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Is It Worth A Visit…? Montacute House and Gardens

At school we had four houses, Harry Potter style, but our school called them “halls”. Each one was named after a local estate. There was Hadspen, Montacute, Longleat and Stourhead. (I won’t tell you which ones were their Hogwarts counterparts.) I was in the prep school and was in Water, the blue coloured house (originally…

Is It Worth A Visit…? Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Ghost Stories: Halloween Special

I’ve always loved a ghost story. Ever since I was a girl I’ve loved sitting with my friends in a dark room sharing our scariest tales. Ghost stories have an ability to totally capture the imagination, and what can be truly unsettling is the possibility that it could be real. There are plenty of stories…

“Is It Worth a Visit?”: Blenheim Palace

Last Saturday we went to my cousin’s 50th birthday party in Oxfordshire (Happy Birthday, Sophie!) and we decided to spend the whole weekend there. My brother and his wife have two children and my nephew is the same age as Rory – literally, he is two days older – so Henry and I took the…

London History Day: Gilbert Tours’s Top 10

It is London History Day, which means Gilbert Tours has created a Top 10 List of what we think are the most Interesting Events in London History! From tyrannical kings, to the suffragettes, from blazing fires to ice cold winters – this list has it all. So to start our countdown to the number one…

Valentine’s Day 2021

It’s the 14th of February and around the world singles, couples and throuples alike are celebrating Valentine’s Day in one way or another – even if that means ignoring it entirely! So today I would like to delve into the history of this day of love and explore the origins of the name and date.…

History for Lockdown: An Oxford Special

It has been a long time since my last blog post, so for those of you who are signed up to the mailing list I thank you for your continued support, and to those of you who have just joined then welcome! As we all know, 2020 was a very trying year, but I am…

Eltham Palace

Eltham Palace is a short drive from where I live and I am so lucky to have such a wonderful place so near. The palace is now so beautifully Art Deco that it is easy to forget that its history goes back to 1300. Given to Edward II in 1305, Eltham Palace was used as…

London Laws for Lockdown Laughs

ve decided to do some a little different for this blog entry. I’ve been focussing on different areas of London, and will continue to do so, but I thought it would be fun to do some digging and find out what is still technically illegal and what ancient laws still exist today. Did you know,…

History for Lockdown: Lewisham & Blackheath

Hello everyone, and thank you for being patient since my last post. I have been working hard gathering information and sorting it all out so that I can get the best bits to you! It has also been a big month so far, my nephew and my son both turned one (yes, my brother and…

History for Lockdown: Downham

Hello everybody! Now I know that I promised you Lewisham and Southwark today but actually I have decided to give Downham its own entry as during my research I have found there is lot to say about Lewisham and Southwark boroughs, and I ought to include Greenwich too so there is a lot to get…

History for Lockdown: Bromley

Hello everyone. I’ve been a little quiet of late as the Gilbert Household has been a little under the weather! But we are back to feeling ourselves again so I thought it about time I wrote a little something. Now we are all staying indoors to help stop the spread of this awful virus, as…