1.
Historic England
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Historic England is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with protecting the environment of England by preserving and listing historic buildings, ancient monuments. The body was created by the National Heritage Act 1983. Historic England has a remit to and complements the work of Natural England which aims to protect the natural environment. Historic England inherits English Heritages position as the UK governments statutory adviser and this includes archaeology on land and under water, historic buildings sites and areas, designated landscapes and the historic elements of the wider landscape. It monitors and reports on the state of Englands heritage and publishes the annual the Heritage at Risk survey which is one of the UK Governments Official statistics and it is tasked to secure the preservation and enhancement of the man-made heritage of England for the benefit of future generations. Giving grants national and local organisations for the conservation of buildings, monuments. In 2013/14 over £13 million worth of grants were made to support heritage buildings, advising central UK government on which English heritage assets are nationally important and should be protected by designation. Administering and maintaining the register of Englands listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered battlefields, conservation areas and protected parks and this is published as an online resource as The National Heritage List for England. Advising local authorities on managing changes to the most important parts of heritage, providing expertise through advice, training and guidance to improve the standards and skills of people working in heritage, practical conservation and access to resources. In 2009–2010 it trained around 200 professionals working in local authorities, consulting and collaborating with other heritage bodies, local and national planning organisations e. g. It is not responsible for approving alterations to listed buildings, the management of listed buildings is the responsibility of local planning authorities and the Department for Communities and Local Government. It also owns the National Heritage Collection of nationally important historic sites, however they do not run these sites as this function is instead carried out by the English Heritage Trust under licence until 2023. Britain from Above, presents the unique Aerofilms collection of photographs from 1919-1953. Images of England website Heritage Explorer, Education site for teachers Department for Culture Media and Sport
Historic England
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Historic England
Historic England
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Historic England's
Swindon Office and home to their Archives.
2.
Swindon
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Swindon is a large town in Wiltshire, South West England, midway between Bristol,35 miles to the west and Reading,35 miles to the east. London is 78 miles to the east, and Cardiff is 78 miles to the west, at the 2011 census, it had a population of 185,609. Swindon became an Expanded Town under the Town Development Act 1952, Swindon railway station is on the line from London Paddington to Bristol. Swindon Borough Council is an authority, independent of Wiltshire Council since 1997. Residents of Swindon are known as Swindonians, the town and wider borough also has the headquarters of the Nationwide Building Society and a Honda car manufacturing plant. The original Anglo-Saxon settlement of Swindon sat in a position atop a limestone hill. It is referred to in the Domesday Book as Suindune, believed to be derived from the Old English words swine and dun meaning pig hill or possibly Sweyns hill, Swindon was a small market town, mainly for barter trade, until roughly 1848. This original market area is on top of the hill in central Swindon, the Industrial Revolution was responsible for an acceleration of Swindons growth. It started with the construction of the Wilts and Berks Canal in 1810, the canals brought trade to the area and Swindons population started to grow. Between 1841 and 1842, Isambard Kingdom Brunels Swindon Works was built for the repair, the GWR built a small railway village to house some of its workers. The Steam Railway Museum and English Heritage, including the English Heritage Archive, in 1878 the fund began providing artificial limbs made by craftsmen from the carriage and wagon works, and nine years later opened its first dental surgery. In his first few months in post the dentist extracted more than 2000 teeth, from the opening in 1892 of the Health Centre, a doctor could also prescribe a haircut or even a bath. The cradle-to-grave extent of service was later used as a blueprint for the NHS. The Mechanics Institute, formed in 1844, moved into a building looking rather like a church and included a covered market, on 1 May 1855. The New Swindon Improvement Company, a co-operative, raised the funds for this path self-improvement and it was a groundbreaking organisation that transformed the railways workforce into some of the countrys best-educated manual workers. It had the UKs first lending library, and a range of improving lectures, access to a theatre, the Institute also nurtured pioneering trades unionists and encouraged local democracy. During the second half of the 19th century, Swindon New Town grew around the line between London and Bristol. In 1900, the market town, Old Swindon, merged with its new neighbour at the bottom of the hill to become a single town
Swindon
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Swindon town centre from Radnor Street Cemetery
Swindon
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The
Wilts and Berks Canal near Rushey Platt
Swindon
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Swindon Community Centre - Railway Village
Swindon
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Swindon in 1933
3.
Timothy Laurence
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Vice Admiral Sir Timothy James Hamilton Laurence KCVO, CB, ADC is a retired British naval officer and the second husband of Princess Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Laurence was Equerry to the Queen from 1986 to 1989, Timothy James Hamilton Laurence was born in Camberwell, South London, the son of Commander Guy Stewart Laurence, RN and Barbara Alison Laurence, née Symonds. Timothy has an older brother Jonathan Dobree Laurence, at university, he edited the student newspaper, Palatinate, and was captain of his college cricket team. He was promoted to midshipman on 1 January 1973, and acting sub-lieutenant on 1 January 1975, upon leaving Durham he completed his initial training at the Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, and was posted to HMS Aurora, a Plymouth-based frigate. He was promoted to lieutenant 10 months early, on 1 March 1977, in 1978, he was attached to the training establishment HMS Vernon and in the next year served on the minesweeper HMS Pollington. Laurence then served briefly as the second Navigating Officer of the Royal Yacht HMY Britannia and he took command of the patrol boat HMS Cygnet off Northern Ireland in 1982, as part of the patrols for IRA gun-runners. For his services he was mentioned in despatches, after attending HMS Dryad for the Principal Warfare Officer course, Laurence was promoted to lieutenant commander, and posted to the frigate HMS Alacrity. He attended the Royal Australian Navy Tactics Course at HMAS Watson and he was promoted to commander on 31 December 1988. In October 1989, he was posted to the new frigate HMS Boxer, between 1992 and 1994, Laurence served on the naval staff in the Ministry of Defence, London. On 16 May 1994, he was appointed the first Military Assistant to the Secretary of State for Defence, Mr Malcolm Rifkind, Laurence was promoted to captain on 30 June 1995, and until 1996 commanded the frigate HMS Cumberland. In May 1996, the ship returned from the Adriatic, where HMS Cumberland served in the NATO-led IFOR Task Force, on 27 August 1996, Laurence was appointed Commanding Officer of the frigate HMS Montrose as well as Captain of the 6th Frigate Squadron. Until October 1996 the ship was deployed to the South Atlantic, from January 1999 he was Hudson Visiting Fellow at St Antonys College, Oxford, where he wrote a paper on the relationship between humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping. He was then posted to the Joint Services Command and Staff College as a Commodore, as Assistant Commandant, from 2001 to the spring of 2004 he was back at the Ministry of Defence, as Director of Navy Resources and Programmes. Laurence was promoted to Rear Admiral to date 5 July 2004, on 30 April 2007 he was promoted to vice admiral, and appointed Chief Executive of Defence Estates. He became Head of Profession for the British Governments Property Asset Management community in July 2009, the community includes practitioners in construction procurement, estates & property management and facilities/contracts management. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has made Laurence an Honorary Member in recognition of very significant span of asset management responsibility. He retired from the Navy in August 2010 and now pursues a portfolio of mainly non-executive and charitable interests, with a emphasis on property. He was on the Board of the management company, Capita Symonds, until 2014 and is non-executive Chairman of the property developers
Timothy Laurence
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Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO)
4.
