Spring/Summer 2017 Attractions

INSPIRING DAYS OUT FOR GROUPS

ATTR ACTIONS

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SPRING/SUMMER 2017

IN THIS ISSUE:

PAGE 3 New Siddeley exhibition at Kenilworth Castle.

NEW

PAGE 5

E XC LU S I V E LY

Major conservation works now complete.

FOR GROUPS

Secret Wartime Tunnels

BOOK YOUR GROUP ONTO A PRIORITY TOUR OF DOVER CASTLE’S TWO MUST-SEE ATTR ACTIONS

PAGE 7 Dover Castle

Set the alarm and get your group on the road to Dover Castle nice and early to take a queue-busting early-bird Operation Dynamo Tunnel Tour deep within the Secret Wartime Tunnels.

Especially useful if your group is on a tight itinerary, the Tunnel Tours can be pre-booked at either 9.30 or 9.45am time slots. And for the first time we’ve also introduced private tours of

King Henry II’s technicolour Great Tower – which you can add-on to create a discounted combined two-tour package or else opt to take on its own. continued on page 2

Medieval life at Battle Abbey.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT We’re looking forward to welcoming you and your groups to our sites.

Enjoy exploring them, knowing that your visits help keep the story of England alive for future generations.

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continued from page 1

Peace of Mind for Planning

We hope that introducing these pre-booked tours will give busy GTOs and operators the chance to relax and plan your visit in the knowledge that your group will be guaranteed to see these two castle hot spots and have a more special and personal time with us.

You can pre-book groups of 15 – 30 up to two weeks ahead and have three price options: Operation Dynamo Tunnel Tour only for £12 per person ■■

Great Tower Tour only for £10 per person ■■

Tunnel and Great Tower Tour for just £17 per person, giving £5 off the combined price.

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Each per person tour price is in addition to the castle’s discounted group admission (we give a generous 15% reduction for groups of 11 or more and entry for a group leader and driver) and includes a choice of a souvenir Dover Castle guidebook, or a tea or Americano coffee and cake for each group member.

What Your Group Will See

The unique and gripping visitor experience in the Secret Wartime Tunnels is especially evocative. It uses film, audio and archive material to tell the story of the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940, in the tunnel complex where the rescue of over 300,000 stranded British and Allied troops was masterminded.

It will take your group back to those dark days of 1940, to experience something of the fear of being trapped and under enemy fire on the open beaches and around the shattered town of Dunkirk and the miraculous rescue of the stranded troops from French shores.

Running deep beneath the famous White Cliffs, the tunnels were the nerve-centre of operations for Winston Churchill and Vice Admiral Ramsay and also secretly housed 700 servicemen and women who carried out the vital business of manning telephone exchanges, plotting the progress of ships and aircraft, and even operating on wounded troops.

After their Tunnel Tour, your group can also go into the underground hospital to see where the casualties of war were once treated – the free tours take around 20 minutes.

Tours of Henry II’s Great Tower last up to an hour and your group will be amazed to see the vibrant colour and rich furnishings that brightened what was one of medieval England’s most important castles.

Your expert guide will lead your group through the private chambers, guest rooms, kitchen, armouries and great hall and explain the politics and power struggles of the day, before you head up to the roof to enjoy panoramic views.

Other highlights your group can take in include the World War I Fire Command Post and Port War Signal station, medieval underground works and the country’s oldest lighthouse, which once guided the Romans to our shores from France – just some of the aspects of the castle’s 2,000 year history to discover.

Dover Castle, Dover, Kent CT16 1HU Tel: +44 (0)1304 211067 Email: dover.castle@english-heritage.org.uk www.english-heritage.org.uk/dovercastle (See pages 22-23 of the Group Visits Guide 2017/18)

Images clockwise from top left: Wartime telephone; WWI Fire Command Post; Becket’s Chapel; the King’s bedroom; Tunnel Tour

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STONEHENGE IMPROVEMENTS ON SCHEDULE FOR SUMMER COMPLETION By the end of the summer, we’ll have finished major improvements at Stonehenge designed to give tour groups arriving by coach a more streamlined welcome and an enhanced visit. It marks a significant moment in the recent history of this ancient World Heritage Site, which has seen enormous changes take place in the past four years since we opened new visitor facilities 2km away from the Stone Circle.

