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BRITAINTHE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

TRAVEL CULTURE HERITAGE STYLE

a luxury break in Richmond upon Thames

EXPLORE THE WONDERS OF WARWICKSHIREENGLANDENGLAND

Springtime delights from the National Trust

ENJOY THE BEST OF LONDON WITH OUR TOP TIPS

SECRET GARDENS

MURDER IN THE CATHEDRALTHE TRAGIC TALE OF THOMAS BECKET

CLOCK WATCHINGClassic timepieces, from a Suffolk sundial to Big Ben

CAPITAL DAY OUT

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When you receive your copies of this issue, spring will have sprung and the countryside should

be awash not with winter oods but with colourful bulbs and baby animals. Talking of babies, this will be my last issue as editor for a while as I am o on maternity leave. Hopefully I shall have time to visit a few places around Britain that have been on my bucket list for a while.One of those is Hampton Court

Palace. I have enjoyed its beautiful gardens for summertime concerts and Christmas ice-skating, but have yet to see the palaces interior our feature A tale of two palaces (p48) o ers a taste of its hidden gems.Hampton Court is also home to

King Henry VIIIs astronomical clock, which started me thinking about Britains other treasured timepieces. Time to shine (p71) tracks down some of the most wonderful.Also in this issue we follow in the

footsteps of two of Britains literary greats, with Shakespeares England (p6) and a look at the land of omas Hardy (p40). Finally we have our tips on how to live like a lord in the grandest hotels and, at the other end of the scale, a day out in London for 10. e best of both worlds really!

Jessica Tooze, Editor

VOLUME 82 ISSUE 2

Cover image: Anne Hathaway's Cottage Robert Harding World Imagery/Alamy

FEATURES

6 SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLAND To mark 450 years since William Shakespeare's birth, we explore Warwickshire, his home county, where pretty cottages, churches and castles are in abundance.

15 UNCHARTED WATERS Britain's history boasts many intrepid explorers who embarked on dangerous missions and discovered exciting new lands.

29 BRITISH BULLDOG Wartime prime minister Sir Winston Churchill is one of the most iconic Britons of all time.

33 COMPLIMENTS OF THE CAPITAL London might be expensive, but some of the best things to do are completely free.

40 FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD Dorset's most famous writer, Thomas Hardy, set his major novels in the south and south- west of England, an area known as Wessex.Follow us @Britainmagazine Like us on Facebook/BritainMagazine

EDITOR'S LETTER

40 The ruins of Corfe Castle, Dorset

29

CONTENTS

BRITAINTHE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

TRAVEL CULTURE HERITAGE STYLE

a luxury break in Richmond upon Thames

EXPLORE THE WONDERS OF WARWICKSHIREENGLANDENGLAND

Springtime delights from the National Trust

ENJOY THE BEST OF LONDON WITH OUR TOP TIPS

SECRET GARDENS

MURDER IN THE CATHEDRALTHE TRAGIC TALE OF THOMAS BECKET

CLOCK WATCHINGClassic timepieces, from a Suffolk sundial to Big Ben

CAPITAL DAY OUT

VOTED BEST HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

WIN


9 771757 973077

0 5

9 771757 973077

0 5

MARCH/APRIL 2014 3.95

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4 BRITAIN

REGULARS

23 BRIT LIST To mark 100 years since the outbreak of World War I, we round up the top commemorative exhibitions and events.

69 LETTERS Do get in touch to tell us about your experiences in Britain or let us know what you think of the magazine.

77 RICHMOND COMPETITION Win a wonderful weekend break in picturesque Richmond upon Thames.

98 BRITISH TRADITIONS From pagan ritual to chocolate eggs, we explore the traditions of Easter.

59


FEATURES48 A TALE OF TWO PALACES From Tudor manor to sprawling royal seat, we discover the secrets of Hampton Court Palace.

59 SECRET GARDENS In the second of our series exploring the treasures of the National Trust, we wander around some of its most wonderful gardens.

71 TIME TO SHINE British timepieces from around the country, including Big Ben and the Hever astrolabe.

79 MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL From king's confidant to deadly enemy, Thomas Becket was a dramatic character in life and in death.

86 LIVE LIKE A LORD Stay on a splendid country estate and enjoy all the trappings of an aristocratic lifestyle.

E N G L A N D

I R E L A N D

S C O T L A N D

WA L E S


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THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

IN THIS ISSUE

86LIVERPOOL, p71

HAMPTON COURT, p48

71

DORCHESTER, p40

WHITBY, p15

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, p6

CANTERBURY, p79

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A pretty street in Warwick, with the towers of Warwick Castle in the background

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BRITAIN 7

On the 450th anniversary of William Shakespeares birth we explore his home county of Warwickshire, one of the countrys most historic and

picturesque destinations WORDS CLAIRE SANTRY

Warwickshire


8 britain www.britain-magazine.com

In the picture-postcard and chocolate-box markets, one photogenic property has worn the quintessential England crown for years: Anne Hathaways Cottage in Shottery, Warwickshire. With its thatched roof, dark timber beams and leaded windows overlooking an enchanting garden of roses, sweet pea, hollyhocks, delphiniums and scented honeysuckles, it oozes nostalgia and romance. What could be more delightfully appropriate than this pretty rural setting forming the backdrop to the real-life version of Shakespeare in Love?

While the 18-year-old William had to traipse a mile or so over fields from his home in Stratford-upon-Avon to court Anne at her familys cottage then called Newlands Farm todays visitors typically arrive by car or on the sightseeing bus. Most are quickly seduced by the old farmhouse as they explore the low-ceilinged bedrooms, climb the worn stairways, and view the so-called Wooing Seat where Anne and her much younger beau may have cuddled in front of the parlours huge inglenook fireplace.

The old settle dates from the right era, but whether it was truly where Shakespeare plighted his troth is open to conjecture. What is not disputed is that the two married in 1582 and baby Susanna was born six months later. For the next five years the couple lived with Williams family in Stratford in the half-timbered building now known as Shakespeares Birthplace on Henley Street. Of the five properties owned and managed by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Anne Hathaways Cottage is undoubtedly the most intimate and homely, but the most

Left: Anne Hathaway's Cottage. Facing page: A narrowboat on the River Avon with Shakespeare's burial place, Holy Trinity Church, in the background

visited is Shakespeares Birthplace, where performers in period dress bring domestic Elizabethan routine to life.

For those on the Shakespeare pilgrimage trail, the Trust has another three sites to visit Halls Croft, where Susanna lived with her apothecary husband; Nashs House and neighbouring New Place, the site of the house where William lived out his final years; and Mary Ardens Farm, the family home of his mother and a firm favourite with children. There is also Holy Trinity Church, where William, Anne, Susanna and her husband are buried in the chancel. The right to a final resting place in the chancel was granted by virtue of Williams status as a lay-rector rather than his virtuosity as a poet and he lies beneath a grave slab inscribed with the warning: And cursed be he that moves my bones.

The great poets last theatrical line can be read just a stones throw from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST), another huge magnet for visitors, whether or not they intend to take in a performance. It is a vast edifice, rising up from the west bank of the River Avon, with a fascinating history. This story is best understood by joining one of the daily tours of the building; the enthusiastic guides can satisfy most queries, including statistical details, architectural history, and the secret stagecraft techniques used for some of the Bards most gory scenes. Depending on stage design and rehearsal schedules, the tours usually take in the actors quick change spaces, wigs and make-up areas, the auditorium with its new thrust stage, and the technical control room, as well as the public areas.

