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I'll probably add tags and text at a later date. I'm away from home and have almost no internet access but plenty on photos to upload.
Stone Circle Access visits take place outside the normal opening times at Stonehenge, and are very early in the morning or late in the evening, and are not offered during the normal opening times.
For those of you who have not visited this sacred site, we should mention that the complex is roped off. Visitors observe the stones from a distance and are not permitted within the temple complex. Our special access tours allow you to be amongst the stones. Your guide will bring to life its many myths, legends and rich and fascinating history.
We have arranged with English Heritage for you to experience a unique guided visit to this ancient sacred site - beyond the fences and after the crowds have gone home. Walk amongst the stones and experience the magical atmosphere within the inner circle.
Stonehenge Sunset and Sunrise Trips from London and Salisbury
Stonehenge Guided Tours: www.StonehengeTours.com
A side gallery of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel. In an evacuation, minibuses can go at this access to an operating station in the tunnel. Entrance left above in the picture. Switzerland, Aug 27, 2015.
Governor Kathy Hochul and MTA Chair & CEO Janno Lieber are joined by other officials at a groundbreaking ceremony at the future Parkchester Metro-North station, part of the future Penn Access project, on Friday, December 9, 2022.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer.
The Point Community Development Corporation.
(Marc A. Hermann / MTA)
The Norton Mill Dam removal project restores access to 17 miles of aquatic habitat within the Jeremy River and eliminates aging infrastructure damaged repeatedly by flooding. In doing so, the project helps protect downstream property and benefits species such as the Eastern Brook trout, Atlantic salmon, sea-run brown trout, sea lamprey, American eel and river herring. Removal also eliminates dam safety liability and protect downstream property.
Photo credit: Tracy Copeland/USFWS
More about this Hurricane Sandy project: www.fws.gov/hurricane/sandy/projects/NortonMillDam.html
More about aquatic connectivity after dam removal: usfwsnortheast.wordpress.com/2015/06/01/protecting-people...
Go to our FB page: www.facebook.com/usfwsnortheast/
The MTA's East Side Access project is connecting the Long Island Rail Road to a newly built concourse underneath the existing lower level of Grand Central Terminal. These photos show the progress on the project as of January 25, 2012. Photo by Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.
How to create a new Amazon AWS access key
If you would like to use this photo, be sure to place a proper attribution linking to xmodulo.com
The MTA's East Side Access project is connecting the Long Island Rail Road to a newly built concourse underneath the existing lower level of Grand Central Terminal. These photos show the progress on the project as of January 25, 2012. Photo by Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.
Crews use a large steel container to bring material into the headhouse used to temporarily backfill the approach to the cross-cut cavern, so heavy machinery can more easily move in and out during drilling operations.
Governor Kathy Hochul and MTA Chair & CEO Janno Lieber are joined by other officials at a groundbreaking ceremony at the future Parkchester Metro-North station, part of the future Penn Access project, on Friday, December 9, 2022.
Metro-North President & Interim LIRR President Catherine Rinaldi aboard a bus.
(Marc A. Hermann / MTA)
The Four Bear Trailhead provides access to the Four Bear Trail that is suitable for horseback riding, hiking, and limited mountain biking. Facilities at the trailhead include an information kiosk, horse trailer parking, horse hitching rails, and toilet facilities. The trail provides access to Four Bear Mountain climbing north approximately four miles to the Shoshone National Forest boundary where it connects to many trails on the forest.
The Four Bear Trail also intersects the Jim Mountain Trail about two miles east of the U.S. Forest Service Jim Mountain Trailhead. The elevation ranges from 5,600 feet to 7,600 feet.
Spectacular views are offered of the North Fork Shoshone River valley and fascinating volcanic spires, turrets and banded rock formations. Wildlife such as deer, elk, grizzly and black bear, and numerous bird species such as golden eagles and mountain bluebirds are often found in the trail area. This is grizzly bear country, so be bear aware!
Photo by Rick Tryder.
DIRECTIONS
The trailhead is located 17 miles west of Cody on Wyoming State Highway 14-16-20 (the road to Yellowstone). Turn right at the Four Bear Trailhead sign.
LATITUDE/LONGITUDE
44.47578373 / -109.414787
PHONE 307-578-5900
EMAIL cody_wymail@blm.gov
ADDRESS Cody Field Office
1002 Blackburn St.
Cody, WY 82414
The "The Gables" still retains it's original conservatory which is accessed through a stained glass door off the former drawing room. It has a row of yellow and red Art Nouveau stained glass vent windows as well as one beautiful Art Nouveau stained glass picture window. The picture window features brightly coloured stylised yellow and orange flowers.
