> Blog: Inmates and Intrigue! The Secret Histories of our Centres

Dalguise, Perthshire - Rabbit Tales

"Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were - Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-Tail, and Peter." So begins one of the most famous children's books of all - the Tale of Peter Rabbit. The author, Beatrix Potter, best known for her stories of rabbits, frogs, squirrels and other animals, spent her childhood summer holidays at Dalguise House with her family.

Her father rented Dalguise during the summer of 1871 when Beatrix was five and then every summer for the next 11 years. During her time she was free to explore the countryside around Dalguise, which provided inspiration for many of her books including The Tale of Jeremy Fisher, which started life as a letter to a friend with pictures and characters based on the wildlife she found on the banks of the River Tay.

Find out more about Beatrix Potter, her life and work by visiting the Beatrix Potter Society's webpage.

Take a virtual tour of Dalguise as it is today.

Boreatton Park, Shropshire - Crazy Times

You don't have to be mad to work here ... but in 1884, if you were mad or regarded as eccentric, you might have lived here. Back then, Boreatton Park was an insane asylum and described a "a licensed house for the reception of insane patients of the upper classes".

After the Second World War and into the late 1960s Boreatton Park became an 'approved school' for delinquent boys aged 14-18 who were sent there by the courts for "corrective training". For many of the boys, it was not a happy place. An inmate from this period recalls his time there.

The house itself is a rare example of a Victorian "calendar" house. Calendar houses were built with architectural features representing the number of days in the week, weeks in a month and months in a year etc.. So Boreatton Park has 12 chimneys, each with four stacks and seven pots, 12 main bedrooms, 52 doors and seven staircases. Other calendar houses in the UK include Scout Hall in Yorkshire and Holme Eden Hall in Cumbria.

See the house and grounds around Boreatton Park on a virtual tour.

Marchants Hill, Surrey - A Wartime Escape

Marchants Hill was built in 1939 by the National Camps Corporation, a government-financed body which built camps for educational experiences. Marchants Hill was commissioned during the Second World War to house children evacuated from London due to the German bombing. During the war, the camp was surrounded by military bases occupied by Canadian troops who used to invite the evacuees over for treats and entertainment. These bases were also the source of live ammunition which some of the evacuees would steal and set off, sometimes with disastrous consequences. Memories of one of the children evacuated to Marchants Hill offer a fascinating insight into what it was like.

After the war, Marchants Hill operated again as a holiday camp and an outdoor school - there's a film of the school in action in 1948.

Explore Marchants Hill for yourself on a virtual tour.

Little Canada, Isle of Wight - Copycat Cabins.

The idea of a miniature Canadian village was conceived by Mr. I. J. O'Hea, a director of the company which built Little Canada in the late 1930s. Having visited Jasper National Park in Alberta, British Columbia, he copied the design of the wooden cabins he saw there and gave each cabin the name of a Canadian province. During WWII Canadian troops were stationed at Little Canada and used the nearby beaches to train for the attack on German occupied Dieppe, which took place in August 1942.

After the war, Little Canada reverted back to being a holiday camp and in the 1950s was bought by Fred Pontin. Footage from this period shows the main building and the totem pole which stood in front of it, along with a rather unusual game of netball!

Discover Little Canada as it stands today with a virtual tour.

Château de Grande Romaine, Paris - World Cup Mystery

Back in 1998, during the FIFA World Cup, the Brazilian national team used Château de Grande Romaine as their base during the competition - in those days it was a luxury hotel. It was here, in his room, that their star player, Ronaldo, suffered a convulsive fit just hours before the final. He was rushed to hospital but after tests - and with less than an hour to go before kick-off - he declared himself fit to play and was reinstated in the opening line-up. Brazil were beaten 3-0 by France and Ronaldo's performance was criticised as being decidedly below par.

The decision to let Ronaldo play has aroused much controversy, an official inquiry in Brazil and conspiracy theories as to what really happened abound. Was Ronaldo drugged or poisoned? Why was he allowed to play? Was he pressured into playing? Will we ever know?

See the château and its grounds on a virtual tour.