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TRAFALGAR TOUR

Hampton Court

Map of Hampton Court Palace and Gardens

Main Gate of Hampton Court photo by G.Wilson

Hampton Court Gate

Hampton Court photo by G.Wilson

Entrance to Hampton Court photo by G. Wilson

Ceiling of Entrance to Hampton Court photo by G. Wilson

Chancellor Wolsey

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the arrogant and ambitious owner of Hampton Court, was a vain creature of comfort, a man who drank from golden goblets, savoured satin about his body and saw silver wherever he looked. When notables visited, Wolsey ate alone and no one else was served until he had finished his course. He allowed himself the greatest privileges and perks and the finest of these was Hampton Court. He took great pride in his palace, lavishing unlimited lucre upon it, to make the residence fit for King Henry VIII's chief minister. The prominence of his position demanded nothing less. Wolsey's power an wealth aroused envy and symbolized wordly selfishness of the clergy. Thinly veiled attacks were circulated in the country. Some took the form of poetry.

Why come ye not to Court?
Why come ye not to court?
To which court?
To the King's court,
Or to Hampton Court?
Nay, to the King's court;
The King's court
Should have the excellence:
But Hampton Court
Hath the preeminence.

Hampton Court Palace itself was built in around 1514. With its 280 rooms and 500 liveried servants, it could almost be described as a paradise upon earth. Wolsey flaunted it in the King's face, entertaining Henry and his court to lavish banquets,"the like of which was never given by Cleopatra or Caligula." The opulence of the cardinal's lifestyle aroused in Henry first envy then avarice. He watched and waited.

Wolsey overreached himself and the contrast became too sharp to be borne. Despite his arrogant, self-assertiveness, Thomas knew only too well, that the source of it all was his sovereign, a complex, notoriously unpredictable, psychopathic king. Egotism was the reconciling principle of Henry's life - both parasite and autocrat.

Make my day.

Wolsey paused and pondered. Had he detected in Henry's disarming glances, a hint of fierce displeasure.

Henry VIII's Jousting (Jesting?) Helmet

Thomas shuddered and well he might. Suddenly he knew what he had to do.

"Hampton Court is yours," said Wolsey, bowing low to his lord as he handed his sovereign the deed to his greatest treasure. Henry looked sharply about him at the rich, red brick of the palace, set amid glorious gardens glowing in the sunlight. All this - a gift! To refuse would be an insult; to take would plunge into great pain his first minister."Thank you, Wolsey, I accept."

The mighty monarch continued his walk as if nothing unusual had happened, but his heart must surely have skipped a beat as he beheld his beautiful new home. None of his palaces became more important to him than Hampton Court. Within ten years, he spent more than 62,000 pounds [18 million today] rebuilding and extending its size.

Where Fools Enjoyed Royal Favour.

"Fools" were paid to amuse their royal masters. Two are included [extreme left and right] in the 1545 painting above, which supposedly depicts a happy King at Hampton Court with his three chidren, Edward, Mary and Elizabeth and Henry's late wife, Jane Seymour. "Jane the Fool" was Mary's 'fool' Bald-headed, she had her head shaved twice a month. Henry was very attached to his 'fool' Will Somer, who as a result enjoyed many privileges. They were seen as being cloaer to God and appreciated for their lack of guile and for speaking the truth, when flatery and deceit dominated.

Henry had decided that he had to get rid of his wife, Katherine.

Katherine of Aragon

Despite the fact that she was his loving wife for many years, she had failed to bear him his son and simply must go. Despite her protestations, pleas, and prayers, Henry was firm.

"No, Go"

Henry had an other maiden on his mind - Anne Boleyn.

Henry VIII took what he wanted and he wanted Anne Boleyn. However, Anne was unlike her sister, Mary, who readily agreed with Harry's wishes.

Mary Boleyn

Anne on the other hand, told Henry to hold his horses and reign in his raunchy ways until he made her a royal with a ring.

Anne Boleyn

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Now listen up, Wolsey,

But this time a woebegone Wolsey failed to persuade the pope to repeal Henry's marriage to Katherine and he knew he might very well lose more than his mansion. Henry's anger and frustration, already fierce, were fanned by his new flame, Anne Boleyn. A summons was sent from his sovereign.

Wolsey knew his neck was next. Ira principis more est.(the prince's anger is death.) He tried to starve himself to death, refusing to eat a thing for some time, but to no avail.

Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness!
This is the state of man; to-day he puts forth
The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;
The third day, comes a frost, a killing frost;
And--when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a ripening--nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do. I have ventur'd,
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,
These many summers in a sea of glory;
But far beyond my depth: my high-blown pride
At length broke under me; and now has left me,
Weary and old with service, to the mercy
Of a rude stream, that must for ever hide me.
Vain pomp and glory of the world, I hate ye!
I feel my heart new open'd; O how wretched
Is that poor man, that hangs on princes' favours!
There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and our ruin,
More pangs and fears than war and women have;
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again!--

He set off for the trial and the termination to follow, murmuring as he made his way to he woe that awaited, "Had I but served God as diligently as I have served the King, he would not have given me over in my grey hairs."Lulled to his rest by the murmuring of the monks, Wolsey died in bed in Leicester Abbey, his demise cheered by all who heard it, for he had left a legacy of hatred.

Hampton Court Palace and Gardens photo by G.Wilson

The scene of Henry's matrimonial adventures, the great brick Tudor palace's imposing exterior was more than matched by its spacious and luxurious interior. Herein Henry's queens were briefly blissful, before their prince's jealous paranoia, fed by rumours and intrigues, damned and destroyed their lives. Youthful Catherine Howard ran screaming through its long passages and tapestry-hung galleries on learning that Henry suspected her of adultery, vainly beating on locked door behind which Henry was at his devotions. She died on the block at his bidding. Her shrieking ghost is said to haunt the palace still, terrifying tourists in the Haunted Gallery.

Henry VIII's Bed Chamber

From its double-storey rooms, one could look out on the Thames River and Hampton Court dock, the royal route Henry took to his home frequently.

View from Hampton Court Dock on Thames River photo by G.Wilson

Motivated to make it even better, Henry added the present Great Hall between 1532 and 1535. The space, 97 feet long and 40 feet high, is often described as the last medieval great hall of the English monarchy, with its magnificent hammerbeam roof and sumptuous wall hangings. Dominating the inner court, its carved pendants like gilded stalactites hang from the ornate hammerbeam roof. Henry was so anxious to see it completed, he ordered his carpenters to work night and day, lighting the shadowy vaults with hundredds of candles when dusk fell. It took five years to fully finish.

Royal entertainment was not solely restricted to royal entries and open-air performances while on a progress around the country. Monarchs would often employ companies of players to entertain them at court, and this Great Hall is a wonderful example of spaces used for such festivities. The hall was also used regularly as a theatre during the reign of Elizabeth I and in 1572 a stage was erected against the screen, with an adjoining chamber serving as a dressing room for the players; the Great Watching Chamber was reportedly used for rehearsals. The Great Hall appears to have continued its role as a part-time theatre well after the establishment of permanent playhouses and its final performance is recorded as taking place on 18 October 1731, although the stage was not finally cleared away until 1798.

Hampton Court Great Hall We know that Shakespeare’s company performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream here before James VI and I on New Year’s Day 1604..

Hampton Court Great Hall

One of his home's many unique features was its plumbing system, which brought drinking water to the palace in leaden pipes and drained off wastes through brick sewers. He enlarged Hampton Court until it extended to a thousand rooms, making it the largest structure to be built in England since Roman times. Unique it may have been, but lead leads to a shorter life. Who knows but that his precious plumbing may have hastened Henry's demise.

Salisbury
Britain's finest 13th Century Cathedral
Britain's tallest spire 123 m (404 ft.)
Finest of only four surviving original Magna Cartas
World's oldest mechanical working clock (1386)
Earliest surviving complete choir stalls in Britain (c.1236)

"Salisbury Cathedral is most admirable, as big I think and handsomer than Westminster." Samuel Pepys 1668

Salisbury Cathedral, unique among English medieval cathedrals, was built between 1220 and 1258 and architecturally is known as Early English Gothic. Its builders made extensive use of stone. The foundation was laid in 1220 and in the next 38 years, the quire, transepts and nave were completed. The tower and its spire were added between 1297 and 1320. Their addtional weight, 6500 tons, caused the four piers to bend, necessitating buttresses to bear this extra load. The octagonal spire is the tallest and many believe the most elegant in England. The bishop's throne known as the kathedra is the source of the name cathedral since the presence of the bishop defines a church as a cathedral.

Sailsbury photo by G.Wilson

In March 1226, Salisbury Cathedral was an unfinished shell. On this stormy day this full flowering of the English version of Gothic was packed with powerful princes, bishops and men-at-arms, their swords flashing in the nervous candlelight. The occasion, the funeral of Richard's last surviving brother, William Longspee, Earl of Salisbury, one of the five dignitaries who laid the foundation stones of that revolutionary new building a mere six years before.