"The Gables" is a substantial villa that sits proudly on leafy Finch Street in the exclusive inner city suburb of East Malvern.
Built in 1902 for local property developer Lawrence Alfred Birchnell and his wife Annie, "The Gables" is considered to be one of the most prominent houses in the Gascoigne Estate. The house was designed by Melbourne architect firm Ussher and Kemp in what was the prevailing style of the time, Queen Anne, which is also known as Federation style (named so after Australian Federation in 1901). Ussher and Kemp were renowned for their beautiful and complex Queen Anne houses and they designed at least six other houses in Finch Street alone. "The Gables" remained a private residence for many years. When Lawrence Birchnell sold it, the house was converted into a rooming house. It remained so throughout the tumultuous 1920s until 1930 when it was sold again. The new owners converted "The Gables" into a reception hall for hire for private functions. The first wedding reception was a breakfast held in the formal dining room in 1930, followed by dancing to Melbourne’s first jukebox in the upstairs rooms. Notorious Melbourne gangster Joseph Theodore Leslie "Squizzy" Taylor was reputed to have thrown a twenty-first birthday party for his girlfriend of the day in the main ballroom (what had originally been the house's billiards room). "The Gables" became very famous for its grand birthday parties throughout the 1930s and 1940s. With its easy proximity to the Caulfield Race Course, "The Gables" ran an underground speakeasy and gambling room upstairs and sold beer from the back door during Melbourne’s restrictive era of alcohol not sold after six o'clock at night. Throughout its history, "The Gables" has been a Melbourne icon, celebrating generation after generation of Melbourne’s wedding receptions, parties and balls. Lovingly restored, the atmosphere and charm of "The Gables" have been retained for the future generations.
Grand in its proportions, "The Gables" is a sprawling villa that is built of red brick, but its main feature, as the name suggests, is its many ornamented gables. The front façade is dominated by six different sized gables, each supported by ornamental Art Nouveau influenced timber brackets. The front and side of the house is skirted by a wide verandah decorated with wooden balustrades and rounded fretwork. "The Gables" features two grand bay windows and three other large sets of windows along the front facade, all of which feature beautiful and delicate Art Nouveau stained glass of stylised flowers or fruit. Impressive Art Nouveau stained glass windows can also be found around the entrance, which features the quote made quite popular at the time by Australian soprano Nellie Melba "east, west, home's best." Art Nouveau stained glass can be found in all of the principal rooms of the house; both upstairs and down. “The Gables” also features distinctive chimneys and the classic Queen Anne high pitched gable roofs with decorative barge-boards, terra-cotta tiles and ornate capping.
As a result of Federation in 1901, it was not unusual to find Australian flora and fauna celebrated in architecture. This is true of "The Gables", which features intricate plaster work and leadlight throughout the mansion showing off Australian gum leaves and flowers. "The Gables" has fifteen beautifully renovated rooms, many of which are traditionally decorated, including beautiful chandeliers, ornate restored wood and tile fireplaces, leadlight windows, parquetry flooring, sixteen foot ceilings and a sweeping staircase. The drawing room still also features the original leadlight conservatory "The Gables" boasted when it was first built.
"The Gables", set on an acre of land, still retains many of the original trees, including the original hedge and two enormous cypress trees in the front. The garden was designed by William Guilfoyle, the master landscape architect of the Royal Botanical Gardens, and "The Gables" still retains much of it original structure. It features a rose-covered gazebo, a pond and fountain, as well as the tallest Norfolk Island pine in the area, which can be seen from some of the tallest skyscrapers in the Melbourne CBD.
Henry Hardie Kemp was born in Lancashire in 1859 and designed many other fine homes around Melbourne, particularly in Kew, including his own home “Held Lawn” (1913). He also designed the APA Building in Elizabeth Street in 1889 (demolished in 1980) and the Melbourne Assembly Hall on Collins Street between 1914 and 1915. He died in Melbourne in 1946.
Beverley Ussher was born in Melbourne in 1868 and designed homes and commercial buildings around Melbourne, as well as homes in the country. He designed "Milliara" (John Whiting house) in Toorak, in 1895 (since demolished) and "Blackwood Homestead" in Western Australia. He died in 1908.
Beverley Ussher and Henry Kemp formed a partnership in 1899, which lasted until Beverley's death in 1908. Their last building design together was the Professional Chambers building in Collins Street in 1908. Both men had strong Arts and Crafts commitments, and both had been in partnerships before forming their own. The practice specialised in domestic work and their houses epitomize the Marseilles-tiled Queen Anne Federation style houses characteristic of Melbourne, and considered now to be a truly distinctive Australian genre. Their designs use red bricks, terracotta tiles and casement windows, avoid applied ornamentation and develop substantial timber details. The picturesque character of the houses results from a conscious attempt to express externally with gables, dormers, bays, roof axes, and chimneys, the functional variety of rooms within. The iconic Federation houses by Beverley Ussher and Henry Kemp did not appear until 1892-4. Then, several of those appeared in Malvern, Canterbury and Kew.