Although all visitors are free to wander around the public areas, most of those who dont join the highly ph

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recommended tours probably overlook some of the buildings most interesting features and quirks. Who, for example, would recognise the elevated aluminium ticket box in the fabulous Art Deco foyer if it werent pointed out to them? Who would grasp the significance of the three chairs looming above diners in the roof-top restaurant? And who would appreciate that the battered-looking floor boards in the main public circulation area are the very stage boards so well trodden by the likes of Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh and many other famous thespians?

For a small fee, a trip to the RST can include an escalator ride to the 32-metre-level of the tower to enjoy a view that might, on a clear day, reach beyond the nearby National Trust properties of Charlecote Park and Baddesley Clinton and the award-winning art gallery at Compton Verney (all very worthwhile places to visit in the vicinity), and out across the county into Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

While the lift is the quickest route back to ground level, those with robust joints may prefer the option of descending via the stairway. With 174 steps, it doubles as a photographic gallery and depicts the chronology of all 37 of the Bard of Avons plays, starting at the top with what is believed to be his earliest work, Two Gentlemen

of Verona, written in c. 1589, and ending with his 1613 work, Henry VIII, on reaching the foyer.

Even the most focused literary fan can become rather Shakespeared-out in Stratford and require a change of pace. Some might head for a bit of retail therapy in the small towns fairly regular range of stores, or sample some of its many quaint tea shops, restaurants and pubs. Others will take a cue from the swans serenely gliding along the River Avon and choose to take their relaxation on or by the water.

With wide public spaces, gardens and lawns on both banks, an old-fashioned lock opening into a marina filled with cheerfully painted narrowboats, a bandstand, an old chain ferry and two photogenic bridges with no fewer than 26 arches between them, the towns riverside is a lovely place to promenade and explore. Theres also the chance to hop on a short river cruise, hire a rowing boat, punt or canoe, play some crazy golf or simply seek out a shady bench beneath a weeping willow and watch the world go by. It can be a busy world at times, especially in high summer or during festivals or special events just watch out when the rumbustious and totally potty charity raft race rows this way each June!

While Stratford-upon-Avon and Shakespeare go hand in hand, the wider county has plenty of other literary

Clockwise from top left: The Royal Shakespeare Theatre; Mary Arden's House; a quaint tea shop in Stratford-upon-Avon. Facing page: Nash's House and New Place garden; Kenilworth Castle; Bidford-on-Avon



connections. Nuneaton in the north has George Eliot, Stoneleigh has Jane Austen, Kenilworth has Sir Walter Scott and Rugby has so many it even provides special outdoor seating for those who want to curl up with a good book from one of its wordsmith sons.

In truth, any desire to curl up soon passes because, despite having the appearance of a Chesterfield sofa, a cosy chaise longue and a Queen Anne footstool, Rugbys al fresco Reading Rooms are sculpted from Wattscliffe sandstone and set on a granite carpet! These unusual works of public art, designed and created by Michael Scheuermann, were inspired by the works of Lewis Carroll, Arthur Ransome, Rupert Brooke, Salman Rushdie and other authors connected to the small town, and there are dozens of intriguing devices and allusions to their literature carved into the hard stone. Among them is a piece of real porcelain teacup embedded in the chaise longue to represent the complementary pairing of tea and a good book, and the church clock with its hands at ten to three (Stands the church clock at ten-to-three? And is there honey still for tea? from Rupert Brooke).

With its place in history assured thanks to a schoolboy who picked up and ran with a football in 1823, Rugby has a strong following on the tourist trail. It also has an attractive Victorian centre with lots of individual stores

J In 1602, Shakespeare bought lands in the Welcombe Hills, to the north of Stratford. Today the area is better known for its glorious country mansion hotel the Menzies Welcombe (pictured above). With its spa and golf club, fine dining, four-poster bedrooms and grand terraced gardens, this is Stratfords treat-yourself hotel par excellence. www.menzieshotels.co.uk

J Warwick Castle will toast its 1,100th anniversary in 2014 with a number of special events and the relaunch of its Kingmaker attraction which will now encapsulate the BBC series, The White Queen, based on Philippa Gregory's bestselling novel. www.warwick-castle.com J Stoneleigh Abbey was once the country seat of Jane Austens relatives the Leighs and the young novelist found both the house and its family intriguing. So, too, do the visitors who seek out this little-known Warwickshire gem. This year the abbey will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of Janes Mansfield Park. www.stoneleighabbey.org J The Heritage Motor Centre, home to the worlds largest collection of British cars, will celebrate its 21st anniversary this year with a special line-up of the best British design icons. www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk

Beyond THe BArd

Warwickshire



to browse in, making it one of several interesting Warwickshire towns to stroll around. Another is Royal Leamington Spa, which wears its royal status rather prominently and, some say, a little snootily, but gets away with it on account of its undoubted elegance. Smaller in size, but certainly worth visiting for appealing olde worlde charm are Bidford-on-Avon, Shipston-on-Stour, Henley-in-Arden and the unhyphenated, but no less characterful, Alcester.

The county town of Warwick also has great browsing credentials, especially for books and antiques, but its best known attraction is its giant castle. Warwick Castle is one of the countrys top-drawer heritage sites and fulfils every childs imaginary medieval fortress wish-list with its round towers, a moat and drawbridge, dungeons and arrow slits, and a seemingly permanent household of fair maidens and chaps in tights. Although its most famous historical tales derive from its 15th-century links with the supremely powerful Kingmaker, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, its story actually dates back to before the Norman Conquest.

In the castellated ramparts stakes, Warwicks nearby rival, Kenilworth Castle, is rather less imposing, mainly because it got bashed about rather badly in the Civil War. However, when a low sun hits the red sandstone ruins of the 12th-century keep or a bright sky makes a silhouette of John of Gaunts Great Hall, no one can deny that it wears its battle scars well. It is a relaxed place to visit, less showy than Warwick, with a restored

Elizabethan garden, a couple of small exhibitions and, new this year, viewing platforms over the castle grounds where Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, romanced but failed to win Queen Elizabeth I.

Nothing can beat the hollowed out Cathedral of St Michael in Coventry, in the north of the historical county of Warwickshire, for heart-rending ruins, for no centuries have passed to soften visitors emotional responses to the devastation that rained down on the citys medieval church on 14 November 1940 during its worst Blitz attack. Locals, however, made the journey from destruction to hope when they built a brand new church adjacent to the ruins.

From the outside, the huge sandstone bulk of the modern church, consecrated in 1962, doesnt look very promising. Its architect, Sir Basil Spence, intended this. The [new] cathedral will be like a plain jewel casket with many jewels inside, he said, as he set out to commission an array of 20th-century treasures from renowned artists such as American-born sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein and English sculptor Elisabeth Frink.

Today, the two parts of the cathedral the hushed ruins and the impressive modern symbol of reconciliation are strongly embedded in the citys psyche, offering a quiet place for locals and visitors alike to enjoy a lunchtime sandwich, view some world-class art, spend time in spiritual reflection or even read some Shakespeare in one of the countrys most evocative settings.