At the time it was whispered that Longspee was poisoned and there is some evidence to indicate that he was. In 1791 a group of antiquarians opened his tomb and found Longspee dressed in furs and robes that had been bleached white with age. Curled up inside his empty skull was a dead rat. The rat was eventually given a post-mortem in the 20th century and found to have died of arsenic poisoning. The creature was quite possibly an unexpected second victim of Hubert de Burgh. The rat is now on display in a case at the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum.

When Longspee had been long delayed on returning from a distant journey, his wife, Ela, Countess of Salisbury and daughter of William of Salisbury, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, attracted some persistant suitors and Hubert, the king's justiciar, pressed most forcefully the suit of his nephew. Longspee learned of this, hated him for it and appealled to the teenage king, Henry III, King John's son, for redress. Henry forced the two to kiss and make up and both enjoyed a fine feast to celebrate their new found friendship. Longspee should not have lauded that lunch.

Present also on the occasion of the funeral were the last of the old generation, men who had fought alongside Longspee on the Third Crusade. The crowds parted as they passed, these men from a golden age who had actually seen luminaries such as Saladin, Thomas Becket, Eleanor of Aquitaine and above all, Richard the Lionheart.

Now they all watched as Longspee was lowered into his crusader's tomb, the first person to be buried in Salisbury Cathedral.

Longspee's Tomb in Sailsbury Cathedral photo by G.Wilson

Longspee had been one of the few to side with his half-brother, King John, when that cruel king had been confronted by barons at Runnymede and forced to sign Magna Carta in 1215. Elias of Dereham, who was also involved at Runnymede, later became a Canon of Salisbury and supervised the building of Salisbury Cathedral.

Another 'famous' personage is interred in this church. Buried under the floor in Salisbury Cathedral is Roger Pinckney 1667-1730. This is Geri's 7th great-grandmother, Rachel Pinkney's cousin.

H S E
Rogerus Pinckney gent
qui obyt vicesimodic
July Anno Dni 1730
AEtat 63

Roger Pinkney

Sailsbury photo by B.Wilson

Salisbury. photo by B.Wilson

Some of the blame for the hostility towards King John must be shared by his big brother, Richard, a fierce and very famous fighter, whose passion for pitched battles was well known. He spent much of his time and most of his country's money fighting in faroff places and certainly contributed to John's problems. The Lionheart looted the country for the Crusades, emptying the purses of the people who counted and creating the grievances that grated on the nobles. While his countrymen laboured to raise funds to free their imprisoned sovereign, Richard the Lionheart, John did not join them. Instead he was negotiating with his brother's enemies. But for all his robbing ways, Richard retained the admiration and in some cases the love of the nobles and the nation, for the fiercesome fighter's foreign exploits brought fame, if not fortune, to England's name. Not so, John.

'Rampaging' Richard photo by G. Wilson

'Jaundiced' John The first English king to wear a dressing gown.

John inherited a debt-ridden country, but finances were not his only failing.

In a world where character counted for more than competence, John was never in the running. His historic ignominy actually reflects the views of John's contemporaries. One called him "nature's enemy" and another labelled him, "a pillager of his own people". Recognized as a raging madman who "emitted foam from his mouth", it was believed he simply, "he had too many bad qualities".

Heartily hated for his mean and terrible temper, John's frequent furies were a family affair, for his father Henry II writhed on the floor in fits and everyone knew it was very wise to beware a bested Richard. John kept up his end with rampaging rages ranting and foaming at the mouth, "his eyes darting fire and his countenance livid." His cruelties were conceived and executed with a cold, inhuman intelligence. Monks' chronicles emphasized his violence, greed, malice, treachery and lust. As well as being wicked and wily, he was gifted with patience and artifice, the combination making him a foe to be feared indeed.

Weak as well as wanton, King John's defence of his continental lands was fitful and ineffective. Crowned in 1199, by 1204 he had lost much of the land in France. "Enjoying all the pleasures of life" with his barely teenaged bride, his reputation fell as the scutage he demanded skyrocketed. Scutage was a feudal relief by which barons paid money in lieu of military service to the crown. John had levied it so often - eleven times compared to Richard's three - that it now resembled a regular tax. John had poured his huge resources into the campaign only to meet with complete failure in the summer.

John's unsavoury reputation accompanied by his collapsing kingdom augured ill for the sullen sovereign. Finally, the best of the barons' outraged anger knew no bounds.By September 1214, many simply refused to pay scutage for farcical fighting that reflected John's contemporary nickname, 'Softsword'. The man and his meanness were confronted at Runnymede

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King John

Barons Capture King John

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Barons Badgering King John

On a Monday morning in June, 1215, barons and churchmen began to gather on the meadow. An uneasy hush hovered over the gathering, for this audacious, very forward few few were about to face the fury of a king, who would never forgive being so humiliated. Regardless of his rage, these resolute men had drawn up a short document on parchment, whose terms told the king what they wanted from him.