Queen Anne style was mostly a residential style inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement in England, but also encompassed some of the more stylised elements of Art Nouveau, which gave it an more decorative look. Queen Anne style was most popular around the time of Federation. With complex roofline structures and undulating facades, many Queen Anne houses fell out of fashion at the beginning of the modern era, and were demolished.
GOVERNOR TOMBLIN ANNOUNCES RECORDS MANAGEMENT,
SURVEY AND PLANNING GRANTS
More than 50 communities receive $464,177 in grant funding to preserve local archives
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (March 9, 2016) - Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin today awarded more than $464,000 in grant funding to more than 50 communities across the state to preserve West Virginia history through the survey and planning and records management and preservation grant programs.
"Whether written stories about our past or historic land documents, West Virginia is full of records, archives and landmark structures that play an important role in defining our state's history," Gov. Tomblin said. "This grant funding will help enhance access to public records and maintain historic infrastructure around the state to ensure our state's past is preserved and passed down for generations."
The Records Management and Preservation Grant Program is administered through the Records Management and Preservation Board (RMPB) and includes projects to improve management, storage conditions, access, and preservation of public records held in county offices. Funding for the grants program comes from filing fees collected by county clerks and deposited in the special Public Records and Preservation Account. Recipients of Records Management and Preservation Grants include:
Barbour County Commission
$6,218
To scan and index criminal case files in the prosecuting attorney's office.
Berkeley County Council
$10,000
To index digital images of case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Boone County Commission
$10,000
To scan and index civil and criminal case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Braxton County Commission
$13,182
To purchase open steel shelving and archival cubic foot records storage boxes for the prosecuting attorney's, sheriff's and circuit clerk's offices; and to digitize chancery case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Brooke County Commission
$4,215
To rebind and encapsulate deed books in the county clerk's office.
Calhoun County Commission
$10,000
To index deed books digitized by the RMPB Statewide Preservation Project in the county clerk's office.
Doddridge County Commission
$8,650
To purchase a map cabinet and Mylar sleeves to encapsulate maps, and to rebind and encapsulate will and land books in the county clerk's office.
Fayette County Commission
$10,305
To digitize birth, death, and marriage books in the county clerk's office, and for the county commission to purchase an oversize scanner to digitize maps, blueprints, and other records that will be used by all county offices.
Gilmer County Commission
$12,347
To purchase roller shelving for improved storage of deed books in the county clerk's office.
Grant County Commission
$9,245
To digitize deed books and deeds of trust books in the county clerk's office.
Greenbrier County Commission
$12,500
To scan and index map cards in the assessor's office, and to scan and index civil and criminal case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Hampshire County Commission
$6,954
To restore and digitize wills and will books, and to purchase roller shelving in the county clerk's office.
Hardy County Commission
$9,455
To digitize land books in the assessor's office.
Harrison County Commission
$10,000
To digitize the assessor's copies of land books in the county clerk's office.
Jackson County Commission
$14,859
To purchase map cabinets and Mylar sleeves to encapsulate maps in the county clerk's office.
Kanawha County Commission
$19,091
To purchase roller shelving for oversize deed and land books in the county clerk's office; and to scan and index civil case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Lewis County Commission
$15,000
To index digitized deed books in the county clerk's office, and to scan and index criminal case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Lincoln County Commission
$11,650
To index deed books digitized by the RMPB Statewide Preservation Project, to purchase public access computers for the records room, and to restore and encapsulate land books in the county clerk's office.
Marshall County Commission
$2,727
To review records and implement the retention schedule, and to scan and index case files in the prosecuting attorney's office.
Mason County Commission
$12,500
To digitize the assessor's copies of land books, and to scan and index estate files in the county clerk's office.
McDowell County Commission
$3,000
To digitize maps in the county clerk's office.
Mercer County Commission
$11,703
To purchase moveable track shelving for long-term inactive case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Mingo County Commission
$7,500
To scan and index order books in the circuit clerk's office.
Monroe County Commission
$7,847
To scan and index map cards in the assessor's office, and to purchase shelving for inactive case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Morgan County Commission
$6,355
To scan and index tax records, and to purchase two color scanners and open steel shelving for the sheriff's office.
Nicholas County Commission
$4,818
To restore and encapsulate the assessor's copies of land books in the county clerk's office.
