On the other side of the great hall is the solar block, a three-storeyed unit where principal members of the family would live. The rooms were updated in the middle of the 17th century with Jacobine paneled woodwork, a sure sign of opulence and decorated with grotesque carved figures based on Flemish design.
This was a place of privacy, of intimacy in which to work or entertain as well as keeping an eye on what was going on down in the great hall.
The only really-fortified part of the house is the south tower built on a perfectly geometrical base. It has a battlement parapet with arrow loops.
Although the windows are narrow, the wide splays increase their light; the emphasis, again, is on comfort rather than defense.
The original stone gate house was replaced in the 17th century by a timber framed building. Its highly decorated elaborate interior is typical of the region and is similar to the gate house in Shropshire nearby, which was built in 1620.
What is remarkable about Stokesay is not so much that it has survived in such good condition, but rather after centuries of neglect and a civil war which destroyed so many other manor houses of its type that it has survived at all.
KENWOOD
It's a perfect setting. On the crest of Hamstead Heath commanding a superb view over London in a midst of spectacularly beautifuly landscape is a house which contains one of the finest collections of paintings in Britain...
Kenwood and its renowned art collection was bequeathed to the nation in 1927 by Edward Guinness, first Earl of Ivy. It's known as the Ivy bequest the original house dating from the 17th century was remodeled by Robert Adam, the leading architect and interior designer of his day in the 1760 - 70's. Many of the rooms in Kenwood stand as works of art in their own right. In Adam's new wing is one of the most impressive late 18th century interiors to be found anywhere in the country. The library or great room, considered by many to be Robert Adam's finest room, this is a shining example of neo-classical style that Adam made so fashionable in the late 18th century.
The eminent Venetian painter Antonio Zucci, husband of Angelica Kaufmann, whose paintings can also be found in Kenwood was chosen to paint the finely ornate ceilings.
Mirrored recesses were designed to reflect the fine prospects through the opposite windows. Balancing the room they provided an alternative to windows; they could only have had a rather grandiose view on kitchen garden.
Later, new rooms were designed by George Sonders who was heavily influenced by Henry Holland's modifications to Carlton House in Pall Mall. The striking similar circular balustrade here in the dining room lobby recalled Carlton's octagone vestibule.
But it's in the dining room that one comes across the finest of Kenwood's paintings. Here are the richest of the old masters' work from Lord Ivy's bequest. This is one of the most famous paintings in the world - Rembrandt's "Portrait of an Artist". Dated from four years before his death it has all the grandeur of an autobiography presented to posterity. Employed by his son to avoid creditors and living off his daughter's savings this tragic figure still seems heroic, confident of his genius. A fine painting by Rubens of the Madonna and Child and St Joseph, the child Jesus like an infant Hercules with a halo of golden hair. Lord Mainsfield's dressing room offers still more beautiful paintings by great artists like Gainsborough. Lord Ivy gathered together in his collection of paintings a dazzling array of beautiful women/Gainsborough's portrait of Mary, Countess How, is perhaps the most striking image in the Kenwood collection. In one of the Gainsborough's most admired works his seemingly casual swirls of paint create the impression of the most ornate lace. There is also "Lady Hamilton of the spinning wheel", Lord Nelson's rather wayward future mistress by Romney.
The art on display at Kenwood is not merely restricted to paint on the canvas. Robert Adam described the grounds as amazingly gay, beautiful, magnificent and picturesque. On the eastern end of a 1000 pound pond, so called because it cost 1000 pounds to make in the 1790's is the Sham Bridge, only inches wide. Here too is eye catching art of a different era - sculptures by Henry Moore and other modern sculptors.
In his bequest Lord Ivy also insisted that his fabulous art collection and magnificent landscape that surrounds it must remain open to the public free of charge. No wonder Kenwood remains one of the most popular as one of the most beautiful places in the whole of London.
RIEVAULX ABBEY
In 1132 in the valley of the river Rye in Yorkshire work began on the north of England's first Cistercian monastery. Today its ruins are the most important of their type on the British Isles.
This has always been a lonely place, deliberately built by the monks as far away as possible from the temptation of town and city. In time though the community here was to become a very busy thriving one.
At the heart of the Abbey the great church with its splendid early English arcades and three-tiered wall - a breathtaking example of English Gothic architecture. It was built in the early 13th century and later fine buttresses were added to support the north aisle wall and to pin the building which had started to slide down the hill. The raised platform of the high altar which according to convention usually faces east, is actually nearer to the south side of the Abbey. Because of the site of the Abbey in the Rye valley was so narrow, the monks had to abandon the normal rules of Ecclesiastic architecture and build an new monastery on an almost south-north access.
