1.
Ashford, Kent
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Ashford is a town in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Great Stour at the edge of the North Downs. In the 2011 census, it had a population of 74,204, the name comes from the Old English æscet, indicating a ford near a clump of ash trees. It has been a town since the 13th century. Ashford has been a hub and has stood at the centre of five railway lines since the 19th century. The arrival of the railways became a source of employment and contributed to the towns growth, with the opening of the international passenger station it is now a European communications centre, with new lines running between London and the Channel Tunnel. The M20 motorway also links Ashford to those two destinations for road traffic, the town has been marked as a place for expansion since the 1960s and appeared on several Government plans for growth. Changes have included the County Square shopping centre, the redevelopment of the Templer Barracks at Repton Park, and the award-winning Ashford Designer Outlet. In the 1970s, a ring road scheme and construction of the multi storey Charter House building destroyed significant parts of the old town. St Marys Church in Ashford has been a landmark since the 13th century. Today, the functions in a dual role as a centre for worship. Ashford has two schools, the Norton Knatchbull School and Highworth Grammar School. There has been evidence of habitation around Ashford since the Iron Age. Two axes from the Lower Paleolithic period have been found near Ashford, during the construction of the Park Farm estate in the late 1990s, excavation in the area revealed tools from the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic period dating back to the 7th century BC. A number of other Mesolithic tools were discovered during construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link through Ashford, during Roman Britain, iron ore was mined in the Weald and transported to Ashford where two ironworks processed the ore into a workable metal. Archaeological studies have revealed the existence of a Roman town to the north of the current centre, roughly at the junction of Albert Road and Wall Road. The present town originates from a settlement established in 893 AD by inhabitants escaping a Danish Viking raid. The name comes from the Old English æscet, indicating a ford near a clump of ash trees, at the time of the Domesday Book of 1086 it was still known by its original Saxon name of Essetesford
2.
Kent
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Kent /ˈkɛnt/ is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south west, the county also shares borders with Essex via the Dartford Crossing and the French department of Pas-de-Calais through the Channel Tunnel. France can be clearly in fine weather from Folkestone and the White Cliffs of Dover. Hills in the form of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge span the length of the county, because of its relative abundance of fruit-growing and hop gardens, Kent is known as The Garden of England. The title was defended in 2006 when a survey of counties by the UKTV Style Gardens channel put Kent in fifth place, behind North Yorkshire, Devon. Haulage, logistics, and tourism are industries, major industries in north-west Kent include aggregate building materials, printing. Coal mining has played its part in Kents industrial heritage. Large parts of Kent are within the London commuter belt and its transport connections to the capital. Twenty-eight per cent of the county forms part of two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the North Downs and The High Weald, the area has been occupied since the Palaeolithic era, as attested by finds from the quarries at Swanscombe. The Medway megaliths were built during the Neolithic era, There is a rich sequence of Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman era occupation, as indicated by finds and features such as the Ringlemere gold cup and the Roman villas of the Darent valley. The modern name of Kent is derived from the Brythonic word Cantus meaning rim or border and this describes the eastern part of the current county area as a border land or coastal district. Julius Caesar had described the area as Cantium, or home of the Cantiaci in 51 BC, the extreme west of the modern county was by the time of Roman Britain occupied by Iron Age tribes, known as the Regnenses. East Kent became a kingdom of the Jutes during the 5th century and was known as Cantia from about 730, the early medieval inhabitants of the county were known as the Cantwara, or Kent people. These people regarded the city of Canterbury as their capital, in 597, Pope Gregory I appointed the religious missionary as the first Archbishop of Canterbury. In the previous year, Augustine successfully converted the pagan King Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity, the Diocese of Canterbury became Britains first Episcopal See with first cathedral and has since remained Englands centre of Christianity. The second designated English cathedral was in Kent at Rochester Cathedral, in the 11th century, the people of Kent adopted the motto Invicta, meaning undefeated. This naming followed the invasion of Britain by William of Normandy, the Kent peoples continued resistance against the Normans led to Kents designation as a semi-autonomous county palatine in 1067. Under the nominal rule of Williams half-brother Odo of Bayeux, the county was granted powers to those granted in the areas bordering Wales
3.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
4.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
5.
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
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Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners is a British architectural firm, founded in 1977 and originally known as the Richard Rogers Partnership. Its main offices are located in the Leadenhall Building, London, previously they were at the Thames Wharf Studios. In its various incarnations it is known for important buildings including Lloyds building and the Millennium Dome in London. The firms principal offices are located at Leadenhall Building in London and it also maintains offices in Shanghai and Sydney. As of March 2016 the firm has thirteen partners, including Richard Rogers, Graham Stirk, the practice is run with a profit-share scheme and a limit on the directors salaries in comparison with those of the lowest paid in the office. The practice is focused on sustainability, urban regeneration and social awareness. Celebration of public space and the encouragement of public activities is also a recurring theme and it is owned by a charitable trust, ensuring that no individual owns any share in its value and preventing private trading and inheritance of shares. The practice divides its profits between all of the staff and their charities, according to publicly declared principles. Soon after the Pompidou Centre in Paris was opened in 1977, Richard Rogers formed the Richard Rogers Partnership, if I want to leave something to the future, it has to be able to change – but retain something of the ethos that we built up over 50 years. In November 2015 Rogers Stirk Harbour created five new partners including Tracy Meller who became their first woman partner, founding partner Mike Davies stepped down. In 2006 the practice was awarded the Stirling Prize for their Madrid-Barajas Airport, in 2008, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners was awarded the Manser Medal for Houses and Housing, given for the best one-off house designed by an architect in the UK. In 2009 it was awarded the Stirling Prize for Maggies Centre in London and it won the RIBA National Award 2015 for NEO Bankside luxury apartments in London and was subsequently shortlisted for the Stirling Prize for the second time. This list contains projects from the beginning of the partnership in 1977 through to the present day, for earlier work by Richard Rogers, Team 4, Richard and Su Rogers and Piano + Rogers, see the Richard Rogers page. Rogers first work came when he co-founded Team 4 in 1963 with Su Brumwell, Team 4’s first project was Creek Vean, a residential property in Cornwall. He then established a partnership with Su Rogers, John Young, by July 1971 Rogers had won a design competition to build the Pompidou Centre in Paris with co-partner with Italian architect Renzo Piano. He is a winner of the RIBA Gold Medal, the Thomas Jefferson Medal, the RIBA Stirling Prize, Ivan Harbour Ivan Harbour joined Richard Rogers Partnership in 1985, in 1993 he was made a senior director. In 2007 the practice changed from Richard Rogers Partnership to Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, Harbour led the design team for the Senedd, Terminal 4 Barajas Airport, Madrid, the Law Courts in Antwerp and Bordeaux and the European Court of Human Rights building in Strasbourg. Graham Stirk Graham Stirk joined Richard Rogers Partnership in 1983 and was made a director in 1995
6.
BuroHappold Engineering
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Originally working mainly on projects in the Middle East, the firm now operates worldwide and in almost all areas of engineering for the built environment, with 23 offices around the world. Edmund, or Ted, Happold worked at Arup before founding BuroHappold, where he worked on such as the Sydney Opera House. Ted Happold died in 1996, but the claims to maintain his views on engineering. BuroHappold was founded on 1 May 1976, with its first office on Gay Street in Bath, United Kingdom. The firm started with eight partners, The Kings Office, Council of Ministers and Majlis Al Shura, Central Government Complex in Riyadh, in 1982 BuroHappold started to work with Future Tents Ltd on a variety of temporary and recreational structures. The firms combined their operations in 1992, but split again in 1997, in 1983, BuroHappold opened an office in Riyadh, and has since opened offices around the UK and internationally, By 1993, BuroHappold had 130 employees and eight partners. In 1998 this had grown to 300 employees and 12 partners, in 2006 the partnership stood at 25 with over 1400 employees and 14 offices. SMART also develops Buro Happolds in-house software Tensyl, a finite element analysis and patterning program for fabric structures. Also notable is its group COSA, which undertakes computational modelling and analysis, in 2007 BuroHappold became a limited liability partnership, and in 2008 appointed 18 new partners. The firm is a limited liability partnership with 52 partners, the Mannheim Multihalle was a timber gridshell of 50 by 50 mm lathes of hemlock of irregular form, depending on the elasticity of spring washers at the joints for its flexible form. It was one of the first major uses of structural gridshells, following the development of fabric structures expertise on the projects with Frei Otto, BuroHappold was instrumental in further developing the knowledge and technology of fabric structures. They also designed the, at the time, largest fabric canopy in Europe at the Ashford Designer Outlet in the UK, the expertise in wooden gridshell structures has resulted in the design of structures such as the Weald and Downland Museum and the Savill Building in Windsor Great Park. The firm has worked with Shigeru Ban on a number of other projects, another design in cardboard was the Westborough School cardboard classroom in Westcliff. One Angel Square in Manchester Arsenal F. C. C, United States, a curved steel grid roof clad in square glass overlapping panels. Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, a four-tiered,50,000 seater national football, philippine Arena, in the Philippines is the largest indoor arena in the world in terms of seating capacity. It can hold up to 60,000 seats, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, a new museum in Dallas The Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, a rail and bus transportation hub in Anaheim, California. The High Line Park in New York City, a park occupying a disused elevated railway line, Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof redevelopment, in Stuttgart, Germany, a project to realign the Deutsche Bahns rail lines so they can be joined to the intra-European network. The sub-terranean station will be roofed with a park, with organically shaped, reinforced concrete shells with petal-shaped sections terminating as skylights
7.
