UNESCO World Heritage Sites in United Kingdom

UNESCO's Description

The castles of Beaumaris and Harlech (largely the work of the greatest military engineer of the time, James of St George) and the fortified complexes of Caernarfon and Conwy are located in the former principality of Gwynedd, in north Wales. These extremely well-preserved monuments are examples of the colonization and defence works carried out throughout the reign of Edward I (1272–1307) and the military architecture of the time.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

The Edwardian castles and town walls in Gwynedd were built as a consequence of the wars fought for the control of Wales in the late 13th century. The kings of England and the Welsh princes had vied for control of the region since the 1070s, with Norman and English nobles and settlers slowly expanding their territories over several centuries. In the 1260s, however, the Welsh leader Llywelyn ap Gruffudd exploited a civil war between Henry III and rebel barons in England to become the dominant power, and was formally recognised as the prince of Wales under the Treaty of Montgomery.

Edward I became the king of England in 1272.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q837627 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

In the 18th century a designed landscape of exceptional beauty was created around the ruins of the Cistercian Fountains Abbey, in Yorkshire. The spectacular ruins of the 12th century abbey and water mill, the Jacobean mansion of Fountains Hall, the Victorian masterpiece St Mary’s Church and one of the most magnificent Georgian water gardens ever created, make this a landscape of outstanding merit.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Endowments and economy

Medieval monasteries were sustained by landed estates that were given to them as endowments and from which they derived an income from rents. They were the gifts of the founder and subsequent patrons, but some were purchased from cash revenues. At the outset, the Cistercian order rejected gifts of mills and rents, churches with tithes and feudal manors as they did not accord with their belief in monastic purity, because they involved contact with laymen. When Archbishop Thurstan founded the abbey he gave the community 260 acres (110 ha) of land at Sutton north of the abbey and 200 acres (81 ha) at Herleshowe to provide support while the abbey became established. In the early years the abbey struggled to maintain itself because further gifts were not forthcoming.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q540237 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The Giant's Causeway lies at the foot of the basalt cliffs along the sea coast on the edge of the Antrim plateau in Northern Ireland. It is made up of some 40,000 massive black basalt columns sticking out of the sea. The dramatic sight has inspired legends of giants striding over the sea to Scotland. Geological studies of these formations over the last 300 years have greatly contributed to the development of the earth sciences, and show that this striking landscape was caused by volcanic activity during the Tertiary, some 50–60 million years ago.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Geology

Around 50 to 60 million years ago, during the Paleocene Epoch, Antrim was subject to intense volcanic activity, when highly fluid molten basalt intruded through chalk beds to form an extensive volcanic plateau. As the lava cooled, contraction occurred. Horizontal contraction fractured in a similar way to drying mud, with the cracks propagating down as the mass cooled, leaving pillarlike structures that also fractured horizontally into "biscuits". In many cases, the horizontal fracture resulted in a bottom face that is convex, while the upper face of the lower segment is concave, producing what are called "ball and socket" joints. The size of the columns was primarily determined by the speed at which lava cooled. The extensive fracture network produced the distinctive columns seen today.

Tourism

William King, Bishop of Derry visited the site in 1692. The existence of the causeway was announced to the wider world the following year by the presentation of a paper to the Royal Society from Sir Richard Bulkeley, a fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. The Giant's Causeway received international attention when Dublin artist Susanna Drury made watercolour paintings of it in 1739; they won Drury the first award presented by the Royal Dublin Society in 1740 and were engraved in 1743. In 1765, an entry on the causeway appeared in volume 12 of the French Encyclopédie, which was informed by the engravings of Drury's work; the engraving of the "East Prospect" appeared in a 1768 volume of plates published for the Encyclopédie.

Visiting Giant's Causeway

Giant's Causeway is a spectacular series of rock formations on the coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland. The site stretches for 2-3 miles, with some 40,000 basalt columns rising out of the sea. It's owned by the National Trust and is Northern Ireland's only UNESCO World Heritage Site: it's impressive but very touristy, with a million visitors each year. It's mobbed on fine weekends, try to visit off-peak.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Giant's Causeway (CC BY-SA 4.0).

