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TIME
A STAY IN
STRATFORD-
UPON-
AVON
Immerse yourself
in hot springs
& history
SCILLY
SEASON
Cornwall’s
magical isles
TREASURE
TROVE
AROYAL
RIGHTROW The National Trust’s
George IV & his most precious pieces
spurned queen
On the Tudor trail

Magnificent manors & castles of Warwickshire
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EDITOR'S LETTER
Forget 2021: we’re
time-travelling back
through the ages this
issue. Begin with
the Bronze Age in the
beautiful Isles of Scilly, which hold the
greatest concentration of archaeological
sites in the country (Scilly season, p68).
 en skip a few centuries to alight in
Warwickshire, whose Tudor houses
run the gamut from a manor that hosted
Elizabeth I to the humble cottage in
Stratford-upon-Avon where Shakespeare
was born (On the Tudor trail, p14).
Join the Georgians to take the waters
– and take in the architecture – in
glorious Bath (p77); and two centuries
after he became king, find out why
14
George IV barred his wife from his own
coronation (e unhappy couple, p42).
Fast forward to read about Her
Majesty e Queen’s wedding day (A Packwood House, Warwickshire
CONTEN
majestic marriage, p50) before returning
to the present day in our new back-page
series (Last word, p82), in which the
Show Manager of the RHS Chelsea
Flower Show gives us an insider’s view VOLUME 89 ISSUE 5
of the most prestigious garden event
in the world. Enjoy the issue!
Natasha Foges,
Editor
FEATURES
14 24
32
ON THE TUDOR TRAIL
For the best articles straight to your inbox, From the castle that hosted Elizabeth I to the humble
S E GA M I TSURT L A N O I TA N / L E D E I S N I E NOV S A E R D N A/Y M A L A/T TAYW TREBOR/ N O S I R R O M NHOJ © :SOTOHP
sign up to our free BRITAIN newsletter at dwelling where Shakespeare was born, Warwickshire
www.britain-magazine.com/newsletter is blessed with a host of Tudor sights
@BRITAINMAGAZINE
24 TREASURES OF THE TRUST
In its Year of Treasures, the National Trust is shining
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a spotlight on unsung gems from the formidable
collections of its historic houses
@BRITAIN_MAGAZINE 32 THE INCREDIBLE HOLKHAM
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The seat of the Earls of Leicester, a jewel on the
north Norfolk coast, is one of England’s greatest
stately homes
BRITAI 42
FIND YOUR
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THE UNHAPPY COUPLE

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A STAY IN
STRATFORD-
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TIME The tale of George IV and Caroline of Brunswick
Immerse yourself
in hot springs
& history is one of secret wives, scheming mistresses,
SCILLY
SEASON
Cornwall’s
spying courtiers – and scandal galore
50
magical isles
AROYAL
RIGHTROW
TREASURE
TROVE
The National Trust’s
most precious pieces Cover image: The Roman A MAJESTIC MARRAGE
In the second part of our series, we join the
George IV & his
spurned queen
Baths and Bath Abbey
On the Tudor trail in Bath, Somerset
Magnificent manors & castles of Warwickshire
NOV 2021 USA&CAN $7.99
itain-magazine.com
© Gavin Hellier/AWL Images Queen and Prince Philip on their wedding day
FEATURES THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
57 GREAT SCOTT
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YOUR LETTERS
Write to us with your thoughts on the magazine and memories of Britain
STAR LETTER A PARTY TO REMEMBER A LONDON LIFE

Your magazine reminds me of the time
I spent working as a secretary in The
Our star letter wins a Methodist Church headquarters, then located
heritage tea towel in the ‘chimney brush’ building just off
featuring a ‘Bird & Parliament Square in London (1969-1971).
Rosehip’ design by the I lived in a hostel across from the British
architect and textile Museum. In one of your recent issues you
designer CFA Voysey, printed an aerial view of the museum area
created for the V&A and I located the building where I lived there.
(£7.50). www.vam.ac.uk I have returned a few times since and stayed
with two of the friends I met while there, lived
with and worked with. One friend now lives
in the north of England and the other in
Northern Ireland. I’ve often referred to
my living in England as my ‘college
education in people’. Thank you for
Your colourful article “Stately Slendour” that they had reminding me of this wonderful time.
[Vol 89 Issue 3] mentioned three historic provided the music Roberta Hewit-Keesey, Cedar Lake, Indiana, USA
mansions that I have enjoyed visiting (Syon at the Investiture
Park, Strawberry Hill House and Marble
Hill House). On July 12, 1969, I attended
of Prince Charles
in Wales 12 days TIME TO EXPLORE
a delightful garden tea party in the grounds previously. I met a young English girl We have for many years subscribed to
of Horace Walpole’s Gothic Revival villa that day, Tricia, who later became the your wonderful magazine and eagerly look
Strawberry Hill (photo above). I was mother of Andrew, my godson. In 2018 forward to each edition as you showcase
among 300 American high school my wife, Antonia, and I happily attended historical and fun places to learn about and
students on a Foreign Study League trip Andrew’s wedding to Kate at Norwich visit. We first began subscribing when our
to England and Ireland, hosted by local Cathedral in Norfolk. Anglo-American daughter was a student at Oxford in early
English families from Twickenham and bonds are tight in our families. 2000 and have never been disappointed.
Teddington. The uniformed band members Dennis J O’Brien, Williamsburg, Every time we have visited the British Isles
at our garden party proudly informed us Virginia, USA – we live in the USA – we have scoured past
editions to plan our excursions, side trips
and places to eat and stay. From Inverness in
BEAUTIFUL BLUEBELLS the north, to Kent and Dover in the
southeast, Wales to the west, Pitlochry in the
I have subscribed to BRITAIN for many years heart of Scotland, Rye and Eastbourne in the
– decades – and the magazines are taking up south, and of course York, London and
a lot of space, but who can throw away such Edinburgh, your recommendations have
treasures? I love the magazine as I love Great served us very well. We plan to visit the UK
Britain, having visited by car all over England later this year, and are already rereading
and Scotland starting in 1964. My husband articles and advertisements to plan our stay
and I were members of National Trust for there. Our explorations are always
Y M A L A/ K U S E P A C S D N A L EWOT S ANNA © :SOTOHP
years. I remember the first time – we had lost entertaining and we usually find hidden gems
our way and we came into a wood with the flower it was. She seemed a bit surprised… worthy of our attention. Thank you for your
ground covered in bluebells. It was magical. but we do not have them wild in Sweden. fabulous publication.
Later that day I asked Rosemary Verey what Marie Louise Grennert, Malmö, Sweden Stan and Susan Bishop, Florida, USA
WRITE TO US! By post: Letters, BRITAIN, The Chelsea Magazine Company, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 3TQ Via email: editor@britain-magazine.com
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The
BULLETIN
Classical concerts, Greek-inspired gardens and
ceramic souvenirs
EXHIBITION
Viking treasure
Discovered by a metal detectorist in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland in 2014, the
Galloway Hoard is one of the most important UK archaeological finds of the century.
Now on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, a new exhibition,
Galloway Hoard: Viking-age Treasure (until 12 September), showcases previously unseen
D N A L TO C S F O S M U E S U M L A N O I TAN © : O T O H P
details and discoveries, recently revealed by expert conservation and painstaking

cleaning. Further research using cutting-edge methods – X-rays, CT scans and 3D
models – is underway, set to uncover yet more Viking secrets from this 100-strong
hoard of objects buried more than 1,000 years ago. www.nms.ac.uk
HISTORY / NEWS / REVIEWS / INSPIRATION
H E R I TAG E
Tudor time capsule
As part of Plymouth’s Mayflower 400
commemorations, the Elizabethan House
in the city’s historic Barbican area has now
opened after a £1.7million restoration. Built in
the late 1500s, the house’s first known owner
was resident in 1631, with the last recorded
owner in 1926. The ‘voice’ of the house leads a
tour through four centuries of history, sharing
stories and memories as visitors move between
F E S T I VA L its restored rooms. From a washerwoman to
a wigmaker, both the house’s rich and poor
P L A C E S T O S TAY
The hills are alive residents are presented through projections,
images and even evocative smells. From glass to class
www.theboxplymouth.com
The Investec International Music Festival will There’s now a new reason to visit the stunning
this year bring the best of classical music to north Norfolk coast. The Harper, a luxury
the Surrey Hills (September 16-25). A variety boutique hotel that has opened in the pretty
of atmospheric venues will be filled with the village of Langham, is set in a brick-and-flint
spirit-lifting sounds of some of Britain’s most building that once housed a glass-making
renowned classical artists and acts. Among the workshop. Arranged around a sunny central
highlights are lutenist Paula Chateauneuf, who courtyard, the rooms are comfortable and
will perform in the exquisite setting of West contemporary, each individually designed with
Horsley Place’s Tudor Stone Hall; a Pilgrims’ designer flourishes, comfy four-posters and
Concert at the church of St Martha-on-the- cheerful pops of colour. Thoughtful touches
Hill, along the old Pilgrims’ Way, featuring include freshly mixed cocktails in your
bassoonist Amy Thompson; and the supremely minibar and Nespresso machines. A bijou
talented Tallis Scholars, set to perform in spa and an unstuffy restaurant that flies the
Guildford for the first time in a decade. flag for local produce complete the picture.
www.iimf.co.uk SHOPPING www.theharper.co.uk
Mug half full

Don’t let your destination dreams fade.
Revive your sense of wanderlust with
S E GA M I Y T T E G/K COT SI/HTE M E N AV E/T S U R T L A N O I TAN © :SOTOHP
a brew in one of Emma Bridgewater’s

‘Landscapes of Dreams’ mugs (£19.95). From
the Cotswolds to Cornwall, the Lake District
to Norfolk, and a series of ‘Cities of Dreams’
too, these beautifully illustrated mugs are an
antidote to the continuing pandemic travel
disruption. If you are lucky enough to be
on UK soil, don’t miss the British Ceramic
Biennial (11 September-17 October), hosted
in the heart of Britain’s ceramics industry,
Stoke-on-Trent, also known as ‘The Potteries’.
www.emmabridgewater.co.uk
GARDENS
Mediterranean mirage
We might not be able to cross borders as easily as we used to, Delos may look very different to the rambling, typically
but no matter: it’s now possible to catch a glimpse of Greece English plantings elsewhere in these world-renowned
on home turf thanks to Sissinghurst Castle Gardens’ newest gardens, but it completes a scheme first envisioned by
horticultural attraction, ‘Delos’. Created by National Trust staff Sissinghurst’s founders, Vita Sackvil e-West and her husband
in partnership with esteemed garden designer Dan Pearson, Harold Nicolson, more than 85 years ago, and exudes the
the garden’s innovative landscaping techniques ensure its spirit of experimentation so important to the couple.
Mediterranean plants benefit from maximum sunlight. www.nationaltrust.org.uk
HISTORY / NEWS / REVIEWS / INSPIRATION
READING CORNER
Take inspiration for your
British adventures from
these great reads
The Great British Tree
Biography by Mark
Hooper (Pavilion,
£16.99). Historic tales
associated with 50
species of tree in
The fruity Britain, from the
Glastonbury Hawthorn
toppings can be to the Knole Oak.
gril ed al fresco on Raised from the Ruins
a charcoal BBQ by Jane Whitaker
RECIPE (Unicorn, £35). A study
of how monasteries
Caramelised rice pudding were swept away
during the Dissolution
and later adapted
with strawberries and griddled peaches for secular use.
The Story of the
Using the finest local ingredients and following the unique culinary traditions of some Country House:
of our favourite – and sometimes far-flung – British destinations, James Martin’s Islands A History of Places
to Highlands (Quadrille, £25), with photography by Peter Cassidy, brings us recipes inspired and People by Clive
by Cornwall, Scilly, the Isle of Man, the Peak District, the Lake District, the Isle of Skye Aslet (Yale, £18.99).
and more. The secret ingredient – if available – of this dessert is Guernsey’s fresh, rich cream. A well-researched
retelling of the British
country house’s
Ingredients: SERVES 6 evolution from
125g salted butter, diced 300ml double cream FOR THE FRUIT Roman times to today.
200g pudding rice 1 vanilla pod, halved lengthways 3 peaches, halved and stoned The Book Lover's
Bucket List: A Tour of
100g caster sugar FOR THE TOPPING 1 tablespoon vegetable oil Great British Literature
by Caroline Taggart
450ml full-fat milk 200g demerara sugar 200g strawberries, halved (British Library
Publishing, £16.99).
Method: A roll call of 100 literary
If using, light your BBQ. When the coals are silvery in colour, it’s ready to cook on. sites and landscapes,
Heat a wide, shallow, heavy-based flameproof pan over a medium heat. Add the butter with photography
and allow to melt, then pour in the rice and stir well to coat all over. Pour in the sugar, and il ustrations.
milk and cream, then scrape in the seeds from the vanilla pod and stir everything together. Liquid History: An
Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Illustrated Guide to
Once the rice pudding has cooked, sprinkle the demerara sugar all over the top and London’s Greatest Pubs
use a blowtorch to cook the sugar until caramelised. Alternatively, you can do this under by John Warland
a very hot preheated grill. (Bantam Press, £12.99).
If not using the BBQ, preheat a griddle pan over a medium heat. Drizzle the cut side of the A love letter to
YD I S S A C R E T E P © : S O T O H P
peach halves with the vegetable oil and rub all over. Place the peach halves, cut-side down, London's best
on the BBQ or griddle pan and cook for five to six minutes until golden and slightly charred. boozers and their
Lift into a bowl, add the strawberries and toss together. Spoon the rice pudding among extraordinary history.
six bowls, then top with the fruit and serve.
SCOTLAND
— 2022 ESCORTED TOURS —