Stonehenge
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Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England,2 miles west of Amesbury and 8 miles north of Salisbury. Stonehenges ring of standing stones are set within earthworks in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the first bluestones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC, although they may have been at the site as early as 3000 BC, one of the most famous landmarks in the UK, Stonehenge is regarded as a British cultural icon. It has been a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument since 1882 when legislation to protect historic monuments was first successfully introduced in Britain, the site and its surroundings were added to UNESCOs list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage, Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. Deposits containing human bone date from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug, William Stukeley in 1740 notes, Pendulous rocks are now called henges in Yorkshire. I doubt not, Stonehenge in Saxon signifies the hanging stones. Like Stonehenges trilithons, medieval gallows consisted of two uprights with a lintel joining them, rather than the inverted L-shape more familiar today, the henge portion has given its name to a class of monuments known as henges. Archaeologists define henges as earthworks consisting of a banked enclosure with an internal ditch. As often happens in archaeological terminology, this is a holdover from antiquarian use, Stonehenge evolved in several construction phases spanning at least 1500 years. There is evidence of construction on and around the monument that perhaps extends the landscapes time frame to 6500 years. The modern phasing most generally agreed to by archaeologists is detailed below, features mentioned in the text are numbered and shown on the plan, right. Archaeologists have found four, or possibly five, large Mesolithic postholes and these held pine posts around 0.75 metres in diameter, which were erected and eventually rotted in situ. Three of the posts were in an east-west alignment which may have had significance, no parallels are known from Britain at the time. A settlement that may have been contemporaneous with the posts has been found at Blick Mead, a reliable year round spring 1 mile from Stonehenge. Salisbury Plain was then still wooded but 4,000 years later, during the earlier Neolithic, people built an enclosure at Robin Hoods Ball. In approximately 3500 BC, a Stonehenge Cursus was built 700 metres north of the site as the first farmers began to clear the trees, a number of other adjacent stone and wooden structures and burial mounds, previously overlooked, may date as far back as 4000 BC. Charcoal from the ‘Blick Mead’ camp 2.4 kilometres from Stonehenge has been dated to 4000 BC and it stood in open grassland on a slightly sloping spot
Stonehenge
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Stonehenge in August 2014
Stonehenge
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Plan of Stonehenge in 2004. After Cleal et al. and Pitts. Italicised numbers in the text refer to the labels on this plan. Trilithon lintels omitted for clarity. Holes that no longer, or never, contained stones are shown as open circles. Stones visible today are shown coloured
Stonehenge
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Stonehenge 1. After Cleal et al.
5.
Dover Castle
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Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent. It was founded in the 11th century and has described as the Key to England due to its defensive significance throughout history. It is the largest castle in England, the site may have been fortified with earthworks in the Iron Age or earlier, before the Romans invaded in AD43. This is suggested on the basis of the pattern of the earthworks which does not seem to be a perfect fit for the medieval castle. Excavations have provided evidence of Iron Age occupation within the locality of the castle, there have also been excavations on the mound which the church and Roman Pharos are situated on, which has been discovered to be a Bronze Age mound. On the site is a classic montrol where the Normans landed after their victorious conquest, after the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, William the Conqueror and his forces marched to Westminster Abbey for his coronation. They took a route via Romney, Dover, Canterbury, Surrey. From the Cinque Ports foundation in 1050, Dover has always been a chief member—it may also have been this that first attracted Williams attention, in the words of William of Poitiers, Then he marched to Dover, which had been reported impregnable and held by a large force. The English, stricken with fear at his approach had confidence neither in their ramparts nor in the numbers of their troops. While the inhabitants were preparing to surrender unconditionally, greedy for money, set the castle on fire, having taken possession of the castle, the Duke spent eight days adding new fortifications to it. The Castle was first built, entirely out of clay and it collapsed to the ground and the clay was then used as the flooring for many of the ground-floor rooms. It was during the reign of Henry II that the castle began to take recognisable shape, the inner and outer baileys and the great keep belong to this time. Maurice the Engineer was responsible for building the keep, one of the last rectangular keeps ever built, in 1216, a group of rebel barons invited the future Louis VIII of France to come and take the English crown. He had some success breaching the walls, but was ultimately to take the castle. During the siege, the English defenders tunnelled outwards and attacked the French and this can still be seen in the medieval works. During the time of Stephen de Pencester, a windmill was erected on Tower 22, by the Tudor age, the defences themselves had been superseded by gunpowder. They were improved by Henry VIII, who made a personal visit, during the English Civil War it was held for the king but then taken by a Parliamentarian trick without a shot being fired in 1642. This work was overseen by General William Roy, the other English viewpoint used to make measurements across to Cap Blanc Nez in France was at Fairlight, East Sussex
Dover Castle
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Entrance to Dover Castle viewed from the north-west
Dover Castle
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The Roman lighthouse at Dover Castle
Dover Castle
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The view down from the Castle to the Church, possible Saxon burgh, and Harbour beyond.
Dover Castle
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Section of the western curtain wall leading to Peverell's Gateway
6.
Tintagel Castle
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Tintagel Castle is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island adjacent to the village of Tintagel, north Cornwall in England in the United Kingdom. It subsequently saw settlement during the Early Medieval period, when it was one of the seasonal residences of the regional king of Dumnonia. A castle was built on the site by Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall in the 13th century, during the Later Medieval period and it later fell into disrepair and ruin. Archaeological investigation into the site began in the 19th century as it became a tourist attraction, in the 1930s, excavations revealed significant traces of a much earlier high status settlement, which had trading links with the Mediterranean during the Late Roman period. The castle has an association with legends related to King Arthur. This began in the century when Geoffrey of Monmouth described Tintagel as the place of Arthurs conception in his fictionalized account of British history. Geoffrey told the story that Arthurs father, King Uther Pendragon, was disguised by Merlins sorcery to look like Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, Tintagel Castle has been a tourist destination since the mid-19th century. Owned by Charles, Prince of Wales as part of the landholdings of the Duchy of Cornwall, in the first century AD, southern Britain was invaded and occupied by the Roman Empire. The territory of modern Cornwall was assigned to the Roman administrative region of civitas Dumnoniorum, at the time, this south-westerly point of Britain was remote, under-populated. and therefore also unimportant until, during the third century AD, the local tin-streaming industry attracted attention. Archaeologists know of five milestones or route-markers in Cornwall erected in the Romano-British period, two of these are in the vicinity of Tintagel, indicating that a road passed through the locality. Cornish historian and archaeologist Charles Thomas noted in 1993, So far, can be put forward as a Roman-period settlement, native-peasant or otherwise. Either the Island or the area of the later Castle formed the scene of third-fourth century habitation even if no evidence has been found of any buildings dating from this period. It was in this background that settlement continued at Tintagel Castle. However, there has been some dispute amongst archaeologists as to exactly what the site of Tintagel Island was used for in this period, in the mid-twentieth century, it was typically thought that there was an early Christian monastery on the site, but since about 1980. Had to be abandoned, with archaeologists now believing that it was instead an elite settlement inhabited by a local warlord or even Dumnonian royalty. Devon archaeologist Ralegh Radford excavated at the site from 1933 through to 1938 and he came to this conclusion based upon some similarities in the structures of the Early Medieval elements of Tintagel Castle and the seventh century monastery at the site of Whitby Abbey in Yorkshire. Archaeologists no longer accept this viewpoint, however, instead, they now believe that this was an elite settlement in the Early Medieval period that was inhabited by Dumnonian royalty and their entourage. Various luxury items dating from this period have been found at the site, namely African and Phocaean red slip, examining this pottery, Charles Thomas remarked that the quantity of imported pottery from Tintagel
Tintagel Castle
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The outer and upper wards of the ruined Tintagel Castle (part of the village of Tintagel may be seen in the distance)
Tintagel Castle
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Footbridge giving access to the Island
Tintagel Castle
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Ruins of the Norman castle at Tintagel
Tintagel Castle
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Panoramic view from Tintagel Castle, looking north-east; the most prominent building is a hotel, built in 1899, now called the
Camelot Castle Hotel; the headland below is Barras Head
7.