UNESCO's Description

Ironbridge is known throughout the world as the symbol of the Industrial Revolution. It contains all the elements of progress that contributed to the rapid development of this industrial region in the 18th century, from the mines themselves to the railway lines. Nearby, the blast furnace of Coalbrookdale, built in 1708, is a reminder of the discovery of coke. The bridge at Ironbridge, the world's first bridge constructed of iron, had a considerable influence on developments in the fields of technology and architecture.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

UNESCO's Description

This volcanic archipelago, with its spectacular landscapes, is situated off the coast of the Hebrides and comprises the islands of Hirta, Dun, Soay and Boreray. It has some of the highest cliffs in Europe, which have large colonies of rare and endangered species of birds, especially puffins and gannets. The archipelago, uninhabited since 1930, bears the evidence of more than 2,000 years of human occupation in the extreme conditions prevalent in the Hebrides. Human vestiges include built structures and field systems, the cleits and the traditional Highland stone houses. They feature the vulnerable remains of a subsistence economy based on the products of birds, agriculture and sheep farming.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Geography

The islands are composed of Tertiary igneous formations of granites and gabbro, heavily weathered by the elements. The archipelago represents the remnants of a long-extinct ring volcano rising from a seabed plateau approximately 40 metres (130 ft) below sea level.

At 670 hectares (1,700 acres) in extent, Hirta is the largest island in the group and comprises more than 78% of the land area of the archipelago. Next in size are Soay (English: "sheep island") at 99 hectares (240 acres) and Boreray ("the fortified isle"), which measures 86 hectares (210 acres). Soay is 500 metres (1⁄4 nautical mile) northwest of Hirta, Boreray six kilometres (3 nmi) northeast.

History

It has been known for some time that St Kilda was continuously inhabited for two millennia or more, from the Bronze Age until 1930. In 2015, the first direct evidence of earlier Neolithic settlement emerged, sherds of pottery of the Hebridean ware style, found to the east of the village. The subsequent discovery of a quarry for stone tools on Mullach Sgar above Village Bay led to finds of numerous stone hoe-blades, grinders and Skaill knives in the Village Bay cleitean, unique stone storage buildings (see below). These tools are also probably of Neolithic origin.

The potsherds appear to have been made of local material, rather than material brought from other islands in the Hebrides, suggesting that the islands were settled in the 4th millennium BC. Iron Age pottery is also known.

21st-century tourism

Visits to St Kilda were encouraged until facilities closed due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 but it has since reopened.

The National Trust for Scotland has improved the village on Hirta over the years. "They have reroofed the cottages on the main street, restored the church, and re-stacked stones that years of gales had toppled from the cleits, or bothies, that dot the volcanic landscape". One cottage, #3 on "The Street" has been more extensively restored and turned into the museum. However, a full restoration of the other cottages is not expected.

The Historic Environment Scotland website states that "the plain, two-bay church, with the schoolroom added to its north west in 1898" was "restored as they might have appeared in the 1920s."

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q166479 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Stonehenge and Avebury, in Wiltshire, are among the most famous groups of megaliths in the world. The two sanctuaries consist of circles of menhirs arranged in a pattern whose astronomical significance is still being explored. These holy places and the nearby Neolithic sites are an incomparable testimony to prehistoric times.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Early history

Stonehenge was a place of burial from its beginning to its zenith in the mid third [sic] millennium B.C. The cremation burial dating to Stonehenge's sarsen stones phase is probably just one of many from this later period of the monument's use and demonstrates that it was still very much a domain of the dead.

Stonehenge evolved in several construction phases spanning at least 1500 years. There is evidence of large-scale construction on and around the monument, perhaps extending the landscape's time frame to 6500 years. Dating and understanding the various phases of activity are complicated by disturbance of the natural chalk by periglacial effects and animal burrowing, poor quality early excavation records, and a lack of accurate, scientifically verified dates.

Modern history

Throughout recorded history, Stonehenge and its surrounding monuments have attracted attention from antiquarians and archaeologists. Architect Inigo Jones considered Stonehenge to have been built in Roman times. John Aubrey was one of the first to examine the site with a scientific eye in 1666. In his plan of the monument, he recorded the pits that now bear his name, the Aubrey holes. William Stukeley continued Aubrey's work in the early eighteenth century but also considered the surrounding monuments, identifying (somewhat incorrectly) the Cursus and the Avenue. He also began excavating many of the barrows in the area. His interpretation of the landscape linked it to the Druids. Stukeley was so fascinated with Druids that he originally named Disc Barrows Druids' Barrows.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q39671 (CC0).