For more information and holiday ideas in Shakespeares England please visit the official website at www.shakespeares-england.co.uk

ANNIVERSARY JOURNEY

Stratford-upon-Avon will be celebrating the 450th anniversary of William Shakespeares birth on 23 April. Mark the occasion with a walk along Shakespeares Way with Ciceroni Travel. New for 2014, this five-night tour is inspired by the journey Shakespeare would have made between the Globe Theatre in London and his Warwickshire home, passing through quintessential English towns and villages, including Oxford and Woodstock, and discovering his inspirations along the route. But unlike Shakespeares rough and ready voyage, travellers will be transported by luxury coach and stay in top-quality hotels, as well as going behind the scenes and enjoying world-class performances at both the Globe and RST.

The tour is led by Shakespearean actor James Howard, who has worked for the likes of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. The first tour runs from 16-21 May and costs 1,575 per person. www.ciceroni.co.uk

Warwickshire

Above: Ruins of the 'old cathedral', Coventry. Right: William Shakespeare's Birthplace

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a day out for all the family8 children 13.50 adults36 family ticketAdmission includes40 minute tourAudio guideSword fighting and costume dressingdemonstrations

shakespearesglobe.com/exhibitionBankside, London SE1

St Pauls, Southwark, Mansion House London Bridge, Blackfriars, Waterloo

The Charlecote Pheasant

THE CHARLECOTE

PHEASANT

Th e charming Charlecote Pheasant is nestled in a delightful village just minutes fr om historic Stratford-upon-Avon. Exuding the air of a country manor, the att ractive decor and timbered ceilings give the hotel a warm, rustic, quintessentially English atmosphere.

14 beautiful hotels in stunning locations across the UK

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Th e perfect base for exploring Shakespeare country.

Th e Pitlochry Hydro

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ImperialTh e Ship & Castle

Th e Charlecote Pheasant

Th e Portpatrick

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Th e Imperial

Th e Grand Atlantic Th e Lansdown Grove

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Uncharted watersBritains explorers and pioneers have discovered new lands and mapped the world for

future travellers, on dangerous but exhilarating missions full of derring-do and discoveryWORDS NEIL JONES

The British poet John Mase eld famously evoked the restless urge for a life on the ocean wave, writing in Sea Fever: I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide / Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied. Nowhere more than the island nation

of Britain have people so strongly followed the call, with each century producing heroes who have made their marks throughout the globe.

Queen Elizabeth I presided over a golden era of exploring in the 16th century, years that saw spectacular round-the-world voyages by Drake

and Cavendish. But the most amboyant sea dog of all was Walter Raleigh (also spelled Ralegh; c. 15521618).

In Elizabeths reign and with her tacit support, ruling the waves, trade, privateering and exploration were all closely linked. Raleigh excelled,

A modern reconstruction of the Golden Hinde, the galleon Sir Francis Drake used to circumnavigate the globe in the 16th century

Great British Explorers

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lining his pockets through piracy, proving a ruthless soldier in Ireland, hunting for the fabled gold of El Dorado, and ghting against the Spanish at Cadiz and in the Azores.

Court favourite, politician, businessman, historian and poet: the Devon-born son of a squire was exactly the sort of self-made Renaissance man that so beguiled the queen. The alleged tale that he chivalrously threw down his cloak before her to save the royal toes from a puddle merely underlines his winning chutzpah.

Raleigh organised notable expeditions to North America in search of gold and trade in the 1580s,

and named Virginia in honour of the Virgin Queen, for which he was knighted. Attempts to colonise Roanoke Island may have failed but the venture red the imaginations of further travellers to the New World. The discovery years later of fair-skinned native Americans on Croatoan Island even raised the tantalising possibility that some of Raleighs lost colonists had in fact made their homes among local tribes.

Forever one to sail close to the wind, Raleigh was thrown into the Tower of London for marrying a royal maid without the queens consent, and again by King James I for alleged treason. There, he whiled away time conducting experiments in a converted shed, growing tobacco on Tower Green and writing his vast, un nished History of the World.

Eventually taken to the executioners block, he was witty to the end, testing the axe blade with his nger and declaring: This is a sharp medicine, but it is a physician that will cure all my diseases. His widow had his head embalmed to keep and show admirers.

The lure of the New World continued to occupy Britons through the reign of King James I and a business venture sponsored by the Virginia Company of London saw the rst permanent English-speaking settlement established at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. Thirteen years later, the Pilgrim Fathers planted a colony at New Plymouth, Massachusetts, however this time the motive for emigration was religious freedom.

The turbulent years following the Reformation had provoked many people to question forms of worship, among them the Pilgrims, who wanted to practise their Puritan faith free from reprisals. Many in the group hailed originally from the Trent valley around the Lincolnshire town



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of Gainsborough, where the Separatist Church people who wanted to worship separate from interference by State or Anglican Church had gone underground.

The Pilgrim Fathers set sail on the May ower from Plymouth on Englands south coast on 6 September 1620, their numbers swelled to 102 passengers by settlers seeking economic betterment. Just over nine weeks later, weary of the sea, the travellers settled at New Plymouth. During the rst, dif cult winter, nearly half of the passengers died of the great sickness, but in time the colony prospered.

The May ower Compact they drew up to govern themselves is, in the words of the General Society of May ower Descendants, considered to have set the stage for the Constitution of the United States. Their great feast of 1621 is frequently cited as the rst Thanksgiving.

Plymouth, England was also the departure point in the following century for Captain James Cooks epic journeys to the South Paci c, although the historic coastline and heather moorlands of North Yorkshire where Britains greatest navigator grew up lay claim to be Captain Cook Country.

In the 18th century, the Paci c Ocean was still virtually uncharted. Cook (17281779) changed all that on three momentous voyages, beginning on the Endeavour in 1768. He charted the Paci c, circumnavigating New Zealand and surveying the east coast of Australia. Then he sailed the icy

Right: A seagull perches on the statue of Captain Cook in Whitby. Facing page, clockwise from top left: Sir Walter Raleigh; the Tower of London where Raleigh was imprisoned; the Pilgrim Fathers leaving England; Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire, now dubbed Captain Cook Country; Queen Elizabeth I




The palace of the Prince Bishops of Durham for over 900 years, Auckland Castle is now fully open to the public for the first time.Following the Norman Conquest and the Harrying of the North, the Bishop of Durham was granted exceptional powers to act as a political and military leader. With Auckland Castle as a seat of power in North East England, the king allowed him to raise taxes, mint coins and hold his own parliaments. Such royal privileges made the Bishop of Durham the second most powerful man in the country - ruling the area between the Tyne and the Tees. This wealth, power, and influence flowed into Auckland Castle. Guided tours of the Castle take place twice a day, but for those preferring to explore on their own, we also have audio guides and self-guided leaflets available from Visitor Services.

The Castle sits high above the Wear Valley with spectacular views across the winding River Gaunless out into expansive countryside. Our beautiful park extends to almost 200 acres and contains a total of seven Grade I listed buildings, including the celebrated Deer House, as well as secluded woodland rises and stunning vistas for you to explore.

We have a shop on site stocking a range of locally produced gifts and souvenirs and our caf serves a range of home cooked produce with daily specials, cakes and pastries. Auckland Castle has everything you need for a day out - why not come along and discover this hidden treasure?

The Castle is available for private hire, with its state rooms providing the perfect setting for everything from a spectacular wedding to an intimate private dining event or corporate function.

Please email [email protected]

for further information or call us on the number below.

Open every day except Tuesday, from 1st April to 30th September between 10.30am and 4.00pm. Guided tours are at 11.30am and 2.00pm and are included in the admission fee.