Ohio County Commission
$10,000
To digitize microfilm of case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Pendleton County Commission
$4,636
To digitize deed, release, and deeds of trust books, and to restore, rebind, and encapsulate deed books in the county clerk's office.
Pocahontas County Commission
$7,500
To review and implement the records retention schedule and scan and index deed books in the county clerk's office.
Preston County Commission
$7,500
To scan and index deed books in the county clerk's office.
Putnam County Commission
$9,500
To digitize oil and gas lease books in the county clerk's office, and to purchase open steel shelving for homestead and property records in the assessor's office.
Raleigh County Commission
$4,963
To review and implement the records retention schedule, and to purchase a high-volume, cross-cut shredder to dispose of records that have exceeded the retention requirement in the assessor's office.
Ritchie County Commission
$13,991
To purchase moveable track shelving for improved case file management in the prosecuting attorney's office.
Roane County Commission
$4,523
To encapsulate and rebind the earliest chancery order books in the circuit clerk's office.
Summers County Commission
$5,146
To digitize military discharge books, and to restore, rebind, and encapsulate will and deed books in the county clerk's office.
Taylor County Commission
$7,993
To scan and index map cards, and to purchase color scanners and public access computers for the assessor's office.
Tucker County Commission
$11,136
To scan and index birth books, to purchase public access computers, and to restore, rebind, and encapsulate the assessor's copies of land books in the county clerk's office.
Upshur County Commission
$10,000
To digitize chancery and law case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Wayne County Commission
$17,109
To index deed books digitized by the RMPB Statewide Preservation Project, to encapsulate the assessor's copies of land books, and to purchase a map cabinet in the county clerk's office.
Webster County Commission
$7,500
To scan and index deeds of trust books in the county clerk's office.
Wood County Commission
$7,500
To index deed books digitized by the RMPB Statewide Preservation Project in the county clerk's office.
Wyoming County Commission
$4,909
To restore, rebind, and encapsulate will and birth books in the county clerk's office.
The Survey and Planning Grant Program is administered with funds from the Historic Preservation Fund, National Park Service. The grants may be used for activities including conducting architectural/archaeological surveys, National Register nominations, predevelopment plans and heritage education projects. Recipients of Survey and Planning Grants include:
Beverly Historic Landmark Commission
$6,300
To assist with the 2016 Statewide Preservation Conference to be held in Beverly/Elkins, Randolph County.
City of Lewisburg/Lewisburg Historic Landmark Commission
$16,800
To assist with the Barracks Plans and Specs in Lewisburg, Greenbrier County.
City of Morgantown/Morgantown Historic Landmark Commission
$11,000
To assist with the architectural survey of the Suncrest neighborhood in Morgantown, Monongalia County.
Hampshire County Historic Landmark Commission
$3,500
To assist with the Phase II of a cemetery survey of Hampshire County.
City of Wheeling/Wheeling Historic Landmark Commission
$14,490
To assist with predevelopment documents for the Towngate Theatre and Stifel Arts Center projects in Wheeling, Ohio County.
Moorefield Historic Landmark Commission
$12,000
To assist with the architectural resurvey of the Moorefield Historic District in Moorefield, Hardy County.
Greenbrier County Historic Landmark Commission
$5,000
To assist with the preparation of a National Register Nomination on the Senator Robert Boone Property in Ronceverte, Greenbrier County.
Corporation of Shepherdstown
$5,460
To assist with the historic structures report on the Mecklenburg Tobacco Warehouse in Shepherdstown, Jefferson County.
Beckley Historic Landmark Commission
$5,600
To assist with the Neville and Main Street Building Assessments in Beckley, Raleigh County.
Photos available for media use. All photos should be attributed “Photo courtesy of Office of the Governor.”
Santiago de Cali is the third biggest city in Colombia and the only city in Colombia with access to the Pacific coast
Stone Circle Access visits take place outside the normal opening times at Stonehenge, and are very early in the morning or late in the evening, and are not offered during the normal opening times.
For those of you who have not visited this sacred site, we should mention that the complex is roped off. Visitors observe the stones from a distance and are not permitted within the temple complex. Our special access tours allow you to be amongst the stones. Your guide will bring to life its many myths, legends and rich and fascinating history.
We have arranged with English Heritage for you to experience a unique guided visit to this ancient sacred site - beyond the fences and after the crowds have gone home. Walk amongst the stones and experience the magical atmosphere within the inner circle.
Stonehenge Sunset and Sunrise Trips from London and Salisbury
Stonehenge Guided Tours: www.StonehengeTours.com
An infilled access cover by D Evans of Llandaff.
Slater's Directory of 1880 shows Daniel Evans as at the Eagle Foundry in Llandaff, Cardiff. They closed down in the 1930s.