British Isles 19th Annual Outlander Tour® Western & Northern
Scotland: Dumfries and Galloway
England: Hadrian’s Wall, Lake District
Based on the book series by Diana Gabaldon.
Time travel back to the 18th-century Highlands,
Isles of Scotland
A combination tour of the popular
Wales: Snowdonia National Park, Welsh Castles where history and fantasy come face to face. See Lords of the Isles and Viking Treasure.
Ireland: Dublin, the magnificent Neolithic secret places & magical sites off the beaten path. Skye, Lewis, Harris, Orkney, the Northwest
site at Knowth in Bru Na Boinne, Belfast June 23-July 4, 2022 • 11 Nights • $4,995 and Northeast coasts, and the Highlands.
May 5-19, 2022 • 14 Nights • $5,995 October 2-11, 2022 • 9 Nights • $4,195 Includes the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
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DISCOVER WHERE WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE WAS INSPIRED TO BECOME THE WORLD’S GREATEST PLAYWRIGHT.
Immerse yourself in sixteenth century Stratford-upon-Avon to explore the very room where William Shakespeare sat
as a pupil in the 1570s and the spacewhere he first saw plays performed by the country’s greatest actors of the day.
‘Best place to visit in Stratford-upon-Avon’
Take part in a live Tudor lesson with Master Thomas Dress up in authentic Tudor clothes and learn to
Jenkins write with a quill
Learn about William’s father John and hear many Whether a lifelong Shakespeare enthusiast or new to
stories about the building from our knowledgeable his enduring legacy, this authentic experience
Guides illuminates and brings to life the story of young William.
Soak up the atmosphere of the late medieval Priest’s
Chapel and marvel at the wall paintings, uncovered Website www.shakespearesschoolroom.org
during the restoration of the building. Email info@shakespearesschoolroom.org
‘The best of all Shakespeare’s sites...Thoroughly recommend a visit here...staff are amazing ...we really felt we had walked back in time.’
www.britain-magazine.com BRITAIN 13
On the
Tudor trail
From the castle that hosted Elizabeth I to the humble
dwelling where Shakespeare was born, Warwickshire
is blessed with a host of Tudor sights
WORDS NEIL JONES
This image:
The 16th-century
Charlecote Park
near Stratford-
upon-Avon
WARWICKSHIRE
T T E L LAH A R U A L © : N O I TA R T S ULLI/NOSBOD S E M AJ/S E GA M I TSURT L A N O I TA N / E GAT I R E H H S I L G N E/ S E IVAD S E M AJ/YM A L A L L ANGAD NAI/ N O S L O H C I N REHP OTSIRHC © :SOTOHP
T wo hundred years ago, in 1821, the publication

of a novel called Kenilworth brought visitors
flocking to the Warwickshire castle of the title.
The author Walter Scott is celebrated elsewhere
in this issue (see p57), but is mentioned here because the
popularity of his story – about Elizabethan court favourite
Robert Dudley’s ‘secret’ marriage to Amy Robsart and its
Elizabeth visited Kenilworth four times, most famously
on her summer progress of 1575 when she stayed for 19
days of dancing, fireworks and pageantry – a climactic
scene of Scott’s novel. In Leicester’s Gatehouse an
exhibition about Dudley and Elizabeth’s romance helps
you to sort fact from fiction and you can enjoy superb
views from the tower built for the queen’s use. Then
repercussions – shows that our modern fascination with explore the authentically recreated garden where
the Tudors and their dazzling, turbulent times is nothing Dudley beguiled Elizabeth with richly perfumed
new. Combine the Tudors and their beautiful homes with flowers, magnificent arbours, a bejewelled aviary
Warwickshire’s classic green English countryside and you and an 18-foot fountain carved from Carrara marble.
have the makings of a wonderful tour. Our next visit, an eight-mile drive westwards from
So let’s begin at Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Kenilworth, is the gorgeous moated manor house of
Garden, now cared for by English Heritage but once the Baddesley Clinton. This was the seat of the Catholic Ferrers
property of monarchs including King Henry VII, who family for 500 years and much of the house you see today,
built a tennis court here, and gluttonous Henry VIII, who including the Great Hall, was built in the late 1500s by
characteristically concerned himself with the location of lawyer and diarist Henry Ferrers ‘the Antiquary’: so-called
a banqueting house. In 1563 Elizabeth I granted the castle for his scholarly pursuits and interest in heraldic decoration.
to her beloved Robert Dudley, soon to be Earl of Leicester, Yet all was not quite as peaceful as today’s scene suggests.
and Dudley lavished a fortune turning the medieval Life in Tudor England following Henry VIII’s break with
fortress into a sumptuous palace and pleasure garden Rome was fraught with dangers as the country lurched
to impress the queen. about with each successive sovereign, from Protestant
16 BRITAIN
Clockwise, from
this image: The
Elizabethan Garden
at Kenilworth;
Baddesley Clinton’s
chapel; moated
Baddesley Clinton
This image:
Packwood House
Below: Baddesley
Clinton’s Great Hall
Edward VI to Catholic Mary, to Protestant Elizabeth. In the
1580s Henry Ferrers the Antiquary leased his home to two
ardently Catholic sisters, Eleanor and Anne Vaux, and the
house became a secret meeting place for persecuted Jesuit
priests, among them Father Henry Garnet, Jesuit Superior
of England. The sisters even employed Nicholas Owen, the
leading priest-hide builder, to create three priest-holes – you
can view one today through the kitchen floor. It was here
that Garnet and seven priests hid when pursuivants (priest
hunters) battered on the door early one morning in October
1591, as Garnet recorded:
“They tore madly through the whole house, searched
everywhere, pried with candles into the darkest corners.
They took four hours over the work but fortunately they
chanced on nothing.” Apparently Henry the Antiquary,
away in London, was oblivious of the dramatic goings-on.
Continue westwards for a couple more miles and you
come to Packwood House, a mellow manor first built around
1570 and restored as a Tudor ‘dream home’ by its wealthy
20th-century owner, Graham Baron Ash. A connoisseur
collector, Baron Ash filled Packwood with period
furnishings; the tapestry-adorned Long Gallery, despite
being built in the 1930s, certainly looks the Tudor part.
Packwood House, a mellow

manor first built around 1570, was
restored as a Tudor ‘dream home’
by its wealthy 20th-century owner
This image: Anne
Hathaway’s cottage
Above: The
16th-century gate
tower on Coughton
Court’s West Front
Y M A L A/ K COTS 5 3 E Y E/SIR ROM TREBOR/Y E C A L S R H C/NOSBOD S E M AJ/S E GA M I TSURT L A N O I TAN © :SOTOHP
WARWICKSHIRE
Clockwise, from this image:

The view from the
gatehouse, once a banquet
house, towards the manor at
Charlecote; inside the Great
Hall at Charlecote; ‘Katherine
Vaux, daughter of Lord Vaux
of Harrowden’, 1576
Next, head south to be greeted by the impressive

16th-century gate tower of Coughton Court, near
Alcester. The Throckmorton family, still living at
Coughton after 600 years (though it is now owned by
the National Trust), were prominent in Tudor times and
beyond in upholding their Catholic faith despite fines
and imprisonment for recusancy (refusing to attend
the Church of England).
Among many brave family members was George
Throckmorton, whose building work dominates
Coughton today. A knight in Henry VIII’s household,
George opposed the king’s divorce from Catherine of
Aragon and the royal designs on Anne Boleyn, accusing
Henry of having “meddled both with the mother and
N OSBOD S E M AJ/Y E CA L SIR HC/S E GA M I TSURT L A N O I TAN © :SOTOHP
the sister”. With surprising mildness Henry retorted:

“never with the mother”.
Sir George later endured a spell in the Tower of London
but managed always to survive, and through his 19
children with Katherine Vaux (an earlier offshoot from
the Vaux family tree that produced Eleanor and Anne)
he would be related to five of the Gunpowder Plot
conspirators who tried to blow up King James I/VI
and Parliament in 1605.
Numerous Throckmorton portraits gaze down at you
from Coughton Court’s handsome staircase and you can
view the family’s treasures in the new Secret and Sacred
WARWICKSHIRE
exhibition, including an ornate cope (priest’s cloak)

allegedly made by Catherine of Aragon and her ladies-in-
waiting, and a linen chemise reportedly worn by Mary
Queen of Scots at her execution in 1587. The gardens
brimming with more than 200 varieties of rose are a
fragrant delight.
As we now head towards Stratford-upon-Avon, tales
of William Shakespeare begin to loom large, not least the
legend that he poached deer at Charlecote Park. More
factually certain is that the Lucy family, who have lived
at Charlecote for some 900 years, completed their ‘new’
home in the 1550s; the fashionable redbrick gatehouse
was a banquet house used for eating the sweet course
of meals whilst enjoying splendid views.
Much later, George Hammond Lucy and his wife
Mary Elizabeth channelled the Victorian vogue for all
things Elizabethan by furnishing Charlecote with period
treasures and turning it into a landmark of the Romantic
Elizabethan Revival. The Library features rarities like
Shakespeare’s Second Folio and books from the 16th-
century Reformation.
As we now head towards
Stratford-upon-Avon, tales
of William Shakespeare
begin to loom large
For a finale, drop into the family homes of the greatest
English playwright of Tudor – and all – times.
Shakespeare’s Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon where
he was born in 1564, the third of eight children of John
Shakespeare and Mary Arden, wasn’t always as prettily
quaint as we now find it: the backyard would have been
This image: smelly with animals’ skins stored for John’s glove-making
The roses at business. John was even fined in 1552 for leaving a
Coughton Court are a muckheap outside his home.
summer highlight
When he was bailiff of the town, John was also
responsible for the white-washing of Catholic wall
paintings locally, which makes the fragments of religious
murals at his son’s former schoolroom all the more
THE PLANNER intriguing. The paintings, including a depiction of the
Last Supper, can be seen at Shakespeare’s Schoolroom
GETTING THERE historic atmosphere (oak beams, & Guildhall, where you can also experience life as a
Kenilworth, between Warwick four-poster bed) combines with Tudor schoolboy with Shakespeare’s teacher, learning
and Coventry, is just under ten modern comforts. The King’s Head at a little Latin and writing in quill and ink, just as Will
miles’ drive from the M40. Trains Aston Cantlow (between Packwood did as a boy here in the 1570s.
to Kenilworth from London Euston House and Coughton Court) reputedly Five minutes’ drive away at Shottery, you can get the
(via Coventry) and London Marylebone hosted the wedding breakfast of low-down on Will’s romancing of his future wife at Anne
(via Leamington Spa) take 1hr Shakespeare’s parents John and Mary Hathaway’s Cottage, still packed with original Hathaway
YAWOLLA L L I B /S E GA M I TSURT L A N O I TAN © :SOTOHP
30min–2hr. www.thetrainline.com in 1557. The signature duck mixed grill family possessions like the ‘courting settle’ – “And thereby
and bread pudding with custard are hangs a tale”! Back in Stratford the site of New Place,
WHERE TO STAY AND EAT among today’s hearty offerings. Shakespeare’s home when a successful writer, is interpreted
The White Swan Hotel at www.white-swan-stratford.co.uk; via a restored knot garden, sculptures and other artefacts.
Stratford-upon-Avon, noted as an inn www.thekingshead.com Dazzling monarchs and courtiers, romantic homes and
from 1560, boasts period features like ruins, dark secrets and intrigue: Tudor Warwickshire is as
an unusual 16th-century wall painting,
and character bedrooms where i FURTHER INFORMATION
visit.warwickshire.gov.uk
fascinating today as ever.
 For more on Shakespeare, see www.britain-magazine.com
COMPETITION
W IN A LUXURY STAY IN
STRATFORD-UPON-AVON
L ocated in the heart of historic Stratford-
upon-Avon, the birthplace of William
Shakespeare, and directly opposite the
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Theatres (with one of the best views in town
With all the delights of Stratford-upon-Avon
on your doorstep, you’ll find plenty to keep you
entertained. You could take in a play by the
Royal Shakespeare Company, travel back
in time at Shakespeare’s Birthplace, or visit
HOW TO ENTER
For your chance to win this fantastic
prize go to www.britain-magzaine.
of the famous Swan Theatre), The Arden Hotel, Holy Trinity Church, where the Bard
Stratford is an elegant and sophisticated was baptised and buried. com/competitions/arden to apply
boutique hotel. www.theardenhotelstratford.com online or fill in the coupon below with
One lucky reader and their guest will win a the answer to the following question:
two-night stay in a Deluxe room at The Arden
Hotel, the star of Stratford-upon-Avon’s hotel TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Closing date for entries is 12pm GMT 8 November 2021. The prize is for Q: With which writer is Stratford-
scene. The hotel combines luxurious and stylish two people sharing a double or twin en-suite Deluxe room and is subject
to availability. The prize is valid for 12 months , excluding Bank Holidays,
upon-Avon associated?
rooms with all the comforts you would expect Christmas, New Year and Valentine’s. Travel, meals, drinks and extras a) Charles Dickens
from a contemporary boutique hotel, and there other than those featured in the prize are not included. b) William Shakespeare
are plenty of spaces to relax dotted around, c) Jane Austen
including a terrace to soak up the sun and
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Our winner and their guest will enjoy SEND YOUR COUPON TO:
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HERITAGE
TREASURES
of the
TRUSTAs it launches its Year of Treasures, the
National Trust is shining the spotlight on unsung
gems from its formidable collections
T he National Trust looks after more than 200

