MOIRA ALLEN - Key Persons
A Cheshire Cheese room gives an insight into the mysteries of cheese making; fine clocks show the talents of clockmakers such as Gabriel Smith (1654-1743); and there are displays on the tanning, leather and shoe industries, from clogs to the best 'bespoke' shoes, made in the Stevensons' factory which closed in 1932.
Clayton Trapp is the author of the novel Snap Once, a series of children's books, and several nonfiction works. He lives in Exeter with his wife, four children, and a gloriously obstinate dog named Laural.
Dr. Elaine Walker is a freelance writer based in North Wales. She writes fiction, poetry and nonfiction and lectures in Creative Writing and English for the University of Wales. Her first full-length book, Horse, is forthcoming from Reaktion Books in Autumn 2008.
Elizabeth Ashworth writes fiction and nonfiction for both adults and children. Her short stories have appeared in such publications as Christian Herald, People's Friend, Take a Break Fiction Feast, My Weekly and Parentcare; her nonfiction has appeared in a variety of magazines, including The Lady, Lancashire Life and My Weekly. She is also a regular contributor to Lancashire Magazine. Her books include Champion Lancastrians (Sigma Press, 2006) and Tales of Old Lancashire (Countryside Books, 2007); she is currently working on a book on Lancashire Graves, and a novel titled "The De Lacy Inheritance."
Gareth Evans is a freelance writer and photographer, having previously worked in the private sector before lecturing at the University of Durham. Having travelled extensively, he now concentrates on writing about subjects much closer to home -- both geographically and metaphorically. He is particularly interested in myths, legends and folklore, together with the often forgotten history of the Celtic lands, especially that of his own native Wales and Scotland, his adopted home. Gareth is currently planning his next book, looking at the role of the pagan Horned God in myth and history.
Helen Gazeley is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in the Daily Telegraph, Artists and Illustrators, Organic and Healthy Living and Kitchen Garden Magazine. She also writes a regular column for Organic Gardening. London and eating are two major enjoyments, so she knows a decent place to eat near any major attraction.
Jean Bellamy has been writing since 1970, and is the author of over 300 published articles and short stories. She has written three children's novels (all with a "West Country flavour"). A resident of Dorset, she is the author of several local history books, including Treasures of Dorset, A Dorset Quiz Book, Second Dorset Quiz Book, Dorset Tea Trail, Dorset as she was spoke, Little Book of Dorset, 101 Churches in Dorset, and Cornwall: A Look Back. Jean loves to explore and write on all things British.
Jean Burnett is a freelance writer, novelist and tutor currently living in Bristol, England. She has travelled widely and lived in the USA for several years. Her passions are books, travel and dark chocolate.
Architect John Nash conceived the Royal Pavilion and gardens as a whole. The gardens reflect the great revolution in landscape gardening that began in the 1730s, formal layouts, straight lines and symmetrical shapes were replaced with curving paths, natural groups of trees and shrubs, and picturesque views. Nash's scheme was utterly destroyed in the 19th century by a tarmac road but recent restoration has brought the grounds as closely as possible back to Nash's 1820s vision. Plant species and varieties have been selected using the original lists of plants supplied to George IV.
John Reed has been resident in the USA for six years, but regularly returns to England, where he was born. He is particularly fond of his native East Anglia and of London, where he lived for many years. He writes on a variety of travel topics, and is especially interested in historical destinations off the beaten path.
Julia Hickey is passionate about England's heritage and particularly that of Cumbria, where her husband comes from. In between dragging her family around the country to a variety of historic monuments, she works part-time as a senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University. She spends the rest of her week writing. In her spare time, she enjoys walking, dabbling in family history, cross-stitch, tapestry and photography.
Kay Sexton spent more than a decade as a house writer for charitable/environmental organisations worldwide. Her publication credits range from H&E International to France Today to the World Water Forum Annual Report. She is also a Jerry Jazz Fiction Award winner with columns at moondance.org facsimilation.com. Her short story "Domestic Violence" was runner-up in the Guardian fiction contest and her work appeared in seven anthologies in 2004. She teaches writing and business communications.
