The Art Of Being British

Buckingham Palace A Must See Site When In London

Author Hardip Patel

Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the British royal family and receives more than 50,000 tourists every day. This palace was built as a large townhouse in the year 1705 for the Duke of Buckingham and today is a favored destination in London for invited diplomats and dignitaries. In the 19th Century, this palace formerly known as the Buckingham house was further expanded so that it now had three different wings surrounding a courtyard in the center.

During the late19th century and early 20th century more major additions were made to the buildings which had an East front containing the famous balcony where the Royal Family meets to greet the crowds outside. A Queen's gallery was also built which houses the art works from the private Royal Family collection and is open to public viewing in the year 1962.

The interior designs dating back to the early 19th Century period can still be seen today which include the widespread use of the colored scagliola as well as the pink and blue lapis added on Sir Charles ling's advice. The partial redecoration using a gold color and Belle Époque cream color scheme was overseen by King Edward VII. There are also many reception rooms which are smaller in size furnished to resemble the style of the Chinese regency which used furniture as well as fittings from the Carlton House as well as the Brighton Royal Pavilion. The garden surrounding the Buckingham Palace is London's largest among private gardens.

The state rooms which are used for state as well official entertainment are open for public viewing every year for the most part of August as well as September during the Summer Opening of the Palace. In the year 1837, a complete wing was added to the palace during the reign of Queen Victoria which housed a nursery for children, a ballroom as well as a sleeping area for guests. The marble archway which used to grace the landscape in the past was removed and placed in Hyde Park in London. Another notable change was when the limestone palace was re-faced in the year 1913.

Visitors can visit the Buckingham Palace at select times during the year to view the interior furnishings as well as the personal possessions like jewels and formal gowns apart from the August as well as September visit to the West Wing's state rooms. Visitors can also visit the Queen gallery at any time in the year. They can also pay a visit to Royal Mews to visit the 30 horses and the official coach which is used during state functions. The Changing of the Guard is another famous tradition originating from 1660 outside the palace which makes for a great historical viewing.

The Buckingham Palace is a great historical site to visit when in London. Visit this palace to see how the Royal Family lives and experience its historical architecture.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hardip_Patel

Interesting Facts About Wimbledon ( video )

By Cecelia Owens

Summer in Britain is heralded each June by the two-week tennis competition known as The Championships, Wimbledon. Wimbledon, as it is commonly called, is hosted by the All England Club in the district of Wimbledon, a London suburb. Wimbledon is one of four tournaments that make up the Grand Slam of Tennis. The early summer Tournament at Wimbledon stands as the oldest and most respected tennis tournament in the world.

Wimbledon began humbly in 1877. A mere 200 spectators doled out a shilling each to watch Spencer Gore defeat William Marshall in the final to become the first champion at Wimbledon. Gore failed to defend his championship the following year when Frank Haddow, inventor of the lob shot, beat him in the finals. Following his defeat, Gore promptly retired from tournament tennis. Sixty-four different men have won the Gentlemen's title since.

More than a century later, 32,036 attendees assembled on the final day at Wimbledon to watch Spaniard Rafael Nadal successfully defend his title against Tomas Berdych. Total attendance for the two weeks of the 2010 tournament was approximately a half million while an additional five million watched worldwide on television. Wimbledon was first televised in 1937 by the British Broadcasting Company which still has the Wimbledon broadcast rights. The British Government mandates that the Finals are shown live on television.

Wimbledon consists of singles and doubles competitions. While most people are familiar with Wimbledon's high-profile Gentlemen's and Ladies' events, there are also categories for juniors, seniors and wheelchair participants. In total, there are fourteen different championship events.

The roll call of Wimbledon champions is dotted with tennis legends. The record for most Gentlemen's Singles titles is seven shared by William Renshaw and Pete Sampras. Sampras won his titles in the modern Open Era when professionals were allowed to compete at Wimbledon. Prior to 1968, participation was limited to amateurs. Martina Navritalova holds the record for Ladies' Singles titles at nine. She achieved six of these in consecutive years. Other notable champions include seven-time winner Steffi Graf and six-time winners Roger Federer and Billie Jean King. Bjorn Borg and Venus Williams have triumphed at Wimbledon five times each.