Suddenly a small cavalcade appeared from the direction of Windsor. whose number included the familiar unsmiling face of King John, the Archbishop of Canterbury and several other bishops. After a short conversation, John was read the terms of the parchment to which he nodded assent. This simple signal from their sovereign was greeted by the barons' with restrained relief and they then pledged anew their allegiance to the king. This deed sealed the short scene, one of the most famous in English history. The Charter became the foundation of principles neither John nor the barons could ever have imagined. We owe more to the vices of this unkind king, than to the virtues of various other sovereigns, for his reign gave us rights and freedoms created at that famous milestone at the meadow named Runnymede.

Should I or Shouldn't I?

Read it to me again!

Read it to me one more time!

Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, King John, Earl of Albemarle Bronze Group dating fro 1870-90

John, was literate but like most at that time could not write, so he never signed the document. Medieval kings did not demean themselves by 'signing' things, even though after the twelfth century, they were literate. It was accepted when he and his advisors reviewed the terms as read out to them. With his verbal acceptance of the terms of the treaty, the barons formally renewed their allegiance to the king. Their act was the operative moment in the whole affair. The attachment of the seal was considered a routine procedure and the document itself simply recorded the facts.

After sixteen years, John's misrule and revolting reputation were such that he had to buy back his liegemen's loyalty with Magna Carta. Initially, it was a crude bill of rights first drawn up by rebellious barons. While much is made of its references to liberty, it actually dealt more with money and the barons' bold attempt to keep it from the king.

Magna Carta

The text of Magna Carta, written in a cursive and somewhat showy hand, runs unbroken quite densely on the page. It was etched into the parchment membrane with ink made of oak-gall sap, blackened with soot or lamp black. It was applied with a quill made from the flight-feathers of a goose or swan and cut into shape by the scrivener. Every ten lines or so, he would have had to trim the nib with his penknife and recharge it with ink. A single copy would have taken the better part of a day to complete.

Archbishop Stephen Langton, who was trusted by both barons and King, subsequenlty turned what was simply "a self-centred baronial document into the Great Charter."

Archbishop Stephen Langdon Exterior Canterbury Cathedral

Only four of Magna Carta survive, one of which is at Salisbury. Two are in London at the British Library and one at Lincoln Cathedral. The copy at Salisbury Cathedral has been there for 800 years and is written in abbreviated Latin on vellum and is said to be in the best condition of the four. One of those involved in its formulation was Elias of Dereham, who was entrusted with the distribution of many of the original copies.

"Although written continuously, the charter has been traditionally discussed as consisting of a preamble and 63 clauses. Roughly, its contents may be divided into nine groups. The first concerned the church, asserting that it was to be 'free.' A second group provided statements of feudal law of particular concern to those holding lands directly from the crown, and the third assured similar rights to subtenants. A fourth group of clauses referred to towns, trade, and merchants. A particularly large group was concerned with the reform of the law and of justice, and another with control of the behaviour of royal officials. A seventh group concerned the royal forests, and another dealt with immediate issues, requiring, for instance, the dismissal of John's foreign mercenaries. The final clauses provided a form of security for the king's adherence to the charter, by which a council of 25 barons should have the ultimate right to levy war upon him should he seriously infringe it." (for more of this, see the Encyclopedia Britannica)

It became "the nearest approach to an irrepealably fundamental statute that England has ever had. It survived an initial annulment by the Pope, civil wars and various re-writings. " The 1217 version, slightly amended in 1225, forms the basis of English law: nine of its chapters still stand on the statue book.

To regulate the feudal relationships between the Crown and its immediate tenants, the Charter provided for regular justice in courts and ensured that the Crown (and nowadays the State) would only act against its subjects by recognized legal procedures. This most famous Chapter states: "No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or deprived or outlawed or exiled or in any way ruined, except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land."

In 2010 the Manitoba Legislature played host to one of the original copies of the Magna Carta to mark the Queen's symbolic laying of the cornerstone of the Canadian Museum of Human Rightsi in Winnipeg at The Forks. Elizabeth II unveilled a cubic foot of granite from Runnymede that she brought with her to Canada.

There has never been a King John II and there won’t be. The Royal family decided to drop this name (John), given the people’s reaction to the one and only.

