A kings and queens timeline that answers many questions; When was Henry VIII? When was Queen Anne? Who was between Queen Anne and Queen Victoria? How long did William the Conqueror rule England? Which kings were called the Plantagenets? Who took part in the Wars of the Roses? How many King Edwards were there? Where does Lady Jane Grey fit in ?
Read MoreThe guidebook states “Knole was built to impress” and it still has the ‘wow factor today. Driving through the beautiful estate to get to the carpark heightens expectation of what you will see when the immense house comes into view. Seeing this majestic residence for the first time will, to use an overworked phrase, “blow your mind”. It is simply stunning. Looking at the surrounding countryside you will see an amazing setting and immediately want to see the whole package, the house and the park. It is one of the largest country houses in England and it sits amidst one of the last remaining deer parks in Kent.Reading this blog, you will come across famous historical figures such as Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and her “favourite”, the Earl of Leicester, Nell Gwynn and the authors, Vita Sackville West and her lover, Virginia Woolf.
Read MoreLeeds Castle; "On an autumnal evening, when the bracken is golden and a faint blue mist among the trees, the loveliest castle in the whole world!". These are the words of Lord Conway in the popular magazine, magazine, “Country Life”. A visit to this beautiful but much altered castle is a great day out. This castle has links and associated features to many amazing stories from English history and is set in the exquisite kent countryside, often called, “the garden of England”. It is an experience not to be missed. Even the ramble from the car park to the castle is an attractive walk . Leeds is a unique castle in that it is associated six royal queens, people often overlooked in a male dominated world and should be high on every History lover’s lists of places to visit. It has links to the medieval world of the Plantagenets and that of Henry VIII. When he took possession of it, he transformed the castle from a fortified stronghold to a magnificent royal palace, fit for a mighty Tudor king and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. You can have fun looking for Henry’s and Catherine’s symbols which have been left behind for posterity.
Read MoreIf you only have time to see one castle, then Dover is the one to see. Eighteen hundred years of history is something to boast about. A visit to Dover Castle is a day worth spent and will leave an everlasting impression on you. If you love history, you will love this place. It has it all. It is only 21 miles from France and has long been considered to be the gateway to England. If Dover fell, then the rest of the country would be wide open for conquest. It is a brilliant example of a medieval castle but it also has a complex of underground tunnels that during the second World War, was where the evacuation of Dunkirk was masterminded. You can also go back in time and see amazing sections of the “Great Tower” set out in the style of Henry II’s court.
Read MoreBodium, quintessential, archetypal, photogenic and the most romantic of all British castles. A visit to Bodiam castle is a must for all castle and history lovers.If you have never been to a castle, Bodiam is a great stating point. It is simply a beautiful, iconic 14th century castle, which on a summer’s day is unsurpassed. It has been described by Dr Marc Morris in his book on castles as; “the most photogenic and one of the most visited castles in Britain. Its ravishing good looks have made it a firm favourite with calendar compilers and magazine editors.” .You will be able to see good examples of typical castle features eg its round and square towers, its moat and machicolations. You will experience a place where your imagination can run riot.
Read MoreA visit to Lullingstone Villa will give you a great insight into life in Roman Britain. You can survey the whole villa and study, from a raised gallery, two wonderful mosaics based on the stories from ancient literature. The inhabitants of Lullingstone were early converts to Christianity who created their own “house-church”, to worship their new god. On our visit we came across lots of families having a great time working together to answer English Heritage question sheets. Four hundred years of development is explained in a good audio visual display and colourful information boards around the building.
Read MoreRochester Cathedral, a must for for history-lovers with its wonderful Norman architecture; its rare medieval wall painting of “the Wheel of Fortune”; a 900 year old book, the “Texts Roffensis” with the law code of King Athelbert of Kent; plenty examples of the “Green Man” to search out; impressive large sculptures of earlier bishops; its Norman crypt and its close proximity to Rochester Castle. Added to these attractions, go at the time of the summer’s Dicken’s festival or its christmas festival and you have a very full day of seeing the past.
Read MoreRochester Castle is great for castle lovers. It has a huge keep to explore and plenty of stories to discover. In 1215 King John attacked the rebel held castle using 40 pigs! Why pigs? Well, he mined under the south -east tower projecting from the keep and set the wooden props alight with the aid of the fat from 40 pigs acting as giant exploding sausages to bring a huge section down. The demolished tower was later replaced by a stronger round tower in the south -east corner looking rather odd against the other 3 square towers! Fantastic views can be had from the battlements at the top of the keep once you have trekked up the spiral staircases.
