English Heritage Members' Magazine, May 2020

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WE’RE MISSING YOU Discover how we’re keeping England’s story alive while our sites and gardens are closed

ENJOY HISTORY FROM HOME How to explore our sites and claim exclusive Member benefits from the comfort of your house

LOST ANTHEMS OF ENGLAND Folk singer Sam Lee reveals how he plans to celebrate our national story through music

PREPARING F O R B AT T L E See our heroic knights on horseback clash in training for future Legendary Jousts

RUNNING HEAD

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Welcome Get in touch

W www.english-heritage.org.uk/members E membersmagazine@immediate.co.uk (for magazine queries only) or members@english-heritage.org.uk (for membership queries) T 0370 333 1181 PO Box 569, Swindon, SN2 2YP

For English Heritage

Luke Whitcomb, Johanna Lovesey, Jeremy Ashbee, Tom Dennis, Tony Dike, Tom Moriarty, Fran Gibbons, Richard Leatherdale

For Immediate Media Co.

Group editor Matt Havercroft Group production editor Oliver Hurley Senior art editor Sam Freeman Art editor Elaine Knight-Roberts Account director Esther Procee Account manager Joanne Robinson Director Julie Williams Editorial director Dan Linstead Design director Will Slater Consultant editor Dave Musgrove Advertising manager Jamie Bolton Advertising enquiries 0117 300 8518; jamie.bolton@immediate.co.uk

Contributors

Jo Caird, Matt Ford, Tessa Kilgarriff, Helen Dorritt, Matt Thompson, Harriet Cooper, Nick Collinson English Heritage Members’ Magazine is published on behalf of English Heritage by Immediate Media Co, Eagle House, Colston Avenue, Bristol, BS1 4ST T +44 (0)117 927 9009 W www.immediate.co.uk

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Thank you to our advertisers and partners. The income we raise from adverts and inserts helps to cover the costs of producing your magazine.

Support us

English Heritage is a charity. Without the support of our Members and donors, our work would not be possible. To find out more about how you can help by making a donation or leaving a gift in your will, please visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us or call the fundraising team on 020 7973 3797.

I

n March we took the unprecedented step to close our staffed sites in the interests of public health. We know that this was disappointing for you, as it was for us. We had planned a whole range of new things to show you. But these are extraordinary times. This magazine was also well on its way to being finished when we made the decision to close, so please bear with us – we’ve done our best to adapt it to the peculiar new reality.

You’ll now be aware that we are extending your membership by three months to compensate for your loss of access. Until our sites do reopen, we will continue to bring England’s story to you at home – through this magazine, our website, podcasts, e-newsletters, learning materials, video and social media. We hope there will be something for everyone to enjoy in this period. We are so looking forward to welcoming you back to our sites as soon as it’s safe to do so. Until then, thank you so much for your support and very welcome donations. With my warmest wishes to you all.

Kate Mavor Chief Executive

Contributors

English Heritage cares for more than 400 historic monuments, buildings and places – from world-famous prehistoric sites to grand medieval castles, and from Roman forts on the edges of the empire to Cold War bunkers.

Through these we bring the Story of England to life for more than 10 million visitors each year.

January to December 2019: 444,773 Registered charity no. 1140351 (England) Registered company no. 07447221 (England) Product code: 200630

Tessa Kilgarriff Curator of collections and interiors

Matt Thompson Head collections curator

Nick Collinson Interpretation coordinator

In our latest Objects of England feature on page 36, Tessa reveals what we know about a unique prayer ring in the Wernher Collection at Ranger’s House

In the second of our Voices of England essays on page 40, Matt explains how the creation of the railways democratised travel and created mass tourism

On page 58, Nick tells the story of Seely and Paget, the architects who transformed Eltham Palace into an art deco mansion for Stephen and Virginia Courtauld www.english-heritage.org.uk

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Contents May 2020

16 ‘ENSURING THE ONGOING SURVIVAL OF BOLSOVER CASTLE’S PRECIOUS WORKS OF ART IS NOT WITHOUT ITS CHALLENGES’ F E AT U R E S

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Meet the expert

Meet the husband and wife team behind our historic falconry displays

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Expert care

The project to save the dramatic wall paintings at Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire

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New this season

How folk singer Sam Lee is celebrating the stories of our sites through music

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Behind the scenes

Find out how our gardening team have been preparing over winter and spring

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Objects of England

Discover the story of a unique prayer ring at Ranger’s House in London

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Stories of England

Collections curator Matt Thompson on how the railways transformed travel

Cover image: An aerial photograph of the restored Target Range at Brodsworth Hall and Gardens in South Yorkshire

REGULARS

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The big picture

Our heroic knights take part in the ultimate spectacle of speed and skill

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WE’RE MISSING YOU

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Then & now

Discover how we’re still bringing England’s story to you while we all #StayAtHome

ENJOY HISTORY FROM HOME How to explore our sites and claim exclusive Member benefits from the comfort of your house

LOST ANTHEMS OF ENGLAND Folk singer Sam Lee reveals how he plans to celebrate our national story through music

PREPARING F O R B AT T L E See our heroic knights on horseback clash in training for future Legendary Jousts

Our latest news, including details of how you can take part in our special Members’ Week later this year

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20 questions

Put your knowledge of England’s story to the test with our regular just-for-fun quiz

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Y O U R E N G L I S H H E R I TA G E

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Meet the Member who was born in the stone circle at Stonehenge

How to explore the stories of our sites and enjoy more Member benefits online

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History at home

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Past lives

Nick Collinson reveals the story of Eltham Palace architects Seely and Paget

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Over to you

Your letters, including the story of Winston Churchill’s bodyguard

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Ask the experts

Your questions answered by our experts across English Heritage

MILES WILLIS; JOBY SESSIONS/THE WERNHER FOUNDATION; KASIA FISZER; CHRIS LUCAS; ALAMY

My experience

Go to the English Heritage website to check the latest information on access to sites and events

THE BIG PICTURE

Brave knights in training for our Legendary Jousts With its origins in medieval warfare, jousting is one of the world’s oldest sports – and undeniably one of its most thrilling. Our fearless, heavily armoured knights train themselves and their magnificent horses to charge at each other in breathtaking displays of bravery and skill.

This dramatic image captures the moment when one knight lands a blow against the shield of his training partner, and his lance shatters with the impact.

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english-heritage.org.uk www.english-heritage.org.uk

Lances shatter against shields as armoured knights meet across the tilt yard

www.english-heritage.org.uk

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Then&Now

M E M B E R S’

WEEK

Keep up to date with the latest news, sites and developments

Members’ Week is supported by Country Life butter MEMBERS’ WEEK

Don’t miss the first ever Members’ Week, packed with exclusive events and offers e’re thrilled to be able to reveal more details about our first ever Members’ Week – which will be taking place later this year as a special thank you to all our Members. Not only will the week-long celebration include a whole host of new events around the country exclusively for Members, there will be numerous special offers available throughout the week across our shops,

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cafés and Members’ Rewards programme.

The extensive range of brand new events taking place during the week will include tours of the beautiful autumn trees at Audley End House and Gardens in Essex with the head gardener, talks about the work that’s taking place to conserve our historic wall paintings, blue plaques walks, a foraging course at Beeston Castle and Woodland Park in Cheshire, and talks

by letterpress designer Alan Kitching, who designed the cover of this year’s handbook. Members can register for the week for a small fee and will then have the opportunity to book on to a number of events. For lots more information on Members’ Week, see the next issue of the Members’ Magazine.

www.english-heritage.org.uk/ membersweek

NEWS

YOUR SAY

Which sites will you visit when they reopen?

Go to the English Heritage website to check the latest information on access to sites and events

A N N I V E R S A RY

Brodsworth Hall marks 25 years of visits This summer marks the 25th anniversary of Brodsworth Hall and Gardens in South Yorkshire opening to the public – and 30 years since it was gifted to the nation. To celebrate the anniversaries, the property’s Victorian rose garden has been revitalised, with a replant of the beds in the original form, new blight-resistant box hedging and old variety roses. Brodsworth was built in the 1860s but fell into decline during the 20th century. When English Heritage saved it in the 1990s, we made the decision to conserve the interiors as we found them. Today you can still get a wonderful sense of the stories and the characters that shaped this remarkable house. www.english-heritage.org.uk/brodsworth

eh Dover Castle is absolutely fantastic for a day out. There are activities, places to see, things to do.

And the views from the battlements are superb.

Peter Milner, Northamptonshire

IN NUMBERS

100 5 ,900 40kg

The number of years since Harry Mallin first won an Olympic gold medal in boxing.

He was commemorated with a London blue plaque in 2018. www.english-heritage.org.uk/ visit/blue-plaques

The estimated age in years of Kit’s Coty House in Kent, a megalithic burial chamber, making it one of the oldest properties in our care. www.english-heritage.org. uk/kitscoty

The total weight of the armour worn by the jousters who take part in our jousting events. Their lances are 10ft long. www.english-heritage. org.uk/events

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LEARNING

Artist Daniel Crews-Chubb on his forthcoming exhibition ‘Chariots’ at Wellington Arch in London

Join our History at Home Facebook group

How would you describe the exhibition?

The paintings are made specifically for the space. I wanted there to be a narrative to the series and, as a result, they are packed full of animals, figures, chariots and flowers.

Can you explain a bit about your technique?

I use oil paint but I’m really a mixed-media artist as I use lots of other materials, including charcoal, spray paint, ink, pastels and cut-up bits of old paintings. I apply paint with my hands to build layers. I suppose you could describe the works as painted collages.

How did the statue on the arch influence you?

The bronze sculpture by Adrian Jones is what really attracted me to the project. I wanted to take the chariot motif and play with the

A new Facebook group is bringing the stories of our sites directly into your home. Every week, our History at Home group features new topics to help you explore England’s past, at the end of which there is a quiz. For more inspiration on learning about history from home, turn to page 45. www.facebook.com/groups/ historyathome connotations that surround it. Since the chariot is often associated with military force and power, I wanted this show to be about love and peace, with a splash of humour – weapons have been replaced with flowers. www.english-heritage.org.uk/wellingtonarch www.english-heritage.org.uk

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GETTY IMAGES; HISTORIC ENGLAND

Stonehenge is very accessible all year round. You can go there in summer or winter. The place is just amazing.

My son likes it during sunset.

John Talusan, Suffolk

ENGLISH HERITAGE

THE MARKED PRICE USE CODE EH15 IN-STORE & ONLINE

*Terms and conditions apply. On production of this voucher the user is entitled to 15% off their next purchase with proof of English Heritage membership.

This offer is not available in conjunction with any other offer. Excludes gift cards, multi buys, GARMIN, GoPro, Suunto, Polar, Tom Tom and Oakley.

One voucher per transaction. We reserve the right to withdraw this offer at any time.

IN MY VIEW Nicola Duncan-Finn Senior estates manager, East & London

RESE ARCH

NEWS IN BRIEF

Life under lockdown: rare sheep, pest traps and 13th-century charters HMS Beagle 200th anniversary

You may not be familiar with the idea of the Internet of Things (IoT) – but there’s a good chance you’re already using it. And it could play an important role in the future of how we look after our properties. The Internet of Things refers to computing devices being embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to send and receive data. So this could be a voice-controlled smart speaker or a mobile app with which you can control your central heating.