For details of ticket prices and special events please visit

www.aucklandcastle.orgTelephone 01388 743 750b:@aucklandcastle

For more information on Auckland Castle please do not hesitate to contact us on: 01388 743750 or email: [email protected].

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fringes of the Antarctic and, travelling farther south than anyone before him, he laid to rest the myth of a southern continent.

Renowned for his concern for the wellbeing of his crews, Cook kept scurvy at bay with a ships diet rich in pickled cabbage. He also cared deeply for the natives he met, which makes it all the more tragic that on his nal voyage, in search of the North-West Passage linking the Atlantic and Paci c oceans, he was killed in an affray with islanders on Hawaii. Nevertheless his legacy lived on, in new standards in map making and a radically altered perception of world geography.

Scotsman Dr Livingstone (18131873) expanded our map of the world in another direction in the 19th century, penetrating deep into darkest Africa, as it was then known, to make an open path for commerce and Christianity.

After studying medicine and theology, Livingstone explored Africa from the 1840s, lling in more gaps on the continents map than anyone before him. During his expeditions, the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River were discovered, as well as Lake Nyasa (now Lake Malawi), and he campaigned vigorously against the African slave trade.

When news of his work dried up for several years, people became so worried that the New York Herald despatched Henry Morton Stanley to nd him, leading to the famously courteous inquiry: Dr Livingstone I presume? when the reporter discovered him on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in 1871. Even the slave traders Livingstone opposed respected him, referring to the very great doctor.

From hot climes to the Heroic Age of Antarctic expeditions that straddled the turn of the 20th IMA

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EXPLORERS BRITAIN

century, when teams from numerous countries vied to explore the icy wastes. In 1911 Norwegian Roald Amundsen won the race to the South Pole, beating Captain Scott and his team who all perished. In 1914 the seasoned Anglo-Irish polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton (18741922) set off with a crew of 27 on what he saw as the last great challenge: to cross the Antarctic continent on foot from one side to the other. The attempt failed but it is one of the most thrilling tales of survival.

Their ship Endurance became trapped in ice in the Weddell Sea, drifting for 10 months before being crushed. The crew wintered on an ice oe, then escaped on lifeboats to Elephant Island. From here, Shackleton and ve others sailed in a seven-metre-long lifeboat through terrifying storms to South Georgia 1,450km away. On landing, there was

still a 36-hour trek through mountains and ice to a Norwegian whaling station to raise help to relieve the company left on Elephant Island.

The ordeal lasted 20 months and every single man survived, largely thanks to Shackletons leadership. In a letter to his wife he wrote with modest brevity: Not a life lost and we have been through Hell. Soon will I be home and then I will rest.

Five different centuries: ve different examples of heroic expeditions that furthered knowledge and forged links around the world. Today, in return, our island nation welcomes many explorers and pilgrims with roots back in the Old Country why not look up Raleigh and co. on your travels around Britain?

8 For more on extraordinary explorers throughout history please visit the BRITAIN website at www.britain-magazine.com


20 BRITAIN

Left: Polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton endured an epic adventure attempting to cross the Antarctic


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What to do Where to go What to buy

2014 marks 100 years since the outbreak of World War I and 75 since the start of WWII. We round up the

country's commemorations

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The tunnels beneath magnificent Dover Castle in Kent were used in the masterminding of Operation Dynamo the tense 1940 rescue of 338,000 Allied troops stranded in Dunkirk. Today visitors can explore the tunnels and revisit the evacuation effort thanks to a permanent exhibition boasting state-of-the-art special effects, projections, news reels and real film footage of the time. www.english-heritage.org.uk

drama of dunkirk

picture of warThe National Portrait Gallery in London will stage the first national exhibition of paintings commemorating WWI. Works include this self portrait by Sir William Orpen. 27 February 15 June. www.npg.org.uk

We WIll rememberInspired by the poem In Flanders Fields, written by John mcCrae during World War I, the red field poppy has become the royal british legion's emblem of remembrance for soldiers who have lost their lives in war. this bone china mug, 7, is a beautiful tribute. www.iwmshop.org.uk

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Majestic Norwich Cathedral hosts a World War I centenary concert on 12 July, when a new piece of music by Patrick Hawes will premiere. Cavell

Commission commemorates the life of nurse Edith Cavell who is buried at the cathedral.

cathedral centenary

www.cathedral.org.uk



WHAT TO DO WHERE TO GO WHAT TO BUY

Embracing both the everyday and the extraordinary, IWM North reveals wartime personal stories of people living in the north-west of England. Objects never exhibited before, including photographs and letters, reveal how the region was shaped by a global con ict. From 5 April to 31 May. www.iwm.org.uk

THE WAR AT HOMEThe Imperial War Museum North stages the largest exhibition ever created exploring northern communities during World War I

EDITOR'S PICK READ ALL ABOUT IT

HORSE HEROESHome Lad, Home paintings of horses used during WWI will show at St Barbe Museum & Art Gallery, Hampshire, from 1 March to 26 April. www.stbarbe-museum.org.uk

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Edited by Sebastian Faulks, War Stories (7.99, Vintage) is an anthology of compelling but often horrifying fiction about military conflict in the 20th century. With tales on themes including call-up, battle, comradeship

and injury by a wide range of authors such as Ernest Hemingway, Elizabeth Bowen, Louis de Bernires and Norman Mailer, this volume is essential reading for anyone fascinated by the complexities of war.

The Great War: A Photographic Narrative (40, IWM) boasts over 500 pictures from World War I taken from the Imperial War Museum's archive. The pictures are all moving, but none

more so than the final image showing the arrival of silence on the 11th hour

of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

The Wipers Times (9.99,

Conway) is a collection of the famous WWI trench newspaper. The wry tone was a relief for soldiers and almost 100 years after it first rolled off the presses it gives a unique insight into life on the front line.

SOLDIERS' STORIESAn exhibition of personal letters and artefacts reflecting the individual experiences of soldiers in the Great War will open at the National War Museum in Edinburgh Castle in April for a year, before touring for a further three. Next of Kin is part of a programme of events by National Museums of Scotland which will commemorate World War I and will tell, among others, the story of Corporal George Buchanan of the Seaforth Highlanders, who was killed at the Battle of Loos in 1915. www.nms.ac.uk

Brighton Museum's Dr Brighton's War, from 9 July to 31 August, is a pictorial exhibition that illustrates the role the hospital city' by the sea played in the healing and recuperation of soldiers during WWI. www.brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk


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Located right on the doorstep of historic Stratford-upon-Avon, medieval Warwick, and easily accessible by direct train from London. It is the perfect place from which to explore Shakespeares England.

Visit www.royal-leamington-spa.co.uk

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Discover this hidden gem in the heart of England. Wide boulevards, beautiful architecture and expansive, award-winning parks provide a sophisticated backdrop to this Regency shopping paradise. Youll find it one of the most appealing towns in the UK.

