Hidcote Manor Gardens in Gloucestershire

By: Blue Badge Tour Guide - Anne Bartlett
One of the most popular gardens to visit in Gloucestershire is Hidcote Manor Gardens right on the northern edge of the Cotswold escarpment above Chipping Campden.

Now if you have never visited Hidcote, it has the reputation of being one of the greatest gardens of the 20th century. It was built as a series of outdoor 'rooms', all with different themes such as the white garden, the red borders, the Fuchia garden, the stream garden and the wilderness to name but some.

It was over 100 years ago that a Mrs Gertrude Winthrop and her son Laurence Johnston bought the Hidcote Manor Estate. There was a large stone built farmhouse with a kitchen garden and lawn, and the rest of the estate was farmland. Johnston then aged about 36 set about designing and creating the various gardens from open fields working outwards from the house. He employed about 12 gardeners and between them they planted hedges to frame the different gardens, laid the paths and created the flower beds.

Amazingly Johnston was largely self taught, but he became a very knowledgeable plant expert, he enjoyed collecting rare and unusual plants himself. He went on expeditions to the Far East to find new plants; he also sponsored other people to go plant collecting for him so it became a very interesting and special garden.
The heyday of the garden was in the 1930’s but by the mid 1940’s Johnston was getting old and frail and he decided to move permanently to his other home in France. He gave Hidcote Manor Gardens to The National Trust and they took it over in 1948.

The National Trust has since owned Hidcote for a longer time than Laurence Johnston owned it. Recently the Trust was given a very large sum of money and they’ve raised a great deal more, in order to restore the estate to how it looked in its heyday.

Gardens are always changing and at Hidcote exciting new projects have been undertaken.
Yesterday, Thursday 29th July the restored sub tropical plant house was properly opened by Roy Lancaster - horticulturalist, writer and broadcaster.


For further information you can either look at the National Trust website which is nationaltrust.org.uk or you can telephone the garden – and the number is 01386 438333

For group guided  Cotswold coach tours- to include a visit to Hidcote Manor Gardens, contact:  anne@tourandexplore.com

Gruesome tales at Berkeley Castle

By: Blue Badge Tour Guide - Anne Bartlett

Recorded for: BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Saturday Breakfast Show

Berkeley Castle from the gardens

The other day I took a group of tourists to Berkeley in Gloucestershire to look around the oldest inhabited castle in the country. I was taking a guided coach tour around the South Cotswolds. The weather was absolutely glorious and, as we travelled down the Cotswold escarpment towards the castle, we enjoyed glorious views across to The Forest of Dean with landmark -May Hill and its distinctive top knot trees, clearly visible in the distance. We could make out the River Severn as it made its way out to the estuary.

The solid stone castle we were to visit guards the Severn estuary. Generations of the Berkeley family have lived there for over 850 year. In Medieval times they were noble knights who kept and trained a private army to fight for their king when needed.

When we arrived at Berkeley castle we were warmly welcomed and shown into the inner courtyard, which is completely surrounded by fortified buildings. The oldest part, the Keep dates back to 1117.

It was in the very first room of the Keep that we heard the gruesome story of how King Edward II met his early death. We looked down into a dungeon dropping 28 feet below us. This was where some prisoners were kept, but King Edward probably had more comfortable quarters in a small cell in the corner of the room. Legend has it that the king was held down in his cell, and a red hot poker inserted so that it went deep into his bowels, until his internal burns killed him. It is said that Edward’s screams were heard for miles around - hardly a good idea for those wanting to claim, as they did, that Edward had died a natural death. In actual fact, he was probably smothered, but why let a good story get in the way of the truth? Edward was killed on the orders of his wife Isabella and her lover, Roger Mortimer a very powerful and ambitious Marcher Lord who wanted to rule England.

Berkeley castle was involved in the Civil War in the 1640's when it endured a three-day siege and was captured by Parliamentary forces. A breach was made in the walling of the Keep which is still there today. In fact, the owners are forbidden by law even now to repair the damage!