historic houses, which contain over one million
objects. From works of art and vast tapestries
to precious personal possessions, the range
and breadth of the collections is astonishing and can
be compared with those of the UK’s national museums.
For many, it is the surprising miscellany and variety
of the displays that make visiting these properties so
fascinating, providing us with a visceral and often
haunting sense of the past in the domestic setting.
As part of the National Trust’s Year of Treasures, a new
book, 125 Treasures from the Collections of the National
Trust, spotlights some of the Trust’s most prized pieces.
Selecting just 125 objects was a difficult task: “We
have so many remarkable and important objects across
hundreds of historic properties,” says the book’s author Dr
Tarnya Cooper, who is the National Trust’s Curation and
Conservation Director. “The final choice is quite personal.
The richness of the collections mean that a different author
at a different time would have been able to choose an
equally remarkable set of objects.”
Each of the precious objects on these pages has a
particular story to tell, and provides a fascinating insight
into the history of taste among some of the wealthiest
and most influential households in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland.
A timely spectacle
If you are fortunate enough to arrive at the right time at Anglesey Abbey
in Cambridgeshire, you can see and listen to a spectacle that has delighted
guests since the 1800s. This clock, in the shape of a pagoda, not only tells
the time but also puts on an automated spectacle every three hours:
a tune plays upon 12 bells, while three jewelled pineapple plants on each
tier of the pagoda lift from their pots and spin around.
This rare and impressive clock is attributed to the eminent 18th-
century jeweller and automaton-maker James Cox (1723–1800), who
created other mechanical automata for an international market. We do
not know who first owned this remarkable clock, but it is likely to have
been a special commission, perhaps for a wealthy foreign collector.
24 BRITAIN
HERITAGE
The first
English globe
In the 16th century, accurate maps and globes
were critical to planning trade, maritime
navigation, foreign policy and warfare. Indeed,
the quality of the information they supplied
could determine success or failure, life or death.
It is hard to overestimate the importance of this
globe at Petworth, West Sussex, as it is the first
English globe and the only surviving example of
the first edition.
It was created by the mathematician Emery
Molyneux (d.1598) with engravings by the
Dutch émigré Jodocus Hondius (1563–1612)
using what were described as ‘the newest,
secretest, and latest discoveries’. Molyneux
presented one of these globes to Queen
Elizabeth I, and its production celebrated
the role of England as a maritime power.
Decorated with terrifying sea monsters
and an African elephant, it also charts the
circumnavigation of the world by Sir Francis
Drake (c.1540–96) and a similar attempt by
Thomas Cavendish (1560–92), championing
the achievements of these famous English
explorers. The globe was probably acquired
by Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
(1564–1632) and has been recorded at
Petworth in West Sussex since at least 1632.
Dining in style
In wealthy households in the 1700s, beautifully
designed silver tureens steaming with soup
were placed at the head of the table for all the
assembled diners to see. In Georgian society,
the ostentatious display of silver, far from being
considered undignified, was an indicator of
wealth, taste and judgement. The contents
S E GA M I TSURT L A N O I TA N/T F I R H T TRE BOR/D N O M M A H NH O J/ L E D E I S NIE N OV S A E R D N A © :SOTOHP
were usually served by the host and hostess,

and the tureens themselves became elaborate
status objects that took a starring role in the
ritual performance of dining.
This one is among the most important
pieces of silver in the National Trust’s
collections. It was commissioned for Ickworth
in Suffolk by George William Hervey, 2nd Earl
of Bristol (1721–75), who was a great patron
to the most talented silversmiths. It is part of
one of the most intact dinner services of this
period, and its maker was a German émigré,
Frederick Kandler (d.1778), who was adept
at interpreting Continental fashions for an
English market. Hervey’s coat of arms and the
family crest of a chained snow leopard appear
prominently on the tureen.
HERITAGE
H T I M S EN AJ/OIDUT S NO I TAVR E S N OC ELIT X E T TSURT L A N O I TAN/S E GA M I TSURT L A N O I TAN/I T T E N URB D IVAD / M A N H GIH LUAP © :S E G A M I
Bringing the
outdoors inside
Sometime during the 1770s a couple in North Wales
decided to redecorate their house. They had the
advantage of being able to afford some of the best
craftspeople and to purchase some of the most
fashionable products on the global market. The couple
were Philip Yorke (1743– 1804) and his wife Elizabeth
(1749–79), who lived at Erddig, near Wrexham. The
decoration they chose for their principal bedroom was
hand-painted Chinese wallpaper, lavishly decorated with
exquisite birds and flowers. The painting was delicate and
keenly observed, with chickens, egrets, ducks, pheasants
and even mythical phoenixes amid picturesque flowering
shrubs and trees against a pale green background.
Towards the end of the 1700s the fashion for
Chinese products with naturalistic designs was at its
height, and many were made especial y for a Western
market. Wealthy buyers could purchase porcelain,
fabrics and lacquer furniture with a busy array of bird,
flower and landscape designs, thus bringing the
outdoors into the home.
HERITAGE
A gift to inspire a crime writer

This ancient Chinese tomb model of a camel was a gift from the
archaeologist Max Mallowan (1904–78) to his wife, the crime writer
Agatha Christie (1890–1976), and was displayed at their summer home,
Greenway in Devon. The couple met when on an archaeological
excavation in southern Iraq and married in 1930, and Christie continued
to accompany her husband on excavations to Syria and Iraq.
The camel is one of many animal tomb monuments discovered
in the late 19th and early 20th century in northern China, and dates
from the Tang dynasty (618–9 7
AThis stylcardinal’s purse

ish leather and silk purse decorated wit
silver thread dates from the early 16th century.
It probably once belonged to Cardinal Thomas
Wolsey (1470/1–1530), one of the most importa
and powerful men at the court of King Henry V
The closest of the king’s advisers, he fell out of
favour and was accused of treason. Perhaps
fortunately, he died before he could face charg
Purses like this would have been used not just
for coins but also for precious items such as gam
pieces, keys, seal rings and documents. This purs
includes typically Roman Catholic imagery on th
front – a crucifix and chalice. The inner clasp bea
Wolsey’s name and non-standard Latin numeral
perhaps for the date 1518, when he was at the
height of his political powers. The purse can be
seen at Seaton Delaval Hall, Northumberland.
Recovering a lost language

This unusual translation of the Bible provides us with a remarkable window into
early North American colonial history. It was written in Wôpanâak, an Algonquian
language spoken by some native peoples of the east coast, before European settlers
brought about the destruction of existing cultures. This lost language is now being
revived. The book was mainly the work of a Puritan missionary named John Eliot
(1604–90) and was used to encourage the Native American population to convert
to Christianity. Around 1,000 copies were printed, but few survive today, and this
copy, from the library at Blickling Hall in Norfolk, includes information about its many
early owners. Soon after it was printed, it was sent by John Higginson, a minister of
Salem, Massachusetts, to his brother Francis, the rector of Kirkby Stephen in
Westmorland (Cumbria), to show the continued
spread of Christianity across the world.
HERITAGE
A pope’s secret cabinet

One of the most magnificent and elaborate items of
furniture in the National Trust’s collections, this cabinet
was once owned by Felice Peretti, Pope Sixtus V (b.1521;
r.1585–90). Inside are 153 separate drawers for keeping
secret items and precious personal collections, such as
miniatures. The cabinet was designed to amaze and
impress, so it was made with a range of rich materials,
including gilt bronze, ebony, alabaster and a vast
number of different hardstones, semi-precious
materials and jewels, such as crystal, garnet, jasper, lapis
lazuli, amethyst and mother-of-pearl. The exuberance
of the design, which is modelled like a church facade,
was characteristic of baroque papal taste, and it was
probably commissioned by the pope c.1585 for display
at his private palace in Rome.
The cabinet was sold around 1740 by a Roman
convent and purchased by the banker Henry Hoare I
(1705–85) during a grand tour and displayed at his
house at Stourhead in Wiltshire.
Keeping your hands clean

By the 16th century, well before European craftspeople had learnt to
manufacture hard white porcelain ware, Chinese porcelain was imported
into Europe in significant quantities, often as part of a prized display of
banqueting tableware. Jugs or ewers like this one were used in wealthy
European households to hold scented rosewater for washing the hands
between courses, a high-status ritual.
The shape of this ewer has been adopted from earlier gold vessels made in
15th-century China to hold wine for the imperial family during the Ming dynasty
(1368–1644). The porcelain versions were decorated in blue and white, usually
with naturalistic floral motifs. This example has been embellished with silver-gilt
additions made in London. It is not known how this ewer came to Hardwick Hall
in Derbyshire, since it does not seem to appear in the 1601 inventory of the
possessions of Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (c. 1527–1608).
A ring of many faiths

Sometime in the 5th century, near the edge of the Roman
town of Silchester (ruins north of Basingstoke, Hampshire),
someone lost a valuable gold ring. The ring lay buried in
the ground until 1785, when a farmer ploughing his field,
perhaps catching a glint from the precious metal, recovered
it and no doubt pondered upon its story. The size suggests it
was made for a man’s finger, and its multiple inscriptions can
be linked to both the Roman religion and early Christianity,
including the words ‘Venus’ (Roman goddess of love and
victory) and ‘Senicianus live in God’. At this time, pagan
religions and Christianity existed side by side. Did the original
owner use the ring to mark a conversion, or was he perhaps
attempting to practise two faiths? The ring was later
acquired by the Chute family, who owned The Vyne,
a Tudor mansion nearby, where it remains.
28 BRITAIN
HERITAGE
Portrait of the first

sitting female MP
This portrait depicts the young Nancy Astor
(1879–1964) as a society hostess following her marriage
in 1906 to the politician Waldorf Astor (1879–1952).
Charming, charismatic and often outspoken with a
sharp wit, she was elected Member of Parliament for
Plymouth Sutton in 1919, becoming the first woman to
take her seat in the House of Commons. She and her
S E GA M I TSURT L A N O I TA N/SIR ROM TREBOR / L E D E I S N I E NOV S A E R D N A/ D N O M M A H NH O J/SIR ROM TREBOR © :S E G A M I
husband, both American born, lived at Cliveden on

the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, and regularly
provided lavish entertainment to a wide circle of
political and fashionable society.
John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) was a celebrated
society painter whose unconventional pictorial style,
understanding of light, and skill in capturing likeness
and character place him as one of the masters of
20th-century portraiture. His painting of Nancy
captures her confidence, playful nature and elegant
style, almost like a snapshot in time. It appears
to celebrate female independence and vitality,
in contrast to a long tradition of more passive
and subdued poses for female subjects.
BRITAIN 29
HERITAGE
A cat to be purchased
at a lavish cost
A cat has caught a snake and holds its head to the floor
with one paw, but her attention is turned away to snarl
at an approaching assailant, who is perhaps hoping to
steal her prey. This remarkable sculpture is unique, and
little is known about its history. It was purchased by
Robert Clive of India (1725–74) during his grand tour in
Rome and was considered to be an antique Roman
sculpture. In 1774, Clive wrote to his wife Margaret, who
loved cats, to tell her he had seen this ‘antique Cat’ and
hoped to purchase it offering ‘lavish’ sums of money for
her sake. The unknown sculptor shows extraordinary
skil in crafting the hard, crystalline Greek marble into
this naturalistic impression of a cat with her tail tucked
beneath her body in fear.
The design for this sculpture could
have been based on an original Greek
composition, as depictions of cats are
very rare in Roman art. However, recent
research has indicated the sculpture is
likely to be Roman. It can be seen at Powis
Castle, Powys, Wales.
The ageless queen