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What to do Where to go What to buy

Waddesdon at War, from 26 March to 26 October, will include photographs and letters of family and staff living on the estate, detailing how conflict affected Britains large family seats. A poignant highlight is the story of one of Waddesdons gardeners, who returned to work there after surviving the war. www.waddesdon.org.uk

stately home front Life at Waddesdon Manor one of britain's most beautiful estates during the great War is revisited through a collection of memorabilia

soldier for a day

The wonderful Museum of Childhood in London marks the 100th anniversary of WWI by inviting children to play in a day workshops, where they write and rehearse a play based on a day in the life of a soldier, before performing it to audiences. From 17 to 21 February. www.museumof childhood.org.uk

capturing conflicta tate Modern exhibition opens this autumn timed to specifically coincide with the centenary of the start of World War I. Conflict, time, Photography, from 27 November 2014 to 14 april 2015, will examine the relationship between photography and battlegrounds over time. Some images were taken moments after an event, others up to 100 years later. often harrowing but always thought-provoking, photographs from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries all feature in this humbling collection. www.tate.org.uk

Based on the book of the same name by Robert M Edsel, The Monuments Men is released in UK cinemas in February, a few months before the anniversary of the end of World War II. Boasting Hollywood royalty George Clooney and Matt Damon, the film tells the story of an Allied group who were tasked with saving monuments and other pieces of fine art from Hitlers acquisition and destruction.

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Theres more to Hampton Court Palace than the Tudors. It consists of two distinct halves, built in two very different eras. But both were built as a show of strength and the walls tell just as many stories as the ghosts that haunt them

Words PiP Brooking

sir Winston Leonard spencer-Churchill has been voted the greatest Briton of all time and his is a remarkable story of talent, charisma and sheer determination

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Great Britons

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Clockwise from above left: Winston Churchill was a fan of hats his collection can be seen at his former home, Chartwell;

Churchill bought Chartwell in 1922 it is now a National Trust property and is open to the public; Churchill was granted a state funeral; Blenheim Palace, where Churchill was born, is home to the 11th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. Facing page: Churchill walks through the ruins of

Coventry Cathedral in 1941


britain 31

Great Britons


When you are winning a war almost everything that happens can be claimed to be right and wise, said Winston Churchill. At the forefront of British politics for 50 years, notably during the wartime years of 1939 to 1945, he became one of the most influential politicians in history. While not everyone agreed with his decisions, and though he inevitably made mistakes, he was almost universally respected for the contribution he made to his country.

It can hardly be said that Churchill came from humble roots he was born in 1874 into the aristocratic family of the Dukes of Marlborough, a branch of the Spencer family, in the magnificent Blenheim Palace. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a member of parliament and his mother, Jennie Jerome, was an American heiress.

Churchills childhood was not easy, however his parents had little to do with him and he was looked after by his nanny before being sent off to boarding school at age eight. He didnt excel academically but was a popular boy, known as a bit of a troublemaker. In 1887, 12-year-old Churchill was accepted to the prestigious Harrow School, where he began studying military tactics.

Going on to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Churchill graduated near the top of his class and was given a commission as a cavalry officer. During his first leave he demonstrated his thirst to see the world and headed to Cuba where Spanish troops were fighting the Cuban guerrillas. More than an interested soldier, he became a war correspondent for Londons The Daily Graphic it was the beginning of a long writing career.

He travelled extensively with his regiment, notably to India, Sudan and South Africa, and when 25-year-old Churchill returned to England he was both a famous author and something of a hero following his daring escape from a prison camp during the Boer War. His next move into politics seemed destined and, in 1900, Churchill became Conservative Member of Parliament for Oldham.

He held many political and cabinet positions; before the First World War, he served as president of the board of trade, home secretary, and first lord of the admiralty as part of the Asquith Liberal government. During the war, he continued as first lord of the admiralty until the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign, for which he was blamed by many. He resigned and joined the army, serving for a time on the Western Front. He was back in government in 1917 though, firstly as minister of munitions then secretary of state for war and air, and from 1924-1929 as chancellor of the exchequer.

In 1922 Churchill and his wife Clementine bought the property that was to be their long-term home Chartwell in Kent, located two miles south of Westerham. Churchill bought it for its spectacular views over the Weald of Kent from the house you can see all the way to Crowborough over marvellous countryside.

Now run by the National Trust, the house looks much as it would have when Churchill lived there and it is a homely place, packed full of fascinating treasures that he accumulated throughout his life. It contains a remarkable array of items that were gifted to Churchill from friends and acquaintances across the world.

Among the more unusual items are a cigar box decorated with Churchills face made of tobacco leaves from the people of Leningrad and a small brass Portuguese donkey cart holding a spirit lamp brandy glass warmer. Churchills tastes for a tipple and smoke were well known his cigars litter the house and in the dining room one of his paintings, entitled Bottlescape, is a still life of a collection of bottles that apparently had to be whisked away when the vicar paid an unexpected visit.

A lion and white kangaroo he was given were donated to London Zoo, while a gift of a platypus never made it safely to English

shores. But descendants of the black swans, given to him by the Government of Western Australia, terrorise visitors to the house and its beautiful woodland gardens to this day.

When war broke out in 1939, Churchill was unable to stay at Chartwell for safety reasons but memorabilia from that time can be found here including his passport, with a typically grumpy photograph, his ration book and a Jewish bible.

It was during the war, of course, that Churchill became prime minister in May 1940. The war years are those he is best known for and his inspiring oratory and absolute refusal to surrender to Nazi Germany motivated a bewildered country. In three major speeches to the House of Commons around the period of the Battle of France in June 1940 he exhorted the British people to fight on in the face of Nazi domination: We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, he declaimed.

Churchill lost power in the 1945 post-war election but remained leader of the opposition, voicing apprehensions about the Cold War (he popularised the term Iron Curtain). He became prime minister once again in 1951 and even won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. The Exhibition Room at Chartwell emphasises the phenomenal achievements of the man: from his Nobel Prize to the Cross of Lorraine, there are some extraordinary treasures here that bear testimony to an incredible life lived.

On 27 July 1964 Churchill was present in the House of Commons for the last time, and one day later a deputation headed by Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home presented him with a resolution that had been carried by the House of Commons to put on record its unbounded admiration and gratitude for his services to Parliament, to the nation and to the world. It remembers, above all, his inspiration of the British people when they stood alone, and his leadership until victory was won; and offers its grateful thanks.

After Churchill died, aged 90, on Sunday 24 January 1965 his body lay in state for three days by decree of The Queen and a state funeral service was held at St Pauls Cathedral. This was the first non-royal state funeral since 1914, and no other of its kind has been held since a fitting farewell to our greatest Briton.

To read more of our Great Britons series, please visit the BRITAIN magazine website at www.britain-magazine.comph

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There is in London all that life can afford, but if your budget doesn't stretch to tea at The Ritz or tickets to the opera you can still appreciate the very best of the city

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There are things in London that money cant buy. Some of these, though, include its finest experiences: the stuff of dreams and breath-snatching memories. It doesnt take money to enjoy them, because Londons best can be free.

Theres a huge amount to see and do that doesnt cost a penny. Many museums, for example, make no charge for admission including some of the largest such as the Science Museum and British Museum. They are fascinating places and justifiably popular but can often seem rather busy reason enough perhaps to seek out some of their lesser-known, more specialist contemporaries.

You dont exactly have time on your hands at the Clockmakers Museum, but you come pretty close. The museum of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers (a City livery company founded in 1631) is in the City of London Guildhall. Here, there are hundreds of watches as well as clocks and maritime implements on display. They include 17th-century horological masterpieces as well as

more unusual timepieces such as a 19th-century decimal clock (100 seconds per minute, 100 minutes per hour, 10 hours per day).