The name Runnymede is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word, Rune, meaning municipal or council and Mead, a derivation of meadow, an area of grassland cut annually for hay. Not mentioined in the Domesday survey of 1086, the first mention of the name Runnymede appears in the Magna Carta document of 1215 suggesting it was already well established as a place-name at that date.

Map of Runneymede

Bridge over the Thames at Runnymede photo by G. Wilson

Runnymede is just one of the many flood plains along the Thames.

Entrance to Runnymede photo by G. Wilson

Cooper Hill overlooking Runnymede photo by G.Wilson

The Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial built on the spur of Cooper Hill overlooking Runnymede to commemorate the lives of 20,455 personnel who perished whilst serving with, or in assocaiation with, the R.A.F. & have no known graves. R.C.A.F. 3,072 perished.

Runneymede Meadows

Invited to hold their 80th Annual Meeting in London during 1957, the American Bar Association sought and was granted one acre on which to build this permanent memorial to Magna Carta at Runnymede, recognizing it to be the origin of "Freedom under Law".

Designed by Sir Edward Maufe

Shortly after WW I, the owner of Runnymede House, which overlooks Runnymede, Captain Symons-Jeune, commissioned this single stone to be erected at the eastern extremity of his land as a memorial to Magna Carta. It is thought it was likely done as a positive reaction to the threatened sale of Runnymede in 1921.

Runnymede Stone

"Very near this spot was sealed MAGNA CARTA confirming rights which were in peril and won from King John by the BISHOPS AND BARONS for the abiding benefit of the PEOPLE OF ENGLAND and later of the British Dominions and United States of America."

Rejoicing at Runnymede, site of such history.

King John in his tomb in the nave of Worchester Cathedral [The Purbeck marble sarcophagus plate is original, but the rest of the tomb dates from about 1540.]

STONEHENGE

Stonehenge was not the first structure to be built on this part of Salisbury Plain, but it is by far the most famous. One of the wonders of the world, its great stones, an enduring symbol of mystery, were raised more than 4000 years ago as a temple to the sun. It looked very different when first built. Initially there were no stones, only earthen banks, ditches and timber posts. When the stones were brought, some were arranged and re-arranged in different ways. The positions they occupy today represent the last of these settings and after thousands of years of weathering, some were also re-erected. Deer-antler picks used to dig the ditch, radiocarbon dated to between 3000 and 2920 BC.

The largest stones some weighing over 40 tonnes are called sarsens, the closest source for which is 30km (19 miles) to the north of Stonehenge on Marlborough Downs.The smaller stones are known collectively as bluestones, their source the Preseli Hills of west Wales, over 240km (150 miles) to the west of Stonehenge.

Location, Location, Location

Stonehenge photo by G. Wilson

Raising Stones

Stonehenge photo by G. Wilson

Stacking Stonehenge

Bideford

Bideford - pronounced bid_e_ford A small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England photo by G. Wilson

Bideford Old Bridge - Tide out photo by G.Wilson

Tintagel Ruins of 12th Century Castle on rocky promontory of Cornish coast. photo by G. Wilson

Tin Mine Hoist Romans came here for tin. photo by G.Wilson

Plymouth

Plymouth Bombed Church Left as Memorial photo by G. Wilson

Plymouth - Home of the Royal Marines photo by G. Wilson

In 1805, Great Britain was at war with Napoleonic France; a conflict during which thousands of prisoners were taken and confined in prison hulks or derelict ships. This was considered unsafe, partially due to the proximity of the Royal Naval dockyard at Plymouth and as living conditions were appalling in the extreme, a prisoner of war depot was planned in the remote isolation of Dartmoor.

Dismal Daunting Dartmoor photo by G.Wilson

Dartmoor Prison in 1932

The inscription over the Gate means:
"Spare the vanquished."

In 1809 the first French prisoners arrived. They were joined by American POWs taken in the war of 1812. At one time the prison population numbered almost 6,000. Between 1812 and 1816 about 1,500 American and French prisoners died in Dartmoor prison and were buried in a field beyond the prison walls.

Both French and American wars were concluded in 1815 and repatriations began. The brutal mistreatment of American prisoners of war was investigated after the war by an Anglo-American commission and compensation was awarded to the families of those who had died there.

The prison lay empty until 1850, when it was largely rebuilt and commissioned as a convict gaol. Dartmoor Prison, reckoned in Victorian times to be the hardest and most severe in England, has been in constant use from 1850 to the present day. Three hundred convicts 'mutinied' on Sunday, 24 January 1932. The riot was over complaints about the food - the porridge had no sugar. Many of the convicts had been relocated to other prisons leaving only the worst criminal offenders at Dartmoor. Public agitation demanded the prison be closed as being unfit for modern conditions.

