Past Remains

A view of yesterday from today


Notices, news & updates are now at the end of the page.


A view of yesterday from today

Remains of our national and local history surround us. Despite the state of flux and change to the urban and rural landscape there are reminders of that history, spanning from as long ago as 5,000 years or more, to our more recent past. The way the landscape has changed is evident in prehistoric earthworks, such as hillforts, stone circles and barrows, and can also be seen from the effects of farming, travel and industry. Quarries, mills, canals and railways have all had an impact on the landscape, leaving many interesting and delightful traces of former activities.

This is a personal record of discovering many of these delightful remains, from the more dramatic of them - Stonehenge, castles and cathedrals, for instance - to the more prosaic and easily overlooked, such as the vernacular architecture and the connection between local buildings to the landscape. It also includes Urban Exploration of the more recent past, of derelict and abandoned buildings, military installations and defences from WW2, industrial structures, as well as evidence of earlier history. Past trade and leisure activities are seen along the way, together with various oddities still to be found in town and countryside...monuments, decaying farm machinery, old street furniture and other charming curiosities.

Most places visited are in and around East Devon and West Dorset, but also include some from elsewhere in Britain. The continuing quest will see further discoveries, more additions and updates to articles and later photos, as well as the inclusion of previous visits from the last few years. However, these will now be on my blog (see notice below). And I hope you enjoy the journey. 


Latest Updates


26th Oct 2017

Important Notice

First the bad news: It is with very deep regret that I will no longer be adding anything to my website. After the web host changed customers over to a new website builder in October 2016 I have been unable to add photos to my existing pages and my domain name no longer works properly on much of the site. After extensive editing to my pages for several months to undo some of the changes that the changeover caused, and a much-needed break since this May, I recently created a new page and found that new pages will no longer link to the Site Visits page. It can be done, but not without a lot of time-consuming difficulty for each and every page, and as the builder is such a pig to use I've reluctantly come to the decision not to continue. I could add more info and edit existing pages but it would be redundant, because...

Now the good news: In January 2017 I started a blog, mainly as a back-up for my website pages, but also for anything else that I find interesting. I was going to build another website from scratch but after a lot of consideration and research into other web hosts I finally realised that there's nothing else suitable...plus I honestly can't face recreating 9 yrs of work again! So I've decided to make the blog my main site from now on. It's really easy and enjoyable to use, I already have over 60 articles on there from the website (with a lot more info & photos on each article) and will be adding a contents page and other stuff to hopefully make it into a 'blog that thinks it's a website'. Meanwhile the website will remain as it is with all the information intact for the forseeable future, but all new and unfinished pages will now go on the blog. The link can be found on the Links page, but the URL can also be copied and pasted from here...  https://pastremainsblog.blogspot.co.uk

And finally, a big thank you to all those that have enjoyed my website, and I'm happy to continue receiving emails should you wish to contact me. :)


COPYRIGHT: Please note that all text and photographs are the copyright of Eileen Wright, and should not be copied, downloaded or used without the owner's express permission. Contact for permission may be made through the website (details on the page About Me). DISCLAIMER: I do not advocate visits to places other than those where the public are allowed. Any trespassing or visits to potentially dangerous sites are therefore at your own discretion and you will be responsible for any subsequent problems encountered.


Recent Photos