Every historic building has a story to tell
Whenever I visit a new place, I walk. I walk, and walk, and walk – exploring, gawking, and getting to know a place as far as my feet will carry me. Public footpaths and trails in England make this very easy and the paths along the Thames River provide the perfect mix of town and (read more)
Category: England
Tags: canals, Iffley Lock, River Thames
Prior to my first trip to Great Britain, I knew little about the architecture of the British Isles beyond…castles. How much more do you need to know when you are a 14-year old girl? My mental catalog has expanded over the years, (as has my interest in how “real” people lived) but any mention of a quintessential British architectural (read more)
Category: England
Tags: Hampton Court Palace, Queen Elizabeth I, Richard III, Thames Town China, Tudor architecture
It is a truth universally acknowledged…that Jane Austen’s popularity continues to grow. Her novels, the film adaptations, the fan fiction spin-offs – as a recovering English major, I am not immune to Austen-mania. Searching out her house was a natural choice for me, given my love of her work and my slight obsession with architecture. (read more)
Category: England
Tags: #janeausten, #janeaustenshouse, #prideandprejudice, Chatsworth, Chawton, Pemberly
Abandoned architecture is a hot item on social media – and serious business for some photographers and urban explorers. The ruins of this country, though, are much more recent than those of England (as are most things), with many fewer centuries of history and stories. I adore the historic architecture of America- but comparing the (read more)
I’ve had some lovely times in pubs across Britain (I even remember some of them!) – a social occasion made richer, usually, by the building housing the pub. Towns and villages across Britain lay claim to a number of quirky, endearing buildings which accommodate public houses. The character of these buildings, for me, includes not (read more)
Categories: Architecture, England, London, Tourism
Tags: British Pubs, C.S. Lewis, Eagle and Child, Inklings, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lake District, Oxford, Pubs, writers
Although 2015 will be a year where I’ve stayed firmly planted on this side of the Atlantic (barring any last-minute winning lottery tickets that come into my possession), I can’t seem to stop yammering on about the architecture of England and Kentucky. On Sunday, November 15, 2015, at 2 p.m. in the University of Louisville’s (read more)
Oxford, first settled by Saxons, and now populated with students, tourists, and harried residents, is one of my favorite towns in Britain – and is a different town, I think, for each person who visits. The University of Oxford dates to the 12th century, and the architecture of the colleges and town combine for a (read more)
Categories: Architecture, England, English Heritage, Tourism
Tags: Ashmolean, Blackwell's, Bridge of Sighs, England Travel, Oxford
I’m a voyeur. At least where historic buildings are concerned – don’t worry, I’m not standing in front of your windows… I restrict my historic house lust to buildings actually open to the public. (Or abandoned houses in my native land, but that’s another story.) Combine my penchant for historic architecture with being a recovering (read more)
Categories: Architecture, Country house, England, Tourism
Tags: Brideshead Revisited, Castle Howard, Death Comes to Pemberley, Evelyn Waugh, John Vanbrugh, Yorkshire
My wanderings around Britain usually spring from something I’ve studied or learned about as a professional. Not every destination draws me in with thoughts of flopsy bunnies, hedgehog washerwomen or determined woodmice with slightly obsessive compulsive cleaning habits. But the world – and characters – created by Beatrix Potter has captivated millions, and I couldn’t (read more)
Categories: England, Historic Preservation
Tags: Beatrix Potter, Hill Top Farm, Lake District, National Trust
No, there hasn’t been movement at the CentrePit site – there will not be a reconstruction of Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey) on Main Street. But on Tuesday, July 28, 2015, at the Dr. Thomas Hunt Morgan House at 210 North Broadway, I will be talking about my experience as an Attingham Scholar in the 2014 (read more)
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