Ye Olde England Tours – Page 4

Wife Swapping and Selling at Smithfield Meat Market

If you’ve ever been to a disco or club with the intent of meeting that special someone you may have heard of it as ‘going to the meat market’. In yesteryear, men were unable to obtain a divorce without invoking a special Act of Parliament, a protracted and expensive business and ladies had even less… Continue reading Wife Swapping and Selling at Smithfield Meat Market

The Henry VIII Gatehouse at St Bartholomew’s Hospital

For such a dominating historical figure, there are pretty few statues of King Henry VIII left with us and indeed there is only one in the whole of London. If you’ve never seen it then you’ve likely never been on one of my tours and you definitely haven’t been to Smithfield. It is thought likely… Continue reading The Henry VIII Gatehouse at St Bartholomew’s Hospital

The Great Hall of St Bartholomew’s Hospital

St Bartholomew’s Hospital has led the provision of healthcare in London for almost 900 years. Founded in 1123 by a man named Rahere to provide care for the poor of the City of London, there is no other hospital in the country which matches its record of continuous service on the same site. We had… Continue reading The Great Hall of St Bartholomew’s Hospital

The wonderful staircase of St Bartholomew’s hospital

A hospital staircase might not be the first place that comes into your head when you think about great works of art, least of all in a National Health Service hospital where famously all money goes into patient care rather than particularly beautified buildings and landscapes. What happens though when the hospital is celebrating its… Continue reading The wonderful staircase of St Bartholomew’s hospital

Saving Simpson’s Tavern -London’s oldest Chophouse fights back against billionaire overseas landlord Rodney Sacks

Hidden away in one of my absolute favourite parts of the City of London is Simpson’s Tavern. it’s the sort of place I love and my tourists do too. I’m never sure why people go on those rather lame open deck bus tours in London. You’d never go round any other 2,000 year old city… Continue reading Saving Simpson’s Tavern -London’s oldest Chophouse fights back against billionaire overseas landlord Rodney Sacks

Paying respects at the grave of Jane Austen

It’s impossible to be a fan of English literature without at least having read the odd work of Jane Austen if only to decide whether you prefer her stories to those of the Bronte sisters. I must admit that until I planned by trip to Winchester, I had pretty much forgotten that this wonderful author… Continue reading Paying respects at the grave of Jane Austen

Exploring the ruins of Old Wolvesey Castle (Old Bishops Palace)

It says a lot about Winchester that even after visiting so many places, we still have so much more to see. In fact we didn’t see everything worthwhile in Winchester so knowing time was against us, we decided to see something all together different. An old castle which was indeed at one time a palace.… Continue reading Exploring the ruins of Old Wolvesey Castle (Old Bishops Palace)

Visiting the Winchester Mill

Sir Winston Churchill once said in one of this famous quotes that the further one looks backwards into history, the further into the future you can see. I wonder what he would have made with the modern worlds shift towards renewable energy and how things such as wind turbines and sea barrages are really just… Continue reading Visiting the Winchester Mill

Winchester West Gate and the Butter Cross

Following on from my Winchester posts onthe old plague memorial and King Arthurs Round Table we come to the Westgate; one of two surviving fortified gateways in Winchester (the other being Kingsgate). For centuries they were incorporated into Winchester City Walls. Though there is the odd small fragment of Roman wall in Winchester, the earliest surviving segments of the gate… Continue reading Winchester West Gate and the Butter Cross

Visiting the table of King Arthur and his Knights at the Great Hall in Winchester

Have you ever wanted to visit Camelot? It can be rather tricky given no-one is quite sure where it existed or even if it existed at all. One of the contenders for Camelot is Winchester to whatever degree King Arthur can be said to be an historical figure or a mythical legend, a visit to… Continue reading Visiting the table of King Arthur and his Knights at the Great Hall in Winchester