BRITAIN September/October 2014

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DYLAN THOMAS

Magna Carta and the king who signed it

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EDITOR'S LETTER The wonderful thing about British travel is that there is always somewhere different to discover, and this issue for me that place was a stunning peninsula in Wales that I’d always wanted to visit. In Go into Gower (p40), I went on the trail of Swansea’s most famous export, poet Dylan Thomas – who would have been 100 this year – and unearthed a land bathed in as rugged a beauty as you can imagine.

Talking of hidden gems, in 7 Wonders of Britain (p14), we reveal extraordinary locations that will leave you feeling truly humbled, while those of you who like the finer things in life can indulge yourself with a luxurious overnight stay in King of the Castle (p33).

One of our very British peculiarities is our obsession with tea, so come with us as we look back at the history of our favourite beverage in Time for Tea (p48).

This month we also bring you the story of Magna Carta ahead of its 800th anniversary next year in The Birth of Democracy (p56), giving you plenty of time to plan your visit in 2015.

Thermae Bath Spa offers magnificent views of this World Heritage city

CONTENTS VOLUME 82 ISSUE 5

FEATURES Sally Coffey, Editor

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LAND OF GLORY

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7 WONDERS OF BRITAIN

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GROWING UP IN LEEDS CASTLE

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KING OF THE CASTLE

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GO INTO GOWER

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Discover the Wales of

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Magna Carta and the king who signed it

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FAIRYTALE CASTLES

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Cover image: Thornbury Castle, Gloucestershire © Thornbury Castle

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Discover the beautiful and intriguing county of Worcestershire, which inspired one of Britain’s greatest composers, Sir Edward Elgar.

From hidden gems to national parks, and our very own ‘Caribbean beaches’, we bring you the standout spots of the British Isles, which should make it on to any travel itinerary.

Honourable Anthony Russell talks adventures and royal visits during his childhood growing up in the spectacular Leeds Castle in Kent.

You don't have to be born into royalty to stay in a British castle; plenty have luxury rooms where you'll experience treatment fit for a monarch.

In the centenary year of his birth, we explore the places that inspired poet Dylan Thomas.

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FEATURES 48

TIME FOR TEA

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THE BIRTH OF DEMOCRACY

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THE POTTERIES

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WORTH ITS WEIGHT

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REGULARS 21

THE BULLETIN

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LETTERS

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COMPETITION

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POLITE SOCIETY

Our round-up of news, exhibitions, historic finds, shopping tips and stately homes, plus recipes and reading inspiration.

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

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We look back at the origins of our nation’s favourite drink, plus the top places to take tea.

King John's signing of Magna Carta in 1215 set the foundations for civil liberties across the world.

Editor Sally Coffey Art Editor Rhian Colley Assistant Editor Josephine Price Sub Editor Ben Grafton Designer Alicia Fernandes Publisher Simon Temlett Digital Marketing Coordinator Holly Thacker Digital Product Manager Oliver Morley-Norris

We explore the heritage of the famous ceramics industry in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

In the second part of our series on London’s guilds, we enter the wonderful world of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths.

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A look at visionary master craftsman William Morris and his incredible legacy.

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A land

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From the Vale of Evesham to the Malvern Hills, discover more about the beautiful county that inspired one of Britain’s greatest composers, Sir Edward Elgar WORDS CHRIS FAUTLEY

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Pershore also caught the attention of Sir John Betjeman in his poem Pershore Station, or a Liverish Journey First Class. He writes of a train waiting at the station on a chilly winter night: “Gas light on the platform, in my carriage electric light”; and of bells summoning townsfolk for evensong “... in the lighted abbey near”.

One of Worcestershire’s most breathtaking towns is Malvern, or more correctly, Great Malvern. The name ‘Malvern’ is derived from the Celtic term for ‘bare hill’ and residents are used to donning their hiking boots to navigate the town’s steep inclines. A most magnificent sight to behold is the Norman priory church of St Mary and St Michael, set against a backdrop of the Malvern Hills. The intricate architecture of the church is only upstaged by the treasures within. Fiery medieval stained glass and Britain’s largest collection of medieval tiles awaits those who venture inside.

Malvern hosts a yearly festival of drama, which was a firm favourite of George Bernard Shaw. The playwright was a familiar face in the town and many of his works have been performed here over the years.

Great Malvern and neighbouring Malvern Wells were built on the health-giving properties of their mineral springs. Great Malvern became a spa resort during the

The name ‘Malvern’ comes from the Celtic for ‘bare hill’ and residents are used to donning their hiking boots and navigating the town’s steep inclines 8

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F

rom the lowland expanses of the Vale of Evesham in the east, to the Malvern Hills in the west, Worcestershire is a splendid county which totals 672 sq miles and is the birthplace of many famous exports. It gave us Worcester Pearmain apples – the red, crunchy variety first bred by a Worcestershire nurseryman in 1873; Royal Worcester porcelain, founded in 1751; and Worcestershire Sauce, the recipe of which has remained a secret since it was first made in 1835.

It is a county teeming with history; its central city Worcester is the burial place of two saints (Wulfstan and Oswald), while the king who brought us Magna Carta (see page 56) is also buried here. It is a region that has witnessed ferocious battles yet retains much of its supreme ecclesiastical architecture. Coursed by two of Britain’s mightiest rivers – the Avon and Severn – and threaded by one of its finest canals, Worcestershire is a county noted for its mineral springs, music, literature and arts.

Nor is the region any stranger to conflict. During the English Civil War the city of Worcester earned the motto civitas in bello in pace fidelis, meaning ‘loyal city in war and peace’. It is noted for one of the war’s fiercest battles when, on 3 September 1651, more than 3,200 soldiers fell.

Worcester also saw the first true battle of the Civil War on 23 September 1642 – the Battle of Powick Bridge; it lasted barely 20 minutes but around 50 lives were still lost.

Evesham, 12 miles southeast, had seen it all before. A town partly lassoed by a loop of the River Avon, it was here, on the morning of 4 August 1265 that Simon de Montfort made his last stand. Victorious at Lewes a year earlier, the taste of success was short-lived: with his escape route cut off by Prince Edward (later King Edward I), de Montfort and thousands of his troops were slain. According to the chronicler Robert of Gloucester it was mass murder, “... for battle it was none”. An obelisk, a mile north of the town, marks the battle’s location. Simon de Montfort and his son were buried in the church of Evesham’s abbey; founded in AD 701, it did not survive the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536-1541). Little remains, save a fine Norman gateway and a 16th-century bell tower.

Leaving Evesham, the Avon meanders lazily north-west to Pershore. A pretty town, it too has an abbey, founded during the mid-7th century by tribal king Osric and his brother Oswald. Much of it survived the Dissolution and the remains are incorporated into the abbey church. The chancel with its magisterial arcades is 13th-century, while the south transept is Norman. Pershore is also famous for its plums – it even has an annual festival dedicated to the fruit. In its heyday, tons of plums were transported across the country by rail, leading the Great Western Railway to name a train the ‘Pershore Plum’.

Clockwise, from top left: red crunchy Worcester Pearmain apples are among the region’s many famous exports; you can take a scenic ride on a steam train on the Severn Valley Railway; sunsets over the Malvern Hills can be spectacular; the 18th-century country home of Hanbury Hall in Droitwich is a delight to explore, with lots of hidden treasures

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Enjoying Hobbies Together With well-maintained Club Sites the length and breadth of Britain, you’ll be sure to find a pitch providing you with the perfect pit stop for enjoying your favourite hobby. With sites near to castles, beaches, National Parks and cycle routes - your next adventure is just around the corner.

With Club membership you have access to over 3,000 places to camp and you’ll save more than 30% on Club Site pitch fees* plus save an additional 25% off member rates for the over 60.

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Call : 024 7767 5158 Visit : www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/takencareof *Compared to two non-member adults sharing a pitch.

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£37

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Worcestershire

early 19th century and taking the waters soon became de rigueur, with hotels and a water cure house soon developing to service the needs of the town’s visitors.

To some, the 99-step climb to reach the waters of St Ann’s Well will not be quite so ‘health-giving’. This ascent is hardly surprising as Great Malvern is a mere splash from Worcestershire Beacon which, at 425 metres (1,394ft), is the county’s highest point. Meanwhile, the pure waters of Holywell in Malvern Wells have been administered to the sick since 1622, although they are likely to have been popular as far back as medieval times. The present building dates from the 1840s and is where Schweppes started bottling Malvern Water in the mid-19th century.

Droitwich Spa, six miles northeast of Worcester, is another spa town. Its Roman name, ‘Salinae’, offers a clue to the properties of its waters, for Droitwich flourished on its salt springs. The Great Western Railway was quick to capitalise, claiming it was the “greatest natural brine baths for treatment of rheumatism, sciatica, arthritis etc.” A cluster of boarding establishments sprouted to serve those wishing to avail themselves of the baths’ benefits, including the Worcestershire Brine Baths Hotel, and St Andrews House, which, according to a 1923 advertisement, was the ‘only house with electric light.’

Droitwich was also the birthplace, in 1595, of Edward Winslow, one of the Pilgrim Fathers. He was the first person to be married in the colony of New England, and he also fathered the first English child to be born there.

Hanbury Hall, east of the town, is a mansion in the William and Mary style, built in 1701. Wall paintings by Sir James Thornhill are among the highlights, which include the restored Hercules rooms and recreated Gothic corridor. Outside there are 20 acres of gardens that follow 18th-century designs – the recently and exquisitely restored parterre is star of the show. www.britain-magazine.com

The Worcester & Birmingham Canal, which opened in 1815, connects the two cities of its name and also separates Hanbury and Droitwich. Its 30 miles are heavily engineered with five tunnels and 58 locks. A remarkable 36 of these occur in less than three miles, commencing north of Hanbury and lifting vessels a total of 220ft.

Heading northeast from Droitwich the canal reaches Bromsgrove, on the outskirts of which poet A E Housman was born in 1859. Near here you’ll find the Clent Hills, which offer views over the Cotswolds, home to picturesque villages such as the antiques haven of Broadway.

Elsewhere, Lower Broadheath in the Malvern Hills was the birthplace of Sir Edward Elgar. The pretty brick cottage in which he was born and spent much of his time now serves as a museum in tribute to his life. The green, lush fields inspired many of his greatest works, including Pomp and Circumstance and the Enigma Variations.

Meanwhile, in the south of the county of Worcestershire, Upton-upon-Severn was the setting for a

Top to bottom: inside the stately home of Hanbury Hall; Sir Edward Elgar was born in this pretty cottage in Lower Broadheath

Top to bottom: wisteria on Broadway High Street in the Cotswolds; the neo-classical Croome Court; you can see traditional boats on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal

verging-on-uproarious episode in Henry Fielding’s The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. Once a thriving river port, the town’s most noted landmark is its church tower, ‘the Pepperpot’. The rest of the church is missing, having been demolished in 1937.

If anything is missing from Croome, an enormous estate between Malvern and Pershore, it isn’t ambition. Its owner, the National Trust, has recently embarked upon a programme of restoration at the property built for the 6th Earl of Coventry. Harsh and austere to the eye, Croome Court is nevertheless intact, if unrestored. Commenced in 1751, with interiors created by neo-classical architect Robert Adam, it is a jewel in the rambling acres of Croome Park – Capability Brown’s first big work.

Set within its grounds are more triumphs of Robert Adam, Capability Brown and James Wyatt, including St Mary Magdalene church by Brown (interior by Adam) and the Corinthian-columned Island Temple, by Wyatt. But perhaps its most surprising piece of architecture is by nobody in particular – a wartime base, RAF Defford was once home to scores of servicemen and now serves as the estate’s visitor centre.

Bredon is a few miles southeast of Croome and was immortalised by A E Housman in Bredon Hill (part of A Shropshire Lad), in which he found scores of fine things to say about the village and surrounding countryside. He wrote of church bells ringing around shires of “steeples far and near,” skylarks and “springing thyme”. But above all, atop the hill, is where “my love and I would lie”.

Magically thoughtful words. But then in this beautiful county it would not have been hard to find inspiration.

Just ask Sir Edward Elgar.

 For more information on visiting the glorious county of Worcestershire go to www.britain-magazine.com/worcestershire

J Worcester is known as ‘The Faithful City’ as it was the last place to stand up for King Charles II in the Battle of Worcester, fought in 1651 against Oliver Cromwell, during the English Civil War. These events helped form the foundations for British parliament and democracy.

J Visitors can take the Battle of Worcester City Centre Trail or visit The Commandery Museum, alongside Fort Royal Park, which commemorates the soldiers that fought and died in the Civil War. J Commemorative displays at former battlefields beyond the city walls recount historically-significant tales, while at Civil War reenactment events you can also see cavaliers and roundheads walking through the city's streets.

J In early April 1786, future US Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson visited Fort Royal Hill, the final battlefield in

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Worcester. John Adams wrote that he was “deeply moved" but asked, “Do Englishmen so soon forget the ground where liberty was fought for? Tell your neighbours and your children that this is holy ground, much holier than that on which your churches stand. All England should come in pilgrimage to this hill, once a year.”

J Worcester Cathedral is the final resting place of King John who signed Magna Carta, the basis of modern democracy (see page 56). The Cathedral Tower also played a vital role in the final battle of the Civil War, providing a lookout point for King Charles II. The Tower, with its sweeping vistas, is open in the summer months.

J To learn more about the history of Worcestershire, take a tour with Discover History (www.discover-history.co.uk) or Worcester Walks (www.worcesterwalks. co.uk) or go to www.visitworcestershire.org

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HIDDEN HISTORY: THE ‘FAITHFUL CITY’

Where Heritage Meets Style

Discover 1,000 years of English history…

The enchanting Chateau Impney Hotel offers a grand and historic base from which to explore the Heart of England.

For more information and to book, visit chateau-impney.com Chateau Impney Hotel & Exhibition Centre, Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire WR9 0BN facebook.com/ChateauImpneyHotel

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Stunning art & architecture Glorious countryside Drive, walk & cycle trails Astonishing monuments Amazing stained glass Free entry

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Hartlebury Explore the wonders of Worcestershire through fascinating objects, exhibitions and events, all housed in the former home of the Bishops of Worcester.

The Commandery, Worcester Peel back the layers and discover the Commandery’s fascinating history, from its beginnings as a monastic hospital through the English Civil War and up to present day.

Every journey ends with a memory.

Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum High quality contemporary and historic art exhibitions in a beautiful Victorian setting, also home to the Worcestershire Regimental Museum.

A day on the Severn Valley Railway is a day to remember. Take the people you love and make some memories that will last forever.