Blue Plaque
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The brainchild of British politician William Ewart in 1863, it is the oldest such scheme in the world. The worlds first blue plaques were erected in London in the 19th century to mark the homes and workplaces of famous people. This scheme continues to the present day, having been administered successively by the Society of Arts, the London County Council, the Greater London Council, many other plaque schemes have since been initiated in the United Kingdom. Some are restricted to a geographical area, others to a particular theme of historical commemoration. The plaques erected by these schemes are manufactured in a variety of designs, shapes, materials, the term blue plaque may be used narrowly to refer to the official English Heritage scheme, but is often used informally to encompass all similar schemes. There are also commemorative plaque schemes throughout the world such as those in Paris, Rome, Oslo, Dublin, and in cities in Australia, Canada, Russia. The forms these take vary, and they tend to be known as historical markers, the original blue plaque scheme was established by the Society of Arts in 1867, and since 1986 has been run by English Heritage. It is the oldest such scheme in the world, since 1984 English Heritage have commissioned Frank Ashworth to make the plaques which have then been inscribed by his wife, Sue, at their home in Cornwall. English Heritage plans to erect an average of twelve new blue plaques each year in London. After being conceived by politician William Ewart in 1863, the scheme was initiated in 1866 by Ewart, Henry Cole and the Society of Arts, the first plaque was unveiled in 1867 to commemorate Lord Byron at his birthplace,24 Holles Street, Cavendish Square. This house was demolished in 1889, the earliest blue plaque to survive, also put up in 1867, commemorates Napoleon III in King Street, St Jamess. Byron’s plaque was blue, but the colour was changed by the manufacturer Minton, in total the Society of Arts put up 35 plaques, fewer than half of which survive today. The Society only erected one plaque within the square-mile of the City of London, in 1879, it was agreed that the City of London Corporation would be responsible for erecting plaques within the City to recognise its jurisdictional independence. This demarcation has remained ever since, in 1901, the Society of Arts scheme was taken over by the London County Council, which gave much thought to the future design of the plaques. It was eventually decided to keep the shape and design of the Societys plaques, but to make them uniformly blue, with a laurel wreath. Though this design was used consistently from 1903 to 1938, some experimentation occurred in the 1920s, in 1921, the most common plaque design was revised, as it was discovered that glazed ceramic Doulton ware was cheaper than the encaustic formerly used. In 1938, a new design was prepared by an unnamed student at the LCCs Central School of Arts and Crafts and was approved by the committee. It omitted the decorative elements of earlier designs, and allowed for lettering to be better spaced and enlarged
Blue Plaque
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English Heritage blue plaque commemorating
Ian Fleming at 22b
Ebury Street,
Belgravia, London (erected 1996)
Blue Plaque
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Society of Arts plaque on
Samuel Johnson 's
house in Gough Square, London (erected 1876). Many of the early Society of Arts and LCC plaques were brown in colour.
Blue Plaque
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London County Council plaque at 48 Doughty Street,
Holborn, commemorating
Charles Dickens
Blue Plaque
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London County Council plaque at 100
Lambeth Road,
Lambeth, commemorating
William Bligh (erected 1952)
8.
Historic England Archive
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The Historic England Archive is the public archive of Historic England, located in The Engine House on Fire Fly Avenue in Swindon, formerly part of the Swindon Works of the Great Western Railway. It is a collection, with records being added to this day. The PastScape website allows searching of over 420,000 records, the Historic England Archive was part of English Heritage from 1999 until 2015, when the organisation divided into two parts and Historic England retained the statutory and advisory role. Between the declaration of war in 1939 and the first London air-raids in 1940 many moveable works of art, the RCHME worked closely with the NBR to carry out the extensive photographic recording of the towns in the eastern and southern counties at risk from enemy action. Although there were other voluntary and academic bodies at the time that some architectural records. Over the next few years the NBR attracted donations from amateur photographers, people who possessed drawings, by the end of the war the collection had grown to such as size and importance that it was continued and was funded by the Treasury. The recession of the late 1940s and early 1950s presented a different challenge from bombing and this time the destruction of significant buildings was due to deliberate demolition because the owners could no longer afford to maintain them. In 1946 the RCHME work was extended to include the recording of 18th and 19th century architecture, the 1950s also saw the start of aerial photography to discover and record ancient sites, as more intensive agriculture, forestry and gravel extraction threatened historic remains on ‘marginal land’. The NBR was merged with the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England in 1963, the name was then changed to the National Monuments Record to denote the inclusion of archaeological and photographic records. During the 70s and 80s the NMR increased its recording of industrial and commercial building records as well as ‘country’ houses, in 1983 the Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division was transferred to the NBR/RCHME which greatly expanded the records available. These are now digitised and available through the PastScape website, a further acquisition was the Industrial Monuments Survey, transferred from the Department of the Environment in 1981. This was followed by the RCHME taking on responsibility for the Survey of London following the abolition of the Greater London Council, the RCHME, including the NMR, merged with English Heritage in April 1999. In April 2012 the NMR was renamed the English Heritage Archive, in 2015 the archive and other statutory and advisory departments of English Heritage became Historic England, and the archive was renamed the Historic England Archive. Its collections arose from a number of sources, including the work of national institutions concerned with the buildings and archaeology of England, and from collections acquired from others. The collections are not only used by historians, architects and designers seeking inspiration, there is also a specialist reference library. Although photographs form the largest proportion of the Historic England Archive’s holdings, collections also include plans of houses, reports, correspondence. All of this material is available for viewing and a substantial number of images from the Historic England Archive are now available online. The original research material for RCHME inventory volumes are also in the archives, there is a selection of brochures advertising the sales of estate and properties across England from the late 19th and 20th centuries
Historic England Archive
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The Historic England Archive building in Swindon
9.
