Hylands House Lecture

Today James was delighted to present a short lecture to The Friends of Hylands House, Chelmsford, explaining and celebrating the Grand Tour of England in the seventeenth century to the twentieth century. Whereas the Grand Tour is chiefly associated with Italy and Greece in the English-speaking world, it was only the English who made the Mediterranean their priority destination. Everybody else flocked to England to witness the miracle of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions alongside the religious and constitutional settlements that ensured the peace and prosperity of this small country as it rose to imperial ambitions. Ultimately World War I upset this cultural order, but it is hoped that by reviving the Grand Tour of England, especially at important heritage sites lining the old Tour route, billions of pounds of international and internal tourism and cultural revenue can be brought to benefit the country at large and our community in Chelmsford in particular.