For us, it marks the potential start of an innovative new chapter for the maintenance of our sites, following the launch of a hightech condition-monitoring pilot project at Kenwood in London.

The installation of dozens of IoT remote sensors within the house means we now effectively have ‘eyes and ears’ capable of continuous monitoring of plant performance (boilers, for instance) and the condition of historic building fabric. Embracing realtime monitoring has huge potential to revolutionise the management of heritage estates in a sustainable way. It helps us to minimise risks to buildings and their irreplaceable collections by highlighting opportunities to deliver preventive maintenance before issues become more complex and costly. Any money we save will enable us to invest more in conservation work. Which goes to show that there’s more to the Internet of Things than just asking your smart speaker for the weather forecast.

For most people, working from home involves a laptop at the dining table and endless video calls. But for John Watkins, our head of gardens and landscapes, it instead entailed three one-year-old ewes moving into his back garden in south Herefordshire. The rare Ryeland sheep were destined for Boscobel House in Shropshire but, when delays prevented their arrival, Watkins stepped in to look after them. Watkins isn’t the only one of our curators, gardeners and conservators who went the extra mile when it came to working from home.

Collection care assistants

Kirsty Huggett and Emma Hallums found themselves undertaking Osborne’s quarterly pest trap analysis from their homes, where they created labs with microscopes borrowed from the office.

Senior conservation scientist David Thickett continued his study of Longthorpe Tower’s wall paintings using a video microscope and paint samples from the tower’s artwork. And senior properties historian Dr Michael Carter was so determined to continue his research on Byland Abbey that he acquired a late 13thcentury charter at auction to study at home.

Don’t miss our exclusive podcast Have you heard our podcast? Every Thursday, we bring you exclusive interviews about our properties.

To listen, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/podcast.

BLUE PLAQUES

Latest news from our blue plaques scheme

New walk at Berwick Castle

You’ll soon be able to discover more about the history of Berwick-Upon-Tweed Castle and Ramparts in Northumberland – which was crucial to Anglo-Scottish warfare – with a new walk along the medieval walls. Free maps of the route will be available at the site.

A new London blue plaque has been installed to commemorate Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan (1879–1967). During and just after the First World War, she was a leader of two of the first military corps for women – as chief controller in France of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and then as commandant of the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF). Of an aristocratic Scottish background, Dame Helen also enjoyed a distinguished academic career as a botanist.

Her specialism was mycology – the study of fungi. In 1921 she became the first female professor in any discipline at Birkbeck College. The plaque is at Bedford Court Mansions in Bloomsbury, where she lived in a six-roomed upper-storey flat – number 93 – for nearly 50 years. A new edition of The English Heritage Guide to London’s Blue Plaques is available now from www.english-heritageshop.org.uk.

BLUE PLAQUES WORDS: HOWARD SPENCER. IMAGES: GETTY IMAGES

How the Internet of Things protects our sites

This May marks the 200th anniversary of the launch of HMS Beagle, the vessel on which Charles Darwin made the observations that influenced his theory of natural selection. He subsequently wrote On the Origin of Species at Down House in Kent.

NEWS

RESE ARCH

THREE TO SEE

New research reveals time and cost of dissolving a monastery

The accounts for the 1537 suppression of Furness Abbey in Cumbria have been analysed for the first time.

They show that the almost £800 realised from the sale of the abbey’s goods was reduced to just £300 with overheads. They also reveal that it took five months to dissolve Furness. ‘This is an incredibly exciting find,’ says senior properties historian Dr Michael Carter. ‘It shows how Henry’s henchmen were determined to extract everything of value. But they also acted honourably, for instance by paying the servants’ outstanding wages.’ www.english-heritage.org.uk/furness-abbey

Look out for these intriguing objects when our historic places reopen

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Portrait of Philip Yorke, c.1750

Commode, c.1760–70

The Duke of Wellington, c.1840s

This painting of the Earl of Hardwicke by Thomas Hudson has joined other family portraits at Wrest Park after spending the last 70 years in a Maryland museum.

A pair of George III mahogany bombé commodes have been reunited – they have just gone on display together for the first time at Audley End House.

This restored portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Jacob Solomon was taken from an 1844 daguerreotype. They can be seen together at Walmer Castle.

EXPLAINED

Old Sarum and the anniversary of Salisbury Cathedral

What has Old Sarum got to do with Salisbury Cathedral?

The once thriving town of Old Sarum in Wiltshire was the original location for Salisbury Cathedral. The cathedral moved to its current location 800 years ago. This year, there are plans for events to celebrate the anniversary.

That light show looks amazing.

One of the events that’s already taken place featured light beams that could be seen for nearly two-and-a-half 12

www.english-heritage.org.uk

miles – the distance the cathedral moved when its first foundation stones were laid on 28 April 1220.

How was the new location chosen?

Local folklore has it that the cathedral’s location was decided by the shot of an arrow from Old Sarum. The arrow struck a deer and the first foundation stone was laid where it fell.

Poor deer.

Quite. www.english-heritage.org.uk/oldsarum

Why are new oak trees being planted at Boscobel House?

Boscobel House in Shropshire is renowned for being one of the places in which Charles II hid following his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. During his escape from Parliamentarian forces, Charles spent a day hiding in what is now known as the Royal Oak, before finally escaping to France after another six weeks on the run. Now, the lost oak pasture that once surrounded the Royal Oak is being replanted. A total of 32 young saplings have been planted in the Royal Oak field as the gardeners at Boscobel House gradually recreate the woodland as it was in the 17th century. We have also propagated a further 10 trees from Royal Oak DNA. www.english-heritage.org.uk/boscobel OLD SARUM IMAGE: ASH MILLS/CREATED BY AUDACIOUS

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M E E T TH E E X PE RT

Emma Raphael Historic falconer INTERVIEW MAT T HAVERCROF T PHOTOGR APHS MIKE HARRINGTON

My husband Mike Raphael and I specialise in the historic recreation of English hawking and falconry. Mike first became a falconer 41 years ago. His father and grandfather were champion pigeon racers but he was more interested in being outdoors than stuck in a pigeon loft, so he started out as a private falconer and went on to manage two falconry centres. I started work as a trainee falconer in 1996. After a year I was promoted and worked as falconry supervisor to the manager, who was Mike. That’s how we met.

We launched our business in the summer of 1998. At that time there were only pantomime falconers. A ‘medieval’ falconer back then was typically a modern falconer wearing bad fancy dress, with no knowledge of history. We decided to focus on the historical aspects of falconry to become the UK’s first and only professional historical falconry interpreters and demonstrators.

There have been several key moments in the history of falconry, notably the Norman era when the practice of royal falconry was organised to a degree that had not been previously seen. This set the foundation for the ‘golden age’ during the medieval period, when the practice of falconry filtered down to lower orders of society. The art faced its biggest challenge after the introduction of gunpowder, when firearms threatened falconry’s survival, as hawks and falcons were predominantly used to catch other birds for sport or eating. In the late Georgian period a concerted effort was made to revive English falconry and that continued into the Victorian age, when it was re-established as a noble country sport.

In total we cover 12 different periods of falconry history, ranging from the late Roman era to the 21st century. Each period contains different characters and adventures, different social or cultural beliefs and different techniques and innovations. Our favourite period to perform is Victorian, as it was such a rich and exciting period, full of eccentric characters and expanding science.

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Above, from left Mike and Emma Raphael in Victorian costume with a pair of falcons on a cadge and Emma’s favourite kestrel; Mike’s female goshawk, which rarely flies at public events Facing page Emma in late medieval costume with a Eurasian eagle-owl at Framlingham Castle in Suffolk

We have a large team of birds that feature throughout the year. I have a particular love of small hawks, as is traditional for a lady falconer, so the merlin is probably my favourite to fly because she is fast, exciting and tests my skill.

Mike is particularly fond of his eagle Imperius even though she is a handful! Working with any eagle requires trust and familiarity but when you become accepted it feels like a real privilege.

Our demonstrations are highly educational so our audiences learn surprising facts, such as how bird thieves were punished, which kings hunted with hawks, which hawk caught Sunday lunch, why owls are connected with witches, which bird was used as a military weapon and why some birds were worshipped as gods. People walk away understanding how and why our ancestors used birds of prey and the expertise required to do so.

Go to the English Heritage website to check the latest information on access to sites and events

‘People walk away from our displays knowing how and why our ancestors used birds of prey’

Conservator Francesco Rosillini adds the finishing touches to a damaged section of the Heaven Closet ceiling at Bolsover Castle, in which several cherubs are depicted carrying a crucifix

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E XPERT C ARE

S TA I RWAY TO H E AV E N Degraded by damp, drafts and fragmenting plaster over centuries, the theatrical wall paintings commissioned by socialite William Cavendish to dramatise visitors’ journeys up to the heavens at Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire are now being rescued to share their stories

WORDS JO CAIRD PHOTOGR APHS OLIVER EDWARDS

www.english-heritage.org.uk

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T

he wall paintings at Bolsover Castle were intended to impress.

William Cavendish, one of the richest, best connected noblemen of the courts of James I and then Charles I, had plenty of lavish properties in which to entertain his guests. But when this polymath politician and equestrian really wanted to wow, he would throw open the doors of the Little Castle at Bolsover, his elaborately decorated pleasure palace in Derbyshire.

Today it’s the scale and artistry of the paintings that strike you: Hercules wrestling with a lion, a voluptuous Venus, dozens of chubby angels playing musical instruments for a cavorting Christ. But to 17th-century eyes – including Charles I and his queen Henrietta, who favoured Cavendish with a visit in 1634 – these vibrant images would have offered an even richer experience. Packed with classical references, in-jokes and visual curiosities, they tell a story of Cavendish’s erudition and influence, reflecting his passions and moral code.

‘For Cavendish’s guests, the more well-read they were, the more they understood the meaning behind the paintings,’ says Eleanor Matthews, curator of collections and interiors. Taking over the building of Bolsover from his father, Sir Charles Cavendish, and working with architect John Smythson, William Cavendish designed the castle’s interiors as a ‘puzzle, to confuse and to entertain’, Matthews explains. The paintings, completed in 1621, were central to that ambition. They led visitors on a theatrical journey up through the building, beginning in the Anteroom on the ground floor and culminating in the Heaven Closet and the Elysium Closet.

Looking up at the stars

This journey took honoured guests past depictions of the ancient bodily humours, the trials of Hercules, the five senses and the Allied Virtues. Mainly copied from European prints of the period, these works are all about the earthly realm, in contrast to the celestial focus of the closets upstairs. Stand in a particular spot by the window in the Heaven Closet and you’ll find a cherub gazing straight at you, ready with a garland of red and white to welcome you into heaven. Your Bolsover journey has reached its end.

Or that’s the theory at least. When it comes to interpreting the Little Castle’s paintings, as with decoding so much historical art, there’s a lot of guesswork involved. It’s likely that Cavendish’s puzzles will continue to hold on to some of their secrets for a long time yet.

However, ensuring the ongoing survival of these superlative paintings is not without its challenges.

