Britain Beautiful, Interesting and Sometimes Strange

Untitled image in Llandaff Cathedral (32109)

Untitled image in Llandaff Cathedral (32128)

Untitled image in Llandaff Cathedral (32121)

The Courts Garden, Holt, Wiltshire.

The Courts Garden, Holt, Wiltshire.

Untitled image in Miscellaneous photos around the British Isles (Gallery Thirteen) (32613)

Standing With Giants

Standing With Giants

Cascade and artificial ruins and a view of Eleven Acre Lake.

Untitled image in Peterborough and its Cathedral. (30354)

Untitled image in Peterborough and its Cathedral. (30361)

The present St John the Baptist Church is situated in Cathedral Square and is only a few minutes walk away from Peterborough Cathedral. This seemingly strange state of affairs is due to the fact that the cathedral was for the monks and the church for the townspeople. It is officially designated as Peterborough's parish church and, as such, its vicar bears the title of the Vicar of Peterborough. Construction of the current church began in 1402 and it was dedicated to St John the Baptist on 26 June 1407.

Untitled image in Coventry Cathedral and the City. (30218)

The Golden Cross is the oldest pub in Coventry (One of the oldest in The Midlands). Built circa 1583, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st and established as a public house circa 1661, during the reign of Charles II (The year of his coronation). The Golden Cross boasts traditional Tudor features which include: jettied upper floors with exposed beams, the pub also features a Dragon Beam which makes it possible for the jettied floors to go around the corners.

Untitled image in Coventry Cathedral and the City. (30206)

Untitled image in Hereford and its Cathedral. (30073)

Cathedral of Saint Mary the Virgin and Saint Ethelbert the King.

Thomas Traherne was born in hereford in about 1636.He was the son of a local shoemaker.Atfter an education in Oxford he returned to Herefordshire ias incumbent of the parish of Credenhill.His work as a poet and writer was not recognised until 20th century. He died in 1674 and his life and work is commemorated by Tom Denny in a series of stained glass windows (2007) placed in the Audley Chapel.

The Botanic Garden at Logan, Dumfries and Galloway.

Inside a rhododendron at Sheffield Park, Sussex and its beauty is still there for all to see, 25th June 2021.

Untitled image in Miscellaneous Photos from around the British Isles (Gallery Twelve) (30343)

Untitled image in Shrugborough Hall (29264)

Untitled image in Shrugborough Hall (29262)

The estate was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, upon which it passed through several hands before being purchased in 1624 by William Anson, a local lawyer and ancestor of the Earls of Lichfield. The estate remained in the Anson family for three centuries. Following the death of the 4th Earl of Lichfield in 1960, the estate was allocated to the National Trust in lieu of death duties, and then immediately leased to Staffordshire County Council. Management of the estate was returned to the National Trust in 2016.

The detatched tower of St.Mary's a feature more commonly found on the European continent but rarely in England. The tower is 17th century, and stands on the site of an earlier church.Tower of St.Mary's Church 30th July 2017.

View inside the Castle 30th July 2017.The first castle at Berkeley was a motte-and-bailey, built around 1067 by William FitzOsbern shortly after the Conquest. This was subsequently held by three generations of the first Berkeley family, all called Roger de Berkeley, and rebuilt by them in the first half of the 12th century.The last Roger de Berkeley was dispossessed in 1152 for withholding his allegiance from the House of Plantagenet during the conflict of The Anarchy, and the feudal barony of Berkeley was then granted to Robert Fitzharding, a wealthy burgess of Bristol and supporter of the Plantagenets. He was the founder of the Berkeley family which still holds the castle. In 1153–54, Fitzharding received a royal charter from King Henry II giving him permission to rebuild the castle. Fitzharding built the circular shell keep between 1153 and 1156, probably on the site of the former motte.

View from Castle 30th July 2017.

Untitled image in Brockham Bonfire, 3rd November 2012. (28895)

Untitled image in Brockham Bonfire, 3rd November 2012. (28905)

Untitled image in Brockham Bonfire, 3rd November 2012. (28902)