8
Castles, Cathedrals & Croissants
6
London
3
9
7
4 5
10 11 1 2 12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Buckingham Palace................................................................. 4 Westminster Abbey.............................................................. 12 The British Museum............................................................ 18 The Tower of London.......................................................... 21 Kensington Palace................................................................ 28 Sherlock Holmes Museum.................................................. 38 David Lamb (Cousin)........................................................... 40 London Zoo........................................................................... 41 St Paul’s Cathedral................................................................ 46 Horse Guards Parade........................................................... 54 The Banqueting House........................................................ 58 The Natural History Museum............................................ 60 3
10
9
5
Paris
8 1
11
7 2
4
6
1 2 2 3 4 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
The Eiffel Tower................................................................... 62 Les Invalides & Napoleon’s Tomb...................................... 66 Musée de l’Armée................................................................. 70 Disneyland Paris................................................................... 78 Notre-Dame de Paris........................................................... 86 Treasury of Notre Dame................................................... 100 Musée du Louvre................................................................ 106 Maine-Montparnasse Tower............................................ 110 Musée Rodin........................................................................ 112 Musée d’Orsay..................................................................... 115 Palace of Versailles............................................................. 116 Arc de Triomphe & Surrounds......................................... 134 La Sainte-Chapelle (The Holy Chapel)........................... 140
15 16
13
14
11 12
9
10
17
8
4 5
2 3
1 19
7
6
1 Hever Castle............................................................. 144 2 Jane Austen’s House Museum............................... 150 3 Winchester Cathedral............................................. 154 3 The Great Hall, Winchester................................... 162 4 Stonehenge............................................................... 164 5 Old Sarum................................................................. 168 6 Tintagel Castle......................................................... 170
England 7 8 9 9 10 11 12
Michael Lamb.......................................................... 179 Glastonbury Abbey................................................. 180 Gloucester Cathedral.............................................. 186 Beatrix Potter’s Museum & Shop.......................... 191 Blenheim Palace....................................................... 192 Warwick Castle........................................................ 198 Shakespeare’s Birthplace........................................ 208
13 Sherwood Forest...................................................... 210 14 Nottingham Castle.................................................. 212 15 Chatsworth House................................................... 216 16 Haddon Hall............................................................. 222 17 Windsor Castle........................................................ 228 18 The White Cliffs of Dover...................................... 236 19 Folkstone................................................................... 240
18
The Mall
4
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace is the official London residence and principal workplace of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focus for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis. Originally known as Buckingham House, the building which forms the core of today’s palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1705 on a site which had been
in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was subsequently acquired by George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte, and known as “The Queen’s House”. During the 19th century it was enlarged, principally by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, forming three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace finally became the official royal palace of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. The last major structural additions were made
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the East front, which contains the well-known balcony on which the royal family traditionally congregates to greet crowds outside. However, the palace chapel was destroyed by a German bomb in World War II; the Queen’s Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection.
Victoria Memorial
6
7
The Mall
8
Sir Keith Park (NZ), Defender of London
9
10
11
12
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the most notable religious buildings in the United Kingdom, and is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English, later British monarchs.
Westminster Abbey
The abbey is a Royal Peculiar, and between 1540 and 1550 had the status of a cathedral. According to a tradition first reported by Sulcard in about 1080, a church was founded at this site (then known as Thorn Ey (Thorn Island)) in the 7th century, at the time of Mellitus (d. 624), a Bishop of London. Construction of the present church was begun in 1245 by King Henry III.
Since 1066, when King Harold and William the Conqueror were crowned, the coronations of English and British monarchs have been held here. Since 1100, there have been at least 16 royal weddings at the abbey. Two were of reigning monarchs (Henry I and Richard II), although before 1919 there had been none for some 500 years.
14
15
16
House of Commons
17
The British Museum
18
The British Museum is a museum in London dedicated to human history and culture. Its permanent collection, numbering some 8 million works, is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence and originates from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759 in Montagu House in Bloomsbury, on the site of the current museum building. Its expansion over the following two and a half centuries was largely a result of an expanding British colonial footprint and has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions, the first being the British Museum Natural History) in South Kensington in 1887. Some objects in the collection, most notably the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, are the objects of intense controversy and of calls for restitution to their countries of origin. Pantheon
Rosetta Stone
19
Buried alive, Pompeii
20
Mo‘ai
Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England.
The Tower of London
The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 (Ranulf Flambard), until 1952 (Kray twins) although that was not its primary purpose.
A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site.
Tallest & shortest suit of armour
Royal throne
22
23
White Tower
24
Glass-sculpted pillow (beheading memorial)
The (Torture) Rack
Polar bears were gifts from other nations
25
26
Traitors’ Gate
Replica of the Coronation chair
27
28
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century, and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their son Prince George of Cambridge, Prince Harry of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Kensington Palace is also used on an unofficial basis by Zara Phillips.
Kensington Palace
On 6 November 2011, it was announced that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge would move from their temporary residence in Kensington Palace to the four-story, 20-room Apartment 1-A, formerly the residence of Princess Margaret. Once the Duke and Duchess had moved into their new apartment, Prince Harry was expected to move his official residence from Clarence House to the residence the Duke and Duchess vacated. On 28 March 2012, it was announced that
Prince Harry had moved his residence from Clarence House to a one-bedroom apartment at Kensington Palace. Kensington Palace was the official residence of Diana, Princess of Wales, Princess Margaret and Princess Alice. Today, the State Rooms are open to the public and managed by the independent charity Historic Royal Palaces. The offices and private accommodation areas of the Palace remain the responsibility of the Royal Household.