Read MoreNo need to go to France to see the Bayeux Tapestry, go to Reading Museum instead. It’s there in its entirety for all to see and its free! Whilst you are there, have a look at the Silchester exhibition, the story of the old Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum that was abandoned and returned to agricultural land. Behind the museum are the remains of Reading Abbey, one of the largest in the country and the burial place of Henry I.
Read MoreThe story of Lavenham , is the story of a very prosperous and thriving medieval town that peaked in the 1520s and then suffered a major economic decline, arresting virtually all building development and modernisation. This left numerous stunning, but unaltered, medieval timber framed houses for us to enjoy during a gentle stroll through the village. Houses in Lavenham could adorn a countless boxes of chocolate and calendars.
Read MoreThis is the largest Norman Keep in Europe built on top of the remains of the great temple of Claudius the conquering Roman Empire. Objects from over 2000 years including the Iron Age, Boudicca’s uprising, the finest display of Roman glassware rivalling that of the British Museum, are here along a gruesome dungeon section focusing on the BloodY Mary burning people at the stake, Matthew Hopkin’s witchfinding, There are countless invitations to touch objects and children’s activities include a roman chariot race simulation, 4 dressing up stations, use of tablets to compete an electronic quiz and creation of a mosaic.
Read MoreA visit to the beautiful Ightham Mote will take you on a journey back to the 14th century. Various rooms and details result in you being taken along a timeline of discovery and evoking a deep sense of history. It was built by medieval knights, taken on by tudor courtiers desperate to gain favour with Henry VIII and on through high society Victorians before ending up in the hands of a very generous American benefactor who passed it on to the National Trust. It has many rooms to marvel at, from the medieval “Great Hall” and Crypt”, to Catherine of Aragon’s pomegranite emblem on the chapel ceiling and ending up in the impressive Victorian billiard room.
Read MoreWith over 1000 years of history, you’ll find plenty to do in the Tower of London for kids as well as some of the more fascinating stories and murder mysteries English history. The Tower of London is one of England’s iconic buildings and the remnants of just how brutal and bloody the Middle Ages were. Why does it have this reputation?From the barbaric and gruesome William the Conqueror who created it, to kings and queens who were excited there, the Tower of London is a place of gripping and captivating history that the whole family can see close up.
Read MoreA pictorial guide to the causes of World War 2 and the Battle of Britain for young people. A fun, conversation guide that takes you through all you need to know about the reasons for the start of the Second World War for kids.
Read MoreThe nerve centre of the operation to save Britain from Nazi conquest in 1940. The Battle of Britain, why so much was owed to so few by so many. Spitfire and Hurricane heroes saved Britain and it all centred here.
Read MoreWhy you should go to see Rameses II at the British Museum. A concise account of key details on Rameses II, considered the greatest pharaoh of them all. Seeing key sculptures of Rameses II at the British Museum.
Read More
Firstly, because you can investigate over 4000 years of history in one place. Spread over four floors, there are plenty of artefacts to see at your leisure and we’ve made multiple trips (probably culminating in days of exploring and we still haven’t seen it all).
From Rameses II of Egypt, to the Rosetta Stone and the preserved remains of Lindow Man, to the Sutton Hoo treasure and Viking loot, the British Museum is home to some of the most important artefacts in the world and there will be something that interests everyone.
Mummies, statues, ancient pictures and hieroglyphs, the British Museum has loads of them.The spectacle of world of ancient Egypt is there for all to see.Ever seen a mummified Cat, crocodile or bull? They are all there to add to the story of the land of the pharaohs.
You can take in the museum long galleries packed with amazing objects from Ancient Egypt. After spending a couple of hours in galleries on two floors you’ll be booking your next holiday to the land of the Pharaohs. This is only the start of your expedition in time to some of the most fascinating periods of history.
Here’s a few more reasons why we love this museum.
The Rosetta Stone
Have a look at the Rosetta Stone and see hieroglyphs alongside ancient Greek and Demotic. Look for the the cartouche (name) of Rameses II on the stone and wonder how it was decoded. If you want to get even closer to the Rosetta Stone, go to room one and see an exact copy that you can touch and get a closer look.
You can see giant statues from one of the first civilisations which predates the Romans and Greeks
The British Museum may be famous for grand men of history, Pharoahs and Greeks of the classical world but here you will find a British man from the Iron Age. Pete Marsh was murdered 2000 years ago yet his body was preserved in Lindow Moss in a Manchester peat bog. Archaeologists have even discovered that he had just eaten some bread for breakfast before he was brutally killed.
You can get close up to legendary heroes, centaurs and the world famous Elgin Marbles from the Acropolis at the British Museum.
Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece are all important features of Key stage 2 History studied in primary schools.Make your child’s studies come alive and take the to the British Museum.