Painted by an English artist when Elizabeth I (1533–1603) was in her
sixties, this image reflects the tradition of painting the queen as a
timeless beauty. Although her ornate dress looks fantastical, with the
underskirt decorated with flowers and land and sea creatures, there
is no reason to think it does not record a similar dress owned by the
S E GA M I TSURT L A N O I TA N/Y H P A R G OTO HP TR A ETIH W-D DOT / D N O M M A H NH O J/ N O S B O D S E M AJ/ L E D E I S NIE N OV S A E R D N A © : S E G A M I

queen. Elizabeth had one of the most extensive and lavish wardrobes
of all time, and as late as 1599 she was described as ‘most gorgeously
apparelled’. The outfit is also covered in hundreds of pearls, a symbol
of purity suitable for a virgin queen.
Elizabeth is shown standing full length on a raised platform with
her throne to her right. The composition of this portrait may have
been adapted from a miniature and was probably commissioned by
Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury. It may have been delivered
to the countess’s Derbyshire home, Hardwick Hall, in 1599, and once
installed, it would have provided a visual commentary on Elizabeth
Talbot’s close relationship with the queen.
HERITAGE
This is an edited extract

from 125 Treasures from
the Collections of the
National Trust by Dr
Tarnya Cooper,
published by the
National Trust (£12.50;
shop.nationaltrust.org.
uk). Accompanying the
book, a new podcast
series takes an in-depth
look at five of the
fascinating historical
objects featured.
Posing like a poet

Reclining on a grassy bank beside a trickling stream and looking directly
at us, this young man knows how to pose like a poet and lover. As if to
underline this, his shield sports a heart engulfed in flames. Sir Edward
Herbert (1581/2–1648) was a courtier, soldier, diplomat and man of
letters. His sumptuous costume of silver and blue matches the livery of his
horse in the distance, and this, along with his shield, suggests he is resting
after a royal jousting tournament. Such events were entertainments for
the monarch and provided an opportunity for an ambitious courtier
to demonstrate his skil and bravery. One of the most charming and
beautifully painted portrait miniatures of the Jacobean age, this small
picture is by the court artist Isaac Oliver (c.1565–1617), who specialised in
such small-scale wonders. It can be seen at Powis Castle, Powys, Wales.
Reflections of guests in a gilded mirror

For more than 250 years this impressive giltwood mirror has captured the reflections of the
faces of guests at Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire. Made for Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Scarsdale
(1726–1804), it hangs within the dressing room of the State Apartments used by his most
prestigious guests. It was made by a cabinetmaker from Derby and probably designed in
collaboration with the architect and designer Robert Adam (1728–92). The tropical palm-tree
design was also used on a set of matching candle stands and a state bed, creating one of the
most impressive and elaborate ‘spare rooms’ in history.
The
INCREDIBLE
HOLKHAM
The seat of the Earls of Leicester is one of
England’s greatest stately homes
WORDS NATASHA FOGES
STATELY HOMES
and the Gunpowder Plotters. He
also drafted the Virginia Charter,
a document that was carried over
on the Mayflower and influenced
the American Constitution.
Said to be the only lawyer capable
of interpreting England’s complex
laws, Sir Edward chose the ostrich
as his family crest – a bird that can,
it was believed, digest anything.
A spell in the Tower of London in
1622 must have been difficult for
him to digest – Coke’s opposition to
the divine right of kings had irked
King James I – but he was freed
eight months later and invested his
wealth in land, including a swathe
of the North Norfolk Coast.
His great estate was inherited
– a few branches further down
the family tree – by Thomas, ‘the
builder’ (1697–1759). Orphaned
at age 10, Thomas was sent to
live with his cousin in Derbyshire,
where he grew into an intelligent
but headstrong teenager, partial
to cockfighting and gambling.
His weary guardian sent him off
to Europe when he was just 15,
on an epic Grand Tour that lasted
six years, mainly spent in Italy.
It proved the making of him.
While in Italy Thomas befriended
William Kent – the great architect
and designer of interiors, furniture
and gardens – and developed a
passion for the Classical architecture
of Andrea Palladio. An
I
astonishingly assured and
precocious teenager, he met the
great artists and sought out the very
n 1628 the Jacobean jurist Sir Edward Previous page: finest pieces to ship back home. He amassed staggering
Coke coined the famous phrase “an Holkham Hall's amounts of books, art and statuary; “I am become the
vast Marble Hall
Englishman’s home is his castle”.
His descendants would one day be lords Clockwise from above: perfect virtuoso”, he wrote to his guardian with pride.
Thanks to Thomas, Holkham has one of the finest
Thomas Coke, 1st
of a magnificent ‘castle’ of their own, as Earl of Leicester by private collections of paintings in Europe. In one of
custodians of one of England’s finest houses. Francesco Trevisani, many works he commissioned, The Vision of Aeneas in
Holkham Hall in Norfolk is the historic home of 1717; the Long the Elysian Fields, Thomas asked the artist Sebastiano
Library; Holkham
the Cokes (pronounced ‘cook’), Earls of Leicester.
One of the ten Treasure Houses of England, the Hall's south facade Conca to depict him as Orpheus paying the lyre. Orpheus,
capable of enchanting not just animals with his music but
house is extraordinary – and the characters also trees and even stones, perhaps represented Thomas’s
behind its creation even more so. ambition to create a sweeping Arcadian estate on the
Y M A L A/NIVODV N AVI/E TAT S E M A H K L O H © : S E G A M I
Three scions of the family had a particular influence North Norfolk coast that would dazzle all who saw it.
on Holkham’s fortunes. To avoid confusion (a case Returning to England just before his 21st birthday,
of too many Cokes) the three are sometimes referred Thomas married Lady Margaret Tufton, daughter of the
to according to their achievements: ‘the lawyer’, 6th Earl of Thanet. It was an arranged marriage rather
‘the builder’ and ‘the agriculturalist’. than a love story, but Margaret, a strong, independent
It was the lawyer, Sir Edward Coke (1552–1634), woman, was a good match for the precocious young
who made the family’s fortune. A brilliant barrister and man. He was made the 1st Earl of Leicester, a title
Attorney General to both Elizabeth I and James I, he bestowed on him by Prime Minister (and Norfolk
was responsible for the prosecution of Sir Walter Raleigh neighbour) Sir Robert Walpole.
34 BRITAIN
Thomas enlisted William Kent to build his dream Above: Holkham's Another highlight, the Green State Bedroom, is a
home, starting in 1734. You need only step into six-acre walled statement of Thomas Coke’s ambition for his house
Holkham’s entrance hall to see that Thomas was in garden, originally – and an indication of the calibre of guest he planned
thrall to Italian architecture. The soaring, triple-height laid out by to invite. Precious tapestries line the walls, while the
Samuel Wyatt
room evokes the grandeur of an ancient Roman basilica, Left: The Parrot canopied bed is crowned with the Earl’s coronet and
borrowing its coffered apse from Rome’s Pantheon and Room in Stranger's draped in a specially woven fabric, commissioned at
its columns of pink alabaster from Palladio’s Redentore Wing is one of fantastic expense.
church in Venice. Lined with statues commissioned by Holkham's private For all its grand spaces, the house can also be cosily
Thomas on his Grand Tour, and full of drama in its guest rooms domestic. The beautiful Long Library is still in daily
cool austerity, it is surely England’s most magnificent use; reading lamps and photos are dotted about, giving
entrance hall. a lived-in feel to the book-lined space (look out for
The house branches out in a typically Palladian the ostrich emblem stamped on the leather bindings).
layout, strictly symmetrical, with identical wings It is a house designed for the biggest parties: hundreds
(each the size of a modest country house) for different of people could be entertained at a time (the Old
functions: family, guests, servants, and the chapel. Kitchen, lined with gleaming copper pans, served 1,700
Beyond the Marble Hall, the warm and sumptuous meals in a typical month in the 1920s). The magnificent
Saloon presents a head-spinning contrast – a play on light Statue Gallery, linking the Family and Guest wings,
and darkness that repeats itself throughout the house. is a place for pre-dinner mingling, watched over by
The walls here are hung with wine-coloured caffoy, a 2,000-year-old Roman statues: the cream of Thomas
Y M A L A/T TAYW TREBOR/ST TAW NAI/ ETAT S E M A H K L O H © : S E G A M I
mix of wool, linen and silk. When it was bought, 244 Coke’s collection.
yards cost £195 – the equivalent today of over £17,000. Guests would move through to the North State Dining
Paintings by Rubens and Van Dyck ramp up the opulence. Room, with its domed ceiling and busts of Roman
emperors: a spectacular setting for white-tie dinners
(the 3rd Earl once sent his son packing because he’d
You need only step into Holkham’s entrance forgotten his dinner jacket). Hidden doors allowed
hall to see that omas was in thrall to Italian for the theatrical spectacle of footmen emerging
from both sides of the room, like a stage set.
architecture. e soaring, triple-height room Whatever lavish balls and parties Thomas Coke
had in mind didn’t take place in his lifetime. Holkham
evokes the grandeur of a Roman basilica was his life’s work but sadly, he died five years before its
STATELY HOMES
This image: Thomas completion, never seeing all of his

William Coke, also Grand Tour acquisitions in situ.
known as Coke of Thomas and Margaret’s only son
Norfolk, by Thomas and heir had died at the age of 34 –
Gainsborough, 1786 a tragedy for his parents, but perhaps
Right: The Old a blessing in disguise for the house:
Kitchen dressers are a drunkard and gambler, he may
lined with
copper pans have frittered away his inheritance.
Instead, it was Thomas’s
great-nephew, Thomas William
(1754–1842), a charismatic figure
known as Coke of Norfolk (‘the
agriculturalist’), who inherited
Holkham Hall. A Gainsborough
portrait shows Coke of Norfolk on
the estate, very much the country
gent, surrounded by his dogs.
While Thomas Coke had poured
his heart and soul into the house,
his successor’s influence was over
the land. He planted more than
a million trees at Holkham and
developed the naturalistic look of
the parkland. His innovations in
farming took root elsewhere, and
he became a famous figure in the
agricultural revolution. After his
death, a commemorative stone
column topped with a wheatsheaf
was built in the grounds.
The 8th and current Earl, another
Thomas, shares his ancestor’s love
of the land, and is passionate about
the sustainability of his estate.
Spreading out from Holkham is an
impeccably run National Nature
Reserve, home to a multitude of
habitats across salt marshes, sand
dunes and pine woodland.
The house is still the focal point of
Holkham village (population: 220).
On summer weekends the villagers
play cricket on the lawn in front of
the house – surely England’s most
scenic cricket pitch. On a visit
to Holkham you can wander the
red-brick-and-flint village, admiring the houses’
PLAN AHEAD decorative chimneys and gables, explore the parkland,
dotted with classical follies and a pretty walled garden,
TICKETS AND TOURS ACCOMMODATION or walk through the magical pine forest to Holkham
Holkham Hall is open May-October On the estate, the Victoria Inn is a Beach, quite unmarked by the passing of the years.
on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays; wonderful place to stay. Luxurious rooms in a Indeed, time does seem to stand still here. Holkham
ETAT S E M A H K L O H/Y M A L A/NADR OJ RETEP © : S E G A M I
the park and walled garden are open daily. country-house style are located in the inn or Hall is unique not just because it represents the vision
An array of specialist tours explore different the beautiful ‘Ancient House’ opposite, while and the collection of one single-minded man, but also
aspects of the house. ‘Hidden Passages and the excellent restaurant serves up dishes made because it remains virtually unchanged in the years
Servants’ Stairs’ takes you behind the scenes; using ingredients sourced from the estate since it was built. While other great houses saw their
‘Holkham Hall from the Outside’ delves into (especial y beef and venison) and local farms. collections scattered and their rooms revamped
the architecture; while ‘The Country House Newly opened boutique hotel The Harper is a according to passing fashions, Holkham remains an
Party’ focuses on Holkham as a house for more contemporary offering nearby (see p10). 18th-century time capsule, perfectly untouched.
dazzling events. www.holkham.co.uk; www.theharper.co.uk
 For more on Britain's stately homes, visit www.britain-magazine.com
e Old Kitchen,
lined with gleaming
copper pans, served
1,700 meals in a typical
month in the 1920s
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HISTORY
This image: 'Caroline of