Arup Group
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The firm has over 14,000 staff based in 92 offices across 42 countries, and is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Arup has participated in projects in over 160 countries, Arup is owned by trusts, the beneficiaries of which are Arups past and present employees, who receive a share of the firms operating profit each year. The firm was founded in London in 1946, as the Ove N. Arup Consulting Engineers by Ove Arup and he set out to build a firm where professionals of diverse disciplines could work together to produce projects of greater quality than was achievable by them working in isolation. In 1963, together with the architect Philip Dowson, Arup Associates was formed, in 1970, the firm reformed as Ove Arup & Partners. It is best known for its work for the built environment. Projects to which it has contributed include the Sydney Opera House,3, Nevada, USA Druk White Lotus School was built to survive the Ladakhi weather. Kingdom Centre, The third tallest skyscraper in Saudi Arabia, and the second tallest in Riyadh and this group continues to work under the banner of Arup Associates following a streamlining of the Arup brand. Many of Arups modern stadia are designed with a contemporary, distinctive edge, the most notable stadium projects led by Arup remain the City of Manchester Stadium, Allianz Arena, Beijing National Stadium, Donbass Arena and the Singapore Sports Hub. Arups multidisciplinary sports venue design and engineering scope on the Singapore Sports Hub won the 2013 World Architecture Festival Award in the Future Projects, the Casa da Música, Oporto, designed by Arup and Office for Metropolitan Architecture was nominated for the 2007 Stirling Prize. Arup was awarded the Worldaware Award for Innovation for its Vawtex air system in Harare International School, Arup Fire has won the Fire Safety Engineering Design award four times since its creation in 2001. The 2001 inaugural award was won for Arups contribution to the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK, in 2004, the design for Londons City Hall was appointed joint winner. In 2005, the Temple Mills Eurostar Depot won, the 2006 winning entry was for Amethyst House, a nine-storey building with an atrium from the ground to the top, in Manchester, UK. Arup was also awarded Royal Town Planning Institute Consultancy of the award in 2008. Mike Glover is the recipient of the 2008 Institution of Structural Engineers Gold Medal, the Evelyn Grace Academy, London designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and Arup won the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize 2011. Arup was named Tunnel Design Firm of the Year at the 2012 ITA AITES International Tunnelling Awards, Arup Fellow is a lifelong honorary title awarded to selected honorary individuals in the firm. It acknowledges the highest design and technical achievements of people, not only within the firm and they are considered role models who possess world-class expertise who put theory into effective practice. Sir Ove Nyquist Arup, structural engineer and philosopher, founder of the company, recipient of the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture 1966, peter Dunican, structural engineer, first chairman of Ove Arup Partnership, and President of the Institution of Structural Engineers in 1977 and 1978. Sir Jack Zunz, civil engineer, and principal designer of the Sydney Opera House
8.
Shopping mall
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A shopping arcade is a specific form serving the same purpose. Many early shopping arcades such as the Burlington Arcade in London, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, however, many smaller arcades have been demolished, replaced with large centers or malls, often accessible by vehicle. Technical innovations such as lighting and escalators were introduced from the late 19th century. From the late 20th century, entertainment venues such as movie theaters, as a single built structure, early shopping centers were often architecturally significant constructions, enabling wealthier patrons to buy goods in spaces protected from the weather. In places around the world, the shopping centre is used, especially in Europe, Australia. Mall is a term used predominantly in North America, outside of North America, shopping precinct and shopping arcade are also used. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, malls are commonly referred to as shopping centres, the majority of British shopping centres are located in city centres, usually found in old and historic shopping districts and surrounded by subsidiary open air shopping streets. Large examples include West Quay in Southampton, Manchester Arndale, Bullring Birmingham, Liverpool One, Trinity Leeds, Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow and these centres were built in the 1980s and 1990s, but planning regulations prohibit the construction of any more. Out-of-town shopping developments in the UK are now focused on retail parks, planning policy prioritizes the development of existing town centres, although with patchy success. Bullring, Birmingham is the busiest shopping centre in the UK welcoming over 36.5 million shoppers in its opening year, there are a reported 222 malls in Europe. In 2014, these malls had combined sales of $12.47 billion and this represented a 10% bump in revenues from the prior year. One of the earliest examples of public shopping areas comes from ancient Rome, One of the earliest public shopping centers is Trajans Market in Rome located in Trajans Forum. Trajans Market was probably built around 100-110 CE by Apollodorus of Damascus, the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul was built in the 15th century and is still one of the largest covered shopping centers in the world, with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops. Numerous other covered shopping arcades, such as the 19th-century Al-Hamidiyah Souq in Damascus, Syria, isfahans Grand Bazaar, which is largely covered, dates from the 10th century. The 10-kilometer-long, covered Tehrans Grand Bazaar also has a lengthy history, the oldest continuously occupied shopping mall in the world is likely to be the Chester Rows. Dating back at least to the 13th century, these covered walkways housed shops, with storage, different rows specialized in different goods, such as Bakers Row or Fleshmongers Row. The Marché des Enfants Rouges in Paris opened in 1628 and still runs today, the Oxford Covered Market in Oxford, England opened in 1774 and still runs today. The Passage du Caire was opened in Paris in 1798, the Burlington Arcade in London was opened in 1819
9.
McArthurGlen Group
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McArthurGlen Group is a public company, a developer and manager of designer outlet malls. McArthurGlen originated as a company in North America, part of the Vancouver based McLean Group. It opened and ran factory outlet shopping centres, following a $180 million share issue in 1993 it became McArthur/Glen Group. McArthurGlen UK Ltd was also set up in 1993, based in London and managing designer shopping outlets across the North America, United Kingdom, in July 9,2015, McArthurGlen opened its first outlet in North America at Vancouver Airport. McArthurGlen Designer Outlets McArthurGlen Group About McArthurGlen Designer Outlets
10.
Outlet store
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An outlet store or factory outlet is a brick and mortar or online store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public, cutting out the middle-men. Traditionally, a factory outlet was an attached to a factory or warehouse. In modern usage, outlet stores are typically manufacturer-branded stores such as Gap or Bon Worth grouped together in outlet malls, the invention of the factory outlet store is often credited to Harold Alfond, founder of the Dexter Shoe Company. Outlets first appeared in the Eastern United States in the 1930s, factory stores started to offer damaged or excess goods to employees at a low price. After some time, the audience expanded to include non-employees, in 1936, Anderson-Little opened an outlet store independent of its existing factories. Until the 1970s, the purpose of outlet stores was to dispose of excess or damaged goods. In 1974, Vanity Fair opened up the first multi-store outlet center in Reading, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, outlet malls grew rapidly in the USA. A typical outlet mall in the USA is opened with between 100,000 to 200,000 square feet of retail space and this can gradually increase to 500,000 to 600,000 feet. The average outlet mall has an area of 216,000 feet, in 2003, outlet malls in the USA generated $15 billion in revenue from 260 stores. The number of US malls increased from 113 in 1988 to 276 in 1991, outlet malls are not an exclusively American phenomenon. In Europe, retailer BAA McArthurGlen has opened 13 malls with over 1,200 stores and 3 million square feet of retail space, stores have also been emerging in Japan since the mid to late 1990s. At factory outlets, the products sold are from one brand only, manufacturers who sell only their own products at a reduced price run factory outlets. On the other hand, retailers run outlet stores, and various brands are sold there, factory outlets have been around longer than outlet stores and were typically built next to the factories where the products were manufactured
11.