The 14th century Great Hall with its lofty ceiling is typical for a medieval castle. It was where everyone who lived in the castle met and ate their meals. Pages and servants waited on table. Entertainment was a major feature of life in a medieval castle with music, dancing, jugglers, jesters, plays and masques.

We enjoyed our guided tour through all the state rooms, hearing about the Berkeley family through the centuries.

Outside, we enjoyed strolling around the well kept gardens before we got on the coach and headed back to Gloucester.

For a group guided coach tour to include Berkeley Castle contact anne@tourandexplore.com

A Restored Tudor House to explore in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire

By: Blue Badge Tour Guide - Anne Bartlett
Recorded for: BBC Radio Gloucestershire

Tourist Information Centre, Tewkesbury

I recommend a visit to Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire during the summer months. The town has a wealth of medieval buildings, and is so well preserved that it is considered to be one of the most important gem towns in Great Britain. This means that it is recommended for preservation by the state as part of our national heritage.

I’m therefore going to suggest that you include a beautifully restored early 16th century timber framed property on your itinerary. The building, which is of both architectural and historical importance, is on Church Street right by The Cross, and is distinctive as it has a large black Beadles Hat, an ancient trade sign, hanging from the first floor.

Inside the front door as you enter, there’s an Information Centre. The staff there are extremely helpful and they will provide booklets and a very good 'state of the art' hand held audio visual guide to help you with the interpretation of all the restoration work, as well as telling you about the interesting discoveries that were found during the process. You can then go through and explore the building in your own time.

During the restoration work, a huge amount of research was made on one of the owners, a Bartholomew Read, a prosperous glove maker, who lived through the Civil War, and Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth period, dying in 1680 during the reign of King Charles II. So, during a period of huge political and religious upheaval. The audio visual guide gives an account of Read, whose status and lifestyle is reflected in the light, spacious rooms on show in this Medieval property. Contrary to popular belief the typical Puritan household enjoyed alcohol as well as music, and domestic life was lived to the full with religion being an important influence on their daily lives.

A further large room upstairs on the second floor gives an account of the history and development of Tewkesbury from the Anglo Saxon Period through to the present day. A highlight of the display, are pictures and a description of the Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place in 1471.

Besides the permanent displays there is a special Summer Exhibition which is on at the moment and its called “The Art of Theatrical Costume” and has stunning outfits on loan from the Royal Shakespeare Company from productions put on by The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

100, Church Street or “Out of the Hat” as it is called is open throughout the year and opens 7 days a week during school holidays.

Children are made very welcome, and there are special museum trails, activities, interactive displays, quizzes and dressing up clothes available for them. Also during the school holidays there will be workshops and special events organised. Entry, for Adults is £3.50 and children £2.50. A family ticket is £10.00

For more information about visits to the restored Tudor property in Tewkesbury, the website is http://www.outofthehat.org.uk/ and the telephone number is 01684 855040.

For group guided tours around Tewkesbury either as part of a coach tour of the area, or a special walking tour of the town contact: anne@tourandexplore.com

Charles Rolls and his Wye Valley connections

By: Blue Badge Tour Guide - Anne Bartlett
Recorded for BBC Radio Gloucestershire Saturday Breakfast Show

Charles Rolls' statue in the centre
of Monmouth

The other day whilst doing a Forest of Dean coach tour we were travelling north along the A4136 running parallel to the River Wye and had glorious views down on the home town of pioneer motorist Charles Rolls and beyond into the Welsh countryside. This year is the centenary of the tragic death of Charles Rolls, so I reminded my group of locals from Gloucester about Charles’ eventful visit to their city in 1896.

Right up until 1896 every motor car, and there weren’t many about of course, that travelled on the roads had to have a man to walk in front of it, holding a red flag to warn people that the car was approaching. When the Red flag act was repealed, the emancipation of the motor car was celebrated with the London to Brighton Rally. The speed limit for cars was then increased from 4 to 14 miles an hour. And it was during that year that Charles Rolls was driving down Birdlip Hill when the brakes of his open topped Peugeot failed and the car sped down towards Brockworth, no doubt breaking the then speed limit.

