Gosfield Hall is a country house in the village of Gosfield, near Braintree in Essex, UK. The house was built in 1545 by Sir John Wentworth and hosted visits by Queen Elizabeth I during the 16th century. It has been variously remodelled and extended by numerous owners over the centuries. For instance, the magnificent ballroom and the deer park were added by the Marquis of Buckingham. Gosfield Hall became the home of King Louis XVIII and his Queen Marie-Josephine-Louise of Savoy during the French Revolution. They had fled France, and the guillotine, to live in style with over 300 courtiers and staff. |
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The Church of St Mary ans St Martin, Kirton, Suffolk, dates back to the 14h century. The honey-coloured tower postdates the rest of the building, having been erected about 1520, and incorporates blocks of septaria from the nearby beaches. The interior features white walls, and modern glass and hangings. There is also a 19th century north aisle, a Norman font, a particularly simple chancel, and an usual example of the royal arms of Elizabeth II. |
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The River Alde rises near Laxfield, Suffolk, and flows towards Aldeburgh before following the coast south to Orford, where it is known as the River Ore. King Henry II built a castle in Orford to guard the estuary. Construction began in 1165 and ended in 1173. The estuary has moved steadily southwards over the centuries as the Orford Ness, the longest vegetated shingle spit in Europe, has grown in length. The river now emerges into the sea some five miles further south at Shingle Street, a small hamlet close to Bawdsey. |
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Santorini, one of the Greek Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea, was devastated by a huge volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC. This event created the island's current rugged landscape. The whitewashed, cubist houses of Santorini's principal towns, Fira and Oia, cling to spectacular cliffs that overlook the main caldera. |
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Grundisburgh is a small village in rural Suffolk that has retained much of its old-world charm. It has a traditional village green enclosed by the local church, the school, and even a small forded stream complete with a variety of ducks. |
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