Visiting Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a Neolithic and Bronze Age stone monument in a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. The WHS is quite large and contains many other structures from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Stonehenge (CC BY-SA 4.0).

UNESCO's Description

Founded by the Romans as a thermal spa, Bath became an important centre of the wool industry in the Middle Ages. In the 18th century, under George III, it developed into an elegant town with neoclassical Palladian buildings, which blend harmoniously with the Roman baths.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Geography

Bath is in the Avon Valley and is surrounded by limestone hills as it is near the southern edge of the Cotswolds, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the Mendip Hills rise around 7 miles (11 km) south of the city. The hills that surround and make up the city have a maximum altitude of 781 feet (238 metres) on the Lansdown plateau. Bath has an area of 11 square miles (28 square kilometres).

The floodplain of the Avon has an altitude of about 59 ft (18 m) above sea level, although the city centre is at an elevation of around 25 metres (82 ft) above sea level. The river, once an unnavigable series of braided streams broken up by swamps and ponds, has been controlled by weirs into a single channel.

History

The hills in the locality such as Bathampton Down saw human activity from the Mesolithic period. Several Bronze Age round barrows were opened by John Skinner in the 18th century. A long barrow site believed to be from the Early Bronze Age Beaker people was flattened to make way for RAF Charmy Down. Solsbury Hill overlooking the current city was an Iron Age hill fort and the adjacent Bathampton Camp may also have been one.

Archaeological evidence shows that the site of the Roman baths' main spring may have been treated as a shrine by the Britons, and was dedicated to the water deity Sulis, equivalent to Roman goddess Minerva; the name Sulis continued to be used after the Roman invasion, appearing in the town's Roman name, Aquae Sulis (literally, "the waters of Sulis").

Economy

Bath once had an important manufacturing sector, particularly in crane manufacture, furniture manufacture, printing, brass foundries, quarries, dye works and Plasticine manufacture, as well as many mills. Significant Bath companies included Stothert & Pitt, Bath Cabinet Makers and Bath & Portland Stone.

During and after World War II Bath was home to Ministry of Defence offices, with three large sites on the outskirts (Ensleigh, Foxhill and Warminster Road) and a number of smaller central offices, including the Empire Hotel. After the Cold War staff numbers declined, and from 2010 to 2013 about 2,600 remaining staff were moved to MoD Abbey Wood in Bristol. In 2013 the three large sites were sold for the development of over 1,000 new houses.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q22889 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Blenheim Palace, near Oxford, stands in a romantic park created by the famous landscape gardener 'Capability' Brown. It was presented by the English nation to John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, in recognition of his victory in 1704 over French and Bavarian troops. Built between 1705 and 1722 and characterized by an eclectic style and a return to national roots, it is a perfect example of an 18th-century princely dwelling.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

On the death of the 1st Duke in 1722, as both his sons were dead, he was succeeded by his daughter Henrietta. This was an unusual succession and required a special Act of Parliament, as only sons can usually succeed to an English dukedom. When Henrietta died, the title passed to Marlborough's grandson Charles Spencer, Earl of Sunderland, whose mother was Marlborough's second daughter Anne.

The 1st Duke, as a soldier, was not a rich man and what fortune he possessed was mostly used for finishing the palace. In comparison with other British ducal families, the Marlboroughs were not very wealthy, although the Sunderland inheritance brought some resources.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q208181 (CC0).

Visiting Blenheim Palace

Woodstock is an attractive small town 8 mi (13 km) north of Oxford, England. It is the nearest town to the popular stately home Blenheim Palace, Winston Churchill's birthplace, and is therefore popular with travellers looking for food and accommodation.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Woodstock (Oxfordshire) (CC BY-SA 4.0).