30
31
32
33
34
Victoria’s Mourning Dress
35
36
Hyde Park Gates
Albert Memorial
Hyde Park
37
Sherlock Holmes Museum
The Sherlock Holmes Museum is situated within an 1815 townhouse very similar to the 221B described in the stories and is located between 237 and 241 Baker Street. It displays exhibits in period rooms, wax figures and Holmes memorabilia, with the famous study overlooking
Baker Street the highlight of the museum. The description of the house can be found throughout the stories, including the 17 steps leading from the ground-floor hallway to the first-floor study.
Bust of Sherlock Holmes
Hound of the Baskervilles
39
David Lamb
40
It was with great hesitation that I met my cousin David. I’ve never met him before (not that I could remember) and wasn’t really sure of what we’d talk about. He’d organised a table at a bar around the corner from his work. Ange and I felt a bit overwhelmed as it seemed awfully grown up, but as soon as we met him we placed our orders for cheeseburgers and diet cokes and instantly started to relax. I told him what I thought about London and how fantastic it is and how different it is to back home. Even though we’ve never really spoken before, it’s uncanny how similar we are in habits. He doesn’t drive or travel, lives in a cave, single and enjoys the quieter moments of nocturnal living. He used to work for Andrew Lloyd Webber. These days he runs a website design business as his theatre work can be temporary. His current full time job is company director of Mamma Mia. He’s also the PA to Clive Owen, but that doesn’t need much attention, apparently. He had to leave and get back to work. We made a leisurely stroll to his office around the corner, the Novello Theatre. David arranged nice seats to Mamma Mia, so we sang along to the now anthem like songs of Abba. Having had those songs ingrained into me from such an early age, it wasn’t like I didn’t know the words. I’m still in two minds about musicals, but whatever, he’s family. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening with a relaxed dinner, nostalgic show and wonderful to meet my cousin.
London Zoo
London Zoo is the world’s oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. It was eventually opened to the public in 1847. Today it houses a collection of 755 species of animals, with 16,802 individuals, making it one of the largest collections in the United Kingdom.
As well as being the first scientific zoo, ZSL London Zoo also opened the first Reptile house (1849), first public Aquarium (1853), first insect house (1881) and the first children’s zoo (1938). ZSL receives no state funding and relies on ‘Fellows’, ‘Friends’, ‘Members’, entrance fees and sponsorship to generate income.
42
43
Trafalgar Square
HMS Belfast
44
Piccadilly Circus
The Shard
Trafalgar Square Shakespear’s Globe Theatre
45
St Paul’s Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of London and mother church of the Diocese of London. It sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. The present church, dating from the late 17th century, was
St. Paul’s Cathedral
designed in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren. Its construction, completed within Wren’s lifetime, was part of a major rebuilding program which took place in the city after the Great Fire of London. The cathedral is one of the most famous and most recognisable sights of London, with its dome, framed by the spires of Wren’s
City churches, dominating the skyline for 300 years. At 111m high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962, and its dome is also among the highest in the world. In terms of area, St Paul’s is the second largest church building in the United Kingdom after Liverpool Cathedral.
The Millennium Bridge
47
48
49
50
Victoria Memorial
Westminster Abbey
51
Tower Bridge
52
London Eye
53
Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London. It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch’s official birthday, and Beating Retreat. Every morning the ceremony of Changing of the Guard takes place at Horse Guards Parade (11:00 Monday - Saturday, 10:00 Sunday).
Horse Guards Parade
The annual Trooping of The Colour where the troops are presented to The Queen takes place at Horse Guards Parade. Horse Guards Parade was formerly the site of the Palace of Whitehall’s tiltyard, where tournaments (including jousting) were held in the time of Henry VIII. It was also the scene of annual celebrations of the birthday of Queen Elizabeth I. The area has been used for a variety of reviews, parades and other ceremonies since the 17th century.
It was once the Headquarters of the British Army. The Duke of Wellington was based in Horse Guards when he was Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. The current General Officer Commanding London District still occupies the same office and uses the same desk. Wellington also had living quarters within the building, which today are used as offices.
55
56
57
The Banqueting House
The Banqueting House, Whitehall, London, is the grandest and best known survivor of the architectural genre of banqueting house, and the only remaining component of the Palace of Whitehall. The building is important in the history of English architecture as the first building to be completed in the neo-classical style which was to transform English architecture. Begun in 1619, and designed by Inigo Jones in a style influenced by Palladio, the Banqueting House was completed in 1622 at a cost of £15,618, 27 years before King Charles I of England was executed on a scaffold in front of it in January 1649. The building was controversially re-faced in Portland stone in the 19th century, though the details of the original façade were faithfully preserved. Today, the Banqueting House is a national monument, open to the public and preserved as a Grade I listed building. It is cared for by an independent charity, Historic Royal Palaces, which receives no funding from the Government or the Crown.
59
60
Precious stones room
The Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum exhibiting a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Natural History Museum’s main frontage, however, is on Cromwell Road.
The museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 70 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology. The museum is a world-renowned centre of research specialising in taxonomy, identification and conservation. Given the age of the institution, many of the collections have great historical as well as scientific value, such as specimens collected by Charles Darwin.
The museum is particularly famous for its exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and ornate architecture — sometimes dubbed a cathedral of nature — both exemplified by the large Diplodocus cast which dominates the vaulted central hall. The Natural History Museum Library contains extensive books, journals, manuscripts, and artwork collections linked to the work and research of the scientific departments; access to the library is by appointment only.