Dartmoor Prison Today photo by G.Wilson

Currently occupied by some 700 convicts, Dartmoor offers cellular accommodation on 6 wings and despite its foreboding, grey, stone exterior, its reputation has been refined and it is clean, well kept and civilized.

Dartmoor Ponies photo by G. Wilson

Dartmoor abounds with myths and monsters, its haunted havens the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Our tour took us along the rugged Cornish coastline past smugglers' coves and quaint fishing villages from where we viewed St. Michael's Mount. In 1099 St. Michael's Mount was 5 to 6 miles from the sea. The sea surged and now it is now an island.

St. Michael's Mount off coast of Cornwall photo by G. Wilson

On the other side of the English Channel, there is a duplicate St. Michael's Mount, the site of a priory (later a castle) that belonged to the Mont-Saint-Michel abbey in the Middle Ages.

Mont St. Michel, Normandy, France

Land's End

Our destination was Land's End, the most westerly point of the British mainland. Land's End is a name that has been used for thousands of years, the Romans referring to it as Bolerium, "the seat of storms". The old Cornish name is Penn-an-Wlas, "end of the the land".

As one would expect from the mighty Atlantic, the sea around the cliffs of Land's End became "one dizzy whirl or rushing, writhing, tortured undirected rage bounding and crashing and coiling in an anarchy of enormous power." During periods of pounding, countless sailors and ships were lost in heavy seas or wrecked upon the rocks during poor visibility. This battering became a bonanza for nearby residents, who grew rich from filching the flotsam and getsam from the ships that were driven onto the rocks or sunk by the savage sea.

Land's End Violent Vista photo by G. Wilson

Such disasters are rare nowadays, greater safety being afforded by modern aids to navigation like the Longships Lighthouse. The original Longships Lighthouse was built in 1795, but was considered too small. A larger one replaced it in the 1870s and it is 71 feet tall. Originally manned by three men on a shift basis, who communicated with each other using an apparatus called Semaphore. The Longships Lighthouse is situated one mile out to the west of Land's End and is now operated automatically.

Land's End Lighthouse

Land's End Eternally Lapped by the Atlantic Ocean photo by G. Wilson

Glastonbury Abbey

Henry VIII's policy of pirating the 800 monasteries began in 1536 and by 1541 there were none. One of those destroyed was Glastonbury Abbey, the earliest Christian sanctuary in Britain. Called "the Second Rome," it was an important pilgrimage and became the largest and richest in England.

Why were they destroyed? Let me count the ways. It appears some had ceased to practise what they preached, for the quality of their religious observances was more worldly than spiritual in nature. The king had just made himself head of his new Church of England and he feared religious orders would work against his creation, despite their having taken oaths to uphold the Act of Supremacy.

Filthy lucre was the bottom line for his Majesty's main motive was money. The King's coffers were bare and his banks became the richly endowed monasteries from which his henchmen made many withdrawals. The wholesale destrucion of fine Gothic buildings, melting down medieval metalwork and jewellery and the sacking of libraries, represented the most extensive acts of licensed vandalism ever perpetrated in the whole of British history. Any items of value were seized and the monks were manhandled out. Little wonder the clergy suffered an immediate decline in morale. Few were ordained and there was little real conviction that Henry VIII's Reformation had anything to do with spiritual life or with God.

The King's example was followed by the local folk, who fell upon the empty abbeys which became quarries for stone that found its way into buildings in nearby towns. Over time wind and weather did the rest and the remaining ruins attract tourists, who wonder at the wanton destruction and lament the loss of what must have been so many beautiful buildings.

Glastonbury Abbey photo by G. Wilson

The end of Glastonbury was brutal. Its abbot, "the gentle Whiting, a frail old man," savaged on the orders of his sovereign, was dragged up the Tor on a hurdle and executed with two of his monks.

The first part of Glastonbury erected was the Lady Chapel, completed within a few years of the fire of 1184. It is in Romanexque style of the late 12th century. It replaced the church of St. Mary, the most venerable of the destroyed shrines. The Queen Elizabeth tall cross is beside it.

Lady Chapel, Glastonbury Abbey photo by G. Wilson

King Arthur

King Arthur A miniature work of Flores Historiarum (Flowers of History)

The legendary King Arthur lives on despite the complete absence of any proof that such a sovereign ever strode the earth. First mentioned as a warlike Welshman in a Welsh poem around the year 600, he reappears in Welsh writings over the next 500 years, always cast as a warrior of wonder. The regal apparition appeared in English writing in the 12th century and from then on, he became a king of the code of medieval romance, religious, moral and social behaviour, with his Round Table as a symbol of equality and brotherhood.