St Fagan's is an open air museum, part of the National Museum of Wales. Buildings and artefacts from all over Wales have been dismantled and re-erected here, often saving them from destruction. This process is ongoing.
Bushy Park is a large, 20.5 hectares (51 acres), suburban public park in Terenure, Dublin, Ireland.
There is a children's playground, an extensive wooded area, with walks to the banks of the Dodder (with access over a footbridge to the Rathfarnham area), a woodland pond, a duck pond, and a recently reopened kiosk.
In front of the duck pond is a high hill, and east of the pond is a starting point for the woodland walk, beside a small cascade.
The park is a good place for birdwatching - among the species which may be seen are sparrow hawk, treecreeper and kingfisher.
The park has football fields, a skateboarding area and 11 tennis courts.
Bushy Park House was originally owned by Arthur Bushe of Dangan, County Kilkenny, Secretary to the Revenue Commissioners who built the house, originally known as "Bushe's House" in 1700 on a site of four hectares. John Hobson became the owner in 1772 and changed the name of the house to Bushy Park, possibly after Bushy Park in London.
The third owner was Abraham Wilkinson who in 1791 added almost 40 extra hectares to this estate when his only daughter Maria married Robert Shaw who was first baronet, Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of Dublin. In 1796 he gave the house and estate as a dowry to the couple. Bushy Park House became the seat of Sir Robert Shaw when he left nearby Terenure House.
The Shaw family was connected with Bushy Park until they sold the house and grounds to Dublin City Council (formerly Dublin Corporation) in 1953. The house and eight hectares of the grounds were then sold in 1955 by Dublin City Council to the Religious of Christian Education (an order of teaching Sisters founded in Normandy in 1817), where they established Our Lady's School for girls.
Dublin City Council re-acquired 2 acres (8,100 m2) of woodland in 1992.
In 2008 (when I last visited the area) there were plans to refurbish Bushy Park House however as I did not get a chance to visit the actual house I do not know if any work has been undertaken.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the first week of July, 2017.
The levels of activity fluctuate along this stretch of the riverbank, and especially around the Irish Rail bridge, informed by the tides and priorities.
Since Summer 2016, this is where the heavy-duty engineering works have been taking place.
This is a section of the flood protection scheme that I have not covered in detail -- it's inconvenient for me to access, and others cover it much better.
Standing on an access bridge, adjacent to the Bray Boxing Club (from whence sprang Katie Taylor, and others of illustrious note), looking back up the river, towards the town direction.
In the foreground is the Railway bridge, and in the distance we can see some construction works taking place on the Ravenswell Road, temporarily closed due to on-going works.
That was the site of the old Bray Golf Club -- hotly contested as a (potentially) poorly considered site for a shopping centre development complex, and still an area of ground that has to act as a flood plain in the event of tidal surges.
As well as raising a heightened flood protection wall, they've created an access ramp down to the riverside.
The area in the background, site of the old Bray Golf course, was both a works compound and vehicle route for the transportation of material to/from the other sectors along the River Dargle involved in construction works.
The Irish Rail Bridge, Bray Harbour:
Phase 1 flood defence works to the Irish Rail bridge commenced in August 2016.
Phase 2 flood defence works will be completed during May to September 2017. This work is being undertaken directly by Irish Rail.
The work includes strengthening the integrity of the bridge by creating buttresses around the base of each pillar.
To do this they have to pile-drive sheets into the river bedrock.
The work is complicated by;
(a) the need not to damage or disturb in any way the actual bridge itself (Irish Rail train and DART carriages pass overhead on an hourly basis), (b) the confined spaces under the bridge, and (c) the twice-daily rising tides from Bray Harbour which spill upriver into the newly expanded basin.
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Bray Harbour / Irish Rail Bridge:
The harbour was constructed between the years of 1891 and 1895.
A railway bridge was first built here in 1853.
The following year saw the opening of a railway line between Dublin and Bray.
It was also known as the 'Harcourt Street Line'
Famed Irish engineer William Dargan, known affectionately as ‘the father of the Irish Railways’, was the man involved with bringing the rail to Bray, and in it's construction, and which moulded the town into a fashionable resort.
Dargan designed and built Ireland's first railway line from Dublin to Dún Laoghaire in 1833.
Mid-18th century plans proposed the building of a 12.5-mile (20 km) railway from Bray Daly, which opened on 10 July 1854 to initially terminate at Harcourt Road. (Harcourt Street Station was not built until 1859).
The building of the line was done by two railway companies: The Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway (DW&WR), who built the line from Dundrum to Bray and the Dublin, Dundrum and Rathfarnham Railway (DD&RR), who were to build the line from Harcourt Street to Dundrum.
