England

Coughton Court Part 3: The Churches

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Louise Jayne

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As well as the lovely gardens, discussed here, and the Court itself, discussed here, there are also two churches in the grounds of Coughton Court – the Church of England Church of St. Peter and the Roman Catholic Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Elizabeth. Ironically, given the fact that the Throckmorton’s, who still live there, are renowned for their Catholicism, we were informed by one of the guides that the Catholic and Church of England churches essentially swapped places, so many of the Catholics are now buried in a Church of England graveyard.

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Coughton Court Part 2: The Gardens

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Louise Jayne

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As per my previous post here, I recently (and by recently I mean more than a few months ago!) took a trip to Coughton Court. As well as the house itself, which is very impressive, there are also extensive gardens to explore. The current Throckmorton and her daughter have designed the layout together, keeping in mind the historic design of the gardens, but also creating new and interesting spaces. While I visited for example there were art sculptures on display and for sale (at pretty high prices, it has to be said!) throughout the gardens which made exploring them even more interesting.

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Coughton Court Part 1: The House Itself

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Louise Jayne

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Coughton Court is the family home of the Throckmorton’s, who still reside there, and has been for over 600 years. The family suffered much persecution through the years for being Catholic, and there are many items of historical Catholic significance throughout the house. The Throckmorton’s were also notable for having involvement with the Gunpowder Plot to blow up parliament and James I and for Bess Throckmorton, who went on to marry Sir Walter Raleigh and angered Elizabeth I in the process.

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Tewkesbury Abbey

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Louise Jayne

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Tewkesbury Abbey may look like a Cathedral but it is actually one of the largest parish churches in the country. This building is over 900 years old, although a church has been on the site for over 1,200 years.

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Croome Court Part 3: Croome Court Itself

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Louise Jayne

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As per my previous two posts I recently(ish) visited Croome Court near Worcester – you can read those posts here and here. Now a National Trust property, the Court has had an interesting history; from being the home of the Coventry family since the 16th century (though this version of the house was built in the 18th century), to a school, to having been requisitioned by the RAF for an airfield, and for use as a hotel.

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Croome Court Part 2: The Park

Posted on October 6, 2013 by Louise Jayne

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As part of my recent visit to Croome Court, after visiting the church, we next took a walk around the Park. This was Capability Brown’s very first landscaped gardens and though much of it had been left overgrown, in part due to changes of ownership the Court has undergone over the years, the National Trust has been working hard to restore it to its former glory.

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Croome Court Part 1: The Church of St Mary Magdalene

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Louise Jayne

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In August I took a trip to visit Croome Court, a National Trust property in Worcestershire. Price of admission was £8 for adults and I’ll say upfront that you absolutely get your money’s worth. The gardens open at 10am with the home opening an hour later (during the summer – times may vary). We’d arrived just after 10am and there were already cars in the parking lot; when we left nearly four hours later it was overflowing – clearly a very popular venue.

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Lotherton Hall Part Two: The Bird Garden

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Louise Jayne

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In August when we visited Lotherton Hall we also visited the BIrd Garden on the site, opened in 1980. It is included in the admission price of £5 (for adults) and would be well worth a visit in its own right. We weren’t expecting too much but were actually extremely impressed – not only did they have a wonderful selection of birds (over two hundred different species) but the garden itself was huge and took a good two or so hours to go around, stopping to photograph a lot on the way. A selection of those photos is below.

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Lotherton Hall Part One: Hall, Gardens and Chapel

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Louise Jayne

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On a very sunny day in August we went to visit Lotherton Hall, an Edwardian house not far from Leeds. It has been run by Leeds City Council since 1968. As well as the Hall, which is now a museum, the estate also includes a bird garden (which will feature in Part Two) and an orchard and a deer park (which we didn’t have time to explore).

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Hampton Court Palace

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Louise Jayne

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Hampton Court Palace is another one of those places on my to visit list that I’ve wanted to see for a while, but I’ve never had an entire day available to do so without needing to rush off to catch a train. Finally I had the chance on a very sunny day in May and I was not disappointed.

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