Lisa Agnew is a freelance writer of articles and speculative fiction. She is based in Auckland, New Zealand. English by birth, she harbours a life-long fascination with the history and folklore of her native land.
Lise Hull is a recognized authority on British castles and heritage, with a Master of Arts degree in Heritage Studies from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, as well as a Master of Public Affairs degree, specializing in Historic Preservation, from Indiana University. She is the author of several of books on Britain, including Britain's Medieval Castles (Praeger: 2005), Great Castles of Britain and Ireland (New Holland: 2005) and Castles and Bishops' Palaces of Pembrokeshire (Logaston Press, 2005). Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Military History Quarterly, Military History, Renaissance Magazine, Family Tree Magazine and Everton's Family History and Genealogical Helper magazines; she is also a regular contributor to Faerie Magazine. Visit her website at http://www.castles-of-britain.com. Hull also writes TimeTravel-Britain.com's Finding Your Roots column.
Louise Simmons is a Scottish freelance writer who lives in a 19th century farmhouse on the top of a hill in the middle of a sheep-farming area of central Scotland. An engineer by profession, after spending many years working in the IT industry in such unusual places as Nigeria, Russia and various oil rigs in the middle of the North Sea, she decided to take up her favourite occupation, writing, on a full-time basis, and currently writes for several on-line and print magazines. She particularly enjoys researching and writing about the history and culture of British people and places. Louise's website is at http://www.grayrigg.com.
Queen Elizabeth I, hearing of the town's plight, gave £1000 towards rebuilding the town; her prompt action has left a wonderful legacy of Tudor buildings. Townsman Thomas Cleeve recorded his gratitude to the Queen in an inscription on the front of his new house; it can still be seen opposite the entrance to Castle Street.
Richard Crowhurst is a freelance writer and author based in Lincolshire, England. He writes on many subjects, including history and heritage topics. More details can be found on his website, http://www.freelance-writer-and-author.co.uk.
Robert Scarlett died in 1594 at the age of 98, having spent much of his life as the sexton at Peterborough Cathedral. Not only does his memory live on in a portrait above the great West door of the 12th Century cathedral, but he also enjoys the distinctly English honor of having a Peterborough pub, the "Old Scarlett", named after him. Legend suggests that he may have been the inspiration for the gravedigger in Shakespeare's Hamlet. That is pure speculation, but there is no doubt about his main claim to fame -- that during his long career he buried two queens in the cathedral: Katherine of Aragon and Mary, Queen of Scots.
Old Scarlett's contribution is just one of many to the rich history of this location, which since the 7th Century has seen not just royal burials, but Danish and Norman invasions, fire in the 12th Century, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, vandalism and destruction during the English Civil War and another serious fire as recently as 2001. Despite this rich history, and being a fine example of Norman and early English architecture, most travelers pass by this town -- and its cathedral -- on their way from London to points north.
Steven Newit is an ex-English teacher based in the UK. He is married with two children and has a strong interest in writing stories and songs. His efforts have met with success in various writing competitions. He is also a keen Internet gamer and a section of his website is devoted to Quake 3.
Sue Kendrick is a freelance writer living in the English Midlands. She has written many special interest articles for magazines and newspapers and contributed an uncountable amount of news stories to her regional newspaper. She edits and publishes WriteLink (http://www.writelink.co.uk), a UK writers' resource website and monthly newsletter. She also writes fiction and has won several prizes for her short stories. When not writing, she likes to walk, ride, read and pursue her interest in small scale farming (not necessarily in that order!). For more information, visit http://www.suekendrick.co.uk.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Society of Authors
Sue Wilkes is a member of the Society of Authors. Her book Narrow Windows, Narrow Lives: The Industrial Revolution in Lancashire, an evocative look at everyday life during the Industrial Revolution in Lancashire, was published by Tempus (History Press) in 2008. Sue's next project is Regency Cheshire for Robert Hale. She lives in Cheshire with her family and two gerbils. To find out more visit http://suewilkes.blogspot.com/.
