A Tour of English Heritage Sites Quiz

Answer: Wellington Arch

Also known as Constitution Arch, the Wellington Arch was constructed between 1826 and 1830. Designed by Decimus Burton, the arch was originally going to have a sculpture on top, similar to the one seen today. However, when it was decided to dedicate the arch to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, a statue of him riding a horse was placed on top.

The arch itself was placed near a former turnpike that marked the western entrance to London, near what became the Duke of Wellington's London residence, Apsley House.

This statue drew criticism as being out of place given its size, and was ridiculed for being out of proportion with the arch itself. When the arch was dismantled to be moved to its current location to accommodate road widening, the statue was removed and re-erected in Aldershot. It was not until 1912 that Burton's original idea of a statue featuring four horses was designed by sculptor Adrian Jones. The sculpture also featured Nike, the winged goddess of victory, while between two of the horses is a sculpture of a boy in army uniform.

Up until 1992, the arch also housed a small police station, manned by 10 constables, two sergeants and a cat, making it one of London's smallest police stations. In 1999, ownership of the arch was passed to English Heritage, who maintain not just the arch but nearby Apsley House. Both the arch and Apsley House are open to the public.

The arch itself has three floors which are dedicated to exhibitions, and a lift for those needing wheelchair access inside. In 2015, to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, an exhibition was opened dedicated to the battle.

Answer: Stately Homes

The rise of the country house in Britain can trace its roots back nearly 500 years to the dissolution of monasteries under Henry VIII, where many of Henry's favourites were given former monastic lands. This was the case with Audley End House when Waldon Abbey was given to Sir Thomas Audley by Henry.

Architects such as Inigo Jones and Robert Adam helped fuel the rise of country homes, inspired by ancient Greek architecture, whilst the Industrial Revolution saw many wealthy individuals also build grand homes.

The cost of maintaining such homes though were financially crippling. Not only were large numbers of staff needed to run the home, but changes in the economy, taxation and general maintenance saw many homes fall into ruin. Those that survived today either became private schools, hospitals, or hotels. Others opened their doors to the public. Many homes though were simply demolished.

Much of Audley End House was constructed during the 17th century under Thomas Howard (the 1st Earl of Suffolk), making it one of Britain's finest Jacobean residences. For brief period of time though the house was owned by Charles II, who used it as a royal palace for when Charles used to attend the horse races at Newmarket.

The parkland itself was largely created by the great landscape gardener Capability Brown in the mid 18th century for Sir John Griffin, the 4th Baron Howard de Waldon. At the same time Robert Adam was hired to make changes to the inside of Audley End House.

During the Second World War, Audley End House was requisitioned by the British government, and used as a training facility by the Special Operations Executive (SOE). In the main driveway to the house is a memorial to the Polish soldiers that were trained at Audley End House and died fighting for the SOE. After the Second World war, ownership of Audley End House passed to the Ministry of Works - the forerunner of English Heritage.

Answer: No

The definition of a henge is a ring bank that encloses an area of land with a ditch inside. Stonehenge as it is seen today is a ring of standing stones that are enclosed by a ditch.

The history of Stonehenge can be traced back to the Mesolithic era (8000 B.C), to a group of post holes found near the modern car park for the visitor centre. Around 3100 BC, a bank and ditch was created, along with a number of pits in which cremated bones were discovered.

Around 2600 B.C, the construction of Stonehenge - the remains of what can be seen today - started taking place in a number of phases lasting 1000 years.

Stonehenge itself is part of a larger, prehistoric landscape, maintained not only by English Heritage, but also the National Trust. This includes the nearby Durrington Walls, which is believed to have been the main campsite for those constructing Stonehenge, and Woodhenge - a circular arrangement of wooden posts, now marked by concrete posts.

Much debate has taken place about the exact function, with the latest theory being that it was a place of healing and remembering the dead. Credence for this theory is given by the number of remains found of those who had suffered illness or injury in the surrounding landscape. In addition, some of the remains found were people who were not native to Britain.

Answer: The Bishop of Lincoln

The earliest construction on the site of the Bishops Palace can be traced back to the Norman Conquest in the late 11th century A.D. Building of the palace that is seen today took place under the reign of King Stephen in the late 12th century, the Bishops Palace in Lincoln. The palace was once one of the most important buildings in Britain, and the seat of the Diocese of Lincoln, covering an area from the River Humber to the River Thames. In the 17th century the palace was sacked by parliamentary forces during the English Civil War, leaving what is seen today.

The tower featured in the image was built by William Alnwick, Bishop of Norwich and Lincoln in the 15th century. The West Hall (the only other significant building left intact) was built over an undercroft by Bishop St. Hugh of Lincoln, and completed in 1230.

The palace itself is situated on a hillside terrace overlooking much of Lincoln, and next to Lincoln Cathedral. In addition, it also contains one of the most northerly working vineyards in England.

Answer: Sails

The earliest windmill designs can be traced back to the 1st century AD, and were designed by Herod of Alexandria. However, it was the Persians that created the first practical windmills, but using a horizontal windmill design.

The term "sails" comes from the use of sheets of cloth that were used to help the miller control the amount of wind power needed to turn the sweeps. Some examples of this type can still be seen in some Mediterranean countries. As windmill technology advanced, many different types of sails were created, some using solid vanes, rather than cloth.

The Sibsey Trader Mill was one of two windmills built near the village of Sibsey in 1877,featuring an unusual six sail design. Although the other mill (Rhodes Mill) was later converted into a house, when milling stopped at the Sibsey Trader Mill in 1954, the mill fell into disrepair.

In the 1960s, the Ministry of Works took control of the mill as one of 12 mills of national importance. The restoration of the windmill itself began in the late 1960s, restoring it back into a working mill. The mill now produces a range of organic flour that is on sale to the public.