Traditions abound at Wimbledon. The most significant of these traditions is the grass-surfaced courts on which the Championships are contested. Wimbledon is the last of the great tennis tournaments played on grass - a hard, unpredictable surface that favors big hitters. The traditional colors of Wimbledon are green and purple. Until 2006, all officials were attired in green. Players are required to wear white although some color accents are gradually sneaking onto the court. A delicious edible tradition at Wimbledon is devouring strawberries and cream. Thousands of pounds of strawberries and gallons of ice cream are consumed at Wimbledon each summer. Wimbledon even has a literary tradition. On their way to Centre Court, players must pass under two lines from Rudyard Kipling's poem, "If". And of course, it wouldn't be England without the rain. Only six championships have gone without rain interruptions since 1922.

All sports have their premier events. Baseball plays the World Series. Hockey teams skate for the Stanley Cup. A victory at the Masters is regarded as golf's highest achievement. But none of these events can match the long history, colorful traditions and legendary champions of tennis at Wimbledon.

Cecelia Owens loves travel and she does freelance writing for the top South African travel comparison website, where she also wrote the blog post "Visiting Wimbledon - A Tennis Pilgrimage" which you can read here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cecelia_Owens

Pluckley In Kent Britains Most Haunted Village

By Lynne Butler

Do you believe in ghosts? You just might start after staying in one of the many spooky bed and breakfast options available in the United Kingdom. Terrifying tales abound, including this unnerving sighting, reported at a bed and breakfast in Wales. Guests report seeing the ghost of an unknown lady who prefers gentlemen to women! One night, an unfortunate couple awoke to find that the female guest experienced her hair being pulled so violently that she was dragged from her bed, whilst her partner had felt an unseen hand gently stroke his face! The shocked female eventually returned to bed and to her horror the following morning discovered that her night clothes were soaked with water; the bed and surroundings were completely dry.

The most haunted village in England is reputed to be Pluckley, an idyllic spot in the heart of the Kent countryside and there have been at least 42 ghostly sightings here. A medieval farmstead in the village has been converted into bed and breakfast accommodation and seems to be at the centre of many of these sightings. The ghost of a farmer who shot himself in 1900 is reputed to haunt the old dairy, a highwayman who was stabbed to death in the nearby woods is said to haunt the guest lounge and there is a poltergeist that moves things around in the night. There is also a strange old man who resembles Stalin who walks around in the barn.

Surrounding the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, there are a myriad of Neolithic and bronze age sites, not to mention the famous Avebury stone circle, smaller cousin of the grander Stone Henge. Not surprisingly, this area abounds in ghostly sightings and the guests of one bed and breakfast establishment report supernatural happenings in their rooms, including ghost children with a young lady, a Georgian gentleman and even a creature similar to the Goat of Mendes. Guests also report unexplained noises, smells and changes in temperature.

The Roman city of Chester is home to many ghostly sightings and a local inn is said to be haunted by the ghost of a Roman Centurion and the sound of marching feet. The marching sound can be heard going through the length of the first floor, which is split into about 14 rooms. The walls do not appear to impede the footsteps. The inn is thought to have been built on the site of a Roman cemetery in what was the old Roman city. Lincoln, York, Exeter, Winchester and Leicester bed and breakfast owners are among those whose guests have also reported hearing or seeing marching Roman centurions.

Whilst the prospect of sharing your room with an uninvited guest from "the other side" might be an unwelcome one for the majority of us, there are many ghost "junkies" out there who relish the prospect of a supernatural experience and who actively seek haunted places to stay in all over the country. So whether you are the owner of a eerie guesthouse on an isolated moor, or the proprietor of a Leicester bed and breakfast where things go bump in the night, if may well be worth capitalising on the fact and marketing your accommodation accordingly.

For details of our leicester bed and breakfast visit our site. Complete delivery and installation of leicester bed and breakfast

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lynne_Butler


This is the film that me and my team made for our final project at AUCB.