The latter failed to do so, and the 'Dublin & Wicklow Railway' took over the line works.
Following the Beddy Report of 1957, CIÉ began to realise that in an effort to save money, all the non-profitable rural railway branch lines would have to close. The Harcourt Street line was one of these unprofitable railway lines and so the decision to close the line was ultimately reached.
In October 1958, CIÉ gave notice of the closure in the local papers.
The last train, CIÉ 2600 Class AEC railcar number 2652, left Harcourt Street at 4:25pm on 31 December 1958.
The route was preserved after closure, allowing for a potential future reopening. The route corridor remained mostly in-situ until the 2000s. The section between the Grand Canal crossing and the old Stillorgan station was chosen for use by the Luas light rail system whose Green Line opened in 2004. The line crosses Dundrum on the new William Dargan cable-stayed bridge.
An extension of the Luas to Cherrywood opened for passenger service on Saturday 16 October 2010, using most of the old railway alignment.
Bray Railway Station was renamed Bray Daly Railway Station in 1966 in honour of Edward Daly, one of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising.
The eastern platform features an interesting set of murals depicting the history of Ireland’s railways.
There is no doubt that St Leonard's is a very remarkable building indeed. I will leave the desriptions to people who know about such things, much better than I.
St Leonard's lays now on the edge of the town, on the border with its neighbouring parish, Sholden. It now sits next to a very busy mini roundabout, but towers over all buildings around, with it's jaunty cupola.
Inside, the original church has been greatly enlarged reminding me slightly of King Charles the Martyr in Tonbridge Wells, or that could just be my memory playing tricks.
I received another warm welcome here, for which I thankful, but also to finally see inside this wholly remarkable church.
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There can be no more remarkable church in Kent than this. St Leonard's incorporates work of every century but you do need to search out its architectural gems so closely are the different periods overlaid. Its chief period are Norman and early and late Georgian, although there is something for everyone here. From the outside it is obvious that the church has been clothed in an outer layer of brick and render, but just here and there medieval stonework appears from under the skirts. The fine west tower is obviously a Georgian structure and it is through this that the church is entered. The vestibule contains the first of what will be a fine collection of 15 hatchments and benefaction boards showing that this was one a very wealthy place. On entering the church one is baffled by an illogical layout. In front of you is an empty space that should be the nave, leading into a very small medieval chancel. To the south is an aisle and chapel but to the north is a veritable auditorium facing south and surrounded on three sides by huge balconies improbably lit by circular windows! You really do have to see it. Occupying the nave is a most elaborate nineteenth century font but it isn't until you are in and look back that you realise that this area too has an enormous gallery now holding one of the grandest organs in Kent, rising like a slightly bedraggled wedding cake! Of the contents one must choose a favourite. For me the Norman pillar piscina of sandstone is an oddity and would not look out of place in a cathedral, whilst the east window of the south aisle with its garish depiction of The Crucifixion cannot be ignored. It is by William Morris and Co of Westminster and is about as far removed from the famous William Morris as it possibly could be! Apart from the hatchments the church contains many fine monuments mostly to Naval men and two Royal Arms. It is not a church to rush as something new is to be found at every turn. To those interested in structures, how it all fits together is a mystery in itself with the lovely Norman arcade having been stretched out to support two elliptical arches. Somehow it works and draws us in.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Deal+1
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St Leonard's is still the Parish Church of Deal, despite now lying on the outskirts of the town and there being several other churches within the town. It gains its name from the Saint to whom it is dedicated - St Leonard of Limoges an Abbot who lived in France during the 6th century and who is now the Patron Saint of Prisoners.
Today, St Leonard's serves the local community as the mother church of a Benefice (group of churches) which includes three other local churches;
St Richards, Mill Hill; St Nicholas, Sholden; and St Martins, Great Mongham. Services are held several times a week in all four churches, with each church having its own unique look and feel.
Although some sources give credence to a place of worship having been on the site since Saxon times, no evidence of this building exists now, however parts of the current Church of St Leonard's certainly date to approximately 1100 although over the centuries since, it has seen many alterations. This leaves the building now standing, as a confusion of architectural styles. The Nave and chancel contain the earliest remaining arcitecture, with the original tower being added some 80 to 100 years later.
The chancel was remodeled in the 13th century, and during this period the narrow north and south aisles were enlarged and doors added to each (These doors are both now gone, although the southern can be detected in the outside wall and parts of the northern doorway were reused in the current north door, leading from the early 19th century extension to the church, into the north porch.)
The current tower is of 17th century construction (completed in 1686) having been built to replace the 12th century one which had collapsed due to the church falling in to ill repair prior to the reformation. Many other repairs and alterations have obviously occurred over the centuries and in this history, I will try and lead you through them and show how they have influenced what we have today.