Charles Rolls stopped at the New Inn in Northgate Street, Gloucester and the story goes that he was starting his car, I presume that he was using a crank handle, when the car started and ran him over! Fortunately only his pride was hurt!

Charles was later introduced to Henry Royce. Henry had a well established electrical and mechanical company and so they joined forces and worked together, Royce building and Rolls selling. In 1906 they had formed the Rolls Royce Company and were selling their classic car – The Silver Ghost.

Not content with speed on land Charles Rolls also learnt to fly, this was in the very early days when the Wright Brothers were developing their biplane. Charles bought a plane and made more than 200 flights and even set a record becoming the first man to cross the English Channel both ways in a single journey – a distance of 42 miles without stopping. Sadly it all ended in tragedy. Charles was killed aged 32, exactly 100 years ago on 12th July in an air crash at Hengistbury Airfield, Bournmouth when the tail of the plane broke off during an air display.

At the start of World War 1 Henry Royce was designing aero engines for planes built by the Gloster Aircraft Company. Rolls Royce developed the aero gas turbine engine that had been invented by Frank Whittle. Rolls Royce is now a global business and leads the world in building the most advanced jumbo jet engines, and its Filton works employs local people.

During July many places, including The Wye Valley, will be celebrating the life and significant achievements of the company founder Charles Rolls. There is an exhibition about him in the Nelson Museum in Monmouth until October.
For more about the celebrations in the Wye Valley there is a website http://www.monmouthevents.co.uk/

For Guided Coach Tours of The Forest of Dean and Wye Valley email: anne@tourandexplore.com

A Guided Tour of the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

By: Blue Badge Tour Guide - Anne Bartlett

The Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

A few weeks ago I went with a group on a guided tour of the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham.

We were greeted in the foyer by members of the theatre staff, and then shown into the auditorium where we were seated. Looking around, with the lights on, we could see that this much loved historic building was in need of restoration work and decoration. We were told about a £3m fund raising efforts to secure money for essential maintainance work. We were given a fascinating introductory talk about the history of the Theatre in Cheltenham.

The first theatre, was on a different site, and goes back to the 18th century. It was during King George III's visit to Cheltenham in 1788 that he made several visits to the theatre, enjoying performances by famous actresses such as Sarah Siddons as well as Dorothea Jordon. The theatre was very fashionable, however fifty years later it was in decline and the building was eventually destroyed by fire.

In 1891 a new theatre including opera house was built, to a design by Frank Matcham, one of the greatest theatre architects of the Victorian Age. We admired the intricate detail around the walls and balconies of the auditorium with its Rococo plaster work, its carvings and its painted ceilings, which, we were told, was the oldest surviving example of Matcham’s work still in use as a theatre today, so the decoration is very rare and very special.

We were given a look around behind the scenes and learnt so much about what went on. It was a very enjoyable tour.

Yesterday, we received great news. £500,000 has been granted to the Everyman Theatre by the Heritage Lottery fund which means that £2,750,000 of funding is now in place and the restoration work to the paintings and plasterwork followed by redecoration of the auditorium should begin in May 2011.

Guided tours of the Everyman Theatre are available still, but must be booked in advance. So do look on the website wwweverymantheatre.org.uk. Or telephone 01242 695574

For group guided coach tours of Cheltenham and the surrounding area or walking tours of the town contact anne@tourandexplore.com

Coal Mining in the Forest of Dean

By: Blue Badge Tour Guide - Anne Bartlett
Recorded for BBC Radio Gloucestershire:

Visiting the Forest of Dean for many people, means either forest walks, some cycling, bird watching or generally enjoying the areas of outstanding natural beauty.

However, deep underground in among the sandstone rocks are seams of coal which were laid down long before the last ice age. During the boom years of, the Industrial Revolution, the 19th and early 20th century this fossil fuel was needed to power the country. Thousands of Foresters, went underground to work in the harshest of conditions to dig out the coal.

