranging
was determined by the fall of an arrow fired from Old from the 13th to the 20th centuries.
1 SALISBURY
CATHEDRAL
The Cathedral has Britain’s tallest
spire, largest cloisters and the world’s
oldest clock. Join one of the Tower
Tours for the chance to sample the
best views available of the city centre
as you look out over the green lawns
of the Cathedral Close, fringed by
many of the city’s most beautiful
buildings, the medieval streets and
market square to the north and the
water meadows to the west.
www.salisburycathedral.org.uk
2 CHAPTER HOUSE
One of the four original copies of
Magna Carta, dating back to 1215, is
housed in the cathedral’s beautiful
14th-century Chapter House. Look
out too for the detailed stone frieze
depicting scenes from Genesis and
Exodus, including Noah’s Ark and
the Tower of Babel.
www.salisburycathedral.org.uk
3 ARUNDELLS
Arundells, a gorgeous 18th-century
house in the Close, was the home of
former Prime Minister Sir Edward
Heath until his death in 2005. Built
on the site of a medieval canonry, the
house is still filled with Sir Edward’s
belongings. Two acres of beautifully
kept gardens slope away gently behind
the house, down to the river.
arundells.org
4 MOMPESSON
HOUSE
PHOTOS: © TOURISM IRELAND/ TITANIC BELFAST
On Chorister Green, a picturesque

rectangle of lawn in a corner of the
Cathedral Close, Mompesson House is
an elegant 18th-century affair, now
furnished in the style of Queen Anne’s
reign (1702-14). You might recognize it
as one of the locations used in the film
Sense and Sensibility. Don’t miss
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CITY GUIDE
The Cathedral
the little tea room in the garden, where
has Britain’s you can sip tea in the sunshine beside
tallest spire, the lawn, like a lady or gentleman of
leisure of the 18th century.
largest cloisters www.nationaltrust.org.uk
and the world’s

oldest clock 5 ST THOMAS’S
CHURCH
This church was built to serve the
spiritual needs of the people who built
the cathedral, and it’s still thriving.
Marvel at the vast 15th-century
Doom Painting, thought to be the
largest in England. Painted in 1475, it
shows Christ at the Day of
Judgement, casting sinners into Hell
and sending the righteous to Heaven.
It was whitewashed over during the
Reformation and only rediscovered by
chance in the 19th century.
www.stthomassalisbury.co.uk
6 SALISBURY
MUSEUM
PHOTOS: © TONY WATSON/ANGELA HAMPTON PICTURE LIBRARY/TREVOR WARR/ALAMY/JAKE EASTHAM/NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/NADIA MACKENZIE/BERTL123/ASH MILLS
In the Cathedral Close, this museum is
a good place to find out more about the
Neolithic heritage of this part of
Wiltshire: Salisbury lies within one of
the richest areas of prehistoric human
sites anywhere in the country. The
wide-ranging collections range from
archaeology to fine art and fashion. A
prize exhibit is the Amesbury Archer,
whose grave contained the richest array
of items ever found from this period.
salisburymuseum.org.uk
7 TOWN PATH
The scenic Town Path runs beside
streams across the water meadows
between Salisbury and the
neighbouring suburb of Harnham. It
offers the best views of the cathedral
from the valley floor; it was from a
spot near the path at the Salisbury
end that John Constable painted one
of his most celebrated works,
Salisbury Cathedral From The
Meadows, in 1831.
www.salisburywatermeadows.
org.uk
CITY GUIDE
8 STONEHENGE
Salisbury makes an excellent base for
visiting the mystical stone circle of
Stonehenge. No matter how many
times you have seen pictures of it,
nothing compares to getting up close
to this awe-inspiring ancient
monument, thought to date back
4,500 years.
www.english-heritage.org.uk
9 WILTON HOUSE
The little town of Wilton, just a few
miles west of Salisbury, is dominated
by this magnificent stately home, seat
of the Earl of Pembroke, where you
can admire some of the finest
17th-century Palladian exteriors and
interiors in England.
www.wiltonhouse.co.uk
10 OLD SARUM
There is not much left of the Iron Age
fortification of Old Sarum, beyond
the crumbling flint of the old castle
walls, the deep ditches outside the
ramparts and the outline of the old
cathedral, picked out in stone on the
ground. But it’s an evocative place,
and the views back over pretty
Salisbury are spectacular.
www.english-heritage.org.uk
PHOTOS: © ENGLISH HERITAGE TRUST/ENGLISH HERITAGE PHOTO LIBRARY/SIMON UPTON
THE PLANNER
GETTING THERE WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK aubergine and apricot chutney, or chalk stream
South Western Railway trains run from For afternoon tea with a view of the famous trout with roast cauliflower, caviar sauce,
London Waterloo to Salisbury (1hr 30min). spire, head for the Bell Tower Tea Rooms gooseberry and chervil. Salisbury has many
www.thetrainline.com overlooking the cathedral's north lawn, which historic pubs; try the wood-beamed Haunch of
serves up excellent cream teas and afternoon teas. Venison, whose history dates back 700 years and
WHERE TO STAY The Cathedral's Refectory Restaurant also boasts which is said to be haunted.
Stay in the Pembroke Arms, a former coaching views of the spire, thanks to its glasss roof. For www.salisburycathedral.org.uk; alliumsalisbury.restaurant;
inn in the market town of Wilton. Convenient for lunch or dinner try Allium, an intimate, family-run haunchpub.co.uk
Salisbury and Stonehenge, it has pretty rooms filled restaurant overlooking the bustling market square.
with antiques and plenty of old-fashioned charm. It A short but tempting menu might include the likes FURTHER INFORMATION
serves excellent food too. www.pembrokearms.co.uk of roast guinea fowl with sweet and sour
i www.visitwiltshire.co.uk
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INTERVIEW
A day with...
CHARLOTTE
LLOYD WEBBER The Director of the team putting together this year’s Christmas display at
Castle Howard in Yorkshire tells us how the magic is created
BRITAIN: Tell us about this year’s B: What do you find most rewarding?
Christmas theme at Castle Howard. CLW: The moment in the design
CLW: This year’s theme is Into the process where we fully realise how
Woods: A Fairy Tale Christmas. the narrative will unfold. And the
We’re exploring some of the sheer range of extraordinary and
best-loved fairy tales and creating talented people I get to work with. I
our own narrative where different also always look forward to the
characters, such as Snow White, expression on our clients’ and then
Red Riding Hood, Hansel and the visitors’ faces when they finally
Gretel, Jack, and Rapunzel come see the finished piece.
together in a magical adventure
through the dazzling festive B: What challenges do you face
splendour of Castle Howard, day to day?
culminating in the story of CLW: Containing the vision within
Cinderella, which unfolds down the budget! Stately home events are
the majestic Long Galley with video often essential in raising desperately
projection and bespoke soundscape needed restoration funds so these
that can be heard throughout remarkable places can be shared with
the house… the community and beyond for many
generations to come, but this means
B: Where do your ideas come from? being extremely resourceful from an
CLW: The beginning is always the event point of view. The other is
immediate environment where the sustainability in terms of the impact
event will take place. We always try of the event, and finding ways to
to complement, enhance and find reduce waste, re-use and recycle.
synchronicity with the spaces so it
feels that the designs truly belong there rather than being super-imposed. B: What has been your proudest moment in the job?
CLW: Winning the UK Heritage Award for Best Event for Castle
B: What does a typical workday look like for you? Howard’s The Twelve Days of Christmas was wonderful in that it
CLW: During an installation period time is very tight and runs like a recognized the huge collective effort of everyone involved across the
military operation. We start as early as 7am with a team debrief of Castle Howard estate. That, and having the opportunity to share the
the previous day’s activities and then often work 12-14 hours straight process of building and installing Narnia last year with millions of
through and on occasion through the night, if required! people who would otherwise never get to see it via the Channel 4
documentary… The crew are back this year filming Into the Woods:
B: How long does it take to set up an event? A Fairy Tale Christmas.
CLW: We build throughout the year and then it takes around three
weeks to fully install and then layer lighting, sound and projection. B: How does it feel to see your hard work on display?
As we approach the final install it is my responsibility to constantly CLW: The first time I walk through the completed Castle Howard
move between all the departments to make sure everything is being installation always takes my breath away. Not only is it a huge
executed properly and on time and to come up with last minute fixes privilege to work in such a remarkable environment, but the sheer
when the unanticipated happens! collective endeavour to bring it to fruition and create an experiential
journey for many thousands of people across all ages and walks of
B: What is your favourite part of the day? life really is an honour like no other I know!
CLW: I love popping in to see how different pieces are evolving – and, Into The Woods: A Fairytale Christmas is at Castle Howard from
more often than not, I’m delighted and amazed! 12 November until 2 January. www.castlehoward.co.uk
LAST WORD
THE GREAT
BRITISH QUIZ
Do you know your British landmarks? Put your knowledge of the
country’s most famous features – natural and man-made – to the test
Which world-famous London In which London park can