Severn Valley Railway Families

Please check website for opening hours and admissions BRIDGNORTH · BEWDLEY · KIDDERMINSTER

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BULLETIN The latest news, from historical finds and new exhibitions to our favourite stately homes and traditional British recipes

NEWS

Swapping Sherlock for Shakespeare Popular British actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, famed for his roles in the television series Sherlock and films such as Atonement and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, is to take the lead in two Shakespeare plays next year – one on screen and the other on stage. Cumberbatch will play King Richard III in a film adaptation as part of the BBC's Shakespeare history plays series. The film will be made by Neal Street Productions, run by Sam Mendes – best known for directing American Beauty and Skyfall – while Dominic Cooke, former artistic director at the Royal Court Theatre,

will direct the latest instalment. Ironically, Cumberbatch will play the same role that his Sherlock co-star Martin Freeman has been playing in London’s West End. Cumberbatch said: “I can't wait to work with Dominic Cooke again to bring this complex, funny and dangerous character to life for the BBC and Neal Street Productions' peerless series of Shakespeare's history plays." In addition, the 38-year-old actor will also star in the stage version of Hamlet at the Barbican Theatre in London during the summer of 2015, as he takes on the title role in the Bard’s iconic tragedy.

HISTORY / NEWS / REVIEWS / INSPIRATION

SHOPPING

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EXHIBITION

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Codebreakers of Bletchley Park A new exhibition celebrating the skills of British signals intelligence in the First World War and how it aided the work of the famous codebreakers at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, will open at the country house in Buckinghamshire in May 2015. Bletchley Park was requisitioned in 1939 and turned into the government’s main decryption base. On a recent visit, the Duchess of Cambridge, whose grandmother worked at Bletchley as a duty officer, told Lady Marion Body, one of her grandmother's former colleagues: “We would often ask Granny about it but she was very quiet, and never said anything.” The former country home has undergone a year-long restoration project to return it to its wartime appearance.

Tartan is one of the most recognisable of Scottish symbols; colourful patterns and criss-crossing stripes that once defined Highland clans but which are now a popular choice in both royal and winter fashions. Established in 1866, Begg & Co (beggandcompany.com) is a quintessential Scottish brand. Using the popular weaving techniques that Scotland has been famed for since the 16th century, the scarves (£80, pictured), stoles and blankets are made on the west coast of Scotland using the finest cashmere, silk and lambswool and come in a range of colours, perfect for when the chill comes.

NEWS

Lord Byron’s home rescued

HISTORY

Royal Tudor bed goes on display Here in Britain we have a habit of discovering historical gems in car parks and the 528-year-old State Paradise Bed (below), where King Henry VIII is said to have been conceived, is no exception. Discovered in a Chester hotel car park in 2010, the bed, which belonged to the first Tudor monarchs, King Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth of York, is now part of a Tudor exhibition at Auckland Castle (above) in County Durham. The Power and the Glory: How Religious Art Made Tudor England is open until the end of September but the bed will stay on display for a further three years. Possibly the only furniture to survive from the Tudor Palace of Westminster, it is one of the most significant pieces of early Tudor history.

The Grade I listed ancestral home of the Romantic poet Lord Byron has been saved from ruin thanks to the World Monuments Fund. Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire, was on the watch list in 2012 but a recent grant of £40,000 has guaranteed its future.

Built on the site of a 12th-century Augustinian priory founded by King Henry II, the abbey became the Byron family’s residence in 1540 and is home to many of Lord Byron’s possessions, such as a giltwood bed from his room at Cambridge University and his writing desk.

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OPEN HOUSE

Burghley House Located just outside the town of Stamford in Lincolnshire, Burghley House is one of the finest non-royal palaces in England. The house was built and designed between 1555 and 1587 by William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I. The house, which is still home to the Cecil family, was transformed in the 17th and 18th centuries by the Earls of Exeter who took great interest in collecting fine art and other treasures on their travels. The historic home has 35 major rooms and 80 lesser rooms and halls.

The stunning George Rooms were the 5th Earl's idea as an evolution of the long Elizabethan gallery-style State Apartments. Adorned with classical Italian paintings, they were used in 1844 as a suite by Queen Victoria. Capability Brown landscaped the house’s surrounding gardens and park at the request of a later Earl when he inherited the house in 1755. Brown's design took him a quarter of a century to complete, which he is said to have described as “25 years of pleasure”.

HISTORY / NEWS / REVIEWS / INSPIRATION

READING CORNER

PHOTO: © GARETH MORGANS/CORBIS

Find out more about some of this issue’s features with these beautiful books Tea Fit For a Queen: Recipes and Drinks For Afternoon Tea with introduction by Lucy Worsley (£10, Ebury Press) is filled with recipes for sweet and savoury treats alongside afternoon tea anecdotes.

Rumour has it that Eton Mess is one of Prince William's favourite desserts

Dunkirk: From Disaster to Deliverance – Testimonies of the Last Survivors

by Sinclair McKay (£20, Aurum Press) features veteran interviews and letters, which bring the Dunkirk landings alive in their anniversary year.

RECIPE

Eton Mess

A delightful mélange of berries, cream and meringue, Eton Mess is a traditional British dessert. There are many tales of the exact origins of Eton Mess, but the name indicates it had something to do with the world-famous boys’ boarding school, Eton College in Berkshire. One story involves an excited Labrador who sat on a Pavlova; another a bumpy car ride in which the once perfectly-formed dessert turned into the mess it is today. Many believe the dessert is the same as that which has been served at the college’s annual cricket game against the pupils of London’s Harrow School since the 19th century. Either way, its popularity has endured with only a few alterations. The dessert used to be made with either bananas or strawberries, but today berries are the preferred choice. Best served in a glass bowl or tumbler, an Eton Mess is our favourite end of summer dessert.

I n g re d i e n t s ( s e r ve s s i x ): Six ready-made meringue nests

570ml (20 fl oz) double cream

800g (28oz) fresh strawberries, hulled

Fresh mint to garnish

1-2 tbsp icing sugar

Six glass tumblers, to serve

Method: Pour half of the strawberries into a blender with icing sugar. Chop the remaining half and set aside for decoration. Break up the meringue nests. Whip the double cream until it forms stiff peaks. Fold the broken meringue, cream, blended strawberries and remaining strawberries together into a glass tumbler and top with a mint leaf.

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The English Country House Garden

by George Plumptre (£25, Frances Lincoln) visits the best English gardens, starting with the first country house gardens of 500 years ago.

London Quiz: How Well Do You Know London?

by Travis Elborough and Nick Rennison (£9.99, Frances Lincoln) tests your knowledge of the capital’s monuments, architecture, famous residents and history.

Outrageous Fortune: Growing Up in Leeds Castle by Anthony Russell (£20, Robson Press) is an entertaining memoir of a ‘fairytale' childhood spent in this spectacular castle in the 1950s (see page 26).

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Spend an inspiring day exploring a national treasure Receive a warm welcome into the home of the 11th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Wonder at this masterpiece of 18th century baroque architecture. Explore our World Heritage Site with its 2000 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown landscaped parkland. Discover the Water Terraces, Rose and Secret Formal Gardens. Delight in our family friendly Pleasure Gardens, reached by miniature train, with a giant hedge maze, a butterfly house and an adventure playground.

Blenheim Palace is not only an iconic part of history, but also a living, changing experience with a wealth of sporting and cultural events, themed exhibitions and tours throughout the year.

© Pete Seaward Photography

At Blenheim Palace, we want to enrich the life of everyone who visits us. So please take your time, and take pleasure in your day exploring this national treasure.

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Memoir

12th-century Leeds Castle in Kent is known as ‘the loveliest castle in the world’

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Memoir

MY CHILDHOOD

in a castle What child doesn’t long to be king of their very own castle? Anthony Russell got to live out this childhood dream at Leeds Castle, in Kent. Here he tells us about life growing up there in the 1950s WORDS ANTHONY RUSSELL AND JOSEPHINE PRICE

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Memoir

When I went to school I started to realise that not everybody lived in a castle

H

PHOTOS: © LEEDS CASTLE FOUNDATION

Clockwise, from above: Anthony Russell at Leeds Castle; the Russell brothers play in the castle grounds; the library, designed

by Stéphane Boudin

istorian Lord Conway once described Leeds Castle as the ‘loveliest castle in the world’ and this opulent one-time home formed the backdrop for the Honourable Anthony Russell’s childhood. His grandmother, Lady Olive Baillie, was the last private owner of the castle and was responsible for its elegant transformation, before bequeathing it to a trust upon her death in 1974. Her youngest grandson, Anthony, spent much of his childhood here, where he learnt that life in a castle was quite different to that of his schoolfriends: “My first memory of Leeds Castle was from the pram as Nanny took me on one of our daily walks. Obviously the memory is a little hazy but that was how I started to get a vague inclination of this amazing place. The pictures got clearer as I got older when I began exploring the nooks and crannies of the estate on my bicycle, and became more and more fond of the estate I was lucky enough to grow up in.

There was something really special about it and yet it seemed very normal, as I didn’t know where other people lived. When I went to school (Hill House in London first, and then Stowe in Buckinghamshire), I started to realise that not everybody lived in a castle.

My favourite room in the castle was the library. The room was very large, square, and designed by Stéphane Boudin, a famous French interior designer from the 1930s to the 1960s; he was also responsible for decorating The White House for the Kennedys. He and my grandmother spent about 30 years working together on the castle, and I thought what they did in the library was beautiful.

Bookshelves covered two and a half of the walls and there was a table in the centre, which divided the room, with the sofa in front of the mantelpiece. Above it was a wonderful painting of my grandmother, my aunt and my mother by the French artist Etienne Drian, which still hangs in the castle today. It was a grand, yet cosy room where you could curl up in one of the sofas that lined the outside of

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the room or in one of the armchairs by the fireplace. If you were interested in the history of those who had stayed there then you could go through the visitors’ book that sat on an oak table in the middle of the room. There you saw some important names: the Queen and Queen Mother, European royalty, Hollywood movies stars and lots of cabinet ministers.

However, the folks who struck me as being really interesting were the ones who came at weekends: my grandmother’s best friends, the British Conservative politicians Lord David Margesson (Morg) and Lord Geoffrey-Lloyd. They were very impressive men indeed.

Morg, in particular, was the absolute master of how to

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PHOTOS: © LEEDS CASTLE FOUNDATION/VISITBRITAIN/PETE SEAWARD

Memoir

be kind to a little person who is perhaps, you might say, just a little bit out of his depth in his surroundings. I was very shy and I was mostly kept away from the grown ups with Nanny, so when I was around them I just didn’t know where to look quite a bit of the time.

My first funny encounter with adults in the castle was when I was five. Just as Nanny and I were going out a woman arrived at the castle door. I didn’t know who she was and thought ‘oh no what a dreadful-looking person.’ I screamed at her: “Get out, get out, before I kick you out.”

I later learnt that she was Princess Djordjadze, an English lady who had married movie stars and a couple of titled Englishmen before she married Prince Djordjadze of Russia. And there was little me, aged five, behaving in a way that nobody could believe. That incident went down in castle folklore as one of the funniest things that anyone had ever heard. Later on I realised why everyone thought it was funny, but at the time I just thought, ‘this is my castle and I don’t want you inside it’.

When my brothers were around it was great fun. We used to roam the estate on our bicycles like complete lunatics. There was so much to do at the castle it was extraordinary: there was a squash court, a private golf course, tennis courts and a croquet lawn in front of the castle. There was shooting during the winter and we had go-karts. My uncle Gawaine was a very accomplished racing driver and together we learnt how to drive up and down the front and back drive. You can imagine the space we had to have fun with those machines.

There was nobody on the golf course most of the time so we could drive at high speed all around it, especially over the big dip on the 7th hole by the moat, which was created during the Second World War when a German plane was shot down and crashed, very narrowly missing the castle.

That must have been something to behold. Not many children were blessed to have so many extraordinary things to do in such a beautiful environment. Did I realise we were incredibly spoilt? Not really. Not until people started to mention how lucky we were.

I got on very well with the staff in the castle. I saw Mrs Walsh the housekeeper in the mornings, when she would generally be discreetly organising things around the castle.

I never saw the maids that worked for her, which was strange. They seemed to do their work and miraculously

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disappear. My favourite staff member was Borrett, the butler. He was so kind and distinguished in every way, from his looks to his manners. He always brought me my Coca Cola in a glass with ice and lemon on a silver tray and called me Master Anthony until I was 13 when he started to call me Mr Anthony – the best thing ever because I was then on the same level as my brothers.

Life in the castle was one of extreme comfort where everything was done for you – not the best training in life.

I call it the ‘luxury brew’ of which I imbibed copiously.

As I got older, I became aware that this wouldn’t always exist. Though I wish I had never moved out, I will always be grateful for my experiences as a young fellow. Going back there will always be special to me no matter what.”

Top to bottom: Leeds Castle golf course; Anthony Russell's mother, aunt and sister present the ‘key to the castle’ to Queen Elizabeth II on her visit in 1981

OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE Read the full story of life at Leeds Castle in Anthony Russell’s book Outrageous Fortune: Growing up at Leeds Castle (see review, page 24) and turn the page for more information on being the king (or queen) of your very own castle, at least for one night.

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KING CASTLE of the

From dungeons and haunted turrets, to four-poster beds and glorious spas, a stay in a British castle is a magical and mysterious experience WORDS HEIDI FULLER-LOVE

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PHOTOS: © IAN SHAW/ALAMY/DAVID GRIFFEN PHOTOGRAPHY/NICK WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHY/NIALL CLUTTON 2005

M

y grandfather, who was one of King George V’s butlers, used to tell me about all the British castles he’d stayed in as he followed the king in his duties. He told me of huge canopied beds at Thornbury and the terrifying dungeons at Warwick. At one of the Cinque Port castles (I can’t remember which) he said he regularly heard the clank of chains in attics and doors closing on empty rooms.

The tales stayed with me and inspired a lifelong love of castles, those magical fortifications built to defend the highest people in the land, decked out with sumptuous furniture and draped in the mysterious cloak of history.

In my grandfather’s time only those related to, or working with royalty were likely to spend the night in a castle, but these days as the original owners pass away or find it increasingly expensive to maintain their ancestral homes, more and more of Britain’s beautiful castles are opening their doors to guests.

One of the country’s oldest castles, Amberley, just an hour’s drive from London, has been providing a monarchical haven to visitors for several decades.

Situated in a picturesque South Downs village in Sussex, this privately owned, nine-centuries-old walled castle has panoramic views of the surrounding marshes and a large moat. Inside this medieval sanctuary you’ll find four-poster beds, roaring log fires and walls decked with coats of arms. There are also several acres of flowerstudded gardens to roam, a putting green and tennis courts. While here, make sure you take a tour with local historian Keith McKenna, who will tell you all about the history of this magnificent castle, which was once inhabited by the Bishops of Chichester, and is said to be haunted by the ghost of 13-year-old Emily, who committed suicide after falling pregnant by one of them.

This page, clockwise from top left: Amberley Castle, Sussex; dining room at Amberley; bedroom at Thornbury Castle. Facing page: the library at Skibo Castle, Dornoch Firth, Scotland

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Cross the country to near Bristol and you’ll be plunged into another medieval fantasy land at Thornbury Castle, a sumptuous Tudor fortress hemmed in by crenulated walls where illustrious guests have included King Henry VIII and his ill-fated second wife Anne Boleyn.

Behind massive oak doors you’ll find clanking suits of armour and a selection of the castle’s original wall tapestries, while bedrooms have four-poster beds, period furnishings and log fires, along with plenty of more modern comforts.

