Much of the right-hand court is occupied by the privy garden created by Dudley for the queen. Now known as the Elizabethan Garden, it has recently been recreated on the basis of archaeological evidence and an account of the 1575 festivities by Robert Langham.

Like the queen, visitors approach through the keep’s forebuilding, which was remodelled in classical style for her 1575 visit. This gives onto a terrace with views of the garden below, as well as of the mere and chase to the north. The two arbours, one at each end of the terrace, described by Langham as ‘perfumed with sweet trees and flowers’, are now planted with scented plants (vines, honeysuckle, sweet musk rose).

The garden below is divided into quarters, with a pierced obelisk at the centre of each. Each quarter is subdivided into two knots, defined by low privet hedges, with intricate geometrical patterns of planting based on contemporary Flemish drawings. All the  flowering plants used are known to have been popular in Elizabeth’s day (carnations, pinks, stocks, wallflowers) and the focal points of the knots are small trees and shrubs (bay, holly, juniper, viburnum, rose).

At the centre of the garden is a spectacular fountain in Carrara marble, created on the basis of Langham’s description. The faces of the octagonal basin are carved with scenes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

On the northernmost side of the garden is an aviary, again constructed after Langham’s description, and now home to domesticated birds.

Kenilworth Castle stands on a low hill that was once at the heart of a 1,600 hectare (4,000 acre) park and surrounded by a vast man-made lake. The spectacular ruins, built mostly from the local red sandstone, reveal much of its medieval and Tudor past.

The castle is approached from the south by a causeway that acted initially as a dam for a lake (the mere) and later also as a tiltyard (jousting arena). At its outer end are the remains of the Gallery Tower, which guarded the entrance and later served as a spectators’ gallery for the tiltyard. Beyond is a large defensive earthwork known as the Brays.

At the further end of the causeway is Mortimer’s Tower, the main medieval entrance to the castle. It was built as part of King John’s ring of stone defences for the outer bailey between about 1210 and 1215, in front of a simpler, 12th-century gatehouse. Even in their ruined form, both gatehouses are remarkable survivals.

The outer curtain wall to the west and south has many buttresses but only two towers – Mortimer’s Tower at the south-east angle and the Swan Tower at the north-west. The north curtain wall was deliberately destroyed during the Civil War to make the castle indefensible, and only Lunn’s Tower at the north-east angle survives. To the east, between Lunn’s Tower and Mortimer’s Tower, is the semi-octagonal Water Tower.

Within the castle, on the higher ground to the west, lies the inner court, which is now enclosed by buildings on three sides. The apartments that formerly closed the inner court to the east, ‘King Henry’s Lodgings’, no longer survive.

On the north side is the massive sandstone keep or great tower, the defensive heart of the castle as well as the main residence during the 12th century. The two main floors were probably built in the 1120s, most of the top stage being added by King John about 1210–15. Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, introduced the large grid windows on the first floor in about 1570–71 to light a great room for entertaining. The north wall was demolished in 1649–50. On the west side is the forebuilding, which Dudley remodelled as an approach to the privy garden (see below).

To the west of the forebuilding is the magnificent sweep of buildings constructed from 1371 by John of Gaunt. His great hall is the centrepiece, an architectural masterpiece intended to convey his princely status and aspirations. The interior has vast traceried windows and a huge bay, and originally had no fewer than six fireplaces. The walls are decorated with stone panelling and would have displayed prized tapestries.

To the right are the remains of the kitchen, twice the size of a normal aristocratic kitchen, and the Strong Tower, which housed larders and lodgings. At the south end of the great hall are the Saintlowe Tower and the site of the state apartments. The apartments, which were on the first floor, are now lost, but their elegant entrance oriel survives.

At the east end of the state apartments and juxtaposed with the great tower to the north is the four-storey block known as Leicester’s Building, constructed by Robert Dudley in 1571–2 specifically to accommodate the queen during her progresses through the country. Elizabeth I used the building in 1572 and again in 1575. The block featured large glazed windows with superb views, huge fireplaces, and a luxuriously decorated and furnished chamber for dancing, a passion shared by Elizabeth and Dudley.

The rest of the castle’s interior, the outer court, is divided into three areas: the left-hand court, running south-west around the inner court; the right-hand court, north-west of the inner court; and the base court, stretching north from Mortimer’s Tower. Within the base court are the 16th-century stables built by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and an early 14th-century collegiate chapel.

Leicester’s Gatehouse, built by Robert Dudley on the north side of the base court, provided a grand new entrance to the castle, and gave access via a long bridge to the hunting ground created by Dudley north of the mere. After the Civil War, the building was converted into a residence, using stonework and interiors from elsewhere in the castle.

On arrival at Kitchen W8 we were offered an aperitif, perhaps we would like champagne? A perfect option to celebrate the birthday of a gentleman reaching a certain age. The food was delicious, the waiter attentive and always asking before pouring more wine. A perfect end to our stay in London.

