Losing the Race Against Time Trivia Quiz

Answer: Iron Age

The Iron Age in Britain is a term given to the prehistoric period when people began using iron to make tools and weapons, replacing the previous use of bronze for this purpose. Although this time period is defined as approximately 800BC to 100AD in Britain, it differs in other countries with the Scandinavian Iron Age, for example, generally considered to cover the period 500BC to 800AD.

Iron Age hillforts are fortified enclosures surrounded by defensive earthworks (generally banks and ditches) or by natural features such as high cliffs. There are over a thousand recorded hillforts located across England, although they are most common in south and south-western England.

A small multivallate hillfort is one which has at least two rings of defensive structures, which generally covers an area of approximately 1 to 5 hectares (2.5 to 12 acres). The hillfort on Shackleton Beacon Hill was considered to be at high risk of deterioration in 2013 due to tree and scrub growth over the site.

Answer: A civilian settlement

Various definitions exist for a Roman vicus. It can refer to a Roman neighbourhood; an administrative division of a Roman town or city; or a civilian settlement attached to an official Roman site, such as a fort.

The Roman fort at Ribchester was established around 70AD and was in use until the 4th century. Archaeological evidence suggests that the associated vicus was a residential area mixed with key industries needed for supporting an army, particularly metal and leather working. The vicus also contained temples and a bath house.

The condition of a burial area associated with the fort was the reason given for its inclusion on the 'at risk' register in 2013.

Answer: Dissolution of the Monasteries

The Dissolution of the Monasteries took place over the period 1536-1541 during the reign of King Henry VIII, and only a few years after Henry had become the Supreme Head of the Church in England. The Dissolution was organised by Henry's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, and involved closing down religious communities such as monasteries and convents, while seizing their income and wealth for the state.

Following the Dissolution Sibton Abbey and its property were granted to Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. He was a prominent member of Henry's court and uncle to two of the King's wives - his nieces were Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, the two unfortunate Queens who ended up being beheaded.

The ruins of Sibton Abbey are a scheduled monument and listed building, but were included on the 2013 'Heritage at Risk Register' due to collapsing flint walls and the vulnerable condition of some of the remaining standing wall tops and arches.

Answer: Ludlow

The 'Council of Wales and the Marches' was created in 1472 by King Edward IV and continued to govern Wales and the western areas of England until it was abolished by King William III and Queen Mary II following the Glorious Revolution of 1689. Ludlow was also home to Prince Arthur who died there in 1502. Arthur was the eldest son of King Henry VII and the first husband of Catherine of Aragon - who later married his younger brother, King Henry VIII.

Ludlow's defensive walls were initially constructed in the 13th century, although the castle probably dates back to the period shortly after the Norman conquest of England. Only fragmentary ruins of the walls remain and their precarious condition led to their inclusion on the 'Heritage at Risk Register' in 2013. The problems were illustrated in spring 2013 when a major section of the remaining walls collapsed.

Hartlepool, King's Lynn and Malmesbury were all walled towns during the medieval period, but are located in County Durham, Norfolk and Wiltshire respectively.

Answer: Knebworth House

Knebworth House was originally a red brick Tudor manor house dating from around the mid-16th century, but it was extensively altered in the 19th century. It has been home to the Lytton family for over 500 years, with famous residents including Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the Victorian author particularly known for the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" - the start of the opening line of his 1830 novel 'Paul Clifford'. The grounds of the house have hosted a wide range of music concerts since 1974, including, in 1986, the last live performance by Queen to feature Freddie Mercury.

The condition of areas of the building's central west facade is the cause for concern which led to the inclusion of the building on the 'Heritage at Risk Register'. The incorrect answers all have names based on the locations of other well known UK music festivals.