While this amalgam of architectural styles has led to what some would call an aesthetically unattractive building, certainly from the outside, as evidenced in the picture above, it has along with various changes in fashion and the foibles of its congregations over the ages, led to an intriguing, if no less confusing, interior. This is very lopsided and results in the bulk of the congregation facing south, rather than the traditional east and therefore sitting side on to the Altar.
The picture alongside is a view from the gallery over the north door and shows how the orientation leaves the choir and high altar hidden in the chancel off to the left and the congregation facing the end of the new altar which has been installed forward of its more usual position. One Bishop is said to have commented that it is "The most cockeyed church in Christendom". It does however mean that the church contains features of architectural importance and interest spanning nine centuries.
The current tower is surmounted by a cupola which featured on charts as an important landmark for ships approaching the Goodwin Sands. This cupola has recently been completely refurbished, at a total cost in excess of £69,000.
The original 12th century tower that collapsed in the mid 17th century had possessed a steeple ( at least according to Philip Symond's Map of Kent which can normally be relied upon in these matters. I am not aware of any pictorial evidence either way)
The tower now has a clock on the north and south faces and a peal of six bells. Originally there was a peal of five, first cast and hung in 1686. These were recast in 1887, with a sixth bell being added, as a jubilee gift (interestingly to the town rather than the church) from Captain George Coleman who later became mayor of Deal. The current clock is dated 1866, the earliest record of the tower having a clock is for 1715, but the current one dates from 1866.
One normally enters St Leonard's via the west door in the tower, however the north door to the church is available to to give access for wheel chair users etc and also serves as the entrance for the bride at weddings as it allows her a longer procession, passing through the congregation.
Once through the main doors of the tower, the visitor passes down several steep steps into a lobby notable for a spiral staircase to the bell tower and two hatchments (those numbered 12 and 15 in the separate article) The table on which the Deal Charter was displayed after its signing by William III in 1699 also stands here. It is also worth noting the insides of the entrance doors and the large lock, which are probably original to the present tower
. If you are lucky and the inner doors into the body of the church are open and the sun shining in the right direction, you will be struck by the splendour of the view this allows of the altar, chancel and ascension window. Unfortunately, they are normally kept closed to help keep the heat in and drafts out.
As you enter the main body of the church, take time to look back the way you came; as well as the modern interior doors, you will have passed by an earlier door which is a fine example of Jacobean panelled work complete with a hand wrought latch and bolt. This door is now kept open, but it is worth closing it as far as possible, to better view its splendour from both sides.
Once inside the main body of the church, you begin to sense the "ordered chaos" that has resulted from the many extensions. To the south the aisle is still the width it became when the church was expanded in the 13th century, the northern aisle however was extended both in the 13th century to a similar width to that of the current south, and again in the 19th century, which created the current lopsided interior. Prior to the Reformation, St Leonard's, in common with most churches had many side altars and images of Saints, where candles were kept burning in both these aisles, these are all now gone..
It should be noted that the extensions of the 13th C were not symmetrical, the south aisle was always longer than the north, both to the east where the Lady Chapel altar now stands and to the west where it stretches almost as far as the west wall of the tower. Part of this was divided off to form the clergy vestry in 1709 and a further section in 1979.
The second extension to the northern aisle took place in 1819 when the whole north wall was taken down and the current dimensions reached. It was with the building of this extension that the pews in the northern aisle were turned to face south so giving the bulk of the seating in St Leonard's a most unusual orientation. For a long period of time after this it meant that any acts of worship carried out at the main altar in the chancel were hidden from the bulk of the congregation.
In 1979 this changed. Worship was becoming much more centred around Holy Communion and moving away from people attending church primarily to hear the clergy preaching, so leading to a bigger need for people to be able to see the altar. Rather than a wholesale redesign of the seating, screens at the front of the chancel were moved and placed on the walls of the vestry, the pulpit which stood by the side of the small 15th century door linking the chancel and northern aisle was removed and a new, forward altar and communion rails placed where they stand today, just outside the chancel (see picture right) At the same time several pews were removed, leaving an open space from the altar to the west door. It was also at this time that a further section of the western end of the south aisle was partitioned off to increase the size of the vestry and provide today's toilet and kitchen facilities, such as they are.
