Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Lloegr

Ledbury is a small, yet bustling and vibrant market town in Herefordshire. It offers quite a lot of beautiful Tudor timber framed black and white buildings. Among them the Market House (PiP 3) on stilts, building started in 1617 and was completed in 1668. It is considered being one of the most beautiful examples in England and still hosts markets. But for me the most picturesque part of the town was Church Lane (main picture, PiP’s 1 and 2). A beautiful medieval cobble stoned street just behind the Market House, lined with stunning timber framed structures, offering tea rooms, a museum and at the end of the quaint street a beautiful church. It felt if I was stepping back in time.

Evesham is a little market town on the banks of the River Avon. This little town was not only the site of the major Battle of Evesham, but also home to one of Europe's largest abbeys. The abbey was founded around the year of 700 by Saint Egwin. The abbey is of Benedictine origin, and became in its heyday one of the wealthiest in the country. At the height of its power and fame, the abbey church had 15 alters, a significance of the affluence enjoyed by the monks of Evesham Abbey Bell tower was built around 1530 by Abbott Lichfield, just ten years before the abbey was dissolved by King Henry VIII. The bell tower is all that survives, because the inhabitants of Evesham bought it. Nowadays this 16th century bell tower - holding 14 bells - is considered being one of the best rings in England. During all the years the iconic bell tower was restored several times; in 2015 and 2016 it had its last extensive restoration.

Stanton was one of the prettiest and picturesque villages of the Cotswolds during our visit. Walking around it looked as if time had stood still and little or nothing had changed in the past years and that all without tourists (and shops). It has a couple of streets lined with ancient houses (PiP1), built in authentic Cotswold style with honey coloured Jurassic limestone walls and pitched gables. The village has some 16th, 17th and 18th century houses and a restored medieval cross (PiP2). Stanton is derived from 'stan' (stone), from which it is built. At the end of the village stands the Mount Inn on a mount. From the terrace one has wonderful panoramic views of the village and the surrounding Cotswold landscape. Just a pitty that we were too early, as the pub was still closed. Mount Inn is a village pub, dating back to the early 17th century, when it was a farm house.

Lower Slaughter is one of the most authentic and beautiful Cotswold villages with its limestone cottages in the traditional style (PiP 1 and 2). During our visit not overcrowded with tourists (like other nearby villages like Bourton-on-the Water or Broadway) and an ideal peaceful place for a walk around the splendid Saint Mary’s Church and along the River Eye, a stream peacefully running through the village crossed by two narrow footbridges. The name of the village of Lower (and Upper) Slaughter derives from the old English name for a wet land 'slough' or 'slothre' (= muddy place) upon which it lies. “The Old Mill” is the main attraction in the quaint village. Already in the year of 1086 a mill is recorded on this site; in the 14th century it had begun to be known as “Slaughter Mill”. The present mill was built in the 19th century. Nowadays it offers a museum, craft shop and tea-room with a wonderful terrace along the River Eye (PiP 3 and 4).

The ‘Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin and St Ethelbert the King’ is the mother church of the diocese of Hereford and the seat of the bishop. Its history is stretching back to the 7th century and is one of the nine cathedrals of the ‘Old Foundation’, whose constitution remained undisturbed by the Reformation. The cathedral is a building of great antiquity - the date of its foundation is traditionally given as 696 - and beautiful ecclesiastical architecture. The building has examples of architecture from many periods: the stately nave from the 12th century; the graceful Lady Chapel from the 13th century; the central tower from the 14th century and the Stanbury Chapel from the 15th century. The cathedral is constantly changing. It has been in great peril several times during its lifetime: in 1786 when the west end collapsed and during the 1840’s when the Lady Chapel was in danger of falling. More recently a great deal of time and money has been spent on the stonework of the building. Hereford Cathedral with its impressive interior (PiP1)contains some of the finest examples of architecture from Norman times to the present day, including the 13th century Shrine of St. Thomas of Hereford (PiP2). It also offers the medieval map ‘Mappa Mundi’ and the unique Chained Library (PiP3).