Bicester Village
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Bicester Village is an outlet shopping centre on the outskirts of Bicester, a town in Oxfordshire, England. It is owned by Value Retail plc, most of its stores are in the luxury goods and designer clothing sector. The centre is the second most visited location in the United Kingdom by Chinese tourists, on 17 April 2015 Cherwell District Council approved plans to demolish the nearby Tesco store and to construct a further 28 retail units and an extra 519 parking spaces. A new Park & Ride and major improvements, funded by the centres owners, were also announced. It is hoped that this expansion will create around 3,500 new jobs in Bicester Village, the centre is served by Bicester Village railway station, which has a regular direct connection to London Marylebone and Oxford, provided by Chiltern Railways. This station was known as Bicester Town. This service is planned to be extended to Milton Keynes Central, the centre is also served by the X5 express coach service between Oxford and Cambridge via Milton Keynes and Bedford. Official website Bicester Village on Google Maps
12.
Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet
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Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet is an outlet centre in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. Located off Junction 10 of the M53, it is the UKs largest outlet centre and it is run by McArthurGlen and features a wide range of outlet stores run by large brands. As factory outlets the stores primarily offer goods from previous seasons at discounted rates of at least 30% and it is a large local employer of with its own JobCentre Plus and Retail Training Academy. There are two McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Bella Italia and also a nearby KFC, in June/July 2012, a new 50s themed American Diner, Eds Easy Diner opened up next to Claires Accessories
13.
The Galleria, Hatfield
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The Galleria is a designer outlet centre in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The centre developed in the 1980s as part of a plan to reduce congestion in Hatfield while increasing retail space, the A1, a bypass of the old Great North Road from London, was built as a cut and cover tunnel, with The Galleria on top. It was a project of Gerald Carrolls Carroll Group and was budgeted at £50 million, Carroll refinanced the project and injected £30 million. It opened in 1991 but bankers Samuel Montagu placed the scheme in receivership in 1992, afterwards, records were found showing the purchase of bugging equipment and the employment of private detectives to watch the bankers involved. The centre was converted to a centre in 1996. Land Securities acquired the centre from Galleria Jersey Ltd in 2005, the centre occupies 29,800 sq m of space. There are more than 80 designer outlets trading at The Galleria including brands such as French Connection, Jaeger, Austin Reed, Ghost, Marks & Spencer, Gant, in addition, other leading brands include, The Body Shop and Waterstone’s. The Galleria incorporates an Odeon Cinema and features 9 restaurants and cafés, including, Chiquito with 334 sq m, the centre is located 6 miles north of Londons orbital motorway, the M25. By public transport, the centre can be accessed from Hatfield railway station or St Albans City railway station, both stations have bus links to the centre. Buses also run from many places, such as Hemel Hempstead and Watford to the west, Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City to the north, Hertford to the east and Barnet and these are provided by the two main operators in the area Uno and Arriva Shires & Essex. National Express coaches also run to The Galleria
14.
Gunwharf Quays
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Gunwharf Quays is an outlet retail destination with 90 outlet stores and 30 restaurants, pubs and cafés located in Portsmouth, UK. It was constructed in the early 21st century on the site of what had once been HM Gunwharf, later known as HMS Vernon, the military site closed in 1995, and opened to the public as Gunwharf Quays after six years of reconstruction. The landmark Spinnaker Tower, which stands on the site, was opened a few years later. Before the Gun Wharf was built the area was nothing more than marshy ground lying below the waterline, the main feature on this particular stretch of shoreline was the sizeable Mill Pond, which served to power a pair of tide mills on the waterfront. An Ordnance Yard began to be established on the present site in the late 17th century, in the 1770s a decision was taken to extend the Yard to the south, so further land was reclaimed, extending the Yard and doubling its size. The original Yard and its extension functioned as two halves of a single operation. Prior to 1855, a ships guns belonged not to the Admiralty or the Navy Board, but to the Board of Ordnance, whose Ordnance Yards were constructed alongside, but independent from, the Royal Dockyards. These Yards were repositories providing armament and ammunition not only for ships but also for land defences, furthermore, in the days of sail warships required periodic checking and maintenance. The ship would therefore offload all of its guns at one of the Gunwharf Quays before being dry docked, most of the area of the 19th-century Gun Wharf, and the majority of its buildings, was given over to storage. On the New Gun Wharf, the prominent Grand Storehouse was designated as a Land Service Store, in addition to these two, a plan dated 1859 indicates more than a dozen other large storehouses all around the site. Alongside the storehouses were a range of workshops, for blacksmiths, carpenters, coopers, a wide range of ordnance-related equipment had to be accommodated within the Yard. Gun carriages in particular took up a lot of space, and were prone to decay if left outside. The balls are formed in pyramids from 42 pounders to the lowest bores, every size in a pyramid by themselves, one item that was not stored at the Gun Wharf was gunpowder, which was kept in the Square Tower and then in magazines at Priddys Hard from 1777. In 1824 a set of storehouses along the edge of the site were converted to form barracks for the Royal Marine Artillery. A wall was built, within the perimeter, which separated the barracks from the rest of the Gunwharf, in 1858 the RMA moved out, the Gunwharf Barracks then began to be occupied by Artillery and other troops until 1888 when they reverted to use as storehouses. After the demise of the Ordnance Board in 1855 the War Office took over responsibility for the Gun Wharves, during the First World War, however, the entire site was taken over by the Navy, and it remained in Navy hands thereafter until its closure in 1995. As ships and armaments developed, the requirement to offload the armament diminished, the site was re-established as the Royal Navy shore establishment HMS Vernon in 1923. Following several naval restructures and mergers, HMS Vernon ceased to be an independent command and was renamed HMS Nelson on 31 March 1986, in 1987 it was renamed again to HMS Nelson although locally it continued to be known as HMS Vernon
15.
Swindon Designer Outlet
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Swindon Designer Outlet is a covered designer outlet in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The outlet occupies the restored Great Western railway works and is owned by McArthur Glen, built by Tarmac Construction and opened in March 1997, it is located a few miles from junction 16 of the M4 motorway. Ten million people live within 90 minutes drive of the outlet and 3 million shoppers each year. The Severn Valley Railways GWR7800 Manor Class No.7819 Hinton Manor has been on display there since 2007 after replacing the railways GWR4900 Hall Class No.4930 Hagley Hall
16.
Bridgend Designer Outlet
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The Bridgend Designer Outlet, also known as McArthurGlen Designer Outlet is a commercial retail park and outlet store development in Bridgend, Wales, United Kingdom. It is owned and operated by McArthurGlen Group, the development is situated on Junction 36 of the M4 motorway between Cardiff and Swansea. It consists of around ninety different stores which offer discounts off brand, an array of goods are available including clothes, toys, books and electrical products. In 2014 the Outlet underwent a makeover and five new stores opened in 2015, including Calvin Klein, Henri Lloyd, the Designer Outlet is located near to the villages of Sarn, Litchard and Pen-y-fai and the town of Bridgend. Within the same development is a Sainsburys supermarket, a Harvester restaurant, a Premier Inn hotel and a KFC restaurant which was formerly located in the foodcourt until 2012. It is also served by a number of bus routes to both north and south of the village to and from the town of Bridgend and the Llynfi, Garw. It also contains a bus stop which is served by National Express and TrawsCambria coaches in between Swansea and Cardiff
17.