King Arthur Statue designed by Albrecht Durer Cast by Peter Visxcher the Elder 1520s

Merlyn and King Arthur Illustrated by Gustave Dore For Tennyson's Idylls of the King

Tintagel Castle Legendary Birthplace of King Arthur photo by G. Wilson

Glastonbury is traditionally associated with Arthur. In 1191, legend says the monks found the buried remains of King Arthur and his Queen Guinevere. The coffin with a leaden cross whose Latin insription claimed the body was that of King Arthur. In 1278 they were re-buried in the chancel in the presence of King Edward I and Queen Eleanor. The site is marked with a humble plaque.

King Arthur's tomb photo by G. Wilson

King Arthur tomb plaque photo by G. Wilson

Bath

Bath exists because of its hot springs and was considered a sacred place even in Celtic times. Legend tells us the son of a British king was afflicted with leprosy and became a wandering swineherd. His pigs became leprous too and rooting acorns in the mud near the springs, miracle of miracle, they came out of the springs miraculously cleansed. Their swineherd hurried to the same spot, emersed himself and emerged cleansed too. True tale or not the Romans as early as the first century were attracted by the large natural hot spring. It had been a shrine of the Celtic Brythons that they dedicated to their goddess, Sulis. The Romans revered the spot and built a magnificent Aquae Sulis. "the waters of Sulis" there. They identified Sulis with their goddess, Minerva, and encouraged her worship.

Georgian Bath photo by G.Wilson

The city is also "an architectural masterpiece, one of Europe's most beautiful and elegant cities."

Bath Cathedral photo by G. Wilson

Camden Crescent photo by G. Wilson

Britain's first circular street, Curved Circus, was inspired by the Colosseum in Rome. Its designer, John Wood, admired the classical world and was proud of Bath's historical connection to that fabled city. The Circus was his link with the city's mystical history. It is described, "as the Colosseum turned outside-in."

Bath "The remains of their magnificence are here disclosed." photo by G. Wilson

In Area
In Grandeur
In Completeness
The Baths of Aquae Sulis
were Unequalled.

Bristol

Bristol photo by G. Wilson

Bristol's Brunel Bridge photo by G. Wilson

Steve our driver and our Radison Blu Bristol Hotel photo by G. Wilson

Avebury

Avebury

"It does exceed in greatness ... the so renowned Stonehenge ... as a cathedral does a parish church."

Avebury is a village in the English county of Wiltshire. It is also the name of a henge, a roughly circular earthwork consisting of a ditch and a bank. England has two great henges - Stonehenge and Avebury. Both are located in Wiltshire in south western England some thirty miles apart. While not its best-known stone circle, Avebury is by far the largest and oldest. Constructed 500 years before Stonehenge, Avebury is 14 times as large and undoubtedly the greater of the two.

Avebury sarsens and Avebury village in the middle of the whole complex photo by G. Wilson

The ditch was dug with basic bone and antler tools that were used to loosen the chalk. It was then loaded into wicker baskets and hauled up to form the bank. It took a generation or more to relocate the estimated four million cubic feet of chalk.

Stone monuments in front of the bank. photo by G. Wilson

The stone age people who built the circle and located its stone monuments some 5000 years ago, did not use this site as a community centre. The absence of Neolithic rubbish suggests rather that its purpose was ritual. Stonehenge honours the moon and sun, Avebury celebrates humanity. Not shaped, the tall rectangular megaliths represented males and the roughly diamond-shaped pieces symbolized females.

Eve and Adam photo by G. Wilson

Weighing between 10 and 100 tons, the slabs of sarsen - a kind of toughened sandstone, were dragged to the site on wooden sledges. Each stone was then hoisted into an upright position in a specially dug hole using wooden levers and ropes. They were then made secure with packed chalk around the base.

One of the two large stones at the south gateway. photo by G. Wilson

Circle of Stones. photo by G. Wilson

Silbury Hill photo by G. Wilson

Still a mystery, Silbury Hill, a mile from Avebury, was thought to be a larger version of the round barrows used for burials that are scattered throughout the area. These were plundered for their treasures as was this Hill. Three tunnels were burrowed into it but no treasures were found. This largest man-made mound in Europe covers an area of 5.5 acres and stands 40 metres (130 ft) high. It is estimated it took 18 million man-hours to make it with 8 million cubic feet of chalk.

