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Posted 43 min 52 sec ago

Chichester Guildhall is now a private venue in which, appropriately, civil weddings take place. Prior to this, it was used for civil government but before the Reformation, Franciscan worship. In 1803, it hosted the trial of the poet William Blake for sedition, for having allegedly said:

Posted 1 day 43 min ago

Gloucester Cathedral I called at twenty-five years ago. Then, I had little interest in churches and cathedrals other than the cursory. Returning yesterday, a large choir festival was being planned and rehearsed, which gave the place a rather chaotic and cluttered feel, visitors only allowed to enter after midday, stepping over chairs and discarded barriers.

Posted 2 days 43 min ago

Sizergh Castle in Westmorland is one of those rather lovely country houses belonging to gentry rather than aristocracy, which in this case is the Strickland family. Perhaps for this very reason, much of the original fortified house survives. A wealthier, more fashionable family might have pulled down and rebuilt rather than made do with merely extending. Sizergh is the better for it.

Posted 3 days 43 min ago

Posted 4 days 43 min ago