While Bolsover Castle offers a dramatic context for them, it’s hardly the ideal environment for such precious works of art. There are perpetual problems with leaks due to the design of the roof and, because the keep’s extremely heavy doors must be propped open to let visitors inside, 18

www.english-heritage.org.uk

Clockwise from above Painting over the cracks in the Heaven Closet; paintings depicting Hercules’ labours on the vaulted ceiling of the Servants’ Hall; conservator Francesco Rosillini in the Heaven Closet; mixing paint to retouch the worst affected areas

the building is subject to incredible drafts. These conditions are a challenge for all the paintings in the keep but the wall paintings – those in the Anteroom, the Hall and the Heaven and Elysium closets – are at particularly high risk of degradation.

‘It’s looking pretty scary,’ says Rachel Turnbull from her perch atop a ladder in the Heaven Closet.

Torch in hand, English Heritage’s senior collections conservator for fine art is inspecting a badly damaged section of mural in which several cherubs groan under the weight of a crucifix. The work is an example of fresco secco wall painting, a technique in which paint is applied to dry, rather than wet plaster. As a result these paintings tend to be more vulnerable than their true fresco cousins – the only thing keeping the oil paint on the wall in fresco secco is a thin layer of varnish.

‘Very scary,’ agrees Sophie Stewart of wall paintings specialist Paine & Stewart, pointing out an enormous bulge in the plaster, a forest of drip marks and copious flaking on the surface of the painting. The bulge and drips are water

E XPERT C ARE

‘The only thing keeping the oil paint on the wall in fresco secco is a thin layer of varnish’ SAVE OUR STORIES – WALL PAINTINGS APPEAL How your support is helping us to rescue other precious paintings We first launched our wall paintings appeal in the October 2019 issue of this magazine.

Following an audit of wall paintings across our sites, those at four properties – Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire, Lullingstone Roman Villa in Kent, Longthorpe Tower in Cambridgeshire and St Mary’s Church, Kempley in Gloucestershire – were identified as being most at risk of serious degradation.

Donors were able to specify which of these wall paintings they wanted to protect, opting either to repair water and environmental damage at Bolsover, fund cleaning and investigation work at Lullingstone, address cracking and

plaster separation at Longthorpe, or undo damage done by previous repairs at St Mary’s Church, Kempley.

The response has been ‘incredible’, says Rachel Turnbull, senior collections conservator for fine art. At the time of writing the appeal has raised over £135,000.

As a result of your generosity, wall painting conservation work will now also begin in the near future at Lullingstone, Longthorpe and St Mary’s Church.

However, there is still much more to do. To donate to the appeal to rescue other precious wall paintings, please go to www.english-heritage. org.uk/wallpaintings.

damage, and the flaking is a result of the inclement conditions. These cherubs are not in a good way.

Turnbull puts away her torch and makes space on the ladder for Francesco Rosillini, whose work we’ve interrupted. His white coat and surgical gloves create a decidedly medical atmosphere that’s at odds with the romance and delicacy of these English Renaissance paintings. The enormous syringe he’s brandishing only adds to the effect. Slowly and carefully, through pre-existing cracks in the bulging plaster, Rosillini injects the syringe’s contents – a specially mixed grout of lime and trass containing minute glass beads for lightness – into the empty space behind it. Once this grout has dried, the area will be stable and Turnbull will be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Assessing the risk

It’s thanks to the conservator’s intervention that this crucial work is now taking place. In 2019 she began a comprehensive audit of the diverse array of wall paintings under English Heritage’s care. Over www.english-heritage.org.uk

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E XPERT C ARE

well as the Heaven Closet. Rosillini will be based at the Little Castle for two weeks, using vinegar to carefully remove the drip marks, injecting conservation-grade adhesive under flaking paintwork to stabilise it, and doing retouches to areas where paint has been subject to blanching or has flaked off entirely.

Wall painting conservation is particularly challenging, says Turnbull, due to the scale of the works, their multi-disciplinary nature and the complexity of intersecting environmental factors.

If Turnbull spots a problem with one of the many works on canvas in English Heritage’s collection, she can simply take it off the wall and do the required conservation work in the studio. For wall paintings on the other hand, ‘you need institutional buy-in because you need all the different departments to work together’, she says.

Monitoring the environment

‘Each year, conservators will be sent to safeguard the paintings at most risk’ the course of five years, Turnbull will carry out risk assessments at 76 properties, compiling data in such a way that the charity is able to identify the most vulnerable artworks and allocate scarce resources accordingly. Each year, conservators will then be sent in to safeguard the paintings designated at greatest risk, ensuring the survival of the largest collection of wall paintings in the country.

Every five years the audit will be repeated, explains Turnbull. ‘It’s an ongoing process. Hopefully then you see the causes of damage coming through and you fix those before you have significant deterioration. Ultimately that’s the aim: that you’ve fixed all the existing emergency situations and then you can check every five years. And if you see a problem beginning to emerge you can address the cause, not the outcome.’

Of the 12 properties Turnbull audited in 2019, Bolsover was deemed highest priority for wall painting conservation work, with urgent repairs required to murals in the Hall and Anteroom as 20

www.english-heritage.org.uk

Clockwise from top Conservators Sophie Stewart and Rachel Turnbull inspect the paintings of Hercules’ labours in the Servants’ Hall; mixing the perfect palette of colours; damp and drafts have taken their toll on the castle’s plasterwork

In situations where climate is suspected to be having a negative impact, monitoring systems are installed. ‘The first thing, obviously, if you think there’s a problem with the environment, is to begin to understand it,’ Turnbull explains.

Devices monitoring temperature and relative humidity are in place alongside murals. When it comes to potentially making modifications to a property – installing a glass door to stop a draft perhaps or blocking out a window to reduce sun damage – Turnbull requires long-term data to justify her request. Much of the power of art to affect us is down to its ineffability – but safeguarding that art for the future is all about hard facts.

The Little Castle’s historically leaky roof is a case in point. It must be repaired to prevent further water damage to the paintings in the Heaven Closet.

However, such a project will be time-consuming and expensive. In the first instance, a detailed feasibility study is underway to avoid repeating the mistakes of past repairs.

But by the time you’re reading this article, the immediate crisis at the Little Castle will have been averted. The drips will be gone, the flaking repaired, the bulging plaster no longer in danger of cracking.

As Turnbull continues her epic audit of the wall paintings, criss-crossing the country from property to property, Sophie Stewart and her fellow wall painting specialists will be getting to work on the next ‘at risk’ murals at Lullingstone Roman Villa in Kent, Longthorpe Tower in Cambridgeshire and St Mary’s Church, Kempley in Gloucestershire.

Make no mistake, there are plenty of hurdles still to overcome, at Bolsover and elsewhere, but Stewart is unequivocal: the new audit is a ‘cause for huge celebration for us wall-painting conservators’.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT For more details of our appeal and to donate, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/wallpaintings

Go to the English Heritage website to check the latest information on access to sites and events

L O S T

A ND

Acclaimed songwriter Sam Lee and his band of musicians, The Nest Collective, are preparing to explore the traditions of English song and the stories of some of our historical sites – and you’re all invited to join the celebrations

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NEW THIS SEASON

Folk singer Sam Lee at Dover Castle in Kent – one of seven different sites that will be hosting curated outdoor musical events celebrating England’s story

F O UN D

WORDS MAT T FORD PHOTOGR APH K ASIA FISZER

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NEW THIS SEASON

W

hat does it mean to be English in the 21st century?

It’s a complicated question and the answer will be different for different people at different times. Some might find it harder than they expect to pin down exactly how they feel.

For example, does it conjure clichéd images of Big Ben, men in bowler hats, and fish and chips, or are you inclined to go deeper? Do you think about your identity and where you come from, your area, its landscape or your dialect? Or perhaps what drew you here from another country altogether?

This year a bold new project, The Lost Anthems (part of our Voices of England campaign), will explore ideas of England, English history and Englishness through intimate performances of live music and storytelling around twilight campfires and in halls and castles across the country.

‘It’s a radical programme of events and not like anything we’ve ever done before,’ says Diana Evans, English Heritage’s events manager for the south of England. ‘We already have a huge events programme but this is very different. It’s very distinct from our usual events.’

The events will be hosted by The Nest Collective, which organises music events and prides itself on pushing musical boundaries through the promotion of new interpretations of folk, world and traditional music. The collective was formed in 2006 by Mercury-nominated singer Sam Lee, and already hosts a multitude of show types featuring emerging and established artists alike, often in unusual locations.

‘We’ve been tasked with creating a very multicultural set of musical experiences and creative

This image The Campfire Club events promise to provide an intimate, outdoor concert Facing page, from left Sam Lee at Dover Castle’s Roman lighthouse; The Lost Anthems events will be musical celebrations in our historic settings

THE LOST ANTHEMS The strands of the programme taking place across our historic sites and online Campfire Clubs will bring a diverse range of musicians together to perform intimate fire-lit mini-gigs at Framlingham Castle in Suffolk, Deal Castle in Kent, Tynemouth Priory in Tyne and Wear, Totnes Castle in Devon and Berkhamsted Castle in Hertfordshire.

The Magpie’s Nest will be festival-style events at Dover Castle in Kent and Carlisle Castle in Cumbria, featuring multiple performance spaces used in innovative ways. There will be opportunities for audiences to participate in the events and engage with the notions of heritage, shared stories and tradition through storytelling, song and dance.

Pilgrimages will provide guided walks exploring the landscape and landmarks around our sites as a way of understanding our sense of place.

‘It will be more theatrical, more of a celebration of what sharing music is all about’

explorations across the country that bring English Heritage’s sites to life in ways that are both ancient and modern, and in harmony with the location,’ he explains. ‘I love the idea of curating space and working with spaces in a way that acoustically animates them. I believe space and sound go handin-hand and too often the opportunity to influence space is taken away from musicians. The opportunity we have with The Lost Anthems is a rare thing these days, a precious thing.’

One of the key parts of the programme will be The Magpie’s Nest (see sidebar, facing page), an unamplified festival-type performance for around 500 people featuring about 15 acts.

‘We will take over an old building and in every room a different concert will be going on, all at the same time,’ says Lee. ‘We will create a warren of sound that people can wander around in, and there will be a real celebration of hush and quietness. It won’t be a bombardment of sound. It won’t be an arms race of “you’re talking louder so we’re playing louder”, which is what happens at a lot of gigs.

‘It will be more theatrical, more of a celebration of what sharing music is all about. This is something that doesn’t really exist any more – and we want to bring it back.’

A national discussion

Sam Lee says that for the hours the event is running he hopes the audience will feel like they have ownership of the space. ‘That usual thing of being a visitor, of having paid for your ticket and wandering around looking, that will go,’ he says. ‘Instead there will be the sense that we have always been there.

That there has always been music there, and we are in a way just reanimating the space together for a sort of community feast.

‘We will invite the artists to welcome in the history around them and refer to it in their music. This isn’t about colonising the space with “our” thing and the music we’ve written, it’s about reaching out to the ghosts that are there and bringing them to the table – all of them.

‘We won’t be ignoring the darker side of our heritage either: the pain, the suffering, the bloodshed, www.english-heritage.org.uk

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NEW THIS SEASON

‘There’s something powerful about singing and dancing in these very grand places’ the conquest and subjugation. We want to bring in the horror and draw attention to it – alongside the beautiful and the celebratory – to create some kind of equality. I hope people who come to these events will feel like they are on a treasure hunt.’