This lovely castle also has England’s oldest Tudor garden, as well as a gourmet restaurant serving traditional treats, including delicious Sunday roasts.

Slip over the border into Wales and you’ll find Ruthin Castle, a retreat surrounded by a vast estate, which was built in the late 13th century for King Edward I of England

by Dafydd ap Gruffydd (Edward later gave it back to him).

Dafydd went on to become the Prince of Wales, before being hung, drawn and quartered for treason.

Briefly owned by the Nine Days’ Queen Lady Jane Grey, the final monarch to own this castle was King Charles I who sold it to pay his debts. In the 19th century, the castle, owned by Colonel Cornwallis-West, was wreathed in www.britain-magazine.com

Places to Stay

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Places to Stay

scandal when Cornwallis-West’s 16-year-old wife had a drawn-out love affair with the future King Edward VII. In 2004, Ruthin Castle was purchased by Anthony and Amanda Saint Claire and has been transformed into a luxurious hotel where you can enjoy lively medieval banquets and a range of relaxing spa treatments.

Further north you’ll find Scotland’s legendary castles.

One of the most renowned, 12th-century Tulloch Castle in the hamlet of Dingwall and overlooking the Highlands, is just a short drive from Inverness.

Home to Scottish nobles the Bains, and the Highland Scottish Clan Davidson, the castle, which was used as a hospital after the evacuation of Dunkirk, passed out of Davidson ownership in 1917 when the last direct descendant of this family, Duncan, died and left the castle to his daughter and her son, Colonel Angus Vickers, of the Vickers aircraft company.

Inside you’ll find centuries-old, wood-panelled rooms, deep crimson wallpaper, and stained glass Clockwise, from top: Ruthin Castle, Denbighshire, north Wales; ornate staircase at Skibo Castle; Tulloch Castle Hotel in the Scottish Highlands

BOOK YOUR STAY There are several excellent companies that can organise castle stays, including Exclusive Castle Rentals (www.exclusivecastlerentals. com), which organises stays for families, individuals and groups, and Oliver’s Travels (www.oliverstravels.com), a UK-based company that has some of Britain’s best fortresses on its books.

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PHOTOS: © NICKSMITHPHOTOGRAPHY.COM/CHRIS CLOSE/ALAN NOVELLI/ALAMY

Inside Tulloch Castle you’ll find wood-panelled rooms, crimson wallpaper and stained glass windows – some of them inscribed with the previous owner’s coat of arms

windows – some of them inscribed with the previous owner’s coat of arms, while suites are spacious and light.

During your stay keep a look out for ghosts: both visitors and hotel staff have reported witnessing apparitions in the form of a young girl and the middle-aged ‘Green Lady’, believed to be the ghost of Elizabeth Davidson who died after falling down the stairs at Tulloch.

If ghost spotting is not your thing, then why not look out for dolphins on the Moray Firth instead – just a 10 minutes’ drive from Tulloch Castle.

Finally you might prefer to follow in the footsteps of pop royalty at the gorgeous Skibo Castle. While the first record of a castle at Skibo is on a charter from 1211, its current 19th-century design is the work of wealthy industrialist Andrew Carnegie. Members of high society, from Rudyard Kipling to King Edward VII, have all paid visits to the castle. However, its most recent claim to fame came BRITAIN

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Arundel House B&B is situated in the centre of Cheddar Village and a mere 5 minute walk to the Gorge. The 18th-century Grade II listed Georgian property has recently undergone a full refurbishment and now provides the perfect getaway or event venue. It boasts 5 beautifully designed rooms, cosy lounges and a wellmanicured garden.

With so much to offer here in Cheddar and the surrounding areas, we hope you will enjoy a stay at Arundel House soon.

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OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. FREE ENTRY OPEN SEVEN OPEN SEVEN DAYS DAYS A A WEEK. WEEK. FREE FREE ENTRY ENTRY Free tour every Sunday at 3.00pm. Booking essential OPEN SEVEN DAYSatA3.00pm.

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Booking essential Newry and Museum Bagenal’s Castle, Newry and Mourne Museum Castle, Castle Co. Bagenal’s Down, BT34 2BY Newry and Street, MourneNewry, Museum Bagenal’s Castle, Castle Street, Newry, Co. Down, BT34 2BY Castle Street, Newry, Down, BT34 2BY Newry and Mourne Museum Castle, T: 028 3031 3178Co. or Bagenal’s 028 3031 3182 Castle Newry, Co. Down, BT34 2BY T: 3031 3178 or 3031 3182 M:Street, 075 5477 2523 (weekend only) T: 028 028 3031 3178 or 028 028 3031 3182 M: 5477 2523 (weekend only) E: M: 075 075 5477 2523 (weekend only) T: museum@newryandmourne.gov.uk 028 3031 3178 or 028 3031 3182 E: museum@newryandmourne.gov.uk E: museum@newryandmourne.gov.uk M: 075 5477 2523 (weekend only) www.bagenalscastle.com E: museum@newryandmourne.gov.uk www.bagenalscastle.com www.bagenalscastle.com

Jacobean House Tudor Old Palace Knot Garden Formal Garden Sculpture Exhibition Woodland Garden Political History Fine Paintings and Furniture Historic Parkland Coach House Restaurant Gift Shop Stable Yard Shops Hatfield Park Farm Bloody Hollow Play Area House, Park and Gardens open Easter Saturday to 30th September.

25 mins train journey from London Kings Cross.

Free Parking - Sat Nav AL9 5NX Please see the website for more details or call 01707 287010

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Places to Stay For more on Britain’s best castles go to www. britain-magazine. com/castles

From top: the swimming pool at Skibo Castle; Skibo Castle illuminated at night; Bovey Castle, Dartmoor

when pop star Madonna chose to stage her wedding to film director Guy Ritchie here in 2000.

Skibo means ‘fairyland of peace’ in the Norse language, and the castle is a delightful Edwardian hideaway along a beech-lined drive overlooking Dornoch Firth. The area’s highlights include one of Scotland’s finest championship golf links courses, a well-equipped beauty spa and a charming pool built inside a Victorian conservatory.

With such a rich variety of castles for you to visit, the only thing you have to do is choose which one is right for you. But whether you decide on a Tudor citadel, a medieval fortress, or a celebrity château, one thing is certain: a castle stay is guaranteed to give you a right royal treat.

8 Go to www.britain-magazine.com/castles to read more about Britain's castles and some of their incredible stories

THE EDITOR'S PICK

An Edwardian mansion built in the early 1900s, Bovey Castle is a delightful, family-friendly retreat in the heart of Dartmoor National Park. Built for the 2nd Viscount Hambleden, this charming property has large stone fireplaces, ornate wood panelling and glorious views from the windows of 66 comfortable rooms and several large lodges dotted around the grounds. The

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BEAUCHAMP CASTLE, WORCESTERSHIRE

Sumptuously historic and yet gloriously laid-back, this delightful country castle near the Lake District has open fireplaces, antique fixtures and fittings and an eclectic range of bedrooms and suites. Activities include an open-air cinema and a large children’s play area. www.stayinacastle.com

With a picturesque 14th-century tower and a 15th-century ancestral manor house built by the Beauchamp family, Beauchamp Castle overlooks the River Severn. Step inside and you’ll find suits of armour, stuffed bears, period furnishings, a well-stocked library and eight lavishly appointed rooms, while the vast grounds have beautifully manicured lawns and several tennis courts. www.oliverstravels.com

PENTILLIE CASTLE, CORNWALL

LEEDS CASTLE, KENT

Sir James Tillie, who was knighted under King James II, built Pentillie Castle in the late 17th century. Just a short drive from Plymouth and situated on the banks of the River Tamar, this charming castle, renovated in 2009 now has nine luxurious rooms with stunning views over the river, a solar-heated swimming pool and

Visitors to the ‘loveliest castle in the world’ (see feature, page 26) can stay in the luxury refurbished Stable Courtyard bedrooms. Guests can enjoy a full English breakfast, made with local produce, served in the 17th-century oak-beamed Fairfax Hall. www.leeds-castle.com

AUGILL CASTLE, CUMBRIA

BOVEY CASTLE, DEVON

award-winning gardens, vibrant with flowers ranging from rhododendrons to camellias. www.pentillie.co.uk

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PHOTOS: © CHRIS CLOSE/SKIBO CASTLE

hotel’s estate also includes an 18-hole championship golf course that was designed by John Frederick Abercromby in 1926, a daily falconry display, and a large collection of vintage cars. www.boveycastle.com

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Rhossili Bay, Gower, is regularly voted Britain's best beach

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South Wales

Gower Go into

In the centenary year of his birth, we explore some of the places that inspired Wales’s most famous son, Dylan Thomas, on a tour of one of the prettiest regions of Britain

PHOTOS: © TREVOR SMITHERS ARPS/ALAMY/ ROBERT HARDING WORLD IMAGERY/CORBIS

WORDS SALLY COFFEY

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The real Anne Boleyn

Three Cliffs Bay gets its name from the limestone crags that jut out to sea, and the rocks, sand dunes and salt marsh create a truly magical scene

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A

maverick certainly, Dylan Thomas is still something of an enigma. The history books may paint him as a drinker, a smoker and a philanderer – a character he often played up to. But talk to those who have studied him closest and a different side of his character emerges, one of a mild drinker more likely to be nursing half a pint as he observed the goings on of his fellow patrons than mindlessly necking whiskies; a man deeply rooted to his early life in Swansea and the Gower Peninsula.

Swansea is rightly proud of its most famous export, born in the upmarket Uplands area of the city in 1914 to a teacher father and a seamstress mother. It was in his childhood home of 5 Cwmdonkin Drive that he wrote much of the poetry for which he would become famous, such as his 18 Poems, and his beloved playground of Cwmdonkin Park – which lies opposite the house – inspired much of his later work. It is in this house that you get the greatest sense of the man behind the myth.

Thanks to careful restoration under the watchful eye of present owner, Geoff Haden, the house has been returned to how it would have been when Dylan lived here with his parents and his sister, Nancy. You can take a tour of the house, attend one of the regular literary events, or book a seat at a dinner party to try traditional dishes that Dylan’s mother would have served him. You’ll be in good company, too – Prince Charles took tea here in 2012. Visitors can even rent the house for the night and choose between Clockwise, from right: Young Dylan Thomas; Dylan's room at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive; horses at Rhossili Bay; sitting room in Dylan Thomas's childhood home; Three Cliffs Bay, Gower

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staying in the ‘best’ room (where Dylan was born shortly after the family purchased the house), his sister Nancy’s snug twin room or his parents’ cosy back room.

While many of the rooms are elegantly decorated in the fashion of the Edwardian time, the poet’s bedroom has been created with all the dinginess of a writer in the throws of his work. A half-drunk bourbon sits by a scribbled note, while a box of 50 Player’s cigarettes (the type given to Dylan by his first girlfriend, Pamela Hansford Johnson) sits near a copy of the Koran.

Standing in this crammed room, it’s easy to imagine that Dylan could come sauntering in at any moment. In his letters Dylan described his “untidy bedroom, surrounded with books and papers, full of the unhealthy smell of very bad tobacco” and it is this chaos that is brought so brilliantly to life.

In Cwmdonkin Park, which Dylan described as his “world within the world of the sea town” there is a memorial plaque to Dylan erected by his close friend and fellow poet Vernon Watkins. Watkins paid for the plaque with a cheque he received from two elderly ladies (and Dylan fans) who ran Caedman Press in the US, and the words inscribed on it are from his poem Fern Hill.

Dylan was said to frequent many of the taverns and inns of Swansea – including the nearby Uplands Tavern, which still has a ‘Dylan Thomas Snug’ – as well as The Antelope and The Mermaid Hotel in Mumbles (sadly neither of these latter pubs exist anymore). It was at Swansea Little Theatre, which once lay between these two

PHOTOS: © ROBERT HARDING WORLD IMAGERY/ALAMY/DYLAN THOMAS BIRTHPLACE/MATTHEW HUGHES/NOBLEIMAGES/BILLY STOCK

South Wales

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South Wales

Rhossili Bay is home to the wreck of Helvetia; a haunting sight for visitors, but one that won’t be around forever, as the sea greedily feeds on its remains

HIDDEN HISTORY J Gower has its very own Stone Age Man. Discovered in Paviland Cave in 1823, the skeleton was originally misidentified as the remains of a Roman lady of the night, hence the name ‘The Red Lady of Paviland’.

Eventually the remains were identified as those of a man who lived around 25,000-31,000 BC. J With sweeping views over Swansea Bay, the 12th-century Oystermouth Castle is a beautiful example of a ruined Norman fortification. The castle is said to be haunted by several apparitions, notably that of the White Lady, believed to be the spirit of heiress Lady Alina de Braose, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London while her husband was executed for treachery under the reign of King Edward II. J Brandy Cove is supposedly so named because of its links with the smuggling trade, which thrived here due to the bay’s concealment by the rocks.

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The Gower Peninsula, which stretches along the coastline for some 39 miles (63km), was made the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1956 and is a gloriously open and tranquil part of the country, where ponies run wild and the beaches bedazzle.

Dylan wrote often of Rhossili – regularly voted Britain’s best beach – and the nearby promontory of Worm’s Head, which becomes cut off from the mainland at high tide; a fact that Dylan is thought to have overlooked on more than one occasion.

In Who Do You Wish Was With Us, Thomas wrote of two boys who get cut off by the tide, and many believe the tale was inspired by an experience he had with Watkins when they had to walk through the night to get back home to Swansea, having missed the local bus.

But these minor blips didn’t put off Dylan, who often caught the bus out to Gower and camped at various beaches. In an Extraordinary Cough he wrote: “We were going to camp for a fortnight in Rhossili, in a field above the sweeping five-mile beach.”

Once Dylan had married Caitlin – who he incidentally met and fell in love with in The Wheatsheaf Pub on Rathbone Place, London – they would often return to Rhossili. Later, when he and Caitlin had moved to Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, home to Dylan’s Boathouse and Writing Shed,

Top to bottom: the sun sets over the Helvetia shipwreck, which lies in the sands of Rhossili on the Gower Peninsula; marsh orchids at Oxwich Bay, Gower

PHOTOS: © JOE CORNISH/GETTY/MARK BOULTON/ALAMY

hostelries in the quaint fishing suburb of Mumbles, that Dylan is said to have learned to project his voice; a skill he would later put to great use in his famous BBC recordings.

Today Swansea Little Theatre is located in Swansea’s Maritime Quarter and has a permanent exhibition on Dylan’s early years.

While Swansea was undoubtedly a particularly special place for Dylan – and he really is everywhere you look – he would also delight in “taking my devils for an airing,” as he put it, by escaping to the vast open spaces beyond the city’s limits.

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Llancaiach Fawr Manor is where the past and the present meet. History here is tangible. The servants of the house are living and working in 1645 and encourage you to share and engage in their world and the cares and concerns of ordinary people living in extraordinary times.

