As this blog comes to a natural close, I would like to take a moment to reflect on what these 14 pieces of seemingly random history can tell us about the importance of arts and heritage. A question that is especially pertinent in these challenging times, as half-baked economic plans leave historic institutions on the brink of bankruptcy and the heritage sector faces redundancies on an unprecedented scale.
Coombe Abbey – Coventry
When people think of Coventry, the first place that often comes to mind is cathedral and the famous three spires, bombed during the Second World War leaving the city in ruins. The other common piece of history associated with Coventry is the statue which honours Lady Godiva, countess of Mercia in the 900s, who, according to legend, rode through Coventry naked on horseback to make her husband ease off on taxation of the people of Coventry. Today, however, I am writing about Coombe Abbey, which is now a hotel that was once a country house and, before that, an Abbey as the name would suggest. Just a short walk from my home, yet so beautiful. Sadly, the weather was not with me on my walk, however it made for a dramatic backdrop!
Secret Suffolk – Godric’s Hollow
The quintessentially English village of Lavenham has a proud history. Once among the twenty wealthiest settlements in England during medieval times, today it is a popular destination for people from across the country.
Talbot Village, Bournemouth
I have lived in the same house in Talbot Park all my life and a 5-minute walk from the small woodland of Talbot Village, established by the Talbot sisters in the mid-19th century.
Virginia Water Lake – A Green Escape connecting Egham and Windsor
Known as a popular walking spot for Royal Holloway Students, this might still be one of the most underappreciated places in the area – until lockdown happened and the people of Surrey and Berkshire rediscovered the park as their nearest green place for daily exercise. Windsor Great Park – under which name this specific place is best known - is Grade I listed but the only royal park not directly managed by The Royal Parks. This open space will treat its visitors with more surprising sites the further one ventures in, featuring an obelisk and a much-loved Canadian totem pole.
Pentrich Revolution: Pentrich and Butterley, Derbyshire
The main player in the story of the Pentrich Revolution was Jeremiah Brandreth, a disenchanted Framework Knitter, who had been egged on by a mysterious man, only known as Oliver the Spy. This mysterious figure has been the centre of much speculation, but many believe he was a government spy hired to incite revolution in the Midlands to ensure an example could be made, especially as the Luddites in the area were still within memory. The group of up to 400 men hoped to march to Nottingham, but never got that far. Many deserted and there was a shootout with a local family, which killed a man and led to their eventual capture.
Upton Country Park: Poole, Dorset
Andrew Bogle was born in Jamaica in the early 1800s and was enslaved on the Hope Estate, a sugar plantation in St Andrew’s, Jamaica. When he was 25, Bogle was taken to England by the estate manager, Edward Tichborne, who intended to employ the former slave. He became Tichborne’s valet and accompanied him on his European honeymoon, and then lived at Upton House with the family. In 1836, he married another servant in Canford Magna church, a nurse named Elizabeth Young, and they had two sons. Unfortunately, their marriage was short-lived when Elizabeth died in 1845. She was buried in the churchyard in Hamworthy, Poole.
RAF Fersfield: Norfolk
During the Second World War, there were over thirty airbases located in Norfolk occupied by the US Eighth Air Force and a variety of Royal Air Force (RAF) units. These airbases were fulfilling different missions in the fight against Axis Powers. One of the most top-secret bases of the war was located just outside Fersfield, a village consisting of farm buildings, a church, and a tiny population. It was here that the brother of a future president lost his life while the RAF launched missions to help their covert intelligence operations in Europe.
Throop Mill: Bournemouth, Dorset
I’m perhaps showing my ignorance again, because it took me twenty-three years of living in the same spot of Bournemouth to discover this beauty spot just a short romp from my front door.
The Castleman Corkscrew: Broadstone, Poole
If I mentioned the Castleman Corkscrew to fellow Dorset residents, it is unlikely that they would really know what I am talking about. They might, however, be familiar with the Castleman Trailway, which is a 16.5 mile way-marked footpath from Poole to Ringwood...
Housebound Histories 