Its only a short walk across the Guildhall yard to the Guildhall Art Gallery, home of the Corporation of Londons art collection established in 1886 as a collection of art treasures worthy of the capital city. Works date from the late 17th century onwards, but one piece in particular steals the show: John Singleton Copleys Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar was specially commissioned by the Corporation, and at a jaw-dropping 458 square feet is one of Britains largest oil paintings.

However, there is more to the gallery than first meets the eye: a sinister secret lies beneath it a place of death and brutality. Discovered only in 1988, Londons Roman amphitheatre is now fully accessible in the gallerys basement; its one of the capitals most moody and atmospheric experiences.

Aspiring tycoons should next make the short walk to Bartholomew Lane and the Bank of England Museum. Comprehensively telling the story of

the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street (as the bank is fondly nicknamed), there are displays of banknotes, real and forged (the million pound note is a star attraction), as well as the banks charter of 1694. Everyone should handle, and lift (if you can), a real gold ingot. It weighs 13kg.

It wouldnt be right to visit London without partaking of that great British tradition tea drinking. The people at Twinings shop at 216 Strand have been brewing it here for more than 300 years.

Back in 1706, Thomas Twinings shop was a coffee house, but he had a hunch an interloper tea might just

Clockwise from above: The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers museum is in the City of London Guildhall; Twinings tea shop is also home to a small museum; Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace



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catch on. He was right, for which millions of Britons have reason to be grateful. They still sell tea at number 216 more than one hundred varieties to be precise and you can pick it up, smell it or even ask them to make you a brew. Theres also a small museum telling the story of Britains favourite beverage.

Its unthinkable to visit London and not take in a good show, but you dont have to buy the most expensive seats in the house. For music, pageantry and colour, you cant beat Changing the Guard. Usually held at 11.30am on alternate days (daily May to July), at Buckingham Palace, it is performed in full ceremonial dress and is accompanied by a Guards band. The ceremony is also held daily at Horse Guards Arch.

For more music, City of London churches are renowned for their free lunchtime concerts. In the West End, meanwhile, St Martin-in-the-Fields similarly has a long tradition of hosting such events. Additionally, there are often performances at picturesque bandstands in Hyde Park,

Regents Park and St Jamess Park during the summer (check if a charge is applicable).

Londons Royal Parks vary enormously in style from relative simplicity to geometric grandiosity and it costs nothing to use them. Green Park extends to just over 40 acres, its boundary being formed by Constitution Hill, Queens Walk and Piccadilly. It is well known for its specimen trees especially Londons signature tree, the plane. Unusually, there are few owerbeds and shrubberies, but for all that it is particularly worth visiting in spring when the lawns explode in an ocean of more than 250,000 daffodils.

Of 16th-century origin, St Jamess Park is Londons oldest royal park. The fairytale view across its willow-fringed lake to the pinnacled turrets and roofs of Buckingham Palace and beyond is especially memorable.

St Jamess has always been noted for its bird life: an of cial bird-keeper was appointed during the 19th century, and a bird-keepers cottage provided. Both remain to this day.

The most celebrated residents are the pelicans, of which there are six. Feeding time is around 2.30pm.

Although St Jamess was redesigned by John Nash in 1827, it was to be Regents Park that really made the architects name. As might be expected of something commissioned by the Prince Regent, everything is

Top: The Queen Victoria Memorial seen from Green Park. Above: Eye-catching fountain in Regent's Park


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on a grand scale. Essentially an inner circle within an outer circle, it extends to some 400 acres. The inner circle, now known as Queen Marys Garden, is home to more than 30,000 rose bushes. The boating lake, meanwhile, has some 600 waterfowl in residence. There is also a secret garden, just off the inner circle, comprising several circular enclosures; as its name suggests, most visitors miss it. The park was planned as part of a grandiose neo-classical development featuring crescents, villas and circuses fit for Londons elite. The intention was for the entire scheme to be centred on Piccadilly Circus, but shortage of money meant that Nash never completed it. He did, however, succeed in building some of Londons finest homes known as the Nash Terraces around the eastern side of the outer circle.

Chester Terrace, for example, has a continuous unbroken facade of 940ft, its frontage periodically embellished with enormous Corinthian columns. Cumberland Terrace is equally eye-catching, adorned with statuary, more Corinthian columns, and friezes. These were homes for the affluent and they wanted people to know it.

Stand almost anywhere in London, and the chances are you will similarly be surrounded by fine architecture: young, old, obvious and not-so-obvious. Occasionally, you will have to do as those seeking Wrens memorial are urged: circumspice. But its there... all around you.

While buildings such as St Pauls Cathedral charge for admission there is no charge to visit many of Londons smaller churches (although donations

are always welcome). The Citys St Stephen Walbrook is one of Wrens finest. Engulfed by surrounding development, it is easy to miss, but within is a scene that seems uncannily familiar. Complete with dome, it is considered to have been a dummy run for St Pauls Cathedral. Other churches worth seeking out include St Bartholomew the Great in West Smithfield (dating from 1123) and St Michael Paternoster Royal

Above: Tower Bridge and the City seen from the Thames. Below: The dome of St Stephen Walbrook

London For Free

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(also in the City), where fabled Dick Whittington, thrice lord mayor of medieval London, is buried.

Each is a little haven of peace, a quality also afforded by Londons Inns of Court the home of its legal profession; they are noted not only for history and architecture, but also their immaculate gardens. Those at Lincolns Inn, Grays Inn and Inner Temple oases of calm in a busy capital are generally open to the public at lunchtime.

If London hasnt yet pioneered free shopping, you can at least browse for free and in that respect you cant beat its markets. Borough Market for food-lovers; Spitalfields covered market for speciality goods (generally

better at the tail end of the week); and Portobello Road, beloved of Paddington Bear of the classic childrens books. And for the ultimate in floriferous experiences, it has to be Columbia Road flower market on Sundays. Early-risers get the best bargains, but you cant beat the excitement of just being there.

Theres some marvellous window-shopping to be had too. For sheer specialism, try the London Silver Vaults in Chancery Lane. Effectively an underground series of vaults, each is a shop: if you want it in silver, the chances are they will have it. From a teaspoon to a chandelier to objects that, frankly, have to be seen to be believed.

It serves as a reminder of Samuel Johnsons words that, there is, in London all that life can afford. Although you dont always need a bulging wallet to enjoy it.

For more information go to the BRITAIN website at www.britain-magazine.com

LONDON FOR 10

A day in London for 10? Including paid-for attractions, morning coffee and lunch? Here's how...J National Gallery, 10am for a quick look (free).J Horse Guards Arch: Changing the Guard, 11am (10am Sundays), (free).J Vicinity of Trafalgar Square; coffee (allow 2.50).J Trafalgar Square: number 15 bus eastbound on a traditional red Routemaster (1.40; use pre-pay Oystercard for this fare).J From the bus enjoy the views of St Clement Danes church; Royal Courts of Justice; St Bride's, the wedding cake church; Fleet Street. Alight at Old Bailey.J Bart's Hospital Museum tells the story of the world-famous hospital founded in 1123 (free).J Late lunch, from any supermarket around Cheapside (allow 3, or less). Enjoy it in Postman's Park.J St Alfege's churchyard for a section of Roman wall (free).J Next, Leadenhall Market for boutique window-shopping. Admire the wonderful restored Victorian roof of this bustling former market.J Finally, visit the Monument built to commemorate the Great Fire of London. It's 311 steps to the top (3).

