- Heritage

Farnham Castle

First built in 1138 by Henri de Blois, grandson of William the Conqueror, Bishop of Winchester, the castle was to become the home of the Bishops of Winchester for over 800 years. The original building was demolished by Henry II in 1155 after the Anarchy and then rebuilt in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The castle was slighted again after the Civil War in 1648. Since then more buildings have been constructed in the castle’s grounds, the most…

Waverley Abbey

Fragments of the church and…

Audley End House and Gardens

Audley End House is largely an early 17th-century country house just outside Saffron Walden, Essex, south of Cambridge, England. It was once a palace in all but name and renowned as one of the finest Jacobean houses in England. Audley End is now only one-third of its original size, but is still large, with much to enjoy in its architectural features…

St Botolph's Priory

St Botolph’s Priory, located in Colchester, England, was the first English Augustinian priory church, founded at the end of the eleventh century from the Anglo-Saxon minster community of Colchester. Only the…

Hadleigh Castle

Hadleigh Castle in the English county of Essex overlooks the Thames estuary from a ridge to the south of the town of Hadleigh. Built in the 1230s during the reign of King Henry III, the structure is the most important late-medieval castle in Essex and is now preserved by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. The ruins of the castle are the most prominent historical landmark in the local surrounding area and provided part of…

Hill Hall

Hill Hall, located near Epping, Essex, England is a recently restored Elizabethan mansion. Although owned by English Heritage, the building consists of many private apartments. Limited tours are available to see the internal period wall paintings. Originally built for Sir Thomas Smith during the reign of Elizabeth I. Construction was carried out over several intervals (1567-8, 1572-3)interspersed between stints as ambassador to France. The Smith family were in occupation until the mid 19th century. It was subsequently to become a prison of war camp during WW.11 and later a womans prison until…

Lexden Earthworks

The banks and ditches of a series of late Iron Age defences protecting the western side of Camulodunum – pre-Roman Colchester. There are also many pre-Roman graves hereabouts,…

Mistley Towers

Two porticoed Classical towers, which stood at each end of a…

Prior's Hall Barn

One of the finest surviving medieval barns in eastern England, tree-ring dated to the mid-15th century, with a breathtaking…

St John's Abbey Gate

This pinnacled gatehouse, elaborately decorated in East Anglian ‘flushwork’, is the sole survivor of the wealthy Benedictine abbey of St John. It was built c.1400 to strengthen the abbey’s defences following the Peasants’ Revolt. Later part of the mansion of the Royalist Lucas family, the gatehouse…