Teri Foster Gray lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and Labrador Retriever. A mild-mannered banker by day, she writes novels and travels whenever possible. Her journeys have included two years in Hawaii, six months in Europe, and the British visit that resulted in this piece. She has recently completed a novel, The Shadow Empire.
Tracy Kramer, a native of Tucson, Arizona, studied English at Kenyon College in Ohio. She now lives and works in Bristol, England, where she enjoys writing about organic growing, sustainable living and the British countryside.
Winston Churchill is regarded by many as the greatest Englishman of all time: a great, but flawed, man. He was often, simultaneously, politician, soldier, writer, historian, artist and some-time bricklayer. This can be seen in the gardens at Chartwell, his home of forty years near Westerham in Kent. To Churchill Chartwell was his refuge, a place visited at his lowest ebb during the Second World War, and one that he loved as much as any other in his life. Yet, even as he saw out the later years of his life, Chartwell belonged to the British nation, ordained to become 'a shrine to his memory.' Churchill was delighted, and his spirit inhabits the house to this day.
When Winston Churchill first saw Chartwell in 1922, it was a modified Elizabethan Manor House, heavily Victorianized and in need of substantial work. The aspect over the Weald of Kent initially enchanted both Winston and his wife Clementine. However, as the costs of refurbishment became apparent, Clementine's initial enthusiasm turned to resentment. Churchill commissioned the architect Philip Tilden to help turn Chartwell into a home and it retains a homely atmosphere to this day. Its small, almost cramped, corridors and rooms dictate a timed entry system for visitors and the mish-mash of extensions and alterations are far from architecturally pleasing. So much work was undertaken that it was April 1924 before Churchill could spend his first night there. Work continued on improving the house and gardens for much of his life.
The house is stuffed with examples of his paintings and drawings. An expansive visitors book sits in the hall and reads like a Who's Who of 20th century international and domestic political history. The library is one of the first rooms and is remarkably understated given Churchill's literary output. However, this was a man who had others provide his raw material and facts, and then moulded them into his own distinctive style. One of the last rooms on the tour houses an exhibition on Churchill's career.
Two of the highlights of any visit are the dining room and Churchill's study. The dining room is the family (and public) heart of Chartwell Manor. It was here, after dinner, that Churchill would screen films for guests. Large arched windows offer magnificent views across the terrace to the Garden of England beyond. It is easy to imagine oneself in a large conservatory or onboard an ocean liner. This is deliberate: inspiration came from Churchill's love of trans-Atlantic travel, in particular the Verandah Grills on Cunard's ships Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. Today National Trust guides are on hand to help with visitor queries.
The study is upstairs adjacent to Churchill's bedroom. This allowed him to dictate to his secretaries, one of who was always on call during the hours of nightfall, from his four-poster bed. Churchill dictated nearly everything he wrote. When not lying in bed, he preferred to work standing up and the desk at the side of the study was specifically designed for this. It was his literary activity here which sustained him, both mentally and financially, through the so-called 'wilderness years' of the 1930s. Today the room is displayed almost as he left it at.
Chartwell is more than just an English Country house. The gardens, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, are delightful. Between the visitor centre and house, a slope overlooks a fishpond of huge proportions and woodland glades are set into the hillside. On the other side of the house, Churchill's famous wall borders Clementine's rose garden. Those viewing the wall for the first time are often surprised, expecting something simple. The local red bricks tower to seven and eight feet, providing another legacy of Churchill in the 300 acres of grounds.
At the bottom of the garden you can see Churchill's studio just as he left it. His palette, still covered in paint, lies alongside his easel and in a small room by the door unfinished canvasses and completed works are piled to the ceiling.
The house's location is as much a part of Chartwell's attraction as its famous former resident. The woods and valleys attracted Churchill originally and in the late forties, when the house was brought by the nation, he considered being buried here. In a change of mind typical of the great man he later decided to be buried in the family church at Blenheim.