Did You Know? – Britain

On a seasonal tour of Britain, we would like to explore hidden gems. And we’re asking you … Did you know?

Art House

Art and antiques lovers flock to Blenheim Palace (above), home to a sumptuous art collection, all through the year, but did you know that one of the best art and antiques fairs outside London also takes place there? The Cotswolds boast the highest concentration of art and antiques outside the capital and the Cotswolds Art and Antique Dealers’ Association (CADA), formed in 1978, holds its 2017 fair at Blenheim from 30 March to 2 April. This year’s theme is “the CADA Menagerie” with a special focus on works of art depicting animals. In addition to an exceptional display of art and antiques in an exquisite historic setting – the Palace’s Campaign Rooms and Orangery – the complimentary invitation available from the CADA website admits two to the fair and palace grounds.

Sweet Sixteen

Did you know that near Exmouth, in Devon, you’ll find a unique treasure trove of a house with not four but 16 sides? Inspired by their travels, and in particular by the 6th-century Byzantine basilica of San Vitale at Ravenna, cousins Jane and Mary Parminter decided to create a retreat, A la Ronde, in 1796 to house their souvenirs. The result is a place described by architectural writer Lucinda Lambton as having “a magical strangeness that one might dream of only as a child”. Highlights include the house’s famous Shell Gallery, with 25,000 intricately arranged seashells, the eight-doored Octagon room and the spectacular feather frieze.

Spirited Away

The Loch Ness Monster is Scotland’s most famous mythical creature, but did you know a shape-shifting spirit called the kelpie is also said to haunt the lochs and lonely rivers? Said to appear as a lost grey pony, with a dripping wet mane, the kelpie would lure its victims to take a ride on its back before carrying them down to a watery grave. Sometimes, it’s said, kelpies appear by the waterside in the form of a beautiful woman to lure men to their death. Today, these creatures have been immortalised in the famous sculptures at Falkirk and in the poetry of Scotland’s bard, Robert Burns.

In the Dog House

When Sir Thomas Colyer-Fergusson bought Ightham Mote in 1890, he set about turning the neglected 14th-century moated manor house into the ideal residence for a Victorian gentleman and his family. As well as making substantial repairs and alterations to the property near Sevenoaks in Kent, which included central heating, a billiard room and a bathroom, a spectacular kennel for a St Bernard dog called Dido was also added. The large kennel survives to this day as Britain’s only Grade I-listed dog house.

How Do You Like Them Apples?

Twelfth Night is best known today for being the point after which it is unlucky to leave Christmas decorations hanging, but did you know it used to rival Christmas Day for festive game-playing and eating? Marking the Feast of the Epiphany when the three wise men arrived in Bethlehem, there is some debate about when it falls – the Church of England has settled on 5 January. There were Twelfth Night traditions such as the Yule log, which was lit on Christmas Day and remained burning until Twelfth Night to bring good fortune for the coming year, and traditional food and drink consumed, such as Twelfth Cake, a rich fruitcake, and a Twelfth Night punch known as “wassail”. The tradition associated with the latter, wassailing, still takes place in parts of Britain today around Twelfth Night, particularly in cider-making regions such as Somerset where the oldest tree in the orchard is toasted then serenaded with wassail songs. In Bolney, Sussex, they take the custom one step further with “Apple Howling” – a noisy vocal display to scare off evil spirits – on the first Saturday of January.