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This image and top left: London's markets are wonderful places to browse. Below: The National Gallery is free to visit


The Thirsty Bear is Londons first fully-fledged self-service pub. With iPads and self-pour beer taps on the tables, you can pour your own pint and order food/drinks directly to your table. In a world where no-one likes to queue, this is simply genius. The system is efficient and easy to work, to which you can also choose the music via the jukebox, and surf the net. They have an extensive mouth-watering burger list mixed with bar snacks and pasta dishes to suit all taste-

buds. With a fantastic offering of great beers, real ales, wines and quality cocktails, The Thirsty Bear offers something for everyone.

The Thirsty Bear62 Stamford Street, Blackfriars, London SE1 9LX.Tel: 0207 928 5354

www.thethirstybear.com

P U B R E V O L U T I O N I S E D

THETHIRSTY BEAR

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Wessex has its roots in Anglo-Saxon times when it was a glorious bastion of a unified England under Alfred the Great. It was author Thomas Hardy, however, who cemented Wessex in the nations consciousness and it remains an idyll of rural tranquillity just waiting to be explored

WORDS CHRIS FAUTLEY

Hardys Wessex is broadly the modern day county of Dorset, seen here at Gold Hill in Shaftesbury

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD

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Wessex

AR FROM THE MADDING CROWD



It was a long low cottage with a hipped roof of thatch, having dormer windows breaking up into the eaves.It could be the quintessential English country cottage, but it was also the modest home of tranter Dewy in Thomas Hardys Under the Greenwood Tree. The little dwelling with thick bushes of box ... growing in clumps outside was also a very real place: it was based on Hardys birthplace in Higher Bockhampton, a village a few miles north-east of Dorchester Dorsets county town.

Now owned by the National Trust, this cottage is where Hardy wrote Far from the Madding Crowd. Set adjacent to woodland, it is surrounded by the heaths that became his Egdon Heath. These, and the county town, were to be the focal points of Hardys Wessex.

The roots of Wessex originate in Anglo-Saxon times. At its peak, it stretched from Cornwall to Kent and was under its various kings notably Alfred the Great the cradle of a uni ed England. Hardys Wessex, though, is broadly though not exclusively the modern-day county of Dorset.

If Hardys birthplace was unpretentious in the extreme, nearby Athelhampton House is anything but. It is centred on a great hall, built in 1485, and is well known for its 19th-century gardens particularly the Great Court with its pyramid-shaped yew trees. Hardy made it Athelhall, the setting for his poem The Dame of Athelhall.

In 1885 Hardy moved to Dorchester, where he designed Max Gate. A red brick townhouse it, too, is owned by the National Trust, and is where he wrote Tess of the dUrbervilles and Jude the Obscure. The town, meanwhile, famously became Casterbridge in Hardys ctional world.

Dorchesters history stretches back as far as any town in Britain: to the Romans, it was Durnovaria. Then, it probably extended to some 80 acres, and was walled. Fragments of this remain. The Romans greatest legacy here, PH

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though, is the remains of a townhouse, probably dating from the 4th century. It is particularly noted for its mosaic.

Coastal locations appeared in many of Hardys novels, including Weymouth (from where John Endecott set sail to found Salem, in Massachusetts), which became Budmouth in The Trumpet-Major. Weymouth has Georgian running through it like a stick of seaside rock. King George III spent a great deal of time here; a statue of him, in garter robes, was erected on the seafront in 1810. A shade north-east, near Osmington, a horse and rider cut into the chalk hillside is another royal portrayal.

These days, Weymouth is a popular family resort, not least because of its broad sandy beach. It particularly

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Left: The broad sandy beach at Weymouth. Facing page: Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck



lends itself to sand sculpture, for which the town has gained an international reputation.

If Weymouth presents a picture of natural calm, then the Isle of Portland to its south is the exact opposite. More accurately a four-mile peninsula, here sandy beaches give way to a coast of rugged limestone. Of great durability, this stone was famously used by Wren to face St Pauls Cathedral. At Portland Bill, the islands southernmost tip, the ocean crashes incessantly onto the shore below a 135ft red and white candy-stripe lighthouse.

Portland is connected to the western coast of the mainland by Chesil Beach Britains largest tombolo, or shingle bar. At 18 miles long and up to 40ft high, it is backed by a lagoon The Fleet. For reasons unknown, the shingle is, without exception, finely graded from pea-sized in the west to fist-sized at Portland.

The village of Abbotsbury lies slightly inland of the spot where The Fleet peters out. It is named after a Benedictine abbey that was founded here in 1044. This did not survive the Dissolution and little remains of the monastery buildings save a large gable. Much of the attendant 14th-century tithe barn, however, escaped demolition. At 262ft long, it was one of Englands biggest.

St Catherines Chapel, also 14th century, fared rather better than the abbey, although it lies beyond the monastery precincts. Its impressive ruins sit in relative isolation surveying The Fleet and the distant Isle of Portland. The chapels name is derived from the 3rd-century saint after whom spinning Catherine Wheel fireworks are also named. (Roman emperor Maximus I tortured her by tying her to a wheel upon which sword points were set.)

Abbotsbury has a population of about 1,100 of which it should be added some 600 are swans. These reside at a swannery established by the monks adjacent to The Fleet; feeding time is twice daily. Slightly less frantic spectacles may be enjoyed in the adjacent subtropical gardens, established in 1765.

East of Weymouth, the coast is dominated by limestone, which meets the ocean in dramatic cliffs. Nowhere is the power of the sea more evident the rocks at Durdle Door having been timelessly eroded to create a natural arch. A mile-and-a-half to its east, along the close-cropped grass cliffs, Lulworth Cove is a sheltered haven with a narrow entrance. Here, the sea has broken through the hard limestone, enabling it to excavate an almost perfect elliptic cove from the softer rocks behind.

Today, Lulworth draws visitors keen to enjoy its natural beauty, but it was once witness to more turbulent times. Across millions of years, the rock strata in the cliffs have been thrust from horizontal to almost vertical caused by the same forces that created the Alps. The landscape continues to evolve: Stair Hole, a soupcon of spindrift west, is another Lulworth in the making; the sea hasn't quite broken entirely through the limestone.

Lulworth featured in Far from the Madding Crowd: a small basin of sea enclosed by the cliffs. Here Sergeant Troy bathed, venturing between the two projecting spurs of rock, only to be caught in the savage currents beyond.

Life is altogether quieter, literally and literarily, at Tyneham village, four miles east. Here, time has stood still since 1943, to be precise. A notice, then pinned to the church door, explains why:

Above: The Tudor mansion of Athelhampton House, known for its 19th-century gardens



Wessex

Lulworth draws visitors keen to enjoy

its natural beauty, but it was once witness to more turbulent times

Clockwise from top left: Durdle Door; pretty cottages and church at Abbotsbury;

St Catherines Chapel in Abbotsbury; a heritage steam railway runs from Swanage to Corfe Castle; Thomas Hardys Cottage; Alfred the

Great, famous ruler of Wessex

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Above left: The restored Victorian pier at Swanage. Above right: Kingston Lacy was built between 1663 and 1665 to resemble an Italian Palace

Three years earlier, with a garrison of just 80 men, it had successfully withstood a six-week siege. The castle belonged to the Bankes family, but it was Lady Mary Bankes who took it upon herself to move in and defend it. The castle keys still hang at Kingston Lacy, the Bankes family home, 12 miles north of Corfe. The estate was bought in 1632 by Sir John, a wealthy lawyer, but it was his son, Ralph, who was responsible for the Italian-style palace we see today. During the 19th century, it was greatly modernised by Charles Barry who clad the exterior in stone and built a fine, marble staircase. It is one of Wessexs treasure houses, noted for its outstanding picture collection.

