Uktrippointsofinterest2014

ITINERARY Master Rug Cleaner, UK CARPETS, CASTLES AND CATHEDRALS May 16-25, 2014

May 17-18 Windsor Castle History The original construction, a motte and bailey (an artificial hill with a fenced area at the top), was built for William the Conqueror around the year 1080. Originally part of a ring of defenses around London, Windsor Castle gradually became a popular Royal residence because of the good hunting in the nearby forest. The Round Tower, along with the original outer wall, was erected for King Henry II in the 12th century. Further improvements and enlargements took place over the centuries until the magnificent castle we see today finally emerged in 1830. A favorite of Queen Victoria, the castle survived for most of the 20th century with few changes. It is the primary home of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on weekends.

The Fire November 20, 1992, was a black day for Windsor Castle. A fire, started it is thought by a workman's spotlight, caught hold in the Private Chapel. Quickly spreading above the wooden ceiling paneling, the fire raged out of control for hours and gutted many rooms. The smoke and flames were visible for miles around. Flames could be seen shooting out from the roof of one of the towers. Windsor castle is now fully re-opened for visitors after restoration at a cost of almost ÂŁ40 million. The damaged rooms were restored to their original state.

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Changing of The Guard Changing of The Guard takes place at 11am daily in summer and every other day for the rest of the year, except Sundays. The guards march along the High Street (in front of the Guildhall) and turn right up Castle Hill before marching into the castle to take the place of the soldiers already on duty.

Open-top Bus Tours Guide Friday open top double decker bus tours depart from Castle Hill, although you can catch the bus from any of about 10 stops. The ticket is valid all day and you can get on and off at any of the stops. The tours are excellent - the guides tell you things even the locals don't know. Adults £6. Pensioners and Students £5. Children under 12 £2.50. Children under 5 FREE. Family Ticket (2 adults & up to 4 children) £14.50 The River Thames Enjoy a walk along the tow-path. Alternatively, you might like to take a riverboat trip along the river to Bray. Short return cruises leave from the jetty near Windsor Bridge. The short cruise leaves every 30 minutes and lasts 35 minutes. Adults £3.20 Children £1.60. Longer 2 hour cruises run twice a day. Adults £5.40 Children £2.70

May 19 Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and has not been inhabited by the British Royal Family since the 18th century. The palace is located 11.7 miles upstream of central London on the River Thames. It was originally built for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favorite of King Henry VIII, circa 1514. In 1529, as Wolsey fell from favor, the palace was passed to the King, who enlarged it. Along with St. James's Palace, it is one of only two surviving palaces out of the many owned by King Henry VIII. The Ardabil Rug in V&A was cleaned and conserved here when the Textile Conservation Studio was located on the grounds.

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May 19

Cambridge Cambridge is most widely known as the home of the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209 and consistently ranked one of the top five universities in the world.

Pierre and Laurence de Wet founded the Art of Clean in 2005 and became Master Rug Cleaners in 2010.

They have grown their company into the largest specialty cleaning company in Cambridgeshire.

May 20-21

Kidderminster The town of Kidderminster lies about 20 miles southwest of Birmingham in the English industrial midlands. It has been a center of weaving for many centuries, and in the mid - late eighteenth century began to specialize in new forms of carpet weaving, rightfully coming to be called the carpet capital of Britain.

From early times Kidderminster, on the River Stour, was a cloth producing town. One of its principal products was a heavy weight, multi-purpose material known as Kidderminster "Stuff". In 1735 the first "Kidderminster" carpet was woven but soon after "Brussels" (level loop Wilton) was introduced and the town's Masters quickly converted their handlooms to concentrate on carpet production.

In the mid-1800s, the Industrial Revolution brought in steam engines, power looms and the mills. The town rapidly expanded and the skyline changed as the factories were built. The twentieth century witnessed the full development of the carpet industry. After World War II, the 1950s boom brought new prosperity to the workforce and the industry as new housing demanded "wall-to-wall" carpets.

These were the halcyon days with investment by the industry and a program of modernization by the Kidderminster Borough Council. The boom period ended in the late 1970s because of over-production, new techniques and cheaper imports from abroad.

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About the Carpet Museum Trust in Kidderminster In 1981, The Carpet Museum Trust was founded with the aim of “establishing a public museum or museums for the exhibition of items of local historical and educational interest and in particular in any way connected with the manufacture of carpets and similar textiles.”

