Great British Heritage Attractions
Buckland Abbey, Yelverton, Devon
Not one but two of the Elizabethan era’s most famous sailors lived at Buckland Abbey. First converted to a house by Sir Richard Grenville, it then became the home of Sir Francis Drake after his successful circumnavigation of the world. The magnificent panelled Great Hall and Drake Chamber named after a hero of the Armada battles can still be seen.
Buckland Abbey
Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
Mary Queen of Scots fled to the safety of this powerful fortress to give birth to her son, the future James VI/James I of England. The tiny Birth Room is in stark contrast to the magnificent Great Hall completed just 55 years before. The glittering Honours of Scotland (Crown Jewels) were first used together at Mary’s coronation in Stirling Castle.
Edinburgh Castle
Hampton Court Palace, London
Henry VIII was so enchanted with Hampton Court that he ‘persuaded’ Cardinal Wolsey to give it to him. The King then embellished it to make it one Europe’s most impressive palaces. Elizabeth loved to use it to impress foreign delegations and stage immense entertainments. Scandalously, she moved Robert Dudley near her own lavish apartments, so setting the court gossips aflutter!
Hampton Court Palace
Hatfield House, Hertfordshire
Henry VIII’s mellow-brick medieval Royal Palace in the West Garden was a childhood home of Elizabeth I, and the Great Hall hosted her first Council of State. In the gardens themselves, an oak tree marks the very spot where the future Gloriana learnt that she was Queen. Robert Cecil built Hatfield House, a Jacobean tour de force and veritable treasure-trove.
Hatfield House
Hever Castle, Kent
The enchanting pocket-sized castle at Hever was a scene of Tudor royal romance when Henry VIII came a-courting Anne Bolelyn. The family home of Elizabeth’s mother (see her surprisingly-small bedroom) is set amid glorious gardens, which were largely laid out by William Waldorf Astor nearly 400 years after the ill-fated Anne set out on the road to the Tower.
Hever Castle
The Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland
Long the premier Royal residence in Scotland (and still the focal point for Royal events), Holyroodhouse was the home of Mary, Queen of Scots for six turbulent years. She married two of three husbands in the now-ruined Abbey. Her private apartments can be visited, including the turret room where her secretary, Rizzio, was murdered by nobles (including her husband, Lord Darnley).
The Palace of Holyroodhouse
Linlithgow Palace, Linlithgow, Scotland
The magnificent ruins of Linlithgow are the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots. Roofless and uninhabited for over 200 years, the mighty walls, grandiose gateway and fine internal Renaissance façade still speak of a turbulent past. From ‘Queen Margaret’s Bower’, Elizabeth’s aunt waited in vain for the return of her husband, James IV, from the Battle of Flodden Field.
Linlithgow Palace
Longleat House, Warminster, Wiltshire
Longleat was still under construction when Elizabeth first visited in 1574, and, on its completion, took its place as one of the finest examples of high Elizabethan architecture in the country. Amid all the grand rooms behind the exquisite Tudor façade, the Elizabethan Great Hall remains at the heart of the palatial mansion and is just as Elizabeth would have enjoyed.
Longleat House
Melford Hall, Sudbury, Suffolk
The dramatic skyline is classic Elizabethan: fanciful octagonal turrets and tall chimneystacks above mellow brickwork. Little has changed externally since Elizabeth and 2,000 members of her Court were lavishly entertained here in 1578, by the hospitable (and presumably wealthy!) Sir William Cordell. Inside, the fine panelled banqueting hall can still be seen, as can the stained-glass depiction of Elizabeth in the Gallery.
Melford Hall
Montacute House, Somerset
The glittering façade of this magnificent honey-coloured Elizabethan mansion hides an equally sumptuous interior. Come face-to-face with the Tudor monarchs, and their ‘movers and shakers’ in the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition in Montacute’s splendid Long Gallery. Bizarrely, the East Court has two ‘pudding houses’ - elegant pavilions used in Tudor and Stuart times retire too when it was pudding time.
Montacute House
Plas Mawr Elizabethan House, Conwy, Wales
The prosperous world of the Tudor gentry is perfectly preserved in this Elizabethan townhouse gem. Its gatehouse, stepped gables and lookout tower dominate medieval Conwy and reflect the wealth and prestige of the influential merchant, Robert Wynn. Inside Plas Mawr (literally ‘Great Hall’), meticulously restored plasterwork has been repainted in vivid original colours and stands as a symbol of Tudor affluence.
Plas Mawr Elizabethan House
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London
The Globe Theatre is a faithful reconstruction of Shakespeare’s open-air playhouse for which he wrote many of his greatest plays. The first year (1599) alone saw Henry V, As You Like It and Julius Caesar performed in front of seated patrons and ‘groundlings’ - just as now. In the UnderGlobe is a fascinating exhibition on the Bard and his world.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
Sherbourne Castle, Dorset
Sir Walter Raleigh set his heart on the Old Castle and persuaded Elizabeth to transfer it from the Church to him. He built a new castle - Sherbourne Lodge, which still stands four-square amid the Dorset countryside. A flamboyant adventurer and explorer, Sir Walter was at times an Elizabethan favourite and, at times, found it best to retreat to exploring the Americas.
Sherbourne Castle
The Tower of London, London
You can’t go through Traitor’s Gate anymore - be thankful, it was terrifying for the then Princess Elizabeth, a prisoner of her half-sister, Mary. Elizabeth’s next ‘visit’ was more triumphant as she left for her coronation in Westminster Abbey. The long and bloody history of The Tower casts its shadow over 1,000 years: palace, fortress, celebrity prison and, for the unfortunate, place of execution.
The Tower of London
Tudor Merchant’s House, Tenby, Wales
This is a real chance to get behind the scenes of Tudor life - not just life for the grand but real life for a merchant’s family. The furnishings are authentic, many original features survive and there is even a Tudor herb garden, which would have been used as much for curing ills as flavouring food. Reach out and touch their world.
Tudor Merchant’s House