The village of Cosmeston was first established in the early 12th century, and grew up around a fortified manor house built by the De Costentin family. The De Costentins were a Norman family among the first to invade Wales after William the Conqueror‘s invasion of England in 1066, and named the village Costentinstune, which over time became Cosmeston.
The village would have consisted of a number of stone round houses or crofts each with a thatched roof, and would have accommodated 50 to 100 villagers.
Cosmeston changed little over the following hundred years until in 1316 the manor passed into the hands of the de Caversham family, also of Norman descent. Under their stewardship Cosmeston became a better structured settlement, and most of the buildings that were excavated date from this time.
There is no evidence that the village continued to develop after the late middle ages however, and it is possible that the Black Death of the 1340s wiped out most of its inhabitants, leaving it like many of its kind in Britain, deserted.
Other reasons may have contributed to the village’s decline, including its low-lying location that made it prone to flooding, ruining its arable land. Political upheaval also surrounded the area during the 14th century, such as the widespread violence and devastation felt in the Glamorgan region following the 1316 attack of Caerphilly Castle by Llewelyn Bren.
Based on excavated finds from the 1970s at this location, Cosmeston Medieval Village brings to life the world of medieval Wales with recreated buildings and period re-enactors. Specifically set in 1350, the village takes visitors back in time to the Hundred Years’ War and the reign of King Edward III, and has been described as the best recreated medieval site in Britain.
Explore the Baker’s House and Village Ovens, the Swineherd Cottage, and the Herbalists Hovel and Herb Garden, each allowing a glimpse into the various roles of the medieval community. Tours with a costumed guide may be booked, with extra activities such as bread making, weapons and war, and storytelling also available to enrich your visit.
After exploring the reconstructed site, a trip to the adjacent museum offers a number of artefacts from its excavation, alongside a host of information boards giving the fascinating history of medieval Cosmeston.
Cosmeston Medieval Village is located in Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan, on the B4267 (Lavernock Road). The Cosmeston Lakes Country Park car park is a 7-minute walk to the site and offers free parking. The 88 and 94 bus services stop directly outside the site at the Fort Road stop, while the closest train station is Penarth, a 12-minute bus journey on the 94 or 30-minute walk to the site.
]]>Din Lligwy is thought to date back to the Iron Age, when it was likely a small farming community. With a reliable source of fresh water nearby and its position on a low hill overlooking Anglesey, Din Lligwy was well-positioned to support a community of settlers and it is thought to have been occupied for a substantial amount of time.
The site was comprised of a small settlement of stone huts enclosed by a 5ft-thick stone wall, with round structures likely houses and rectangular ones barns and workshops. Many of these buildings had substantial and well-made foundations constructed of local limestone, with its wall probably constructed to keep in livestock rather than for defence.
During excavations in 1905-7, a large amount of Roman-era pottery, coins, and glass were uncovered as well animal bones worked into tools and even a musical instrument! Evidence of extensive ironworking, smithing, and perhaps smelting was also uncovered at the site, indicating that these trades may have been at the centre of Din Lligwy’s economy.
Today the remains of the Din Lligy Hut Group provide a fascinating look into some of Britain’s oldest history, and despite their age are significantly well-preserved. The outer wall is almost complete except for a reduction in its height, and the remains of two round huts and many rectangular ones may also be viewed.
Information boards detail its intriguing history, while within a 5-minute walk visitors can also see the prehistorical Lligwy Burial Chamber, and Capel Lligwy, a ruined 12th-century chapel.
The Din Lligwy Hut Group is located near to the village of Moelfre in Anglesey, on a minor road off the A5025. There is a small parking area nearby, from which the site is well-signposted. As the area is quite remote public transport is limited, however the 62 bus service stops on the A5025 at the Capel Paradwys stop, a 15-minute walk to the site.
]]>In the early 1660s Eyam did not stand apart from any of the other numerous villages that lined the trade routes from London to the rest of England. And yet in 1665 Eyam became one of the most significant villages in England. The actions of its inhabitants had important consequences for the development of treatment of the plague.
Late in the summer of 1665 infected materials from London were delivered to the house of the village tailor, Alexander Hadfield. They were opened by his assistant, George Viccars, who shortly afterwards became ill and died most violently. His death was quickly followed by that of his two stepsons, Edward and Jonathan Cooper, and his immediate neighbours, and eventually by that of the tailor himself.
The infection spread rapidly throughout the autumn, slowing down in the winter only to return with greater vigour in the spring and summer, reaching a peak in August when 78 people died in the month. In the 14 months the danger lasted, it claimed 260 lives out of a population of around 800.
Under the leadership of the rector, Rev. William Mompesson and his predecessor, the Rev. Thomas Stanley, the villagers agreed to accept strict quarantine to prevent the spread of the disease beyond the village boundary. They were supported by the Earl of Devonshire, and by other charitable but less wealthy neighbours, who provided the necessities of life during their period of isolation.