South East England
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South East England is the most populous of the nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, as with the other regions of England, apart from Greater London, the south east has no elected government. It is the third largest region of England, with an area of 19,096 km², and is also the most populous with a population of over eight. Its proximity to London and connections to several national motorways have led to south east England becoming an economic hub and it is the location of Gatwick Airport, the UKs second-busiest airport, and its coastline along the English Channel provides numerous ferry crossings to mainland Europe. The region is known for its countryside, which includes the North Downs, the River Thames flows through the region and its basin is known as the Thames Valley. The region has many universities, the University of Oxford is ranked among the best in the world. South east England is host to sporting events, including the annual Henley Royal Regatta, Royal Ascot and the Epsom Derby. Some of the events of the 2012 Summer Olympics were held in the south east, including the rowing at Eton Dorney, the largest city in the region is Brighton & Hove. The dominant influence on the economy is neighbouring London. The highest point is Walbury Hill in Berkshire at 297 metres, until 1999, there was a south east Standard Statistical Region, which also included the counties of Bedfordshire, Greater London, Essex and Hertfordshire. The former south east Civil Defence Region covered the area as the current government office region. The South East is also used as a synonym for the home counties. The population of the region at the 2011 census was 8,634,750 making it the most populous English region, the major conurbations of the region include Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton, Portsmouth, Southampton and Reading. Settlements closer to London are part of the known as the Greater London Urban Area. The South East has the highest percentage of people born outside of Britain other than London. Estimates in 2007 state 87. 2% of people as White British,4. 8% Other White,3. 5% South Asians,1. 5% Mixed Race,1. 6% Black British,0. 7% Chinese,0. 7% Other. The area also has some seats where there is support for other parties, for example, Slough and Oxford for Labour. Buckingham, the seat of Speaker John Bercow, is also in this region, out of 83 parliamentary seats, the Conservatives hold 78
18.
Berkshire
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Berkshire is a county in south east England, west of London. It was recognised as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of Windsor Castle by the Queen in 1957, Berkshire is a county of historic origin and is a home county, a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. Berkshire County Council was the main county governance from 1889 to 1998 except for the separately administered County Borough of Reading, in 1974, significant alterations were made to the countys administrative boundaries although the traditional boundaries of Berkshire were not changed. The towns of Abingdon, Didcot and Wantage were transferred to Oxfordshire, Slough was gained from Buckinghamshire, since 1998, Berkshire has been governed by the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham. It borders the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Greater London, Surrey, according to Asser, it takes its name from a large forest of box trees that was called Bearroc. Berkshire has been the scene of notable battles through its history. Alfred the Greats campaign against the Danes included the Battles of Englefield, Ashdown, Newbury was the site of two English Civil War battles, the First Battle of Newbury in 1643 and the Second Battle of Newbury in 1644. The nearby Donnington Castle was reduced to a ruin in the aftermath of the second battle, another Battle of Reading took place on 9 December 1688. It was the only military action in England during the Glorious Revolution. Reading became the new county town in 1867, taking over from Abingdon, boundary alterations in the early part of the 20th century were minor, with Caversham from Oxfordshire becoming part of the Reading county borough, and cessions in the Oxford area. On 1 April 1974 Berkshires boundaries changed under the Local Government Act 1972, Berkshire took over administration of Slough and Eton and part of the former Eton Rural District from Buckinghamshire. 94 Signal Squadron still keep the Uffington White Horse in their insignia, the original Local Government White Paper would have transferred Henley-on-Thames from Oxfordshire to Berkshire, this proposal did not make it into the Bill as introduced. On 1 April 1998 Berkshire County Council was abolished under a recommendation of the Banham Commission, unlike similar reforms elsewhere at the same time, the non-metropolitan county was not abolished. Berkshire divides into two distinct sections with the boundary lying roughly on a north-south line through the centre of Reading. The eastern section of Berkshire lies largely to the south of the River Thames, in two places the county now includes land to the north of the river. Tributaries of the Thames, including the Loddon and Blackwater, increase the amount of low lying land in the area. Beyond the flood plains, the land rises gently to the county boundaries with Surrey, much of this area is still well wooded, especially around Bracknell and Windsor Great Park. In the west of the county and heading upstream, the Thames veers away to the north of the county boundary, leaving the county behind at the Goring Gap
19.
Broad Street Mall
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Broad Street Mall is a large indoor shopping mall located in central Reading, England. There is a large car park with direct access to the first floor of the Mall. It is close to The Hexagon theatre and the offices of Reading Borough Council, plans for the mall were made by the Reading Borough Council in 1956, however it took more than a decade to find a suitable site and buy it. The mall was known as the Butts Centre, and was named after the adjacent St Marys Butts. The current name relates to Readings principal pedestrian shopping street, Broad Street, the mall was purchased by Doughty Hanson & Co in June 2001 and sold in March 2004. During this period they implemented a strategy to update and refurbish the mall to modern standards. During this time footfall increased 50% and net operating profits increased 38%, below are just a few of the many stores, As of November 2014, 99p Stores, Argos, F. Hinds, Morrisons, New Look, Poundworld, Superdrug, TK Maxx, Wilkinson. There are public toilets and an NHS walk-in health centre, the Oracle, another shopping centre nearby
20.
The Oracle, Reading
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The Oracle is a large indoor shopping and leisure mall on the banks of the River Kennet in Reading, Berkshire, England. On the site of a 17th-century workhouse of the name, it was developed and is owned by a joint venture of Hammerson. The Oracle takes its name from the 17th century Oracle workhouse built by funds from a local man John Kendrick and this once occupied a small part of the site now occupied by the shopping centre. In 1997, Hammerson acquired a 22-acre site of largely derelict, most of this site was previously occupied by Simonds Brewery and by the Reading Transport bus depot. Hammersons strategy was to create a combination of big-name retailers at the new centre, the merchandise mix has strong emphasis on fashion and is slightly higher-end than the average for Readings main street shops. The main shopping malls comprising phase I of The Oracle were opened in September 1999, followed in November by the Riverside restaurants, pubs and cinema that made up phase II. Once phase I was complete, the way was open to relocate the Debenhams department store from its previous location on Broad Street into the centre. This in turn allowed for the redevelopment of the old Debenhams site as phase III of The Oracle, phase III provided The Oracle with its all-important direct link to Broad Street, and was opened in May 2000 by The Princess Royal. The centre contains 90 shops, including department stores from the Debenhams, a third and larger department store, John Lewis, is adjacent to the Minster Street entrance but not part of the centre itself. There are also 22 restaurants, cafés and bars along the riverside of the Kennet, the Oracle increases Readings retail footage by one-third, and it has attracted some retailers who would otherwise not have located in Reading. The Oracle Riverside area, with its restaurants and bars, spans the Brewery Gut, the layout allows space for outdoor tables, and there is granite stadium-style seating and a sail-like canopy. The Free Form Arts Trust were appointed as the agency with responsibility for the appointment. Specially commissioned artworks include the Crystal Beacon, a reflective translucent prism by Welsh artist John Gingell that tops off the car park. The overall centre design concept was created by Haskoll & Co and they were called in to design a retail for leisure concept, linking the site to a heritage trail around the town. The Oracle also provides two large car parks providing 2300 spaces, in line with other car parks in central Reading, charges are comparatively high, especially for long term parkers. In 2002 Reading was named eighth best town centre in the country, in 2007 the Oracle centre was ranked 16th in a league table of best performing retail centres in the UK compiled by economic analyst Experian
21.
Parkway Newbury
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Parkway Newbury is a retail and residential development in Newbury, Berkshire, opened on 27 October 2011. It will have 475,000 sq ft of retail and restaurant accommodation anchored by Debenhams, the mixed-use scheme also consists of 147 luxury residential apartments and 37 affordable housing units being built above the shopping centre. The planning of the 5. 7acre site began in 2004, the development began in March 2009 with the site being cleared of buildings. Before construction began, West Berkshire Council had to take steps to compulsory purchase land for the development. In order for the centre to be joined to the existing streets 35 and 36 Northbrook Street had to be knocked through. According to its website, The shopping centre is anchored by a 77,508 sq ft Debenhams department store and it is also anchored by an extended Marks & Spencer department store. The shopping centre houses approximately 50 stores, cafes and restaurants, options of park views, private terraces and Balconies. Each apartment & penthouse comes with designated parking in the car park
22.