Answer: The Vikings

Situated on the island of Lindisfarne (Holy Island), work commenced on building a monastery there in the 7th century A.D under St Aiden at the request of the Northumbrian king, Oswald. The monastery soon became a base for evangelising the north of England with Irish monks from Iona settling there.

In the early 8th century AD, what became known as the Lindisfarne Gospels (an illuminated manuscript) were said to have been created by Eadfrith of Lindisfarne.

In 793 AD, the first Viking raids took place on Lindisfarne by Norwegians, destroying the monastery. These initial raids though were limited, and by the 9th century, the Danes became the principal Viking raiders of Britain.

The priory of Lindisfarne as it stands today was first begun under the Normans in the late 11th century, and grew until the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII in the 16th century. The church of St Mary the Virgin now stands on the site of the original priory and is one of the oldest intact buildings on the island.

Answer: Shropshire

Construction of the Iron Bridge, crossing the River Severn in Shropshire, began in 1777, a month before its architect, Thomas Farnolls Pritchard died. The main span of the bridge is constructed of cast iron ribs that were individually cast to fit in with one another. The bridge itself is the first arched bridge in the world to be constructed of cast iron.

The bridge spans what is known now as Ironbridge Gorge, next to the settlement of Ironbridge. The bridge and gorge are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In addition, the area of Coalbrookdale is recognised as one of the earliest sites connected with what became known as the Industrial Revolution.

The site of the bridge though caused problems soon after it was opened, as it was constructed in an area prone to landslides. This meant a wall had to be built to protect the North Bank of the bridge not long after it was opened. In addition, cracks started to appear in the cast iron segments, prompting repairs to be made to them.

These problems causes the bridge to become weak, and even into the 20th century, repairs were being made to secure the fabric of the bridge - the last being made in 1999, when the bridge was repainted. Because of these problems with the bridge structure, it is now limited to pedestrian access only.

The bridge itself though is one of the many free access sites that are owned by English Heritage.

Answer: Arthur

Located near to the village that shares its name with the castle, Tintagel Castle is located on a peninsula on the North Cornish coast. Evidence of occupation on the site can be traced back to Roman times. However, no archaeological evidence of any Roman structure has been found.

During the early Medieval period, the first signs of settlement were constructed on the castle site, the site being one of the probable locations of a residence occupied by the Kings of Dumnonia - a post Roman-British kingdom that later included Devon and Somerset. The castle itself, was constructed by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, in the late 13th century, but the castle fell into disrepair after the death of Richard.

The first connection with the legend of King Arthur to the castle came in the 12th century, when Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the "Historia Regum Britanniae" - a fictional account of British history.

The legend says that, disguised by Merlin to look like Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall, Arthur 's father Uther Pendragon slipped into the castle and slept with Ygerna, the wife of Gorlois, thus conceiving Arthur.

It is the connection with the Arthurian legends which sparked public interest to visit the castle in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the ownership of the castle passed to the Office of Works in 1929, eventually becoming English Heritage in the 1980s.

Answer: No

The area known as Grimes Graves is actually a Neolithic flint mine, worked between c.3000 and 1900 BC.

The technique used to create the mines involved people digging a shaft into chalk using wooden platforms and ladders to reach the flint nodules. The spoil from the mine shafts being piled around the shaft using turf revetments, the shafts being backfilled when the digging season had ended to maintain stability on the site. This gave the landscape its pockmarked appearance as it stands today, with the deepest mines almost 50 feet deep by 40 feet wide.

To mine the site, antler picks and wooden shovels were used during excavation. The flint that was mined was used to make other tools, including axes used for clearing land of trees, many of which were traded in continental Europe.

The name Grimes Graves can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon times, where it seemed they had some understanding of what the site was used for. However, it was not until the Victorian era in the 19th century that Canon William Greenwell excavated the site, discovering that Grimes Graves was a flint mine.

Today, only one of the shafts is accessible to the public, and is maintained by English Heritage, along with a visitor centre. The shaft itself is nearly 30 feet deep, accessible by a ladder, leading to a chamber with a number of shafts radiating from the shaft.

Answer: Roman

Situated in the Darenth Valley, near the village of Eynsford. Lullingstone Roman Villa is one of the most important Roman villas found in Britain.

First founded in the 1st century A.D, after the Roman invasion led by the Emperor Claudius, the villa grew in size as it was adapted by its residents, right up until the final years of the Roman occupation in the 5th century A.D. This included a mosaic floor situated on the north side of the villa featuring the abduction of the goddess Europa by Jupiter, and Bellerophon slaying the Chimaera.

The walls that can be seen are constructed of flint and mortar, but these only supported the main structure of timber and plaster. In addition to the central rooms are a bathhouse, and what has been described as a cult room for the worship of the Roman goddess for water and the local deity.

When the villa was first excavated, it was discovered above the cult room was an early Christian chapel, decorated with wall paintings of Christian martyrs and a Labarum (Chi-Rho). These fragments of wall paintings can now be found in the British Museum in London.

The evidence of Christian worship makes Lullingstone one of the most important Roman sites in Britian. However, there have been found signs the villa's inhabitants were still worshipping the local deities, as though they were hedging their bets.

The downfall of the villa began when it caught fire, and was eventually covered by a landslide which protected the villa's remains. After it was excavated in the mid 20th century, the site was covered by a building which was rebuilt between 2006-8.

Among the artefacts on display are the remains of a young man, and a new born child. The man was found in a lead coffin in the mausoleum located above the villa, whilst the young child was found in a pit. This followed the Roman custom of not giving new born children a proper burial until they had reached a certain age.