Norman Conquest
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Williams claim to the English throne derived from his familial relationship with the childless Anglo-Saxon King Edward the Confessor, who may have encouraged Williams hopes for the throne. Edward died in January 1066 and was succeeded by his brother-in-law Harold Godwinson, within days, William landed in southern England. Harold marched south to confront him, leaving a significant portion of his army in the north, Harolds army confronted Williams invaders on 14 October at the Battle of Hastings, Williams force defeated Harold, who was killed in the engagement. Although Williams main rivals were gone, he faced rebellions over the following years and was not secure on his throne until after 1072. The lands of the resisting English elite were confiscated, some of the elite fled into exile, to control his new kingdom, William granted lands to his followers and built castles commanding military strongpoints throughout the land. More gradual changes affected the classes and village life, the main change appears to have been the formal elimination of slavery. There was little alteration in the structure of government, as the new Norman administrators took over many of the forms of Anglo-Saxon government. In 911 the Carolingian French ruler Charles the Simple allowed a group of Vikings under their leader Rollo to settle in Normandy as part of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. In exchange for the land, the Norsemen under Rollo were expected to provide protection along the coast against further Viking invaders and their settlement proved successful, and the Vikings in the region became known as the Northmen from which Normandy and Normans are derived. The Normans quickly adopted the culture, renouncing paganism and converting to Christianity. They adopted the langue doïl of their new home and added features from their own Norse language, in 1002 King Æthelred the Unready married Emma of Normandy, the sister of Richard II, Duke of Normandy. Their son Edward the Confessor, who spent many years in exile in Normandy, childless and embroiled in conflict with the formidable Godwin, Earl of Wessex and his sons, Edward may also have encouraged Duke William of Normandys ambitions for the English throne. When King Edward died at the beginning of 1066, the lack of a clear heir led to a succession in which several contenders laid claim to the throne of England. Edwards immediate successor was the Earl of Wessex, Harold Godwinson, Harold was immediately challenged by two powerful neighbouring rulers. William and Harald at once set about assembling troops and ships to invade England, in early 1066, Harolds exiled brother, Tostig Godwinson, raided southeastern England with a fleet he had recruited in Flanders, later joined by other ships from Orkney. Threatened by Harolds fleet, Tostig moved north and raided in East Anglia and Lincolnshire, but he was back to his ships by the brothers Edwin, Earl of Mercia. Deserted by most of his followers, he withdrew to Scotland, King Harald Hardrada invaded northern England in early September, leading a fleet of more than 300 ships carrying perhaps 15,000 men. Haralds army was augmented by the forces of Tostig, who threw his support behind the Norwegian kings bid for the throne
Norman Conquest
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13th-century depiction of
Rollo and his descendants
William I of Normandy and
Richard I of Normandy
Norman Conquest
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Location of major events during the Norman conquest of England in 1066
Norman Conquest
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Landing in England scene from the
Bayeux Tapestry, depicting ships coming in and horses landing
Norman Conquest
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Depiction of Harold's death from the
Bayeux Tapestry
10.
Department of the Environment (UK)
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The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment. This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and it has been asserted that during the Thatcher government the DoE led the drive towards centralism, and the undermining of local government. The titular mention of the Regions referred to the pledge to create regional government. Meanwhile, the transport, housing and planning, and local and regional government aspects went to a new Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. A year later the DTLR also split, with transport getting its own department and the rest going to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Department of the Environment (UK)
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Secretaries of State for Environment
11.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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The department was also responsible for the delivery of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the building of a Digital Economy. The DCMS originates from the Department of National Heritage, which itself was created on 11 April 1992 out of other departments. The former Ministers for the Arts and for Sport had previously located in other departments. The DNH was renamed as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 14 July 1997, the June 2007 Cabinet reshuffle led to Tessa Jowell MP taking on the role of Paymaster General and then Minister for the Cabinet Office while remaining Minister for the Olympics. Ministerial responsibility for the Olympics was shared with Ms Jowell in the Cabinet Office, following the 2010 general election, ministerial responsibility for the Olympics returned to the Secretary of State. Although Jeremy Hunts full title was Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, on 4 September 2012, Hunt was appointed Health Secretary in a cabinet reshuffle and replaced by Maria Miller. Maria Miller later resigned due to controversy over her expenses and her replacement was announced later that day as Sajid Javid. After the 2015 general election, John Whittingdale was appointed as Secretary of State, DCMS received full responsibility for the digital economy policy, formerly jointly held with BIS, and sponsorship of the Information Commissioners Office from the Ministry of Justice. The department also gained two additional ministers, Baroness Shields and Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Whittingdale was replaced by Karen Bradley after the referendum on the UKs membership of the EU in July 2016. The Secretary of State has responsibility for the maintenance of the land, DCMS continues to make a separate small grant to the Royal Household for the maintenance of Marlborough House The Department also has responsibility for state ceremonial occasions and royal funerals. However, responsibility for the Civil List element of Head of State expenditure, DCMS organises the annual Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Cenotaph and has responsibility for providing humanitarian assistance in the event of a disaster. In the Governments response to the 7 July 2005 London bombings the department coordinated humanitarian support to the relatives of victims, the main offices are at 100 Parliament Street, occupying part of the building known as Government Offices Great George Street. The DCMS Ministers are as follows, The Permanent Secretary is Sue Owen CB, the DCMS has policy responsibility for three statutory corporations and two public broadcasting authorities. These bodies and their operation are largely independent of Government policy influence, the Museum of London transferred to the Greater London Authority from 1 April 2008. DCMS formerly sponsored eight Regional Cultural Consortiums with NDPB status, media-related policy is generally reserved to Westminster i. e. not devolved. United Kingdom budget Digital Economy Act 2010 Culture, Media and Sport Committee Official website DCMS YouTube channel
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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100 Parliament Street – partly occupied by DCMS
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Welsh: Yr Adran Diwylliant, Cyfryngau a Chwaraeon
12.
Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882
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The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The 1882 Act contains a schedule of the initial 68 sites that were covered by the legislation. This schedule exclusively focussed on pre-historic monuments, and covered some of the most famous sites in the country. There were 26 English sites listed in the Schedule, in just 10 counties, welsh monuments were represented by one site in each of north, south and west Wales. The 1882 Schedule included 21 monuments, the majority of which are prehistoric sites, two are Neolithic, five Bronze Age, eight Iron Age and six from early Christian/Pictish periods, although two of the prehistoric stones also have notable early Christian additions. Those sites now in the care of Historic Scotland are indicated with, in 1882 the whole of Ireland was under British administration Subsequent legislation for Ireland used the terminology of Historic Monuments which continues in Northern Ireland. Three sites in the Schedule are in what became Northern Ireland, one being in County Armagh, the fifteen sites now in the Republic of Ireland are protected by the National Monuments Service and include two world heritage sites. As with England and Wales, the 1882 selection was overwhelmingly what were thought to be prehistoric sites, although there is now uncertainty on the age of many sites
Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882
13.
Michael Heseltine
–
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British Conservative politician and businessman. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001, and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major including serving as Deputy Prime Minister under the latter. In 1990 he stood for the leadership of the Conservative Party against Margaret Thatcher and although he was unsuccessful in his bid, his action triggered Thatchers eventual resignation. Heseltine entered the Cabinet in 1979 as Secretary of State for the Environment and he was Secretary of State for Defence from 1983 to 1986. In the latter role he was instrumental in the battle against the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Heseltine was considered an adept media performer and a charismatic minister and he resigned from the Cabinet in 1986 over the Westland Affair and returned to the back benches. He lost to John Major on the second ballot, Major later returned Heseltine to the Cabinet. As a key ally of Major, Heseltine rose to become President of the Board of Trade and, from 1995, Deputy Prime Minister and he declined to seek the leadership of the party following Majors 1997 election defeat, but remained a vocal advocate for modernisation in the party. Heseltine was seen as a One Nation Tory, epitomised by his support for the regeneration of the City of Liverpool, the subsequent transformation of Liverpool, with his support, saw Heseltine having the award of Freeman of the City of Liverpool bestowed upon him in 2012. Michael Heseltine was born in Swansea in Wales, the son of Rupert Heseltine and he is a distant descendant of Charles Dibdin. His fathers ancestors were farm labourers in Pembrey and his mother originated in West Wales and his maternal great-grandfather worked at the Swansea docks. His maternal grandfather, James Pridmore, founded West Glamorgan Collieries Ltd, Heseltine was brought up in relative luxury at No. Heseltine told Tatler interviewer Charlotte Edwardes in 2016, At prep school, every member was named after a member of the tit family, the Marsh Tit, the Blue Tit. He once feared the story reach the press, I just know if that had got out when I was in active politics. He enjoyed angling in Brynmill Park and won a junior competition and he was educated at Shrewsbury School. Julian Critchley recounted a story from his student days of how he plotted his future on the back of an envelope, a more detailed apocryphal version has him writing down, millionaire 25, cabinet member 35, party leader 45, prime minister 55. He became a millionaire and was a member of the cabinet from the age of 41. In the 1970s and 1980s Heseltines conference speech was often to be the highlight of the Conservative Party Conference despite his views being well to the left of the then leader Margaret Thatcher and he was eventually elected to the Library Committee of the Oxford Union for Hilary Term 1953
Michael Heseltine
–
The Right Honourable The Lord Heseltine
CH PC
Michael Heseltine
–
Heseltine speaking to
Policy Exchange in 2013
Michael Heseltine
–
Lord Heseltine, June 2010.