UNESCO's Description

Henderson Island, which lies in the eastern South Pacific, is one of the few atolls in the world whose ecology has been practically untouched by a human presence. Its isolated location provides the ideal context for studying the dynamics of insular evolution and natural selection. It is particularly notable for the 10 plants and four land birds that are endemic to the island.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Geography

Henderson Island is a raised coral atoll that, with Pitcairn, Ducie and Oeno islands, forms the Pitcairn Island Group. The nearest major landmass is the continent of South America, more than 5,000 km (2,700 nmi; 3,100 mi) away to the east. This coral limestone island sits atop a conical (presumed volcanic) mound, rising from a depth of roughly 3,500 m (11,500 ft). Its surface is mostly reef-rubble and dissected limestone – an extremely rugged mixture of steep, jagged pinnacles and shallow sinkholes. The island is mostly encircled by steep limestone cliffs up to 15 m (50 ft) high.

There are three main beaches, on the northwest, north, and northeast shores, and the north and northwest beaches are fringed by reefs. The depression at the island's centre is thought to be a raised lagoon.

History

The island was settled by Polynesians – possibly as early as 800 AD – but by the 1600s it had been abandoned. There is good evidence that the island was continuously occupied for a 600-year period sometime between those dates. The reasons for the inhabitants' disappearance remain uncertain, but they may relate to an exhaustion of resources and to the disappearance around the same time of the Polynesians on Pitcairn Island, on whom those on Henderson will have relied for many of the basics of life, especially for the stone needed to make tools. The Pitcairn Polynesians may in turn have disappeared because of the decline of nearby Mangareva; thus, Henderson was at the end of a chain of small, dependent colonies of Mangareva.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q379759 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The massive White Tower is a typical example of Norman military architecture, whose influence was felt throughout the kingdom. It was built on the Thames by William the Conqueror to protect London and assert his power. The Tower of London – an imposing fortress with many layers of history, which has become one of the symbols of royalty – was built around the White Tower.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

Victorious at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the invading Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror, spent the rest of the year securing his holdings by fortifying key positions. He founded several castles along the way, but took a circuitous route toward London; only when he reached Canterbury did he turn towards England's largest city. As the fortified bridge into London was held by Saxon troops, he decided instead to ravage Southwark before continuing his journey around southern England. A series of Norman victories along the route cut the city's supply lines and in December 1066, isolated and intimidated, its leaders yielded London without a fight.

Restoration and tourism

The Tower of London has become established as one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country. It has been a tourist attraction since at least the Elizabethan period, when it was one of the sights of London that foreign visitors wrote about. Its most popular attractions were the Royal Menagerie and displays of armour. The Crown Jewels also garner much interest, and have been on public display since 1669. The Tower steadily gained popularity with tourists through the 19th century, despite the opposition of the Duke of Wellington to visitors. Numbers became so high that by 1851 a purpose-built ticket office was erected. By the end of the century, over 500,000 were visiting the castle every year.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q62378 (CC0).

Visiting Tower of London

The City of London, also known as the City, or the Square Mile (after its approximate size), is the area of London that originally lay within the ancient city walls. This independent part of Central London is known for its history and heritage, so is a must for anyone wishing to explore and understand London.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: London/City of London (CC BY-SA 4.0).

UNESCO's Description

The group of Neolithic monuments on Orkney consists of a large chambered tomb (Maes Howe), two ceremonial stone circles (the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar) and a settlement (Skara Brae), together with a number of unexcavated burial, ceremonial and settlement sites. The group constitutes a major prehistoric cultural landscape which gives a graphic depiction of life in this remote archipelago in the far north of Scotland some 5,000 years ago.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

Ness of Brodgar is an archaeological site between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness that has provided evidence of housing, decorated stone slabs, a massive stone wall with foundations, and a large building described as a Neolithic "cathedral". Although it is not part of the World Heritage Site, the Ness of Brodgar "contribute greatly to our understanding of the WHS" according to Historic Scotland, which manages most of the site.

In 2008, UNESCO expressed concern about plans by the local council to "erect three large 72 metres wind turbines to the north-west of the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brogdar" that might damage the site. In 2019, a risk assessment was performed to assess the site's vulnerability to climate change.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q1334966 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The area around Blaenavon is evidence of the pre-eminence of South Wales as the world's major producer of iron and coal in the 19th century. All the necessary elements can still be seen - coal and ore mines, quarries, a primitive railway system, furnaces, workers' homes, and the social infrastructure of their community.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Location

The Industrial Revolution in Britain was based on iron and coal, the main products of the South Wales valleys. Production of pig iron in the region grew from 39,600 tons in 1796 to 666,000 tons in 1852, and the iron was used to build railways, factories and engines around the world.