Today, very little remains of the numerous collieries and transport systems that had developed in the Forest around 200 years ago. So, to discover more of the Forest’s industrial past I visited Robin Morgan, a free miner, who’s still digging out tons of coal from seams deep down in the Hopewell colliery. Robin, in his spare time has developed an old mine, laid paths, put in hand rails to comply with safety regulations, so that visitors can go underground to see the mining heritage and hear about the way of life of those involved in the coal industry.

Wearing a miner’s hat with a lamp on the front, I followed Robin into the cave. It took a while for my eyes to get used to the dark. As we walked down the paths and into the mine proper, Robin told me that in the early days we would have used candles to light our way. As we needed both our hands we would have had a candle holder called a Nellie, held between our teeth! (Thank goodness for batteries these days!). Fortunately there’s no explosive gas in the Forest pits, so naked flames weren’t a danger. Robin showed me the layers of rock and a seam of coal and explained how it was formed around 300 million years ago. I saw an area that a man would have had to lain on his side and holding a pick in both hands hack away to get the lumps of black coal.

In the early days, boys would have learnt to become colliers starting by dragging coal tubs out of the mines crawling on their hands and knees. The rock would have made their knees raw and the ropes would have dug into the shoulders and caused deep wounds.

Robin showed me some horse shoes that had been found in the mine and told me that a miner’s act in the middle of the 1800’s prohibited women from hauling coal in pits and gradually ponies took over the work. I heard about the ponies and how well they were cared for, becoming very close to the keepers that looked after them. Some of the ponies that worked in the deep mines, lived underground permanently, but at Hopewell they had outdoor stables, now hidden by the undergrowth. Horse drawn tram roads were built to Lydney docks and Bullo Pill so that the coal could be taken down to the river and across to Gloucester and Cheltenham.

Finally, we came out of the blackness of the mine at the far end. Walking out into the bright sunshine we were surrounded by lush green undergrowth. The scars on the landscape of all the mine workings now mostly disappeared. I’d had a fascinating insight into the industrial era of the forest over sixty years ago when ten thousand miners laboured in tunnels under the area I’d travelled over, extracting the black gold on which we had all depended.

If you want to go and visit the mine, Robin is still a full time miner but he does like to show people around. It’s a good idea to ring up and make an appointment and the phone number of the colliery is 01594 810706.

For guided group coach tours of the Forest of Dean - email: anne@tourandexplore.com

Westbury Court Gardens, Gloucestershire

By: Blue Badge Tour Guide - Anne Bartlett

 Westbury Court Gardens, Gloucestershire

Recorded for BBC Radio Gloucestershire - Tom Lowe's Saturday Breakfast Show
Westbury Court Garden is a rare survival of a Dutch Water Garden, a style of garden that became fashionable for the well-to-do during the reign of King William III (1650 - 1702)

A group of Cheltenham Wives organised an outing to Westbury-on-Severn to see the gardens. We were shown around by the enthusiastic head gardener who told us about the manor houses that were alongside the gardens here - sadly none of them survive.

By 1959 a developer had bought the estate, intending to fill in the canals, demolish the gardens and build 10 houses on the site. Fortunately the local council intervened. They purchased the garden and gave it to the care and protection of the National Trust in 1967. This became the Trust's first garden restoration, and they set about re establishing the planting schemes that would have been right for a 17th century Dutch style garden.

My photograph shows the view looking north from the tall pavilion. The pavilion had got so dilapidated that the National Trust had to demolish and rebuild it using the evidence of the foundations, and the picture of it in a Johannes Kip's engraving.

Although the pavilion was expensive to rebuild. It greatly enhances the garden, as the canal and geometric shapes of the hedging are best seen from above.

June and early July are probably the best times to visit the garden as they have the largest tulip tree in the country and it was starting to flower, so the head gardener took us across to see it. Nearby we saw an ancient holm oak tree planted in the 17th century and the largest on record.

Westbury is 9 miles south west of Gloucester on the A48

For group guided coach tours email: anne@tourandexplore.com or for general excursions contact Marchants coaches on 01242 257714