The viewing platform at Battle Abbey

NIT COMBS AND DANCING MONKS

THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF MEDIEVAL ABBEY LIFE Newly displayed archaeological finds, once-hidden architecture and even song lost for over 500 years, combine in our just-opened exhibition at 1066 Battle of Hastings, Abbey and Battlefield to tell the story of monastic life at Battle Abbey. Your groups can travel back through the centuries to discover how the site transformed from bloody battlefield to a devotional place of prayer and piety.

The exhibition opens up a new dimension for groups exploring our popular East Sussex attraction. Founded

by William the Conqueror on the spot where King Harold fell at the Battle of Hastings, the Benedictine abbey was a thriving part of the local and wider religious community for five centuries.

The exhibition focuses on this important chapter in the site’s long story - using everyday objects to paint a picture of how the monks lived and worked. They include a bone nit comb and copper ear scoop used to comb lice from their hair and remove ear wax before the monks attended Mass. A replica of Abbot Thomas Ludlow’s ceremonial sword, stained glass windows depicting the

monastery’s 14th-century coat of arms and a recreated treasury table, illustrate the abbey’s wealth and influence.

As your group takes in these treasures, the haunting sounds of a long-lost medieval carol once enjoyed by the monks, adds to the period atmosphere.

The carol called ‘Be Mery’, was found doodled at the back of a monk’s service book. In the Middle Ages, carols were not exclusive to Christmas. Nor were they performed during church services, but would have been sung – and even danced to – during social occasions all year round.

We finished phase one of the current improvement project just ahead of Easter, when we opened a newly designed permanent coach park on the footprint of its temporary predecessor. The upgraded layout has already brought big benefits: coach arrivals and departures are smoother and it’s safer for visitors to walk within the coach park, which has space for 52 60-seater coaches.

The new dedicated groups-only Visitor Transit Shuttle pick up point from the coach park means groups can now go directly to the Stone Circle, before returning via the visitor centre. Coupled with an enlarged drop off/pick up layout at the Stones, the shuttle service is more fluid and flexible and has helped ease pressure points for all visitors at the busy site.

We finish phase two of the improvement project by late summer, when a new group reception building opens. Complete with extensive WC facilities, you’ll find it conveniently close to the coach parking bays and next to the shuttle pick up point.

Recently opened rooftop viewing platforms, carved oak figures of Norman and Saxon warriors on a battlefield walk, an audio tour in six languages and introductory film, all combine with the new exhibition to offer more of this famous site’s history for your group to uncover.

Stonehenge, Nr Amesbury, Wiltshire SP4 7DE Tel: + 44 (0)370 333 0604 Email: bookstonehenge@ english-heritage.org.uk www.english-heritage.org.uk/ stonehenge (See pages 37-39 of the Group Visits Guide 2017/18)

1066 Battle of Hastings Abbey and Battlefield, Battle, East Sussex TN33 0AE Tel: + 44 (0)1424 775705 Email: battle.abbey@english-heritage.org.uk www.english-heritage.org.uk/battleabbey (See pages 18-19 of the Group Visits Guide 2017/18)

Stonehenge has been voted Best Overall Heritage Attraction by the 14,000 visitors Irish coach tour operator, CIE Tours International brought to the UK in 2016.

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NEW EXHIBITION EVOKES THE GLAMOUR OF EARLY MOTORING Get your groups geared up for a trip back to the exciting era of classic cars and aviation innovation, to relive decades of technological breakthroughs, thrilling successes and daring ambition.

Around the turn of the 19th century, some visionary pioneers started to make their mark on a young motor industry, designing and building the cars and other road vehicles that moved transport on from horse, to horsepower.

John Davenport Siddeley was one of these innovators. His imprint on the history of the car and aviation industries is still a massive influence today and will be for generations to come. But he also left us a quite different legacy in the shape of Kenilworth Castle and Gardens, which he bought in 1937 and placed in the care of the Ministry of Works, together with a substantial sum to fund repairs. His generosity enabled the castle to be opened to the public.

