Historic Houses

Towneley Hall, Burnley

April 18, 2012

Towneley Hall, Burnley was built over many centuries, from the early-15th to the 19th, as home to the Towneley family. Historically, although many have been eminent public servants, the most famous member of the family was possibly Charles Towneley, the 18th century collector whose marbles and brasses form an important part of collections at the [...]

Still More Wordsworth Places in the Lake District

January 3, 2012

Recently I’ve written several times about Lake District places associated with William Wordsworth, the great nineteenth century romantic poet. In addition to describing a visit to Wordsworth House in Cockermouth and seeing the tremendous work that has been done to recover from the devastating floods of November 2009, I posted a further article summarising the [...]

Arley Hall and Gardens, Cheshire

December 7, 2011

Recently I promised to include weekly items on attractive places further south than my recent Cumbrian and Pennine posts. Regulars here will have noticed very little activity of any kind since then. I’ve been working on a major new feature of the site (secret! husshhh!) to be launched shortly and was rather distracted from routine [...]

Going to the Wordsworth House? Which one?

December 6, 2011

Wordsworth House, Cockermouth “We’re going to the Wordsworth House this afternoon.” “Oh good. You’ll enjoy that. Which one?” It’s easy to imagine that kind of conversation between Lake District visitors over a lunch table. Currently there are three houses with strong Wordsworth connections open to the public, and before long the three will be four. [...]

Some Places to Visit in the Lake District

October 28, 2011

[Updated from a 2008 post]In addition to the lakes themselves there is a wide variety of things to do in the Lake District. There are places to visit ranging from the literary connections of Dove Cottage at Grasmere (home of the poet William Wordsworth) to the practicalities (although also with artistic potential) of the pencil [...]

Wordsworth’s Birthplace, Cockermouth

August 9, 2011

This afternoon in the Cockermouth sunshine the confluence of the Cocker and the Derwent looked tranquil. On 19th November 2009 it was a very different picture. Record volumes of rainwater poured down the two rivers from the Lake District mountains and inundated the centre of this historic town. Parts of the town that day were [...]

Two Great Lancashire Buildings

February 17, 2011

Last week I mentioned some of the items on the blog that had received most attention since they were published. One of these was on Towneley Hall, Burnley. The picture there was taken from my copy of the 1909 brochure, so I thought that today I’d put up here one of my own photos from [...]

Two Million Snowdrops at Ripley

February 14, 2011

Just a quick Yorkshire item today. I have happy memories of Ripley Castle, including taking my young granddaughter to the Ripley Show several years ago. Well this year’s show isn’t until August but there’s plenty to do and see in the interim. At present I’m told that there are something like two million snowdrops in [...]

Herb Garden at Hardwick Hall

December 3, 2010

Hardwick Hall, home of that powerful Elizabethan lady, Bess of Hardwick, is a “must-see” for anyone visiting Derbyshire or Nottinghamshire. Another day I’ll post something about the house itself, now in the care of the National Trust. Its wall tapestries are amazing, and have hung there for hundreds of years. Today, though, here’s a view [...]

The Ruskin Monument – Coniston

November 13, 2009

This morning while working on preparations for another new site, very little to do with England and nothing at all to do with the Lake District, I was searching through a crate of old photos. Yes, I do mean crate! I have several of them, and in this one I was digging for pictures from [...]

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