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"Two Spectacular Narrow-Gauge Railways Providing Unrivalled Views of Snowdonia's Autumn Hues"

South Wales For videos and voice recordings of Dylan go to www. britain-magazine. com/dylanvideo

THE EDITOR'S PICK 5 CWMDONKIN DRIVE

You can stay at Dylan’s childhood home from one night to a week or more, with room for up to seven people. When you book you will have exclusive use of the house, whatever the size of your party. Prices are from £150 per night for up to two people, with an additional cost of £50 per adult and £30 per child. www.5cwmdonkindrive.com PARC-LE-BREOS

PHOTOS: © HIRE IMAGE PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY/VISIT SWANSEA

Above: typical Welsh dish of cockles and laverbread served with streaky bacon. Right: Parc-le-Breos House

and he was travelling back and forth from the US, he was said to have considered a move to the nearby village but ruled it out when he realised that it didn’t have a pub.

Rhossili Bay is home to the wreck of the Norwegian ship Helvetia, which was swept ashore following mighty storms in 1887; a haunting sight for visitors but one that won’t be around forever, as the sea greedily feeds on its remains year after year.

If you are careful with the tides then the energetic among you can walk out to Worm’s Head, which Dylan described as lying “at the end of the humped and serpentine body” or you can take the lazy option and stop for a drink at The Worm’s Head Hotel, which is one of the best beachside bars we’ve ever seen.

Nearby Three Cliffs Bay is as wild a scene of natural beauty as you’ll find. It gets its name from the three limestone crags that jut out to sea and the combination of the rocks, the sand dunes and the salt marsh create a magical scene of nature busily grafting.

For total seclusion head to pebbly Pwlldu Bay, only accessible by footpath, which offers some of the best bird-watching in the region. Alternatively, Oxwich Bay is a charming beach that’s well worth a visit.

On his bus back from Rhossili (when he did manage to catch it) Dylan would have passed the sandstone heath ridge of www.britain-magazine.com

Cefn Bryn, which offers the best views over Gower. Here you will find Arthur’s Stone, a Neolithic burial tomb that dates back to 2,500 BC, which takes some finding but has links to local folklore. The large boulder sits precariously on some smaller stones and next to it lies a huge section, which became detached at some point in the 17th century.

It has long drawn travellers – records show that King Henry VII’s troops took an 80-mile (128km) detour from Milford Haven on the way to the Battle of Bosworth Field to visit the stone.

One legend – which gives the stone its modern name – is that King Arthur found a rock in his shoe and threw it from Carmarthenshire to Cefn Bryn. Having been touched by King Arthur’s hand, the stone grew to gigantic proportions, the surrounding stones raising it high in their admiration.

If you manage to find the stone then you might want to celebrate with a hearty meal at the King Arthur Hotel in Reynoldston, where you can try local ale and British pub classics with a local twist, such as laverbread (a Welsh delicacy made of seaweed) with cockles and bacon. We’re sure Dylan would have approved.

 For more information on Dylan Thomas and the events taking place to mark his centenary, go to www.britain-magazine.com/thomas

This beautifully appointed Victorian hunting lodge is set in the grounds of a Norman deer park in the heart of the Gower Peninsula, and just a 20-minute walk from the spectacular natural beauty of Three Cliffs Bay. The warm welcome you’ll receive will make you feel right at ease, from the home-cooked meals, to the games and drawing rooms. Double rooms from £90, including breakfast. www.parc-le-breos.co.uk

THE DYLAN THOMAS CENTRE

This museum in Swansea houses an extensive collection of memorabilia, photographs and works from Dylan Thomas in its permanent exhibition space as well as in its regular rolling exhibits. www.dylanthomas.com FAIRYHILL

This 18th-century Georgian house is set amid 24 acres of parkland, lakes and waterfalls in the heart of the Gower Peninsula and offers fine dining using local ingredients, including vegetables from the walled garden, and an excellent wine list. www.fairyhill.net QUICKEST ROUTE

Direct trains go to Swansea from London Paddington Monday to Sunday. Local buses from Swansea take you to most parts of Gower, or you can hire a car. For more info go to visitswanseabay.com

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Time for

Tea

In the 250th anniversary year of the 2nd Earl Grey, from whom the famous drink takes its name, we take a look at where the British obsession with tea drinking began WORDS LISA BURN

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where legend has it the drink was created accidentally for Emperor Shennong in 2737 BC. Cultivation of camellia sinensis, the species of plant whose leaves and buds are used to make tea, would eventually spread to Japan in the 9th century, yet tea was virtually unheard of in Britain until the mid-17th century, when it became a fashionable drink in royal circles and among the upper classes. Its popularity soon spread to the new coffee houses springing up in and around London, but because of taxation, the drink remained beyond the reach of ordinary people until the late 18th century when duty was cut and tea at last became affordable.

The British-based East India Company was solely responsible for importing tea into Britain from China until 1834 when the government abolished its monopoly. The company, which had a powerful presence in India, then took on a political role on behalf of the British government and began tea cultivation in India. The first tea from Assam arrived in London in 1838 and by 1888 British tea imports from India were greater than those from China.

Back in 1773 the East India Company had been granted permission by the British government to export tea to the then British colony of America. Three ships carrying cargo landed in Boston in November 1773 where hostile

by celebrated establishments such as The Ritz in London. In the 20th century tea’s importance was recognised by the government, which took control of imports and prices during WWI, and rationed tea stocks during the Second World War. The 1950s saw the introduction of a new US invention into our tea

The tradition of afternoon tea is thought to date from the mid-19th century and has become a ritual throughout Britain, with a proliferation of places offering tea, sandwiches and cakes the Earl gave it the original recipe in 1830. What is undisputed is the extent to which the tea is now known and consumed across the globe.

Whoever was first, Twinings had long before secured its reputation as proprietor of fine teas, opening shop in 1706 under the ownership of Thomas Twining who began selling tea from his coffee house on London’s Strand, where the company is still based today. His commitment to selling only the finest varieties earned the brand some influential fans, including novelist Jane Austen.

Despite our strong association with tea drinking, Britain is a relative newcomer compared with China,

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crowds, angry at both the imposition of British rule through tea taxes and the monopoly the company was to enjoy, met them. The ensuing protests of 16 December saw the tea – all 342 chests of it – dumped in Boston harbour. What became known as the Boston Tea Party was a turning point in the relationship between London and its colony, and one of the catalysts for the American War of Independence, which began in 1775.

The tradition of afternoon tea dates from the mid-19th century and has become a ritual throughout Britain, with a proliferation of places offering tea, sandwiches and cakes to guests.

This has been elevated to an art form

drinking culture – the teabag. Many Brits initially resisted the onslaught of the bag yet today it has become the norm. According to the UK Tea & Infusions Association, Britons drink 165 million cups each day – 98 per cent is taken with milk and 96 per cent is in the form of a teabag. Truly we are a nation of tea drinkers.

DID YOU KNOW? The 7th Duchess of Bedford, Anna Russell, a friend of Queen Victoria, is credited with introducing afternoon tea to fill the time between lunch and dinner. Later, the working classes had it as their main evening meal, hence some British people call dinner ‘tea’.

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PHOTOS: © CHRISTOPHER PACKHAM/ALAMY/IZEL PHOTOGRAPHY/SIMON WATSON/GETTY/CLASSIC IMAGE PHOTOCUISINE/CORBIS/MARTIN POOLE/GETTY

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hatting over a good cup of tea is one of our great British pastimes – you never know, perhaps that’s how Charles, 2nd Earl Grey, came up with plans for his Great Reform Bill of 1832. As leader of the Whig party and Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834, his legislation helped improve the House of Commons, while his government also oversaw the abolition of slavery across the British Empire. But it’s not just his political acts that history remembers; he was also responsible for the creation of that classic infusion, Earl Grey tea.

The second Earl Grey was born 250 years ago at Howick Hall, a 2,500-acre estate in Northumberland, home to the Grey family since the 16th century, and it was here that the delicate brew was first tasted.

According to Grey’s descendants, the recipe of black China tea and bergamot was specially blended by a Chinese mandarin (senior official) for Charles to accompany the water from the well at Howick; the bergamot was used to offset the taste of the lime in the water. The drink then became popular in London, where the Earl’s wife, Lady Grey, served it to guests.

There is some disagreement over which company first made and sold Earl Grey tea. Twinings claims Richard Twining blended it in 1831 following a request from Charles, while Jacksons of Piccadilly claims

British Culture

Clockwise, from top left: blue Lady Earl Grey Tea; Howick Hall, Northumberland; Charles, 2nd Earl Grey; teapot; a typical afternoon tea scene

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r ou OK it O e is L it V W bs E e N W

CAMELLIA’S TEA HOUSE

Camellia’s Tea House has been born out of a love and passion for tea. They design and hand-make most of their teas themselves, including novel herbal infusion blends. With an environment that is relaxing and enjoyable, Camellia’s Tea House is a place where people love the quirky ambience, the original tea varieties, and the wide selection of carefully chosen tea ware and gifts as well as the delicious cakes. Camellia was also voted in the top 10 places for afternoon tea in London by Homes and Gardens magazine.

OPEN: Seven days a week from 12pm till 7pm.

2.12 KINGLY COURT, CARNABY STREET, LONDON, W1B 5PW T: 020 7734 9939 E: info@camelliasteahouse.com

www.camelliasteahouse.com

The The Woodburning Woodburning Stove Stove perfected perfected Beautiful Gardens, Woodland Walks, a Prime Minister and a famous cup of tea...

Come and visit the beautiful gardens and stately tearoom – home of Earl Grey (Prime Minister in 1832) – and discover the story of Howick in the new Visitor Centre

‘beauty, peace and tranquillity’ OPEN: DAILY 10.30am – 6pm (last entry 5pm) ADMISSION:Adults £7.70*, Over 60s £6.60*, Children FREE. *Includes a voluntary 10% Gift Aid donation.

STOCKISTS THROUGHOUT THE UK STOCKISTS THROUGHOUT THE UK Brochure Line: 01588 650 123 Brochure Line: 01588 650 123 Howick Estate Office, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 3LB

Tel: 01665 577285/577191

www.clearviewstoves.com www.clearviewstoves.com

www.howickhallgardens.org Tearoom open to garden visitors only.

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Top 10

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places for tea 1. HOWICK HALL

As the home of Charles Grey, Howick Hall in Northumberland has to be a contender for the most genuine Earl Grey experience. It was here that a Chinese mandarin is said to have created the blend for the Earl, specifically formulated to disguise the taste of the lime in the water.

Today visitors can enjoy a selection of teas at the Earl Grey Tea House, in the hall’s east quadrant. www.howickhallgardens.org

2. FORTNUM & MASON The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at London’s Fortnum & Mason was opened by the Queen in 2012. The salon offers tea tasting at tables with expert tearistas to advise and help in the selection of your chosen blend. www.fortnumandmason.com

PHOTOS: © JON BRADLEY PHOTOGRAPHY/DAVID COTSWORTH/ANDY C HOW

Clockwise, from above right: tea at Fortnum & Mason; the Earl Grey Tea House, Howick Hall; The Goring Hotel

3. THE GORING HOTEL The Goring Hotel by Grosvenor Gardens, near Buckingham Palace, was named ‘Top London Afternoon Tea’ in the Tea Guild 2013 Awards. The hotel serves tea daily on the terrace overlooking its gardens and offers a selection of fresh sandwiches, clotted cream scones and homemade pastries. www.thegoring.com www.britain-magazine.com

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British Culture 4. THE RITZ LONDON Served in The Palm Court from tiered silver cake stands and tea pots, tea at The Ritz provides a glimpse into an elegant past.

Savour delicate finger sandwiches, cream scones and dainty pastries accompanied by 16 tea varieties, all the while serenaded by the resident pianist. The Ritz operates a dress code for tea: jeans are not allowed and men must wear a jacket and tie. www.theritzlondon.com

5. TWININGS Take part in a tasting master class at the oldest tea company in Britain. At Twinings in London you can learn about more than 5,000 years of tea history, and 300 years of Twinings expertise, following the leaf from plantation to cup. Costs £30pp for a private two-hour session. www.twinings.co.uk

6. DAVENPORTS TEA ROOM Outside London, Davenports Tea Room in Cheshire won the Tea Guild's ‘Top Tea Place 2013’ award. The Alice in Wonderland themed venue is located close to the birthplace of author Lewis Carroll. www.davenportsfarmshop.co.uk

The Tea Guild's ‘Top City and Country Hotel 2013’ award went to The Montagu Arms, Hampshire. Judges loved its “delightful surroundings, the staff’s extensive knowledge of teas, and scrumptious food.” www.montaguarmshotel.co.uk

Top to bottom: tea at The Ritz is a journey into an elegant bygone era; Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms, Harrogate, Yorkshire

8. BETTYS CAFE TEA ROOMS Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms was founded in Harrogate in 1919 by Frederick Belmont who immigrated to England from Switzerland. Now numbering six branches across Yorkshire, Bettys is operated by Belmont’s descendants. www.bettys.co.uk

TEA DRINKING ETIQUETTE

Billed as a traditional English tea shop and coffee house, Tisanes is located in a 17th century building in the Cotswolds and offers a selection of 19 black teas, as well as herbal, green and fruit varieties. There’s also a selection of sandwiches and cakes: the homemade Victoria sponge is a speciality. www.tisanes-tearooms.co.uk

• For tea with lemon the tea should be poured first and the lemon added afterwards.

• Afternoontea.co.uk says the correct way to stir your tea is to start with the spoon in the cup at the 6 o’clock position and move it towards the 12 o’clock position. And don't clink the spoon against the sides.

• When taking afternoon tea eat the sandwiches first, followed by the scones and finally the cakes.

• The issue of whether to pour the tea first, or the milk and then the tea is a hot debate. With the former method you can judge the strength of the brew, while with the latter you can gradually bring up the temperature of the milk rather than ‘boil’ it.

Author George Orwell was outspoken about his preferred method: “The milk-first school can bring forward some fairly strong arguments, but I maintain that my own argument is unanswerable. This is that, by putting the tea in first and stirring as one pours, one can exactly regulate the amount of milk whereas one is liable to put in too much milk if one does it the other way round.”

8 For more on our peculiar tradition of tea drinking

Go to www.britain-magazine.com/teapoll to vote.

9. CAMELLIA’S TEA HOUSE Camellia’s Tea House in Kingly Court, just off Carnaby Street in London, stocks over five types of Earl Grey tea and takes its name from the plant that produces white, green and black teas. The quirky surroundings offer a different afternoon tea experience, with 1930s swing music playing in the background. www.camelliasteahouse.com

10. TISANES TEA ROOMS

HOW DO YOU DRINK YOURS?

go to www.britain-magazine.com/timefortea www.britain-magazine.com

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PHOTOS: © ANTONIO BUSIELLO/ISTOCK

7. THE MONTAGU ARMS

The

birthof

democracy King John may have been one of England’s most ruthless monarchs but it was his signing of a simple charter almost 800 years ago that set the foundations for civil liberties across the world

V

isitors to the Treasures of the British Library gallery in London will soon be able to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event. From 2-4 February 2015 four parchments, inscribed in medieval Latin, will be displayed together for the very first time. Plain and dull coloured they may be, but the four surviving original copies of Magna Carta – two owned by the British Library and one each by the cathedrals of Lincoln and Salisbury – have become iconic historical documents.