14.
Rangers House
–
Rangers House is a medium-sized red brick Georgian mansion in the Palladian style, adjacent to Greenwich Park in the south east of London. It is situated in Blackheath and backs directly onto Greenwich Park, there is currently a rose garden behind it. Since 2002 it has housed the Wernher Collection of art, the house dating from c.1700, was originally built by Capt. later Vice-Admiral Francis Hosier, on wasteland adjacent to Greenwich park. The House then had a view and easy access to London by road. Admiral Hosier occupied the house from 1700–1727 and he had made his fortune through trade at sea and both the ship he served on as a lieutenant and his own ship were called the Neptune. Hosier died of fever at sea in 1727, during the disastrous Blockade of Porto Bello off Panama. In 1748 the lease of the house was inherited by the 4th Earl of Chesterfield and he was a politician, diplomat, man of letters and wit who eventually became Secretary of State. He added the splendid bow windowed gallery for entertaining and displaying his art treasures, Chesterfield wrote that the view from the gallery gave him three different, and the finest, prospects in the world. In 1782, the purchaser was Richard Hulse, 2nd son of Sir Edward Hulse, 1st Bt. physician to George II. He was High Sheriff of Kent in 1768 and a JP and he held the office of Deputy Governor of the Hudsons Bay Company between 1799 and 1805. He lived at sometime at Baldwins, Kent, and died unmarried without progeny, Hulse added a room with a bow window on the north side to balance Chesterfields gallery and this is how the house appears today. The house was passed to the Crown and in the early 19th century became the residence of Princess Sophia Mathilda of Gloucester. It was first used as the residence of the Ranger of Greenwich Park in 1816. The first Ranger of the park was Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, at first, the Rangers resided at the Queens House, Greenwich. At the invitation of the Queen, Field Marshal Lord Wolseley and his family moved from their home at 6 Hill Street. The London County Council acquired the house in 1897, and restored it, two blue plaques were erected by the London County Council in 1937 to commemorate Wolseley and Chesterfield at the house. In the 20th century it became a sports and social club and was later used to display collections of musical instruments. The Wernher Collection was assembled by the German-born diamond magnate Sir Julius Wernher in the late 19th, Wernher lived at Bath House in Piccadilly and Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire
Rangers House
–
Ranger's House, from
Shooters Hill Road, at dusk.
Rangers House
–
The Ranger's House, Greenwich by George Robertson, 1791. Built about 1700–20 for Captain Francis Hosier. National Maritime Museum, London. (PT2659)
15.
Battle of Tewkesbury
–
The Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place on 4 May 1471, was one of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses. The forces loyal to the House of Lancaster were completely defeated by those of the rival House of York under their monarch, the Lancastrian king, Henry VI, who was a prisoner in the Tower of London, died or was murdered shortly after the battle. Tewkesbury restored political stability to England until the death of Edward IV in 1483, in 1461 the Yorkist claimant, Edward, Earl of March, was proclaimed King Edward IV and defeated the supporters of the weak, intermittently insane Lancastrian king Henry VI at the Battle of Towton. Lancastrian revolts in the far north of England were defeated in 1464, and his Queen, Margaret of Anjou, and their thirteen-year-old son Edward of Westminster, were exiled and impoverished in France. Edward IVs hold on the throne appeared temporarily to be secure, Edward IV owed his victory in large measure to the support of his cousin, the powerful Earl of Warwick. When the marriage became public knowledge, Edward placed many of his new family in powerful positions that Warwick had hoped to control. Edward meanwhile reversed Warwicks policy of friendship with France by marrying his sister Margaret to Charles the Bold, the embittered Warwick secured the support of Edward IVs brother George, Duke of Clarence, for a coup, in exchange for Warwicks promise to crown Clarence king. Although Edward was imprisoned briefly, Clarence was unacceptable as monarch to most of the country, Edward was allowed to resume his rule, outwardly reconciled with Warwick and Clarence. Within a year, he accused them of fresh treachery and forced them to flee to France, with no hope of a reconciliation with King Edward, Warwicks best hope of regaining power in England lay in restoring Henry VI to the throne. Louis XI of France feared an alliance of Burgundy under Charles the Bold. He was prepared to support Warwick with men and money, but to give legitimacy to any uprising by Warwick, Warwick and Margaret were previously sworn enemies, but Margarets attendants and Louis eventually persuaded her to ally the House of Lancaster with Warwick. At Angers, Warwick begged her pardon on his knees for all past wrongs done to her, Prince Edward was betrothed to Warwicks younger daughter Anne. Finally, they swore loyalty to Henry VI on a fragment of the True Cross in Angers Cathedral, however, Margaret declined to let Prince Edward land in England or to land there herself until Warwick had established a firm government and made the country safe for them. Warwick landed in the West Country on 13 September 1470, accompanied by Clarence and some unswerving Lancastrian nobles, including the Earl of Oxford and Jasper Tudor, the Earl of Pembroke. Edward fled to Kings Lynn where he took ship for Flanders, part of Burgundy, accompanied only by his youngest brother, Richard of Gloucester, in London, Warwick released King Henry, led him in procession to Saint Pauls cathedral and installed him in Westminster palace. His alliance with Louis of France and his intention to declare war on Burgundy was contrary to the interests of the merchants, as it threatened English trade with Flanders, Clarence had long been excluded from Warwicks calculations. In November 1470, Parliament declared that Prince Edward and his descendants were Henrys heirs to the throne, unknown to Warwick, Clarence secretly became reconciled with his brother, King Edward. With Warwick in power in England, it was Charles of Burgundys turn to fear a hostile alliance of England, as an obvious counter to Warwick, he supplied King Edward with money, ships and several hundred men
Battle of Tewkesbury
–
The battle of Tewkesbury, depicted in a
Ghent manuscript
Battle of Tewkesbury
–
Tewkesbury Abbey
Battle of Tewkesbury
–
Painting by
Richard Burchett, entitled Sanctuary, or Edward IV Withheld by Ecclesiastics from Pursuing Lancastrian Fugitives into a Church, 1867,
Guildhall Art Gallery
Battle of Tewkesbury
–
The execution of the Duke of Somerset after the battle
16.