Brunswick, Consort of
George IV' by James
Lonsdale, 1820
Right: 'George IV' by Sir
Thomas Lawrence, 1821
I I H T E B A ZILE NE EUQ Y T S E J A M RE H/T S U R T NOIT C E L L OC L AYOR/Y M A L A/ D TL PIH S R E N T R AP E GA MI E GAT I R E H © :SOTOHP
The
UNHAPPY COUPLE
The tale of George IV and Caroline of Brunswick, surely the worst-matched royal couple in
history, is one of secret wives, scheming mistresses, spying courtiers – and scandal galore
WORDS FELICITY DAY
HISTORY
B y 6am on 19 July 1821, Westminster Hall

was packed with peers and privy counsellors,
waiting to process to the Abbey for the
coronation of their obese, ageing and
extravagant new King, George IV. Suddenly, there came
‘a thundering knock’ at the door, and someone shouted,
“The Queen – open!” All eyes turned towards the
entrance, where the King’s estranged wife Caroline could
be seen, standing on the threshold, ‘the crossed bayonets
of the sentry’ blocking her path. “Let me pass;
I am your Queen, I am Queen of Britain,” she cried,
her increasingly angry commands echoing around the
hall, before the heavy door was slammed in her face.
It was the same at every entrance. By order of the King,
Caroline was denied admission to the ceremony at which
she should, by rights, have been crowned Queen consort.
It was to be the last public humiliation she would suffer
at the hands of her husband – the last in a long line of
insults that stretched back to the moment she first
stepped foot on British soil.
When he chose his German cousin for his bride in late
summer 1794, George, then Prince of Wales, had been
motivated not by love, but money. In debt to the tune of
£500,000 – a colossal sum lavished on women, wine and
expensive refits of his London home – he was banking on
Parliament raising his annual allowance if he married.
Indeed, so pressing was his financial need that he was
prepared to forget that he already had a wife: Maria
Fitzherbert, a pretty widow he had wed in secret in 1785.
Luckily for George, their clandestine union
contravened the Royal Marriages Act: carried out
without the King’s consent and the bride a Catholic,
it was null and void so Maria could be conveniently
cast aside. In fact, she had already been ousted in his
affections by a new mistress, alluring mother of nine,
HISTORY
This image: 'Coronation of

George IV in Westminster
Abbey, 19 July 1821 ', after
James Stephanoff
Left: Maria Fitzherbert, the
Prince of Wales's secret wife
Y M A L A/ E I V H CRA L G/GN I VA R G N E G N I K N A L A © :S E G A M I
HISTORY
Lady Jersey. It was she, thought the Duke of Wellington, that he collapsed in a heap in the fireplace; while George
who masterminded George’s marriage, and she who maintained that the marriage was consummated that
suggested Princess Caroline of Brunswick for his spouse, evening, and implied the bride was no novice. On
purposely choosing a lady with ‘indelicate manners, honeymoon, the couple were accompanied not only by
indifferent character, and not very inviting appearance, George’s male friends but by Lady Jersey, who was also
from the hope that disgust for the wife would secure forced on Caroline as a lady in waiting. Rumour had it
constancy to the mistress.’ that she and George would spike Caroline’s wine with
If so, Lady Jersey could not have been more pleased brandy and laugh when it made her tipsy. The Princess
with George’s reaction to his bride. On her arrival at would often be left alone while they sauntered off
St James’s Palace in April 1795, he took one look at her, together to evening soirées.
called for a glass of brandy and stalked out of the room. However much the press (and the people) loved
Caroline was not unattractive; admirers complimented her, praising her informality and willingness to show
her expressive eyes, fair complexion and cheerful emotion, George was agitating for a separation by the
disposition. But the courtier who escorted her to time a daughter, Princess Charlotte, was born in 1796.
Britain had worried about her undignified manners and Neither of them, he proposed to his wife, should be
haphazard approach to personal hygiene, which possibly ‘held answerable to the other’ – something Caroline
accounted for George’s extreme reaction. Caroline interpreted as a licence to do as she liked when they
was stunned. “I think he’s very fat,” she retaliated, began to live apart in 1797. But whispers about lovers
“and he’s nothing like as handsome as his portrait.” and late-night parties with politicians at her house in
Things went from bad to worse. At their wedding, Blackheath incensed George. When Caroline adopted
George was obviously drunk. He looked ‘like a man a small boy, he was persuaded that he was actually her
doing a thing in desperation’. Halfway through a prayer illegitimate son. Hoping to secure evidence of adultery
he stood up distractedly, as if intending to flee the chapel. – and thus a divorce – he demanded a government
Caroline would later say that he was so drunk that night inquiry, known as the Delicate Investigation. Caroline
Above: The wedding watermen gather

of George and at Brandenburgh
Caroline at St James's House to support
Palace on 8 April 1795 Caroline during
Right: Thames her trial in 1820
STNIRP RONEVSOR G/YR A R B I L E R U T C IP SN AVE YRA M/Y M A L A/ N O IT C E L L OC TRA E R U T C IP EH T MORF STHG IR S S E CCA/D E C R U OS NI A M O D C I L B U P © :SOTOHP
HISTORY
During her ‘trial’ in London
crowds, who championed her

as a wronged woman
47
that summer, Caroline was
routinely greeted by cheering
BRITAIN
HISTORY
was, however, exonerated, thanks to the testimony

of the boy’s real mother.
It turned out to be a PR disaster for George. What
his wife lacked in moral support inside the palace, she
had in spades from outside. When, in 1813, a letter to
her husband listing her grievances was leaked (purposely)
to the press, and he retaliated by publishing the damaging
allegations from the 1806 investigation, the papers
declared for one or other of them – and most for
Caroline. “I shall support her as long as I can, because
she is a woman, and because I hate her husband,” Jane
Austen, speaking for many ordinary people, wrote. “I am
resolved...to think that she would have been respectable,
if the Prince had behaved only tolerably by her at first.”
Though not as popular, George did have the power to
exclude Caroline from court and aristocratic circles. He
also had charge of their daughter, whom he kept away
from her mother. He would not even inform Caroline of
Charlotte’s death in childbirth in 1817, leaving her to find
out by accident. By then, the Princess was living on the
Continent, where George’s spies were paying for evidence
(including from her own servants) about her relationship
with a handsome Italian man of low origins, Bartolomeo
Pergami. When, in the wake of George’s accession to the
throne in 1820, attempts to bribe Caroline to remain
HISTORY
Clockwise from this image:

When Caroline separated
from George she lived at the
now-demolished Montagu
House, next door to Ranger's
House in Blackheath;
George IV is lampooned as
Don Giovanni from Mozart's
opera, dismayed by the
unexpected arrival of his wife
during the wedding feast;
the 'trial' of Caroline in 1820
Y M A L A/D TL S S E RP LA I R OT C I P / E GAT I R E H H S I L G N E/NEDLO H MI J/ S S E R G N OC F O YR A R B I L/ SN AVE YRAM © : S E G A M I

abroad failed, he used the information to pressure
Parliament into proceeding with a Bill that would “I shall support her as
examine her alleged adultery – and if it passed, long as I can, because she
end their marriage and her right to be called Queen.
During her ‘trial’ in London that summer, Caroline is a woman, and because I
was routinely greeted by cheering crowds, who
championed her as a wronged woman, persecuted by a hate her husband,” wrote
politically tone-deaf and hypocritical husband (himself Jane Austen, speaking for
flaunting a new mistress, Lady Conyngham). “No Queen,
No King!” they shouted. So widespread was her support many ordinary people
that the Bill collapsed in November, ministers fearing
that her condemnation could trigger riot or revolution.
But victory did not improve Caroline’s lot. The
government machinery backed George’s refusal to allow
her to be crowned, and by the time she tried to storm
the Abbey on coronation day, even the public had lost
interest in her plight. Her husband’s investiture proceeded
in splendour, while Caroline was forced to retreat home.
Defeated, she died from a gastrointestinal disorder just
weeks later, on 7 August; deprived of all ‘the pomps and
pleasures of royalty’ but finally freed from the shackles
of one of royal history’s most ill-fated marriages.
 For more on the kings and queens of England, see
This image:
Princess Elizabeth
and The Duke of
Edinburgh following
their wedding, 20
November 1947
Left: The royal
couple kneel in front
of the Archbishop of
Canterbury
S N AV E YR AM/D TL SWE N NOD NOL D E TA R T S U L L I/Y M A L A/ X I P R O R R I M/ R O R R I M Y T I N I E R T © :SOTOHP
A Majestic Marriage Part Two A new biography of Her Majesty The Queen traces the events of a reign that
spans seven decades. In this extract, we join the Queen on her wedding day
WORDS MATTHEW DENNISON
THE ROYAL FAMILY
A s she had on the morning of her