Forced upon King John by rebel barons in 1215, Magna Carta has been hailed as the greatest constitutional document of all time and a keystone of English liberty, law and democracy. Its principles have served as an inspiration for democratic institutions around the world and it has become a global symbol of human rights and freedom from oppression.

Those are certainly heady claims, especially as the charter was never

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intended to be some lofty declaration of enduring legal principle. It was simply thrashed out as a practical solution to squabbles between a greedy king and the disgruntled barons who stood just below him in the pecking order of medieval society.

It was a charter that primarily served the vested interests of the higher ranks of feudal life.

As venues across England, now and throughout 2015, celebrate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, there’s never been a better time to discover its true story.

Well before the barons’ dispute with King John, England’s monarchs had agreed to safeguard certain rights and liberties of their people. There’s even a written precursor to Magna Carta in King Henry I’s Coronation Charter of 1100 relating to the privileges of clergy and nobles, designed to make up for abuses of royal power by King Henry’s predecessor, King William II. Unfortunately, subsequent rulers conveniently forgot that charter, with

King John in particular exhibiting extreme amnesia. Ascending the throne in 1199, he embarked on a reign of tyranny and oppression, and pursued a disastrous foreign policy, which led to him being labelled one of England’s most villainous monarchs.

He angered the barons by levying severe taxes to boost his income, including excessive ‘scutage’ – a tax in lieu of military service. He opposed the appointment of Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury, offended the Pope and was subsequently excommunicated.

Matters came to a head in 1215 when the barons rebelled.

Outmanoeuvred and playing for time, King John agreed to negotiations.

The barons, with Archbishop Langton as one of the leading mediators, gathered for a showdown on 10 June 1215 in the ancient ‘meeting meadow’ at Runnymede, Surrey, beside the River Thames, not far from Windsor Castle.

Coerced by demands to stop riding roughshod over lawful customs, the www.britain-magazine.com

PHOTOS: © ADAM BURTON/ALAMY/TIMEWATCH IMAGES/NORTH WIND PICTURE ARCHIVES/GETTY/HOWARD SAYER/BRITISH LIBRARY

WORDS NEIL JONES

The West Front of Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire, which is home to one of four remaining copies of the original 1215 Magna Carta

A 19th-century illustration depicts the devious King John refusing to sign Magna Carta when it was first presented to him in 1215

King John is given Magna Carta to endorse

The iconic Magna Carta Memorial, Runnymede, Surrey

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LINCOLN CASTLE REVEALED · Lincoln Castle has just undergone a major four year £22m restoration · A new vault has been created to house Magna Carta (1215) and Charter of the Forest (1217) – the only place in the world where these two iconic documents can be seen side by side · Castle (1068) and Cathedral (1072) were both built by William the Conqueror; these two extraordinary buildings face each other across Castle Square and can be seen on the skyline for miles around Lincoln Castle reopens 1 April, 2015 in time to celebrate Magna Carta’s 800th anniversary – visit the historic City of Lincoln and join the celebrations

visitlincolnshire.com

The Real Anne Boleyn

PHOTO: © MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY

“No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way” king grudgingly granted Magna Carta – or the Charter of Liberties, as it was then known – on 15 June. Four days later the barons made peace with him by renewing their oaths of allegiance, and on 24 June the first hastily prepared copies of the charter (complete with spelling mistakes) were given the king’s seal and rushed out for distribution to sheriffs and bishops around the kingdom.

Most of the charter’s 63 clauses focused on the nitty-gritty of contemporary feudal issues and the interests of particular parties: regulating scutage, dealing with fines, royal forests, the behaviour of royal www.britain-magazine.com

officials, freedom of movement of merchants, and the standardisation of wine, ale and corn measures.

Then, buried halfway through, we find clauses 39 and 40: “No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.

“To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.”

In June 1215 these guarantees of justice and freedom from

Above: illustration by John Leech, published in 1875, of King John signing Magna Carta

unwarranted imprisonment were given no particular prominence, but their interpretation as enduring principles would resonate through the centuries and around the globe.

The charter had also established that the law was a power in its own right – and significantly that the sovereign was not above the law. It decreed that 25 barons be elected to ensure the king’s compliance, with power to seize his property if he failed to stick to the charter’s terms.

However, even before the parchment was dry, King John ignored his promises. Pope Innocent III, now reconciled with the king, BRITAIN

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also declared the charter null and void because it had been obtained under duress. Thus began the first of the Barons’ Wars (1215 to 1217), which, although John died in 1216, ended in royalist victory.

The Charter of Liberties was revised and reissued in 1216, 1217 and 1225 in attempts to stabilise King Henry III’s reign – John’s son was just nine years old when he inherited the crown. After 1217, the name Magna Carta – the Great Charter – was used, when clauses covering the law of the royal forest were added into a separate and shorter Charter of the Forest.

The Barons’ Wars erupted again from 1264 to 1267, with victory for Henry, but not before the barons’ charismatic leader Simon de Montfort (later killed in battle) called a parliament in 1265. This is seen as an early forerunner of our modern Parliament because it included borough representatives.

In 1297 King Edward I confirmed Henry’s 1225 Magna Carta and the

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text was entered on the statute roll. Three clauses remain valid to this day: defending the freedom and rights of the English Church; confirming the liberties and customs of the City of London and other towns and ports; and guaranteeing freedom from imprisonment except by the judgment of one’s peers or the law of the land.

Magna Carta may have begun as a charter that addressed the concerns of the higher ranks and ignored the majority of 13th century society – the ‘unfree peasants or villeins’ – but in the long term its key concepts took on a life of their own. Whenever sovereigns exceeded their powers, or due process of law was threatened, the Great Charter could be reinterpreted and invoked as a rallying cry: whether against ‘divine kingship’ of arrogant Stuart

Left to right: King John's Tomb, Worcester Cathedral; Lincoln Castle; Salisbury Cathedral; medieval text of Magna Carta

PHOTOS: © LONDON METROPOLITAN ARCHIVES/ STEVE VIDLER/ALAMY/ROLF RICHARDSON

Concepts of liberty, law and justice are echoed in the US Bill of Rights and the US Constitution

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Magna Carta

monarchs, through English Civil War between the Roundheads and Royalists, on the road to constitutional reform, or in modern legal debates.

Magna Carta has influenced constitutional thinking across the world too, from India to many other Commonwealth countries. Concepts of liberty, law and justice, grown from its seedbed, were transplanted by colonists to the US and are echoed in the US Bill of Rights and the US Constitution. In 1948 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was likened to an international Magna Carta, and in 2009, in recognition of its status as an icon for freedom and democracy throughout the world, Magna Carta was inscribed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.

Already Magna Carta commemorations are gathering

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Magna Carta

DID YOU KNOW? • There is no single copy of the original Magna Carta document. Multiple copies of the charter were distributed throughout towns in medieval England.

• Magna Carta was written in Latin on parchment made from dried sheepskin.

Those who signed the document were likely to have been fluent in both French and Middle English.

• An official motion has been made in the House of Commons for 15 June – the day Magna Carta was signed – to become a public holiday.

momentum, with trails to explore, barons’ towns to visit and special events taking place around England.

Perhaps one of the most spectacular places to see one of the original charters is at the Magna Carta vault at Lincoln Castle, part of a £20m restoration project called Lincoln Castle Revealed.

Following its tour of the US, Lincoln’s Magna Carta will be available for viewing in this specially designed temperature-controlled underground room. Visitors will also be able to enter the ‘in the round’ panoramic cinema, which will provide

fascinating insight into the iconic document, as well as the 1217 Charter of the Forest. The castle houses one of only two surviving copies of this latter charter (the other belongs to Durham Cathedral) while visitors will also learn about the decisive defeat of the rebel barons in 1217 at the Battle of Lincoln Fair in First Barons’ War. Runnymede will also be a high point for celebrations on 15 June 2015 when Her Majesty The Queen, Patron of the Magna Carta Trust for the 800th anniversary, will attend a special event. More than 5,000 people are expected to attend the celebrations on the Thames, which will feature new artwork representing the values and spirit of Magna Carta. The new artistic displays will add to the existing monuments, including the Magna Carta Memorial, funded by members of the American Bar Association in 1957.

And who knows, as events take place in Runnymede for the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, there may well be a few 13th-century ghosts watching on in amazement.

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PHOTOS: © PETER BARRITT/ALAMY/PETER LANE

Top to bottom: Magna Carta monument at Runnymede on the Thames; swans near Worcester Cathedral

Magna Carta

The

Magna Carta trail The first Parliament of 1265 included barons, plus borough representatives

Clockwise, from above: Charter of King John, 1215; Houses of Parliament; Magna Carta; British Library; St Albans Cathedral

Opening on 12 September 2014, the City of London Corporation’s 1297 Magna Carta is a highlight in this new permanent gallery within Guildhall Art Gallery, which will showcase rare documents from the extensive archives of the corporation. www.cityoflondon.gov.uk • THE BRITISH LIBRARY, LONDON

• RUNNYMEDE, SURREY

• THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, LONDON

• ST ALBANS CATHEDRAL, HERTFORDSHIRE

• SALISBURY CATHEDRAL, WILTSHIRE

• WORCESTER CATHEDRAL, WORCESTERSHIRE

Salisbury’s well-preserved Magna Carta returns from the British Library for a display in the cathedral’s Chapter House. The cathedral will also host a medieval fair in April 2015. www.salisburycathedral.org.uk • LINCOLN CATHEDRAL, LINCOLNSHIRE

Lincoln is the only place to see Magna Carta alongside the 1217 Charter of the Forest. In 2013 a late-Saxon sarcophagus was also discovered here. www.lincolnshire.gov.uk BRITAIN

This atmospheric cathedral will be displaying arguably the finest surviving 1217 Magna Carta, a significant revision and reissue of King John’s Magna Carta by his son, King Henry III. It will also show a ‘Kings Writ’, issued by King John from the meeting with the rebel barons at Runnymede in June 1215. www.herefordcathedral.org

This autumn there will be a ballot to win tickets to view the British Library’s display of the four surviving copies of the 1215 Magna Carta, while the library’s Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy exhibition runs from 13 March to 1 September 2015. www.bl.uk A series of events and exhibitions will be held in 2015 on the theme of ‘Parliament in the Making’ to celebrate 800 years since the sealing of Magna Carta and 750 years since Simon de Montfort’s first Parliament. www.parliament.uk/visiting

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• HEREFORD CATHEDRAL, HEREFORDSHIRE

On 15 June 2015 the Queen will attend commemoration events marking the signing of the original Magna Carta. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/runnymede In 1213, St Albans hosted the first meeting of clergy and barons that led to the sealing of Magna Carta two years later at Runnymede. It is also the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain. www.stalbanscathedral.org Before his death from dysentery in 1216 King John requested to be buried in the church of St Mary and St Wulfstan of Worcester. Visit his final resting place in Worcester or explore more of this region of Britain (see page 6). www.worcestercathedral.co.uk

8 For more on Magna Carta 800 events go to www.britain-magazine.com/magnacarta www.britain-magazine.com

PHOTOS: © ISTOCK/JOSEPH TURP/BRITISH LIBRARY

• CITY OF LONDON HERITAGE GALLERY

City of London Heritage Gallery OpEning 12 SEp 2014 See the finest 13th-century version of the Magna Carta in the only location named within it — the City of London.

Magna Carta will be on display from 12 September 2014 to 29 January 2015 and again from 6 June to 1 October 2015 as part of the 800th anniversary celebrations.

Opening hours Monday–Saturday, 10am–5pm Sunday, 12noon–4pm Admission FREE Guildhall Galleries Guildhall Yard (off Gresham Street) London EC2V 5AE

“… the City of London shall have all its ancient liberties and free customs by land as well as by water…” www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/heritagegallery @visitthecity

/visitthecity

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HOMEMADE HOLIDAYS CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF OUR VERY SPECIAL WAY TO SEE BRITAIN.

ST CHAD’S COLLEGE Whether you want to search for your family roots, explore castles, cathedrals and the countryside or just soak up the atmosphere in a village pub or cosy old tea room, we will put together a visit to Britain that will live in your memories forever!

St Chad’s College is set on a dramatic site in the shadow of Durham Cathedral in the centre of medieval Durham.

Ensuite and Standard B&B accommodation is available in historic buildings which are far older than their Georgian frontages suggest.

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Burford House AA 5 Star Highly Commended Guest Accommodation

A 17th Century landmark on the high street in Burford, Oxfordshire. Burford House has become one of the most highly regarded small hotels in the lovely Cotswolds, one of Britain’s most outstandingly beautiful areas.

Ian Hawkins heads up a small team of enthusiastic and caring local staff to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere, excellent bedrooms and bathrooms and the best breakfasts, lunches, afternoon teas and dinners in the region.

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Whether its lunch, served Sunday to Saturday; or dinner served Wednesday

68 BRITAIN

to Saturday evenings, all the meals are prepared in house and freshly cooked using the finest fresh organic vegetables, meats and poultry and sourced locally wherever possible.

Each of the eight bedrooms are individual and are decorated with carefully chosen traditional Farrow & Ball paints. Some have four poster or king size beds, some overlook the courtyard garden and some the evocative high street.

A full range of drinks are served either in the sitting rooms or in the privacy of your bedroom. What better way to enjoy a glass of wine or Champagne than soaking in a bubble filled tub!

Burford House 99 High Street, Burford Oxfordshire, OX18 4QA T: 01993 823151 W: www.burfordhouse.co.uk www.britain-magazine.com

The

Potteries

We explore the history of the once thriving ceramics industry in Staffordshire, which after a period of decline is experiencing something of a renaissance

PHOTO: Š VISIT STOKE

WORDS SALLY COFFEY

For more photos, videos and how-to guides go to www.britainmagazine.com/ potteries

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Traditions

The six towns of Stoke-on-Trent, collectively referred to as ‘The Potteries’, were the centre of the British pottery industry in the 18th century

PHOTOS: © ROGER BAMBER/ALAMY/PAGE SEVEN PHOTOGRAPHY/WEDGWOOD/CHRISTOPHER HUTHWAITE/MIDDLEPORT

P

ottery is a craft technique that has existed in Britain since the Neolithic period and is thought to have originated out of a need to make wares to transport goods. Most areas of this period had pottery, making use of local clay; wares were handmade and their crude styles reflected the need for the vessels to withstand heat when placed on a fire for ‘cooking’.

By the 1st century BC wheel-made pottery, including some highly decorated tableware, began to be imported from the Roman world and over the next millennium and a half new methods of pottery production were introduced as techniques and styles got ever more intricate.

For a long time British potters tried to emulate the Chinese style of producing fine white porcelain. Although many credit the Meissen factory in Germany for being the first European potters to produce this style of ceramics in the early 18th century, by the latter part of the century English chemist William Cookworthy had begun making porcelain using China clay he found in Cornwall. It was around this time that the potteries began experimenting with burned animal bones – the original bone china.