The parish church at Kilpeck, officially Church of St Mary and St David, is one of the finest surviving examples of the Herefordshire School of stonemasons. It is remarkable that so little is definitely known of the history of the church; the date of its commissioning and dedication is not confirmed, but is probably from about 1140 and is little changed since. Until about 1840 there appears to have been nothing written about the church, when a privately commissioned and funded book “The Sculptures of Kilpeck” was written, where the carvings and views were first illustrated. If any church deserves the word “extraordinary” it is the church at Kilpeck. The church is famous for its Norman carvings in the local red sandstone, which are remarkable for the number and fine preservation, particularly round the south door with its double columns (PiP) and a row of 85 corbels, which run right around the exterior of the church under the eaves. Many of the elaborate corbels (PiP) have a distinctly un-Christian nature. Celtic, Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon and pagan imagery vies with Christian iconography in a riot of dragons, warriors, monsters, animal heads, birds, beasts and obscene subjects. It is generally presumed that these corbels were intended to teach something, however many also seem to be simply entertaining or the ideas of the individual carvers.

Abbey Dore Court is a 18th century coaching inn with a Victorian (PiP 1) wing attached. It is situated within the renowned Abbey Dore Court Gardens: a mature, six acre, plant-lovers’ garden developed by the present owner Charis Ward with formal, wild and river areas set in the Herefordshire countryside. Just over the River Dore bridge is a further four acre meadow full of unusual trees. Abbey Dore Court Gardens - open to the public since 1976 - are made up of a number of very different parts. Just after the entrance one will find a relatively new area with bamboos, trees and shrubs and several borders add colour and interest. The walled garden has nine individual borders, divided by brick paths. Along the River Dore is a wild garden full of trees, shrubs and bulbs. The arboretum offers young and unusual trees but also two large sequoias.

Chester Rows can be found in the four main streets in the centre of Chester. They consist of covered and continuous half-timbered walkways at the first floor with shops and other premises. At street level there are also retail premises, which can be entered by going down a few steps. Some original 13th century buildings, have survived the ravages of time, but many of the impressive facades are Victorian copies. The Rows, with its double-decker architectural design, are unique in the world. The earliest written records of the Rows date back to the 11th and 12th centuries, but it’s possible they actually existed in some form for many centuries before that. Most probably they may have been built on top of rubble remaining from the ruins of Roman buildings. Still their origin is subject to speculation. Undercrofts were constructed beneath the buildings in the Rows. The undercrofts were in stone while most of the buildings in the Rows were in timber.

St. Peter’s Church in Melverley is situated on the banks of the River Vyrnwy. The church was rebuilt in 1406 to replace the wooden chapel, which was burnt down during the Welsh uprisings in 1401. All that remains of the old building is the Saxon font, which is still used for baptisms today. It features also a Jacobean pulpit and a lectum (1727) with a chained bible. The current timber-framed, wattle and daub, black and white church is one of only three such churches to be found in Shropshire and one of twenty-seven in England and the oldest of its kind. There is not one nail in the building.

Most of the timber framed houses in Shrewsbury are dating back to the 15th and 16th century and were erected in the ‘golden years’ of wool trade in the city. Abbot’s House in Butcher Row in the centre of town is one of the oldest timber framed houses in Shrewsbury. The house was built in 1459 by the Abbot of Lilleshall as an investment for his abbey. The windows at the bottom of were all separate butchers' shops, used until the mid-1800s; on the floors were tenements.

The mansion was built in 1785 for Noel Hill, first Baron Berwick. Noel Hill already owned a house on the site of Attingham Park called Tern Hall, but with money he received along with his title he commissioned an architect to design a new and grander house to be build around the original hall. The new country house encompassed the old property entirely, and once completed it was given the name Attingham Hall. Attingham Hall and its beautiful parkland were owned by one family for more than 160 years. The Attingham Estate, comprising the mansion and some 650 acres, was gifted to the National Trust in 1947.