At the heart of all The Lost Anthems events will be questions: what is Englishness? And what does it make you think of?

‘While English Heritage is not seeking to say what Englishness is – and we are certainly not seeking to say what it isn’t – we think this is something we should be talking about,’ says Diana Evans. ‘It might be seen as a contentious question. But it’s an open question and it’s not something that we should be frightened of talking about. We are called English Heritage, after all.’

Key to this spirit of openness is the form of the events. They will take an experimental approach to history – experiential rather than literal.

‘People will respond in their own individual way,’ says Evans. ‘Most of all, I hope they enjoy themselves and perhaps discover something they didn’t already know about England’s story and hopefully some new music too! Just come with an open mind, expect a unique experience and see what happens.’

A joyous occasion

Despite the thoughtful, thought-provoking aspects of The Lost Anthems, the shows will not be taking themselves too seriously. Music is for dancing – as well as listening to – and the potential for fun at a knees-up in some of the finest heritage sites in Britain is something that’s not lost on Sam Lee. ‘The Lost Anthems is also about bringing the dance back into these spaces and stomping up some dust,’ he says. ‘I think there’s something immensely democratic and powerful about being able to sing and dance and play music in these very grand, elite hallowed places.

‘We are expecting people to stamp their feet and make their mark and that’s very radical. We will be making these spaces ours for the night. These will not just be stewarded events, there will be a bit of edge too.’

It’s that sense of stepping beyond the railing – both literally and metaphorically – and getting closer to our heritage, our ancestors and our sense of who we are that makes The Lost Anthems such a tantalising prospect.

BE PART OF IT Look out for details of The Lost Anthems events at www.english-heritage.org.uk/events 26

www.english-heritage.org.uk

This image Mercury-nominated singer Sam Lee formed The Nest Collective in 2006 Below The Magpie’s Nest gives audiences the chance to participate in performances

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How to photograph your favourite sites Travel photographer and Craghoppers ambassador Conor Phelan shares his tips for taking amazing camera-phone images

H

ere at Craghoppers, we’ve been designing trailblazing outdoor clothing and protective travel equipment for over 50 years and understand the challenges of being exposed to the elements better than anyone. So we’ve formed a new partnership with English Heritage to provide their staff and volunteers at sites across the country with new hard-wearing, long-lasting uniforms to help keep them warm and dry – no matter what the weather has in store.

We also hope that our partnership will help inspire you to enjoy visiting English Heritage sites, when it is safe to do so, regardless of the forecast. For further inspiration, we asked travel photographer and Craghoppers ambassador Conor Phelan to share his top tips for taking the best photos on your phone, whenever you are next able to visit English Heritage sites.

1

Composition is king

Don’t just take out your phone and take a snap at eye level. Is there somewhere you can get up high to get the whole scene in? Or if you go down low, can you get an angle that you normally wouldn’t see? Maybe look for an old window and take a photo through it so it frames the subject? You might look a little odd crouching down in the grass, or behind a falling stone wall, but it’s worth it.

2

Leading lines

When you’re looking at something like a beautiful castle, the obvious thing is to position it in the middle of the frame.

Instead of doing that, look for natural lines in the foreground that lead you towards the subject.

Maybe it’s a line of rocks or a fence running towards the site.

This leads the viewer from the bottom of the frame towards the subject, which makes for a more enjoyable viewing experience.

P R O M O T I O N A L F E AT U R E

3

Foreground interest

4

Using people for scale

Sometimes there aren’t any obvious lines that you can use, so look for something you can focus on in the foreground (meaning the bottom of the image). Find an interesting rock or a piece of deadwood and frame it so that the heritage site is in the background. It just means there’s less empty space in the image, so it’s more pleasing to the eye.

You know the feeling of being somewhere absolutely breathtaking, but when you take a photo of it, it’s just a little ‘meh’? Photos often can’t do locations justice because the sense of scale is lost. Get someone to stand in the photo so you can show the size and grandeur of the subject. If you’re visiting by yourself, you can set your phone on a small tripod, use the timer feature and run into your own photo.

5

Manual/pro modes

The phrase ‘just a camera phone’ doesn’t apply anymore considering how much technology they pack in. Both iPhones and Android phones now have manual settings, allowing you to adjust the shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Some phones even have modes for night photos and epic panoramas.

Dig into your camera phone’s settings before you go so you’re not learning how to use these features as you go.

For more details about our partnership visit www.english-heritage. org.uk/craghoppers

Ground WORDS HARRIE T COOPER PHOTOGR APHS MILES WILLIS

BEHIND THE SCENES

force

Although our staffed sites have been closed recently, your support has meant that our gardening team can still ensure that our historic gardens are overflowing with scent and colour

www.english-heritage.org.uk

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I

n late spring and early summer, any one of our gardens will likely be a vision of manicured lawns, kaleidoscopic herbaceous borders, climbing roses and wisteria-adorned pergolas, banks of wildflowers and leafy trees – England at its finest.

But behind these idylls is a gardening team that has been working tirelessly in the pursuit of horticultural perfection. From the rolling parklands of Kenwood in London to the formal parterres at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire and the organic kitchen gardens at Audley End in Essex, no bulb has been left unplanted.

‘It’s always been our aim to get the site to the point where it’s so clean you could eat your dinner off it,’ says Dan Hale, head gardener at Brodsworth Hall and Gardens in Yorkshire, home to one of the country’s finest Victorian gardens, which includes a one-of-a-kind fern dell, over 1,000 pieces of topiary, and the recently restored rose garden, with its 19th-century blooms.

‘People often feel winter is a quiet time but it’s actually the reverse because it’s when all the deciduous plants are dormant and it’s a key time for setting up the garden for the next year,’ says John Watkins, head of the gardens and landscape team.

‘We undertake a lot of project work. There’s also pruning, herbaceous plant moving, mulching and managing our soils, cutting back the vines and the coppice willows, turf repairs…’

A gardener’s diary, it would seem, is anything but empty. ‘The tasks we do fill pages and pages,’ agrees Karen Clayton, head gardener at Eltham Palace and Gardens in south London – a striking medieval 32

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‘Our role is curator and conservator.

The plants are part of the collection in the same way as the interiors’ palace turned art deco mansion with 19 acres encompassing a rock garden, sunken rose garden and a herbaceous border planted by garden designer Isabelle Van Groeningen.

‘Every few weeks, we slightly adjust what we do and we have a ground programme that revolves around the whole 12 months,’ continues Clayton.

‘While our gardens look fantastic in June, the woodland comes into its own in autumn, and winter sees daphnes, snowdrops and croci.’

Caring for a historic garden Above, from top As well as having some of the country’s foremost Victorian gardens, Brodsworth Hall and Gardens in Yorkshire also boasts the beautiful Target Range, restored to its Edwardian glory; the bedding at Brodsworth is changed twice-yearly and comprises a total of 24,000 plants and 8,000 bulbs

Even in July, August and early autumn, when you’d think gardeners could sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labour, there is still work to be done – managing plant growth, cutting the grass and harvesting the apple trees, for starters. None of which is helped, of course, by our inclement climate, though gardeners tend to remain philosophical about such an inconvenience.

‘I always feel the head gardener needs a plan, a back-up plan and a back-up plan for the back-up,’ says Watkins.

Weather aside, the considerations for anyone caring for a historic garden are manifold. ‘We fulfil the role of curator and conservator – we look at what’s important about the garden,’ says Watkins.

BEHIND THE SCENES

GRASSROOTS GARDENING How we are hoping to inspire the gardeners of tomorrow by supporting the Historic and Botanic Garden Training Programme

In a bid to encourage the next generation of gardeners and to secure the upkeep of the country’s gardens, we support the Historic and Botanic Garden Training Programme (HBGTP), which provides work-based training in the heritage horticulture sector.

The HBGTP offers salaried 12-month placements across a number of historic and botanic gardens, providing trainees with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience and tap into the expertise of experienced horticulturalists.

‘Last September we took on 18 new trainees, eight of whom are placed in English Heritage gardens at Audley End House and Gardens, Osborne, Walmer Castle and Wrest Park,’ says Elinor

Davies, historic and botanic garden training manager.

‘Trainees experience full-time work in these prestigious gardens, as well as an autumn seminar and a spring study tour. This year’s cohort will graduate at the end of August, at which point further trainees will join our ranks.’

‘There is a shortage of skilled gardeners and that’s one of the things that we’re keen to invest in,’ agrees John Watkins, head of gardens and landscape. ‘This programme is where we place people at the start of their gardening careers who are looking for their first opportunity of working in a historic garden.’ To find out more, visit www.hbgtp.org.uk.

‘The plants are part of the collection in the same way as the interiors.’

As such, the gardening teams need to fully understand the heritage of their sites in order to ensure the authenticity of the gardens. ‘One of the key things is knowing about the history of the plants – many have been there for a very long time. In some cases, the vegetation is as old as the house.’

The plants, however, are not inanimate objects. They’re alive and growing – and must be maintained. As everything in a garden has a cycle, planting and replanting is a regular occurrence, often on a grand scale (the Victorian bedding at Brodsworth, changed twice-yearly, consists of 24,000 plants and 8,000 bulbs).

For this, the needs of the individual plants must be understood – soil type, growing habitat and structure. But importantly, in any restoration work, the blooms must be period-correct for the specific

Top right Eltham Palace and Gardens in London has 19 acres of gardens, which include a rock garden, 1930s sunken rose garden and a herbaceous border

site, as Hale can attest with Brodsworth’s rose garden. ‘The purpose was to return it to its original 1860s design, which allowed us to add 200 classic roses,’ he explains. ‘We did lots of research into introduction dates.’

The fragrant project has been completed in time for this year’s celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of Brodsworth Hall and Gardens being opened to the public. Alongside planned community open days in the summer, there is expected to be a photography exhibition showcasing the house and gardens in their Victorian heyday, as well as how the property looked in the 1990s, when we took it on.

Original garden designs

‘We look to our teams to garden in the fashion of that period, so it’s gardening with the varieties of plants that were available and in the ways that they were presented,’ says Watkins. ‘This can be quite challenging but, once you start a conversation that way, then everybody learns much more and it becomes interesting. Sometimes, having a restricted palette means you can do very beautiful things.’

Being as true as possible to the original garden designs is fundamental and much can be gleaned from our archives: old estate maps, letters, diaries.

At Audley End, for example, two gardeners’ diaries – one from the mid to late Victorian period and one from the late Georgian Regency period – have given ‘a wonderful insight into the jobs that need to be done.

It’s amazing that they were facing similar issues to us: pest and disease, how to grow new plants. One realises we are very much in a continuum.’

But while it’s important the gardens are historically accurate and contextualised, people also visit for the aesthetic. These outdoor spaces should be uplifting, entertaining and joyous, and one way of piquing interest is diversity. ‘If you’ve walked through a garden that has quite subtle differences www.english-heritage.org.uk

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EXPERT CARE

‘Historic gardens are all unique and our job is celebrating this uniqueness’ in each of the areas, you feel like you’ve had a much richer experience,’ says Watkins. ‘A lot of that is making sure that the formal areas are really formal and the ones that aren’t really aren’t. The fun of working with historic gardens is that they are all unique and our job is bringing out and celebrating this uniqueness.’