Built into the walls of the south transept is the remains of a passage, which leddirectly to the monks dormitories. Services were often held in the middle of the night. The oldest part of the church is the nave. This is the earliest surviving Cistercian nave in Britain. It's a good demonstration of the early belief in simple and unelaborated design. Below the nave the cloisters where monks and the lay brothers would spend much of their day working, writing or at discussion. A cones section of the 12th century arcade around the cloisters has been built from original stone and it looks exactly as if would have been done 800 years ago. Beyond the cloister, an area set aside for the more practical aspects of Abbey life. This is the lavatorium, equipped with rows of recessed wash basins. And beside it - the huge refectory, where the community would take its meals.
In the west wall the remains of the spiral staircase to a pulpit where prayers were read during the meals, the eating area with a store room or undercroft beneath had to be big. At one time no less than 140 monks and 500 lay brothers were in residence here. In the kitchen next door there's a hatch to pass the food through. Inthe 13th century the only place in the cloisters where the fire was allowed for heating purposes was the warming house. Fires were lit in the huge double fireplace.
A chapter house, where the community met daily to be addressed by the Abbot, often after a reading of a chapter of the rule of St Benedict's. That was a traditional burial place of the Abbots. Rievaulx’sfirst Abbot, William was entered in a shrine after he was made a saint.
This is still a lonely place. It also remains as its third and most famous Abbot Alerod said: "A place of peace, serenity and a marvelous freedom from the tumult of the world".
BELSAY HALL
In beautiful Border Country, 15 miles to the north-west of New-Castle and set in 30 acres of landscaped parkland and gardens, is one of the north most striking country houses. Begun in 1807, the creation of a wealthy eccentric, Sir Charles Monk, this is one of the most important neo-classical buildings in Britain.
Almost as famous as the house are the gardens. To the south, a pattern of borders echoes the extraordinary symmetry of Belsay Hall itself. It's planted with the informal medley of evergreens and perennials. Below, the terraces look out over the rhododendron garden. And below that Sir Charles, the admirer of the work of the landscape architect Sir Homphrey Reapton, created a stunning new lake. In fact, until the building of the new hall, Sir Charles's ancestors, the Middletons, had lived in Belsay Castle, the original nucleus of the estate/which had been built as a fortified home because of centuries of fighting around the Border Country with Scotland.
The oldest part of the estate is the tower, built before 1460, which was certainly intended to be defensible. Features on the south wall were also decorative to be admired by the travelers passing by on the road which ran past in front of the castle. Beside it, in 1614, Thomas Middleton added an unfortified range, a witness to more peaceful times. His coat-of-arms on the carved stonework proclaiming his and his wife Dorothy's achievements can still be clearly seen above the porch of the main range.
The family moved out on Christmas day 1817 and by the 1840's much of the building had been carefully reduced to create a romantic tableau. Work on the new Belsay Hall with its precise geometric dimensions (it's exactly 100 feet square) was begun on Sir Charles Monk's return from his two-year honeymoon in April 1806 during which he and his new bride had visited Greece and became bewitched by the romantic appeal of the architecture there. The new home bore resemblance to a Greek temple. The capitols and ten heads of the columns in this pillar hall were put in place in 1812, each carved by a different mason. The balustrade wasn't inserted until the 1830's. Other rooms, many of them now empty, reveal Sir Charles interest in the new methods of heating with fire crates and double floors pugged to reduce heat loss. In its day, it would have been a very comfortable place to live. The sandstone for the house was quarried within the park to the west of the hall, and when excavation was complete, Sir Charles transformed the quarry into a huge picturesque garden.
The unforgettable Belsay quarry garden is a man-made landscape, of course, but the wild woodland style of gardening helps make it look natural. Later it was added to by Sir Charles' grandson, Sir Arthur Middleton. Because it's so sheltered, the quarry garden is a superbly stable environment in which plant life can thrive.
Exotic plants have been carefully positioned to make them seem natural too. Huge, water-loving plant from South America abounds. And in a sheltered corner by the arch there's even a palm-tree. "It's not warm, and it's not frosty either, but the climate moves steadily from extreme to extreme, so plants are flung around between the opposite extremes and they do well. You can come in here in December, hen the - sky is black and it's snowing and the rhododendrons 30 feet high are in full bloom and it's magic".
Beside the rhododendrons are many other species of delicate plants and ferns which thrive in the warm moist conditions. The feeling of utter seclusion and the absence of wind is heightened by the ranks of towering Scottish pine, for which Belsay is famous.
In summer the sunken lawns of the winter gardens are used for crochet, a perfect setting. For more than 150 years the scene has been dominated by a vast Douglas fur planted here immediately after its introduction from North America in 1827.
And so, back to the hall via the magnolia terrace, which is now being replanted with new varieties including shrub rose and geranium.
Sumptuous gardens and medieval castle and extraordinary neoclassical Georgian hall. After 600 years of history Belsay remains one of the most remarkable estates in the north of England.
DOVER CASTLE
High above the bustling modern port like an ancient crown astride the famous cliffs stands a castle, which is unrivalled in its position, history and sheer breathtaking size. Built within the ramparts of the prehistoric Iron Age fort Dover has the longest recorded history of any major fortress in Britain. William the Conqueror spent eight days here in 1066 strengthening the existent Saxon defenses although what remains today dates from the 12-13 centuries.