By this time the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent: Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton – collectively referred to as ‘The Potteries’ – were the centre of the British pottery industry. Production boomed here for two reasons: the region was rich in clay and coal – the latter of which was being used to fuel the kilns (the ovens that cooked the wares) – and there were plentiful deposits of good quality salt, required for the glazing process.

By 1710 the town of Burslem had made a name for itself in the pottery world, producing both salt-glazed stoneware and slipware, a form of decorative lead-glazed earthenware, which enabled potters to experiment with different types and colours of clay. However, it was the work of Josiah Wedgwood from 1759 onwards that really pushed the boundaries of British pottery.

Josiah Wedgwood came from a family of potters – his father, Dr Thomas Wedgwood was one of the early salt-glazed stoneware makers in the area and Josiah was even born at the family pottery in Burslem in 1730.

Josiah’s father died when he was just nine years old, and aged 14 Josiah was apprenticed to his brother, Thomas, who had inherited the pottery. Unfortunately Josiah fell victim to smallpox, which left him with a severely disabled knee. This would have made using a traditional kick wheel virtually impossible for Josiah and may have been why he started looking at ways of improving the industry.

In 1759 Wedgwood became master potter at his own works and began developing new pottery styles, such as

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bright green glazed tablewares featuring animals. Then in 1762 Josiah met Thomas Bentley, with whom he formed one of the greatest relationships in the history of industrial manufacturing. One of the duo’s greatest feats was introducing an inland waterways system that would transform the fortunes of the Midlands. Bentley and Josiah estimated that by transporting cargo and goods via a canal network they could dramatically reduce the rate of freight costs from 10 pence to a penny-halfpenny per mile.

Another innovation that Josiah introduced to the ceramics industry was a device to measure the temperature inside the kilns. Prior to this the highest paid worker at the potworks was the kiln man who would judge the heat – which could reach up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit – by peering into blazing ovens and assessing the colour (red, bright red, or white). Wedgwood saw that it was near impossible to express the exact colour in words so he introduced the pyrometer, a precursor to the thermometer.

For this he was made a fellow of the Royal Society.

Wedgwood knew he could secure his success as a master potter by ingratiating himself into high society. In 1763 he reportedly gave Queen Charlotte, wife to King George III, a caudle set (used to serve sweet wine or ale mixed with eggs, spices, sugar and oatmeal). Two years later she commissioned him to make her a tea set and as a result, he was able to rename his creamware Queen’s ware. The most famous of Wedgwood wares though is Jasper: white stoneware, stained to add different colours.

At the turn of the 19th century the pottery industry was well established in Staffordshire, with over 300 potworks creating wares.

One pottery to flourish was Burleigh, which today prides itself on being Britain’s last continuously working Victorian pottery. Established in 1851 at the Central Pottery, Burslem,

by Messrs Hulme and Booth, it was taken over a decade later by Frederick Rathbone Burgess and William Leigh (hence the name Burleigh), who moved to the newly constructed Middleport Pottery site in 1888.

Middleport was revolutionary for its time, with efficient production processes and improved working conditions. It was known locally as the ‘Seven Oven Works’ due to its three biscuit and four glost bottle ovens. Today just one oven remains and thanks to a £9m restoration

Facing page, clockwise from top: tissue printing at Middleport; a worker at the Wedgwood factory; sign at Middleport; Josiah Wedgwood.

This page: Wedgwood's Apotheosis of Homer vase in the Jasper style

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Moorcroft, a hidden gem of the applied arts Est.1897

The Hamlet by Moorcroft designer, Kerry Goodwin, is lost in a dream of mauve and burgundy flowers as gothic lodges soar into the darkest of nights in a world where trees mutate into tulips and an oak panelled door draws you to something beyond the ordinary.

Reader Offer from the Moorcroft Heritage Visitor Centre Spend over ÂŁ200 at the MHVC and receive this Peacock Parade vase (2 inches high) for free with your purchase(s).

This offer can only be redeemed against best quality/non-sale items only and closes on the 31st December 2014.

Moorcroft Heritage Visitor Centre and Museum Sandbach Road, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST6 2DQ Telephone: 01782 820515 Email: heritagevisitorcentre@moorcroft.com www.moorcroft.com

Traditions BRITAIN MEETS... ROS KERSLAKE The CEO of the Prince’s Regeneration Trust tells us about her involvement with the restoration project at Middleport HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT TO SAVE MIDDLEPORT? We were made aware of the project by English Heritage, which understood that the site was at risk. The thing that makes Middleport special is that Burleigh has operated there since the buildings were purpose built. It has an enormous collection of historic papers, moulds, wonderful archives, and incredibly important traditional craft techniques. English Heritage asked the Prince’s Regeneration Trust if we thought we would be able to help.

WHY WAS THE PROJECT SO IMPORTANT?

PHOTOS: © CHRISTOPHER HUTHWAITE/MIDDLEPORT

It’s a mixture of things really. It’s important in itself – the historical importance of the site and what it represents – but also for people in Stoke-on-Trent and particularly Burslem, with the opportunity to create new jobs, new activity and bring more visitors to the area.

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Traditional techniques on display at Middleport

WHAT ARE YOU ESPECIALLY PROUD OF? What I find really pleasing about it is that when we started the project we knew it was going to be a difficult one to do because at the end we largely wanted it to look like we’d never been there.

The magical thing about Middleport is that it is all quite worn and it’s clearly not had a huge amount done to it over the years, so it looks like it’s been untouched since it was first built in Victorian times. I think we’ve maintained that.

WHAT WAS HRH PRINCE CHARLES’S INVOLVEMENT WITH THE PROJECT? Prince Charles is our president and has always been clear that he is hugely committed to our plans to save the pottery. He has been enormously supportive and helpful to us in what we’ve done. It’s fair to say we wouldn’t have been able to achieve it without his help.

IS THE POTTERY INDUSTRY ABOUT TO ENJOY ANOTHER ‘GOLDEN AGE’?

INTERVIEW BY BEN GRAFTON

project, which was officially opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in June, visitors can now tour the factory to see how the delicate tableware is made. Production has never stopped at Middleport and the Victorian techniques pioneered here are still in use, such as the painstaking tissue wrapping and printing process.

The well-known Moorcroft pottery began life in 1897 as part of ceramics company James Macintyre & Co. However, the habit of 24-year-old designer William Moorcroft to personalise each piece with his own signature or initials soon led to a rift between himself and the owner.

In 1913 William Moorcroft moved his workforce to a new factory in Sandbach Road where Moorcroft pottery is still made today. Described as the world’s best-kept secret, a visit to Moorcroft’s factory will let you see how this unique handcrafted pottery, which still demands high prices across the world, is made.

In the heyday of The Potteries there were around 2,000 bottle kilns in the area firing millions of wares and it was these that would eventually lead to the downfall of the industry. With the high density of kilns came a permanent haze of smoke, which polluted the area and began to take its toll on the health of the workers – it was not uncommon for the sun to be blocked out by the smoke.

The Clean Air Act of 1956 put paid to this and by 1965 there were no more bottle kilns in use. Gradually the industry began to decline; today only about 7,000 people work in the region’s 350 ceramics businesses compared with 100,000 a century ago.

Mass unemployment and decay took hold of The Potteries, but with projects such as the development of Middleport, the reopened Gladstone Pottery Museum, and major developments on the horizon at Wedgwood, there’s a sense that this industry may be on its uppers once more.

There are a number of very successful pottery businesses that have survived in Stoke-on-Trent. I think the ones that are still there and still operating appear to be in pretty robust health. Indeed some of them are expanding and doing very well indeed.

Thanks to a £9m restoration project, visitors can tour Middleport to see how the delicate tableware is made GETTING THERE Direct trains to Stoke-on-Trent depart from London’s Euston station and take less than 90 minutes. www.nationalrail.co.uk

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PROMOTION

Traditional CRAFTSMANSHIP

Wheathills in Derbyshire is a family company that makes traditionally crafted and classically inspired furniture with a personal touch

T

ucked away on the edge of the beautiful Peak District in Derbyshire is a sleepy Georgian farmhouse bustling with talented artisans. Collectively they are responsible for handcrafting some of the most innovative and fine works of art you could imagine.

On entering the building there is a palpable sense of calm and concentration. Old leather armchairs, beautiful furniture and unusual boxes make visitors feel they are walking into someone’s home. The air is full of scent from the garden roses mixed with the aroma of freshly cut timber, beeswax and polish.

There are several workshops here showcasing specialist skills. Eight separate disciplines are a common requirement for one of the Wheathills boxes or furniture pieces. Each commission utilises the skills of master cabinet makers, French polishers, traditional upholsterers, artists, designers, carvers, marquetry specialists and gilders.

Internationally renowned for creating exceptional gifts and statement pieces, the scope of this group of craftspeople is extraordinary; from the smallest ring presentation box to a whole suite of elaborate inlaid marquetry furniture.

Strolling along the mellow wood block floor that leads to the various workshops and showrooms, www.britain-magazine.com

visitors can take a moment to watch the artisans through the large viewing windows as each craftsman goes about their daily business.

Dan, the French polisher, says: “We try to be as transparent as possible with our skills without giving away too many trade secrets. We show our clients the different techniques and explain the virtues of finishing traditionally and with natural materials.

“A good French polish finish draws out the wonderful natural colours and character of any timber. It provides an essential element to our work because each piece becomes aromatic and feels silky smooth to the touch. Top quality materials, a good technique and a true understanding of the timber is key.”

At Wheathills, the art of our clients is a constant source of joy. Works of art are formed using exotic yet sustainable timbers, while the marquetry and carving decoration is an exquisite fusion of personal memories and emotions. And since boxes and furniture are the most human pieces of art, due to the constant interaction we have with them every day, the clients’ stories form the driving force behind the most exciting and fascinating designs.

Head cabinet maker, Lee, says: “It's all about the clients and the recipients. Their special relationship is the true celebration – whether we are creating something to mark a birthday, anniversary or a wedding, our work has to portray the giver’s feelings wholeheartedly. The recipient has to feel an emotional connection above all expectation before we feel we can hail one of our pieces a success.”

8 For more information please visit the Wheathills website at www.wheathills.com

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YOUR LETTERS

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OUR FAVOURITE LETTER

INSPIRING STORY

Exploring Britain

Here’s to the

triumphantly produce the appropriate BRITAIN article. This almost always caused laughter and led to instant friendships, although we did not get any free beer. But what we did get was so much better: memories of wonderful people who celebrated our trip with us and posed for pictures and made the fantasy come alive.

Jeann Rybinski, New York, USA

perfect pub

From medieval coaching inns to Victorian gin palaces and workmen’s alehouses, pubs are a quintessentially British institution at the heart of local life WORDS Kate townshend

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1

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ther countries may boast bars, brasseries, bistros and cafés but there’s nowhere that does pubs quite like Britain. It’s not surprising, when you consider that alehouses, taverns and inns have been at the heart of British community life since Roman times, with little sign of the status quo changing as the 21st century takes hold.

The Angles, Saxons and Danes who invaded after the Romans and settled in England were great beer drinkers; the word ‘ale’ comes from the Saxon ‘ealu’ and the Danish ‘ol’. Brewers opened their homes for people to gather and drink, hence the unique concept of public houses.

The sheer longevity of many of these buildings means that Britain’s pubs have become icons of living history, with the plots, love affairs and business transactions of hundreds of years etched into their very stones. It’s hard to choose from the range of delightful watering holes on offer, but here are 10 particularly special places that showcase the best of British pubs.

Groes Inn (1), just outside Snowdonia National Park in Wales, is a perfect example of a classic coaching inn. The building’s history dates back to the 15th century and in 1573 it became the first licensed house in all of Wales. The popularity of the inn is reflected in the blend of architectural

Previous page: Groes Inn, just outside Snowdonia National Park in Wales.

Above, top: Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, nestled under Nottingham Castle, claims to be Britain's oldest pub.

Above: The Lygon Arms in the Cotswolds is said to have hosted both Cromwell and King Charles I

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additions that trace the successes of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. It’s clear people have been meeting here for a long time.

Unsurprisingly then, it’s an inn that is proud of its history. Inside you’ll find original fireplaces complete with stone cats standing guard, as well as all manner of trinkets that the inn has managed to collect and preserve throughout the years. It’s cosy and relaxed, and the sublime views of the Welsh countryside offer another explanation for the inn’s continued popularity.

Next is a contender for the coveted title of the country’s oldest pub. Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem (2), built beneath Nottingham Castle

and purportedly established in 1189, is a place where the lines between ‘now’ and ‘then’ seem to blur in a fascinating way.

Of course its very name speaks to its past – it was once a stopping-off place for those called to crusade by Richard the Lionheart, before their journey to reclaim the holy land of Jerusalem could begin. It’s spectacularly situated, above a labyrinth of sandstone cave cellars, past locations of erstwhile cockfighting pits and the castle gaol, and with parts of the building hewn from the rock on which the castle above it stands. Visitors to the inn can still admire the black and white timbering of parts of the external building, as well as wander through the higgledy-piggledy interior with its series of atmospheric connecting bars.

For something a little more genteel, a trip to the ever refined Cotswolds is the order of the day. In the centre of the pretty town of Broadway, built from characteristic Cotswold honey-coloured stone, stands The Lygon Arms (3), these days a popular hotel. It began life as the White Hart Inn, benefiting from the bustling wool trade that made the Cotswolds rich in the 15th and 16th centuries, and this sense of prosperity and comfort lingers on.

Remaining impartial in the way that only a pub can, it is also said to have hosted both Oliver Cromwell and King Charles I during the English Civil War. And although Cromwell’s visit seems somewhat more likely than Charles’s, The Lygon Arms, with its flagstone www.britain-magazine.com

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I subscribed to BRITAIN as part of my preparation for a much longed-for and dreamed-of trip to the UK last month. Whenever I found an article of interest, I cut it out and placed it in a special folder that went with us during our two-week odyssey. The articles I had clipped added unique flavour to our rambles as we followed the footsteps of the Knights Templar (Vol 81, Issue 3) and the favourite pubs from another (Vol 82, Issue 1). When someone asked us, “How did you hear about us?” I would

PHOTO: © GETTY/HENRY SPARROW/KIRSTEN FOWLE

British Gardens in Time: The Greatest Gardens and the People Who Shaped Them by Katie Campbell (£20, Amazon) takes us on a tour of four iconic gardens: Biddulph Grange, Nymans, Great Dixter and Stowe.

William Kent: Designing Georgian Britain

by Susan Weber (£45, V&A shop) explores the creative innovative style of the 18th century architect, William Kent, and his Georgian Britain.

RECIPE

There are many recipes named after Queen Victoria but it is the Victoria Sponge with which she is most associated – said to be her favoured accompaniment to afternoon tea.

The original cake was sandwiched together using just jam, while the layer of cream was added in the 20th century, an addition we definitely believe is worth keeping.

