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Although most of what we see today is the remains of a mid-19th century country house, designed in the ornate Italianate style reminiscent of Queen Victoria’s Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, the history of Witley dates back to the medieval period.

At it’s height in the late Victorian period, Witley Court was the setting for lavish parties hosted by it’s owner Lord Dudley and attended by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII).

After the First World War, the declining fortunes of the Dudley’s resulted in Witley Court’s sale to a local manufacturer and business man, Sir Herbert Smith. However, Sir Herbert could do little more than maintain and manage the property. Therefore Witley’s opulent past was already a distant memory by the night of the devasting fire on 7th September 1937, which gutted the interiors and left the house a shell of brick and stone.

Witley Court, Worcestershire, England, UK

© Mark Simms Photography (2023)

Drumlanrig Castle

The “Pink Palace” of Drumlanrig was built by William Douglas the first Duke of Queensbury between 1679 and 1689. Sitting on the site of an old Douglas stronghold overlooking the River Nith in Dumfrieshire, Scotland, it’s a prime example of 17th century Scottish Renaissance architecture.

© Mark Simms Photography (2023)

Covenanters Cemetry

The Covenanters were members of a religious and political movement in 17th century Scotland. They supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland independent of the Church of England. At first this led them to side with Parliament in the First English Civil War against Charles I. However in 1650 they signed the Treaty of Breda which restored Charles’ son (Charles II) to the Scottish Throne in exchange for protecting the Calvinist doctrine of the Scottish Church.