The Eiffel Tower is an iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris, named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Erected in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 World’s Fair, it has become both a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the mostvisited paid monument in the world; 7.1 million people ascended it in 2011. The tower received its 250 millionth visitor in 2010.
The Eiffel Tower
The tower stands 324 metres tall, about the same height as an 81-floor building. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to assume the title of the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years, until the Chrysler Building in New York City was built in 1930. Because of the addition of the antenna atop the Eiffel Tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 m. The tower has three levels for visitors.
The third level observatory’s upper platform is at 279m the highest accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend, by stairs or lift (elevator), to the first and second levels. The walk from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. Although there are stairs to the third and highest level, these are usually closed to the public and it is usually accessible only by lift.
63
64
65
L’Hôtel national des Invalides (The National Residence of the Invalids), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building’s original purpose. The buildings house the Musée de l’Armée, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d’Histoire Contemporaine, as well as the burial site for some of France’s war heroes.
Les Invalides
Because of its location & significance, the Invalides served as the scene for several key events in French history. On 14 July 1789 it was stormed by Parisian rioters who seized the cannons & muskets stored in its cellars to use against the Bastille later the same day. Napoleon was entombed under the dome of the Invalides with great ceremony in 1840. In December 1894 the degradation of Captain Alfred Dreyfus was held before the main building, while his subsequent rehabilitation ceremony took place in a courtyard of the complex in 1906.
The most notable tomb at Les Invalides is that of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821). Napoleon was initially interred on Saint Helena, but King Louis-Philippe arranged for his remains to be brought to France in 1840, an event known as le retour des cendres. Napoléon’s remains were first buried in the Chapelle Saint-Jérôme in the Invalides until his final resting place, a tomb made of red quartzite and resting on a green granite base, was finished in 1861.
67
Napoleon’s Tomb
68
Cathedral of Saint-Louis des Invalides
69
70
The Musée de l’Armée (Army Museum) is a national military museum of France located at Les Invalides in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. The Musée de l’Armée was created in 1905 with the merger of the Musée d’Artillerie and the Musée Historique de l’Armée. Today, it holds 500,000 artifacts, including weapons, armor, artillery, uniforms, emblems and paintings, exhibited in an area of 12,000 m². The permanent collections are organized into “historical collections”,
Musée de l’Armée
representing a chronological tour from ancient times through the end of World War II. The Musée de l’artillerie was founded in 1795 in the aftermath of the French Revolution,and expanded under Napoleon. It was moved into the Hôtel des Invalides in 1871. In March 1878, the museum hosted an “ethnographic exhibition”, as it was called, which represented the main “types” of Oceania, America, Asia and Africa. Dummies representing people from the colonies,
along with weapons and equipment, were the main attraction. The exhibit, organized by Colonel Le Clerc, attempted to demonstrate theories of unilineal evolution, putting the European man at the apex of human history. Parts of this collection began to be transferred to the Ethnographic Museum of the Trocadéro in 1910 and in 1917; the last colonial rooms were closed just after the 1931 Paris Colonial Exhibition. All remnants were transferred after the Second World War.
72
73
74
75
76
77
Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris, originally Euro Disney Resort, is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-VallĂŠe, a new town located 32 km (20 mi) east of the center of Paris and is the most visited attraction in all of France and Europe. It is owned and operated by Euro Disney S.C.A., a publicly traded company in which The Walt Disney Company owns a minority stake.The resort covers 4,800 acres (19 km2) and encompasses two theme parks, several resort hotels, a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex, and a golf course, in addition to several additional recreational and entertainment venues. Disneyland Park is the original theme park of the complex, opening with the resort on April 12,
78
1992. A second theme park, Walt Disney Studios Park opened in 2002. The resort is the second Disney park to open outside the United States, following Tokyo Disney Resort, and the first to be owned and operated by Disney (through Euro Disney S.C.A.). The resort was designed specifically to follow the model established by Walt Disney World in Florida.Park attendance, hotel occupancy and revenues initially fell below projections, but in July 1995 the company saw its first quarterly profit. However, the resort still struggles to be profitable even to this day because of its large debt.
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
Notre-Dame de Paris (“Our Lady of Paris”), also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is a historic Roman Rite Catholic Marian cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world.
Notre-Dame de Paris
The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in contrast with earlier Romanesque architecture. As the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame is the parish that contains the cathedra, or official chair, of the archbishop of Paris, currently Archbishop André VingtTrois. The cathedral treasury is notable for its reliquary which houses some of Catholicism’s most important first-class relics
including the purported Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross, and one of the Holy Nails. In the 1790s, NotreDame suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. An extensive restoration supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc removed remaining decoration, returning the cathedral to its original Gothic state.
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
Over the centuries since it was built, Notre-Dame has received sumptuous donations from sovereigns and great men who hoped to demonstrate their attachment to the Church and their spirit of patronage. The value of these objects could also be connected to the historical circumstances surrounding them: some of them commemorate visits from Sovereign Pontiffs, like the chasuble worn by Jean-Paul II during the 1997 World Youth Days, or, on a more tragic note, objects used by
Treasury of Notre Dame the three archbishops of Paris who died violent deaths in the 19th century. Until the Revolution, the Treasury was commonly considered to be a possible money reserve that could be used in times of crisis, such as epidemics, famines, and foreign and civil wars. Either upon the express request of the king or on his own volition, the chapter of Notre-Dame has always had the habit of melting down precious objects to make money.
