Historic Buildings & Monuments

The Scott Monument is the largest monument to a writer in the world. It commemorates Sir Walter Scott.

There are 287 steps to the top of the Scott Monument, from where you can enjoy breathtaking views of  Edinburgh and the surrounding countryside. Find out about Sir Walter Scott and the monument in the museum room.

Horton Court lies in a valley in the South Cotswolds. Originally a Norman hall, now a manor house, it has an interesting and diverse history.

Set in the internationally renowned Orford Ness nature reserve, the Orford Ness Pagodas are cold war relics on a shingle spit in Suffolk, built to test Britain’s atomic bombs. Here the bombs’ detonators were put in pits and subjected to the shocks they might experience on their way to a target, to ensure they wouldn’t go off prematurely. The detonators were non-nuclear but could still have been devastating if they had exploded, so heavy hats were put over the pits to control the blast, which are among the most enigmatic of the many concrete objects built to defend Britain.

William John Cavendish Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland (1800-79), was the eccentric owner of Welbeck Abbey. Living as a recluse in a small suite of rooms in the massive abbey, he employed a team of hundreds of workmen to excavate a series of underground rooms. They include a 53 m (174 ft) long ballroom and a 76 m (250 ft) long library, along with a series of tunnels claimed to be wide enough to drive a horse and carriage. Within the complex, food was delivered to the duke on miniature railways.