landmark, recently restored, can be Speaker’s Corner be found?
heard from every corner of a) Regents Park
Westminster? b) St James’s Park
c) Hyde Park
In which northern English city is

the cathedral known as the Minster?
Which ancient wall (above) marks
its 1900th anniversary this year?
Which Scottish castle was built on

an ancient volcano?
In which English city can the
PHOTOS: © ENGLISH HERITAGE TRUST/STEVEN BARBER/NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/ANNAPURNA MELLOR/VISITBRITAIN/SOPHIE NADEAU/

Which UNESCO World Heritage university library above be found?
Site in Wiltshire is one of the world’s
most famous Neolithic sites, dating Which vast stately home in
back to 3100 BC? Oxfordshire was the birthplace of Unscramble NEAR FAR CON to
Winston Churchill? find a famous Welsh castle (above).
a) Chartwell
b) Stowe The Jacobite train, made famous in
c) Blenheim Palace the Harry Potter films, crosses which
viaduct?
Which famous monument to a a) Glenfinnan
naval hero towers over Trafalgar b) Glencoe
Square in London? c) Glenross CROWN COPYRIGHT (2018) CADW/VISITSCOTLAND/KENNY LAM
According to legend, this World

Heritage Site in Northern Ireland (above)
was built by a giant named Finn
McCool.
Which 700-year-old ceremony

takes place in the Tower of London
every night at 9.30pm?
a) The Ceremony of the Ravens Name the above landmark in Which freshwater lake, 37km
b) The Ceremony of the Keys Cornwall, which is accessible via a southwest of Inverness in Scotland, is
c) The Procession of Beefeaters causeway at low tide. best known for a mythical creature?
10 St Michael’s Mount 11 c) Hyde Park 12 York 13 Caernarfon 14 a) Glenfinnan 15 Loch Ness

ANSWERS 1 Hadrian’s Wall 2 Edinburgh Castle 3 Stonehenge 4 Giant’s Causeway 5 b) The Ceremony of the Keys 6 Big Ben 7 Oxford 8 c) Blenheim Palace 9 Nelson’s Column
BRITAIN
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Off Peak tickets from just £20 per person!
20 min drive from the centre of York. Accessible via public transport
with Castleline bus stopping a short distance from York station
Castle Howard, York, YO60 7DA
castle_howard castlehoward
castlehowardest
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