In September 2007, the Trust successfully applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a Project Planning Grant to develop the project further. This bid was successful and the Carpet Museum Trust was awarded nearly £1.7 million for a new museum to be housed in the former Stour Vale Mill. The Carpet Museum was opened to the public on October 20, 2012.

About our Host, Melvyn Thompson Mr. Thompson is retired after a lifetime in the textile business. He started as an engineering apprentice with Carpet Trades Ltd in the early 50s. He moved to Brintons in Kidderminster in 1990. He was one of the driving forces in the establishment of The Carpet Museum and is the author of Woven in Kidderminster.

The Victoria Carpet Mill Ltd. was opened in 1895 and specializes in the manufacturing of wilton and tufted carpet.

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England and was produced by a culture that left no written records. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is the remains of a ring of standing stones set within earthworks. Archaeological evidence indicates that Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. Radiocarbon dating in 2008 suggests that the first stones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC.

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Wells Wells is a medieval city that gets its name from springs found in the gardens of the Bishop's Palace.

Wells is the smallest city in England with about 12,000 inhabitants. It can call itself a city because of the famous 13th century Cathedral. It remains remarkably unspoiled and has many other historic buildings including the moated Bishop's Palace, Vicars' Close, St Cuthbert's Church and a good local museum.

The Bishop’s Palace in Wells is adjacent to the Wells Cathedral and has been the home of the Bishops of the Diocese of Bath and Wells for 800 years. Part of the buildings are still used as a residence by the current bishop, however much of the palace is now used for public functions.

Trowbridge Trowbridge, in the heart of West Wiltshire, has ancient roots, having been first mentioned in the Domesday Book as ‘Straburg’. Trowbridge developed as a result of its lengthy involvement with woollen cloth production which began in Anglo-Saxon times, but commenced in earnest in the 14th century. This left a rich architectural legacy ranging from the fine 18th-century homes of wealthy clothiers (the woollen cloth industry’s middle men) to former mill buildings.

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Trowbridge Cloth Making Museum This museum tells the story of the west country woollen town, once known as the "Manchester of the West", its people and its history. Housed in a former woollen cloth mill, the museum displays include working textile machinery, a weaver's cottage, a medieval castle and local history displays.

Wilton House Since 1544, when the buildings and land were granted by Henry VIII to Sir William Herbert, Wilton House has been linked to the political and artistic circles of England. Wilton House has remained in the family since that time and is the home of the Earl of Pembroke. In 1720, the 9th Earl of Pembroke smuggled 2 French carpet weavers into England and was instrumental in the development of the wilton woven carpet industry in the UK. This resulted in a new rise in prosperity as carpet factories sprouted up around the town.

However, both cloth and carpet factories suffered another blow in the 19th century when many proved unable to make the switch from water to steam power. The main carpet factory in Wilton shut down in 1904, but was reopened by Lord Pembroke as the Wilton Royal Carpet Factory, which flourished until being shut down again in 1995 by another takeover. Today, the factory is permanently closed and turned into a shopping mall.

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Salisbury A visit to view the best preserved original Magna Carta, “Great Charter”, in the Chapter House is for many visitors the highlight of their time at Salisbury Cathedral. Salisbury Cathedral s home to one of only four surviving original copies of the 1215 proclamation that is considered the founding constitutional document of the English-speaking world. Salisbury plans to take a leading role in the 2015 celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of this historic and iconic document, inscribed in the UNESCO ‘Memory of the World’ register and whose legacy has been its enduring global influence. The Magna Carta is on permanent display to visitors in the newly renovated Chapter House.

1215 1220 1258

Magna Carta sealed.

Building of new Cathedral started on Salisbury Water Meadows. Foundation stones laid.

Cathedral dedicated.

The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A), London, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

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The Ardabil carpet measures (34' 6" x 17' 6") and is the world's oldest dated carpet and one of the largest, most beautiful and historically important in the world. There is a second Ardabil in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This carpet lost its borders and part of its central field; a portion of the missing areas are thought to have been used to repair the carpet owned by the V&A. The two carpets were almost certainly a royal commission and would have taken about four years to weave. Their origins remain unclear but they are said to have come from a complex of shrines and mosques at Ardabil in North West Persia. At one end of the Ardabil carpet, a cartouche contains an inscription which dates it to 1539/40 AD. The large central medallion is characteristic of carpets woven in Tabriz (North West Persia).

The Ardabil Carpet is in a case in the center of Room 42 in The Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art so that the carpet can be seen as intended, on the floor. To preserve its colors, it is lit for ten minutes on the hour and half-hour.

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