Discover Britain August/September 2022 - Sample Issue

DICK WHITTINGTON THE MEDIEVAL ENTREPRENEUR

HISTORY • HERITAGE • TRAVEL

Cotswolds CHARM

WIN an escape

for two to a Scottish Isle

Be swept away by cute villages & romantic castles

Reign Supreme

CELEBRATING OUR QUEEN

At Her Majesty’s Service

MEET THE ROYAL WARRANT HOLDERS

Lyme Regis The jewel of the Jurassic Coast

Osborne House

VICTORIA’S SECRET FAMILY HIDEAWAY AUG/SEPT 2022 £4.95

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POSTCARDS

Wish you were here...

© NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/CHRIS JONAS/LAURENCE PORDES

Inspiring postcards from around the British Isles

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POSTCARDS

CHURCHILL’S REMINDER RESTORED, KENT A painting of Dunkirk gifted to Winston Churchill has gone on public display at his former home No sooner was he installed in office as wartime Prime Minister than Winston Churchill was making his rousing speech, in which he declared “we shall fight them on the beaches” following the evacuation of Dunkirk in May-June 1940.

Now, after painstaking conservation work, a painting depicting some of the 30,000 troops rescued during the evacuation, which was given to Churchill by the son of the artist Ernest Townsend, has gone on display at Churchill’s former home of Chartwell.

Chartwell’s curator, Katherine Carter, said: “We are delighted that we have been able to conserve and finally display such an important symbol of his legacy at his former home. It must have been poignant for him to be given this beautifully painted reminder of such a significant event of the Second World War, just at the time he was writing about Dunkirk for his history of the war a few years later.” ➤ nationaltrust.org.uk/chartwell

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POSTCARDS

TURNER PRIZE COMES TO TOWNER EASTBOURNE, EAST SUSSEX

The Turner Prize, the world’s leading prize for contemporary art is coming to the south coast of England next year.

From 28 September 2023 to 14 January 2024, The Turner Prize will form the centrepiece of the Towner Eastbourne gallery’s centenary celebrations, with the four shortlisted artists’ works on display, and the winner announced on 5 December 2023.

Towner Eastbourne, winner of the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2020 award, has regularly hosted ambitious exhibitions since opening in 1923 – though it has been in its new purpose-built building since 2009.

Alex Farquharson, Director of Tate Britain and Chair of the Turner Prize jury, said of plans to host the exhibition in Eastbourne, “It marks the first time the prize has been held in Sussex, an area that has inspired generations of artists. Towner’s rich history of collecting and exhibiting work by UK artists particularly resonates with The Turner Prize’s aim to champion the latest developments in contemporary British art.” townereastbourne.org.uk

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© MARC ATKINS/ART FUND 2020/CHRISTOPHER ISON/NMRN

The coveted art exhibition will form part of the Towner 100 Centenary celebrations in 2023

POSTCARDS

CLIVEDEN’S LITERARY LINKS, BERKSHIRE This historic house, which harbours 350 years of stories, from the intriguing to the scandalous, makes the perfect setting for an annual literary festival The Cliveden Literary Festival is back for its 5th year from 15-16 October 2022, and will draw on its fascinating history as a literary salon to present an international line-up of writers and thinkers.

It’s a festival whose reputation speaks for itself – British writer Ian McEwan has described it as “probably the world’s best small literary festival,” while Alain de Botton called it “the most dignified and beautiful literary festival on the planet.”

Now a five-star hotel, Cliveden House was built in 1666 by the 2nd Duke of Buckingham as a gift to his mistress, and since then has been a place dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure, power and politics, providing inspiration for everyone from George Bernard Shaw to Jonathan Swift, and playing a starring role in the notorious Profumo Affair.

Natalie Livingstone, Chairman of the Cliveden Literary Festival, said: “Cliveden House has been a sanctuary for lovers of literature and lively discussion for more than 350 years, and the Cliveden Literary Festival 2022 will continue that stellar cultural history.” clivedenliteraryfestival.org

ALL ABOARD FOR AFTERNOON TEA, HAMPSHIRE Henry VIII’s favourite ship, the Mary Rose, is now offering enhanced visitor experiences, including afternoon tea with a tour Visitors to the historic Mary Rose ship in Portsmouth can now take afternoon tea on a VIP balcony overlooking HMS Victory, with incredible views across Portsmouth Harbour and the historic dockyard.

Afternoon tea includes a selection of finger sandwiches (including coronation chicken, of course), mini scones and other delicious cakes, plus a fine selection of Twinings tea.

Afterwards, guests will make their way down to the museum for a guided tour of Henry VIII’s beloved ship, which capsized in 1545, as the king looked on, and lay under the sea undisturbed for 437 years before being raised, treated and conserved. Today the visitor attraction houses the largest collection of Tudor objects of anywhere in the world. ➤ The three-hour afternoon tea experience costs from £95 for two. maryrose.org

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READER LETTERS

Over to you...