Today there are many different points of interest for visitors to explore that form part of the plague story, such as including Mompesson’s Well and a boundary stone set between Eyam and neighbouring village Stoney Middleton, where supplies were left at a safe distance.
In the centre of the village is a row of Plague cottages with signs that commemorate some of the first victims. George Vicar’s house can be seen, as well as the tomb of Catherine Mompesson, wife of the then newly-appointed vicar who took such a bold step in isolating the village, herself an early victim of the bubonic plague. Also worth a visit is Eyam Hall, a 17th-century grade 2 listed historic house.
Every year on Plague Sunday (the last Sunday in August) a memorial service is held in the nearby hollow of Cucklett Delf, site of the outdoor services held by Reverend Mompesson during the plague years.
A museum founded in 1994 by a group of volunteers explains the Eyam Plague story fully, and also looks at plague more widely throughout history.
If driving, from the M1 take the Chesterfield exit and then follow signs for Bakewell. The best place to park is at the free car park on Hawkhill Road, opposite the museum. The nearest station is Grindleford which is 2 miles away. There are also several bus routes that pass through the village.
]]>Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is one of the most important centres of early English Christianity. Irish monks settled here in 635 AD and the monastery became the centre of a major saint’s cult celebrating its bishop, Cuthbert. The famous manuscript now known as the Lindisfarne Gospels was created here in the early 8th century. The ruins now visible are those of a 12th-century Lindisfarne Priory, which claimed direct descent from the early monastery.
The Island is known for the famous Viking Raid that occurred there. The devastating Viking attack on the church of St Cuthbert in 793 sent a shockwave through Europe. A Christian community at Lindisfarne survived, and recorded the event on the famous ‘Domesday stone.’
This Viking raid on the island of Lindisfarne, just off the Northumbrian coast, was not the first in England. It was particularly significant due to the sacred nature of the area and where Cuthbert’s body was reverred as that of a saint. From the end of the 8th century, the isolated island with its rich monastery was easy prey for Viking raiders.
In 875 the monks left, carrying Cuthbert’s remains, which after long wanderings were enshrined in Durham Cathedral in 1104, where they still rest. Only after that time did Durham monks re-establish a priory on Lindisfarne. The small community lived quietly on Holy Island until the suppression of the monastery by Henry VIII in 1537.
By the later 18th century the by now ruinous remains had become a popular tourist attraction for antiquarians and artists. Drawings and descriptions of the priory show that until about 1780 the church survived virtually intact. By the 1820s, however, the central tower and south aisle had collapsed.
A local landowner, Mr Selby, acquired the site in the early 19th century, and consolidated the remains. Despite his efforts, the west front collapsed in the 1850s. Sir William Crossman excavated the monastic buildings in the late 19th century, and in the early 20th century the church was excavated and the walls were consolidated.
Lindisfarne is internationally famous both for its medieval religious heritage and also its more recent picturesque 16th century castle. These, together with most of the community, are located on the Southern part of the island – the main focus for tourists and holidaymakers.
The island’s museum tells the story of St Cuthbert and the development of Lindisfarne Priory. English Heritage hosts a programme of living history events at the priory during the summer.
Visitors must check crossing times before visiting the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. It is linked to the mainland by a causeway which is cut off twice daily by fast incoming tides.
The nearest mainline train station is Berwick-upon-Tweed and there is a regional bus, a local bus, a ‘HOPPA’ minibus.
]]>Originally built in the 1700s, the town, called Karmylassos in Greek, was home to as many as 20,000 Greek Orthodox residents by the early 20th century. The messy fallout of World War One and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire led to the land grabs of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). The resounding loss of the Greeks in this war ended with violence and retribution, which was often aimed at the remaining Greek Orthodox community within the new Turkish borders, and in turn, against the Muslim Turks in Greece.
Hundreds of thousands of Greeks fled the violence in Turkey, which led the governments to agree to a mutual compulsory population exchange starting in 1923 in order to staunch the bloodshed.
The residents of Kayakoy, who up to this point had lived peacefully with their Turkish neighbours, abandoned the town and went to Greece, which was struggling to find places for the nearly 200,000 refugees of the exchange, added to the more than a million former Turkish residents who had fled before the official exchange.
Abandoned and ignored for almost a hundred years, the site was saved from developers to now stand as an historic attraction which is beginning to draw visitors from across the globe.
Described by some as a ghost-town, this once-lively Greek settlement perched on a hill now consists of almost five hundred decaying houses along with the forlorn remains of two derelict churches, mostly dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the houses are run down and abandoned – with natural decay taking its toll on wooden doors, windows and upper coverings of buildings – the majority of the structures themselves are still intact, leaving an eerie atmosphere weaving through the ruins.
