Fishbourne & the Weald and Downland Museum, England

This morning we visited the Fishbourne Roman Palace which was originally built in the 1st century AD. Half of the rectangular palace surrounding a formal garden has been reconstructed. The palace is now a museum with numerous mosaics.

In the afternoon we visited the Weald and Downland Museum, an open air museum which covers 50 acres with nearly 50 historic buildings dating from the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries.

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Bignor & Parham Park, England

This morning we visited the Bignor Roman Villa, a large Roman courtyard villa which has been excavated and put on public display. It is well known for its high quality mosaic floors, which are some of the most complete and intricate in the country. The villa was discovered in 1811 and opened to the public in 1814. The earliest structures date to around 200 and in its final form the villa would have consisted of some sixty-five rooms surrounding a courtyard. Less than 10 rooms now remain. Here are a few of the mosaics.

In the afternnon we visited Parham Park, an Elizabethan house built around 1577. In 1922 the house was purchased by the Pearson family. They spent more than 60 years carefully restoring Parham and filling it with a collection of beautiful old furniture, paintings and textiles, including a particularly important collection of early needlework. Sadly, no photography was allowed inside the house.

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Hampton Court Palace, England

We visited Hampton Court Palace today and the Royal School of Needlework which is located on the grounds. The palace is surrounded by beautiful gardens.

And fields full of daffodils.

The building is also quite impressive both outside

and inside.

We also saw some over-the-top incredible embroideries at the Royal School of Needlework but sadly we weren't allowed to take any photos.

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Salisbury & Shaftesbury, England

This morning we traveled to Salisbury to see another beautiful cathedral.

In the afternoon we went to Shaftesbury, a town which is known for its picturesque view.

While there we were given a lesson on making Dorset buttons. Here is the instruction book and the button I made.

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Winchester, England

We explored Winchester today and no visit would be complete without a stop at the Cathedral.

It even had a flooded crypt! Spooky!

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Abbotsbury & Dorchester, England

This morning we visited the Swannery at Abbotsbury, the only managed colony of nesting swans in the world. The colony can number over 600 swans with around 150 mating pairs.

In the afternoon we visited the Dorset County Museum to see their collection of Feather Stitch embroidery.

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Reading and Whitchurch, England

This morning we visited the Museum of English Rural Life at the University of Reading. The museum houses the most comprehensive national collection of objects relating to the history of food, farming and the countryside. There was a lot of farm equipment but also sewing machines, butter molds and other fun stuff. This is one of the beautiful old sewing machines.

They also had cute critters made of corn straw called "corn dollies".

And some really neat wall art made from old printing plates.

In the afternoon we visited the Whitchurch Silk Mill, a 19th century water mill that weaves English silk fabrics using 19th century machinery. The Mill is the oldest working silk mill in Britain, still weaving in its original building. The colors were just amazing.

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Tudor House, England

Today we toured Tudor House, Southampton’s most important historic building.
The house was originally constructed in the 1490s near Southampton's prosperous port by the builder of the Mary Rose, John Dawtry.
It is thought the house survived the World War II blitz because German pilots wanted to preserve nearby St Michael's church as a navigation aid.
With its Tudor banqueting hall, Georgian drawing room and Victorian kitchens, the Tudor House Museum has five centuries of life under one roof.

The is also a garden in back with a fountain, a seat arbour, and several cannons (something no garden should be without!).

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Southampton, England

Our adventure began today with a stop for lunch in Newbury in the Berkshire area of England on our way to Southampton. This is St Nicolas, a 16th century Norman church.

There was also a lovely old building with interesting supports for the balconies.

Southampton still has part of a medieval wall surrounding the old town. The wall was completed in the 14th century and today roughly half of the walls, 13 of the original towers, and six gates survive.

Southampton is also home to a lovely old pub called the Duke of Wellington. The dark timbered building was originally built upon Norman vaults and cellars in 1220 and was first leased out to Benedict Ace, one of the city's earliest mayors.
In 1494 the building was for the first time converted into a public house after being bought by brewer Rowland Johnson. Johnson not only sold drink but also started brewing his own and subsequently set up the city's first brewery.
In 1620 the pub would have been passed many times by the Pilgrim Fathers on their way to the Mayflower, which sailed its maiden voyage to the New World from the bottom of Bugle Street where the pub is located.

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