Buckinghamshire
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Development in this region is restricted by the Metropolitan Green Belt. Other large settlements include the county town of Aylesbury, Marlow in the south near the Thames and Princes Risborough in the west near Oxford. Some areas without rail links to London, such as around the old county town of Buckingham. The largest town is Milton Keynes in the northeast, which with the area is administered as a unitary authority separately to the rest of Buckinghamshire. The remainder of the county is administered by Buckinghamshire County Council as a non-metropolitan county, in national elections, Buckinghamshire is considered a reliable supporter of the Conservative Party. A large part of the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, runs through the south of the county and attracts many walkers, in this area older buildings are often made from local flint and red brick. Chequers, an estate owned by the government, is the country retreat of the incumbent Prime Minister. To the north of the county lies rolling countryside in the Vale of Aylesbury, the Thames forms part of the county’s southwestern boundary. Notable service amenities in the county are Pinewood Film Studios, Dorney rowing lake, many national companies have offices in Milton Keynes. Heavy industry and quarrying is limited, with agriculture predominating after service industries, the name Buckinghamshire is Anglo-Saxon in origin and means The district of Buccas home. Buccas home refers to Buckingham in the north of the county, the county has been so named since about the 12th century, however, the county has existed since it was a subdivision of the kingdom of Mercia. Historically, the biggest change to the county came in the 19th century, Buckinghamshire is a popular home for London commuters, leading to greater local affluence, however, some pockets of relative deprivation remain. As a result, most county institutions are now based in the south of the county or Milton Keynes, the county can be split into two sections geographically. The county includes parts of two of the four longest rivers in England, the River Thames forms the southern boundary with Berkshire, which has crept over the border at Eton and Slough so that the river is no longer the sole boundary between the two counties. The River Great Ouse rises just outside the county in Northamptonshire and flows east through Buckingham, Milton Keynes, the main branch of the Grand Union Canal passes through the county as do its arms to Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover and Buckingham. The canal has been incorporated into the landscaping of Milton Keynes, the southern part of the county is dominated by the Chiltern Hills. The two highest points in Buckinghamshire are Haddington Hill in Wendover Woods at 267 metres above sea level, quarrying has taken place for chalk, clay for brickmaking and gravel and sand in the river valleys. Flint, also extracted from quarries, was used to build older local buildings
23.
Eden, High Wycombe
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Eden, known more popularly as the Eden Centre, is a shopping and entertainment complex in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire in the south east of England. With a floor area of 850,000 square feet, it is the 32nd largest shopping centre in the United Kingdom and the largest in the surrounding area. The centre has 107 shops, an alley, a cinema, a library, parking for 1,600 cars on site. The complex is part of a regeneration of High Wycombe in a bid to transform the town into a regional shopping destination. The complex includes a new bus station and 48 residential flats, the shopping centre opened on 13 March 2008, the bus station opening earlier in July 2006. Eden attracted one million visitors within two weeks of opening and regularly attracts over 350,000 visitors per week, Eden formed part of a multi-million programme of investment to transform the town. In 1991, the area occupied by Eden was known as the western desert. Before the construction of Eden, the centre of High Wycombe contained two shopping centres, the Octagon Centre and the Chilterns Shopping Centre. The Octagon which opened in the 1970s was dated and was incorporated into the redevelopment, High Wycombe has a population of 120,000 people and the town centre was not much of an attraction, with shops spread out over a large area. A new shopping centre was agreed to rejuvenate the town, the development was known as Western Sector, Project Phoenix and TCR, until the name Eden was announced at the annual meeting of Wycombe District Council on 9 May 2005. This name was recommended by marketing consultants DS Emotion, who had appointed to choose an appropriate name for the development. The new shopping centre would include a new bus station, library, cinema,48 new flats would also be built. The bid for the contract was won by Stannifer, the arm of Multiplex UK. Despite some initial uncertainty when it emerged that Multiplex UK was in financial difficulties related to its project at Wembley Stadium. Construction was scheduled to begin on 5 September, but there was a due to incomplete paperwork. Demolition work started in August, beginning with Iceland, while Eden was being built, the fencing around the site contained vision holes so that visitors could see the progress being made. During construction work for the new shopping centre, car parking in the town was affected, some roads were also closed or partly closed. Eden officially opened on 13 March 2008, free rides on a large ferris wheel named the Wycombe Eye and carnival style celebrations were major parts of the opening ceremony
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Friars Square
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Friars Square is a shopping centre located in the town centre of Aylesbury. The landlord is the Royal Bank of Scotland, and managed by Grosvenor Fund Management, the shopping centre is a mixed-use development, incorporating elements of a previous shopping centre development of the same name. Friars Square includes over 60 shops and restaurants, offices, 400-space multi-storey car park, the Cloisters indoor market was closed in 2012. The centre is anchored by House of Fraser, the original Friars Square was created in the 1960s as the Aylesbury Town Centre Redevelopment. It transformed the south-west part of the centre including the Market Square. Opened in 1967, it included a number of shops in a pedestrian only area. The Cadena cafe, which became a Wimpy, was housed in a modern architectural pavilion over the open market. The current shopping centre was opened in 1993 at a cost of GB£70m, following the closure. The redevelopment was designed by Stanley Bragg Architects, the large Woolworth building was integrated into the development, to house the new anchor store and the library. In 2007 the centre was sold by F&C Property Asset Management to Multiplex UK, RBS had previously provided the debt for Multiplex to buy Friars Square for GB£89.5 million. In 2012, the vacant office building was proposed to be converted into 50 apartments, in January 2013, a branch of clothing chain H&M opened in Friars Square, on the site of the old HMV store which was closed on February 11,2012. In September 2013, a branch of clothing chain Topshop opened in Friars Square
25.
Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre
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Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre is a regional shopping centre located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England which is about 50 miles north-west of London. It comprises two adjacent shopping centres, the grade II listed building thecentre, mk which opened in 1979, the centre, mk is anchored by John Lewis, House of Fraser and Marks and Spencer, with Debenhams at intu Milton Keynes. The complex is the 14th largest shopping centre in the UK, the Milton Keynes Development Corporation began work on the Shopping Building in 1973. It was to be the largest building of Central Milton Keynes and it had a total length of over 1 kilometer and a maximum width of 116 meters. It was built at the highest point in the New City, the architects were Derek Walker, Stuart Mosscrop, and Christopher Woodward, who had been significant architects at the MK Development Corporation, and the engineers were Felix Samuely and Partners. The shopping area was opened on 25 September 1979 by Margaret Thatcher, the buildings sleek envelope accommodated 130 shops and six department stores, arranged along two parallel day-lit arcades, each 800 meters long and planted with sub-tropical and temperate trees. The cool, elegant, steel framed design was influenced by the architecture of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the designer, Derek Walker, also likened it to the Crystal Palace. It was described in 1993 as still the best-looking if no longer the biggest shopping centre in the British Isles, Milton Keynes Shopping mall was designed with the public access to all the shops is flush and at ground level. Some of the shops e. g. John Lewis, Debenhams and this means all deliveries take place out of view of the shoppers, though tall trucks can sometimes be seen from the arcades as they pass at high level. The internal landscaping was very lavish with 47 plant beds with large plants and trees, temperate in the northerly arcade, there are two large public areas, intended as civic open spaces, one indoors and one open air. During 2010, Middleton Hall was used as a home venue for the Milton Keynes Lions basketball team, housing a 1. In a central space outside the building is an open-air market. In 1993, the building was extended at the western end, following extension this was documented in the 1997 Guinness Book of Records to contain the longest shopping mall in the world. Midsummer Place is effectively an extension of the centre but is owned and operated independently. Midsummer Place was designed by GMW Architects of London and opened in 2000, the new centre was constructed in part around an existing oak tree that briefly survived being built around until it succumbed to technical drowning from about 2008. A kinetic sculpture by Liliane Lijn hangs from the ceiling of Midsummer Arcade, the mechanism has not operated for many years. It was originally floodlit at night and is on the axis of the sun on which Midsummer Boulevard is accurately orientated. Silbury Arcade contains three figures by Philomena Davidson Davis, former president of the Royal British Society of Sculptors
26.
East Sussex
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East Sussex /ˈsʌsᵻks/ is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent to the north and east, Surrey to the north west and West Sussex to the west, archaeological remains are plentiful, especially in the upland areas. The areas position on the coast has also meant that there were invaders, including the Romans. Earlier industries have included fishing, iron-making, and the trade, all of which have declined. Sussex is traditionally sub-divided into six rapes, from the 12th century the three eastern rapes together and the three western rapes together had separate quarter sessions, with the county town of the three eastern rapes being Lewes. This situation was formalised by Parliament in 1865, and the two parts were made into administrative counties, each with distinct elected county councils in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, in East Sussex there were also three self-administered county boroughs, Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings. In 1974 East Sussex was made a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county, at the same time the western boundary was altered, so that the Mid Sussex region was transferred to the county of West Sussex. In 1997, Brighton and Hove became a unitary authority, it was granted city status in 2000. East Sussex is divided into five local government districts, three are larger, rural, districts are, Lewes, Wealden, and Rother. Eastbourne and Hastings are mainly urban areas, the rural districts are further subdivided into civil parishes. To the north lie parallel valleys and ridges, the highest of which is the Weald itself, the sandstones and clays meet the sea at Hastings, the Downs, at Beachy Head. East Sussex, like most counties by the south coast, has an average total of around 1,750 hours of sunshine per year. This is much higher than the UKs average of about 1,340 hours of sunshine a year, the relief of the county reflects the geology. The chalk uplands of the South Downs occupies the coastal strip between Brighton and Eastbourne, there are two river gaps, the Rivers Ouse and Cuckmere. The Seven Sisters, where the Downs meet the sea, are the remnants of dry valleys cut into the chalk, to the east of Beachy Head lie the marshlands of the Pevensey Levels, formerly flooded by the sea but now enclosed within a deposited beach. At Bexhill the land begins to rise again where the sands and clays of the Weald meet the sea, further east are the Pett Levels, more marshland, beyond which is the estuary of the River Rother. On the far side of the estuary are the dunes of Camber Sands, the highest point of the Downs within the county is Ditchling Beacon, at 814 feet, it is termed a Marilyn. The Weald occupies the northern borderlands of the county, between the Downs and Weald is a narrow stretch of lower lying land, many of the rivers and streams occupying this area originate in the Weald
27.
