#dorney-court

#dorney-court

The tulips gained fame in 1912, when it was widely reported that a tulip with four distinct blooms on one stem had been spotted at the palace, and the following year, it was reported that the palace had its best display in many years.

Theodore Roszak's 35-foot gilded eagle - an original feature from the building's Embassy era - watches over the square from the newly added seventh floor.

It's not a house of outstanding art, being a self-taught carver whose skills evidently advanced over the years, as you can see the evolution from fairly rough carving on the stairs to the very skilled work in the living room. He also created the paintings on the walls - talented chap - but never finished the carving in the living room, as his time finally ran out.

The Peers' Dining Rooms will offer a seasonal set menu at £70 per person, with additional charges for drinks and a 12.5% service charge.

Twelve weeks after coming on the market, the Surrey house used to portray the home of actress Maggie Smith's character, Lady Violet Crawley, found a buyer and recently closed along with several adjacent properties for nearly $9 million. Known as Dower House on the TV series, it was built around 1686.

He was immediately taken by the way she lit up the room, and eventually won her over with the mixtape-style CDs he made for her. Eighteen months after they started dating, Stephen proposed before a dinner at The Inn at Little Washington-a proposal followed up with another surprise: a celebratory stay on the property.

The mausoleum was designed by his wife in the shape of the tent they had spent so much time in while travelling around the Middle East, featuring a ladder at the back and a glass window to peer into the tomb itself.

Despite its proximity to one of London's busiest tourist attractions, its back street location is remarkably quiet and peaceful. Leading off Stafford Place, it was originally, and unsurprisingly, called Stafford Mews, as it was built as stabling for houses on Buckingham Gate, facing the palace. Constructed around 1860, the stables were simple two-storey houses, built initially with stables at the ground and accommodation above.

The charming Amersham fairground organ museum, which is usually open a few Sundays per year, has now started offering guided tours. The occasional open days are more a chance to sit and listen to the old fair organs playing their pipes, and have a nice lunch at the same time. However, the guided tours, which will take place on Saturdays, will offer a deeper dive into their collection of organs and the music cards that control them.

A string quartet was playing in the hotel's lobby on our arrival, and the music drifted gently through to the Green Parlour as we took our tea. The tea room itself is unmilitary in style, with lots of soft greens and botanical art on the walls. For those who like their afternoon tea with bubbles, there's a choice of English sparkling wines at the Green Parlour.

A magnificent leather and golden silk slipper believed to have once been worn, then lost, or given away by King James II, is going on display at Killerton, a mansion in Devon which houses the National Trust's costume collection. He is said to have worn the slippers when visiting Coventry in in 1687, where a grand banquet was held in his honour, and may have given them to one of his hosts.

So, on Sunday 25th January, members of the reenactment society will converge on The Mall from all across the country, some arriving already dressed in buff coats and broad-brimmed hats, others changing into period clothing on arrival. There are pikes to be shouldered, muskets checked, and a few tentative practice swings as old drill is recalled, before the ranks are set and order restored.

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The afternoon starts with a tour of the Old Bailey, including the courtrooms, the judges' dining room, and the cells below. If you've booked the afternoon tea, you're taken back up to the richly decorated Great Hall for an afternoon tea surrounded by all the pomp and grandeur that the hall can deliver.

A Victorian drinking fountain has been restored to its original location following conservation, but it is not fully functional and cannot dispense drinking water. The Princes Circus fountain was installed in 1879 to commemorate Queen Victoria's 60th year on the throne, but was originally in a different location. It used to be a bit further north, on the junction of New Oxford Street and Shaftesbury Avenue, opposite Coptic Street. In 2003, it was moved to sit in a fenced-off island space outside the Shaftesbury Theatre.