Blaenavon was an important centre of coal mining and iron making in South Wales during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The Blaenavon Ironworks was opened around 1789 and caused development of the mines, quarries and housing.

Blaenavon lies at the upper end of the Afon Lwyd valley in South Wales.

The World Heritage Site is based on the large area of land that the Blaenavon Company leased in 1789.

UNESCO's Description

The Town of St George, founded in 1612, is an outstanding example of the earliest English urban settlement in the New World. Its associated fortifications graphically illustrate the development of English military engineering from the 17th to the 20th century, being adapted to take account of the development of artillery over this period.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

Starting from settlement of St. George's Town in 1612 (the permanent settlement of Bermuda had begun with the wreck of the Sea Venture, the flagship of the Virginia Company, but the three men who remained from that ship had lived on Smith's Island, prior to the arrival of more settlers in 1612), the colony's militia built and garrisoned a range of fortifications, mostly protecting the entrances to St. George's Harbour and Castle Harbour, both of which gave access to the town. These included forts on a string of islands separating Castle Harbour from the open Atlantic to the South, known collectively as the Castle Islands Fortifications, as well as other forts around the entrances to St. George's Harbour on St. George's, St. David's, and Paget, Islands.

UNESCO's Description

The Derwent Valley in central England contains a series of 18th- and 19th- century cotton mills and an industrial landscape of high historical and technological interest. The modern factory owes its origins to the mills at Cromford, where Richard Arkwright's inventions were first put into industrial-scale production. The workers' housing associated with this and the other mills remains intact and illustrate the socio-economic development of the area.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

In the late 17th century silk making expanded due to demand for silk as part of fashionable garments. In an attempt to increase production through the use of water power, Thomas Cotchett commissioned engineer George Sorocold to build a mill near the centre of Derby on an island in the River Derwent. Although the experiment was unsuccessful, it convinced John Lombe – an employee of Cotchett – that if water power could be perfected there was a market for its produce. He engaged in industrial espionage and gained plans of Italian machines. He patented the design in 1719 and built a five-storey mill 33.5 m × 12 m (110 ft × 39 ft) next to Crotchett's mill.

Location and coverage

The Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site covers an area of 12.3 km2 (4.7 sq mi) and spans a 24 km (15 mi) stretch of the Derwent Valley, in Derbyshire, from Matlock Bath in the north to Derby city centre in the south. Within the site are mill complexes, settlements including workers' housing, weirs on the River Derwent, and the transport network that supported the mills in the valley. The site consists of the communities of Cromford, Belper, Milford, and Darley Abbey, and includes 838 listed buildings, made up of 16 Grade I, 42 Grade II*, and 780 Grade II. A further nine structures are Scheduled Ancient Monuments. The buildings are a mixture of mills, workers' housing, and structures associated with the mill communities.

UNESCO's Description

The cliff exposures along the Dorset and East Devon coast provide an almost continuous sequence of rock formations spanning the Mesozoic Era, or some 185 million years of the earth's history. The area's important fossil sites and classic coastal geomorphologic features have contributed to the study of earth sciences for over 300 years.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Geography

The Jurassic Coast consists of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous cliffs, spanning the Mesozoic, documenting 185 million years of geological history. The site can be best viewed from the sea, when the dipping nature of the rock strata becomes apparent.

In East Devon the steep coastal cliffs consist of red sandstone from the Triassic; at Budleigh Salterton the gravel cliffs contain red quartzite pebbles which accumulate on the beach below as Budleigh pebbles, which are locally protected. Further east at Ladram Bay, more sandstone cliffs give rise to spectacular red sandstone stacks.

Around Lyme Regis and Charmouth the cliffs are of Jurassic clays and shale, and landslips are common.

History

At the end of the 18th century Georges Cuvier showed that some fossil animals resembled no living ones, thus demonstrating that animals could become extinct; this led to the emergence of palaeontology, the study of fossils. The coasts of eastern Devon and western Dorset were rich in fossil beds, but before this time the fossils had merely been gathered as a pastime or collected by local residents and sold to visitors as curios.

Mary Anning (1799–1847) lived in Lyme Regis and followed in her father's footsteps as a collector. She became an expert on the fossils to be found in the Blue Lias around the town and discovered the first complete Ichthyosaur skeleton at The Spittles.