Standing in front of the altar and looking around the church, another feature stands out apart from the unusual shape - the galleries. St Leonard's is rare, if not unique as a parish church, in having galleries from three different periods still intact. Galleries were another way of meeting the needs of the expanding population of Deal over the centuries and these, as with the basic structure of the church have evolved several times over the years.
he Georgian gallery over the north aisle is contemporary with the extension (1819) and is rated as being of great significance by the Georgian Society among others as an excellent example of its type. Although at first glance the benches and kneelers in this gallery appear quite sad, they are for the most part original and I am told by the Georgian Society, well worth retaining. This picture shows the North aisle. The original extent of the aisle was as far as the two iron pillars which now support the ceiling. The georgian gallery runs round three sides of the new extension. The bulk of the panneling is unfortunatly concealed behind murals currently, but I hope to be able to take a picture with these temporarily removed in the near future,
The gallery which now houses the Bevington Organ is known as the Pilots Gallery and while not the original, which suffered when the tower collapsed, still dates to 1705 and is clearly of 'Restoration period' style. On the front, either side of the picture of an 18th century Man O' War can still be seen the inscription from its most recent rebuild and some interesting paintings of the globe and pilots in traditional uniform although these are now much faded. The date shown on the picture of 1705 is the date of painting, rather than the Great Storm of 1703 which it commemorates, where some 1,200 men were lost on the Goodwin Sands.
The final gallery is Victorian, erected in 1860 over the entrance to the vestry, and of interest for several reasons. The front bears the carved Arms of William III (after Mary's death) which had originally been on the front of a gallery built in 1696 by Thomas Bowles (who later became Mayor of Deal) which sat over the chancel until it was removed in 1860. The old Gallery is believed to have been made of panels from Northbourne church. Incidentally, it was at this time (1860) that the old 'horsebox' pews were replaced with those we now have. The picture to the left, shows not only the gallery, but also the screening that was removed from the front of the chancel when that area was reordered in 1979. Was it a quirk of fate or a plan which brought the gallery and the screens which for many years had existed in close proximity back together after almost 120 years?
Stone Circle Access visits take place outside the normal opening times at Stonehenge, and are very early in the morning or late in the evening, and are not offered during the normal opening times.
For those of you who have not visited this sacred site, we should mention that the complex is roped off. Visitors observe the stones from a distance and are not permitted within the temple complex. Our special access tours allow you to be amongst the stones. Your guide will bring to life its many myths, legends and rich and fascinating history.
We have arranged with English Heritage for you to experience a unique guided visit to this ancient sacred site - beyond the fences and after the crowds have gone home. Walk amongst the stones and experience the magical atmosphere within the inner circle.
Stonehenge Sunset and Sunrise Trips from London and Salisbury
Stonehenge Guided Tours: www.StonehengeTours.com
“Flornado”, Girona, España.
“Girona, Temps de Flors” arranca hoy la 70 edición con 146 proyectos repartidos en 114 espacios que se pueden visitar hasta el 18 de mayo. El Ayuntamiento de Girona ha dado el pistoletazo de salida a la muestra floral esta mañana con un recorrido por algunos de los espacios de la muestra, así como la visita a la exposición "Maestros del arte catalán del siglo XX. Colección Bassat" del Museo de Arte de Girona.
Uno de los espacios que se ha visitado es el patio del Ayuntamiento, donde existe un proyecto conmemorativo de los 40 años de hermanamiento con la ciudad de Albi.
" Esta edición de Tiempo de Flores quiere ser más inclusiva y accesible, pensada especialmente para los gerundenses y las gerundenses. Se han hecho mejoras para personas con movilidad reducida y se ha creado un Espacio Calma para personas neurodivergentes. También se han ampliado los horarios para favorecer una visita más tranquila y adaptada a los ritmos. invitar a todo el mundo a disfrutar de la muestra ”, ha destacado el alcalde Lluc Salellas i Vilar.
“Girona, Temps de Flors” kicks off its 70th edition today with 146 projects spread across 114 spaces that can be visited until May 18. Girona City Council kicked off the floral exhibition this morning with a tour of some of the spaces in the exhibition, as well as a visit to the exhibition “Masters of 20th-century Catalan art. Bassat Collection” at the Girona Art Museum.
One of the spaces visited is the City Council courtyard, where there is a commemorative project for the 40 years of twinning with the city of Albi.
“ This edition of Temps de Flors aims to be more inclusive and accessible, especially designed for Girona residents. Improvements have been made for people with reduced mobility and a Calma Space has been created for neurodivergent people. Opening hours have also been extended to encourage a more peaceful visit adapted to local rhythms. Finally, I would like to thank the public for their involvement and invite everyone to enjoy the exhibition ”, highlighted Mayor Lluc Salellas i Vilar.
By Andrés Bentancourt
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The MTA's East Side Access project is connecting the Long Island Rail Road to a newly built concourse underneath the existing lower level of Grand Central Terminal. These photos show the progress on the project as of January 25, 2012. Photo by Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.
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