Tags
Barrington Court, Bath, Bath Abbey, Bristol, Cheddar Gorge, Cotswolds, Dyrham Park, Montacute House, SS Great Britain, Thatched Roofs, Tyntesfield, White Horse Hill
May 23-26, 2014
For the celebration of our forty third wedding anniversary we chose to visit Bristol and Bath for several days.
Archaelogical finds, including flint tools believed to be 60,000 years old, have shown there were Neanderthals in the area of Bristol in the Middle Palaeolithic period. By the 14th century Bristol was one of England’s three largest medieval towns after London, York and Norwich. Between a third and half of the population were lost during the Black Death of 1348–49. In the 15 century, Bristol was the second most important port in the country and in the 16th century Bristol merchants developed their trade including smuggling prohibited items, such as foodstuffs and guns. The illicit trade became an essential component of the city’s economy. Bristol suffered badly from Luftwaffe air raids in World War II, claiming some 1,300 lives of people in the city, with nearly 100,000 buildings being damaged and at least 3,000 of them beyond repair.
Below is a picture of the Great Western Dockyards.
The SS Great Britain is now docked in the Great Western Dockyard in Bristol. She was the world’s first great ocean liner. She has seen 170 years of adventure, traveled a million miles at sea and been around the world 32 times. There is a First Class Dining Saloon that impressed Queen Victoria. It was interesting to see the different class cabins and steerage. They were set up with mannequins and props to look authentic.
The city of Bath is a World Heritage Site. There are some incredible still standing Roman Baths ruins. The city became a spa c. AD 60 when the Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon, although oral tradition suggests that the hot springs were known before then. During the Georgian era, Bath became popular as a spa town, leaving a heritage of Georgian architecture built from Bath Stone.
The great window at the east end of Bath Abbey contains 56 scenes in the life of Jesus Christ. The abbey is a parish church which was once the great church of a monastery. The first King of all England, King Edgar, was crowned on this site in 973. The service set the precedent for the coronation of all future Kings and Queens of England including Elizabeth II. Three different churches have occupied the site of today’s Abbey since 757 AD. It was the last great medieval cathedral built in England. After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 by order of King Henry VIII, the Abbey lay in ruins for more than 70 years. It wasn’t until 1616, that much of the building seen today was repaired and in use as a parish church.
Dyrham Park has a historic herd of fallow deer which roam freely. It was easy to walk up close and get some great photos. The house, built in the 1690’s, is full of exotic wood timbers, velvet upholsteries and white Delft tiles. The house is filled with Dutch inspiration and 17th century treasures from around the globe. The servants’ quarters with a Victorian kitchen gives an idea of what life was like belowstairs.
We visited a tiny village with what I think of as original Cotswolds houses. Blaise Hamlet is a delightful group of nine picturesque cottages, designed by John Nash in 1809 for Blaise Estate pensioners.
As England’s largest gorge at almost 400 feet deep and three miles long, Cheddar Gorge was formed during successive Ice Ages when glacial meltwater carved into the limestone creating steep cliffs. It is also a famous site of prehistoric discoveries. There is also a stalactite cavern where Cheddar Man, Britain’s oldest skeleton, was found.
Montacute House is over 400 years old and sits in an impressive position in the picturesque village sharing its name. The house was built by Edward Phelips, a wealthy ambitious lawyer and member of Elizabeth I’s Parliament. The aim of the house, like so many we have seen, is to show his position and success. Unfortunately we did not get to tour the inside of the house. It was being used as a movie set at the time
One of our favorite houses is Tyntesfield. William Gibbs, the richest commoner in England in the 1850s and 1860s, build this Victorian country house and estate. The house also has a beautiful chapel. The family of four generations that has lived here has collected more than 50,000 objects, including a Bellini painting. Gibbs gained his fortune from importing guano (bat poo). I even had the opportunity to play the piano.
Barrington Court was a partially derelict 16th-century Tudor Court House that Colonel Lyle rescued. The house was restored in the 1920’s as a medieval estate with flowers and orchards. Colonel Lyle was a collector of architectural salvage.The house is empty of furniture, but he filled it with his collection of panelling, fireplaces and staircases.
Lytes Cary Manor is a medieval house, once the home of a Tudor herbalist. The Twelve Apostles topiaries lead to the house gates.
Below the Bratton Iron Age hill fort camp lies the Westbury White Horse. The horse was cut into the hillside in 1778, replacing an older horse, commemorating King Alfred’s legendary victory over the Danes close by. The horse has now been filled in with concrete, replacing chalk which would need to be replaced often because of weather. This was a most imposing site. There are more of these chalk figures around the area.