These nuances are down to clever garden management by the team. Brodsworth, for example, is laid out as a series of garden ‘rooms’ and the topography is such that each one feels like a secret space. ‘I met someone the other day who said it was like walking around Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory,’ smiles Hale. ‘It’s the wow factor people like.’

Conservation plans

Alongside the daily, weekly and seasonal tasks, the team are also working on major restoration projects, such as that at Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens in Northumberland, which is having a major restoration. ‘The tame areas had become a bit wild and the wild areas a bit tame, so we are undergoing a replanting to get back the individual characters of the areas,’ explains Watkins.

Other projects this year include Marble Hill in London, where avenues of trees are being planted from the house to the Thames, thus restoring a feature that has been lost over the 34

www.english-heritage.org.uk

Above, from left Ferns were popular in the Victorian era and in the Fern Dell at Brodsworth you can now see more than 100 different types; Eltham Palace in London has a rare example of an Arts and Crafts garden, with an intriguing mix of medievalinspired features

years; cleaning and repairing the myriad garden statues at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire; and the introduction of 20 cherry trees at Eltham, as part of the Sakura Cherry Tree Project to celebrate cooperation between the UK and Japan.

At Shropshire’s Boscobel House, the site of the Royal Oak where Charles II hid for a day in 1651 after the Battle of Worcester (it’s actually a tree replanted by the Georgians from an acorn taken from the original), a scheme is underway to replant the pollarded woods around the famous oak.

None of this would be possible without our expert head gardeners and their teams, assisted by the volunteers who give their time to gardening and taking tours. ‘Our volunteers are very proud of our sites,’ says Watkins. ‘Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.’

So next time you’re in one of our gardens and you’re keen to know your perennials from your annuals, or how best to clip a box hedge, find one of the horticultural team and just ask. ‘Our role is telling the story of England’s gardens,’ says Watkins. ‘And we also do it to please people.

It will be very nice to welcome visitors back.’

DISCOVER MORE To find out more about our historic gardens, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/gardens

OBJECTS OF ENGLAND

Lord’s Prayer ring, The Wernher Collection at Ranger’s House, London WORDS TESSA KILGARRIFF PHOTOGR APH JOBY SESSIONS/ THE WERNHER FOUNDATION

This gold ring showcases an outstanding feat of craftsmanship. It was collected by the 19th-century businessman Julius Wernher, who had a passion for small, unusual and richly embellished objects. Beneath a crystal surrounded by garnets is a piece of vellum (parchment made from animal skin) inscribed in miniature with passages from the Lord’s Prayer.

Probably created in the late 18th century, the ring is the product of collaboration between a goldsmith and a talented calligrapher. The intricate craftsmanship shows that it was a high status object, owned by a wealthy patron. As a portable jewel designed to be worn on the owner’s hands – a part of the body integral to prayer – the ring was probably used in private devotion. The use of vellum also suggests the ring’s connection to earlier religious traditions – it was often used in Books of Hours, which was the standard book of popular devotion during the later Middle Ages and Renaissance. Now on display alongside jewels spanning many European artistic traditions, the ring demonstrates the beguiling effects that English makers achieved by combining goldsmithing with pen and ink.

SEE IT YOURSELF For details of the Wernher Collection at Ranger’s House, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/rangershouse

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www.english-heritage.org.uk

37

passage along the douro

Discover the beauty of the Douro Valley aboard the MS Gil Eanes 15th to 22nd May, 20th to 27th June & 4th to 11th September 2021

The Douro is not the longest, grandest or most historic of Europe’s rivers, but it certainly is one of the most untouched and beautiful. From its meagre beginnings in the hills north of Madrid it makes its way through Northern Portugal LQ D PHDQGHULQJ à RXULVK WR WKH RFHDQ DQG WKH HQGOHVVO\ IDVFLQDWLQJ FLW\ RI 2SRUWR 2XU FUXLVH DERDUG WKH GHOLJKWIXO 06 *LO (DQHV RIIHUV WKH RSSRUWXQLW\ WR VDLO WKLV GHOLJKWIXO ULYHU DQG H[SHULHQFH VRPH RI WKH ORFDO à DYRXU :KHUH YHVVHOV RQFH ODGHQ ZLWK EDUUHOV RI SRUW GULIWHG WR 2SRUWR ZH ZLOO FUXLVH DORQJ WKLV ORYHO\ ULYHU UHOD[LQJ RQ ERDUG ZKLOVW DGPLULQJ the beautiful passing scenery and stopping each day for fascinating excursions.

2XU QDYLJDWLRQ RI WKH 'RXUR ZLOO WDNH XV IURP 2SRUWR RQ D ZRQGHUIXOO\ VFHQLF SDWK SDVW VOHHS\ YLOODJHV DQG D WUDQTXLO countryside of almond and citrus trees to just before the Spanish border. From here we will visit Spain’s ancient seat of OHDUQLQJ 6DODPDQFD ZLWK LWV JUDQG EXLOGLQJV LQ ULFK FRSSHU KXHV DQG WKH FRXQWU\¡V PRVW PDJQLÀFHQW VTXDUH 3OD]D 0D\RU Along the way we will visit the world renowned port wine region, restored palaces, places of pilgrimage and cultural centres. Small towns and settlements perched on the sloping hillsides of the region have retained an aura of Medieval simplicity, its many tiny communities, largely agricultural, clustering round historic churches, monasteries and castles.

MS Gil Eanes For our cruises along the Douro we have chartered the elegant MS Gil Eanes, a well-designed vessel with a modern feel and offers a tranquil atmosphere on which to relax and enjoy the picturesque panoramas of the region. There are 62 cabins and four suites on board which are located over three decks, and have > LĂ€"}#ĂŒ >"ÀÞ vii%° >L"'Ăƒ (' ĂŒ#i >"' iV+ vi>ĂŒĂ•Ă€i ĂŒĂœ( Ăœ"'`(ĂœĂƒ] >'` ĂŒ#(Ăƒi (' ĂŒ#i "``%i >'` 1ÂŤÂŤiĂ€ iV+Ăƒ L(>ĂƒĂŒ Ă€i'V# L>%V('"iĂƒ >'` Ăƒ%"`"'} y((Ă€ ĂŒ( Vi"%"'} Ăœ"'`(ĂœĂƒÂ° *Ă•L%"V >Ă€i>Ăƒ "'V%Ă•`i ĂŒ#i %(Ă•'}i L>Ă€ Ăœ"ĂŒ# y((Ă€ ĂŒ( Vi"%"'} Ăœ"'`(ĂœĂƒ] >'` ĂŒ#i -Ă•' iV+ Ăœ"ĂŒ# V(-v(Ă€ĂŒ>L%i %(Ă•'}iĂ€Ăƒ >'` Ăƒ(-i ĂŒ>L%iĂƒ >'` V#>"Ă€Ăƒ under a shaded area. Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner are served in the stylish restaurant which seats all passengers in one sitting. The excellent cuisine features delicious local and international dishes. Breakfast and lunch are buffet style with hot and cold items, and dinners are a served set menu.

Drinks are included during meal times, and are also available until late in the Lounge Bar. In addition to our Cruise Director and Tour Manager, you will also be joined by a Guest Speaker who will deliver informative and interesting lectures on board, adding to your enjoyment of the cruise and interest of the area.

For full details on this holiday call us today on 020 7752 0000 for your copy of our brochure.

RIVER CRUISING WITH NOBLE CALEDONIA SPECIAL OFFER – SAVE £200 PER PERSON

Regua SPAIN Oporto Lamego Salamanca Quinta do Seixo Figueiro de Castelo Rodrigo

PORTUGAL

The Itinerary in Brief Day 1 London to Oporto, Portugal. (Ăž LĂž ĂƒV%i`Ă•(i` y"}%ĂŒÂ° 1ÂŤ!# >ÀÀ"Ă›>( transfer to the MS Gil Eanes and embark. This evening meet your fellow travellers at the welcome dinner.

Day 2 Oporto. This morning there will be a guided tour of Oporto, Portugal’s second largest city and a World Heritage Site. This attractive city was originally a CelticIberian settlement and became a prosperous Roman village thanks to its natural harbour. During our tour we will drive through its narrow ĂƒĂŒĂ€iiĂŒĂƒ ĂŒ! w#` ÂŁĂˆĂŒ% Vi#ĂŒĂ•Ă€Ăž >Ă€V>`i` buildings, Baroque churches and chapels, as well as the city’s iconic 19th century iron bridge, built by the school of Gustav Eiffel. We continue along the coastal road of the Atlantic to the mouth of the Douro River to view this wealthy neighbourhood with its fashionable villas and manor %!Ă•ĂƒiĂƒÂ° "Ă•Ă€ w#>( Ă›"Ăƒ"ĂŒ Ăœ"(( Li ĂŒ! ĂŒ%i city’s cathedral, located on the top of the Penaventosa Hill. Inside are beautiful examples of golden carved altarpieces and paintings from the Nasoni period, whilst outside we will enjoy the amazing view over the river. The tour will conclude with a visit to a port wine lodge where we will see the old casks full of port and enjoy a sample of this delicious world famous wine. Return to the ship for lunch and enjoy a relaxing afternoon on board.

Day 3 Regua. From our mooring at Regua we will visit the unique 18th century Mateus Manor House >#` "ĂŒĂƒ }>Ă€`i#ĂƒÂ° /%"Ăƒ w#i (!!*"#} palace and gardens is still owned by the Count of Vila Real and is one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in Portugal. On our guided tour of the Palace we will see the “rare booksâ€? library, as well as vestments and religious icons and view the remarkable chestnut wood crafting on the ceilings, as well as some beautiful paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries. Stroll around the romantic gardens which feature a unique 100 foot long cedar tunnel and formal garden and visit the villa’s pretty chapel. Return to the vessel which will have sailed to Tavora to meet us. Enjoy lunch on board and continue cruising towards the Spanish border.

Day 4 Salamanca, Spain. Today we will enjoy a full day tour to Salamanca, a Spanish city rich in culture and tradition. Salamanca has been famous as a seat of learning since the early 13th century and has an impressive history, with many w#i +!#Ă•+i#ĂŒĂƒ >#` >Ă€V%"ĂŒiVĂŒĂ•Ă€i° The city attracts around 40,000 international students each year, giving it a cosmopolitan and modern feel. Our guided tour will include the University, House of Shells and the classic Plaza Mayor, formally a LĂ•((w}%ĂŒ"#} Ăƒ"ĂŒi° 7i Ăœ"(( >(Ăƒ! Ă›"Ăƒ"ĂŒ the Gothic “New Cathedralâ€? which was actually constructed in the 16th century, replacing the original 12th century Salamanca Cathedral.

After lunch in a local restaurant, enjoy some free time to explore independently. Maybe visit the Casa Lis (the Museum of Art Nouveau and Art Deco), or simply stroll through the plazas and side streets of this delightful city. Return later to the vessel for dinner.