It's a short documentary about the small village of Pluckley located in the county of Kent. It talks about the villages reputation for being the most haunted village in the country and what people in the area thought of the ghosts that apparently haunt the village.

The film took 2 months to finish, and was by far one of the toughest, but most exciting and fun film's I've worked on. It's the furthest I've ever travelled to do a film, and one of the most expensive films I've worked on (It came up to nearly £200 for us to stay in the village and of course pay for petrol money for the car... that I'm not even including the food and drinks we bought at the local pubs).

I have to be honest, even though I stick on a new film nearly every week on this account, I'm not proud of the majority of them. This however is one of the few exceptions where I am very proud of the film. I feel it has been one of the most professional film's I've ever worked on, and also (being the sound man and editor) it was one of my better performances in that area, especially seeing that I have a history of screwing up the sound.

Was it just light on the window or was it more?

WARNING TO TRAVELLERS..Don't believe all your travel agent says

WARNING to all thoes of you who are thinking of traveling to anywhere in the world other than the United Kingdom, Don't believe all your travel agent says.

Hospital of St. Cross Winchester ( video )

Hospital of St. Cross

The Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty is a medieval almshouse in Winchester, England, founded between 1133 and 1136. It is the oldest charitable institution in the United Kingdom. The founder was Henry de Blois, Bishop of Winchester, grandson of William the Bastard, half brother to King Stephen of England.

Not only is it the oldest but is also the largest medieval almshouse in Britain; it is built on the scale of an Oxford or Cambridge college, but is older than any of the colleges at the universities. It has been described as "England's oldest and most perfect almshouse"

The building is constructed of stone and surrounds two quadrangles. The smaller Outer Quadrangle to the north consists of: the outer gate (16th century); brewhouse (14th century); from the 15th century, the guest wing, kitchen which had to produce food for the Master, 25 Brethren, 100 poor men and the servants, the porter's lodge and the three story Beaufort Tower c1450, this has three niches above the arch one of which still contains the weathered statue of Cardinal Beaufort who was Bishop of Winchester, the tower and spaces above the porter's lodge used to be the Master of the almshouse lodging.

Passing beneath the tower the Inner Quadrangle is reached, the north range includes the Brethren's Hall (which had to be large enough for the Brethren & 100 poor men), of the 14th century, entered via a flight of steps in a stone porch, there is a timber screen with gallery above, within there is also a splendid timber roof, arch braced, there is a central hearth and a dais where the Master would have dined, with the Brethren in the main part of the hall, there is a wooden staircase leading to the Master's rooms in the south east corner. The main set of two storied lodgings are on the north west & west sides of the quadrangle, these house the 25 inmates, they are notable for the tall regularly spaced chimneys and doorways each leading to four sets of apartments. There used to be a corresponding range on the south side joined to the church, but this was demolished in the 1760s. The east range of timber framing and brick with stone windows, is a 16th century long gallery (for the use of the Master) raised on a cloister open to the quadrangle, this leads to an entrance to the church.

The 12th and 13th century church in the south east corner is more like a miniature cathedral than a typical almshouse chapel. The building is stone vaulted throughout, with transepts and a central tower. The walls are over a metre in thickness, made from stone from Caen, Dorset the Isle of Wight and local flint, the roof is lead. The building is in transitional Norman/Gothic style. Started in 1135, the chancel was the first part built two bays deep with aisles. This is typically Norman with round headed windows and much chevron ornament. But the main arches in the arcade and beneath the central tower are slightly pointed in the Gothic manner. The three bay aisled nave and transepts continue the style. Between 1383 and 1385 a large tracery window was inserted in the west front and the clerestory windows in the nave were enlarged and a north porch added. Several medieval encaustic tiles survive on the floor. There are also traces of medieval wall paintings. The stained glass is mainly 19th century.

Contact information

The Hospital of St Cross
St Cross Road
Winchester
Hampshire
SO23 9SD Tel: +44 01962 851 375 Fax: +44 01962 878 221Email