Ordnance Survey
–
Ordnance Survey is a non-ministerial government department which acts as the national mapping agency for Great Britain and is one of the worlds largest producers of maps. Since 1 April 2015 it has operated as Ordnance Survey Ltd, the Ordnance Survey Board remain accountable to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. It is also a member of the Public Data Group, the agencys name indicates its original military purpose, mapping Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rebellion in 1745. There was also a general and nationwide need in light of the potential threat of invasion during the Napoleonic Wars. Ordnance Survey mapping is usually classified as either large-scale or small-scale, the Surveys large-scale mapping comprises maps at six inches to the mile or more and was available as sheets until the 1980s, when it was digitised. Small-scale mapping comprises maps at less than six inches to the mile, such as the one inch to the mile leisure maps. These are still available in sheet form. Ordnance Survey maps remain in copyright for fifty years after their publication, some of the Copyright Libraries hold complete or near-complete collections of pre-digital OS mapping. The origins of the Ordnance Survey lie in the aftermath of the last Jacobite rising which was defeated by forces loyal to the government at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In 1747, Lieutenant-colonel David Watson proposed the compilation of a map of the Highlands to facilitate the subjugation of clans, in response, King George II charged Watson with making a military survey of the Highlands under the command of the Duke of Cumberland. Among Watsons assistants were William Roy, Paul Sandby and John Manson, the survey was produced at a scale of 1 inch to 1000 yards and included the Duke of Cumberlands Map now held in the British Library. This work was the point of the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain. Roys technical skills and leadership set the standard for which Ordnance Survey became known. Work was begun in earnest in 1790 under Roys supervision, when the Board of Ordnance began a military survey starting with the south coast of England. A set of stamps, featuring maps of the Kentish village of Hamstreet, was issued in 1991 to mark the bicentenary. In 1801, the first one-inch-to-the-mile map was published, detailing the county of Kent, during the next twenty years, roughly a third of England and Wales was mapped at the same scale under the direction of William Mudge, as other military matters took precedence. It took until 1823 to re-establish a relationship with the French survey made by Roy in 1787, by 1810, one inch to the mile maps of most of the south of England were completed, but were withdrawn from sale between 1811 and 1816 because of security fears. It was gruelling work, major Thomas Colby, later the longest serving director general of Ordnance Survey, in 1824, Colby and most of his staff moved to Ireland to work on a six-inches-to-the-mile valuation survey
Ordnance Survey
–
Grid square TF from the
Ordnance Survey National Grid, shown at a scale of 1:250,000. The map shows
the Wash and the
North Sea, as well as places within the counties of
Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and
Norfolk.
Ordnance Survey
–
Part of an Ordnance Survey map, at the scale of one inch to the mile, from a New Popular Edition map published in 1946.
Ordnance Survey
–
The
original draftsman's drawings for the area around
St. Columb Major in
Cornwall, made in 1810.
Ordnance Survey
–
The
old site of Ordnance Survey, London Road,
Southampton City Centre, in 2005.
17.
Listed building
–
A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of determining whether a building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning Order 1972, the listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. In the UK, the process of protecting the historic environment is called ‘designation’. A heritage asset is a part of the environment that is valued because of its historic. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. However, buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest are still regarded as being a consideration in the planning process. Almost anything can be listed – it does not have to be a building, Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in a wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and these include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. Both Historic Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners, in England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to the secretary of state, this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England. The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed, full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on the architectural, the Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether or not to list or delist the building. In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning Act 1990, Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register
Listed building
–
The
Forth Bridge, designed by
Sir Benjamin Baker and
Sir John Fowler, opened in 1890, and now owned by
Network Rail, is designated as a Category A listed building by
Historic Scotland.
Listed building
–
Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the British monarch, listed Grade I.
Listed building
–
Royal Festival Hall, London was the first postwar building to gain Grade I-listed status.
Listed building
–
The Grade I listed
King's College London Chapel on the Strand Campus seen today was redesigned in 1864 by
Sir George Gilbert Scott
18.
British Waterways
–
British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the authority for the majority of canals. On 2 July 2012 all of British Waterways assets and responsibilities in England, in Scotland British Waterways continues to operate as a standalone public corporation under the trading name Scottish Canals. The British Waterways Board was initially established as a result of the Transport Act 1962, British Waterways was sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in England and Wales, and by the Scottish Government in Scotland. British Waterways managed and maintained 2,200 miles of canals, rivers and docks within the United Kingdom including the buildings, half of the United Kingdom population lives within five miles of a canal or river once managed by British Waterways. In addition to the watercourses, British Waterways also cared for, a further 800 areas have special designation and a further hundred are Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Since the transfer of the assets and responsibilities of British Waterways to the Canal & River Trust the Waterways Trust in England and it continues, however, as an independent charity in Scotland. During the early 20th century, the network was in decline following a declining usage and increasing competition from the railways. Freight and other cargo was carried on the canals, by now owned by the railway companies. When the railways were nationalised in 1948, the canals they owned also transferred into a new British Transport Commission, in the same year a remarkably harsh winter saw many boats frozen into their moorings, and unable to move for weeks at a time. This was one of the reasons given for the decision by BWB to formally cease most of its commercial narrow boat carrying on the canals. By this time the network had shrunk to just 2,000 miles. However, the network was still intact with many of the closures affecting duplicate routes or branches. British Waterways Board was required under the Act to keep Commercial and Cruising Waterways fit for their respective traffic and use. However, these obligations were subject to the caveat of being by the most economical means, as a result, many remainder waterways could face abandonment or transference to the local authority who would contribute to the waterways upkeep as part of the act. Additionally, many of these waterways were crossed by new roads. As the century progressed leisure boating on the canals began to expand, additionally, the work of voluntary restoration groups succeeded in restoring some waterways to their former condition. Its plans involved moving to become a charitable trust, in charge of the current canal systems in addition to acquiring other waterways, such as those operated by the Environment Agency
British Waterways
–
British Waterways sign near
Gas Street Basin on the
BCN Main Line in
Birmingham
British Waterways
–
Bank repair on the
River Avon
19.
The Iron Bridge
–
The Iron Bridge is a bridge that crosses the River Severn in Shropshire, England. Opened in 1781, it was the first major bridge in the world to be made of cast iron, in 1934 it was designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument and closed to vehicular traffic. Tolls for pedestrians were collected until 1950, when ownership of the bridge was transferred to Shropshire County Council and it now belongs to Telford and Wrekin Borough Council. The bridge, the adjacent settlement of Ironbridge and the Ironbridge Gorge form the UNESCO Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, the bridge is a Grade I listed building, and a waypoint on the South Telford Heritage Trail. The use of the river by boat traffic and the sides of the gorge meant that any bridge should ideally be of a single span. The steepness and instability of the banks was problematic for building a bridge, the Iron Bridge was the first of its kind to be constructed, although not the first to be considered or the first iron bridge of any kind. In 1773, architect Thomas Farnolls Pritchard wrote to his iron mad friend and local ironmaster, John Wilkinson of Broseley, Pritchard had previous experience with the design of both wooden and stone bridges, and it is possible that he had integrated into these designs elements of iron. During the winter of 1773–74, local newspapers advertised a proposal to petition Parliament for leave to construct a bridge with a single 120 feet span. In March 1776, the Act to build a bridge received Royal Assent and it had been drafted by Thomas Addenbrooke, secretary of the trustees, and John Harries a London barrister then presented to the House of Commons by Charles Baldwyn, MP for Salop. Abraham Darby III was commissioned to cast and build the bridge, in May 1776, the trustees withdrew Darbys commission, and instead advertised for plans for a single arch bridge to be built in stone, brick or timber. In July 1777 the span of the bridge was decreased to 90 feet, the site, adjacent to where a ferry had run between Madeley and Benthall, was chosen for its high approaches on each side and the relative solidity of the ground. The Act of Parliament described how the bridge was to be built from a point in Benthall parish near the house of Samuel Barnett to a point on the shore near the house of Thomas Crumpton. Pritchard died on 21 December 1777 in his tower-house at Eyton on Severn, only a month after work had begun, the masonry and abutments were constructed between 1777 and 1778, and the ribs were lifted into place in the summer of 1779. The bridge first spanned the river on 2 July 1779, more information about how the bridge was built came from the discovery in 1997 of a small watercolour by Elias Martin in a Stockholm museum, which shows the bridge under construction in 1779. A half-size replica of the section of the bridge was built in 2001 as part of the research for the BBC Timewatch programme. The bridge is built from five cast iron ribs that give a span of 100 feet 6 inches. Exactly 378 long tons 10 cwt of iron was used in the construction of the bridge, and there are almost 1700 individual components, the heaviest weighing 5.5 long tons. Components were cast individually to fit each other, rather than being of standard sizes
The Iron Bridge
–
The Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge
–
The Iron Bridge from above
The Iron Bridge
–
Pedestrians crossing the Iron Bridge with
Ironbridge in the background
The Iron Bridge
–
Crack and repairs in bridge
20.