This was the fate of the vermeil reliquary of Saint Simeon and Saint Andrew, which had been a gift from Philippe-Auguste, the sapphire and pearl statuette of Saint Denis bearing the coat of arms of Isabeau de Bavière, which was sold around 1429, the golden bust of Saint Agnes decorated with a rich sapphire surrounded by eight precious gemstones and bearing a gold branch.
101
102
103
104
105
Musée du Louvre
106
The Musée du Louvre, the Louvre Museum or simply The Louvre — is one of the world’s largest museums, and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres. With more than 8 million visitors each year, the Louvre is the world’s most visited museum. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum, to display the nation’s masterpieces.
107
Great Sphinx Of Tanis
108
Venus de Milo
Mo’ai
Winged Victory of Samothrace
109
Maine-Montparnasse Tower Maine-Montparnasse Tower, also commonly named Tour Montparnasse, is a 210-metre office skyscraper located in the Montparnasse area of Paris, France. Constructed from 1969 to 1972, it was the tallest skyscraper in France until 2011, when it was surpassed by the 231m Tour First. As of June 2013, it is the 14th tallest building in the European Union. The tower was designed by architects Eugène Beaudouin, Urbain Cassan and Louis Hoym de Marien and built by Campenon Bernard.
The tower’s simple architecture, large proportions and monolithic appearance have been often criticised for being out of place in Paris’s urban landscape. As a result, two years after its completion the construction of buildings over seven storeys high in the city centre was banned. The design of the tower predates architectural trends of more modern skyscrapers today that are often designed to provide a window for every office. Only the offices around the perimeter
of each floor of Tour Montparnasse have windows. It is sometimes said that the view from the top is the most beautiful in Paris, because it is the only place from which the tower itself cannot be seen. A 2008 poll of editors on Virtualtourist voted the building the second-ugliest building in the world.
111
The Musée Rodin in Paris, France, is a museum that was opened in 1919, dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. It has two sites, at the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds in central Paris, and just outside Paris at Rodin’s old home, the Villa des Brillants at Meudon (Hautsde-Seine). The collection includes 6,600 sculptures, 8,000 drawings, 8,000 old photographs and 7,000 objets d’art, and the museum receives 700,000 visitors annually.
112
Musée Rodin
While living in the Villa des Brillants Rodin used the Hôtel Biron as his workshop from 1908, and subsequently donated his entire collection of sculptures (along with paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir that he had acquired) to the French State on the condition thatthey turn the buildings into a museum dedicated to his works. The Musée Rodin contains most of Rodin’s significant creations, including The Thinker, The Kiss and The Gates of
Hell. Many of his sculptures are displayed in the museum’s extensive garden. The museum is one of the most accessible museums in Paris. It is located near a Metro stop, Varenne, in a central neighborhood and the entrance fee is very reasonable. The gardens around the museum building contain many of the famous sculptures in natural settings. Behind the museum building is a small lake and casual restaurant.
113
The Thinker
114
Musée d’Orsay
The Musée d’Orsay is a museum in Paris, France, on the left bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d’Orsay, an impressive Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world, by such painters such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin and Van Gogh. Many of these works were held at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume prior to the museum’s opening in 1986. The museum building was originally a railway station, Gare d’Orsay, constructed for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans and finished in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle to the design of three architects: Lucien Magne, Émile Bénard and Victor Laloux. It was the terminus for the railways of southwestern France until 1939.
115
The Palace of Versailles is a royal château in Versailles in the Îlede-France region of France. When the château was built, Versailles was a country village; today, however, it is a wealthy suburb of Paris, some 20 kms southwest of the French capital. The court of Versailles was the centre of political power in France from 1682, when Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in October 1789 after the beginning of the French Revolution. Versailles is therefore famous not only
Palace of Versailles
as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime. The Fifth Republic has enthusiastically promoted the museum as one of France’s foremost tourist attractions. The palace, however, still serves political functions. Heads of state are regaled in the Hall of Mirrors; the Sénat and the Assemblée nationale meet in congress in Versailles to revise or otherwise amend the French Constitution, a tradition that came into effect with the promulgation of the 1875 Constitution.
Life at Versailles was intrinsically determined by position, favour and above all one’s birth. Today, many people see Versailles as unparalleled in its magnificence and splendour; yet few know of the actual living conditions many of Versailles august residents had to endure. Modern historians have, on more than one occasion, compared the palace to a vast apartment block. Apart from the royal family, the majority of the residents were senior members of the household.
117
118
119
Kings Bedroom
120
Queen’s Bedroom
121
122
Hall of Mirrors (Grand Ballroom)
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
The Grand Trianon
The Grand Trianon was built in the northwestern part of the Domain of Versailles at the request of Louis XIV, as a retreat for the King and his maîtresse en titre of the time, the marquise de Montespan, and as a place where the King and invited guests could take
light meals away from the strict étiquette of the Court. The Grand Trianon is set within its own park, which includes the Petit Trianon (the much smaller château built between 1762 and 1768 during the reign of Louis XV).
131
132
133
Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.
The Arc de Triomphe is the linchpin of the historic axis – a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre, to the Grande Arche de la Défense. The monument was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806, and its iconographic program pitted heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail. It set the tone for public monuments, with triumphant patriotic messages.
The monument stands 50m in height, 45m wide and 22m deep. It was the largest triumphal arch in existence until the construction of the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, in 1982. Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus. The Arc de Triomphe is so colossal that three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919 (marking the end of hostilities in World War I), Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it, with the event captured on newsreel.