Fo r t h e s p o n ge :

Fo r t h e f i l l i n g :

225g (8oz) caster sugar

Icing sugar, for dusting

225g (8oz) softened butter

Fresh strawberries (around 250g/9oz)

4 eggs, beaten

150ml (5 fl oz) double cream, whipped

225g (8oz) self-raising flour

1 jar of good-quality strawberry jam

2 tsp baking powder

1 drop vanilla extract (optional)

To begin, preheat the oven to 180ºC or gas mark 4, and grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins. In a large bowl beat all the sponge ingredients together until you have a smooth mixture. Divide the mixture between the two tins and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Place both cake tins on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Remove from tins and leave to cool completely on a cooling rack. Whip the cream with the vanilla extract (if desired). Cut strawberries into slices and mix over a low heat with the jam. Allow the jam mixture to cool and place on top of one of the sponges. Top with whipped cream and sandwich with the other sponge cake. Dust with icing sugar and devour.

26

I Never Knew That About the River Thames by Christopher Winn (£10.99, English Heritage shop) is filled with historic tales and facts about the great English waterway.

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023-25 BRJA14 THE BULLETINV2.indd 26

Our favourite letter wins a beautiful 11" Travel Backgammon Set, which comes in a handmade oak case with solid brass furnishings, from Jaques London, the oldest games maker in the world (£29.99, www.jaqueslondon.co.uk).

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BRITAIN REPLIES: Thank you for your kind words, Tish. Each issue The Bulletin will aim to inspire you with the best stately homes and castles, the tastiest British recipes and essential reads, as well as keep you in the loop regarding news and historical events. Watch this space for even more exciting stories from BRITAIN...

27/05/2014 16:04

HOW TO WRITE TO US – by post to: Letters, BRITAIN, Chelsea Magazines, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 3TQ; or to: Letters, BRITAIN, Circulation Specialists Inc, 2 Corporate Drive, Suite 945, Shelton, CT 06484, USA. Or email the editor: sally.coffey@chelseamagazines.com Follow us on Twitter at @BritainMagazine or like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritainMagazine

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COLLECTOR’S COIN I have just received your latest issue and was interested to read about the coin commemorating the death of Queen Anne. I expected to see her portrait, not the one of Queen Elizabeth II. My husband says a coin of the realm has to have the head of the current monarch on it. On the side that is shown there is nothing about Queen Anne. Perhaps her image is on the other side?

Jean Kingdon, Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia

BRITAIN REPLIES: You are indeed correct, Jean. The portrait of Queen Anne features on the reverse side of the coin (below).

Love the history of Richard III’s grave site, enjoyed the news about London being the world’s favourite city, and going to try the Victoria Sponge recipe this weekend. All in all the new section, The Bulletin, is a quick look at what is going on in Britain and has already inspired me to cook and read.

Tish Fedora, Mississauga, Canada

READING CORNER Find out more about some of this issue’s features with these beautiful books

Victoria Sponge

Jeann, and pleased that our famous British hospitality lived up to its reputation.

NEWS JUST IN: THE BULLETIN'S A HIT

HISTORY / NEWS / REVIEWS / INSPIRATION

Queen Victoria is said to have enjoyed a slice of sponge cake with afternoon tea

BRITAIN REPLIES: Glad to have been of service,

Read about one BRITAIN reader’s experiences during the Second World War at: www.britain-magazine/ readerWWII

@babydollcake Cosied up with a blanket and @BritainMagazine. #favourite BRITAIN

77

This page: the Livery Hall, The Goldsmiths' Company, London.

Facing page: Goldsmiths' hallmark

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London’s Guilds

WORTH its

WEIGHT In the second part of our series on London’s guilds, we enter the wonderful world of The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths WORDS CHRIS FAUTLEY

PHOTOS: © THE GOLDSMITHS' COMPANY/PAT TUSON/ALAMY

D

www.britain-magazine.com

eedles, the banker,” gasped the Secretary. “Deedles Brothers – who was to have been here today – high in office in The Goldsmiths’ Company.”

As one of London’s longest established livery companies, it was perhaps inevitable that The Goldsmiths’ Company or – to give it its full name – The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, would be mentioned by Charles Dickens, and so it was in his 1844 Christmas story, The Chimes.

The famous author’s son, also Charles, was more matter-of-fact in Dickens’s Dictionary of London, recording that the goldsmiths were once the “most pugnacious” of the City livery guilds. “They constantly met the Merchant Taylors in the streets at night when much cudgelling ensued,” he wrote, concluding with the observation that the goldsmiths were now, “as peaceable a body of men as need be”.

The Goldsmiths’ Company originated in the 12th century with the establishment of an informal group of craftsmen. By 1327, it had received Royal Charter having already assumed the role of assaying both gold and silver some years earlier.

During the 13th century, it had been as tempting as ever for less scrupulous craftsmen to ‘economise’ in their use of precious metals, meaning the finished article was not always what it seemed. Consequently, in 1300 King Edward I laid down minimum standards of silver purity that were to be met by the smiths, charging the wardens of The Goldsmiths’ Company with the task of ensuring these standards were upheld. Early on the wardens visited the smiths, but by 1478 all such items had to be brought to an assay office in London’s Goldsmiths’ Hall for examination and stamping with the king’s mark (thus the term hallmark was born); one of the earliest forms of consumer protection. Only then could the articles be sold. This mark was BRITAIN

79

CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY & SILVERWARE Week One — 22 to 28 Sep 2014 Week Two — 30 Sep to 5 Oct 2014 1 1am — 6.30pm Thursdays open late until 8.30pm Last entry 30 minutes before closing Goldsmiths' Hall, Foster Lane London EC2V 6BN Admission £10 #GoldsmithsFair goldsmithsfair.co.uk

London’s Guilds

“Deedles, the banker,” gasped the Secretary.

“Deedles Brothers – who was to have been here today – high in office in The Goldsmiths’ Company.”

BEHIND THE SCENES Goldsmiths’ Hall is not generally open to the public but if you are organised you may be able to book a place on one of the small number of tours available each year, which must be reserved at least three months in advance. Places can be arranged by calling the City of London Information Office (+44 (0)20 7332 1456). You can also keep an eye on the livery’s website for occasional exhibitions that invite members of the public to celebrate the work of award-winning jewellers and silversmiths. www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk

PHOTOS: © LEBRECHT MUSIC AND ARTS PHOTO LIBRARY/ALAMY/CLASSIC IMAGE

Clockwise, from above: The Chimes, by Charles Dickens; Goldsmiths' Hall; invitation to The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, 1707

in the form of a leopard’s head and was permanently adopted as the mark of The Goldsmiths’ Company in 1544. It is used to this day, with regional assay offices in Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh represented by an anchor, a rose and a castle respectively.

The Goldsmiths’ Company, which has the motto: justitia virtutum regina (justice is the queen of virtues) is also involved in one of Britain’s longest-standing judicial processes, the Trial of the Pyx. This is an annual examination of the coin of the realm and is a role the company has performed since 1248. A pyx is traditionally a chest retained at the Royal Mint in which sample coins are stored pending testing (the word ‘pyx’ is derived from ‘pyxis’, Latin for ‘box’). The trial has the status of a court of law and is overseen by the Queen’s Remembrancer – the oldest judicial post to survive since the Middle Ages – who summons a jury, made up of all members of The Goldsmiths’ Company. Over 50,000 coins are brought to Goldsmiths' Hall each February, with a selection tested, and the verdict delivered in spring.

For many years the trial was held at Westminster, only moving to Goldsmiths’ Hall, on London’s Foster www.britain-magazine.com

Lane, in 1870. Although the goldsmiths have been on this site since 1339, the present building opened in 1835. It is the work of the company’s architect, Philip Hardwick, who was also employed by St Katherine’s Dock Company and the 1st Duke of Wellington.

The hall is mainly made of Portland stone, while the interiors include the Court Room with Hardwick's original plaster ceiling. Panelling comes from the second building on the site, which was extensively repaired after suffering damage during the Great Fire of London in 1666. Other noteworthy rooms include the Livery Hall, with Corinthian columns, six enormous 19th-century chandeliers and a moulded ceiling in gold leaf; and the Drawing Room, with its fine carpet and tapestries.

In the ‘pecking order’ of livery companies, The Goldsmiths’ Company ranks as number five and, in common with most, has three types of member. In ascending order, these are freemen, liverymen and assistants.

The assistants are effectively the governing body and currently number around 30. Four are elected wardens – a position that is held for one year – and the most senior of these is the BRITAIN

81

PHOTOS: © RICHARD VALENCIA/THE GOLDSMITHS' COMPANY/RICHARD LEA-HAIR

London’s Guilds

THE GOLDSMITHS’ FAIR

If you want to buy some fine jewellery or contemporary silver then the Goldsmiths' Fair, held in London’s magnificent Goldsmiths’ Hall, from 22 September to 5 October this year, is the place to be. There will be collections from 170 leading designers from the precious metal industry, offering a genuine opportunity to buy unique pieces direct from their British maker. Prices range from £150 to £50,000 and this year for the first time there will also be a programme of special talks by jewellery and design experts. www.goldsmithsfair.co.uk

Clockwise, from top: Drawing Room in Goldsmiths' Hall; coins for Prince George's christening are checked at the Trial of the Pyx in 2013; a ring by designer An Alleweireldt

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BRITAIN

prime warden. There are currently more than 1,500 freemen and 285 liverymen. Before becoming liverymen, freemen must first be granted the Freedom of the City of London; liverymen may then vote in the election of the city’s Lord Mayor.

Dickens does not tell us how his character Mr Deedles was elected to The Goldsmiths’ Company, but if art imitates life then it would have been by one of the traditional City livery company methods. Firstly, by service: having served as a freeman’s apprentice; secondly, by patrimony: a son may seek election if at the time of his birth his parent was a freeman;

and thirdly, by redemption: payment.

It follows, therefore, that not all freemen are part of the profession.

Members of the company to have held the position of Lord Mayor include Sir Francis Child who, as well as being a goldsmith, founded one of 17th century London’s largest private banks. One of the most remarkable members was goldsmith Sir Martin Bowes. Elected through apprenticeship, he was made a liveryman in 1525, serving as a warden three times, and prime warden no fewer than 13 times. He was also Lord Mayor from 1545 to 1546, and a member of parliament.

Between the mid-17th and 19th centuries the goldsmiths took part in London’s great ceremonial waterborne pageants along the Thames. Barges were ostentatious and lavishly decorated with pennants, banners and carvings and many barges served the goldsmiths over the years. The first, built in 1656, was of oak and 62ft long; the fourth, from 1745, was 75ft long and was adorned with a figure of St Dunstan, the company’s patron saint. Many artefacts from the barges survive in the care of the company.

In more modern times, livery companies have become well known

for their charitable educational initiatives. Among Goldsmiths' contributions was the acquisition, in 1891, of part of the Royal Naval School in New Cross, London. It was greatly expanded, offering students engineering, art, music and science facilities. The school was handed over to the University of London in 1904 and renamed Goldsmiths’ College.

Today The Goldsmiths’ Company is the leading patron for UK jewellers and silversmiths, offering support through its apprenticeships, bursaries, bullion loans, competitions, workshop space, networking events, commissions and exhibitions. In 2007, it embarked on its biggest ever charitable project, refurbishing an old school to create The Goldsmiths’ Centre, in London’s Clerkenwell, which opened in 2012. Its aims are to develop and maintain skills including, (but not exclusively) goldsmithing.

With this venture Goldsmiths has raised the profile of the profession for generations to come, staying as true to its roots as ever.

WATCH VIDEO See footage of the Trial of the Pyx at www.britain-magazine.com/goldsmiths

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STILL DESIGNED AND MADE IN ENGLAND www.william-morris.co.uk | 0844 543 4749 | +44 (0)845 126 9900

Great Britons

The

PEOPLE’S ARTIST Aside from being a great designer in his own right, William Morris was a visionary who believed in access to the arts for everyone WORDS NEIL JONES

“H

ave nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful,” William Morris famously advised. A founding father of the British Arts & Crafts movement, the Victorian polymath created textile and nature-inspired wallpaper designs that are loved to this day. He applied his artistic talents to tapestries, stained glass windows, furniture, ceramics and rugs, as well as printing exquisite books. A prolific writer of poetry, essays and historical romances, Morris was also a pioneering conservationist and a socialist: a dizzying bundle of energy whose achievements resonate with a vigour that has outlived him.

Morris was born in 1834 into a well-to-do family in London’s Walthamstow – you can visit the home (now the William Morris Gallery) in Lloyd Park where he lived from the age of 14 to 22 with his eight brothers and sisters. He studied theology at Oxford University, intending to pursue a career in the Church, but lost his faith and – with his friend the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones – channelled his interests elsewhere.

Soon Morris was moving in circles that provided lifelong collaborators – the artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti, architect Philip Webb and mathematician Charles Faulkner – united by a passion for all things medieval, and inspired by John Ruskin, the beauties of nature and the glory of Gothic.

The group railed against the ‘cheapening’ changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution: the devaluation of craftsmanship and the dehumanisation of workers through mass machine production. They dreamed of a return to beautiful, high-quality handcrafts, created in artistic communities harking back to notions of medieval guilds.

Following Morris’s marriage in 1859 to Jane Burden, the unconventional beauty who became a muse to the Pre-Raphaelites, there was a chance to put the group’s

artistic ideas into practice. William commissioned Webb to build the Red House in Bexleyheath, London, where he and Jane lived from 1860 to 1865 in a ‘Palace of Art’ decorated by his friends.

Guided tours at the National Trust Red House reveal wall paintings and stained glass by Burne-Jones, furniture and glass painting by Morris and Webb, and embroidery

by Jane and her sister.

The creative seeds had been sown and in 1861 he set up Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co in Red Lion Square, London: an arts collective, which included the engineer Peter Paul Marshall, Webb, and artists Ford Madox Brown, Rossetti and Burne-Jones. Later shortened to Morris & Co, ‘the Firm’ aimed to “revive a sense of beauty in home life, to restore the dignity of art to ordinary household decoration”; affordable “art for all”.

Much of the company’s early work was concerned with stained glass, characterised by repeating patterns and bold, bright colours. Prestigious commissions to decorate what is now called the Morris Room at the V&A Museum and the Armoury and Tapestry rooms at St James’s Palace enhanced their wider reputation. Today the V&A’s collection of wallpaper, textile and tile designs is a must-see for insight into Morris and his era.

Above all, Morris is known for his wooden block-printed wallpaper designs. Inspired by gardens and hedgerow, and using mineral-based natural dyes true to medieval tradition, he breathed fresh air into the stuffy parlours of Victorian England with creations like ‘Daisy’, ‘Fruit’, and ‘Strawberry Thief’. He designed over 50 wallpapers and the Firm produced a further 49, featuring structured patterns imbued with the power of nature.

Morris championed the unconventional idea of the designer-craftsman engaging in manual labour as well as

This page, left to right: tile inscribed ‘Si je puis' (‘If I can'), Morris's motto, at Red House; the east front of Red House, Bexleyheath; stained glass window by William Morris

PHOTOS: © NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/NADIA MACKENZIE/ANDREW BUTLER/ARCAID IMAGES/ALAMY/MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY/ISTOCK/BILWISSEDITION LTD. & CO. KG

directing it. He believed only by mastering processes oneself, whether glass-blowing or glazing, could one properly supervise others and control a product.