parents’ coronation, on her wedding day
Elizabeth looked out of the window on
to a Mall already dense with crowds, in this case streaked
with the pewter shadows of a dull, cold day. Thousands
had spent the night under the bare November trees, and,
according to one report, ‘many women had slept peacefully
in the gutter on blown-up rubber mattresses, in sleeping
bags, swathed in travelling rugs or blankets’. Margaret,
always Elizabeth’s closest companion and today her
constant confidante, Elizabeth is excited, pinching herself
to prove the reality of her dream-come-true. Letters she
wrote afterwards to her mother make clear that she
understood the certain effect of her marriage on her
immediate family. ‘As you say,’ her mother replied,
‘“we four” have had wonderful fun & much laughter
even through the darkest times.’
Her dressing, helped by Norman Hartnell’s fitters,
occupied her for more than an hour; she wore the earrings
Queen Mary had given her for her twenty-first birthday
principal bridesmaid, is absent from records of and appeared to at least one of Hartnell’s vendeuses ‘so
this last unmarried awakening. Available sources do solemn’. Her mother loaned her a fringe tiara made for
not reveal whether Elizabeth’s thoughts returned to her Queen Mary in 1919, using diamonds from a wedding
parents’ coronation, whether remembrances of any of present from Queen Victoria: something borrowed.
the family weddings in which she had played her part With it Elizabeth wore the crown pearls. Her jewels
as bridesmaid dimmed her view. formed a link with her mother, her grandmother and
In the version of Crawfie, her former governess and her great-great-grandmother, with the last of the Stuarts
THE ROYAL FAMILY
Clockwise from far left:
Princess Elizabeth
arriving at
Westminster Abbey
with her father,
King George VI;
(from left to right)
Y M A L A/SREP APSWE N TSORF NH O J/SN AVE YRA M/MOC . S S E R P A M U Z/ A S U S E R U T C IP EN OTSYE K/Y M A L A/ X IP R O R R I M/ROR R I M Y T I N I R T © :SOTO
the King, Princess
Margaret, Princess
Alexandra, Princess
Elizabeth, The Duke
of Edinburgh, Queen
Elizabeth and Queen
Mary on the balcony
of Buckingham
Palace; the royal
wedding on the
front page of
Picture Post
and the first and greatest of the Hanoverian consorts. they were, and even people who
Piccadilly, Regent Street, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall one might have thought would not
‘and many streets miles from the route [were] gay with have been touched by beauty or
flags and bunting’, according to the Belfast Telegraph, religious feeling,’ the Queen wrote
as Elizabeth drove with her father in the Irish State afterwards to Elizabeth. Both the
Coach to the abbey. Powerful emotions stirred the King: King and Queen Mary came close
in truth he was not ready to lose this daughter so like to tears during the signing of the
him in outlook and temperament, whose companionship register: to the Archbishop of Canter ury
suited him so well. Walking beside her in the abbey, the King explained, ‘It is a far more moving thing
he described himself as proud and thrilled, Elizabeth to give your daughter away than to be married yourself.’
as ‘so calm and composed’; Crawfie detected no Aspects of these heightened emotions swayed the crowds
sign of nervousness in either. who lined the streets, starved of spectacle and unalloyed
Meagre sunlight through the abbey windows hopefulness through almost a decade of deprivation and
transformed Elizabeth into a shimmering white vision. fear. Elizabeth’s dress induced trance-like wonder, ‘a gown
‘The wedding was most moving and beautifully done,’ which was a mist of dewy satin... minute pearls and
wrote Noël Coward. ‘I have had really touching & crystals afire and shimmering in the soft light... a swirling
wonderful letters from people saying how deeply moved skirt designed in all the beauty that Botticelli could bring
THE ROYAL FAMILY
to a canvas’: it invested its wearer with the same magical fairness which Margaret
aura. It was Elizabeth’s elderly cousin, Princess Marie and I have grown up in.’
Louise, who made the inevitable comparison: ‘No fairy More than three hours before
Princess could have been more lovely than this young girl it opened to the public, queues
in her bridal beauty.’ eventually extending to several
‘It is lovely to think that your happiness has made thousands began to form outside
millions happy too in these hard times,’ wrote the Queen, Westminster Abbey the morning
‘& it is a wonderful strength to the country that we can after Elizabeth and Philip’s
feel like one big family on occasions.’ Happiness was wedding. They came the next
bittersweet for the King. In the letter he wrote to Elizabeth day, too, and the following week
following her departure for her honeymoon, he told her to see the signatures of husband
that when he gave her hand to the archbishop he felt he and wife in the abbey register,
‘had lost something very precious’. Elizabeth, by contrast, and to look at Elizabeth’s
excused herself as ‘so happy and enjoying myself so much’, bouquet of white orchids, laid
fearful she had behaved selfishly in her joy. But she was at her request on the Tomb of
quite sincere in telling the Queen, ‘I think I’ve got the best the Unknown Soldier. Until the end of February, daily
mother and father in the world, and I only hope that I can crowds of several thousand people converged on St James’s
bring up my children in the happy atmosphere of love and Palace for the exhibition of the royal wedding presents.
THE ROYAL FAMILY
For more on
the British Royal
Family, see
www.britain-
magazine.com
S E GA MI AP/EVI H C R A S C I P M E/ST TA R RAB D NA G&S/SN AV E YR AM/D TL SWE N NOD NOL D E TA R T SULLI © : S E G A M I
They were mesmerized by Elizabeth’s dress and her jewels contentment and the wonder of first togetherness: ‘Philip Clockwise from top
and, in a sign of the times, the kitchen and labour-saving is an angel – he is so kind and thoughtful, and living with left: An illustration
equipment. him and having him around all the time is just perfect.’ printed in The Tatler
Wedding mania was slow to subside: Elizabeth would She expressed her gratitude for the family life of ‘us four’. depicting the royals
on their wedding
remain the fairy-tale princess of that vivid November ‘No parents ever had a better daughter,’ the Queen replied night, pointedly
pageant for years to come. So often she had been feelingly, ‘& we are so grateful for all your goodness positioned beside a
associated with spring: in her marriage she seemed and sweetness.’ The Queen’s letter acknowledged the portrait of Queen
to embody for willing millions a spring-like spirit extraordinariness of Elizabeth’s position, in which the Elizabeth I; Princess
of renewal and rebirth, a pennant of hope. choice of a spouse had involved unique considerations: Elizabeth and The
Duke of Edinburgh
On honeymoon at Broadlands, the Mountbatten estate ‘Papa & I are so happy in your happiness, for it has stroll around the
in Hampshire, sightseers laid siege to house and gardens. always been our dearest wish that your Broadlands estate
Snoopers perched on tombstones, chairs, ladders, even a marriage should be one of the heart, on honeymoon; the
sideboard in the churchyard for their Sunday attendance as well as the head.’ honeymoon began
at Romsey Abbey; later she acquired for the Royal in Winchester
Collection one of the snooper’s photographs: herself, This is an edited extract from The
Philip and Susan the corgi walking through wintry Queen, a new biography by Matthew
sunlight and a silver palimpsest of dry leaves underfoot. Dennison, published by Head of Zeus,
In letters to her parents she expressed the depth of her an Apollo book (£25, headofzeus.com).
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GREAT
SCOTT
Born 250 years ago, Sir Walter Scott helped
forge the identity of Scotland through his
heart-stirring poetry
WORDS NEIL JONES
TSURT N O I T CE L L OC DROFSTOBB A S E TA COVDA F O Y TL U CAF E HT FO Y S E TRUOC © : S E G A M I
CULTURE
W alter Scott was already in his mid-

thirties when he began penning the
narrative poems that would bring
him celebrity status, stirring readers
to giddy heights of emotion with his love of Scotland:
Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne’er within him burn’d,
As home his footsteps he hath turn’d,
From wandering on a foreign strand!
Such patriotic sentiment, from The Lay of the
Last Minstrel (1805), typified Scott’s writing and as
we celebrate the 250th anniversary of his birth this year
it’s timely to reflect on just how much he influenced our
image of Scotland: reawakening his countrymen’s pride
in their national inheritance while also rehabilitating
Scotland’s culture in the wider world after the Jacobite
rebellions of the previous century.
His poems and novels full of swashbuckling heroes,
battles, chivalry, clan kinships and ladies’ hearts to be
won, set against a backdrop of castles and abbey ruins,
wild mountains and rushing streams put Scotland on
the tourist map, shaping our romantic vision of the
country to this day.
Born in 1771, the ninth of 12 children (six died in
infancy) of a successful Edinburgh lawyer, ‘Wattie’
became steeped in the Scottish Border heritage of
his family from an early age, spending much of his
childhood at his grandparents’ farm at Sandyknowe
in Roxburghshire, where he had been sent to
recuperate from polio.
Here his aunt and grandmother regaled him with
ballads and tales of Border warfare between the Scots
and English, including his great-grandfather’s exploits
in the 1715 Jacobite Rising that sought to restore the
Stuart dynasty to the throne. Scott later recalled playing
around the family’s ancestral home Smailholm Tower,
“which charm’d my fancy’s wakening hour”, and where
D N A LTOCS TNE M N O R I V N E CIR OTSI H/TSUR T DROFSTOBB A EHT /Y M A L A/N O S B I G MIJ © : S E G A M I
today you will find an exhibition about the author’s

links to the estate.
Scott studied law at Edinburgh University and in
1799 became Sheriff-Depute (like a county judge) of
Selkirkshire, a post he would hold until his death in
1832, and he became Principal Clerk to the Court of
Session in Edinburgh in 1806. A happy marriage in
1797 to Charlotte Carpenter (Charpentier), whom
he had met on a visit to the Lake District, produced
four children. With homes for winter and summer in
Edinburgh and Lasswade, then Ashestiel on the River
Previous page: ‘Sir Walter Scott with his dogs’ by Henry Raeburn
Clockwise from top: Smailholm Tower near Kelso; Abbotsford,
Sir Walter Scott’s home in the Scottish Borders; the Honours of
Scotland, which were rediscovered by Scott and his team in 1818
BRITAIN 59
CULTURE
DID YOU KNOW?

l Abbotsford was so named by Scott
because in days gone by the monks of
Melrose Abbey used the nearby ford
across the river.
l There’s an egg-timer at Abbotsford
that Scott used to set the pace of his
writing in an attempt to speed up
production when writing himself
out of debt.
l In 1813 Scott was offered the post
of Poet Laureate, but politely declined,
fearing the obligations of the role
would impose upon his Muse.
Tweed half a dozen miles from Selkirk, Scott was well and poured vast amounts of money into transforming
set for a steady professional life. the existing dwelling into what would become an icon of
All the while, however, he pursued literary interests, 19th-century Scottish Baronial style. “What a romance
in particular collecting Border ballads resulting in of a house I am making,” he declared as though it was
the publication of Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border one of his literary endeavours, and everywhere you look
(1802–1803). Scott entered into a business partnership you find his antiquarian passions expressed in
with the printer James Ballantyne, an old schoolfriend, collections of weaponry, books and historical treasures.
and in 1805 The Lay of the Last Minstrel, looking back He entertained on a baronial scale (fellow writers
to a 16th-century Border feud, brought Scott instant William Wordsworth and Washington Irving were
fame as an author of narrative poems. In The Lay among guests) and delighted in showing off items like
he waxed lyrical: the outlaw Rob Roy’s gun, sword, dirk and sporran.
If thou would’st view fair Melrose aright, Settling in at Abbotsford, Scott turned to writing
Go visit it by the pale moonlight … historical romance novels: abandoning poetry, he
And in an early sign of the remarked, because “Byron
effect Scott’s descriptive
writing would have on “What a romance of beat me”. Astronomical sales
of his novels and new heights of
tourism, readers duly flocked a house I am making,” international fame and fortune
to Melrose Abbey.
Travelling for work and Scott declared of perhaps also played their part.
Feeling that it wasn’t “quite
on holiday, Scott constantly
gathered landscapes and stories Abbotsford, as though decorous” for a Clerk of
Session to be penning romantic
for his poetry. Marmion (1808) it was one of his novels, Scott published them
became a bestseller with its
outrageous anti-hero Marmion, literary endeavours anonymously, only admitting
publicly to their authorship in
tale of Flodden Field where the 1827, although it was an
English defeated King James IV open secret.
T S U R T D R O F S TOBB A E H T / M A L Y N N E K/DNA LTOCS T I S I V © : S E G A M I
of Scotland, and backdrop of landmarks from Tantallon Waverley (1814), a tale of torn loyalties and love
Castle to Linlithgow Palace. The Lady of the Lake during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, is acclaimed the
(1810) broke all records for poetry sales and brought first historical novel of distinction in English and set
sightseers rushing to the Trossachs and Loch the tone for a series of ‘Waverley’ novels plundering
Katrine where the poem’s heroine Ellen seeks refuge. Scottish history, legend and landscapes that included
In 1811 Scott bought a small farm on the banks of the Rob Roy (1817) and The Heart of Midlothian (1818).
River Tweed near Melrose, which he named Abbotsford, There were also notable excursions into Richard the
Lionheart’s England in Ivanhoe (1819) and Tudor
Top: Scott’s View, overlooking the River Tweed and Eildon Hills, England in Kenilworth (1821).
so-called because it was one of the famous writer’s favourite views While wooing the reading public by presenting his
Left: The Chinese Drawing Room inside Abbotsford countrymen “in a more favourable light than they had
BRITAIN 61
CULTURE
Clockwise from top left: The view over Loch Katrine from Ben A’an;
Dryburgh Abbey, where both Sir Walter Scott and his wife are buried;
Tantallon Castle in East Lothian, described in Scott’s poem Marmion;
the Writers’ Museum in Edinburgh
been placed hitherto”, Scott also pulled off some notable

PR coups. In 1818 he led a team that ‘rediscovered’ the
Honours (Crown Jewels) of Scotland, which had been
concealed in Edinburgh Castle following the Act of
Union between England and Scotland (1707), and he
was rewarded with a baronetcy. Even more sensationally
he stage-managed the pageantry of George IV’s visit to
Edinburgh in 1822, the first by a reigning monarch since
1651. He even got the portly sovereign to dress up in a
tartan kilt – attire once banned in the bitter aftermath
of the Jacobite Risings. The ‘healing’ visit was deemed
a great success and popularised the tartan kilt as
Scotland’s national dress.
Yet scarcely four years after Scott’s royal triumph he
faced ruin. His printers and publishers, with whom his
financial affairs were tied up, crashed during a panic
on the London money markets, a shock compounded
by the death of his wife in 1826. Eschewing the ‘easy’
option of bankruptcy Scott sold his Edinburgh home
and, with typical honour and fortitude, pledged to
repay his debts, the equivalent of £10 million today,
through writing: “My own right hand shall do it.”
Scott’s output as a writer – on top of his legal work
– had already been astounding but the pace over the
next half-dozen years became furious as he completed
The Fair Maid of Perth, the nine-volume biography
The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte, a children’s history
of Scotland Tales of a Grandfather, and much more.
Tragically the relentless workload took its toll and
following a stroke and apoplectic paralysis he died
at his beloved Abbotsford in 1832; he was laid to rest
beside his wife at Dryburgh Abbey. His debts, already
substantially reduced, were later settled by the sale of
his remaining copyrights.
Today Scott is richly commemorated, from
Edinburgh’s Scott Monument, Writers’ Museum and
Waverley Station, to Selkirk’s courtroom displays and
his home at Abbotsford. His spirit also lives on at
places like Scott’s View: the spot on Bemersyde Hill
where he loved to sit gazing at the Eildon Hills and
where it’s said the horses drawing his funeral hearse
to Dryburgh Abbey paused unbidden. A fitting scene
for a man who so greatly shaped popular
Y M A L A/N OTRET S A M N I A I / K COTSOTOF EGA/ H B M G 16 D N E T S E W © : S E G A M I
appreciation of Scotland’s history and culture, its

wild beauty and romance.
 For more on Scotland and its history, go to
www.britain-magazine.com/scotland
WALTER SCOTT 250