135
136
Obélisque
137
138
Place de la Concorde
Fontaine Saint-Michel
Grand Palais. Avenue des Champs Elysees
139
140
La Sainte-Chapelle (The Holy Chapel)
La Sainte-Chapelle (The Holy Chapel) is a royal medieval Gothic chapel, located near the Palais de la Cité, on the Île de la Cité in the heart of Paris, France.Begun some time after 1239 and consecrated on the 26th of April 1248, the SainteChapelle is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture. Its erection
was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion Relics, including Christ’s Crown of Thorns - one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom. With the Palais de la Cité, today called La Conciergerie, the Sainte-Chapelle is one of the surviving buildings of the
Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité. Although damaged during the French revolution, and restored in the 19th century, it retains one of the most extensive in-situ collections of 13thcentury stained glass anywhere in the world.
142
143
Hever Castle is located in the village of Hever, Kent, near Edenbridge, 48 kms south-east of London, England. It began as a country house, built in the 13th century. From 1462 to 1539 it was the seat of the Boleyn, originally ‘Bullen’, family. Anne Boleyn, the second queen consort of King Henry VIII of England, spent her early youth there, after her father, Thomas Boleyn had inherited it in 1505. He had been born there in 1477, and the castle passed to him upon the death of his father,
Hever Castle
Sir William Boleyn. It later came into the possession of King Henry’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. Hever Castle is now a tourist attraction, drawing on its links to Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, its mazes, gardens and lake. There is an annual events programme with assorted events including jousting tournaments and archery displays in the summer months and an annual patchwork and quilting exhibition in September.
The castle offers three floors containing antique furniture, Anne Boleyn’s prayer books, instruments of torture, and a large collection of Tudor paintings. There is also a museum of the Kent Yeomanry. The remains of the original country house timbers can still be seen within the stone walls of the fortification, while the gatehouse is the only original part of the castle. It has the oldest working original portcullis in England.
145
146
147
148
149
Jane Austen’s House Museum
Jane Austen’s House Museum is a small private museum in the village of Chawton near Alton in Hampshire. It occupies the 17th-century house (informally known as Chawton Cottage) in which novelist Jane Austen spent the last eight years of her life.
When she arrived at Chawton she had written three novels in draft form, these were Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey. It is possible that she revised these novels at the house, before getting them published.
151
152
Jane Austen’s Writing Desk
153
Winchester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and greatest overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. Dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and Saint Swithun, it is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and centre of the Diocese of Winchester. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.
Winchester Cathedral
Nowadays the cathedral draws many tourists as a result of its association with Jane Austen, who died in Winchester on 18 July 1817. Her funeral was held in the cathedral and she was buried in the north aisle. The inscription on her tombstone makes no mention of her novels, but a later brass tablet describes her as “known to many by her writings�.
The cathedral was the setting for works of fiction by Anthony Trollope, for example, his novels of 19th-century church life known collectively as the Chronicles of Barsetshire. In 2005, the building was used as a film set for The Da Vinci Code, with the north transept used as the Vatican. Following this, the cathedral hosted discussions and displays to debunk the book.
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
The Great Hall, Winchester
The Great Hall, “one of the finest surviving aisled halls of the 13th century”, contains the greatest symbol of medieval mythology, King Arthur’s Round Table, and is all that now remains of Winchester Castle. The Castle was originally constructed for William the Conqueror in 1067 to help secure his hold on the city after the Norman Conquest. It housed important aspects of government such as the Treasury and the Exchequer.
By the end of King John’s reign in 1216 the Castle and its royal palace needed extensive repair so between 1222 and 1235 the Castle’s hall was replaced by the building which you see today, at a cost of £500. In 1302, Edward I and his second wife narrowly escaped death when the royal apartments of the castle were destroyed by fire. During the English Civil War the Castle was held by the Royalists until its capture by the Parliamentary Forces in 1646.
Oliver Cromwell eventually ordered its demolition, but the Great Hall was kept as a venue for assemblies and the County Assizes. Throughout its history the Great Hall has witnessed important events and been a legal and administrative centre. Sir Walter Raleigh stood trial here in 1603 and the notorious Judge Jeffreys condemned supporters of the Duke of Monmouth to death here as part of the Bloody Assizes in 1685.
163
164
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, about 3.2 km west of Amesbury and 13 km north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is the remains of a ring of standing stones set within earthworks. It is in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.
Stonehenge
Archaeologists believe it was built anywhere from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. Radiocarbon dating in 2008 suggested that the first stones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC, whilst another theory suggests that bluestones may have been raised at the site as early as 3000 BC. Archaeological evidence found by the Stonehenge Riverside Project in 2008 indicates that Stonehenge could have been
a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. The dating of cremated remains found on the site indicate that deposits contain human bone from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug. Such deposits continued at Stonehenge for at least another 500 years. The site is a place of religious significance and pilgrimage in Neo-Druidry.
166
167
Old Sarum (Latin: Sorviodunum) is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury, in England. The site contains evidence of human habitation as early as 3000 BC. Old Sarum is mentioned in some of the earliest records in the country. It is located on a hill about two miles north of modern Salisbury adjacent to the A345 road.
Old Sarum
Old Sarum was originally an Iron age hill fort strategically placed on the conjunction of two trade routes and the River Avon. The hill fort is broadly oval in shape, 400 metres (1,300 ft) in length and 360 metres (1,180 ft) in width; it consists of a double bank and intermediate ditch with an entrance on the eastern side. The site was used by the Romans, becoming the town of Sorviodunum. The Saxons used the site as a
stronghold against marauding Vikings, and the Normans built a stone curtain wall around the Iron age perimeter and a centrally placed castle on a motte protected by a deep dry moat. A royal palace was built within the castle for King Henry I and subsequently used by Plantagenet monarchs. A Norman cathedral and bishop’s residence were built at the western end of the town.