Take them to the British Museum and have lots of fun discovering ancient worlds with our activity sheets.
Look at the detail in this buckle
Despite no wooden remains lasting the ravages of an acid soil in East Anglia, the ghostly outline of a ship was carefully excavated to reveal the amazing grave goods of an Anglo-Saxon nobleman who was once thought to be a king! Marvel at the skilled artistic metalwork used to create the gold and garnet shoulder clasps, a purse lid and belt buckle.
For nearly 2500 years before the X Box and Wii, people of all ages from all over the medieval world, have played chess. Made of intricately carved Walrus ivory and whale tooth, the Lewis chessmen are one of our favourite exhibits. Look at their gloomy faces. The queen looks particularly fed up. In contrast, the pawns do not have any human features and some people believe, reflect the Islamic version of this Indian invented game.
At its height the Assyrian empire was huge and included Iran, Iraq, Egypt Israel and even Cyprus. Amazing carvings and friezes dating from the 8th and 8th centuries BC are among the stunning artefacts in the British Museum. If you want ancient culture without the crowds, come and see the Assyrian collection.
Want to visit the British Museum but can’t bare the thought of crowded gallery after crowded gallery, visit the Assyrian galleries in rooms 7-9 on the ground floor.
Take the underground to Tottenham Court Road and it take no more than 10 minutes to walk, with opportunities for a quick cup of coffee on the way.
Are you planning a trip to London? What is the best museum you’ve ever visited? Let us know in the comments below.
The London Mithraeum, discovered in 1952 under the bombed out ruins of London, is now rebuilt and open to the public to give you a "memorable, powerful and authentic experience."The London Mithraeum was built 1800 years ago by the Romans and dedicated to the god, Mithras. In 1952 a small section of a Roman building was discovered and on the last day of the dig in 1954 its function was confirmed as a temple devoted to the God Mithras. The evidence on that last day was a sculpted head of Mythras. The temple was first built around 240-250AD and was eventually abandoned in about 380AD and is now open to the public in the Bloomberg building. A further excavation took place between 2012-2014 and discovered more than 14 000 artefacts, together with 63 000 pieces of pottery and 3 tonnes of animal bones. This together with the original finds means that this was has become a highly important site in the history of London. Over 400 pieces of writing tablets have been found and this includes the first known reference to London and the earliest hand written document. Some 600 artefacts are on display as well as the temple itself. Several other key finds are on display in the nearby Museum of London. (20 minutes walk)
Visiting London? The Museum of London, is one of the best museums in the UK and is free. You can see amazing objects from thousands of years of life in London, from a Mammoth tusk to a pilgrims badge representing a visit to St Thomas Becket’s tomb. You can get up close to those objects and see their little details. The displays are bright and informative. There are rooms set out as though they were from a Roman villa placing Roman finds in context. Several models are on display such as London’s Roman forum and Basilica as well as the original gothic St Paul’s Cathedral
The Sutton Hoo treasure, one of the greatest hoards of treasure found in Britain. See a window into the Anglo-Saxon world after the Romans had left and before the Vikings arrived. The ship burial of a mighty warrior.
With over 1000 years of history, you’ll find plenty to do in the Tower of London for kids as well as some of the more fascinating stories and murder mysteries English history. The Tower of London is one of England’s iconic buildings and the remnants of just how brutal and bloody the Middle Ages were. Why does it have this reputation?From the barbaric and gruesome William the Conqueror who created it, to kings and queens who were excited there, the Tower of London is a place of gripping and captivating history that the whole family can see close up.
A pictorial guide to the causes of World War 2 and the Battle of Britain for young people. A fun, conversation guide that takes you through all you need to know about the reasons for the start of the Second World War for kids.
The nerve centre of the operation to save Britain from Nazi conquest in 1940. The Battle of Britain, why so much was owed to so few by so many. Spitfire and Hurricane heroes saved Britain and it all centred here.
Why you should go to see Rameses II at the British Museum. A concise account of key details on Rameses II, considered the greatest pharaoh of them all. Seeing key sculptures of Rameses II at the British Museum.
We are John and Loretta - two teachers who have spent a lifetime visiting historical places in the UK and abroad on holidays, school trips and any time we’ve had spare.
Seeing the Past was created to bring to life the stories behind historic buildings and events.
The Temple Church was the headquarters of the Knights Templar in London. The Templars have a fascinating history, have been linked to the “Holy Grail” and in modern times have featured in Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. In the film of book of his book, the key characters visit the temple in their quest to find the grail. In 1215 AD, it was the place that key negotiations for Magna Carta took place in the reign of King John. On stepping inside the Temple Church, eight effigies can be observed , one of which is William Marshall, known as “the greatest ever knight”.