Apsley House is an English Heritage property at Hyde Park Corner, the former residence of the Duke of Wellington. A Grade I listed building it was originally built by Robert Adam between 1771 and 1778 for Lord Apsley, the then Lord Chancellor, hence the name. The Duke of Wellington purchased the house in 1817.
Clifford’s Tower is an English Heritage property in York, all that now remains of York Castle. William the Conqueror was the first to build a castle here, around 1068, on the site where Clifford Tower now stands. Danish invaders burnt it down in 1069 and the present stone tower was constructed in around 1245 by Henry III.
Berwick-upon-Tweed Barracks and Main Guard is an English Heritage property which was built in the early 18th century as a barracks and was one of the first in England to be purpose built.
Kirby Muxloe is an English Heritage property that was built by William, Lord Hastings, who owned Ashby de la Zouch Castle. Like that castle Kirby Muxloe Castle was built around an existing manor house around 1480.
Ashby de la Zouch Castle is an English Heritage property in Leicestershire, the ruins of a castle dating from the 15th century. The town of Ashby de la Zouch got its name from the Le Zouch family who owned the manor of Ashby in the 13th and 14th centuries. By 1472 William, Lord Hastings was transforming this manor into what would have been a magnificent castle that you can still appreciate from its remains.
The Jewel Tower is easy to miss, nestled as it is between the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Built in 1365 it is one of the only surviving sections of the medieval Palace of Westminster which was used to house the royal household’s valuables and later the records of the House of Lords and the testing facility to determine the value of weights and measures.
I don’t really think that Stonehenge requires much of an introduction and I have written about my first visit to the site here. This time I made the return because my brother had never been and wanted to go and we happened to be holidaying fairly nearby.
One of the places I most wanted to see on my recent visit to Worcester was Witley Court. It is an English Heritage property, roughly half an hour from Worcester. Despite the fact they have a somewhat irregular timetable, I easily managed to get there and back on public transport, and was even dropped off and picked up at the entrance, thanks to a very friendly bus driver.
I decided it would be a good idea to take advantage of the excellent weather we’d been having at the end of July and head out into the countryside. I picked Rufford Abbey Country Park because as well as a lake and woodland walks there are also the ruins of an Abbey to explore. Plus, I haven’t actually been there since a school trip when I was in primary school.
One of the main attractions of Kenilworth Castle is the reconstructed Elizabethan garden. They have a remarkable history of their own, set aside from that of the castle. Lost for more than 400 years, the garden which Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, created for Elizabeth I has been recreated to its former glory by English Heritage. It is the first ever recreation of an Elizabethan garden on such a scale and as you’ll see, they have done a quite remarkable job.
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