Standing unused for more than 1000 years, the area became overgrown with grasses and were found in this state by the Romans. The arrival of Christians resulted in the structures being considered pagan symbols that could not be tolerated in their midst. Fearing retribution if they were destroyed, the stones were painstakingly lowered and buried, each fallen stone the occasion for an annual festival.

Overgrown photo by G. Wilson

On one of those occasions, an individual was crushed and he lay where he was for six hundred years. Burials ceased after that accident, the villagers fearing perhaps an evil spirit had exacted revenge. Subsequent clearing resulted when the land was used for farming and the stones were broken and used for building. Sarsen is incredibly hard stone, so a special procedure was necessary to break them. The stone was placed in a pit with burning straw. Once scorching hot, it was doused with cold water to crack it. Then a sledge was used to batter it into usable pieces. It will be noted in the photo of the house, the darkened stones resulting from the fire.

Built of Broken, Burnt Stone photo by G. Wilson

Alexander Keiller arrived on the scene during the 1830s. The anguished archaeologist was appalled by the savaging of the site and he bought it and began to re-establish it as the greatest stone circle in Britain. It is now owned by the National Trust.

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle (left Curfew Tower; centre: Garter Tower photo by G. Wilson

"The most romantic castle that is in the world." Samuel Pepys

Equesttian Statue of Charles II in Roman dress cast in 1679. photo by G. Wilson

St. George Slaying the Dragon represents courage and fidelity linked with Christian chivalry and gentleness. photo by G. Wilson

Where on earth do you bury a decapitated king? This is the conundrum that confronted the Commons when Charles I met his fate at the end of an axe. What to do with the body of a king executed as a traitor? This unusual situation exercised both royal supporters and those of Parliament for several days after Charles I was executed on 30 January, 1649.

On 6 February, Sir Thomas Herbert, Charles' loyal Groom of the Bedchamber, who had been with him to the end and Captain Anthony Mildmay, were granted permission by the authorities to bury the king in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, something of a compromise site. Westminster Abbey would have been too glorious an end in Parliament's eyes and too central to affairs in London. At the chapel in Windsor, Charles would be interred with the likes of Henry VI, Henry VIII and Edward IV. Its associations with the Order of the Garter was also felt by the late king's friends to be fitting for Charles.

Thus on 9 February, 1649, the body and head of Charles I were brought on a black-draped hearse to Windsor Castle through a heavy snowstorm, accompanied by some of the great nobles left to the royal party.

Burial of Charles I at Windsor Castle by C.W.Cope

Precisely where in the Chapel of St George, Charles should be laid to rest was not decided when the burial party arrived. Various graves were considered and finally the tomb of Henry VIII was determined as fitting to his status.

Charles' remains resting temporarily in his old bedchamber were brought down to the chapel without ceremony. His enemies were determined his burial would not be a rallying point nor add to the nascent view of him as martyr. A basic budget of £500 was set for carriage and interment. Bishop Juxon was supposedly obstructed by the Governor of Windsor Castle at every end and turn. During the laying of Charles' body in the tomb occupied by Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, the Parliamentary witnesses pointedly and insultingly kept their hats on. No burial service proper was allowed and no words or prayers were said over the king's remains. Once the body was in the tomb and the black pall laid over it, everyone was ushered out of the Chapel by the Governor, who locked it and pocketed the keys. The power of Parliament presided over the king in death as in life had been very clearly displayed.

Henry's will directed that he be buried in Windsor "midway between the stalls and the high altar" in a tomb almost finished. [Wolsey's tomb] Queen Jane's bones were to be placed alongside his.Whether heinous or heroic, "this very rare spectacle of humanity" was interred in a great leaden chest and laid to rest on 16 February, 1547 in the floor of St. George's Chapel. Beside the tomb an altar was to be furnished "for the saying of daily masses while the world shall endure."

Tomb of Henry VIII; Jane Seymour; Charles I photo by G. Wilson

Catherine of Aragon m. 1509 - 1533 Divorced Anne Boleyn m. 1533 - 1536 Executed Jane Seymour m. 1536 - 1537 Died Anne of Cleves m. 1540 Jan. - July Divorced Kathryn Howard m. 1540 - 1542 Executed Katherine Parr m. 1543 - 1547

As the date of his death approached, Henry was proccupied with his hereafter. No doubt mindful of the pain and terror he had cruelly caused to those who loved him, he declared that the mercy of Christ "was able to pardon all his sins, though they were greater than they be."

In one more year we will celebrate on 13 October 2012 the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Queenston Heights.

In four more years we will celebrate on 15 June, 2015 the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta at Runnymede.