Kingston Lacy is a far cry from the modest surroundings into which Hardy was born and his last resting place is no less humble. His ashes are interred in Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey, but his story ends in the village that became Mellstock in Under the Greenwood Tree. For his heart is buried in the churchyard of Stinsford parish church, just a mile from Higher Bockhampton. In death as in life, a man whose heart forever lies in his beloved Wessex.

For more information please go to www.visit-dorset.com or the BRITAIN website: www.britain-magazine.com

Please treat the church and houses with care. We have given up our homes where many of us have lived for generations to help win the war to keep men free.

Tyneham was requisitioned by the military to aid D-Day preparations, its 225 residents housed elsewhere. They never did return: it is now part of Lulworth ranges and is still used for military exercises. Nevertheless, it is periodically open to visitors who are able to see it just as it was: school, church and homes standing lonely on the landscape.

Nine miles east of Tyneham, Swanage is a popular resort with clifftop walks and a charming pier. It was the birthplace of John Mowlem founder of the building company of the same name. He gained a reputation for acquiring buildings and exporting them to Swanage. Thus, the frontage of the town hall was originally part of Wrens Mercers Hall in London; similarly, the clock tower adjacent to the pier came from the south side of London Bridge where it had been erected as a tribute to the Duke of Wellington.

Its a short ride on a heritage steam railway from Swanage to Corfe Castle a village dominated by the ruins of its crumbling stronghold. Edward the Martyr was murdered here in AD 979. The parlous state of the ruins, however, is not due to neglect, but rather an unsuccessful attempt by Parliamentarian troops to blow it up in 1646.

J This year, 140 years since the publication of Thomas Hardys Far from the Madding Crowd, a Hollywood film adaptation of the book will be released. Filmed in and around Hardy Country in Dorset, the film stars Carey Mulligan, Michael Sheen and Tom Sturridge. Few authors have such strong associations with their local area as Thomas Hardy, and today you can explore two of the writers houses his childhood home and Max Gate, the property Hardy designed himself and moved into after his

marriage. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hardys-birthplace /www.maxgate.co.uk J While in Dorset, check out the latest offering from the stylish hotel The Pig. The Pig on the Beach is set to open above Studland Bay, one of the countrys most beautiful beaches. The 18th-century manor house has dramatic views of Old Harry Rocks and the Jurassic Coast and will, like its sibling in the New Forest, feature a kitchen garden with home-grown produce. www.thepighotel.com

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Top: Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons and its tranquil garden. Above left: The terrace outside L'Enclume in Cartmel, Cumbria. Above right: Bay crab,


Top: Le Manoir aux Top: Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons and its Quat'Saisons and its tranquil garden. tranquil garden. Above left: The Above left: The terrace outside terrace outside L'Enclume in L'Enclume in Cartmel, Cumbria. Cartmel, Cumbria. Above right: Bay crab, Above right: Bay crab,

Hampton Court is in the London borough of Richmond upon Thames and was originally built for Thomas Wolsey

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Theres more to Hampton Court Palace than the Tudors. It consists of two distinct halves, built in two very different eras. But both were intended as a show

of strength and the walls tell as many stories as the ghosts that haunt themWORDS PIP BROOKING

A TALE OF TWO PALACES

Royal London



ive hundred years ago to the year Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the second most powerful

man in England, acquired a small manor on the banks of the River Thames. Halfway between

Windsor and London and surrounded by hunting ground, it was the perfect spot to build what was to become one of the most important palaces in the land.

Everything from Hampton Courts moat to its battlements was designed to reflect status. As fitting for a cardinal, Wolsey looked to Rome and Renaissance influences. The distinctive red brick was a bold, new look for the time. And the palace boasted a whole host of modern comforts: it was said, for example, there were enough chimneys for every day of the year; there were more lavatories than any palace had boasted before; and in the first courtyard the Base Court was a fountain that would flow with wine. Everything about the impressive building screamed to the world that King Henry VIIIs right-hand man had arrived.

Why come you not to court? the rhyme went. To which court? To the Kings court? Or to Hampton Court? But this was a dangerous jibe in a time dominated by political rivalry, plots and schemes and before long Wolsey fell from grace.

By 1528, the palace was owned, and extended, by the king. It was where his son Prince Edward was born and his beloved wife Jane Seymour died; its where he divorced his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, and married wives number five and six. And it was a note left in a pew in Hampton Courts chapel that informed him of the devastating adultery of the first of these, Catherine Howard.

Her ghost is why the corridor running past the chapel is known as the haunted gallery: she has been seen replaying her last desperate attempt to get to the king to beg for forgiveness and for her life. And according to Annabel King, one of the state apartment wardens, if any modern day visitors faint, they are most likely to do so here adding a chilling credence to the tale.

It would be unfortunate for any visitor to end their tour here for such a reason, but at least they would have already seen Henrys Great Hall, where Shakespeare may well have first performed Hamlet. Today, the room is decked out with some of the most valuable items in the entire royal collection: 10 enormous tapestries made of 50 per cent metal gold, silver and bronze thread that would have glistened in the sunlight. The Abraham Tapestries were commissioned towards the end of the kings reign to draw parallels between the Old Testament father figure and the

F



monarch, to legitimise his new role as head of the English Church. They are worth 25 million each.

The rest of the hall is now dominated by dark wood. We have the Victorians to thank for that, says Annabel King. The floor in Tudor times would have been shiny, with green and white tiles; they had to go because they proved too heavy for the floor itself. The ceiling wouldnt have been plain wood with a bit of gold; it would have been bright blue and in many ways a bit like Hogwarts. Henry himself would not have approved of the current stained glass windows, as each one bears the heraldry of one of his six wives.

Up to 1,200 people would be fed in the Great Hall each day, typically getting through 100 sheep and 30 oxen conspicuous consumption was the flavour of the day. But the king and his nobles were more likely to be seen in the state apartments, indicating their higher standing.

Here visitors will find the Great Watching Chamber, where Jane Seymours badges remained emblazoned on the ceiling even when the king remarried. And in the dynastic

portrait hanging in the Processional Gallery beyond this room, Henry is painted together with Jane and Edward, while his two daughters by his first two wives are sidelined. The kings message was clear: having provided his son and heir, Jane was the only wife that mattered.

The chapel on the same site as the medieval manors chapel is the only part of Hampton Court still used for its original purpose. As part of The Queens Ecclesiastical Household, services are held daily and there is currently

a fundraiser to restore the organ that was once played by the likes of Handel and Purcell.

It is also where Tudor meets the baroque, most

noticeably, for the first time. The room is dominated by an oak screen carved by Grinling Gibbons for Queen Anne, but Henry would have recognised the beautiful, intricately designed blue and gold ceiling, where its worth spotting the deliberate mistake: the royal motto Dieu et mon droit is repeated 32 times, but the n in each is written backwards the idea being that nothing manmade can be perfect.

Above, from left to right: Gold leaf decoration around a palace door; Catherine Howard's ghost is said to haunt Hampton Court; 10 valuable tapestries of metal thread hang in the Great Hall

The Great Hall is decked out with some of the most valuable items in the entire royal collection: 10 enormous tapestries

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