169
170
Tintagel Castle
Tintagel Castle (Cornish: Dintagel, meaning fort of the constriction) is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island, adjacent to the village of Tintagel in Cornwall. The site was possibly occupied in the Romano-British period, due to an array of artefacts dating to this period which have been found on the peninsula, but as yet no Roman era structure has been proved to have existed there. It subsequently saw settlement during the Early Medieval period, when it was probably one of the seasonal residences of the regional king of Dumnonia. In the 13th century, during the Later Medieval period, after Cornwall had been subsumed into the kingdom of England, a castle was built on the site by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, which later fell into disrepair and ruin. Archaeological investigation into the site began in the 19th century as it became a tourist attraction, with visitors coming to see the ruins of Richard’s castle. In the 1930s, excavations revealed significant traces of a much earlier high status settlement, which had trading links with the Mediterranean during the Late Roman period. The castle has a long association with Arthurian legends. This began in the 12th century when Geoffrey of Monmouth in his mythical account of British history, the Historia Regum Britanniae described Tintagel as the place of Arthur’s conception. According to Geoffrey, his father, King Uther Pendragon, was disguised by Merlin’s sorcery to look like Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, the husband of Ygerna, Arthur’s mother. Today, Tintagel Castle is a tourist destination, as it has been since the mid-19th century, and it is managed by the governmental organisation English Heritage.
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
We sat and ate an awful dinner. Pizza & burgers, but not even the magnificent view could cheer us up after visiting Michael.
Michael Lamb
I knocked on the door and was greeted by a frail old man, his handshake weak. I wasn’t expecting Michael to be grey, bearded and very much older than my memory of him. Then again, he probably wasn’t expecting a balding, overweight, middle aged man either. We sat and had digestive biscuits and tea and talked for roughly 2 hours, reconnecting with long lost memories. You could tell that he was still quick, still enjoyed a laugh but underneath quite ill. I always had a memory of when I was 6, we scaled a castle, and it was the most awesomist thing I can remember. He told me it was Carnbrae and it was on a hill right behind his house in Redruth. He had a painting of Carnbrae in his room, it obviously meant a lot to him too. He used to work in the Navy, even repairing the cowlings on Spitfires. He said that he nearly made it to Australia once, Darwin to be precise. But 200 metres off shore he was ordered to come back home. His room was decorated with numerous photos. He had a computer, and David even gave him a joystick for Christmas one year so that he could play a flight simulator. Sadly, he’d lost interest in it and wasn’t really into the internet anymore. He had been involved in computers for a long time and could reflect about ‘the old days’. I do wish that I’d have got to know my uncle, but sadly he was just too far away. It was getting late, they brought him dinner. Beetroot sangers. It must be in the genes. It was time to head off. We came away feeling sad, sad that this was the end of the line for my uncle. I found it hard to accept that he was surrounded by strangers and any tick of the clock, gone! But as mum pointed out, that’s the way she’ll go as well. I’m so glad the we went and visited him, shook his hand and spent a few hours together . It was like Who Do You Think You Are, but way better.
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. The ruins are now a grade I listed building, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument and are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 7th century and enlarged in the 10th, before a major fire in 1184 destroyed the buildings. It was rebuilt and by the 14th century was one of the richest and most powerful monasteries in England. The abbey also controlled large tracts of surrounding land and was instrumental in major drainage projects on the Somerset Levels. The abbey was suppressed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII of England and the last Abbot Richard Whiting (Whyting) was hanged, drawn and quartered as a traitor on Glastonbury Tor in 1539. From at least the 12th century the Glastonbury area was frequently associated with the legend of King Arthur, a connection promoted by medieval monks who asserted that Glastonbury was Avalon. Christian legends have also claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century.
180
181
182
183
184
185
Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester is one of the six former abbey churches which became cathedrals at the Reformation under Henry VIII’s “New Foundation”. Before that it was the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter. This has been a Christian site for over 1300 years, since a minster was founded here c 679 by Osric, Prince of Mercia. But the present building was the work of the first Norman abbot, Serlo, chaplain to William the conqueror. The foundation stone was laid in 1089, the eastern end was dedicated in 1100, and the entire church finished by c 1130. The abbey was a wealthy and important monastery church throughout the middle ages; in 1216 Henry III, then a boy of nine, was hurriedly crowned king here. The monastery was dissolved in 1540, and became the Cathedral Church for the new Diocese of Gloucester in 1541 - seemingly it escaped the destruction suffered by other monastic centres because of its royal connections. During the comparative calm of the 18th century, the building was relatively well cared for, and in the later 19th century some fairly light-handed restoration work by George Gilbert Scott left it as we see it today. Surviving two world wars, the cathedral remains in active daily use for the purpose for which it was built 900 years ago - the worship of God.
187
188
189
Beatrix Potter’s The Tailor of Gloucester Museum & Shop
Number 9, College Court, standing beside the ancient St Michael’s Gate, was the building Beatrix Potter chose for the setting of her story, The Tailor of Gloucester. The inspiration for this story came in May 1894 when Beatrix Potter was staying with her cousin, Caroline Hutton. Whilst at the Hutton’s home, Harescombe Grange, which lies five miles
south of Gloucester, Caroline told Beatrix the curious tale of a local tailor. Closing his shop at Saturday lunchtime with a waistcoat cut out but not sewn together, he was surprised to discover when, on the Monday morning he opened the shop again, to discover that apart from one button hole, the waistcoat had been sewn together. A tiny note was pinned to
the button hole which read, “no more twist”. Beatrix requested that they visit Gloucester the next day when she saw the tailor’s shop and sketched some of the city’s buildings. After an appeal in the local newspaper, in 2006 funds were raised to purchase the freehold of the building. It is now a museum with a gift shop run by volunteers.