Churchill Square (Brighton and Hove)
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Churchill Square is the major city-centre shopping centre, in the city of Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom. It was built during the 1960s by the architects Russell Diplock & Associates and that original centre included high-rise office blocks, and had various shops and a supermarket with open but covered walkways between them. It was completely rebuilt as a mall which opened in 1998. It is arranged over three floors with only the court on the uppermost, some of the largest stores occupy two floors. The majority of the shops are UK chain stores, Churchill Square is accessible directly by car or bus, or a five- to ten-minute walk from Brighton station. As part of the redevelopment of the adjacent Brighton Centre events venue, Churchill Square will then connect directly with the Brighton Centre, the adjacent Odeon Cinema, and additional car parking, with a direct walkway from the centre to the sea front. Topshop/Topman- BHS- Debenhams Clarks Zara Churchill Square old and new on the My Brighton & Hove website
28.
Priory Meadow Shopping Centre
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Priory Meadow Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in Hastings, East Sussex, England. The centre was opened in 1997 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the local radio station Arrow FM, which was founded in 1998, broadcasts from the centre. The building was built on Central Cricket Ground, which had opened in 1864 and had since remained the main cricket venue in the town. This history is reflected by the statue in Queens Square of a holding a pose having played a shot. The observant shopper will be able to spot the ball that this batsman has hit, the land on which the shopping centre now stands had been underwater before the 13th century, and was the original harbour for Hastings. A series of storms, silting and sea erosion forced the town to move to where the current old town is. The Priory Valley eventually silted up completely and the became known as Priory Meadow. In 1982 Hastings Council voted for a centre to be built on the cricket ground and to move cricket to Summerfields. In 1987, planning permission for 420, 000sq. ft of space for shops was granted, due to the onset of recession, developer Speyhawk pulled out. By May 1993, a new developer, Boots had been found, in 1989 the ground hosted its last Sussex county game, when they beat Kent in front of a crowd of 1000 people. Official Website Plan and Details of Centre
29.
Hampshire
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Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, the capital city of England. The larger South Hampshire metropolitan area has a population of 1,547,000, Hampshire is notable for housing the birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force. It is bordered by Dorset to the west, Wiltshire to the north-west, Berkshire to the north, Surrey to the north-east, the southern boundary is the coastline of the English Channel and the Solent, facing the Isle of Wight. At its greatest size in 1890, Hampshire was the fifth largest county in England and it now has an overall area of 3,700 square kilometres, and measures about 86 kilometres east–west and 76 kilometres north–south. Hampshires tourist attractions include many seaside resorts and two parks, the New Forest and the South Downs. Hampshire has a maritime history and two of Europes largest ports, Portsmouth and Southampton, lie on its coast. The county is famed as home of writers Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, Hampshire takes its name from the settlement that is now the city of Southampton. Southampton was known in Old English as Hamtun, roughly meaning village-town, the old name was recorded in the Domesday book as Hantescire, and it is from this spelling that the modern abbreviation Hants derives. From 1889 until 1959, the county was named the County of Southampton and has also been known as Southamptonshire. The region is believed to have continuously occupied since the end of the last Ice Age about 12,000 BCE. At this time Britain was still attached to the European continent and was covered with deciduous woodland. The first inhabitants came overland from Europe, these were anatomically and behaviourally modern humans, notable sites from this period include Bouldnor Cliff. Agriculture had arrived in southern Britain by 4000 BCE, and with it a neolithic culture, some deforestation took place at that time, although it was during the Bronze Age, beginning in 2200 BCE, that this became more widespread and systematic. Hampshire has few monuments to show from early periods, although nearby Stonehenge was built in several phases at some time between 3100 BCE and 2200 BCE. It is maintained that by this period the people of Britain predominantly spoke a Celtic language, hillforts largely declined in importance in the second half of the second century BCE, with many being abandoned. Julius Caesar invaded southeastern England briefly in 55 and again in 54 BCE, notable sites from this period include Hengistbury Head, which was a major port. There is a Museum of the Iron Age in Andover, the Romans invaded Britain again in 43 CE, and Hampshire was incorporated into the Roman province of Britannia very quickly
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Chesapeake Mill
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The Chesapeake Mill is a watermill in Wickham, Hampshire, England. The mill was designed and constructed in 1820 using the timbers of HMS Chesapeake, Chesapeake had been captured by the Royal Navy frigate HMS Shannon during the War of 1812. John Prior paid the sum of £500 for the timbers sold at Plymouth, the interior of the mill was designed around the dimensions of the deck beams. The mill remained in operation until 1976 and now serves as a centre for antique. It is a Grade II* listed building, archived from the original on 2008-10-30. New Light on Chesapeakes Defeat 100 Years Ago
31.
Fareham Shopping Centre
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Fareham Shopping Centre is at the heart of the centre of the medium-sized Hampshire town of Fareham. Built in two phases between 1975 and 1981, the centre contains many well known retailers and is large for a town of its size. The shopping centre is part of a scheme of buildings in the town centre that were constructed around the same time. The 1981 Eastern extension added a new anchor store - BHS and another car park. Sainsburys moved out in the mid 1990s as the store was small by modern standards, recent retailers to move into Fareham Shopping centre include Next and HMV and Debenhams which opened in Summer 2011. The shopping centre had a typical 1970s dark interior until the late 1990s when it was refurbished to become much more bright, the old interior featured a trail on the floor which if followed, led in a complete circle around all parts of the centre. It features four atriums which all have names, Thackeray Square - The Northern atrium, the Boots store opens up off this square which also has Cafe Giardino in the middle. Delme Square - The Western atrium featuring Marks and Spencers and Woolworths and this has a Costa Coffee in the centre Westbury Square - The South-Central square which connects to all the other malls in the centre. The square also has a BBs cafe in the middle, osborn Square - part of the 1981 extension, this square is dominated by BHS which operates the restaurant in the square itself. Fareham Shopping Centre on The Retail Database
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Festival Place
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Festival Place is a shopping centre in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England which opened on Tuesday,22 October 2002. It houses over 200 shops including large stores such as Zara, Next, Debenhams, Marks and Spencer, Apple Store, there are also restaurants, bars, and cafés, mostly located outside in the covered Festival Square. These include Nandos, Las Iguanas & GBK, the centre also incorporates a Vue cinema, Basingstoke Sports Centre and Basingstoke Discovery Centre. It is located within Basingstoke town centre, close to Basingstoke railway station, and incorporates the town bus station, Festival Place is also home to The Breeze, located in the centre management block. The Breeze FM is Basingstoke & North Hampshires local radio station, Festival Place is 102,000 m² in size. The area of Basingstoke which Festival Place now stands on was cleared in the 1960s where a large shopping centre was built. The first phase, which became The Walks and New Market Square was completed at the end of the decade, the second phase became The Malls and has since been altered further to include a new roofed area and new modernised areas. The third phase was abandoned and became The Anvil concert hall, Festival Place was completed in 2002. The bus station was redeveloped and an amphitheatre was built beyond Festival Square, the centre was used by BBCs Top Gear by Jeremy Clarkson who was road testing a Ford Fiesta 2008 whilst being chased by Baddies in a Chevrolet Corvette
33.