In collaboration with the Armstrong Siddeley Heritage Trust, we’re celebrating Siddeley’s life and achievements in a new exhibition which uses artefacts and ephemera to bring his glamorous world of motoring and aviation together. ‘Speed and Power: John Siddeley, Pioneer of the Motor Age’ has just opened at the Warwickshire castle and is essential viewing for groups of motor enthusiasts.

Born in 1866, John Siddeley started his career in engineering in 1893 as a draughtsman at the Humber Cycle Company. By 1900, his eye had turned from cycles to cars and he drove a Daimler in England’s Thousand Mile Trial – alongside another motoring pioneer, Charles Rolls. By 1902, he had started his own company and later created the British engineering Armstrong Siddeley group, which evolved into Armstrong Siddeley Motors. During the First World War, the company workforce increased

from 500 to 5,000 as the production of aeroplane engines took precedence.

After the war, the Duke of York, later King George VI, joined a list of wealthy clients who bought an Armstrong Siddeley and in 1932, the Siddeley Special was released, considered to be the firm’s finest vehicle. This stylish limousine was powered by a five litre engine and capable of speeds of up to 100mph.

In 1935 at the age of 70, Siddeley arranged a merger with Hawker Aircraft, resulting in the creation of Hawker Siddeley – it was his reputed £1million share of the deal that allowed him to buy Kenilworth Castle two years later.

Because of German bombing raids on Coventry, which badly damaged the company’s production plant during the Second World War, the drawing office was moved to Kenilworth Castle’s Gatehouse. Here, the vital designs for planes and vehicles for the armed forces could continue in relative safety. Some of this drawing equipment can now be seen there again.

John Siddeley died in 1953 and in 1960, car production ceased. However, the aviation side of his business continued to flourish with the development of jet engines and rockets and eventually became part of Rolls Royce.

Other highlights to enjoy at Kenilworth Castle include the recreated Elizabethan Garden, a viewing platform inside the tower built by Robert Dudley to woo Queen Elizabeth I and an exhibition spanning nine centuries of the castle’s history in the Tudor stables. Pre-booked guided tours are available.

Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden, Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 1NG Tel: + 44 (0)1926 852078 Email: kenilworth.castle@english-heritage.org.uk www.english-heritage.org.uk/kenilworth (See pages 60-61 of the Group Visits Guide 2017/18)

Clockwise from top: JD Siddeley, portrait

by Frank Salisbury; Items from the exhibition; 1930 Siddeley Poster by Guy Sabran ©National Motor Museum at Beaulieu; Armstrong Siddeley Badge

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FROM PRINCES TO PAUPERS

THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF FR AMLINGHAM CASTLE’S HISTORY ARE REVEALED Lead your group into this 12th-century Suffolk stronghold and see its story come alive as part of a £1.2million facelift and conservation project, which has also transformed this little-known gem into a more group-friendly destination with facilities to match.

The castle was once a royal palace and for over 400 years owned by the rich, ambitious and influential Earls and Dukes of Norfolk. The fortunes of those who lived within the walls of Framlingham Castle turned in the 17th century, when it became ‘home’ to the poor. Your group can imagine these two extreme lifestyles as they explore the 900-year-old castle.

The doors of the castle’s rare 17th-century workhouse have just re-opened after months of transformation work. Inside, the original mezzanine level of the building has been reinstated to house a new exhibition telling the castle’s history, with its turbulent tales of baronial disputes against the throne.

Below on ground level, a 40-seater café and shopping area have been added. There’s a lift connecting the ground floor to the mezzanine.

There’s an introductory film to enjoy and plenty of interactives to use to discover more about Tudor costumes, the diets of both princes and paupers who once ate at the castle and even the opportunity to roll the dice to gamble on royal politics.

Our experts have also completed conservation work on the castle’s distinctive curtain wall. Plans are now afoot for us to begin fundraising for a second phase of work, which would see the creation of a 360° wall walk and a balcolny area with a lift, so that everyone can enjoy spectacular views across the mere.