For details on commemorative events, from online talks
to theatre performances in the gardens of Abbotsford,
see www.walterscott250.com/events
62 BRITAIN
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This image: Dartmouth's
colourful houses line the
River Dart in Devon
Below: The gates at the
Britannia Royal Naval
College, Dartmouth
D ARTMOUTH
T he thriving little harbour town
of Dartmouth, located near the
estuary of the river Dart as it
enters the English Channel in
Devon’s South Hams (derived from the old
English ‘hammes’, which means sheltered
place), has historical clout disproportionate
today were completed in 1905. They were
designed by Sir Aston Webb, who had
previously worked on Buckingham Palace,
and the first stone was laid by King Edward
VII. And its royal connections continue, with
the Naval College playing cupid to HM The
Queen and the late Prince Philip: they first
to its size. Visitors today can explore many met here when cadet Philip led Princess
strands of its illustrious history, whether Elizabeth and her sister, Margaret,
that be literary, maritime or royal, as well on a tour of the institution in 1939.
as enjoying the relaxed, seaside-holiday Dartmouth’s nautical heritage runs
ambience that this ancient market town deeper, however; as deep, perhaps,
exudes in spades. as its cavernous natural harbour, which
Architecturally, the famous Butterwalk is a has moored significant sailing vessels
Y M A L A/ K N A B E R U T C I P/ S E GA MI L WA/YBKR IB TR EBOR © :SOTOHP
must-see. It is one of the finest rows of black throughout the centuries. It acted as a safe
and white, 17th-century merchants’ houses This smart south Devon assembly point for ships during the 2nd and
in England, and now home to the compact
but comprehensive Dartmouth Museum. harbour town has played 3rd Crusades (1147 and 1189 respectively),
and in 1620 it was the port at which the
The remainder of Dartmouth’s more modern an important role in British Speedwell and Mayflower, carrying the
pastel-hued homes are stacked up behind the
town centre on a steep hill, which is crowned history, starring in both a Pilgrim Fathers to the New World, stopped
for emergency repairs. Download the free
by the Britannia Royal Naval College, the royal engagement and the ‘Mayflower Self-Guided Tours’ app to enjoy
only remaining naval college in the country.
Although Naval Officer training has been Mayflower story a wander around the local sites connected
to the famous ship, and there is no more
based here since 1863, the buildings you see WORDS JENNY ROWE exciting way to celebrate the town’s
WEEKENDER
seafaring skills than attending the Port Further downriver is Bayard’s Cove Fort, as a place to escape the growing public
of Dartmouth Royal Regatta in August, which was built between 1522 and 1536 interest her books had garnered. And she
PP A L C D I VAD/N I AT I R B TISIV /Y M A L A/ K COT SOTO F E GA/S E GA M I TSURT L A N O ITA N/Y E C A L S I R H C/TSURT K R A M D N A L E H T / R E L L I M NHOJ © :SOTOHP
where rowing races and steamboat and served as a last line of defence. is not the only notable figure to have picked
rallies are among the annual events. Having glimpsed the area’s natural beauty this prestigious southerly estuary as a refuge
Dartmouth Castle is an unmissable from the castle’s battlements, walkers may be from working life.
landmark on any boat’s approach to the tempted to follow the South West Coast Path Coleton Fishacre, another National
town, and it is one of two that guard the around the western headland to Little Trust property, this time southeast of
mouth of the Dart – the other, on the Dartmouth; a beautiful, if hilly, four-mile Dartmouth, was the country retreat of
opposite bank, is Kingswear Castle, round trip that serves as a short introduction Rupert and Lady Dorothy D’Oyly Carte,
managed by Landmark Trust as a holiday to this world-famously scenic national trail. who spotted the idyllic valley location from
let. Meanwhile, English Heritage welcome Whether you’re exploring on foot or by their yacht when out sailing one day. Their
visitors to Dartmouth Castle, which was car, ferries are part and parcel of travel here. fortune came from Rupert’s father Richard
initiated in 1388 by John Hawley, the The so-called ‘Lower Ferry’ journeys over D’Oyly Carte’s management of opera duo
14-times Mayor of Dartmouth and privateer the river to the village of Kingswear, Gilbert and Sullivan and the Savoy Theatre
in the Hundred Years War, whose eccentric where you can experience the joys of the and Hotel in London; they hired Oswald
demeanour allegedly inspired Chaucer’s Dartmouth Steam Railway, which chugs Milne, a student of Edwin Lutyens, to design
Shipman character in The Canterbury Tales. from here to Paignton beside the Dart and their dream home here in the 1920s. The
In the 15th century a gun tower was added, then inland and along the English Riviera interior conjures up the atmosphere of the
making it the first fortification to be Geopark coast. Some trains stop just north Jazz Age, while the languorous landscape
purpose-built for a ‘ship-sinking’ heavy of Dartmouth at Greenway Halt, where you gardens tumble down steep banks to sea
cannon – it was active up until the Second can disembark to visit the estate of Dame level. The family’s private tidal pool, cut into
World War and survives to this day. Here Agatha Christie. rock at the foot of the garden, is emblematic
you’ll also see where a 250m chain, installed Greenway is the famous holiday home of of the Dartmouth people’s watery ways.
in the 1480s, was strung over the Dart the world-renowned author, now open to Remember to pack your sea legs!
between Dartmouth and Kingswear castles. the public thanks to the National Trust.
This would have been raised to make sitting Nestled in woodland above the Dart, this  For more on beautiful Devon, see
ducks of enemy ships during wartime. Georgian home was acquired by Christie www.britain-magazine.com
Clockwise from this image:
Kingswear Castle at the
mouth of the River Dart;
the entrance to Bayard's
Cove Fort, decorated for
the Dartmouth Regatta;
Dartmouth Steam
Railway line; Greenway,
Agatha Christie's home
THE PLANNER
GETTING THERE AND AROUND
The nearest station is Totnes. Trains take
approximately 3hr from London. From Totnes a
Stagecoach-operated bus service wil bring you to
Dartmouth in 45min. Alternatively you could fly
from Glasgow or Edinburgh, for example, to Exeter
airport, which is a 50min drive from Dartmouth.
www.gwr.com; www.stagecoachbus.com;
www.exeter-airport.co.uk
EAT, DRINK, SLEEP
You can’t beat fish and chips in this salty sea air.
Sit by the harbour, watch the boats sail by and tuck into
Rockfish’s best, most of which is either fished from their
own boat or picked up daily from Brixham market. For
more sophisticated fare, try Platform 1 Champagne Bar &
Restaurant, which is housed in a former train ticket office.
Enquire early to be in with the chance at staying in one of
the Bayards Cove Inn’s seven luxurious ensuite bedrooms.
The second-oldest Tudor building in Dartmouth, and
close to the quayside where the Mayflower left for
America, it’s the most special place to stay in the area.
www.therockfish.co.uk; www.platform1dartmouth.co.uk;
www.bayardscoveinn.co.uk
i FURTHER INFORMATION
www.visitdartmouth.co.uk
S CILLY SEASON There's a higher density of historical sites on the jewel-like Scilly Isles than
anywhere else in the country, so set sail for a voyage through British history
WORDS KEITH DREW
Hugh Town on
St Mary's, the largest
of the Scilly Isles
RURAL BRITAIN
L L IH A L E A H C I M © :NO I TA R T S ULLI/KC O T S R E T T UHS/LL OCSIR D REG OR/KC OTSI/ E N I L N O S D R I B/Y M A L A/DN A L O R WERD N A/SICN A R F L E G I N © :SOTOHP
Clockwise, from this
image: Quaint
cottages in Hugh
Town; Pelistry Bay;
the Bronze Age
burial chamber
L
of Bant's Carn
ying in the Atlantic some 28 miles off the coast

of mainland Cornwall, the rugged outcrops that
make up the Isles of Scilly are at the frontier of
England, a scattering of isolated but tightknit
communities that are British in name if not, with their
powdery beaches and tropical plant life, in nature. Most
people’s first taste of the Scillies is St Mary’s, which emerges
from the ocean as the ferry chugs towards Hugh Town
harbour or spreads bucolically out beneath them as their
plane swoops in to land at the island’s airport.
The largest and most populated of Scilly’s five inhabited
islands – although it still measures just six square miles and
is home to only 1,800 residents – St Mary’s is a fascinating
microcosm of British history, home to everything from
Bronze Age burial chambers and Iron Age villages through
to Elizabethan castles and maritime defences built during
the Second World War.
Hugh Town, Scilly’s de facto capital, is the island’s hub,
a few parallel streets wedged in between the white-sand
smiles of Town Beach, to the north, and Porthcressa Beach,
to the south. In the morning, little day-tripper boats depart
from its bustling harbour for the off-islands of St Martin’s,
Tresco, Bryher and St Agnes, or out into the waters around
St Mary’s to spot puffins, Manx shearwaters and the
bobbing blobs of Atlantic grey seals.
RURAL BRITAIN
RURAL BRITAIN
Left: Hugh Town Below: Inland, bucolic
harbour, as seen scenes of flower
from the Garrison fields and grazing
peninsula horses await
Pop into the Grade II-listed Town Hall, on Silver Street, settlement of rounded courtyard houses that sprang up
which is serving as the interim home for the Isles of Scilly during the Iron Age; you can still make out the terraces
Museum while they fundraise for new premises. The of the fields they cultivated on the surrounding slopes.
museum’s archive ranges from Romano-British coins to Scilly is known for its crescents of sugar-soft sand,
salvaged cargo from the MV Cita, which ran aground on so your next stop should be Pelistry Bay, St Mary’s best
Newfoundland Point, on the southeast side of St Mary’s, beach. Painted in brushstrokes of turquoise and lapis lazuli,
in 1997, the latest in a long line of ships to fall foul of the waters here are more reminiscent of the Caribbean than
the ragged reefs and treacherous waters around Scilly. Cornwall, and you can wade out to Toll’s Island, connected
Few places can count a bus stop among their list of to St Mary’s by a sand bar at low tide.
attractions, but the “Glass Shelter for Scilly”, on The Strand, Pelistry sits on a rugged path that you can follow round
just behind the Town Hall, is exactly that; designed by local the entire island, dipping in and out of coves and swapping
stained-glass artist Oriel Hicks, its glazed panels celebrate sweeping views of one off-island for the next. But you
Scillonian history, heritage, flora and fauna. shouldn’t confine your wanderings to the coast. The whole
Head to the north end of the island, just two miles up of Scilly has been designated an Area of Outstanding
S E G A MI L WA/YBK RIB TREBOR/Y M A L A/YHP A R G OTOHPREK RAP © :SOTOHP
the road, for evocative traces of early life on St Mary’s. Set Natural Beauty and there are plenty of beauty spots
among heathland, and with tremendous views down across to explore in St Mary’s interior. Near Porth Hellick, a
the channel of St Mary’s Road to neighbouring Tresco, the boardwalk snakes through the expanse of reed beds that
remarkably well-preserved burial chamber of Bant’s Carn
dates back to the Bronze Age. Known as a Scillonian
entrance grave – this type of tomb existed only on Scilly
Painted in brushstrokes of
(where 90 per cent of them are found) and in the western turquoise and lapis lazuli,
tip of mainland Cornwall – the chamber revealed cremated
human bones and pieces of 4,000-year-old pottery when the waters here are more
it was excavated by archaeologist George Bonsor in 1900.
The cluster of rocks laid out on the hillside below the
reminiscent of the Caribbean
tomb is Halangy Down Ancient Village, a farming than Cornwall
RURAL BRITAIN
Below: Star Castle,
originally built in
Elizabethan times,
is now a hotel
S E GA MI L WA/YBKR IB TR EBOR © :SOTOHP