His Choices:

Her Choices:

Shonibare’s scale model of Nelson’s flagship, Victory, is the world’s largest ship in a bottle. The model is rigged with sails, naval ensigns and signal flags shown as they were on the day of the Battle of Trafalgar. The only significant departure from historical reality is the design of the 37 sails, which derives from the brightly coloured patterns of Dutch-was fabric.*

*Info from a sign board next to the ’ship in a bottle’.

The Altazimuth Pavilion is topped with an unusual weather vane.

It is modelled on Halley’s Comet, as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. It was erected in June 1901, a few years after the building was completed but in time for the comet’s return in 1909. There is a clear link with the Observatory’s history since Halley was the second Astronomer Royal, although his famous prediction was made fifteen years before he took up the post. It is not clear why the illustration from the Bayeux Tapestry was used as inspiration, although its shape is ideal for catching the wind and echoes that of the weathervanes of the Royal Naval College down the hill.

This modern structure placed alongside the old observatory buildings draws the eye. It is only on closure inspection that all is revealed…

The truncated bronze cone covering the planetarium dome. Its form and orientation reflect the local meridian and latitude.

One of the Royal Observatory buildings is decorated with terracotta tiles and sculptures. Astronomia, a figure representing Astronomy particularly caught my eye.

The terracotta tiles and decorative sculpture are the work of Doulton & Co, of Lambeth. An art nouveau-inspired figure of Astronomia on the northwest side at the bottom of the old staircase is signed `WJ Neatby 1895′. The names of 24 important figures in English, and more particularly, Greenwich astronomy are displayed above the first floor windows. The seven previous Astronomers Royal – Flamsteed, Halley, Bradley, Bliss, Maskelyne, Pond and Airy take pole position with Newton at the cardinal and ordinal points. A cast of instrument makers, clockmakers and others of influential astronomers take up the rest – Wren, Horrox, Adams, Herschel, Sheepshanks, Baily, Simms, Troughton, Ramsden, Bird, Sharp, Graham, Dollond, Earnshaw, Arnold and Harrison.

Each of the windows on the ground floor (except those on the ends of the wings), has a Tudor Rose above them. These are of three slightly different designs, corresponding to the three phases in which the wings were built. At the upper levels, the ends of each wing are highly ornate. A bust of Flamsteed sculpted by J Raymond Smith is mounted above the front door on the north wing. The end of the south wing has a tribute to Queen Victoria. The end of the east wing commemorates the Royal Society and the west wing the Royal Astronomical society.

The Royal Observatory in Greenwich is the home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and the Prime Meridian of the world.

What is a meridian?

A meridian is a north-south line selected as the zero reference line for astronomical observations. By comparing thousands of observations taken from the same meridian it is possible to build up an accurate map of the sky.

Hemispheres

The line in Greenwich represents the Prime Meridian of the World – Longitude 0º. Every place on Earth is measured in terms of its distance east or west from this line. The line itself divides the eastern and western hemispheres of the Earth – just as the Equator divides the northern and southern hemispheres.

Where is the meridian?

In 1884 the Prime Meridian was defined by the position of the large ‘Transit Circle’ telescope in the Observatory’s Meridian Observatory. The transit circle was built by Sir George Biddell Airy, the 7th Astronomer Royal, in 1850. The cross-hairs in the eyepiece of the Transit Circle precisely defined Longitude 0° for the world. As the earth’s crust is moving very slightly all the time the exact position of the Prime Meridian is now moving very slightly too, but the original reference for the prime meridian of the world remains the Airy Transit Circle in the Royal Observatory, even if the exact location of the line may move to either side of Airy’s meridian.

The first public time signal was broadcast from  the roof of Flamsteed House in 1833. The idea of dropping a ball at a predetermined time was the brainchild of Captain Wauchope, RN, and was tested at the Naval College at Portsmouth before Maudslay & Field were commissioned to install the first Greenwich time-ball in that year.

The signal was (and is) given at 1 p.m. because the astronomers would be busy checking the rates of their clocks against the sun’s transit at noon. At 12.55 p.m. the ball is hoisted half-way up the mast – originally a signal for navigators on ships in the Thames and London docks to be ready.  At two minutes to the hour the ball is hoisted to the top of the mast and then drops precisely at 1 p,m. From this, sea captains about to sail could check the rate of their marine chronometers, which were in wide use by the 1830s.*

*From the Royal Observatory Greenwich Souvenir Guide

The gnomon or pointer of the sundial is formed by the tips of two dolphins’ tails, which almost meet. The tails cast a shadow onto the dial plate, which is engraved with thick curved lines representing the hours. Thinner lines indicate 10-minute intervals between each hour.

The dial plate has curved lines rather than straight ones, to allow for the variations in the Sun’s apparent daily motion. The plate used in summer shows British Summer Time; that used in winter shows Greenwich Mean Time.

The mid-point between the dolphins tail-tips indicates the correct time.