His view was that the designer-craftsman should enjoy his work and that the workplace should be somewhere for education and pleasure, where the worker was valued and fairly paid. Ironically, given his ‘art for all’ mantra, Morris’s insistence on using only the best materials resulted in his products being expensive, as his detractors were quick to point out.

Nevertheless, by the 1880s his wallpapers were being recommended in many home-decorating guides. He also pioneered the ‘one-stop shop’, designing and selling co-ordinated furnishings and fabrics from one single outlet, first from Bloomsbury and then on Oxford Street, near Liberty and other upmarket emporia.

Houses where you can view Morris & Co works include the National Trust’s Standen in West Sussex, and Wightwick Manor in Wolverhampton. Alternatively, you can visit Kelmscott Manor near Lechlade in the Cotswolds; Morris’s country retreat from 1871. This was where he escaped London pressures and smog, and where he stabled an Icelandic pony for his daughters Jenny and May. Rooms display many of his possessions and there are echoes, too, of his wife Jane’s affair with Rossetti.

Morris was in the vanguard of artists and craftsmen to ‘discover’ the rural beauty and vernacular limestone architecture of the Cotswolds in the 19th century, and holidays in the eccentric folly of Broadway Tower (open to

the public) inspired him to campaign to safeguard historic buildings and monuments. In 1877 he co-founded The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), still a leading light in heritage preservation.

In his later years Morris campaigned against poverty and joined the socialist movement. He conducted meetings in the Coach House of Kelmscott House, Hammersmith – the family home from 1878 to 1896 – and founded the Socialist League in 1884. Today the Coach House forms part of the William Morris Society & Museum.

His later years were devoted to his Kelmscott Press, lifting standards of printing with new typefaces and superb Burne-Jones illustrations. Works

by Morris included News from Nowhere, his Utopian vision of a socialist society.

Morris died in 1896, aged 62, and is buried in the village churchyard near Kelmscott Manor. One doctor is said to have remarked: “The disease is simply being William Morris and having done more work than most ten men.”

The influence of Morris and his collaborators was immense, raising standards of production, reviving forgotten techniques, and revitalising craftsmanship.

Morris & Co continues to produce wallpapers and textiles and, while the genius of Morris as a designer may never be equalled, he has been widely copied. His ideals, passed down through the Arts & Crafts movement and SPAB, are as relevant as ever.

Morris believed the designer-craftsman should enjoy his work and that the workplace should be a place for education and pleasure

 For more information on some of Britain's most fascinating historical figures, go to www.britain-magazine.com

This page, left to right: Kelmscott Manor; chair and original printed linen walls

by Morris & Co at Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton; Broadway Tower, Worcestershire

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The castle and Clive Museum are open from 12:30pm. restaurant are open daily from 10am.

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90 britain

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a great story Castle and Garden

Albro House Hotel

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155 Sussex Gardens, Hyde Park, London W2 2RY Tel: +44 (0)20 7724 2931 / +44 (0)20 7706 8153 Fax: +44 (0)20 7262 2278 E-mail: joe@albrohotel.freeserve.co.uk Website: www.albrohotel.co.uk Located near Hyde Park, public transport and convenient for sightseeing and shopping.

Comfortable rooms all with TV, private facilities, tea / coffee maker, phone, radio and hairdryer. Friendly efficient service. Quiet, relaxed atmosphere. Some parking.

Families and small groups welcome. Tours booked. Luggage storage. Free WiFi Rates per person including cooked English breakfast & all taxes Single rooms from Twin / double rooms from Family (3 or 4) per person from

Low Season £46 to £58 £34 to £48 £32 to £40

High Season £58 to £84 £50 to £70 £38 to £48

A GOOD VALUE HOTEL IN CENTRAL LONDON www.britain-magazine.com

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to Cromer

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BISHOPGATE

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P The Cathedral is located in the heart of Norwich in the beautiful Cathedral Quarter, Tombland area of the city.

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On foot Grey directional signposts are located throughout the city centre and maps are also available at various locations.

The Cathedral is located in the heart of Norwich in the beautiful Cathedral Quarter, Tombland area of the city.

England’s most rural cathedral in Robin Hood county!

- Norwich Train Station is located approximately On foot minutes away.

Grey10 directional signposts are located throughout the city

centre also available at various locations.

- Aand busmaps stop are is located in Tombland, directly outside the Cathedral gates, with services running approximately every 20 minutes.

‘Everywhere around is- Norwich an atmosphere of peace and Train Station is located approximately 10 minutes away.

Upon arriving in Norwich, the Cathedral is clearly in the Minster there’s one of prayer’ John Betjeman Southwell Minster •

signposted brownintourist signs. On-site - A bus stop isby located Tombland, directlyparking is not available.

Nearby car parkswith are shown in running the map above. outside the Cathedral gates, services ForStreet more detailed travel directions, information Church • Southwell NG25 0HD on coach approximately every 20 minutes. visits and parking visit: www.cathedral.org.uk/visit

www.southwellminster.org.uk Telephone: 01636 812649 Upon arriving in Norwich, the Cathedral is clearly Norwich Cathedral, 12 The Close, Norwich, NR1 4DH

signposted by brown On-site parking is not Tel: 01603 218300tourist Email:signs. reception@cathedral.org.uk available. Nearby car parks are shown in the map above.

For more detailed travel directions, information on coach visits and parking visit: www.cathedral.org.uk/visit

Creative agency: The Click | Photos © Paul Hurst ARPS and bensmithphotographs.co.uk Creative agency: The Click | Photos © Paul Hurst ARPS and bensmithphotographs.co.uk

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Fun family outings Hunger for history Fun family outings Savour the menu Hunger forcoff history Chat over ee Savour menu Wanderthe quiet cloisters Walk over tranquil Chat coffgrounds ee Festivals quiet and concerts Wander cloisters View tranquil sacred treasures Walk grounds Enjoy theand silence Festivals concerts Take asacred pew treasures View at Norwich Cathedral Enjoy the silence Plan your visit: your visit: Take a pew Share www.cathedral.org.uk #mycathedralvisit at Norwich Cathedral

Conwy Llanrwst, Wales

visitbritainshop.com

www.britain-magazine.com

BRITAIN 91

BRITAIN’S CHOICE – favourite destinations to explore

20 minutes from Waterloo 20 MINUTES

F R O M W AT E R L O O Dine. Shop. Stay. Escape.

RELAX and UNWIND with a narrowboat holiday, ideal for all the family to enjoy!

For more information please contact us on:

    

Village lanes & boutiques Pubs, restaurants & hotels Twickenham Stadium London Wetland Centre Kew Gardens, Richmond Park & Hampton Court Palace

Richmond upon Thames

Tel: +44 (0)1926 492968 or visit our website:

www.kateboats.co.uk

W W W. V I S I T R I C H M O N D . C O . U K

Kate Boats Warwick Ltd • The Boatyard Nelson Lane • Warwick • Warwickshire CV34 5JB

Quote BRIT01 for a 5% discount

Visit Richmond, Surrey

@Visit_Richmond1

DOWN CATHEDRAL

Built in 1183 as a Benedictine monastery, Down Cathedral is now a Cathedral of the Church of Ireland.

Prominent and majestic, the cathedral is believed to have the grave of St Patrick in its grounds. There is also wonderful stained glass and a pulpit and organ of highest quality.

Find sanctuary in this medieval hall church. Enjoy our shop, café and the warmth of our welcome. www.bristol-cathedral.co.uk

Open all year round. Monday - Saturday 9.30 - 4.00: Sunday 2.00 - 4.00pm

The Mall, English Street, Downpatrick, County Down BT30 6AB T: 028 4461 4922 E: info@downcathedral.org

www.downcathedral.org

Visit Test Valley

in the heart of Hampshire

Quaint villages, stunning scenery, wonderful walks, historic homes and buildings, fabulous food and fantastic trout fishing on the famous River Test!

www.testvalley.gov.uk

TestValleyBC

@TestValleyBC

To book space call Natasha +44 (0)207 349 3732

BRITAIN’S CHOICE – discover fascinating heritage attractions

! t i s i v y t f a r c a e

12 working craft units, gardens, restaurant, gifts – Open Daily

Free Admission and Parking

tel: 01527 821272

mak

jinneyring.co.uk

Hanbury, between Droitwich and Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4BU

Special Events throughout the Year see website for details

12 working craft units, gardens, restaurant, gifts – Open Daily

Free Admission and Parking

tel: 01527 821272 jinneyring.co.uk

Hanbury, between Droitwich and Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4BU

  

Special Events throughout the Year

© National Trust Images/Chris Lacey. Registered Charity Number 205846.

see website for details

Enjoy classic bus rides in the Worcestershire countryside at our forthcoming events on August Bank Holiday Sunday & Monday, and October 5th & 12th.

Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal

Bring the kids for a miniature train ride & have a picnic in the sun or a snack in the café.





 



escaping the everyday

See magical autumn colours around the abbey and reflected in the pools of the water garden, join a Deer Watch walk or find the orchard with its heritage varieties of apple.

Members and under 5s go free.

01765 608888 nationaltrust.org.uk/fountainsabbey

Great Witley Church

This fabulous 18thC Baroque church will amaze and delight you with its many works of art which include ornate ceiling paintings, unique enamel painted windows, magnificent organ, lavish gold wall decorations and an enormous monument by Rysbrack. The crypt has a display which has nine lead coffins, giving an intriguing insight into 18thC burials.

Tudor history, magnificent gardens and family fun in Kent

Church open all year round, Private Group tours are available.

The Garden Tea Rooms are open April-October.

See our website for opening times

www.greatwitleychurch.org.uk

Worcestershire, 10 miles NW of the city of Worcester WR6 6JT

©Mike Hawthorn

13th Century Castle • Award Winning Gardens • Mazes • Portraits • Boating Lake • Adventure Playground • Luxury Accommodation • Events • Shops • Restaurants

hevercastle.co.uk T: 01732 865224 E: mail@hevercastle.co.uk Hever, Near Edenbridge, Kent TN8 7NG QT_Britain Mag_Advert_99x129:QUAKER TAPESTRY The childhood home of Anne Boleyn

7/7/14

15:38

QuakerTapestry Museum,Exhibition & Cafe,Kendal,The Lake District

First World War watercolours and works on paper by Captain W.E. Johns and his contemporaries

- colourful,modern international textile celebrating remarkable people and events across the centuries - Barrett Friendship Quilt with links toWilliam Morris and QueenVictoria - model railway telling the story of the Early Railways - November - Magna CartaTapestry with panels by a Royal embroiderer - plus interactive displays and exhibitions,films and audio guides.

Café open year round, Museum open April - December (Mon - Sat) www.quaker-tapestry.co.uk

To book space call Natasha +44 (0)207 349 3732

Page 1

Station Road, Amberley, Near Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9LT 01798 831370 - office@amberleymuseum.co.uk

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THE ULTIMATE FOOTBALL EXPERIENCE To book call 0871 984 1955 or email tours@chelseafc.com

CHELSEAFC.COM/STADIUM-TOURS

Amberley Museum A 36 acre former chalk quarry in the South Downs National Park, dedicated to local industrial and transport heritage. Ride on the narrow gauge railway and historic bus.

Exhibits Working printshop, exhibition halls, lime kilns, stationary engines, traditional craftspeople such as the woodturners and blacksmith, with a café, gift shop, nature trails and picnic areas.

Special events Mon 25th Aug: Bank Holiday Story Book Day Fri 29th – Sun 31st Aug: Ale, Food & Music Festival Sun 21st Sep: Bus Show and Riders Day Sun 12th Oct:Vintage Vehicles & Industrial Trains and many other events throughout the season Visit today We open from mid March to October. Large free car park and we are right next to Amberley railway station. Plenty to see and do in fine and poor weather. Under 4s go free.

Please see our website for full details.

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To book space call Natasha +44 (0)207 349 3732

Etiquette

BRITAIN’S GUIDE T0 If you want to get by in Britain, you’ll have to learn to mind your Ps and Qs...…

ILLUSTRATION: © RACHEL GANNON

WORDS BEN GRAFTON

ordiality,” wrote Anne Brontë in her 1848 novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, “is like handling briar-roses and may-blossoms – bright enough to the eye, and outwardly soft to the touch, but you know there are thorns beneath.” Regardless of her dissection of the sincerity of all our pleases, thank yous and never-ending apologies, Brontë was still unable to offer a rational explanation for why Britons seem to enjoy standing in queues.

Our outward display of decorum is in part owed to a 14th-century bishop and founder of New College, Oxford, William of Wykeham, whose motto ‘Manners maketh man’ inscribed below the college’s coat of arms helped bring the expression into common usage. In the 18th century the philosopher Lord Shaftesbury published his analysis Shaftesbury and the Culture of Politeness, defining it as “dextrous management of our words and actions, whereby we make other people have better opinion of us”.

This ‘art of polite conversation’ soon became widespread in the gentlemen’s clubs and coffee houses where regulars pored over the latest issue of The Spectator magazine, which preached social etiquette, the virtues of ‘polite lying’ and

98

BRITAIN

‘minding one’s Ps and Qs’. In the latter expression we understand the P to stand for ‘please’ and Q for ‘thank you’. But in old English taverns, you might well have found bartenders keeping an eye on the alcohol consumption of their patrons by asking them to mind their pints (Ps) and quarts (Qs).

In polite society euphemisms – the lady gone to ‘powder her nose’ or the family relative who has ‘kicked the bucket’ – have prevented too much embarrassment when discussing taboo subjects, while a host of social rules dictate everything, from what to do on a first greeting to which cutlery to use at dinner parties.

Surely there is no bigger dinner party venue than Buckingham Palace, where perhaps the finest example of politeness is rumoured to have taken place. As the story goes, Queen Elizabeth II was hosting a meal for various clergy when one of her footmen brought out a silver platter containing an assortment of treats. A bishop nervously grabbed one and tucked in. It wasn’t until afterwards that the Queen revealed to him that he had just eaten a dog treat for her corgis.

When it comes to politeness you see, Brits really do take the biscuit.

Our maze of social rules are tricky for visitors to navigate: Here are our tips for fitting in:

*Shake hands on a first meeting – firm but without cutting off blood circulation. *Observe the dress code. Bermuda shorts at a wedding are a no-no. *Discuss the weather. In Britain even schoolchildren can spot a Cumulonimbus. *Say sorry a lot (even when it’s not your fault). *Bring a gift to a dinner party, and with cutlery work your way in from the outside. *Invade a Briton’s personal space (a handshake is always preferable to a kiss on the cheek). *Order ‘iced’ tea, green tea or any tea that isn’t served with milk at 4pm (except Earl Grey). *Cut queues – a vice that's still punishable by imprisonment in the Tower of London. *Ask a lady her age. Ever. *Confuse the lexicon of our national sports.

Cricketers, for example, do not hit ‘home runs’.

www.britain-magazine.com

McArthurGlen.com Ashford, Bridgend, Cheshire Oaks, East Midlands, Swindon, York

You can tell it’s Club World with your eyes closed Discover more at ba.com/clubworld