Blenheim Palace is a monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, residence of the dukes of Marlborough. It is the only non-royal non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England’s largest houses, was built between 1705 and circa 1722. Blenheim Palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Blenheim Palace
Its construction was originally intended to be a gift to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, from a grateful nation in return for military triumph against the French and Bavarians at the Battle of Blenheim. However, it soon became the subject of political infighting, which led to Marlborough’s exile, the fall from power of his duchess, and irreparable damage to the reputation of the architect Sir John Vanbrugh.
Designed in the rare, and short-lived, English Baroque style, architectural appreciation of the palace is as divided today as it was in the 1720s. It is unique in its combined usage as a family home, mausoleum and national monument. The palace is also notable as the birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill.
Morris dancers
193
194
195
196
197
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from an original built by William the Conqueror in 1068. The original wooden motte-and-bailey castle was rebuilt in stone in the 12th century. During the Hundred Years War, the facade opposite the town was refortified, resulting in one of the most recognisable examples of 14th century military architecture. It was used as a stronghold until the early 17th century, when it was granted to Sir Fulke Greville by James I in 1604. Sir Fulke
Warwick Castle
Greville converted it to a country house. It was owned by the Greville family, who became earls of Warwick in 1759, until 1978 when it was bought by the Tussauds Group. Individuals have been visiting the castle since the end of the 17th century and this grew in importance through the 19th century. In 1858 Queen Victoria visited the 4th earl with great local celebrations. However by 1885 it would appear the visitors were becoming a nuisance as the earl closed the
castle to visitors, causing consternation in the town. By 1936 Arthur Mee was enthusing not just that “these walls have seen something of the splendour of every generation of our [English] story”, with rooms “rich in treasure beyond the dreams of avarice” but also that “their rooms are open to all who will”. The collection of armoury on display at Warwick Castle is regarded as second only to that of the Tower of London.
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
Trebuchet
206
207
Shakespeare’s Birthplace
Shakespeare’s Birthplace is a restored 16th-century half-timbered house situated in Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, where it is believed that William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and spent his childhood years.
It is now a small museum open to the public and a popular visitor attraction, owned and managed by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. It has been referred to as “a Mecca for all lovers of literature”.
209
210
Sherwood Forest
Sherwood Forest is a Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, that is famous through its historical association with the legend of Robin Hood. Continuously forested since the end of the Ice Age (as attested by pollen sampling cores), Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve today encompasses 423.2 hectares, surrounding the village of Edwinstowe, the site of Thoresby Hall. The forest is a remnant of an older and much larger royal hunting forest, which derived its name from its status as the shire (or sher)
wood of Nottinghamshire which in fact extended into several neighbouring counties, bordered on the west along the River Erewash and the Forest of East Derbyshire. Sherwood Forest is home to the famous Major Oak, which, according to local folklore, was Robin Hood’s principal hideout. The oak tree is between 800 and 1,000 years old and, since the Victorian era, its massive limbs have been partially supported by an elaborate system of scaffolding.
Nottingham Castle is located in a commanding position on a natural promontory known as “Castle Rock”, with cliffs 40 metres high to the south and west. In the Middle Ages it was a major royal fortress and occasional royal residence. In decline by the 16th century, it was largely demolished in 1649, but sufficient fragments remain to give an impression of the layout of the site. A ducal mansion later occupied the summit of the promontory. This was burnt out by rioters in 1831, and later adapted as an art gallery and museum. It houses most of
Nottingham Castle
the City of Nottingham’s fine and decorative art collections, galleries on the history and archaeology of Nottingham and the surrounding areas, and the regimental museum of the Sherwood Foresters. For centuries the castle served as one of the most important in England for nobles and royalty alike. It was in a strategic position due to its location near a crossing of the River Trent; and it was also known as a place of leisure being close to the royal hunting grounds at Tideswell, which was the “Kings Larder” in the Royal Forest of the
Peak, and also the royal forests of Barnsdale and Sherwood Forest. Nottingham Castle now plays host to a number of public annual events. This includes the Nottingham Beer Festival, the Robin Hood Pageant and even played host to the world record breaking attempt for the most people dressed as Robin Hood in one place in 2008. Additionally, The Nottingham Castle Victoria Cross Memorial, dedicated on 7 May 2010, lists Albert Ball and 19 other Nottinghamshire recipients of the Victoria Cross.
213
Avro Lancaster Windscreen
Robin Hood Battalion Museum
214
Albert Ball Memorial
215
Chatsworth House is a stately home in the county of Derbyshire in the East Midlands region of England. It lies within the Derbyshire Dales administrative district, about 5.6kms northeast of Bakewell and 14 kms west of Chesterfield. It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.
Chatsworth House
Standing on the east bank of the River Derwent, Chatsworth looks across to the low hills that divide the Derwent and Wye valleys. The house, set in expansive parkland and backed by wooded, rocky hills rising to heather moorland, contains a unique collection of priceless paintings, furniture, Old Master drawings, neoclassical sculptures, books and other artefacts. Chatsworth has been selected as the United Kingdom’s favourite country house several times.