Marlands Shopping Centre
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The Marlands Shopping Centre was opened on 5 September 1991. The Marlands Shopping Centre was constructed to a design, which was described at the time of opening by one critic as looking like something made of Lego. The Centre was built on the site of Southamptons bus station and these were destroyed in 1988 to make way for the shopping centre, despite local opposition. A replica of the Manchester Street shops was constructed as part of the Centres atrium, the centre is laid out across two levels, with escalators connecting them at the North West entrance and escalators and glass lifts connecting them in the atrium, at the South of the centre. The layout of the consists of an L-shaped mall where the street entrance at Above Bar Street leads through the centres main arcade. The original anchor tenant of the mall was Dunnes Stores, though following their exit this facility was occupied by Matalan. In 2014 it was confirmed that the Matalan store would be split to provide stores for Peacocks. Other significant stores within the centre include Poundland, CeX, The Disney Store, the upper level of the centre has never been hugely successful - many of the units have been empty for some time. This lack of success is due to the centres location which is to the Northern part of the main shopping area although still in the centre of the city. In 2005-2006 the main entrance to the centre was significantly refurbished, the original Postmodern sign tower was replaced with an ultramodern glass and steel canopy and a new Costa Coffee outlet. An information desk was also added, the telephone of the management offices however stayed the same as 80339164. On Thursday 19 August 2010 The Mall was sold as a £136m deal, the Marlands The Other Retail Group
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Westquay
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Apple, and many more top brand names. It is situated in the centre of the city, close to the docks, with entrances on the main High Street, on Portland Terrace, through Waterstones, there is a built-in multi-storey car park with an entrance into the centre along with a 3 tier car park beneath. Building work began in 1997 as the former Daily Echo building, the centre was opened on 28 September 2000. The building is heated using geothermal energy, as is the civic centre, a centralised plant uses heat from an aquifer underground and then distributes it to the buildings in the city centre via a district heating scheme. The John Lewis store replaced the local department store Tyrrell & Green, marks & Spencer relocated from Above Bar Street to take the second anchor store. There have been a few changes to the centres shops since its opening. Tower Records was replaced with a Nike store, which closed after just a few months and this unit is now Pret A Manger, a sandwich retailer. Waitrose moved to Portswood in 2006 and the old Waitrose space has now replaced by New Look. The former New Look store is now River Island, Waitrose did return, however, to Westquay in 2015 within the lower ground floor of the John Lewis store, branded as Little Waitrose. Demolition of the buildings began in September 1997 and Westquay opened on 28 September 2000. Harbour Parade is crossed by a footbridge to the adjacent multi-storey car park, there is a total of 32 lifts throughout the development. The steelwork took 20 weeks to design, order and manufacture,13 tower cranes worked on the site, the tallest crane had a 66 m mast and a reach of 65 m. Southamptons nearby Geothermal Heat Station supplies heat and chilling facilities to the centre, Westquay has had many adverts on television in the local region, particularly in the months leading up to Christmas. Westquay has appeared briefly on an episode in the first series of Trinny & Susannah Undress on ITV, during the late-2000s, Hammerson thought up plans for a £70 million extension entitled Watermark WestQuay. In December 2012, the model of the plan was unveiled to the public. On 11 April 2013, it was announced that Hammerson had submitted the application to Southampton City Council. On 14 April 2014, Hammerson submitted detailed designs for one of its Watermark WestQuay scheme to Southampton City Council. On 25 June 2014, the designs for one of the development were approved
35.
Bluewater (shopping centre)
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Bluewater Shopping Centre is an out-of-town shopping centre in Stone, Kent, England, outside the M25 Orbital motorway,17.8 miles east south-east of Londons centre. Elsewhere in Europe only Istanbuls Cevahir Mall and Viennas Shopping City Süd are bigger, the floor plan is a triangular shape with 330 stores, including 3 anchors,40 cafés and restaurants, and a 13-screen cinema. The centre employs 7,000 people and serves over 27 million visitors a year, a main rival is the Lakeside Shopping Centre and its two retail parks by road 8 miles away in West Thurrock, Essex, just across the River Thames or 3.2 miles point-to-point. It is owned by four major UK institutions, Prudential plc and PRUPIM, Land Securities, in 1994, quarry operator Blue Circle approached Australian mall developer Lend Lease to form a partnership. Lend Lease also formed a pool of investors, called the Lend Lease Retail Partnership. John Lewis was the first major tenant to sign up in February 1995, albeit with major concessions, such as the offer of 300,000 sq ft, one fifth of the floor space. That gave Bluewater credibility to sign more names, including the two anchor stores, House of Fraser followed in June 1996 by Marks & Spencer. 90% of the space was committed by March 1998. Construction, undertaken by Bovis Lend Lease, started on 1 May 1996, at its peak, the site employed 2,500 workers simultaneously. In all,20,000 people worked 11.5 million hours on the construction of Bluewater, at the planned opening date,16 March 1999, Bluewater was inaugurated with 99% of the shops open for business. The total cost of construction was around GBP £400 million, in May 2005, Bluewater introduced a code of conduct to ban swearing, clothing that obscures the face, and groups of more than five without the intention to shop. The policy has divided opinion, although Tony Blair did show support, in late 2006, Dartford Borough Council granted planning permission for Bluewater to build a two-story events venue of 5200 m2, and further extend the south side of the centre. Construction on the began in early 2010, and when completed in 2011 the expansion added more restaurants to the Plaza section, including a Jamies Italian, Wagamamas. The new Glow events centre opened as part of the extension spans two floors, and has events such as the BBCs Good Food Show, Spring. The events venue was developed alongside the existing entertainment provision in this area, during 2012, the Wintergarden food court area off Rose Gallery was extensively refurbished. KFC relocated to Thames Walk to continue to trade during the development, the previous large castle-style McDonalds was replaced with a simple serving counter. A proposal was put forward in early 2013 to expand the West Village dining, existing businesses would have to be relocated or removed from the centre to allow the works to go ahead. There are over 13,000 free parking spaces, covered over six car parks, official website Bluewater on The Retail Database
36.
Fremlin Walk
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Fremlin Walk is an outdoor shopping centre in Maidstone town centre, Kent. It opened in 2005 after several years of development by Centros Miller to include 350,000 sq ft of shopping, the original owner was Land Securities plc. Legal & General Property bought the centre in 2011 for £92 million and it then passed to M&G Real Estate for £110m. The main pedestrian entrance to the centre is from the pedestrianised Week Street to the east, there are other pedestrian entrances from St Faiths Street to the north and Earl Street, to the south. The A229 Fairmeadow runs parallel to the River Medway at the end of the centre. The car park for the centre is located below the House of Fraser department store at the end, vehicle access is from Fairmeadow. Maidstone East railway station is 330 metres north of the pedestrian entrance. The site was previously the Fremlins Brewery and it closed to brewing in 1972 and the existing building was just used as a bottling depot. Later on, the site was downgraded once more to a despatch depot, the only original structure from when the site was a brewery, is the arch entrance and clock. To fit in with the scheme of new life for the area in the town, it was decided that the shipping depot should be demolished, and something new put in its place. There are still reminders of the sites past. For example, the management office buildings bear the gold elephant weather vane. Also, the Fremlins clock was replaced with a replica provided by Maidstone Rotary Club. The original brewery entrance has been maintained, and now one of the pedestrian entrances. One of the original trademark nodding elephants from the brewery is on display, fully restored. In September 2016, Britains Got Talent held auditions at the Bandstand, the centre has over 50 shops, and these are mainly top high street brands, as well as phone shops, and various shoe shops. There are cafés, coffee shops and bench seating, since its opening in 2005, Maidstone has made its way into the top 50 shopping towns in the UK, and now stands at 44th in 2013. The centre is anchored by a House of Fraser department store, other large stores within the centre include Boots, River Island, Zara, Superdry, and New Look Men
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The Mall Maidstone
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The Mall Maidstone is a covered shopping centre in Maidstone, the county town of Kent. The centre has 535,000 square feet of floor space, together with the Fremlin Walk shopping centre, which is uncovered, it is one of the two primary shopping venues within the town centre. The Mall Maidstone was built in 1976 as the Stoneborough Centre, with a 7 storey office block on the top, named Stoneborough House. In the 1990s, the centre was rebranded as Chequers Shopping Centre, to coincide with works on the main entrances. The office block above retained its original name, in 2006, the centre was purchased by The Mall Fund, who once again set about refurbishing the centre with their own, distinctive pink corporate branding. The council signed a 99-year lease and took up residence in May 2007, today, the Mall Maidstone hosts a wide variety of shops, from independent retailers to big chain names like Sports Direct and BHS. It is a key part of the centre, also containing the Chequers Bus Station, retaining the old name. In December 2012 the Arriva Travel Shop closed after trading for years in the centre. In June 2013 the Beales Outlet store shut after only a year in the centre and it was in the largest store in The Mall. Plans are currently being put together for a regeneration of The Mall and this is thought to include, A new bus station, new exterior entrances, A new department store and a complete modernisation of the centres inside appearance. The towns main bus station is housed within the building, between the shopping area and the Sainsburys supermarket. The station takes the form of a tunnel underneath the car park levels. Stops H1 to H5 are on the west side, and stops J1 to J6 are on the east side, there was also an Arriva travel shop which had closed in 2012 and remains empty The main operators are Arriva Southern Counties and Nu-Venture. The bus station is managed by Maidstone Borough Council
38.