Day 5 Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, Portugal. This morning depart for an excursion to the picturesque Medieval town of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, known as the white village because of its surrounding almond trees. Located at about 2200 feet above sea level, and one of Portugal’s 12 historical parishes, its streets are typically narrow and steep with 16th century facades and Manuelino style windows. The ,!+>#Ăƒ ĂœiĂ€i ĂŒ%i wĂ€ĂƒĂŒ ĂŒ! LĂ•"(` > fortress here, then in 1209 Alfonso IX built the fortress wall. During the centuries Jews, Christians and Arabs lived peacefully here, and evidence of this can be seen on Sinagoga (Synagogue Street). However, the !#Vi (>Ă€}i iĂœ"Ăƒ% V!++Ă•#"ĂŒĂž yi` during the Inquisition.

Day 6 Quinta do Seixo. Enjoy a leisurely morning on board as we cruise to Pinhao. After lunch we will depart for our visit to Quinta do Seixo, an ancient property with 99 hectares of vineyards and a modern winery. The drive takes us through steep terraced vineyards which boast breathtaking views. On a guided tour we will learn about the production methods, and we will have the chance to sample some of the local wines.

Day 7 Lamego. Sail early this morning towards Folgosa where we will disembark and enjoy a half day excursion to the historical and charming town of Lamego. This city houses one of the most important places of pilgrimage in Portugal - the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies.

Built in the second half of the 18th century over the remains of a 14th century chapel, it is an excellent example of Portuguese Baroque style. It is wonderfully decorated with enormous panels of blue and white tiles, with an impressive staircase of nearly 700 steps. During lunch on board we sail back to Oporto crossing ĂŒ%i Ă€iĂƒĂŒĂ•+>. iĂ›iĂ€ `>+° "# !Ă•Ă€ w#>( evening we will be entertained by a Portuguese folklore show on board.

Day 8 Oporto to London. Disembark after breakfast and transfer to the >"À!Ă€ĂŒ v!Ă€ ĂŒ%i Ă€iĂŒĂ•Ă€# ĂƒV%i`Ă•(i` y"}%ĂŒ to London.

Portugal extension If you would like to spend some more time in Portugal we are !vviĂ€"#} > wĂ›i #"}%ĂŒ iĂ?ĂŒi#Ăƒ"!# Ăœ"ĂŒ% the chance to tour Lisbon, Sintra, Coimbra, Tomar, Guimaraes, and Braga. Full details can be viewed online at www.noble-caledonia.co.uk

PRICES & INCLUSIONS Special offer prices per person based on double occupancy start from ÂŁ2495 for a category E cabin. Cabins for sole use from ÂŁ2995.

WHAT’S INCLUDED: Economy class scheduled air travel • Seven nights aboard the MS Gil Eanes on a full board basis • All-inclusive drinks from 10am to 11pm (please note that premium brands & sparkling wines are not included) • Shore excursions • Noble Caledonia onboard team including Guest Speaker • Gratuities • Transfers.

NB: Ports and itinerary subject to change. All special offers are subject to availability. Travel insurance, premium brands & sparkling wines are not included in the price. Our current booking conditions apply to all reservations.

Alternatively view or request online at www.noble-caledonia.co.uk

SMALL SHIPS - BIG EXPERIENCES

In the second of our Voices of England essays, Matt Thompson reveals how the railways democratised travel and stoked the public’s passion for exploring the past ILLUSTR ATION AL AN KITCHING

T

he railways came as something of a shock to the English countryside, as they did almost everywhere else in the 19th century. For more than 200 years before the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825, railways in their earliest forms had been confined to some very specific landscapes.

From the mines of the Lake District to the coal fields of Tyneside and Shropshire, early railways were hauling the raw materials of industry, but outside of these areas they made little impact. By the time the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened in 1830, it was already clear that they had the power to transform the world: in the words of

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one contemporary commentator, the railways led to ‘the annihilation of space and time’. Initially designed purely to move raw materials, it quickly became apparent that they could move people – and this presented its own challenges.

By the 1840s there was some anxiety around the railways. Landowners were concerned about how the new lines would affect fox hunting, while farmers worried about their cattle being spooked.

The Duke of Wellington’s hostility to the railways was well known. He commented that the railways would ‘act as a premium to the lower orders to go uselessly wandering about the country’. And wander they did, although very often it was entirely purposeful.

STORIES OF ENGL AND

The railway network grew with unsustainable speed through the early 1840s, which led to the ‘railway mania’ and market crash of the mid1840s. But it was at this time that regulations were established that provided cheap train travel in covered carriages with seats. At a penny a mile, many more people could travel to find work, do business or see distant family members. The railways enabled people to move about the country in a way that could not have been imagined a generation before. While many people used trains because they had to, it was not long before people

started to use them because they wanted to: being a tourist was now much, much easier.

The building of the railways even provided opportunities for the curious antiquarian to uncover the secrets of the past. By 1844 the British Archaeological Association (BAA) had recognised that the building of railways represented the possibility of a ‘rich harvest of facts for antiquary or geologist’.

In 1846, Mr Pettigrew, vice president of the BAA, went so far as to say that ‘the products resulting from the different cuttings and excavations had added much to previous information, and had enabled the Association more satisfactorily to distinguish the British antiquities from the Roman, and the Roman from the Saxon… by the nature of the different implements and ornaments which have been discovered in them.’

The uncovering of archaeological material was by no means limited to the earlier years of railway www.english-heritage.org.uk

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development. Following the 1840s, many new railways continued to be built and, as the cuttings and embankments were constructed, England’s past continued to come to the surface. In 1859, a medieval cemetery was discovered near Faversham in Kent by navigators working on what was to become the London, Chatham and Dover Railway.

Among the objects recovered was a garnet cloisonné disc brooch, which now resides in the British Museum and represents an important example of the archaeology of early Christian Kent.

Travelling on the railways also presented opportunities for those interested in the past. In 1851, Samuel Sidney wrote Rides on Railways, an entertaining exploration of the railway network of the time. He contrasted the bustle of Euston station and its somewhat unsavoury characters with the ‘smock frocks and rosy-faced lasses’ to be found at rural stations. He also described the places of interest along the line, such as Berkhamsted Castle in Hertfordshire, which is breezily dispatched with the lines that it had seen off ‘civil wars and revolutions… the interregnum of a republic, an abdication, and the installation of a Brunswick dynasty’. While hardly up to the standard of modern guidebooks, it does attempt to bring the layers of history to life.

The shock of the railways quickly subsided and the technological ensemble of locomotive, carriages, track and buildings became an accepted feature in the landscape. It is possible to see this in the prints of the time. Soon after their arrival, the railways featured prominently in images. As the 19th century progressed, their novelty value wore off and the prints became more focused on the places that people could now reach on the railways.

Journeys into antiquity

Not only were towns and cities opened up to the visitor but also landscapes, ruins and remnants of past centuries. The railway companies recognised a potential market and were quick to exploit it with guidebooks and advertisements. From the late 19th century there was an explosion in railway

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Left North Eastern Railway pamphlet, published 1914 Below This medieval disc brooch was discovered in Kent in 1859 by navigators working on the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. It now resides in the British Museum Right Eric Ravilious’s painting Train Landscape (1939) depicts the Westbury White Horse from the window of a train carriage Below right The Planet 2-2-0 steam locomotive and train was designed and built by Robert Stephenson and Co for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway and was first used in December 1830

MAT T TH OM P S ON Matt is our head collections curator and the lead on our Voices of England campaign, exploring how the past has shaped the nation

advertising material and a great deal of it featured ancient monuments in the landscape.

Around 1900 the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) addressed much of its advertising to the ‘holiday tourist, the lover of the picturesque, the botanist, the antiquary…’ and in 1905 encouraged tourists heading to the Lake District to ‘proceed via Carnforth and the Furness Railway’ and from there ‘to explore Furness Abbey – one of the finest monastic ruins in the kingdom’.

On the other side of the country, the guidebooks of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and North Eastern Railway (NER) read like a roll call of

STORIES OF ENGL AND

Abbeys and Castles. Printed by the Ballantyne Press on traditionally laid paper, each volume is an in-depth exploration of the historic sites in the territory.

Both Abbeys and Castles contain a large number of sites now in our care. In Castles alone, Launceston, St Mawes, Pendennis, Goodrich, Stokesay and Kenilworth all appear, illustrated with photographs and ink sketches. At the same time, Much Wenlock, Buildwas, Cleeve, Hailes and Haughmond appear in Abbeys. Each volume was well received, with more than 60,000 copies of Cathedrals being sold within two years.

While each of these volumes was undoubtedly a significant contribution to its subject, we should not forget that the intended purpose was to encourage travel on the GWR’s lines. The fact that the GWR invested so much time and effort in producing these guidebooks demonstrates that visiting such ancient sites was popular. Long before the car became ubiquitous, the railway was taking tourists across the country in search of the picturesque, the sublime and the ancient.

sites that find pride of place in the English Heritage handbook. From Clifford’s Tower in York they then encourage visits to Rievaulx Abbey, Scarborough Castle, Whitby Abbey (‘an excellent specimen of the early English style’), Richmond Castle, Barnard Castle, Dunstanburgh Castle and Lindisfarne Priory, then on to Berwick and into Scotland. The Great Central Railway (GCR) published ‘antiquarian notes’ on line extensions looking at everything from ancient pottery to ‘Druid temples’.

But perhaps the finest examples of the railways wanting to encourage people to visit historic monuments came from the Great Western Railway (GWR). Between 1924 and 1926, the GWR published three of the most lavish railway guidebooks ever seen: Cathedrals,

The guidebook is perhaps less well known than the posters produced by the railway companies.

These colourful artworks often depicted historic monuments and even representations of past scenes, and they captured the imagination in a way that words alone might not.

But the guidebooks provided the historical context as well as the practical details necessary for visiting such sites. The fact that so many guidebooks had such a strong focus on history and archaeology indicates that there was substantial public interest in the past and a desire for people to stand in the places where history happened.

The railway enabled more people to move around the country and it gave those who had the luxury of spare time the opportunity to explore the historic monuments that fill the landscape. At the same time the building of the railways led to some remarkable archaeological discoveries that still have the power to take our breath away. All of this happened before the rise of the motor car and the Shell Guides of the inter-war years.

The railways have now come full circle.

Many stations are now considered buildings of historical significance and there are many museums dedicated to the preservation of the locomotives and rolling stock. The landscape of England bears the signs of railways now disused and becoming part of the historical and archaeological memory of the nation.

DISCOVER MORE To learn more about the story of England, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/voices-of-england www.english-heritage.org.uk

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ALAMY; GETTY IMAGES; SCIENCE AND SOCIETY PICTURE LIBRARY

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His maps themselves were of high quality and were made using the up-to-date sources that were available, so they gained a reputation for being amongst the best county maps – attractive and decorative.

We’ve taken the county maps from the early 1600s and created a range of historical county map jigsaw puzzles.

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To receive your 20% discount, you must quote promotional code EH19A

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H I STO RY AT H O M E You may not be able to visit our sites right now but here are 12 ways you can step into England’s story and enjoy the benefits of membership without leaving the house WORDS HELEN DORRIT T

1 Unlock more stories with our exclusive Members-only content

The dedicated Members’ Area area of our website (www.englishheritage.org.uk/members) is a treasure trove of extra content, including Member-exclusive articles, photo galleries, behind-thescenes videos, quizzes and competitions. You can find tips from fellow Members in the Members’ Voices section, and discover money-saving offers with top-name brands in the Members’ Rewards area (more on that below). We’ve not forgotten our younger Members either – check out the special kids’ section with competitions, craft activities and videos. With all this, plus links to back issues of both the Members’ Magazine and Kids Rule! magazine, it’s the first call for anyone wanting to make the most of their membership.

