Whitehaven was just a fishing village on the Cumbrian coast until the port was developed by the Lowther family in the seventeenth century to export coal from the Cumberland coalfield. In the next century it benefitted from the trade in tobacco, sugar and other products with the West Indies to become the second busiest port in the country. The wealth brought to the area was demonstrated by a new town, the most complete example of a Georgian planned town in Britain. Built on a grid system, the town has over 170 listed buildings. Alongside the Old Fort and Whitehaven Castle, which later became...

The historic cathedral city of Canterbury has traces of its Roman past. The oldest church in England, St Martin’s, can trace its history back to this era but it is the cathedral founded under Anglo-Saxon rule which still dominates the city close by other surviving Saxon buildings, the Burgate and St Augustine’s Abbey. Canterbury became an international pilgrimage destination in the Middle Ages after the assassination of Thomas Becket and although the population plummeted after the Black Death, the city wall with its gates was rebuilt. Huguenot weavers helped to revive the city’s...

Crowds of visitors flock to Whitby to explore the ancient abbey, walk the narrow streets, pass Captain Cook’s home and see the replica of his ship Endeavour, but the history of Whitby is much richer, as revealed in this tour of its significant, interesting and unusual buildings. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries the Cholmley family took over much of the abbey’s lands, building a grand home and developing the port and local industries. Whitby became one of the busiest ports in the land and magnificent Georgian buildings testify to the wealth brought into the town, not least through...

From its origins as a fishing town, Scarborough has become the largest holiday resort on the North Yorkshire coast. In this book, author Mike Smith highlights fifty of Scarborough’s architectural landmarks and notable structures, old and new. Through a fascinating and diverse selection of buildings he charts the development and changing face of the town. Scarborough’s two magnificent bays are separated by a headland bearing the remains of a Roman signal station and the gaunt ruins of a twelfth-century castle, the two oldest buildings featured in this book. The town’s spa buildings are...

Explore the rich history of Birmingham in this guided tour through its most fascinating historic and modern buildings.

The London districts of Islington and Clerkenwell are charming to explore. Within their streets are the greatest variety of architectural styles, ranging from Tudor, Georgian and Victorian to modernist and contemporary twenty-first-century design. In Islington & Clerkenwell in 50 Buildings, author Lucy McMurdo presents a well-illustrated and engaging perspective of the rich architectural heritage of both areas. Islington has a wonderful vibrancy. Its main thoroughfare of Upper Street overflows with bars, restaurants, cafés, pubs and clubs, giving rise to the nickname ‘Supper Street’....

Originally established as a Roman settlement to serve the forts along Hadrian’s Wall, the Cumbrian city of Carlisle has a wealth of fascinating history. Its proximity to Scotland meant that it was a crucial military stronghold and its imposing eleventh-century castle and city walls have witnessed many conflicts through the centuries. During the Industrial Revolution it became an important hub on the railway network and a centre of textile manufacturing. Nicknamed the ‘Great Border City’, Carlisle is still the principal commercial and cultural centre of the county. In Carlisle in 50...