Maiden Castle, Dorset
–
Maiden Castle is an Iron Age hill fort 2.5 kilometres south west of Dorchester, in the English county of Dorset. Hill forts were fortified hill-top settlements constructed across Britain during the Iron Age, the earliest archaeological evidence of human activity on the site consists of a Neolithic causewayed enclosure and bank barrow. In about 1800 BC, during the Bronze Age, the site was used for growing crops before being abandoned. Maiden Castle itself was built in about 600 BC, the phase was a simple and unremarkable site, similar to many other hill forts in Britain. At the same time, Maiden Castles defences were more complex with the addition of further ramparts. Around 100 BC habitation at the fort went into decline. It was occupied until at least the Roman period, by time it was in the territory of the Durotriges. After the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century AD, Maiden Castle appears to have been abandoned, in the late 4th century AD, a temple and ancillary buildings were constructed. In the 6th century AD the hill top was entirely abandoned and was used only for agriculture during the medieval period, Maiden Castle has provided inspiration for composer John Ireland and authors Thomas Hardy and John Cowper Powys. The study of hill forts was popularised in the 19th century by archaeologist Augustus Pitt Rivers, in the 1930s, archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler and Tessa Verney Wheeler undertook the first archaeological excavations at Maiden Castle, raising its profile among the public. Further excavations were carried out under Niall Sharples, which added to an understanding of the site, today the site is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is maintained by English Heritage. Before the hill fort was built, a Neolithic causewayed enclosure was constructed on the site. Dating from around 4000 BC, it was an area enclosed by two ditches, It is called a causewayed enclosure because the way the ditches were dug meant that there would originally have been gaps. These gaps, and the bank being only 17 centimetres high, instead the ditches may have been symbolic, separating the interior of the enclosure and its activities from the outside. Archaeologist Niall Sharples, who was involved in excavating the fort in the 1980s, has identified the hilltop views of the surrounding landscape as a likely factor for the enclosures position. The interior of the enclosure has been disturbed by later habitation, the site does not appear to have been inhabited, although a grave containing the remains of two children, aged 6–7, has been discovered. The enclosure is the earliest evidence of activity on the site. The purpose of Neolithic causewayed enclosures is unclear, and they probably had a variety of functions, radiocarbon dating indicates that the enclosure was abandoned around 3,400 BC
Maiden Castle, Dorset
–
Maiden Castle in 1934
Maiden Castle, Dorset
–
Maiden Castle from the north
Maiden Castle, Dorset
–
The white line across the hill fort where the ramparts deviate inwards marks the extent of the early fort. Photograph taken in 1935 by Major George Allen (1891–1940).
Maiden Castle, Dorset
–
Maiden Castle's southern defences were made up of four
ramparts and three
ditches.
21.
Historic Scotland
–
Historic Scotland was an executive agency of the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotlands built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. Under the terms of a Bill of the Scottish Parliament published on 3 March 2014, Historic Scotland was dissolved, HES also took over the functions of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Historic Scotland was an organisation to the Ancient Monuments Division of the Ministry of Works. It was created as an agency in 1991 and was attached to the Scottish Executive Education Department, as part of the Scottish Government, Historic Scotland was directly accountable to the Scottish Ministers. In 2002, proposals to restore Castle Tioram in the West Highlands, by putting a roof back on, were blocked by Historic Scotland and this position was supported in an extensive local Public Inquiry at which the arguments for both sides were heard. It has been implied that this dispute has led to a review of the operations of the organisation, after widespread consultation, Historic Scotland published a comprehensive series of Scottish Historic Environment Policy papers, consolidated into a single volume in October 2008. The agencys Framework Document set out the responsibilities of the Scottish Ministers and its Corporate Plan sets out its targets and performance against them. Historic Scotland had direct responsibility for maintaining and running over 360 monuments in its care, about a quarter of which are manned and these properties have additional features such as guidebooks, books and other resources. Historic Scotland sought to increase the number of run at its sites. Similarly, new museums and visitor centres were opened, notably at Arbroath Abbey, there was also a hospitality section, which makes some properties available for wedding receptions and other functions. Lifetime memberships were also available, and all received a quarterly magazine Historic Scotland. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland Scottish Ten Official website
Historic Scotland
–
Historic Scotland offices in Edinburgh
Historic Scotland
–
Historic Scotland Alba Aosmhor
22.
Cadw
–
Cadw is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. Cadw works to protect the buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage sites of Wales, so that the public can visit them, understand their significance. Cadw arranges events at its properties, provides lectures and teaching sessions, offers heritage walks. Members of the public can become members of Cadw and have such privileges as a magazine, reduced prices at the online shop and free entry to properties. It also offers reciprocal arrangements with similar organisations in other parts of the United Kingdom, Cadw offers employment possibilities and work experience placements. As the Welsh Government’s historic environment service, Cadw is charged with protecting the environment of Wales. Besides these, there were in 2011 in Wales 29,936 listed buildings, also in Wales were 4,175 Scheduled Monuments,6 Designated historic wrecks, and 523 Conservation Areas, these designations means that the buildings or objects concerned are protected by statute. A register of significant Welsh battlefield sites is also under preparation, many of these listed sites are in private ownership, but Cadw has a specific responsibility for the care and upkeep of the 127 historic sites that are in state ownership. Many of Wales great castles and other monuments, such as palaces, historic houses. Cadw has been appointed by the Welsh Government and is the body in Wales to the Ministry of Works. There are 58 Historic Landscapes and 376 Historic parks and gardens in Wales, Cadw is also undertaking urban character studies of urban areas. Eight had been completed by September 2013, combined with a register of buildings and ancient monuments at risk these aim to enable management decision making and grant allocation to strengthen the character of different areas. Cadw operates most of the sites in its care and opens them to the public. In 2010-11 there were an estimated 2 million visits to Cadw properties, in some cases, these are major tourist attractions and offer tours of the monuments, exhibitions and display panels. Cadw also produces books and guidebooks on many of their properties, however many of the sites are unstaffed, free to access, and have interpretation boards to explain their significance. Cadw Membership, formerly known as Heritage in Wales, gives the free admission to all Cadw properties. Other membership advantages are a magazine, reduced prices at the online gift shop. Cadw has also entered into agreements with English Heritage, Historic Scotland
Cadw
–
Dolwyddelan Castle, one of the sites in Cadw's care.
Cadw
–
Valle Crucis Abbey Ruins, a historic abbey in Cadw's care
Cadw
–
Pentre Ifan, a Neolithic dolmen in Pembrokeshire
23.