Jubilee crafts, childhood memories, and one very satisfied customer: our pick of our reader letters this issue I couldn’t put it down

When the magazine arrives, it usually gets a quick run-through, with plans to read later. This time, a mug of coffee was immediately brewed, the magazine waved at the family as in “please don’t bother me”, and onto the rocking chair I went.

All the articles were outstanding, but I do want to mention a few specifically.

The North Wales Way brought floods of memories of my first, and sadly, only visit to Caernarfon (see right). That castle ruined a brand-new pair of sneakers, what with running up and down, all around, and then doing it all again at least three times. Oh, what a day that was.

The Coldest of Cases – I’ve always been of the opinion that the Duke of Buckingham had lots to do with the demise of the princes....and on his own initiative. Philippa Langley’s hunt for the true culprit will be followed.

A totally new discovery came in the Lewis Chessmen – I have heard of them before, and appreciated reading this article, but the best part was the mention of the BBC’s A History of the World in 100 Objects. I found the book at my library, and it will soon be resting on my lap.

Every issue of Discover Britain is a gem, but, for me, this June 2022 edition (Issue 227) hit every single marker. May you stay as editor for a long while.

Tracey Taliaferro, by email

A Baroque beacon of hope

After recently discovering your magazine, inadvertently, I was pleasantly surprised to see the article on Castle Howard (Issue 228, Jun/Jul 22).

This feature allowed me to reminisce on my only visit, back in August 2020, with the nation still reeling from the pandemic that swept across the world.

During these most challenging times, I was fortunate enough to gain entry (under preventive measures) to peruse this

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magnificent and grandiose stately home.

With exquisite and attractive Baroque interiors, immaculately preserved landscape gardens and the remarkable Atlas Fountain, this elegant scene of perfection supplied a most welcome relief, eclipsing the darker times and uncertainty that surrounded us all, and giving hope to better days ahead.

Now, many other people can marvel in the delights of Castle Howard (pictured above), and long may it continue.

Michael Mills, by email

© JOE CORNISH/CADW PHOTOGRAPHIC LIBRARY

An unwelcome term

Reading Talking Points in the December 2021 issue (224), I was very annoyed – and not for the first time – to see you refer to Britain’s inhabitants as ‘subjects’. In my view, subjects are non-living things, which one could command and impose laws on. And a big difference to subjects, is that subjects need not pay taxes for this humiliation. Inhabitants in Britain and all over the world are human, and therefore living organisms. I request that in future you use a better expression.

Dolores Sischka, by email

student, and visiting neighbours who still lived there so many decades later.

Each time I catch my first glimpses of England from the plane my eyes fill up, I anticipate seeing Ditchling Common again and I always feel like I’m coming home.

Kaye Stephens, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

You never really leave

Secret Shropshire

Would it be possible for your wonderful writers to do a little blurb on Acton Burnell, in Shropshire, and its history? My husband’s name was Robert Burnell and a few years ago my daughter and I visited the town out of curiosity. It was such a beautiful place to visit, that shouldn’t be missed. We traced our Burnells back to Ireland, it’s unlikely we were related but it was still wonderful to see.

Jill Kotcher, by email

I have just received my Discover Britain magazine in the post (June 22, Issue 227), and what a splendid one it was too. How I wish I was able to make it to London on the momentous occasion of the Queen’s Jubilee. I was born in London to British parents but married my husband of over 50 years and have lived in the USA since, though I often return to my old country. I have just finished making this tea cosy and table topper (below) and hope I’ve done Her Majesty proud. Thank you for an amazing job. Full marks!

Mrs Vida Bickford, Doylestown, PA

Home is where the heart is

Crowning glory

To celebrate the Jubilee, I was inspired to make my own crown (above). It took me three days and 300 gems stuck on, one by one, to make. I like your magazine and the Jubilee stuff you’ve shown us, so thought I would join in.

Karen Lightfoot, by email

In January of 1946 I made my first trip from England to Canada tucked safely inside my mother who was a war bride from Sussex. We flew in a converted Lancaster bomber with a handful of other women who were too heavily pregnant to make the trip by boat.

Life on my father’s Canadian prairie farm with no amenities and no neighbours for miles made my mother so homesick that my dad took us back to England in 1950 where we lived happily on Ditchling Common for several years until we returned to Canada. I’ve been back to that lovely spot in Sussex many times since (the last time in 2016), gazing wistfully at the house where we lived, visiting the school on Church Lane where I first became a

GET IN TOUCH! Post: Letters, Discover Britain, The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 3TQ, UK Email: editorial@discoverbritainmag.com Twitter @We_love_Britain Instagram @discover_britain Facebook facebook.com/ DiscoverBritainMag

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© GAVIN HELLIER/AWL IMAGES

LYME REGIS

This image: Lyme Regis’s 13th-century old stone pier, known as ‘the Cobb’, and the town beach

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Jewel of the Jurassic Coast Samantha Priestley visits the Dorset resort of Lyme Regis in the footsteps of Georgian fossil hunter Mary Anning

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