Essential History | The people, places and events that have shaped our history and culture
The people, places and events that have shaped our history and culture
Syon House, near Brentford, is home of the Percys, Dukes of Northumberland. It sits in a 200 acre estate on the River Thames in Middlesex. The house we see today was built by Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset in 1547, refurbished and enhanced by the Scottish architect Robert Adam in the 1760's and refaced in [...]
Tower Hill is an open area of raised land just north of the Tower of London. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it was the execution site for those incarcerated in the Tower in London. It's believed around 125 people were executed, mostly by beheading. At this time, only a few people (with Royal or [...]
The centre of Stratford-upon-Avon is packed with Elizabethan and Jacobean architecture and history that recall the life of the world's most famous writer, William Shakespeare. This article shows you how to spend one day in Stratford-upon-Avon, exploring the town and its connections to the bard. We start the walk in Henley Street near the [...]
The chances are you’ll come across Shakespeare at least once during your visit to London. You might even visit the Globe Theatre for a performance. Here’s a primer on how Shakespearean theatre started in London. Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 and spent the greatest part of his working life in London - living [...]
Among the most popular and famous of sights in London are the Churchill War Rooms. Commissioned in the nick of time in August 1939 the War Rooms were the venue for 115 meetings of the War Cabinet during the 'Blitz' of London in 1939/40. Then used again during the V-1/V-2 'flying bomb' attacks in 1945. When [...]