Chatsworth House appeared in the 2005 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It represented Pemberley, Mr Darcy’s home. The house itself is named in the novel as one of the estates Elizabeth Bennet visits before arriving at Pemberley. The house was also used in The Duchess (2008), featuring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes, and The Wolfman (2010), with Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins.
217
218
219
220
221
Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye at Bakewell, Derbyshire, one of the seats of the Duke of Rutland. It is currently occupied by Lord Edward Manners (brother of the current Duke) and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it has been described as “the most complete and most interesting house of [its] period�.
Haddon Hall
The origins of the hall date to the 11th century. The current medieval and Tudor hall includes additions added at various stages between the 13th and the 17th centuries. The Vernon family acquired the Manor of Nether Haddon by a 13th-century marriage. Dorothy Vernon, the daughter and heiress of Sir George Vernon, married John Manners, the second son of Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland, in 1563. A legend grew up in the 19th century that Dorothy and Manners
eloped. The legend has been made into novels, dramatisations and other works of fiction. She nevertheless inherited the Hall, and their grandson, also John Manners, inherited the Earldom in 1641 from a distant cousin. His son, another John Manners, was made 1st Duke of Rutland in 1703. In the 20th century, another John Manners, 9th Duke of Rutland, made a life’s work of restoring the hall.
223
224
225
226
227
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. The castle is notable for its long association with the British royal family and for its architecture. The original castle was built in the 11th century after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I, it has been used by succeeding monarchs and it is the longest-occupied palace in Europe. The castle’s lavish, early 19th-century State Apartments are architecturally significant, described by art historian Hugh Roberts as “a superb and unrivalled sequence of rooms widely regarded as the finest and most complete expression of later Georgian taste”. The castle includes the 15th-century St George’s Chapel, considered by historian John Robinson to be “one of the supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic” design. More than five hundred people live and work in Windsor Castle. Originally designed to protect Norman dominance around the outskirts of London, and to oversee a strategically important part of the River Thames, Windsor Castle was built as a motte and bailey, with three wards surrounding a central mound. Gradually replaced with stone fortifications, the castle withstood a prolonged siege during the First Barons’ War at the start of the 13th century. Henry III built a luxurious royal palace within the castle during the middle of the century, and Edward III went further, rebuilding the palace to produce an even grander set of buildings in what would become “the most expensive secular building project of the entire Middle Ages in England”. Edward’s core design lasted through the Tudor period, during which Henry VIII and Elizabeth I made increasing use of the castle as a royal court and centre for diplomatic entertainment. Windsor Castle survived the tumultuous period of the English Civil War, when it was used as a military headquarters for Parliamentary forces and a prison for Charles I. During the Restoration, Charles II rebuilt much of Windsor Castle with the help of architect Hugh May, creating a set of extravagant, Baroque interiors that are still admired. After a period of neglect during the 18th century, George III and George IV renovated and rebuilt Charles II’s palace at colossal expense, producing the current design of the State Apartments, full of Rococo, Gothic and Baroque furnishings. Victoria made minor changes to the castle, which became the centre for royal entertainment for much of her reign. Windsor Castle was used as a refuge for the royal family during the bombing campaigns of the Second World War and survived a fire in 1992. It is a popular tourist attraction, a venue for hosting state visits, and Elizabeth II’s preferred weekend home.
228
229
230
St George’s Chapel
231
232
233
234
235
The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs which form part of the English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliffs are part of the North Downs formation. The cliff face, which reaches up to 110m, owes its striking faรงade to its composition of chalk accentuated by streaks of black flint. The cliffs spread east and west from the town of Dover in the county of Kent, an ancient and still important English port. The cliffs have great symbolic value in Britain because they
The White Cliffs of Dover face towards Continental Europe across the narrowest part of the English Channel, where invasions have historically threatened and against which the cliffs form a symbolic guard. Because crossing at Dover was the primary route to the continent before the advent of air travel, the white line of cliffs also formed the first or last sight of England for travellers. During the summer of 1940, reporters gathered at Shakespeare Cliff to watch aerial dogfights between German and British
aircraft during the Battle of Britain. . On a clear day, the cliffs are easily visible from the French coast. The cliff face continues to weather at an average rate of 1 centimetre per year, although occasionally large pieces will fall. This occurred in 2001, when a large chunk of the edge, as large as a football pitch, fell into the channel. A further large section collapsed into the English Channel on 15 March 2012. Visitors are, therefore, urged to remain well away from the cliff edge.
237
238
239
Time to head home. This was the final days view from our room in Folkstone, overlooking the channel. I write this postscript three months after coming home. Ange came for the castles and cathedrals, I came for the photos and was not disappointed. Looking back, we had such an amazing time, as this book is a small testament to that. The sights, culture, history, the amazing food. We pushed ourselves, every day was a new adventure but we had a jolly good time.
Folkstone
It all seems so surreal now, images of Big Ben, Tower Bridge, The Eiffel Tower, we’ve been there. We’ve stood in the Louvre and admired Lisa just like the many millions of others before us. Versailles and Notre Dame were the highlights. I still find it unbelievable that a church built nearly 1,000 years ago can have such amazing architecture and stonework. To think something so ornate and detailed was hand crafted with primitive tools, far below anything we’d use today is beyond comprehension.
Versailles was just as spectacular, with no expense spared. The lavishness of all the rooms is beyond compare, with the Hall of Mirrors being the obvious highlight. It’s no wonder that it sparked a revolution, as the King lived a opulent lifestyle while his people starved. I think, for us, this will long be remembered as the holiday to beat. In the meantime, I have this book to remind me.