Pentagon Shopping Centre
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The Pentagon Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in Chatham in Kent. The shopping centre is located next to the Waterfront bus station which replaces the Pentagon bus station, the shopping centre contains over 70 shops and 7 leisure facilities, many high street names in fashion, homeware and food stores. There are also cafes, restaurants and a bowling alley, as is common with some other 1970s era town centre shopping centres, The Pentagon does not feature a food court or any dedicated dining area. Instead, there are various food outlets scattered throughout the centre, the Pentagon, Mountbatten House and the Brook multi-storey carpark are built in a distinctive orange-red brick with grey concrete. The WHSmith store closed on April 15,2015 due to their units lease expiry, the centre also features a taxi rank and public toilets. The shopping centre is spread over two floors, with lifts and two located in the Pentagon Court connecting the two floors. Wilkinson occupies one of the largest units, with access on both levels, new Look also has a two-level unit, accessible from the ground floor. The former WH Smith unit used to two floors, but reduced the size of its store in the mid-2000s to its current ground floor size. Boots has also downsized its store over the years, with part of its now used as an NHS surgery. The Pentagon was built in the early 1970s, over the demolished George Street, Nelson Road, Fair Row, Solomons Road, the book printer Mackays of Chatham had premises between the High Street, and the Brook car park. The entrance to their facility was in Fair Row, the Factory was made up of a new build and a nineteenth century candle factory. Mackays eventually relocated to Lordswood, South of Chatham, where they still are, there were also two adult evening venues – The Blue Grotto Wine Bar which is now a dry cleaners, and Scamps Night Club, which is now the bowling alley. This nightclub developed a rough reputation in its later years. The centre was re-modelled in the late 1990s, removing many of the dated 1970s features, the fountain and seating were removed, along with an old-style escalator to the side of Sainsburys, a staircase by C&A and a sloped walkway for wheelchair access to the upper level. In their place, modern glass lifts and escalators were installed, along with new ceilings, the original flooring is still in place throughout much of the centre. The play area was located opposite the existing Poundland store, owing to the various alterations going ahead in Chatham town centre and to the new bus interchange facility in Globe Lane, the Pentagon is planned to be re-developed as well. The space taken up by the bus station is planned to be taken up by expanded retail capacity. A large food store, major space units and more facilities are also part of the plans
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Royal Victoria Place
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Royal Victoria Place is a mostly covered shopping centre located in the town of Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The centre was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales on 21 October 1992 after 36 months of construction, the site is bounded by Goods Station Road, Camden Road, Calverley Road and Grosvenor Road. Some of the shops in RVP have two entrances - one to the mall and one onto Camden Road or Calverley Road. The bus stops on Mount Pleasant Road are close to RVP, a small part of the centre lies above the railway line between Tunbridge Wells and High Brooms stations. The centre was managed by Westfield Group, which sold its 50 per cent interest in the centre back to the original owner Hermes Real Estate in 2012
40.
Westwood Cross
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Westwood Cross is a shopping centre at Westwood in Thanet, Kent. It is circled by Broadstairs, Margate and Ramsgate and it was built by Carillion and opened in June 2005. Westwood Cross main shopping centre consists of an open pedestrianised arcade occupied mostly by High Street shops, the shopping centre consists of 46 store spaces occupying an area of 475,000 sq ft, and there are 1,500 parking spaces. There are two stores, Debenhams and Marks and Spencer. In October 2007 an entertainment development opened on a site to the southwest of Westwood Cross and this development comprises four restaurants, a Vue multiplex cinema, a casino, and Mecca bingo hall. Phase Two of Westwood Cross was completed in April 2010, following the relocation of the Wickes store and this addition to the centre includes several new retail units and space for up to three restaurants along with extra parking. As of April 2010 only two of the new units have been leased and the others stand empty, neighbouring developments include East Kent Retail Park and Westwood Gateway Retail Park. Both sites are owned by Hammerson, as of 2005 the centre created 1,500 jobs in the Broadstairs area. Westwood Cross is situated on the former Haine Hospital site, which closed in June 1997 and was demolished in 2003, in particular Stagecoach in East Kents Thanet Loop passes through the centre. The nearest train station is located 1.7 miles away at Ramsgate, the next nearest town centre is Broadstairs, although this is a small town centre with few major shops. In 2007, J Sainsbury PLC announced a partnership with Land Securities which included their next to Westwood Cross which is also owned by Land Securities. It was eventually approved by the House of Lords, in 2008, there was criticism from church leaders over the opening of a casino at the centre. The established High Streets in Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate were badly affected, with Margate by 2009 reporting the UKs highest shop vacancy rate, by 2011 this had increased to 36.1 per cent
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Oxfordshire
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Oxfordshire is a county in South East England bordering on Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. The county has major education and tourist industries and is noted for the concentration of performance companies and facilities. Oxford University Press is the largest firm among a concentration of print and publishing firms, the main centre of population is the city of Oxford. The highest point is White Horse Hill, in the Vale of White Horse, oxfordshires county flower is the Snakes-head Fritillary. Historically the area has always had some importance, since it contains valuable agricultural land in the centre of the county, largely ignored by the Romans, it was not until the formation of a settlement at Oxford in the eighth century that the area grew in importance. Alfred the Great was born across the Thames in Wantage, Vale of White Horse, the University of Oxford was founded in 1096, though its collegiate structure did not develop until later on. The university in the county town of Oxford grew in importance during the Middle Ages, the area was part of the Cotswolds wool trade from the 13th century, generating much wealth, particularly in the western portions of the county in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. Morris Motors was founded in Oxford in 1912, bringing industry to an otherwise agricultural county. The importance of agriculture as an employer has declined rapidly in the 20th century though, nonetheless, Oxfordshire remains a very agricultural county by land use, with a lower population than neighbouring Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, which are both smaller. The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, the army unit in the area, was based at Cowley Barracks on Bullingdon Green. Conversely, the Caversham area of Reading, now administratively in Berkshire, was part of Oxfordshire as was the parish of Stokenchurch. This is a chart of trend of gross value added of Oxfordshire at current basic prices published by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. Oxfordshire has a comprehensive education system with 23 independent schools and 35 state secondary schools. Only eight schools do not have a form, these are mostly in South Oxfordshire. The county has two universities, the ancient University of Oxford and the modern Oxford Brookes University, both located in Oxford, in addition, Wroxton College, located in Banbury, is affiliated with Fairleigh Dickinson University of New Jersey. The dreaming spires of the buildings of the University of Oxford are among the reasons for Oxford being the sixth most visited city in the United Kingdom for international visitors. Among many notable University buildings are the Sheldonian Theatre, built 1664–68 to the design of Sir Christopher Wren, Blenheim Palace close to Woodstock was built by the great architect John Vanbrugh for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, after he had won the battle of Blenheim. The gardens, which can be visited, were designed by the landscape gardener Capability Brown, in the palace, which can also be visited by the public, Sir Winston Churchill was born in 1874
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Castle Quay Shopping Centre
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Castle Quay Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in the town of Banbury, north Oxfordshire, England. The shopping centre is located in the centre of Banbury by the Oxford Canal, Banbury Museum and Tooleys Boatyard are also located here. The museum is accessible over a bridge and from the Castle Quay Shopping Centre, Castle Quay Shopping Centre has over a hundred stores. Major shops include BHS, Boots, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, a stone plaque in the facade of the Corn Exchange in the Market Place commemorates the start, in 1974, of the Castle Centre, by Banbury Borough Council. List of shopping centres in the United Kingdom Castle Quay Shopping Centre website
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