2 Enjoy a weekly history lesson with our podcast

Launched last year, the English Heritage podcast has become essential weekly listening for history lovers. Hosted by broadcaster Charles Rowe, each episode explores a topic related to our sites through interviews with experts. If you haven’t subscribed already, take a leap through the ages with our five most popular episodes: Victoria and Albert’s Birthdays at Osborne (episode one), Brave Knights and Epic Fights (episode 17), Undressing the History of Fashion (episode 18), The Story of a Real Downton Abbey (episode 24) and The Final Frontier: What Life was Like for the Romans on Hadrian’s Wall (episode 42). Listen online at www.english-heritage. org.uk/podcast or find it on your favourite podcast platform.

3 Get help with home schooling

In the kids’ area of the website (www.englishheritage.org.uk/kids) there are links to the Kids Rule! magazines, which chart the history of England from prehistoric England to the world wars. Designed to support the Key Stage Two curriculum, they bring history to life in a fun, accessible way through illustrated stories, interviews, quizzes and crafts. Junior history buffs will also love assembling our mega illustrated timeline or creating their own costume drama with our historical dress-up kit.

We also have a dedicated section of downloadable teaching resources (www.english-heritage.org.uk/teachingresources) for many of our sites, including Stonehenge, Bolsover Castle, Tintagel Castle and Whitby Abbey, which you can adapt to support different areas of the curriculum. And our Histories section (www.englishheritage.org.uk/histories) has stories and profiles about the key events and people who shaped our sites.

TOP TIP If you’re feeling lucky, there’s always a tempting selection of prizes on offer in the competitions section of our website (www. english-heritage. org.uk/membercompetitions), offered exclusively to Members.

Winners this year have already bagged tickets to see City of Angels in London’s West End, a year of bouquets from Appleyard Flowers and a weekend city break with Country Life Hotels.

4 Be surprised by our awardwinning blog Our regularly updated blog is full of suggestions for things to do, historical how-tos, behind-the-scenes information and quirky articles inspired by our sites.

Want some interesting five-minute reads?

How about learning 10 things the Romans did for us, discovering the castles that are hiding in plain sight or finding out why we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday?

You can also find out the real story of the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, and enjoy a rundown of the top 10 toilets through time, transporting you through 2,000 years of lavatorial history!

H I S T O RY AT H O M E

5 Join the conversation on our social channels

We upload new content daily across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, so there are plenty of ways to connect with us and other Members.

Our Instagram (@englishheritage) is a gallery of gorgeous images from sites across the country, and you can tag us in any you’ve taken for a chance to be reposted on our grid. Our Twitter feed (@englishheritage) is a great way to learn historical snippets as well as chatting with our online team – join us for a virtual elevenses each morning. Over on Facebook, we’ve set up a new History at Home group (www.facebook.com/groups/historyathome) to help you explore England’s past from the comfort of your own home

6 Be the first to know with our exclusive Members’ e-newsletters

You can have all of the latest information delivered straight to your inbox with our Members’ e-newsletters. These will keep you up to date with all the latest news from sites, as well as events, must-read articles and days-out inspiration. If you’re not already getting these, sign up now at www.english-heritage.org.uk/update-preferences.

‘Our rundown of the top 10 toilets transports you through 2,000 years of lavatorial history’

7

TOP TIP The blue plaques scheme links noteworthy figures from history with current buildings in the capital, commemorating over 900 men and women who have contributed to the story of England.

If you want to learn more about the people behind the plaques, we’ve collated many of their histories at www.englishheritage.org. uk/blue-plaquestories.

8 Dive into one of our YouTube series

Did you know that we have an awardwinning series of YouTube videos on a variety of fascinating subjects? If you want to learn about historical make-up, find out what life was like at our sites or learn how to make objects such as a Roman mosaic, then this is the channel for you.

Our most popular series is The Victorian Way, where we uncover the history behind Mrs Avis Crocombe, the cook at Audley End House and Gardens in the 1880s, who is brilliantly brought to life by historical re-enactor Kathy Hipperson. You can watch Mrs Crocombe make recipes from her cookbook, from well-known dishes such as macaroni and cheese and gingerbread to the more exotic Nesselrode cream and gateau de pommes. Mrs Crocombe has become something of a YouTube star – the video on how to make a Victorian custard pudding currently has more than 2.7 million views.

Delve into the secrets of our sites

If you can’t visit in person, there’s a wealth of surprising information to discover about each of our sites online, from the property pages on our website – many of which have dedicated history sections – to the English Heritage area of Google Arts & Culture (artsandculture.google.com/ project/english-heritage).

To listen to more hidden histories, check out our Speaking With Shadows podcast series (www.english-heritage.org.uk/ speakingwithshadows). www.english-heritage.org.uk

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11 Discover the myths and legends associated with our sites TOP TIP

9 Start planning a week to remember

Running from 19–23 October, Members’ Week, supported by Country Life butter, is our way of saying thank you for your continued support, and will be a unique opportunity to access a range of exciting events at sites across the country. From guided tours with the experts to spooky Halloween fun for the whole family, there’s something for people of all ages and interests to enjoy. We’re also giving Members special offers and discounts to use in our cafés and shops, and the chance to attend a talk by Alan Kitching, the artist behind our latest handbook cover. Put the dates in your diary and visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/membersweek to find out more.

Many LGBTQ stories have been written out of the history books due to social attitudes and persecution, but researchers are now uncovering more and more detail about the diversity of England’s past.

Head to www. english-heritage. org.uk/lgbtqhistory to learn more.

As well as playing an important part in historical events, many of our sites have connections to fascinating myths and legends. Phantom coaches and fire-breathing horses, sea monsters, buried treasure, a dragon called Knucker – you can read about all these and more by exploring our interactive myths map (mythsmap.englishheritage.org.uk). This work of art has been beautifully illustrated by Clive Hicks-Jenkins – click on the ‘I’ symbol at the top of the map to find a video detailing just how Clive made this amazing piece of work. Think we’ve missed a myth? You can submit it online to have it added to the map.

12 10 Examine our objects in amazing 3D!

We care for thousands of priceless artefacts spanning six millennia, and you can get up close to a selection of them through the power of 3D photographs. Our gallery at www.sketchfab.com/englishheritage has more than 30 items from our collection, ranging from Roman spearheads to a carved grave slab dating from the eighth or ninth century. Simply click on each object and you can then rotate it, zoom in to look at details and read annotations giving you information on how it was made and why. You can even view the objects in virtual reality using a VR headset or Google Cardboard.

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Pick up a bargain through Members’ Rewards

You’ll find more than 50 moneysaving offers in Members’ Rewards (www.english-heritage.org.uk/ rewards) from big-name brands including Hotpoint, Denby and Seasalt. Divided into categories such as food and drink and entertainment, deals range from letterbox flowers and plants for your garden to discounts on magazines and access to online courses – many of which are exclusive to Members.

And with new offers frequently being added, keep checking back to see how you can save even more.

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‘The 3D gallery’s items range from Roman spearheads to a carved grave slab’

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Over to you Trending Ask the experts 20 questions David Rodger-Sharp returns to his place of birth – the stone circle at Stonehenge in Wiltshire

Got an interesting story to share?

Email us at membersmagazine@ immediate.co.uk

MY EXPERIENCE

‘I was born among the stones at Stonehenge’ How the 1984 Stonehenge Free Festival had an unexpected delivery

M

I was an adult that I realised the significance of the monument.

When I tell people about my place of birth, their reaction is mostly disbelief to begin with and then often results in loads of questions. I refer to the monument as my maternity ward. My passport always had Salisbury as my place of birth but in 2018 it was due for renewal. When I sent in my application, I included a copy of my birth certificate and

a covering letter, asking if my new passport could list my place of birth as Stonehenge. I spoke to someone at the passport office who said it would remain Salisbury. So when my new passport arrived and they had changed it, I was pretty surprised. I’m the only person in the world with Stonehenge as their place of birth on a passport. That’s pretty cool. www.english-heritage.org.uk/ stonehenge www.english-heritage.org.uk

CHRIS LUCAS

y mum was a bit of a free spirit and, in June 1984, was attending Stonehenge Free Festival. It turned out to be the last one.

She went into labour and I was delivered among the stones by the responsible medical officer – a chap called David Nobbs.

He delivered five babies at Stonehenge during his festival years. I became aware of my unusual birthplace from a very young age but it wasn’t until

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OUT & ABOUT

Over to you

www.english-heritage.org.uk/magazine facebook.com/englishheritage twitter.com/englishheritage

Share your stories and send us your experiences, photos and tips

instagram.com/englishheritage

Each issue, our star letter writer will receive a Craghoppers jacket worth £100 – perfect for exploring in the outdoors. To be in with a chance to winning, simply send in a letter or email for publication in the magazine.

STAR LETTER

More Wellington Arch memories

Towards the end of the 1950s and into the 1960s, my late father, Victor Todd, was the sergeant at Wellington Arch police station, which had a complement of about 15 constables.

He told me it had been used at one time as a section house – accommodation for unmarried constables. They were usually posted to a distant part of London from their homes to avoid meeting friends in the course of their work. Members of the royal family regularly passed through the arch at that time. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother arranged for all those stationed there to receive a Christmas pudding each year with her compliments.

Steve Todd

Winston Churchill photo I did like the splendid picture in the March issue of Winston Churchill walking through the entrance to the Dover Castle tunnel with the Mayor of Dover in 1940. The third individual bringing up the rear was Walter H Thompson, who was Churchill’s bodyguard from 1921–35 and then again throughout the war years. A career policeman, he saved our prime minister’s life on more than one occasion. The two of them eventually becoming reasonably good friends. There is a fine biography worth searching out, which gives you comprehensive details of a fascinating man in extraordinary times.

Robert Boston

TRENDING What’s got you talking on our social media channels?

Royal Navy uniform I note there is a photograph on page 35 of the March issue of a Royal Navy lieutenant commander sporting a moustache. Both officers and ratings were only allowed to be clean-shaven or to have a ‘full set’ – a complete beard.

Tony Everett Was the man supposed to be wearing Royal Navy uniform? If he was Second World War then the medal ribbon shown is the General Service Medal awarded 1962–2007. Also, the cap somehow doesn’t look right.

Rachel Farrand We checked with a historian about this.

The uniform is a reproduction of the RN No 5 dress of a lieutenant commander. In most respects it is correct, although the cap is probably not a close copy of the naval pattern. The medal ribbon strip looks like the General Service Medal awarded 1962– 2007. It should actually be the Naval General Service Medal, awarded from 1915–62 – a red and white banded ribbon strip.

Young visitors to Dover Castle’s wartime tunnels

Beside the seaside This drone footage of Osborne, Queen Victoria’s seaside home on the Isle of Wight, resulted in more than 1,900 likes and 310 shares. bit.ly/3brj82Z

In the round The first video in our Homes Through History series – about a Bronze Age roundhouse – has already drummed up over 36,000 views. bit.ly/3dyxFf0

Boscobel House and The Royal Oak

I still remember taking a class of Year 5 kids [to Boscobel House and The Royal Oak in Shropshire] on a school trip.