In more recent times, Kayakoy has risen to prominence due to its connection to the novel Bird Without Wings, by Louis de Bernières. The novel is set in the fictional town of Eskibahçe, which is based on Kayakoy.
The closest airport is Dalaman. The village is a short drive from Oludeniz, or a 2 1/2 hour walk along a marked mountain path.
]]>First mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon will of about 900 AD, Kersey was already a thriving community at the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Domesday Book of 1086 described the village’s inhabitants and their farming activities, as well as mentioning the church. Kersey enjoyed prosperity from the 12th century onwards during the heyday of the Suffolk wool trade in the Middle Ages. Kersey was known for its coarse twill broadcloth that was an important component of the textile trade in Medieval England.
Kersey wool was being woven as early as 1262 in Andover, Hampshire, where regulations prohibited the inclusion of Spanish wool in kerseys. English kerseys were widely exported to central Europe and other places. Many of the attractive cottages in the village were home to families of weavers.
Several of the houses show medieval pargetting, or decorative plasterwork, a specialty of East Anglian houses. According to architectural historians, Kersey probably has the best collection of medieval buildings in East Anglia, dating between the 13th and 15th centuries. The main street has a ford across a stream, known as the Kersey Splash.
St Mary’s Church, Kersey is a Grade I listed parish church. In Medieval times it was an important site of pilgrimage with a shrine filling the whole north aisle.
The church survived Henry VIII’s dissolution programme but was destroyed by Cromwell’s soldiers during the Civil War. The oldest parts of the church date to the 12th century. A reconstruction of the church is thought to have started with the north aisle which was joined to the nave by an arcade and completed in 1335. Work then started on the tower, but was delayed by the outbreak of the black death in 1349. The tower was completed in 1481 and the north and south porches were then added.
Kersey is a picturesque village that is particularly popular in the summer. Nestled in the beautiful Suffolk countryside, many visitors enjoy the numerous walks in the area as well as soaking in the peaceful atmosphere and traditional architecture. Suffolk hosts a walking festival each spring.
Kersey no longer has its own bus service within the village. Many visitors choose to drive to the village, the nearest train station is Sudbury.
]]>The village is a popular tourist attraction because of its extraordinary name which is made up of 58 characters split into 18 syllables. It is widely purported to be the longest place name in Europe and the second longest one-word place name in the world.
Today, a few thousand local residents welcome around 200,000 visitors per year to the village, with the most popular site being the Llanfairpwll railway station that features the plate with the full name of the village.
There has been human settlement and activity in the area since the Neolithic era (4000-2000 BC), with fishing and agriculture being the main occupations for most of the village’s early history. It was captured by Roman forces and held until the end of Roman Britain.
Though it has been a site of some religious activity, the rural nature of the settlement meant that in 1563, the population was only around 80 people. However, when Anglesey was connected with the rest of Wales via Thomas Telford’s Menai Suspension Bridge in 1826, the population increased. When the Britannia Bridge and North Wales Coast railway line was constructed in 1850, the population increased yet again. Today, the population stands at just over 3,000.
The village’s name translates to ‘St. Mary’s Church in the hollow of white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio near the red cave.’
It is thought that longer versions of the name were first introduced in 1869 as a way of improving tourism in the area. According to Welsh linguist and poet Sir John Morris-Jones, the name was created by a local tailor whose name he never divulged.
From 1900-1910, a local shopkeeper devised “An English, Irish and Scotchman’s cure for Lock-jaw”, which comprised a sealed envelope with instructions inside.
Today, the village is certainly most well-known for its unusual name. However, there are other sites in the area such as Anglesey Sea Zoo, Bryn Celli Ddu Burial Chamber, St Tysilio’s Church, Menai Bridge and Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens.
The area is also known for its natural beauty: Anglesey is included on the northern section Lôn Las Cymru trail, Wales’ long-distance cycling route, which translates to ‘Wales’ Green Lane’.
The village is located in the Welsh Isle of Anglesey, just over the Menai Strait from Bangor on the mainland and easily accessible by train. If you are travelling from London, there’s an hourly train service from London to Chester which offers a connection to the village along the way.
]]>Nelson, or by his Xhosa name, Rolihlahla, Mandela moved with his mother to Qunu from Mvezo after the death of his father. It was in Qunu that Mandela became the first of his family to go to school, and was given the English name ‘Nelson’ by his primary teacher. In February 1990, after 27 years in prison for his anti-apartheid campaigning, Mandela’s unconditional release was announced by then President F. W. de Klerk. Mandela returned to Qunu and built his house.
Later, after his term as South African President ended in June 1999, Mandela aimed to lead a quiet family life divided between Johannesburg and Qunu. After a state funeral on 15 December 2015, Mandela was buried at Qunu in the grounds of his home.