Visiting Jurassic Coast

The Jurassic Coast is the popular (and now official) name given to a 95 mile (155 km) long stretch of coastline in southern England, incorporating parts of the east Devon and Dorset coasts.

The Jurassic Coast was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2001 on account of its importance to geology and palaeontology, and the sheer beauty of its landscape. UNESCO lists it as Dorset and East Devon Coast. The area attracts hundreds of thousands of fossil hunters, hikers, campers and beach-goers each year.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Jurassic Coast (CC BY-SA 4.0).

UNESCO's Description

New Lanark is a small 18th- century village set in a sublime Scottish landscape where the philanthropist and Utopian idealist Robert Owen moulded a model industrial community in the early 19th century. The imposing cotton mill buildings, the spacious and well-designed workers' housing, and the dignified educational institute and school still testify to Owen's humanism.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

The New Lanark cotton mills were founded in 1786 by David Dale in a brief partnership with Richard Arkwright. Dale was one of the self-made "Burgher Gentry" of Glasgow who, like most of this gentry, had a summer retreat, an estate at Rosebank, Cambuslang, not far from the Falls of Clyde, which have been painted by J. M. W. Turner and many other artists. The mills used the recently developed water-powered cotton spinning machinery invented by Richard Arkwright. Dale sold the mills, lands and village in the early 19th century for £60,000, payable over 20 years, to a partnership that included his son-in-law Robert Owen.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q743108 (CC0).

Visiting New Lanark

New Lanark is a complex of cotton mills and associated village in Clydesdale, South West Scotland, founded in 1786 to take advantage of water power from the fast-descending River Clyde. From 1800 to 1825 it was run by the social reformer Robert Owen, who made it a model community and planned town, influential in concepts of urban planning and welfare reform. It has a well-preserved architectural unity and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: New Lanark (CC BY-SA 4.0).

UNESCO's Description

Saltaire, West Yorkshire, is a complete and well-preserved industrial village of the second half of the 19th century. Its textile mills, public buildings and workers' housing are built in a harmonious style of high architectural standards and the urban plan survives intact, giving a vivid impression of Victorian philanthropic paternalism.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

Saltaire was commissioned in 1851 by Sir Titus Salt, a leading industrialist in the Yorkshire woollen industry. The name of the village is a combination of the founder's surname and the name of the river. Salt moved his business (five separate mills) from Bradford to this site near Shipley to arrange his workers and to site his large textile mill by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the railway. Salt employed the local architects Francis Lockwood and William Mawson.

Similar, but considerably smaller, projects had also been started around the same time by Edward Akroyd at Copley and by Henry Ripley at Ripley Ville. The cotton mill village of New Lanark, which is also a World Heritage site, was founded by David Dale in 1786.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q838920 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

This historic landscape garden features elements that illustrate significant periods of the art of gardens from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The gardens house botanic collections (conserved plants, living plants and documents) that have been considerably enriched through the centuries. Since their creation in 1759, the gardens have made a significant and uninterrupted contribution to the study of plant diversity and economic botany.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

The district of Kew consists mostly of the gardens, with a small surrounding community. Royal residences in the area which came to influence the layout and construction of the gardens began in 1299 when Edward I moved his court to a manor house in neighbouring Richmond, then called Sheen. That manor house was later abandoned. In 1501, Henry VII built Sheen Palace, which, renamed Richmond Palace, became his permanent royal residence.

Around the start of the 16th century, courtiers attending Richmond Palace settled in Kew and built large houses. Early royal residences at Kew included Mary Tudor's house, which was standing by 1522 when a driveway was built to connect it to the palace at Richmond.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q188617 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Much of the landscape of Cornwall and West Devon was transformed in the 18th and early 19th centuries as a result of the rapid growth of pioneering copper and tin mining. Its deep underground mines, engine houses, foundries, new towns, smallholdings, ports and harbours, and their ancillary industries together reflect prolific innovation which, in the early 19th century, enabled the region to produce two-thirds of the world’s supply of copper. The substantial remains are a testimony to the contribution Cornwall and West Devon made to the Industrial Revolution in the rest of Britain and to the fundamental influence the area had on the mining world at large. Cornish technology embodied in engines, engine houses and mining equipment was exported around the world. Cornwall and West Devon were the heartland from which mining technology rapidly spread.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

Up to the mid-16th century, Devon produced approximately 25-40% of the amount of tin that Cornwall did but the total amount of tin production from both Cornwall and Devon during this period was relatively small. After the 1540s, Cornwall's production took off and Devon's production was only about between a ninth to a tenth of that of Cornwall. From the mid-16th century onwards, the Devon stannaries were worth very little in income to the King and were sidelined as such following the Supremacy of Parliament Act 1512 (this does not apply to the Stannaries of Cornwall).