Answer: Cotton mills

The Derwent Valley Mills area consists of four main industrial sites (Cromford, Belper, Milford and Darley Abbey) established along the River Derwent in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The original site at Cromford was developed by Richard Arkwright, whose water-powered cotton mill provided the blueprint for the modern factory system. Arkwright (along with other mill owners) also developed local towns in the previously rural area by building accommodation for his factory workers and their families. However, by the mid-19th century the Derwent Valley Mills area was in industrial decline. This was largely due to the introduction of steam power and increased competition from the mill towns of the north of England.

In 2001, UNESCO designated the Derwent Valley Mills area as a World Heritage Site. However, the site features on the 2013 edition of English Heritage's 'Heritage at Risk Register' due to the vulnerable condition of some of the area's buildings, in particular the roofs and brickwork of those at the Darley Abbey complex.

Answer: Duke of Devonshire

Buxton is a spa town located in the county of Derbyshire and often described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park". It dates back to a Roman settlement called Aquae Arnemetiae. The only other Roman settlement in England that used the term 'aquae' in its name was Aquae Sulis, now known as Bath. Even in the 1780s comparisons of the two locations had existed for over 1700 years.

The Crescent is a curved building near the centre of the town that originally included a hotel, lodging houses and a set of grand assembly rooms. It was designed by the architect John Carr and took nine years to complete. Permission for the Crescent to be turned into a 5-star spa hotel was granted in 2010. This development is expected to secure the future of the building, whose dilapidated condition led to its inclusion on the 'Heritage at Risk Register'.

The Crescent was commissioned by William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire. The Duke's first wife, Lady Georgiana Spencer, was a noted socialite who was portrayed by Keira Knightley in the film 'The Duchess'. His father, the 4th Duke, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from November 1756 to June 1757.

Answer: Grand Union Canal

The Grand Union Canal provides a link between the two largest cities in England (London and Birmingham) and is over 130 miles long. The Hanwell flight of locks was originally part of the Grand Junction Canal which went from London as far as the town of Northampton. The six locks in the flight raise the level of the canal by over 53 feet. They are included on the 'Heritage at Risk Register' due to the maintenance required to keep them operational and the impact of vandalism.

The locks are believed to be the setting of a lost work by the famous artist J.M.W. Turner. The whereabouts of his painting 'Grand Junction Canal at Southall Mill' are unknown, but surviving sketches and engravings believed to be the basis of the lost painting are in the collection of the Tate Gallery.

Of the incorrect options, only the Kennet and Avon Canal actually exists. The name relates to the fact that it was built to form a link between the River Kennet and the River Avon.

Answer: Oxfordshire

The airfield, formerly known as RAF Bicester, was part of a network of over 100 RAF stations built between 1923 and 1939 as part of the build up and expansion of military air power that occurred between the two world wars. In particular, it still retains buildings constructed as part of the rearmament programme that followed Germany's withdrawal from the Geneva Disarmament Conference in 1933. During the Second World War RAF Bicester was used as a training centre with aircraft such as Bristol Blenheim bombers and Spitfires flying from the airfield.

In 2013 the airfield was sold to a commercial organisation although the designation of parts of the site as a scheduled monument has safeguarded its history. It is, however, on the 'at-risk' register due to the declining condition of the site and damage caused by animal burrowing.

RAF Bicester was named after the nearby town of Bicester, Oxfordshire.

Answer: A prisoner of war camp

Harperley Working Camp was a purpose built prisoner of war camp. It was constructed in 1943 by Italian PoWs and was one of about 100 similar camps built in Britain during the course of the Second World War. About 85% of the camp's original buildings were still standing in 2013 when the site was included on the 'Heritage at Risk Register'. Unsurprisingly, given that 55 years had passed since the end of their theoretical life-span, many of these were in poor condition.

The camp was used to house both Italian and German PoWs who were deemed to be a low security risk and were employed as agricultural labourers - although on significantly lower wages than local workers. The camp closed in 1948, three years after the end of the war, once all the PoWs had either been repatriated or granted permission to remain in Britain.