Tag Archives: Blogging Challenge
Ightham Mote – who wouldn’t want to live here? #aztochallenge
Ightham Mote (pronounced item moat) is one of my favourite houses. When I lived in Kent, I used to live not far away and relished a visit. Now in the hands of the National Trust, its long history began centuries ago and involved many occupiers. A house’s history is the product of his occupants and […]
Haddon in a hurry #atozchallenge
A quick post about Haddon Hall in Derbyshire. Built in 1200s as a fortified Medieval manor and then lived in as a home until early 1600s when it was left dormant for 200 years. Consequently, it skipped over the Georgian period and remains a largely Medieval building. In 1920s the Duke and Duchess of Rutland […]
Glemhall Hall, facades and taxes #atozchallenge
Glemham Hall features a characteristic Georgian façade constructed in front of an old Tudor hall, which once would have a been a grand example of early renaissance architecture. This ‘covering’ up of the old frontage is quite common for England’s Medieval buildings and the give away is the bottom of the roof doesn’t meet the […]
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 […]
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 […]
A-Z blogging challenge – theme reveal 2018
Welcome to this year’s theme reveal for the A-Z blogging challenge. After the previous year’s cathedrals and abbeys, I decided to continue the theme of historical places of the British Isles. With the success of Downton Abbey and The Crown on TV, it would be easy to pick the stately homes of Chatsworth, Blenheim Palace […]
A-to-Z and the book
I’ve signed up again! Yes, the A to Z blogging challenge beckons and I’ve succumbed. Already, I’m wondering what I’ve let myself in for and if I really can deliver a post a day when I’ve hardly posted anything for months. Why? Because I’ve been super busy working on my book and finally it is […]
A to Z challenge – reflections
This has been my third year of A-Zing. In no particular order, my thoughts in reflection… Time – oh to have buckets more of it. As usual I failed to plan everything up front or schedule enough posts in advance leaving myself a pitiful amount of time to read other people’s. It should be said, […]
The Quiet Writer 