Richmond Palace, much loved home to the Tudors and once a stunning grand palace but sadly only a gatehouse remains today.

/ Richmond Palace /

Richmond Palace, much loved home to the Tudors and once a stunning grand palace but sadly only a gatehouse remains today. You can walk up to this impressive Tudor gatehouse built in 1501 by Henry VII. It started off as a substantial manor house in 1125 and became a royal manor house in 1327. Important events involving key Tudors took place at Richmond Palace. Henry VII died here and in 1603, so did his granddaughter, Elizabeth I. Prince Henry, later Henry VIII nearly lost his life here and his eldest daugther, Mary, spent her honeymoon within its walls.

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The London Mithraeum, discovered in 1954 under the bombed out ruins of London and now rebuilt to give you a "memorable, powerful and authentic experience."

/ London Mithraeum/

The London Mithraeum, discovered in 1952 under the bombed out ruins of London, is now rebuilt and open to the public to give you a "memorable, powerful and authentic experience."The London Mithraeum was built 1800 years ago by the Romans and dedicated to the god, Mithras. In 1952 a small section of a Roman building was discovered and on the last day of the dig in 1954 its function was confirmed as a temple devoted to the God Mithras. The evidence on that last day was a sculpted head of Mythras. The temple was first built around 240-250AD and was eventually abandoned in about 380AD and is now open to the public in the Bloomberg building. A further excavation took place between 2012-2014 and discovered more than 14 000 artefacts, together with 63 000 pieces of pottery and 3 tonnes of animal bones. This together with the original finds means that this was has become a highly important site in the history of London. Over 400 pieces of writing tablets have been found and this includes the first known reference to London and the earliest hand written document. Some 600 artefacts are on display as well as the temple itself. Several other key finds are on display in the nearby Museum of London. (20 minutes walk)

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Visiting London? The Museum of London, is one of the best museums in the UK and is free. (Part 1)

/ Museum of London/

Visiting London? The Museum of London, is one of the best museums in the UK and is free. You can see amazing objects from thousands of years of life in London, from a Mammoth tusk to a pilgrims badge representing a visit to St Thomas Becket’s tomb. You can get up close to those objects and see their little details. The displays are bright and informative. There are rooms set out as though they were from a Roman villa placing Roman finds in context. Several models are on display such as London’s Roman forum and Basilica as well as the original gothic St Paul’s Cathedral

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Whitehall Palace; Henry VIII's magnificent palace that has disappeared!

/ Whitehall/

Henry VIII loved building and designing palaces to the extent that when he died in 1547, he left 55 palaces that he could call his own. The biggest was Whitehall Palace but surprisingly, very little is left to see of the magnificent palace and you have to be a spy of some sort to see it because the only remains are underneath the Ministry of Defence! Photographs of Henry VIII’s wine cellar look impressive but it is hardly representative of what used to be above ground.

This is rather surprising considering its enormous size. The mighty Hampton Court occupies 6 acres of land, however, in comparison, Whitehall Palace is nearly four times as large, occupying 23 acres! Hovering over it today with a drone would show an area from Trafalgar Square to almost Big Ben. Under Henry, it was to contain 1500 rooms and physically portrays the might of the Tudors. No castle or manor house came anywhere near it for size, setting Henry VIII way above any potential rival. Henry married two of his wives at the palace, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour and in 1547 he even died there! From 1532 onwards, Whitehall became Henry’s most visited residence although he preferred to celebrate the great feasts of the year such as Christmas at one of his other palaces such as Greenwich or Hampton Court.

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Hever Castle, the home of Anne Boleyn; victim or "gold-digger"?

/ Hever Castle/

Why visit Hever Castle? You can walk around and go inside a beautiful medieval castle built in 1271. See the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife and queen for only 1000 days. Visit the place where Henry VIII made frequent visits, at first to see his mistress, Mary, Anne’s sister and later to “court” Anne herself. Wander through rooms that would have been familiar to Anne as well as restored rooms that have been furnished sympathetically according to the wishes of the Aster family from America. Marvel at one of the best collections of Tudor Portraits in the country after the National Portrait Gallery according to the renowned historian, Dr David Starkey.

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Butser Ancient Farm, five thousand years of history.

/ Butser Ancient Farm/

Where did our ancestors live when they came down from trees? Where did Cave men live if there weren’t any caves about? They had to build them. At Butser Ancient Farm, you will see an amazing collection of reconstructed houses from the Neolithic period, five thousand years ago to the Saxons in the early medieval period. You can look closely at the building techniques, styles and materials from the different time periods. It is one thing to see artist versions in books but it is a very different thing to see a reconstructed building based on actual examples and then walk inside it. At Butser you can also see how the interiors were furnished and decorated. There is even an amazing reconstructed Roman villa for you to wander through. Butser Ancient Farm is full of exceptionally friendly and helpful staff who love the place, are very knowledgeable and are very keen to tell you all about it. You will come away with an improved knowledge of living spaces over thousands of years, an enhanced love of history and some excellent stories.

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Hampton Court; Kings, Cardinals and Queens plus the occasional ghost!

/ Hampton Court Palace/
Hampton Court; Kings, Cardinals and Queens plus the occasional ghost!

Hampton Court Palace is the most awesome Tudor palace that you will be able to see (many of Henry’s palaces have been partly or totally destroyed). The preservation of the building is remarkable. Unlike many well known places, Hampton Court Palace is not a romantic ruin! It has been described as history in colour. The Great Hall and Chapel Royal will take your breath away. There are many things stand out and are simply stunning. Hampton Court is the centre of a fantastic period of history with fascinating characters like Thomas Wolsey, Anne Boleyn and of course Henry VIII. Most people know a few things about Henry and his six wives and here is the place where a lot of it took place.There are so many badges, emblems and physical references to Henry VIII’s life story that it would take a day to search them all out!

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The Battle of Britain's "National Memorial to the Few".

/ Battle of Britain Memorial /
The Battle of Britain's "National Memorial to the Few".

The Battle of Britain memorial is “dedicated to the heroic and selfless deeds of the men who fought the Battle of Britain, 10 July to 31 October, 1940. It is cited on the famous White Cliffs of Dover and offers superb views across the Channel to France. Much of the fighting took place in the skies above this very area and so its location is very apposite. The actual memorial is an evocative statue of a Battle of Britain pilot who sits in the centre of a giant propeller. There are also life size spitfire and hurricane replicas, a wall of remembrance and “The Wing” in which visitors can take part in an interactive presentation, “The Scramble Experience”. The jacket that the pilot is wearing, intentionally, has no badges to signify nationality or rank signifying that pilots from Britain were accompanied by nationals from all over the British Empire and even Europe. Of significant importance were 145 airmen from Poland, many of whom were based at RAF Northolt in London.

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Knole; "the romantic embodiment of a bygone age".

/ Knole House/
Knole; "the romantic embodiment of a bygone age".

The guidebook states “Knole was built to impress” and it still has the ‘wow factor today. Driving through the beautiful estate to get to the carpark heightens expectation of what you will see when the immense house comes into view. Seeing this majestic residence for the first time will, to use an overworked phrase, “blow your mind”. It is simply stunning. Looking at the surrounding countryside you will see an amazing setting and immediately want to see the whole package, the house and the park. It is one of the largest country houses in England and it sits amidst one of the last remaining deer parks in Kent.Reading this blog, you will come across famous historical figures such as Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and her “favourite”, the Earl of Leicester, Nell Gwynn and the authors, Vita Sackville West and her lover, Virginia Woolf.

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