The central keep of the castle is one of the finest in Europe built for Henry II in thell80's. The main entrance is in the huge fore building, the most ambitious structure of its type in castle building before or since. Built into it a pail of tiny chapels designed in what we now call early English style: the round arches of late Norman combined with Gothic columns. The stairs were originally partly open to the sky commanded by the battlement above and in the middle there must have been a draw bridge. Inside are the vast rooms of the royal apartments where Henry II and the court who traveled with him could stay in absolute safety and comparative warmth and luxury. At the south end of the second floor the King had own very private chapel. It is beautifully proportioned and similarly planned to a tiny parish church. The roof of the keep was strengthened by Georgian military engineers over 500 years later to carry heavy guns. It is still a superb viewpoint. From here with a great sweeping view of a harbor and the town nearly 500 feet below, it's easy to see why Dover Castle became known as a key to England. In the early 13th century new gate ways and defense works were built on Dover outer western wall. This is a gate house of two periods. A. conical roof was added to. a big mural tower of king John's reign in about 1300.
In the 1220's the castle had a magnificent new entrance - the work of famous Hubert De Burk, Constable of Dover, who had successfully held the castle against the French in the siege in 1216. Constable's gate was one of the greatest gate houses of its day, although its top section was modernized by the Victorians, most of it looks now just as it did 750 years ago - a doting prospect to any would-be-attackers.
After a period of comparative quiet Dover entered a new era of life in 1740's when Georgian and later Victorian engineers set to work on the ramparts and once again updated its defenses. In fact the oldest surviving building within the castle wall is the Roman light house. The Pharos is one of the tallest standing structures of its age west of the Alps. It was strengthened, then heightened in the 15' century as a bell tower. Beside it the Anglo-Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro almost completely rebuilt in the 1860's.
The original cruciform plan and scale of a church indicates that it would have held minister status as a home of the community of priests. Beside the door there is the list of priests dating back to the early 13th century.
Today the castle and its church are expecting an important visitor. The post of Constable of Dover, once held by Hubert De Burk still exists. Other notable constables have included the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Chuchill. An annual visit to the parish church is one of the duties of the current Constable. Her majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother has been Constable of Dover since 1978. She takes her duties very seriously.
During World War II Dover Castle was once again put to military use. The harbor below was of strategic importance and in the huge network of tunnels buiil in the cliffs beneath the castle a new secret military headquarters was constructed. The evacuation of the British Army from Dunkerk was coordinated from here as well as the monitoring of the enemy ships and allies' shipping movement in the Channel and wireless transmission from occupied Europe which lay a mere 22 miles away across the Straight of Dover.
There was also an anti aircraft operations room where information on the course of enemy aircraft from observers on the new chain of radar masts was charted on screen and plotting tables. Up until the 1970's the tunnels of Dover remained prepared for being original seat of government in case of an emergency such as nuclear attack.
Dover Castle is a unique military monument with 2000 years of military technology inside and beneath its ancient ramparts.
It is the most important coastal defense work in Europe and probably one of Europe's best preserved strategic strongholds.
TINTAGEL CASTLE
Jutting into the wild and wind-swept seas of the North-Cornish coast an ancient place of mystery and romance probably without rival on the British Isles - Tintagel Castle. Even today Tintagel remains a complete enigma. Overlooked from the hill-top on the mainland by the village of Tintagel, the island is connected by a thin causeway. The word "tin" means "fortress", "tagel" - probably a narrow strip of land, the neck of the island. The island is known of the medieval castle, the highest points of which, the upper and lower walls, are actually on the mainland. The castle was - almost certainly built by Earl Richard of Cornwall, younger brother of King Henry III, who created his new fortress in 1233 on the site of what have been probably a roman trading post.
A doorway leads into the inner ward on the island proper. Tintagel's fame though is based not on fact but on the legends which have brought it an extraordinary and almost magical atmosphere. According to folklore, this was the mystical home of the ancient magician Merlin and the birthplace of King Arthur of the Round Table. And the evidence is that it could have been the stronghold of some post-roman Cornish ruler, possibly a king. What's so strange is that a castle should be built here on an island of little strategic importance, miles away from the main inland trading routes of Cornwall. Then it fell into disrepair - by the 14th century the great hall lost its roof. The chapel was extended when the castle was built, originally dedicated to an obscure Celtic saint Judith. It was still in use in 1483 and long after the castle was in ruins. At the base of the island the spectacular Merlin's cave, inside which, according u to the legend so loved by the poet Tennyson, the infant Arthur was discovered. But after the tempests when the long waves broke all down the thundering shoals of brine and moss there came a day as still as heaven and then they found a naked child upon the sands of dark Tintagel by the Cornish sea. And that was Arthur. And they fostered him till he by miracle was a proven king.