National Gallery
–
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the century to 1900. The Gallery is a charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media. Its collection belongs to the public of the United Kingdom and entry to the collection is free of charge. It is among the most visited art museums in the world, after the Musée du Louvre, the British Museum, unlike comparable museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed by nationalising an existing royal or princely art collection. It came into being when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein, after that initial purchase the Gallery was shaped mainly by its early directors, notably Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, and by private donations, which comprise two-thirds of the collection. It used to be claimed that this was one of the few national galleries that had all its works on permanent exhibition, the present building, the third to house the National Gallery, was designed by William Wilkins from 1832 to 1838. Only the façade onto Trafalgar Square remains essentially unchanged from this time, wilkinss building was often criticised for the perceived weaknesses of its design and for its lack of space, the latter problem led to the establishment of the Tate Gallery for British art in 1897. The Sainsbury Wing, an extension to the west by Robert Venturi, the current Director of the National Gallery is Gabriele Finaldi. The late 18th century saw the nationalisation of royal or princely art collections across mainland Europe, great Britain, however, did not emulate the continental model, and the British Royal Collection remains in the sovereigns possession today. In 1777 the British government had the opportunity to buy an art collection of international stature, the MP John Wilkes argued for the government to buy this invaluable treasure and suggested that it be housed in a noble gallery. The twenty-five paintings from that now in the Gallery, including NG1, have arrived by a variety of routes. This offer was declined and Bourgeois bequeathed the collection to his old school, Dulwich College, the collection opened in Britains first purpose-built public gallery, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, in 1814. The British Institution, founded in 1805 by a group of aristocratic connoisseurs, the members lent works to exhibitions that changed annually, while an art school was held in the summer months. However, as the paintings that were lent were often mediocre, some resented the Institution. One of the Institutions founding members, Sir George Beaumont, Bt, in 1823 another major art collection came on the market, which had been assembled by the recently deceased John Julius Angerstein. Angerstein was a Russian-born émigré banker based in London, his collection numbered 38 paintings, including works by Raphael, on 1 July 1823 George Agar Ellis, a Whig politician, proposed to the House of Commons that it purchase the collection. The appeal was given added impetus by Beaumonts offer, which came with two conditions, that the government buy Angersteins collection, and that a building was to be found
National Gallery
National Gallery
–
The Raising of Lazarus by
Sebastiano del Piombo, from the collection of
John Julius Angerstein. This became the founding collection of the National Gallery in 1824. The painting has the
accession number NG1, making it officially the first painting to enter the Gallery.
National Gallery
–
100
Pall Mall, the home of the National Gallery from 1824 to 1834.
National Gallery
–
The Baptism of Christ by
Piero della Francesca, one of Eastlake's purchases.
24.
British Museum
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The British Museum is dedicated to human history, art and culture, and is located in the Bloomsbury area of London. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician, the museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. Although today principally a museum of art objects and antiquities. Its foundations lie in the will of the Irish-born British physician, on 7 June 1753, King George II gave his formal assent to the Act of Parliament which established the British Museum. They were joined in 1757 by the Old Royal Library, now the Royal manuscripts, together these four foundation collections included many of the most treasured books now in the British Library including the Lindisfarne Gospels and the sole surviving copy of Beowulf. The British Museum was the first of a new kind of museum – national, belonging to neither church nor king, freely open to the public, sloanes collection, while including a vast miscellany of objects, tended to reflect his scientific interests. The addition of the Cotton and Harley manuscripts introduced a literary, the body of trustees decided on a converted 17th-century mansion, Montagu House, as a location for the museum, which it bought from the Montagu family for £20,000. The Trustees rejected Buckingham House, on the now occupied by Buckingham Palace, on the grounds of cost. With the acquisition of Montagu House the first exhibition galleries and reading room for scholars opened on 15 January 1759. During the few years after its foundation the British Museum received several gifts, including the Thomason Collection of Civil War Tracts. A list of donations to the Museum, dated 31 January 1784, in the early 19th century the foundations for the extensive collection of sculpture began to be laid and Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts dominated the antiquities displays. Gifts and purchases from Henry Salt, British consul general in Egypt, beginning with the Colossal bust of Ramesses II in 1818, many Greek sculptures followed, notably the first purpose-built exhibition space, the Charles Towneley collection, much of it Roman Sculpture, in 1805. In 1816 these masterpieces of art, were acquired by The British Museum by Act of Parliament. The collections were supplemented by the Bassae frieze from Phigaleia, Greece in 1815, the Ancient Near Eastern collection also had its beginnings in 1825 with the purchase of Assyrian and Babylonian antiquities from the widow of Claudius James Rich. The neoclassical architect, Sir Robert Smirke, was asked to draw up plans for an extension to the Museum. For the reception of the Royal Library, and a Picture Gallery over it, and put forward plans for todays quadrangular building, much of which can be seen today. The dilapidated Old Montagu House was demolished and work on the Kings Library Gallery began in 1823, the extension, the East Wing, was completed by 1831. The Museum became a site as Sir Robert Smirkes grand neo-classical building gradually arose
British Museum
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British Museum
British Museum
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The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2001 to become the
Great Court, surrounding the original
Reading Room.
British Museum
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Sir
Hans Sloane
British Museum
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Montagu House, c. 1715
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Harmondsworth Barn
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Harmondsworth Great Barn is a medieval barn on the former Manor Farm in the village of Harmondsworth, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England. It is north-west of fields and the A4 next to Heathrow Airport, built in the early 15th century by Winchester College, it is the largest timber-framed building in England and is regarded as an outstanding example of medieval carpentry. It was described by the English poet John Betjeman as the Cathedral of Middlesex, a similar though smaller barn is part of the Manor Farm complex in Ruislip. The barn was briefly in royal ownership but passed into the hands of three families who continued to use it for agricultural purposes until as late as the 1970s and it was subsequently owned by a property development company which redeveloped the farm complex. After the company went bankrupt in 2006, the barn was bought by property speculators betting on its value if the nearby Heathrow Airport was expanded. The barn fell into disrepair and was closed to the public for all, English Heritage stepped in, using a rare legal procedure to carry out repairs without the owners consent, and eventually purchased the barn in January 2012. It is now open to the public from April to October on the second, the barn measures 58.55 metres long,11.3 metres wide, and 11.9 metres high, with twelve bays, running in a north–south direction. It occupies a footprint of about 661 square metres and has a volume of about 4,890 cubic metres. There are three doors on the east side to permit the entry of wagons, the exterior of the barn is weatherboarded, with a hipped tiled roof. It was originally a larger structure, with two wings, but the north wing was dismantled in 1774 and rebuilt in the now-demolished hamlet of Heathrow. The vast majority of the structure is original, it has been estimated that 95 per cent of the timbers. It is an example of a late medieval aisled barn and is the largest timber-framed building in England. Barns of this type were based on a frame, with two rows of posts connected by arcade plates. Because such barns tend to be long and high, they experience high structural loads from the wind. They therefore have numerous internal braces, acting in much the way as buttresses. This gives the barn its distinctive appearance, with a lattice of beams. The techniques used in its construction are similar to those employed on the cathedrals being built at the time. The barns main posts are made of oak, each is about 14 inches square and sits on a block of Reigate sandstone, a common building material in medieval London
Harmondsworth Barn
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The Great Barn in Harmondsworth
Harmondsworth Barn
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Section of the western side of the barn, July 2015.
Harmondsworth Barn
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Exterior of the barn
Harmondsworth Barn
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View of the barn, July 2015, from the north-west.
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