Framlingham Castle, Framlingham, Suffolk IP13 9BP Tel: + 44 (0)1728 724922 Email: framlingham.castle@english-heritage.org.uk www.english-heritage.org.uk/framlingham (See page 50 of the Group Visits Guide 2017/18)

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CONSERVATION COMPLETE We’ve embarked on a major conservation programme – the largest in our history – and your groups can enjoy the opportunity to see how we’re progressing at some of our top sites. We’ve just unveiled the projects below, following months of careful and intricate conservation. The stunning results will wow groups visiting these high profile historic attractions.

The Archer Pavilion and conservation work in progress

AN ICONIC VIEW REVEALED Any groups who have already visited Wrest Park in Bedfordshire will undoubtedly agree that it boasts one of the finest formal landscape views in the country. Looking from the 18th-century mansion, the Long Water draws your eye along to the most magnificent focal point at its end, the baroque Archer Pavilion.

This iconic building has just emerged from scaffolding wraps which concealed vital conservation work being carried out beneath, to protect and preserve the exterior and its intricate internal paintings and decoration from water damage. Its spectacular domed roof had started to slip and sag over time.

It was stripped off in sections, taken to a specialist studio for conservation and then re-attached. While the roof was removed our conservation experts repaired the timber substructure and improved exterior detailing.

We will now spend a year monitoring the pavilion’s environment before carrying out further specialist works to conserve its stunning internal paintings.

Two other buildings in the 90-acre landscape - which showcase the evolution of garden design over 300 years - have also recently undergone restoration work. The Bath House, which has a pebble floor inlaid with deer bone and the Chinese Temple, are also now back open to visitors.

Other highlights include the Dairy which houses a sculpture gallery, the French parterre, Italian Garden, Orangery and Conservatory. Your groups can also enjoy wandering through parts of the French-style mansion.

There are several themed guided tours to pre-book for your group including Garden History Tours and Archaeology Tours taking a behind-the-scenes peak at some of the 153,000 historical artefacts stored at Wrest Park. Contact the site to pre-book.

Wrest Park, Silsoe, Bedfordshire MK45 4HR Tel: + 44 (0)1525 860000 Email: wrest.park@english-heritage.org.uk www.english-heritage.org.uk/wrestpark (See pages 48-49 of the Group Visits Guide 2017/18)

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FOUNTAIN ROARS AGAIN An equally impressive sight is Witley Court’s mighty Perseus and Andromeda fountain. It stands in the centre of elaborate formal gardens in front of a vast ruined mansion. Following major cleaning and repair, the roaring jets are now back in firing action – on the hour, every day until 31 October.

Surrounded by a pool filled with a million litres of water, the sculpture’s central jet reaches an astounding height of up to 30 metres, complemented by nearly 30 more jets hidden among shells, sea nymphs, dolphins and a huge serpent.

A haven for groups with an interest in landscapes and garden history, Witley Court offers informal wilderness and wildlife gardens, woodland walks with rhododendrons, a nine-acre lake and waterfall and restored parterre gardens. Once famed for its flamboyant parties, Witley Court was devastated during a fire in 1937 and the romantic mansion ruin now stands as a spectacular and evocative backdrop to the 62-acre Worcestershire estate.

Pre-booked, one hour guided tours are available for groups of up to 35.

Witley Court and Gardens, Great Witley, Worcestershire WR6 6JT Tel: + 44 (0)1299 896636 Email: witley.court@english-heritage.org.uk www.english-heritage.org.uk/witley (See page 63 of the Group Visits Guide 2017/18)

Perseus and Andromeda Fountain

LOWER TERR ACE OPENS FOR THE FIRST TIME Another fountain, this time at Queen Victoria’s beloved Osborne on the Isle of Wight, has been returned to working order as part of a just-completed conservation project which sees Prince Albert’s Lower Terrace open to visitors for the first time.

Groups can now see the terrace’s centrepiece Andromeda fountain in action and an elaborate and newly restored Shell Alcove decorated with thousands of individual seashells. Twin staircases from the upper level have been repaired so that visitors can wander through the entire network of formal flower gardens on the two-tier terraces below the house – and enjoy sweeping views across the estate to the sea.