The landscapes of Cornwall and West Devon were radically reshaped during the 18th and 19th centuries by deep-lode mining for copper and tin.

UNESCO's Description

This railway bridge, crossing the Forth estuary in Scotland, had the world’s longest spans ( 541 m ) when i t opened in 1890 . It remains one of the greatest cantilever trussed bridges and continues to carry passengers and freight. Its distinctive industrial aesthetic is the result of a forthright and unadorned display of its structural components. Innovative in style, materials and scale, the Forth Bridge marks an important milestone in bridge design and construction during the period when railways came to dominate long-distance land travel.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Later history

Before the opening of the Forth Bridge, the railway journey from London to Aberdeen had taken about 13 hours running from Euston and using the London and North Western Railway and Caledonian Railway on a west coast route. With competition opened along the east coast route from the Great Northern, North Eastern and North British railways and starting from King's Cross, unofficial racing took place between the two consortia, reducing the journey time to about 81⁄2 hours on the overnight runs. This reached a climax in 1895 with sensational daily press reports about the "Race to the North". When race fever subsided the journey times became around 101⁄2 hours.

Background

Before the construction of the bridge, ferries were used to cross the Firth. In 1806, a pair of tunnels, one for each direction, was proposed, and in 1818 James Anderson produced a design for a three-span suspension bridge close to the site of the present one. Calling for approximately 2,500 tonnes (2,500 long tons; 2,800 short tons) of iron, Wilhelm Westhofen said of it "and this quantity [of iron] distributed over the length would have given it a very light and slender appearance, so light indeed that on a dull day it would hardly have been visible, and after a heavy gale probably no longer to be seen on a clear day either".

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q275 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Located in a rural area of northwest England, free from radio interference, Jodrell Bank is one of the world's leading radio astronomy observatories. At the beginning of its use, in 1945, the property housed research on cosmic rays detected by radar echoes. This observatory, which is still in operation, includes several radio telescopes and working buildings, including engineering sheds and the Control Building. Jodrell Bank has had substantial scientific impact in fields such as the study of meteors and the moon, the discovery of quasars, quantum optics, and the tracking of spacecraft. This exceptional technological ensemble illustrates the transition from traditional optical astronomy to radio astronomy (1940s to 1960s), which led to radical changes in the understanding of the universe.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q1569783 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The serial property, located in the Highland Region of Scotland, is considered the most outstanding example of an actively accumulating blanket bog landscape. This peatland ecosystem, which has been accumulating for the past 9,000 years, provides a diversity of habitats home to a distinct combination of bird species and displays a remarkable diversity of features not found anywhere else on Earth. Peatlands play an important role in storing carbon and the property’s ongoing peat-forming ecological processes continue to sequester carbon on a very large scale, representing a significant research and educational resource.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Geology

The principal geological deposit within the area is of course peat but other Quaternary superficial deposits are recorded, principally those associated with the ice age such as till but also post-glacial alluvium. All of these overlie bedrock which originates during four distinct intervals of geological time; the Archaean to Palaeoproterozoic Lewisian gneiss, the Neoproterozoic Moine succession into which Ordovician to Silurian granite is intruded and the largely Devonian age Old Red Sandstone.

History

"Flow" is a Scots word for a bog or morass, possibly derived from Old Norse (compare the Icelandic word flói, which has the same meaning). The bogs of the Flow Country have been subject to human activity since the end of the last ice age. In the last 200 years, they have been affected by human activity, including sheep grazing and forestry.

In the 1970s and 1980s, government tax breaks incentivised commercial forestry operations which drained areas of the bogs and planted non-native conifers, damaging the bogs and causing loss of some of the peatland. In 1987 the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) released a report in London that was highly critical of the foresters.