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Bisham Church sits in an idyllic spot down by the River Thames. The churchyard is a surprisingly popular place on a sunny day. A peek inside the church is well rewarded (See “Beaten till the Blood Ran”). However, the tomb of Elizabeth I’s children is less than obvious, if indeed any outward signs of it still exist. “Elizabeth’s Well” is a spring in the nearby grounds of Bisham Abbey.

To describe Hamstead Marshall House as a palace in the sixteenth century would be hardly accurate. The tradition, no doubt, remembers the palatial mansion which did once stand in Hampstead Park, but this was not built until 1663. Lord Craven apparently had it erected in the style of Heidelburg Castle for the Winter Queen, Elizabeth of Bohemia (daughter of King James I of England). He was hoping to marry the lady but, unfortunately, she died before the house was completed. So Lord Craven and his descendants lived there instead. That is, until it burnt to the ground in 1718. Today only the elaborate gate-posts at the three entrances to the park can be seen to tell of this great mansion, but nothing remains of the house, let alone the original Tudor building. For those interested in Lord Craven though, a visit to the National Trust’s Ashdown House, which he built on the Berkshire Downs for similar motives, is well worth while.

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