At the head of the valley overlooking the Solent, Prince Albert enlisted the help of Ludwig Gruner – the Queen’s Adviser in Art - to design grand Italianate terracing as the crowning glory of his new house. The design, to create a sweeping fall down to the sea, required massive earthworks and during the 1850s the two-level terrace complex was created with retaining walls up to 7.6m deep.

Other highlights of Osborne’s grounds include a Victorian Walled Garden, Queen Victoria’s private beach and the Swiss Cottage and miniature gardens of the nine royal children. Inside, the house remains much as it looked when Victoria and Albert used it as a palatial family retreat, still filled with their personal treasures, furnishings and artworks.

Osborne House

Guided tours are available to book.

Osborne, East Cowes, Isle of Wight PO32 6JX Tel: + 44 (0)1983 200022 Email: osborne.house@english-heritage.org.uk www.english-heritage.org.uk/osborne (See pages 26-27 of the Group Visits Guide 2017/18)

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BRIGHT DAYS OUT FOR WINTER

More of our historic sites will be opening their doors this winter and early spring 2018, so plan-in a day out now to give your groups a real treat to look forward to when the days close in. Here’s some suggestions: Ahead of Christmas

Group discounts for new Enchanted Garden Evenings Bring your groups to explore the grounds of Osborne and Audley End House and Gardens after-dark as we open up winter wonderlands full of colourful lights, festive food and seasonal tunes.

Strings of lanterns laced through the boughs of trees and fairy lights twinkling behind leaves will lead visitors along an enchanting garden trail that tells the story of the site. And the experience doesn’t end when the trail does. Your group will emerge into the scene of a vintage fair ground, with a carousel and swing boats to carry them back to Victorian times. There will be plenty to enjoy besides – from mince pies to Christmas shopping at our heritageinspired stalls.

The grounds of Queen Victoria’s Isle of Wight home at Osborne will reveal trees laden with glimmering fruits, moss-covered Victorian furniture lit up in a woodland setting and lanterns floating across the reservoir. And at Audley End in Essex, as groups enjoy lights dancing across the water and through the rockery, they’ll also be guided along by the sounds of rustling leaves and wisps of music carried through the night.

So get your group wrapped up warm, with cameras at hand and tastebuds ready to be indulged in order to make the most of their evening.

With all the ingredients to get visitors into the Christmas spirit, it promises to be a popular event and with a 15% discount for groups of 11 or more, be sure to book early.

Enchanted Garden evenings will take place at both Osborne and Audley End from 4.30pm between 15 and 23 December 2017.

Call 0370 333 1183 to book.

Springtime daffodils at Audley End House and Gardens

Between Christmas and New Year Contrasting sites like Art Deco Eltham Palace in London or atmospheric Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire are open in the quiet period just after Christmas - from 27 to 31 December.

There are 25 attractions up and down the country offering plenty to see undercover and waiting to give your group the warmest of winter welcomes.

They include 1066 Battle of Hastings, Abbey and Battlefield in East Sussex with its new exhibition and Pendennis Castle with dramatic sea views at Falmouth in Cornwall.

In early spring

From February 2018, our key sites will open for five days each week – usually from Wednesdays to Sundays.

This could be a good time to see some superb spring colour at our garden sites – including Audley End House and Gardens in Essex, Walmer Castle and Gardens in Kent or Wrest Park in Bedfordshire.

At any time of year

You can plan an excursion right through the seasons to six of our most popular sites (closed on selected dates over Christmas and New Year). They are: Clifford’s Tower, York; Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall; Kenwood in North London; Old Sarum and Stonehenge in Wiltshire (Stonehenge closed during winter and summer solstice) and Wellington Arch in Central London.

Enchanted Garden event

You can find full details of all our sites and opening times for winter and spring excursions in our Group Visits Guide or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/traveltrade.

CONTACT US English Heritage Travel Trade Department, 29 Queen Square, Bristol BS1 4ND +44 (0)117 975 1349

traveltrade@english-heritage.org.uk

The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a company, no. 07447221, registered in England.

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