In 1990, the Nelson Mandela Museum opened, including the Nelson Mandela Youth and Heritage Centre and the location in Bhunga. Six miles from Qunu, Mqhekezweni was made a Great Place Heritage site in 2013; specifically the honour recognised the old gum trees under which Mandela was taught history and politics by Thembu Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo (also his uncle) when under his care from ages 10 to 18.
Today, you can see painted yellow footprints, representing the steps of former president Mandela, that guide visitors around the heritage site. You can also visit the open-air Nelson Mandela Museum with the permission of the chief, so it is best to contact the museum in advance to avoid disappointment.
Qunu still largely remains the village of Mandela’s childhood: beehive-shaped mud-walled houses and rondavels with both thatched and iron roofs, with chickens and sheep still dotting the fields. Take a moment to survey the landscape, set within the rolling hills of former apartheid ‘independent state’ Transkei, resultantly a great source of unrest, as you look out over Mandela’s coral-coloured home.
Due to Qunu’s remote location, you can only reach it via car. Find it along the N2 highway, a 35 minute drive from the province’s capital city, Mthatha, which has an airport.
]]>Ruapekapeka Pa was the site of one of the last military confrontations between British forces and Maori tribes in the War of the North, a conflict which erupted over British policies seen as unfavourable to the Maoris.
The local Maoris spent months preparing for the battle at Ruapekapeka Pa. Knowing that the British had far superior firepower, their leader, chief Te Ruki Kawiti, created a formidable defensive area (or “pa”) which consisted of a network of trenches and tunnels.
In December 1845, the British arrived at Ruapekapeka Pa. They were faced with a significant challenge from the Maori and, despite the fact that they eventually managed to break through the defences, the Maoris escaped. Eventually, after some time, a peace was forged between the two sides.
The fact that no provisions or ammunition were left behind in the pā suggests that the Maori ‘escape’ was an organised withdrawal. The pā may have served its purpose and been abandoned. The defenders may also have hoped that the soldiers would be drawn into an ambush by Heke and his men in the dense bush outside the pā. On the other hand, Kawiti and his men may have taken what they saw as their best chance to escape.
To the British, the capture of such an intricately designed and well-constructed pā was a significant achievement – a tactical victory. Yet many consider the battle to have been drawn. Heke and Kawiti had escaped with their forces largely intact, and the terms of the subsequent peace settlement suggest that they may even have won a strategic victory.
Today, visitors can embark on a self-guided walk of the site, where the trenches dug by the Maoris are still visible.
From Whangārei, follow SH1 north for 35 km. Just past the Towai service station, turn right into Ruapekapeka Road and follow this for 4 km. You will see signs for Ruapekapeka and the carpark 300 m beyond the intersection where Ruapekapeka Road meets Kawakawa Road. The road is unsealed and narrow in places so take care.
The car park is signposted, and it can easily accommodate campervans.
]]>The significance of Tordesillas in Spanish history lies in two events: the signing of the treaty between Portugal and what is now Spain, and the incarceration of Juana of Castile.
The treaty signed in 1494, established the division of how the New World, and its valuable resources would be divided up between Spain and Portugal. This treaty, which was soon ignored by both signatories, has given a certain amount of fame to the name Tordesillas.
What makes the name of Tordesillas more recognisable to modern History enthusiasts is the fact that Juana of Castile (also known as ‘la Loca’) was incarcerated there for nearly fifty years. Juana was the third child of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, and she had been married at the age of 16 to Philip the Fair a Hapsburg Prince. Due to the failure of the senior lines of the family, Juana stood to inherit both thrones on the death of her parents.
Isabella died in 1504, and when Juana claimed her inheritance, Philip became, by right of his marriage, de facto King. He consistently tried to usurp her powers as Queen Regnant, and put out rumours that she was mad. However, he died in 1506, leaving Ferdinand to become joint ruler with Juana. To achieve his ambition of becoming sole ruler of Castile, Ferdinand had Juana imprisoned in the convent in Tordsillas.by reason of her ‘madness’.
She was supposed to have had Philip embalmed and she took him with her into her prison. On the death of her father in 1516, and the accession of her son, Charles I, both crowns were united.(Charles is better known as the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V). Juana again had her rights usurped, and she was kept a prisoner, isolated in windowless rooms in the convent, until her death in 1555 at the age of 75.
Although she has gone down in history as ‘la Loca’, modern medical thinking is that she was either clinically depressed or schizophrenic.
Today, you can see the convent where Juana spent most of her life. Amongst the other interesting places in the town are four rather beautiful churches, two more convents and, of course, the Plaza Mayor. The town also has a museum dedicated to the 1494 treaty and its consequences.
Tordesillas is about 30km south west of the city of Valladolid on the A-62 and 90km north east of Salamanca. There’s a direct train from Valladolid (50 minutes) if you don’t have a car. The town is easily explored on foot once you’re there.
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