We got to the tree and one little boy asked, ‘How did he get over that fence to climb the oak tree?’

David Harris (via Facebook) Great to see Alan Kitching’s work for @EnglishHeritage on the cover of their new handbook and in the members magazine. #typography #graphicdesign #printisntdead Nigel Ball @_nigelball (via Twitter) Friendly, knowledgeable and helpful staff at every site we have visited, amazing and family-friendly :) Cannot wait to visit more sites.

Michaela Parker (via Facebook) I love a new #notebook. Got a gorgeous one I bought at an #EnglishHeritage castle last summer. I want to use it as a diary to record these crazy times… but I can’t bring myself to write the first word, because then it won’t be #pristine Ruth Thorp @RuthThorp (via Twitter)

Feeling sheepish This image of Dunstanburgh Castle, which stands on a remote headland in Northumberland, has had more than 4,600 likes. bit.ly/2WR2F4l www.english-heritage.org.uk

53

OUR WEBSITE

WHAT’S NEW?

Ask the experts The English Heritage team answers your questions

Enter our Roman brooch competition Take part in our design competition and you could win a £100 goody bag. www.english-heritage. org.uk/kids

Jeremy Ashbee

Howard Spencer

Stephanie Morgan

Head properties curator

Senior historian, blue plaques

Marketing manager, South West

Dave Archer asks… of all the people commemorated by Q Out your blue plaques, who was born the earliest and who was born the most recently?

The story of the computer genius who helped win the Second World War. www.english-heritage.org. uk/visit/inspire-me

Norham Castle in Northumberland

Katy Taylor asks… eight-year-old son is really into Q My castles at the moment. What would you recommend as being the best ones in the North East?

Test your knowledge of England’s history From the Battle of Hastings to ‘Capability’ Brown, see how you fare in our quiz. www.english-heritage. org.uk/members

Make our latest ‘homes through history’ model Get the kids crafting and help them make their very own mini model of Housesteads Roman Fort. www.english-heritage. org.uk/kids

Jeremy Ashbee replies… of the country’s best castles are in A Some that area, including several that we manage.

I would particularly recommend Richmond in North Yorkshire, for containing some of the best surviving buildings from the early Norman period; Norham in Northumberland, for the most eventful history; Warkworth in Northumberland, both a palace and a fortress, belonging to the mighty Percy family; and Dunstanburgh in Northumberland, now in ruins but in the most dramatic setting by the North Sea. My final choice is much less wellknown – Aydon Castle in Northumberland, just outside Corbridge. Really, we could call it a fortified manor house rather than a castle, but it gives a really good impression of what it must have been like to live in a castle in the Middle Ages.

Sue and Nick Adamson ask… sites in the South West would Q Which you recommend for dog owners when your properties reopen?

Stephanie Morgan replies… have lots of places for you to explore.

A We With acres of space and unmissable views over Salisbury, Old Sarum is popular with dog walkers – and its 2,000-year history makes it a unique spot for a stroll. If you’re looking for a day out by the coast, take a trip to Pendennis Castle in Falmouth, where dogs can even venture inside the Tudor keep. And if your pooch has a head for heights, you won’t want to miss the new bridge at Tintagel Castle. These are a few recommendations but most of our sites in the South West welcome your four-legged friends – we just ask that they are kept on leads. To help plan your trip, look for the dog icon in your handbook.

SEND US A QUESTION For your chance to have your questions answered by one of our English Heritage experts, email us at membersmagazine@immediate.co.uk

GETTY

Explore the life of Alan Turing

Howard Spencer replies… the plaques that commemorate particular A Of individuals, the figure born longest ago was the statesman Sir Harry Vane, who was born in 1612. His plaque – which is terracotta in colour – marks the gatepost of his former home in Hampstead, which was demolished as recently as 1969. Plaques are now used only to mark original buildings. The most recent name is the England international footballer Laurie Cunningham. He was born in 1956 and was sadly killed in a car crash in 1989. To be considered for a plaque, figures must have been deceased for at least 20 years.

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55

Peel Castle, Isle of Man

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Liverpool

OUT & ABOUT

questions 20

Log into the Members’ Area at www.english-heritage. org.uk/members to check your answers

Test your knowledge of English history with our quiz

1 According to the Carmen de Hastingae Proelio (Song of the Battle of Hastings), who struck the first blow in this fight for the English throne?

7 Which monastic site in Cumbria has a chapel dedicated to English patron saint St George?

8 Which Northumberland castle is the setting for several scenes of William Shakespeare’s play Henry IV?

15 Henry VIII’s coastal forts were an important part of England’s defences and the first coordinated scheme of national defence since Roman times.

Can you name these three forts?

9 Down House was where Charles Darwin wrote his pioneering book On the Origin of Species. For how many years did he live in the property?

16 Which English literary heroine falls asleep at Stonehenge?

2 Scarborough was attacked by German warships in December 1914.

This was the first occasion of what?

3 ‘Capability’ Brown (pictured below) had a tremendous effect on the gardens of England. Which of English Heritage’s great house estates did he transform in 1764?

17 Netflix series The Crown charts the reign of Elizabeth II. Which two properties have been used as locations for filming?

10 Which plant from Osborne has been used in royal wedding bouquets for more than 150 years?

11 Which English meteorologist is commemorated with a blue plaque in Tottenham as a ‘namer of clouds’?

12 Which future king of England spent a large part of his childhood at Eltham Palace?

4 Which pioneering industrial monument cost £6,000 and was opened on New Year’s Day in 1781?

5 Which medieval queen of England was imprisoned at Pevensey Castle in 1416 by her stepson?

6 Which year was the Synod of Whitby, a landmark event in the history of Christianity in England?

A 664 B 634 C 675

18 Which 17th-century writer, who was also the first woman to attend a meeting of the Royal Society, had the (inaccurate) nickname ‘Mad Madge’?

19 In 1796, more than 2,000 black French prisoners of war were imprisoned at Portchester Castle during the French Revolutionary Wars between Britain and France. From which Caribbean island did they come?

13 The Duke of Wellington popularised a new form of boot.

At which two properties can you see examples of original Wellington boots?

14 The Cenotaph is the main national memorial to those who died in the First World War and subsequent conflicts. Who designed it?

20 York Cold War Bunker was built to monitor nuclear explosions and fallout in Yorkshire during the Cold War. In which year was the bunker officially decommissioned?

A 1985 B 1977 C 1991 www.english-heritage.org.uk

57

PA S T L I V E S

Seely and Paget at Eltham Palace The partners behind the architectural practice that designed Stephen and Virginia Courtauld’s art deco mansion at Eltham Palace and Gardens WORDS NICK COLLINSON ILLUSTR ATION JASMINE WHITELE AF

hen John Seely and Paul Paget met at Cambridge University, it was, in Paget’s words, ‘the marriage of two minds… we became virtually one person’. They went on to form the architectural firm Seely and Paget in the 1920s. We’ll probably never know the exact nature of their personal relationship – partly because of attitudes to same-sex love at the time – but there can be little doubt that they loved each other deeply. They both referred to the other as ‘the partner’ and they lived together in a shared house with a unique double bathroom. They spent weekends away in ‘The Shack’ – a purpose-built refuge on the Isle of Wight – to escape from the hustle and bustle of London life. Their friends and peers also referred to them as ‘the partners’.

John Seely was the eldest surviving son of the 1st Baron Mottistone. He was studying architecture at Trinity College when he encountered Paul Paget – the son of a bishop. Paul was an extrovert and John more studious. Paul did not have an architectural background as John did, but used his charm to cultivate relationships with their clients, which included actress Gladys Cooper and playwright JB Priestley.

In the 1930s the partners were introduced to wealthy philanthropists Stephen and Virginia Courtauld, who had just taken out a 99-year lease on the dilapidated Eltham Palace. Once one of the most important royal residences during the late medieval period, where Henry VIII spent much of his childhood, it had fallen

W

‘The partners created an aweinspiring art deco masterpiece’ 58

www.english-heritage.org.uk

into serious disrepair and the remaining buildings were at one point threatened with demolition. Seely and Paget added new wings to the surviving great hall to create a modern home fit for this high society couple, with a built-in vacuum cleaner, underfloor heating and integrated speakers in the walls. The result is an aweinspiring art deco masterpiece with a twist.

The magnificent great hall, built during the reign of Edward IV, was altered to make it look as ‘medieval’ as possible – they added

a minstrels’ gallery, stained-glass windows, and a roof boss featuring the owners’ beloved pet ring-tailed lemur Mah-Jongg.

Seely and Paget went on to design and restore other buildings but Eltham Palace remains their most enduring masterpiece.

DISCOVER MORE To find out more about Seely and Paget at Eltham Palace, go to www.englishheritage.org.uk/seelyandpaget

EVERY

LUXURY INCLUDED

What a day A few days into our cruise and we’d already been inspired by our Alaskan adventure, little did we know today would be our favourite.

We were greeted by the smiling faces of our crew as we indulged in morning coffees and deliciously flaky pastries. The view across the luscious scenery of Juneau was already sparking excitement and conversation.

Exhilaration and awe rushed through me as our helicopter set off from a private waterfront and we soared high above the Juneau Icefield. The bluish-white expanse was vast and pristine and for a moment I was speechless. Our guide regaled us with titbits of information and stories of the icefalls, alpine lakes and mountain peaks as we flew to a glacier dog camp.

I felt like a true Alaskan as I learned from master sled-dog racers the art of mushing and controlling a pack of sled dogs. In the chill of the icy air, we become adept at commanding the patient huskies. There’s no thrill in Alaska quite like feeling the power of these beautiful animals as you zip across an unspoiled glacier.

Met with a warming drink and those friendly faces once again we were welcomed back on the ship. After such a thrilling day, I was glad I headed down to the spa for a well-deserved massage – my tired muscles where brought back to life as I sunk into relaxation.

Topping off such an exceptional day, we took advantage of the excellent room service with the rich flavours of Dover Sole from Compass Rose. Complete with a sumptuous tipple or two from the mini-bar and wrapped in plush blankets on our balcony, we reflected on a truly incredible experience.

A perfect end to a perfect day.

Find your next story at WWW.RSSC.COM/ENGLISHHERITAGE

Rescuing the historic cannons on the Isles of Scilly Garrison Walls

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US TO SAVE ENGLAND’S STORIES Your membership helps us to care for over 400 historic sites across the country. With your support, we are making sure that future generations can experience the story of England in the places where it really happened.

In recent years, your membership has supported so many projects, from protecting the walls of mighty castles to saving historic cannons, and from funding free visits for schoolchildren to rescuing rare and fragile wall paintings.

We believe that history is one of the greatest gifts we can pass on and, in these uncertain times, your continued support is more important than ever before. Thank you.

For details of all of our latest conservation appeals, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/our-appeals

Surveying the curtain walls of Dover Castle in Kent

Conserving the ancient walls of Pevensey Castle in East Sussex

Saving the dramatic wall paintings in Little Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire

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

Preserving the rare wall paintings at Longthorpe Tower in Cambridgeshire