Monthly Archives: April 2018
Friars Carse, Robert Burns and a drinking contest #atozchallenge
I’m heading north for this post to Scotland and a hotel near Dumfries called Friars Carse. It has a long history, although not in its current form, only the stables and hermitage are listed. The original Frierkerse was a friary (small monastery) established by Cistercians. (A carse means fertile land near a river.) The monks […]
Eggington House, suffragettes and Huguenots. #atozchallenge
Not all country houses began life as Medieval Great Halls. Eggington House in Bedfordshire is an example of domestic English architecture and was built in 1696. Country dwellings weren’t usually as ‘modern’ as their city equivalents, but the builders of Eggington weren’t going to be outdone by the city folk. Who acquired the estate and […]
A musical interlude – Dartington Hall #atozchallenge
When I was about nine (or possibly ten), my family and I went on holiday to Devon. We camped, hiked and played on the beach. At some point during the fortnight, my parents took us to a concert in the evening and I had my one and only experience of listening live to James Galway […]
The tale of two Medieval houses #atozchallenge
Some houses change over time, others don’t. Before the days of listed buildings (protection orders on historical buildings), owners simply added, removed and did what they pleased to keep the exterior and interior of their home functional and maintained. Theses days, you can’t just simply knock down an outside wall of a Medieval listed building […]
RM 47, Foreign Office – the secret house – #atozchallenge
Once upon a time, this house was known by various designations: Station X, London Signals Intelligence Centre, HMS Pembroke (a navy designation because there were supposedly WRENs posted there) and as a postal address it was listed as Room 47, Foreign Office, or sometimes simply B.P. Where is this place? Located near the modern town […]
Athelhampton and the incident of the sausage – #atozchallenge
So I begin this year’s A-Z challenge. One letter each day and on the theme of Great Houses of Britain. Today it’s A for Athelhampton House (Dorchester, Dorset), which I visited a several years ago and has a link to a family member. More on that in a bit. The great hall was built in […]
The Quiet Writer 