The Beauchamp Chapel is considered being the finest medieval chapel in England. The chapel, situated at the south-east of the Collegiate Church of St. Mary, was built at the behest of Richard de Beauchamp (1382–1439), 13th Earl of Warwick, a nobleman and military commander. Richard de Beauchamp's will was made in 1437 and two years later he died. Most of his property was entailed, but with a portion of the rest the will established a substantial trust. The trust endowed the St Mary’s Church and called for the construction of a new chapel there. Construction started shortly after his death with the foundation stone being laid in 1443; the chapel was completed in 1462. In 1475 the body of De Beauchamp was transferred to this family mausoleum. The Beauchamp Chantry is composed of three bays, at the centre of which is the tomb of Richard de Beauchamp with its gilt-bronze monumental effigy. Beside the tomb of Earl Richard is that of Ambrose Dudley, whose effigy wears a gilded iron coronet (PiP). But the grandest tomb of is that of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and his wife Lettice. His tomb is set into the north wall of the chapel, beneath a gilded canopy.

Chester Cathedral is an ancient abbey and a remarkable building of international importance that has played a significant role in shaping the history of Chester. There have been churches on the site of the Chester Cathedral for some 1.400 years. After the departure of the Romans, churches were built by the Saxons. In the year of 907 a church dedicated to the Anglo-Saxon princess St. Werburgh was constructed. The church housed her remains and pilgrims made their way to the cathedral. In 1092 a Benedictine abbey was founded by the Normans. The monastery remained on the site for nearly 500 years until King Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries in England. Fortunately the king handed the monastic buildings back to serve as the cathedral church of the new diocese of Chester in 1541. Over the centuries much of the soft red sandstone has become eroded and much of what we see today is the result of enthusiastic restoration during the Victorian period. The interior offers some treasures of national significance, including the finest pinnacled medieval choir stalls (main picture), dating back to the late 14th century.

The Lord Leycester Hospital has never been a medical establishment. The word hospital is used in its ancient sens, meaning ‘a charitable institution for the housing and maintenance of the needy, infirm or aged’. In 1571 Robert Duydley, Earl of Leicester, founded a retirement home for disabled soldiers and their wives. His ‘hospital’ was set up in buildings which were already more than 150 years old, when it was the home of Warwick’s medieval guilds. The hospital, now a self-supporting charity, continues to provide a home for ‘the Brethen’, as they are still known. They make together with their wives a key contribution to ensuring that this architectural gem is accessible for visitors.

Althorp is a wonderful stately homen and an estate of about 5.300 ha. It has been held by the prominent aristocratic Spencer family for more than 500 years and has been owned by Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer since 1992. Althorp House (main picture and PiP 1) was a classical red brick Tudor building, but its appearance was radically altered, starting in 1788, when extensive changes were made. The house is surrounded by a formal garden and a walled park. Althorp was also the home of Lady Diana Spencer, later Princess of Wales, before her marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales. After her dead she was interred - 06.09.1997 - on a small island in the middle of the so called Round Oval Lake (PiP 2). A Doric-style temple with Diana's name inscribed on top is situated at the edge of the pond.

The Cistercian Abbey of St Mary and St Chad is dating back to the year of 1135 and was founded as a Savignac monastery. It was was inhabited by a small community of monks. The stone from which the abbey was built came from a quarry in the nearby settlement of Broseley. The main income for the abbey came from tolls charged on the adjacent bridge over the river Severn. Located near the border of Wales meant the abbey was destined to have a turbulent history. Welsh Princes and their followers regularly raided the Abbey and on one occasion in 1406 even kidnapped the abbot. The abbey was closed in 1536 by the order of Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The remaining buildings - situated on the banks of the river Severn - are now in the care of English Heritage and are open to the public. They can view the church, which remains largely complete and unaltered since its construction, although it is now without its roof. The impressive ruins are considered being one of the best preserved 12th-century examples of a Cistercian church in Britain.