make up Higher Moors, a Site of Special Scientific Interest
where dragonflies and damselflies flit around Porth Hellick THE PLANNER
Pool and you can catch sight of gadwall, coot, water rail and
a whole host of rare vagrant bird species that call in here on GETTING THERE Alternatively, St Mary’s Hall Hotel has
their way across the Atlantic. Skybus flies to St Mary’s from the 26 stylish rooms in a relaxed townhouse
You can complete your history lesson of St Mary’s aisrports at Land’s End (20min), Newquay a few roads back from Porthcressa beach.
on the Garrison, the peninsula that rises to the west (30min) and (from mid-March to October) www.star-castle.co.uk; stmaryshallhotel.co.uk
of Hugh Town. Bijou Star Castle, now a hotel, was built Exeter (1hr). The Scil onian ferry sails between
in Elizabethan times to defend its harbour, strategically Penzance and St Mary’s from mid-March to WHERE TO EAT
positioned, as it was, at the entrance to the English Channel. October (2hr 45min). The best way to get Elegant dining at Star Castle Hotel,
The castle was later surrounded by a fortified wall around the island is on a Scil y Cart; prices in the stone-walled restaurant or the
which was extended during the English Civil War, when start at £46 for a two-seater golf buggy for conservatory, focuses around seafood
the Royalist navy retreated to Scilly, and only abandoned the day. www.islesofscil y-travel.co.uk; and wines from the owner’s vineyard.
as a defensive position at the end of the Second World www.scil ycart.co The Tanglewood Kitchen Company
War – Woolpack Battery, at the peninsula’s southern tip, offers intimate meals at their single-table
was rebuilt to house a pillbox to defend against potential WHERE TO STAY restaurant, where the menu is loaded with
German landings. Perched on a headland overlooking islands produce, and take-away gourmet
It takes around an hour to walk around the perimeter, Hugh Town and the harbour, Star Castle food boxes featuring freshly caught
stopping at the gun batteries along the way; head out here Hotel offers atmospheric accommodation lobster or crab. www.star-castle.co.uk;
with an evening picnic, sit on the south side of the wall, in the castle itself – including former www.tanglewoodkitchen.co.uk
where the rocks meet the sea, and watch as the sun slowly guardrooms, located on the ramparts – or in
sets on St Mary’s. country cottage-style rooms in the grounds.
Views of the sunset are sensational. i FURTHER INFORMATION
www.visitislesofscilly.com
 For more on Britain's islands, see www.britain-magazine.com
Tour of the ENGLISH COTSWOLD PRIVATE TOURS
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ISLES OF SCILLY
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ISLE OF WIGHT bathinsider

The holiday locaon of Queen
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Osborne House open to public. Visit
the Botanic Gardens and experience
the steam age which sll exists. An
island that has given many dinosaur
Tapestries
fossils and is known as the Dinosaur
Capital. The Royal Show! will be
back on the island in 2022
CHANNEL ISLES
Images courtesy of Visit Guernsey
Everything for a great vacaon. Island hopping to places with no cars
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CITY GUIDE
TOP
BATH10
Begun by the ancient Britons, revered by the Romans, and brought into vogue by
the Georgians, today Bath is a city of glorious architecture with a wealth of culture
T
WORDS NATASHA FOGES
hree words carved in Greek on the The conquering Romans were in awe of the
architrave of Bath’s Pump Room, hot springs, believing that this must be where
next to the Roman Baths, sum up their world met the underworld. They built
this city’s enduring fame: “Water is Best.” The baths and a temple in 43 AD, and called the
mineral-rich thermal springs from which the settlement Aquae Sulis after the Celtic god Sulis,
city of Bath derives its name drew the Romans whom they identified with their own healing
and the Georgians during the two great deity Minerva. The Romans flocked to bathe in
heydays of its spa culture. We have these two the spa waters here, while the Georgians drank
golden ages to thank for the city’s honey-hued it as a cure for everything from rheumatism to
limestone architecture, seen in its ancient gout. You can stil ‘take the waters’ in the
YAK ZIL © :NO I TA R T S U L L I . H TAB TISIV / S N I K WAH NILOC © :OTOHP
Roman Baths and its elegant Georgian Georgian Pump Room; containing 43 minerals,
crescents and squares, now a UNESCO World they're something of an acquired taste.
Heritage Site. A second UNESCO designation Artists and writers from Gainsborough to
was awarded in July, recognising Bath as one of Dickens spent time in Bath, but it’s Jane Austen,
the 'Great Spa Towns of Europe'. living at several addresses here from 1801 to
It all began, according to legend, when Prince Bladud discovered the 1806, whose spirit prevails; an annual festival is dedicated to her, and
health-giving benefits of the thermal springs when he was cured of leprosy many of her Bath haunts appeared in her novels. Catherine Morland, the
after wallowing in hot muddy waters near the River Avon. He founded a heroine of Northanger Abbey, gushed, “Oh! Who can ever be tired of
settlement at Bath as a mark of gratitude in around 836 BC. Bath?” Two centuries on, the city is as fascinating as ever.
CITY GUIDE
1 Holburne Museum This grand

Georgian building, which doubled
as Lady Danbury’s house in
the Netflix series Bridgerton, has
Renaissance treasures and masterpieces
by Gainsborough and Stubbs. High
society of the 18th century is marvellously
conjured up, with the house’s former
ballroom laid out as though for a banquet.
www.holburne.org
2 Sally Lunn’s A visit to this world-famous

tearoom, dating back to 1680, is a must.
The toasted Bath buns, a local speciality
first created by Huguenot baker Sally Lunn,
are still baked daily to a secret recipe.
www.sallylunns.co.uk
3 The Roman Baths Walk on the

original Roman pavements at
this atmospheric ancient site,
with its elegant columns and eerily
green water, and explore the museum
collections, including a gilt bronze
head of the Goddess Sulis Minerva.
www.romanbaths.co.uk
CITY GUIDE
4 Thermae Bath Spa To see for

yourself what all the fuss is
about, head to Thermae Bath
Spa to wallow in the mineral-rich
spa waters, just as the Romans did
over 2,000 years ago. The open-air
rooftop pool has spectacular views
over the city’s rooftops and the
hills beyond.
www.thermaebathspa.com
5 Bath Abbey Built on Saxon remains, the present

abbey dates from the 15th century. You won’t forget
your first sight of this beautiful building: the west
front sports a unique design of carved angels climbing
ladders. Inside are magnificent stained-glass windows,
soaring honey-coloured columns and fan vaulting.
N I AT I R B T I S I V / L I C NUOC T E S R E M OS TS AE HTRON D N A H TAB N N U L YLLAS/H TAB M UESUM N O I H SAF
/IN IGER E R D N A/N O S N E B NEWO/H TAB TISIV / S E GA MI LWA/N O I T C E LLOC XIP L E VA R T © :SOTOHP
www.bathabbey.org
6 Jane Austen Centre Costumed guides

take you on a journey through Regency
times at this dedicated museum.
You can dress up in a bonnet and shawl
and have a go at writing with a quill pen,
before taking tea in the Regency tearoom.
www.janeausten.co.uk
7 Fashion Museum Located in the Assembly Rooms – the

venue for grand balls in Austen’s day – the Fashion
Museum explores dress through the centuries. This year’s
Shoephoria! exhibition displays 350 pairs of showstopping shoes,
the earliest being a pair of red velvet mules from the 1690s.
www.fashionmuseum.co.uk
H TAB TISIV /Y M A L A/ G N I T U P M OC LL ANGAD NAI/ 1 2 _ IUR@ © :SOTOHP
8 No 1 Royal Crescent This marvellous museum on Bath’s
most beautiful street has been decorated and furnished as it
would have been in the late 18th century. A new immersive
experience, ‘The Georgian Home in Bath’, sees the house come alive
around you with the bustle of the resident family and their servants.
9 Theatre Royal Bath Built in 1805, this is
one of Britain’s oldest theatres. The
sumptuously restored Main House
puts on a year-round theatre programme,
including many West End productions,
no1royalcrescent.org.uk as well as opera and dance.
www.theatreroyal.org.uk
THE PLANNER
GETTING THERE AND AROUND
Regular trains run from London Paddington to Bath Spa (1hr 20min).
The city centre is compact and easily navigable on foot. www.thetrainline.com
WHERE TO STAY
The Gainsborough Bath Spa hotel has everything you could wish for:
an enviable location in the heart of the city, a splendid honey-stone building,
luxuriously appointed rooms with period details and – the cherry on the cake
– a splendid Romanesque spa, the only hotel spa in the city with access to the
thermal waters. www.thegainsboroughbathspa.co.uk
WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
Clayton’s Kitchen, set in a Georgian townhouse, is the local foodie’s
favourite. Expect unfussy, Mediterranean-accented dishes such as cannon of
Wiltshire lamb marinated in rosemary oil with olives and sun-blushed tomato
potatoes. There’s no shortage of historic pubs in the city; try the warren-like
10
Star Inn for a quiet drink amid Victorian bar fittings, or The Raven, housed in
two former Georgian townhouses, which thanks to its tasty pies is a popular
House of Frankenstein Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, spot for a pub lunch. www.claytonskitchen.com; www.star-inn-bath.co.uk;
her Gothic horror story, while staying in Bath in www.theravenofbath.co.uk
1816. This new attraction offers an immersive
experience, with interactive displays delving into her history,
and you can even come face to face with the monster himself. i FURTHER INFORMATION
www.visitbath.co.uk
www.houseoffrankenstein.com
Visit No.1 Royal Crescent, Bath
It is a
truth universally
acknowledged that a
Georgian House in Bath
must have a Jane Austen
story to tell… Special
Jane Austen tickets out
now, limited
availability for
September.
Visit one of the most beautiful houses in Bath.

Take our new immersive tour through this Georgian House and meet the family and their servants!
See and hear how a family once lived in this beautiful house.
Book now at www.no1royalcrescent.org.uk
Tickets and Private Tours also available for Herschel Museum of Astronomy and Beckford’s Tower
LAST WORD
Gemma Lake
RHS Chelsea Flower Show Manager
In the first of our new interview series, we
hear about a typical day in the run-up to
the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show, whose
show gardens are the haute couture of the
international gardening world
5.30am I do some yoga, then have a big smoothie
for breakfast to fuel my long day. The whole
team moves on site – in the grounds of the Royal
Hospital Chelsea – to build the show in the three
weeks running up to it. We stay in nearby hotels
for six weeks overall: for the three-week build,
one-week show and two-week breakdown phase.
7am I’m one of the first people on site so I can have a walk around in
peace, gather my thoughts and properly appreciate the progress that
has been made in each of the gardens. I also check everything is in a
decent state after heavy rainfall overnight.
9am Soon all the garden designers, sponsors and contractors have
arrived. It gets very busy as it’s a small site. The Clerk of Works acts
as a middleman between me and the build teams and walks around
the site continuously throughout the day, picking up any problems.
There is limited space and time for errors so it’s important things are
spotted and dealt with straight away.
1pmThe Clerk of Works radios in – our radios are going off
constantly – with a delivery hitch. One lorry is taking a long time to
offload and holding up 50 others behind it. We ensure that we have
done all we can do to speed up the process with extra forklifts and
people power, and soothe the frazzled exhibitors who can’t afford to
waste any time. It means everything to them, and an important part
of my job is to ensure they are supported.
3.30pm I have a few mouthfuls of lunch before I am radioed about a
burst water pipe. I call the water service team to get the water turned
off to minimise any damage.
4pm It starts to rain but work continues. Some days we end up
looking like drowned rats; others we’ll be covered in sweat and
sunscreen. Everyone works through all weathers here but we’re
hoping the sun will show its face for our first ever September show.
6.30pm In the last few hours of the day I finally get on top of my
emails and catch up with the rest of the team.
9pm Before I leave the site I have a final walk around. It’s very
rewarding to see the gardens coming together. I’m a trained garden
designer and appreciate the workmanship required to build these
incredible gardens – which are really pieces of art – in just three
weeks. I don’t really have favourites, I do just love them all, but this
year’s RHS COP26 Garden is very timely; it’s a call to action to all
gardeners to play their role in protecting the biodiversity of the planet.
11pm After returning to the hotel for dinner, it’s straight to bed. We
very much live in a bubble during the show, and it’s easy to forget
about the outside world entirely. This means our team get very close
to all of the exhibitors and everyone else involved, which makes
‘breakdown’ quite bittersweet. Dealing with the cancelled 2020
show and the postponement from May this year has been really
S H R © :S OTOH P
hard too, so the 2021 edition means even more to us than usual.
The Chelsea Flower Show runs 21-26 September 2021. rhs.org.uk
82 BRITAIN
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island to watching the stars over the sea from
your hot tub, Boutique Retreats specialise in
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+44 (0)1872 553 491
enquiries@boutique-retreats.co.uk We know how good getaways should be.
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BRITAI

On the Tudor trail

THE UNHAPPY COUPLE

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SCILLY ISLES p68 DARTMOUTH p65

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