How old is that?

 Next episode will be heavily into all that!

Our American friends always express amazement at the historic sites all over UK. For us growing up with it it’s just second nature. We were taught in school about the bronze and iron age settlements, about the Roman conquest that started around 55 BC and lasted about 400 years. Many modern roads still follow the line of Roman roads laid down then.

Hadrian's Wall last year

There are of course things like Hadrian’s Wall and cities such as London, York, Chester (among many) that were established as Roman cities.

Later came the Vikings then the Norman Conquest in 1066 (a date every British school child has burned in their memory!). There was an English Civil War, battles against the Scots, and 2 World Wars. All of which have left permanent reminders on this relatively small island.

So for our British followers, we apologize for the repetition of things you know so well. For our overseas friends if you enjoy history you are in the right place!

Tomb in York Minster

In recent blogs we showed the city of York which has most of the previously mentioned periods woven into it’s fabric, and Speke Hall which lies on the outskirts of the city of Liverpool.

Speke Hall

After leaving the Wirral (yet again) we headed South East into the area known as “The Midlands” which naturally are in the middle of the country!

Long a center of industry and the Industrial Revolution, the midlands developed from the woolen industry and leather working dating back to pre Roman days.

The Iron Bridge in Ironbridge

Our first stop was a town called Ironbridge, where not surprisingly the worlds first cast iron bridge was located! It’s a quaint little town on a river. The bridge was built to allow movement of goods and animals across the gorge that cuts thru the town.

Tolls for the bridge.

Just outside of the town is the site of a blast furnace that smelted iron ore into pure iron and predates the bridge by centuries. The river allowed the products of the furnace to be easily moved to market.

Ironbridge Gorge

Just down the road is another old town called Much Wenlock site of a ruined abbey. There are many ruined abbeys in UK due to Henry the Eighth's abolition of the Catholic Church which we call the Dissolution. 

Majestic Much Wenlock Abbey

The Catholic Abbeys, Priorys etc. were all taken over by the government and then knocked down so the pieces could be sold off. Wenlock Abbey was an enormous place and the ruins are still very impressive.

The old town of Much Wenlock

Also close by are the remains of a Roman city that in it’s day was the 4^th largest in the Roman Empire. Bigger than Pompei.

A 2000 year old wall still standing

Only a small part of this large city have been excavated

The ruins were preserved after the center of power moved to Chester and Wroxeter gradually faded away. It’s location in a remote cattle farming area meant it wasn’t robbed of it’s stones or built over, leaving it for Victorian archaeologists to excavate and explore. Modern archaeologists have re-created a Roman Town House of which there were 100’s in the actual city.

The Roman Townhouse

The next stop was Kennilworth about 70 miles east where the remains of an enormous castle built around 1120 are there to explore.

Imposing Kennilworth Castle

Kings from King John (signer of the Magna Carta) to Henry V visited here thru the centuries and Queen Elizabeth the First was courted here by her lover Robert Dudley. Various owners have built additions and the results have added beauty rather than detracted from the place.

Everywhere you look in Kennilworth is another breath taking sight.

We took a train from Kennilworth to Coventry for some more modern history. Coventry was the one of first cities in World War 2 to suffer a fire storm as a result of a German bombing raid. The center of the city burned and with it its cathedral.

The original Coventry Cathedral

Destroyed by German bombs in WW2

In the 60’s a very modern new cathedral was built next to the remains of the old building and the result is a visual treat together with a reminder of the horrors of modern warfare.

The Modern Cathedral from the 1960's

We were amazed to find that immediately adjacent to the burned out cathedral, hidden away across a narrow alley was the Old Guild Hall that was over 700 years old and had survived the blaze intact!

The Guild Hall

The Guild that built the hall was formed to further the interests of the merchants involved in the wool trade. It’s hard to explain to an American audience how important that was. In the US you rarely see sheep, perhaps in Montana or a small flock on a farm, so rare that we always point them out to each other during our travels.

In UK it hard NOT to see sheep, they are everywhere. Lamb is a common dish in restaurants here that is almost unknown in the US.

The merchants must have done well because the Guild Hall is very ornate and has Royal connections.

Coventry is also famous (at least in UK it is) for “Lady Godiva’s Ride” and the hall has a statue of her.

Lady Godiva hides behind her long hair

The legend is that in 900 AD Lady Godiva told her husband that unless the burdensome taxes on the citizens of Coventry were reduced she would ride naked thru the marketplace.

The taxes weren’t reduced but Lady Godiva had the townsmen confined to their houses and combed her long hair to protect her modesty. All went well except that one townsman looked out of his window and was caught peeping.

His name? Tom. And that is why we having Peeping Tom as part of our language!

Boy that’s a lot of history. I think I wore my brain out!

See you next time.