Hampton Court Palace

With 500 years of royal history, Hampton Court Palace has something to offer everyone.

This living tapestry of history from Henry VIII to George II, was remodelled by Cardinal Woolsey in 1515. By the time the palace was finished in about 1540, it was one of the most modern and magnificent palaces in England. It even had 250 tons of lead piping installed to supply it with special water because residents didnt fancy the stuff that came from the Thames which was unheard of at the time!

In 1604, James I, who had recently become the King of England, called about 50 church bigwigs together in this fancy building to try and sort out some of the problems between High Churchmen and Puritans.

It was at this meeting that a new translation of the Bible was suggested, and King James I thought it was a brilliant idea. The King James Bible went on to become one of the greatest pieces of literature in the English language.

Westminster Abbey

An architectural masterpiece of the 13th to 16th centuries, Westminster Abbey has been the scene of many historical events. It is also where King James I himself is buried.

It was here that 17 men translated the first third of the King James Bible Old Testament and the last half of the New Testament, in the Jerusalem Chamber. An important room in the story of the King James Bible, the chamber is not open to the public.

The British Library

William Tyndales painstaking and beautiful translation of the New Testament from Greek was the first to be printed in English. In his day, the Bible was only available in Latin but Tyndale, a priest and scholar, challenged this with this translation that can be seen in the John Ritblat Gallery at the British Library.

It was immediately banned in England and confiscated and eventually Tyndale was caught, strangled and burned at the stake. Most of his translation lives on in the King James Bible of 1611. Only two complete copies have survived.

St Paul's Cathedral

A cathedral dedicated to St Paul has looked over the City of London since 604AD. Despite being an ongoing reminder of the importance of the spiritual side of life, it has also witnessed angry acts of religious protest.

The Bishop of London in William Tyndales day was Bishop Tunstall. He was against the translation of the Bible and claimed to have spotted 2,000 errors in Tyndales New Testament. To show his disgust, he set fire to one of the books at the cross of St Pauls Cathedral.

He didnt stop there: after getting as much money together as he could, the Bishop tracked down as many of Tyndales translations as he could and brought them back to St Pauls, where he burned them all. There is a sign on a walkway to mark the spot.

Hertford College

There are many links between Oxford and the history of the English Bible. John Wycliffe, who translated the Bible in as early as 1382, was educated in the city. William Tyndale also studied in Oxford and his New Testament was printed in 1525.

The chapel at Hertford College has a long tradition of being a place of prayer, investigation, creativity and community. Its entrance holds a beautiful stained glass window of Tyndale. It shows a large figure of the translator and a smaller scene of him visiting the printers.

Shakespeare's Globe Exhibition

This is the worlds largest exhibition devoted to Shakespeare and the London in which he lived and worked.

Housed in the UnderGlobe beneath the theatre, the exhibition brings Shakespeares world to life, using a range of interactive displays and live demonstrations.

William Shakespeare would have lived during 13 years of King James Is reign, and the exhibition shows what life was like at the time his version of the Bible was commissioned.

A full-size recreation of a 17th century printing press is on show, and visitors can see it in action. It is similar to the ones used to print the King James Bible.